Ooh, cheeky request for Ikraloy from @blindedskies​! I wasn’t really planning on writing PWP for these two for Smut Month, but what the hell, why not. 

This started off with Insecurities but kind of ended up more along the lines of “Helloooo nurse” so, er, sorry not sorry? 😂

Read here on AO3 instead.

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Aloy was slowly taking off her clothes, and it was the most awkward thing Ikrie had ever seen her do.

She watched Aloy’s back with growing bemusement as the redheaded huntress shuffled off her Carja vest, then started taking off her cropped silk blouse. But it seemed like Aloy was trying to take off the blouse while keeping her left arm pressed against her side.

Finally Ikrie had to ask. “Hey, what’s going on over there? Are you, uh…  do you need help, or…?”

“Nope,” Aloy said quickly. “No no, I’m fine.” She kept her back to Ikrie as she tried to pull off her blouse, and finally Ikrie stood and gently took her arm.

“Come on, what are you…” She trailed off as Aloy turned toward her, and her eyes widened in alarm as they drifted down to Aloy’s bare midriff: a long, palm-width bruise mottled the golden expanse of her skin from the base of her right ribs to her left hip.  

“Aloy! How did this happen?” Gingerly she reached out to brush her fingers across the bruise, but Aloy curled her arm defensively over her belly before Ikrie could touch it.

She rolled her eyes and tugged one of her braids. “That Thunderjaw in the desert,” she muttered, then shrugged irritably. “Amateur mistake. Didn’t roll away from the tip of the tail in time. Don’t worry,” she added soothingly. “It’s fine, really. It looks worse than it feels.”

The flame-haired huntress pursed her lips in annoyance as she turned away, and Ikrie felt a burst of tenderness for Aloy’s disgruntlement. Aloy was a perfectionist during the hunt, a trait that reminded her faintly of Mailen, and it was on the tip of Ikrie’s tongue to reassure her Nora partner that she had no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed, but something stopped her. Mailen’s perfectionism had come from insecurity. Aloy’s, on the other hand, was born from the pride she took in her craft. Words of comfort would only annoy her Nora partner; the only thing that would appease her would be doing a better job on their next hunt.

Or is it? Ikrie thought mischievously. Maybe there was some other way she could soothe her partner’s ruffled feathers.

She studied Aloy’s stiff spine for a moment longer, then sidled up to her back and brushed her lips against Aloy’s ear. “Better let me take a look at that bruise. You might need a salve to speed the healing,”  she murmured. She slid her fingers around the curve of Aloy’s waist, then gently traced her fingers over the bare skin of Aloy’s left hip.

Aloy’s belly went taut beneath her fingers, and Ikrie smiled at the instantaneous signs of her lover’s distraction: a tiny intake of breath, a slight arching of her spine and a tilting of her neck. Ikrie slowly eased Aloy’s hair to the side before brushing a line of kisses along her exposed neck.

Aloy took a shuddering breath. “Very altruistic of you, healer,” she managed to say.

Ikrie chuckled softly. “I am, aren’t I? Generous with a healing touch, that’s me.” She stroked her fingers across Aloy’s navel, then up and into her cropped blouse. Her fingers swiftly found Aloy’s budded nipple, and Aloy shuddered and tilted her head back against Ikrie’s shoulder.

Ikrie carefully teased her lover’s nipple with her thumb until Aloy arched into her palm, then slid her other arm around Aloy’s waist to stroke the bruise with genuine concern. “You’re sure this doesn’t hurt?”

“I’m sure,” Aloy said breathlessly. She grabbed Ikrie’s stroking fingers, and Ikrie smiled again as the eager redhead led her hand in a downward direction. She lightly traced the edge of Aloy’s ear with her tongue. “You trying to show me how to do my job?”

Aloy let out a shaky laugh as she arched into Ikrie’s exploring hands. “Hey, you said you needed a closer look. Just trying to help you with your, um, your… examination…” She trailed off with a distracted whimper as Ikrie suddenly released her, then stepped around her until they were face to face.

“Off with your top, then,” Ikrie said officiously. “Let me have a look at my patient here.” She folded her arms authoritatively and raised one eyebrow, and Aloy smirked before pulling her blouse off in one smooth motion.

Ikrie bit her lip to quell her sudden surge of lust at the sight of Aloy’s pert breasts. She had a role to maintain, after all. She nodded with approval, then jerked her chin at Aloy’s leggings. “I’ll need those off, too.”

Aloy flushed, even as her smirk grew wider. “You need my leggings off to look at a bruise on my stomach?”

Despite her mocking words, the redheaded huntress’s fingers were already tugging at the laces of her leggings, and Ikrie couldn’t help but grin in return before wrestling her face back into a mock-stern expression. “That’s right,” she said. “I need a really, really close look.”

Aloy was panting with eagerness as she tugged at her laces, and Ikrie watched the sharp rise and fall of her partner’s chest with swiftly growing impatience. Finally she knelt at Aloy’s feet and eased her lover’s hands aside, then tugged her leggings down.

Aloy’s hands landed on her shoulders, her fingers gripping convulsively as Ikrie’s palms slid up her thighs to rest on her hips. Ikrie leaned forward and laid a delicate kiss on the soft skin of Aloy’s inner thigh, her nose skimming Aloy’s red-gold curls in the process.

The Nora huntress’s nails bit into her shoulders, and Ikrie tilted her head back and shot her a playful look. “Seems okay at a glance, but I really have to be sure. I need you to stay upright while I really, uh… look carefully.”

Aloy grinned down at her, and suddenly they both laughed at the ridiculousness of the scenario they’d gotten into. Eventually Ikrie pinched Aloy’s hip in rebuke. “This is serious healing I’m doing here. Stop laughing.” She bit the inside of her cheek to stop her own laughter, then raised an eyebrow at Aloy again. “Ready?”

Aloy nodded. “Yeah, I – fire and spit!” She gasped and clenched her fingers against the back of Ikrie’s scalp as Ikrie planted a hot open-mouthed kiss between her legs.

Ikrie hummed happily as she brushed her lower lip over Aloy’s slick folds. The Nora huntress’s slippery musk was a sweet temptation, an ambrosia that warmed and fostered Ikrie’s own desire. Every tantalizing taste made the pulse between her own legs beat harder, like the buzzing swell of lightning that heralded a Longleg attack. Ikrie slid her tongue carefully against Aloy’s swollen clit until Aloy’s thighs were trembling beneath her palms, then slid one finger carefully into her sleek heat.

Aloy cried out, then shoved her fist against her mouth to muffle herself. Encouraged by her enthusiasm, Ikrie gently curled her fingers inside of her lover as she continued the careful ministrations of her mouth. A delicious moment later, Aloy jerked her hips against Ikrie’s face, her cry of pleasure effectively stifled by her hand.

Ikrie carefully swirled her fingers until Aloy’s grip loosened in her hair, then sat back on her heels and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand before smiling cheekily up at the flame-haired huntress. “Well, everything looks good on my end. I think I healed you.”

Aloy dropped to her knees and cradled Ikrie’s neck in her trembling hands. “I think you’re right,” she panted. “I’m not in any pain at all.”

Ikrie grinned and slid her arms around Aloy’s bare waist. Aloy ran her thumbs across Ikrie’s cheekbones before capturing her lips in a heated kiss, and Ikrie blissfully drank in the heat of her Nora lover’s teasing tongue.

Aloy was right: there was no pain to be found here. In the shelter of their tiny shared tent, there was nothing but pleasure.