Archive of Our Own ^beta

Crimson ran a finger over the box, taking in the scent of sweet, smoky Wrathian wood. The cigars inside were the real good kind, rich and thick, and the fact that they had come as an attempted bribe from a group his men had splattered on the pavement was even better- the shipping delay had meant that they had arrived after any chance of agreement had been extinguished.

He missed smoking. One couldn’t hurt, could it? Besides, he was the boss, he could do whatever he-

A hand nearly as big as the box itself lifted it out of his reach, and he snarled.

“Fuck off.”

“It’s a risk for the pups, sir.”

“Don’t call me ‘sir’ when you’re telling me what to do,” Crimson said, arms crossed and fingers drumming on his biceps. He could feel his protruding stomach below his forearms, and his tail curled and uncurled irritably around the leg of his chair. “Give it back.”

“I’m putting it in the safe box, you can have it back when they’re out.”

“Let me open it.” His voice simmered, and Alessio hesitated. “I wanted to see them, so I can know if I should go back there and plug extra lead in their heads for trying to stiff me.” He paused for a moment, the crackling of the fire the only noise but for their breathing, and the last words had just a whisper of a whimper running underneath them as something pushed outwards and his nerves felt juiced with the world’s shittiest coffee, begging for the nicotine. “It’s been months.”

Alessio set the box back down, thinking for a moment before flipping open the lid. Crimson pulled one out, rolling the comforting weight in his fingers and giving a semi-satisfied hum at the scent of tobacco and a hint of spice, mouth watering. They were definitely the real deal. “Hmm. Well. At least they tried. I’ll enjoy these.” His fingers dug into it for a moment, and he could feel Alessio’s eyes on him before settling the cigar back down and gesturing towards the box, even though his tongue was still sticky with saliva. It got him a near-smile as it was lifted up again.

“Thank you, sir.”

“They had better turn out big and strong considering how much I’m cutting off for this. I’m holding you to that, seeing as they’re your fussy bastards.”

One of Alessio’s hands dropped down to caress over Crimson’s belly above the buttons straining on his suit and nearly covered it in the process, and Crimson had to hold back the urge to purr at the warmth.

“I’m sure they will.”