Viggo leaned back in his chair, taking a slow sip of his wine as he watched Bjorn scarf down lasagna like a ravenous animal. His husband’s elbow was on the table, his arm curled around his plate, his gaze fixed on their new human as he shoveled food into his mouth.
Sebastian, seated on his other side, was eating with perfect manners, though his face was beet red from Bjorn’s intense staring. He kept his eyes on the table, glancing up at regular intervals to see if Bjorn was still watching him.
Viggo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Take it easy,” he said, pushing his foot out under the table and nudging Bjorn’s leg as he reached for another helping from the pan. Bjorn’s head whipped around, his expression confused. Viggo huffed. “Slow down, Bjorn. It’s not a race.”
Bjorn frowned, looking down at his fork, wrinkling his nose in annoyance. He turned his attention back to Sebastian and resumed eating, this time at a less frantic pace.
“Do you have somewhere to be?” Viggo asked, wondering why Bjorn was in such a rush.
“Bed,” Bjorn replied, licking his lips and reaching for his glass of water. He downed the whole thing in one go, watching Sebastian like a hawk, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Viggo should have guessed. Bjorn had been less than happy to have his cuddle session cut short, and now that he’d had a taste of what it felt like to feel Sebastian’s body pressed tight against his own, he was no doubt eager for more.
“Have a little patience,” Viggo said, nudging Bjorn’s leg again. Bjorn huffed, his expression laying bare exactly what he thought aboutpatience.
“We’re just going to sleep, right? Nothing more?” Sebastian asked, breaking into the conversation.
“If that’s what you want.” Viggo looked at him carefully. Sebastian seemed fine, but he’d noticed the boy wince just a little bit when he sat back down after reaching for the lasagna.
Viggo hoped he hadn’t actually bitten his inner thighs hard enough that they were still hurting. He’d thought he was being careful – and he knew that he hadn’t broken the skin – but it occurred to him that he didn’t have a lot of experience with humans and how much they could take.
He and Bjorn had the advantage of accelerated healing, their bodies built for violence, and Viggo worried that his baseline assumption about how much Sebastian could handle had been off.
“Do your thighs hurt from earlier?”
Viggo could have waited until they were in bed and checked Sebastian’s thighs for himself, but he figured it was better just to ask.
“A little,” Sebastian admitted, shifting in his seat. “They’re kind of tender.”
Viggo frowned, his mouth pinched in a flat line. That wasn’t good.
“I’m sorry,” he said, repeating his apology from earlier. “I really didn’t mean for it to hurt more than a few minutes.”
“It’s all right,” Sebastian said, pushing his fork across his plate, dragging a piece of lasagna around the porcelain surface. He glanced over at Viggo, a blush coloring his cheeks.
“Did you enjoy it?” he asked, wondering why Sebastian was blushing.
Sebastian shrugged. When he didn’t answer, Viggo gave his leg a little kick. “Answer the question.”
“It was overwhelming,” Sebastian said, the blush on his face turning a deeper shade of red and spreading down his neck. He looked up, meeting Viggo’s gaze for a second before looking back down. “I’m not sure.”
“That’s okay.” Viggo rubbed the side of his ankle under the table with his foot. “I’ll take it easier until we figure out your limits.”
He turned away from Sebastian, shifting his focus to Bjorn who was looking at him with smug satisfaction. When Viggo raised his brow, wondering what that was all about, Bjorn smirked.
“Gentle,” his husband said, teasing and mocking.
Viggo snorted out a laugh, the humor taking him off guard. Bjorn’s wolf had never made a joke before, and certainly not one at his expense.
He hoped it was a good sign.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, grinning. “We both need to be gentler than we think.”
“No biting,” Sebastian piped up, taking a drink of his water to cover his obvious nerves.
“No biting,” Viggo agreed. “For now.”
