The golden light had long since faded, but a hush lingered in the air — not of silence, but of something intimate having passed. Esdeath stood near the doorway, the shop's light casting gentle shadows across her sharp features. Her posture remained proud, but the tension in her shoulders had unraveled, just enough to reveal the woman beneath the general.
Jaxon watched her from behind the counter, leaning casually, arms crossed — though his gaze was anything but casual. It lingered on her, not with hunger, but with the quiet reverence of someone who'd tasted the soul of another and found it... exquisite.
"You're quieter than before," he said, his voice velvet-smooth, laced with amusement. "I'd say we've released more than just tension."
Esdeath turned, her eyes catching the light like cold gemstones softened by warmth. "That was… unexpected," she admitted, her voice lower now, almost intimate. "I came seeking control. And you gave me… release."
A corner of Jaxon's mouth tugged upward. "Sometimes, the only way to master the storm is to let it wash over you."
She approached slowly, each step precise, deliberate — a huntress at ease. Her gloved hand trailed lightly along the curved edge of the counter, almost like a caress. "And you just happened to have the right… tool… for that?"
Jaxon's gaze dropped for the briefest moment to her hand, then rose to meet her eyes again. "I keep many instruments behind this counter, General. Some heal. Some transform. But the most powerful ones..." He leaned in slightly. "They reveal."
Esdeath's lips parted — a breath, not a word. Then she smiled. Not cold. Not cruel. But amused. Alive.
"I should despise you for peeling back the armor," she said. "But I don't. Perhaps I needed to be… unwrapped."
Jaxon inclined his head. "Sometimes the most dangerous weapons are the ones you don't carry at your side."
Another silence passed, charged, but gentle. Then, with the same control she always wielded, Esdeath turned to go.
"I'll return," she said over her shoulder. "Should I crave… another session."
The doorway shimmered as she stepped through, vanishing into the frost-laced world she ruled — though now, perhaps, with a slightly softer heart beneath the steel.
...
The shop exhaled around him, its walls settling as if satisfied.
Jaxon let out a breath, half-laugh, half-sigh. "That woman is ice and wildfire in equal measure," he murmured, brushing his fingers through his hair. "Beautiful trouble."
He walked back toward the central console, the light flickering to life at his touch. Thousands of profiles whirled past — glimmers of souls aching for something. Power. Love. Purpose. Touch.
A new image floated forward. Shadowed eyes. A guarded smile. A hunger hidden beneath bravado.
Jaxon tilted his head, intrigued. "Ah. And who are you beneath all that armor?"
He reached out, fingers brushing the console like a lover's touch. "Let's see what kind of... connection you require."
The shop responded, the space humming with anticipation as it prepared itself — the scent of spice and starlight already creeping in from the cracks of whatever world was about to open.
Jaxon smiled to himself.
_________
Hello, the full NSFW scene with Erza is already done in my p@treon.
You can read in advance here:
Patreon(.)com/Sp1ced
I'm still choosing for the next target vote