Xavier had been patient. Too patient.
For the past hour, he'd sat on Nana's couch, supposedly watching the Lumiere documentary with her, while she gushed about the masked hero on screen. Every word of praise felt like a needle under his skin.
"Look at how gracefully he moves!" Nana sighed, clutching a pillow to her chest. "And the way he saved all those people during the Chronorift Catastrophe... He's so brave and heroic. I bet he's incredibly handsome under that mask too."
Xavier's jaw tightened. His eyes, usually soft and drowsy, had darkened to something dangerous. Light flickered faintly around his fingertips—a telltale sign of his Evol responding to his emotional state.
"You seem quite taken with him," he said, his voice deceptively calm.
"Who wouldn't be?" Nana turned to him with sparkling eyes, completely oblivious to the storm brewing in her husband. "Lumiere is like the perfect man. Strong, mysterious, selfless—"
"Perfect," Xavier repeated flatly.
"Yes! I mean, you're great too, Xavier, but Lumiere is just... legendary." She turned back to the screen where the masked figure was decimating Wanderers with elegant sword strikes. "I wonder if he's single."
Something in Xavier snapped.
In a blink—literally—he teleported. One moment he was sitting across from her, the next he was hovering over her on the couch, his hands caging her in on either side. The documentary remote clattered to the floor.
"X-Xavier?" Nana's eyes widened at the sudden proximity, at the intensity radiating from him.
"You think Lumiere is perfect?" His voice was low, almost a purr, but there was steel beneath it. "You wonder if he's single? You think about him being handsome?"
"I was just—"
"Just what? Fantasizing about another man right in front of your husband?" He leaned closer, his ash-blonde hair falling forward, nearly brushing her face. "That's very bold of you, starlight. Or very foolish."
Her breath hitched. She'd never seen this side of Xavier before—possessive, commanding, dangerous. It sent heat pooling low in her belly.
"Maybe," he murmured, his lips ghosting along her jaw, "I need to remind you exactly who you belong to."
"Xavier, I didn't mean—"
"Shh." His finger pressed against her lips. "You've been very bad. Praising another man. Calling him perfect. Thinking about his face." His blue eyes bore into hers, and she could see the barely controlled storm in them. "I think you need to be punished. Don't you?"
The word 'punished' sent a shiver down her spine. "Yes," she whispered.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes... I need to be punished."
A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips—so unlike his usual neutral expression. "Good girl. Now, here's what's going to happen. You're going to take off your clothes. Slowly. And you're not going to look away from me."
With trembling hands, Nana obeyed. She pulled her shirt over her head, then her pants, her eyes locked on Xavier's intense gaze. His expression remained controlled, but she could see the hunger growing in his eyes, the way his hands flexed with restraint.
When she was down to her underwear, he finally moved. His hands slid up her thighs, deliberately slow, savoring the way she shivered under his touch.
"These too," he commanded, fingers hooking into her panties.
She lifted her hips and let him slide them off. Now completely bare before him while he remained fully clothed, she felt vulnerable, exposed, and unbearably aroused.
"Beautiful," he murmured, his hand trailing up her inner thigh. "And mine. Only mine. Say it."
"I'm yours, Xavier."
"Again."
"I'm yours. Only yours."
His fingers finally reached her center, and he hummed in satisfaction. "You're already so wet. Is this for me? Or for Lumiere?"
"For you," she gasped as his fingers began to circle her clit with maddening lightness.
"Are you sure? Because you seemed awfully interested in him just a minute ago." His touch lightened even more, barely there, driving her insane.
"Xavier, please—"
"Please what?" His face was still composed, almost bored, which made the torture even worse. "Use your words."
"Please touch me properly. I need—"
"Need what?" One finger dipped inside her, just barely, then withdrew. "This?"
"Yes! More, please."
"But you've been bad. Why should I give you what you want?" Even as he said it, he pushed two fingers inside her, curling them expertly to hit that perfect spot. Her back arched off the couch.
"I'm sorry," she moaned. "I'm sorry for talking about Lumiere. I only want you."
"Do you?" He pumped his fingers slowly, torturously slow. "Then tell me. Tell me how much you want me. Be specific."
"I want your fingers inside me. I want your mouth on me. I want you to fuck me until I forget every other man's name."
His eyes flashed with satisfaction, but his expression remained controlled. "Better. But I don't think you've earned it yet."
He withdrew his fingers completely, and she nearly cried at the loss. Then he brought those fingers to his mouth, licking them clean while maintaining eye contact. The sight made her clench around nothing.
"Delicious," he said. "But I think I need a better taste."
He dropped to his knees between her legs, and the sight of Xavier—usually so calm and sleepy—looking up at her with dark, hungry eyes nearly undid her.
"Since you love Lumiere so much," he said, his breath hot against her inner thigh, "let me show you what he would do to you."
Before she could ask what he meant, his mouth was on her. Unlike his earlier teasing, this was direct, intense, overwhelming. His tongue worked against her clit while his fingers thrust back inside, curling and stroking with devastating precision.
"Xavier!" Her hands flew to his hair, gripping the soft ash-blonde strands.
He pulled back just enough to speak. "Wrong name."
She blinked through the haze of pleasure. "What?"
"You wanted Lumiere. So call me Lumiere."
Understanding dawned. "You're—?"
"Say it," he commanded before diving back between her thighs, adding a third finger and sucking her clit hard.
"Lumiere!" she cried out, more from the pleasure than anything else. "Oh god, Lumiere!"
She felt him smile against her. His fingers moved faster, his tongue more insistent. Light began to emanate from his free hand, soft and warm, caressing her skin like physical touch. It was his Evol, responding to his heightened emotions, adding another layer of sensation.
"That's right," he murmured. "You've been fantasizing about me all along. You just didn't know it."
The realization that Xavier was Lumiere, that her husband was the legendary hero she'd been gushing about, combined with what he was doing to her body—it was too much. Her orgasm crashed over her like a wave, her thighs clamping around his head as she screamed his name. Both names.
He worked her through it, only pulling away when she pushed at his head from oversensitivity. When he rose, his lips glistened, and there was smug satisfaction in his eyes.
"Are you going to keep talking about how perfect Lumiere is?" he asked, already working at his belt.
"Xavier—Lumiere—whoever you are—just please—"
"Please what?" His pants hit the floor. "I want to hear you beg properly."
"Please fuck me. I need you inside me. I need you to show me I'm yours."
"Much better." He positioned himself at her entrance, the head of his cock pressing against her but not entering. "But I want you to understand something. I'm going to fuck you so thoroughly, you won't be able to sit tomorrow without thinking of me. You won't be able to see any footage of Lumiere without remembering this moment. Understood?"
"Yes, please, just—"
He slammed into her in one brutal thrust, and they both groaned at the sensation. He gave her no time to adjust, setting a punishing pace immediately. His usual gentleness was completely gone, replaced by something primal and possessive.
"Is this what you imagined?" he growled, one hand gripping her hip hard enough to bruise, the other braced beside her head. "When you watched those videos? Did you imagine Lumiere fucking you like this?"
"Yes," she gasped, too overwhelmed to lie. "Yes, I imagined it."
"And now?" He angled his hips to hit deeper, making her see stars.
"Better. So much better than I imagined."
Light exploded around them—his Evol completely out of control now. It wasn't harmful, but it enveloped them in an otherworldly glow, making the moment feel surreal, dreamlike, almost holy.
"Mine," he said with each thrust. "You're mine. Say it."
"I'm yours. All yours. Only yours."
His hand moved between them, finding her clit and circling it in time with his thrusts. The dual stimulation was devastating. She could feel another orgasm building, stronger than the first.
"Xavier—I'm going to—"
"Come for me," he commanded. "Come on my cock and scream my name so there's no doubt who you belong to."
His fingers pressed harder, his cock hit that perfect spot inside her, and she shattered. Her orgasm tore through her with such intensity she actually did scream his name, her body clenching around him rhythmically.
The feeling of her coming undone around him broke his control. His thrusts became erratic, desperate. "Where?" he managed to ask through gritted teeth.
"Inside," she gasped. "Come inside me."
That permission was all he needed. He buried himself to the hilt and came with a low groan, his light flaring so bright she had to close her eyes. She felt him pulse inside her, filling her completely, marking her from the inside out just as he'd promised.
They stayed locked together, breathing hard, as the light slowly faded. Xavier collapsed beside her on the couch, pulling her against his chest. His usual drowsy expression was returning, but there was satisfaction in his eyes.
"Still think Lumiere is perfect?" he asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Nana laughed breathlessly. "I think Lumiere is you, which explains a lot actually. The mysterious disappearances, the combat skills, the way you both move..."
"Observant." He nuzzled into her neck, already sounding sleepy. "Are you going to keep my secret?"
"Obviously. I'm not going to let anyone else know my husband is a legendary hero. That information is mine alone." She paused. "Though I do have one question."
"Hmm?"
"If you're Lumiere, and you saved me during the Chronorift Catastrophe when I was a child... have you been watching over me this whole time?"
Xavier was quiet for a moment, his arms tightening around her. "Yes," he finally admitted. "I've been trying to protect you for years. I just... finally couldn't stay away anymore."
Her heart squeezed. "Xavier..."
"Sleep," he murmured, and she could feel him already drifting off against her shoulder—his habit of falling asleep anywhere striking again. "We can talk more tomorrow. After you recover from your punishment."
She smiled, pressing a kiss to his hair. "I love you. Both versions of you."
"Love you too," he mumbled, already half-asleep. "My starlight... only shines for you..."
As his breathing evened out, Nana looked down at the man in her arms—her sleepy, mysterious husband who was also the legendary hero Lumiere. And she smiled, knowing that she'd never look at another man again.
After all, how could anyone compare to someone who'd spent years crossing time and space just to protect her?
The documentary still played on the TV, forgotten, as the real Lumiere slept peacefully in her arms.