home is where your teeth sink, love

Status: Complete
Published: 31 July 2023
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Rating: Mature
Tags: Mantis/Nebula (Marvel), Mantis (Marvel), Nebula (Marvel)

AO3 Mirror

Opening Notes:

Original AO3 Note: back again and spreading some bitey nebula propaganda this time :] if you're on tumblr then you've probably seen the art that inspired this lol

title is from Burn The Ballroom's "Kiss Me You Animal" which isn't relevant to this fic at all but that specific line lives rent free in my brain always so i couldn't Not use it

Mantis touches the little dark mark on her neck, a delicate watercolor bloom of bruising, one of several now decorating her throat and collarbone and shoulders. The indents of teeth marks had since faded, but the feeling of those teeth against her skin was still fresh in her mind.

It had been a pleasant surprise, the first bite. Unexpected. Nebula had always been a little reserved up to this point, even when they were alone, intimate. A little too willing to follow Mantis's lead, to let her take charge, which was a funny if surprising contrast to how she was in her day to day.

The bites that followed were exciting, sending little jolts of pleasure shivering up her spine that spiral back around to Nebula and then pulls them both into a feedback loop that only riles Nebula up further, makes her kissing and biting and touching rougher, more desperate. It’s funny, Mantis thinks, because she wouldn’t have guessed how intoxicating one little bite would be. How out of all of the other touching and kissing and grinding and stroking it was the teeth on her throat that sent her over the edge.

It felt a little bit like a new milestone had been reached, another wall between them gone. Nebula tended toward over-caution with her, even when—especially when they were intimate. It might have been sweet, how careful she was, if it wasn’t so deeply rooted in Nebula’s self-image, how dangerous and cruel and undeserving she thinks she is despite any evidence to the contrary.

So this, this was exciting, that Nebula was becoming less afraid of hurting her, that she was starting to relax enough to let a bit of that edge show.

Suddenly aware of how long she’d been sitting there, thinking about the pleasantly sore little bruises that marked their lovemaking, and she realizes that Nebula has been watching her. Her dark eyes are serious, and a bit of her usual stoic affect has returned. And she tries not to let it show but Mantis knows her well enough to see that she seems worried, too, so Mantis smiles.

“Does it hurt?” Nebula asks eventually.

And, well—it was almost cute how worried she was.

“No,” Mantis says, still idly touching the bruise on her neck.

Nebula’s expression changes slightly, and she frowns a little. “I know I got carried away. You can tell me if it was too much.”

“I liked it, actually.” Mantis shifts closer to Nebula and leans into her, loops her arms around Nebula’s neck with deliberate slowness.  “You’re normally so reserved, but this was an exciting surprise. Arousing.”

Nebula’s face flushes a warm violet and she looks anywhere except Mantis, and this is cute, too, how flustered Mantis can make her, and so easily too.

“I know,” she manages, voice going a little funny, when she finally looks at Mantis again. “I could feel it—your want.”

Mantis laughs a little, teases gently, “One of the perks of these powers.”

“So I really didn’t hurt you?”

“Your concern is sweet, but unfounded. I’m not made of glass. It’s a pleasant little ache,” she assures.

Nebula finally seems to accept this, relief flickering across her face, and she relaxes into Mantis’s touch with a nod. “Okay. Good.” She brings a hand up to touch one of the bruises, surprisingly tender as she strokes her thumb along Mantis’s skin.

“It suits you,” Mantis muses, watching as Nebula gently thumbs the bruise, “the biting.”

Nebula’s brows raise. “Oh?”

“Mhm. I like it. You should get bitey more often.”

Nebula blinks slowly. “I can do that.”

“Good. I’ll hold you to it.”

Nebula snorts. “No need to go that far.” She ducks her head to mouth at her neck, mumbles against Mantis’s skin. “I can get bitey again right now, if you like it so much.” She nibbles teasingly along the length of Mantis’s neck, stopping to alternately kiss and bite as she went.

Mantis shivers, her hands curling against Nebula’s shoulders and fingers digging into the skin.

“How’s that?” Nebula asks between kissing and biting. Her voice is deliciously low and husky and so attractive—

“Good,” Mantis breathes. “Very good.”

Ending Notes:

N/A