It Doesn’t Have To Hurt

Summary: Written for SweetCarolAnne as part of the FandomGiftBox exchange. Caesar shows Koba that touch doesn’t have to hurt
Warning(s): AU; sexual scenes between two intelligent apes; some references to violence
Pairing: Caesar/Koba

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Caesar was worried about Koba.

He was worried about all of them, really. His fellow apes primarily, but also many of the humans. Some had deserved their fate. Some had deserved to die. But amongst all of the evil and dark they’d done, there’d been good too. And even if Caesar could never condone what the humans had done to apekind, he understood it.

A lot of his people had suffered at the hands of the humans. Some could still feel compassion for the humans. Others hated them. And still others, those like Koba, wanted to see humanity suffer. To see them die; if not at the claws of the apes, then at the hands of themselves and each other.

Night had fallen several hours before and apart from the odd whoop or grumble from his fellow apes, the only sounds came from the forest that surrounded them. The trees offered a shaded canopy for Caesar and his apes, sheltering them from both the elements and also from any prying human eyes.

But even though they were safe, or at least as safe as they could be, Caesar couldn’t sleep.

He crawled along the branch, his claws gripping the bark tightly, emerging out into the moonlight. It shone down brightly on him, giving his dark fur a silvery sheen.

Another shape sat, huddled and hunched over, on a sturdy branch opposite Caesar’s. The moon’s light picked out the scars that covered Koba’s body; cast his bad eye in sharp relief as he raised his head to see who had disturbed his peace.

Caesar carefully climbed over to the same branch his fellow ape had claimed. You can’t sleep either? he signed.

The flinch Koba gave was barely visible. He shifted his weight, slanting his body away from Caesar’s as if to avoid even an accidental brush of their two bodies. Freedom has been a long time coming, he signed back. If I let myself sleep, the freedom could easily be taken away.

I would not allow that to happen. Caesar shuffled along the branch a bit more, coming closer to Koba. He halted his movements when the other ape shrank back further, clinging to the branch for support. You do not need to fear me.

Koba turned his face away, looking down towards the ground, barely visible from their height. After several moments, he began to sign. It’s hard to be touched.

That was something Caesar could fully understand. After a brief pause, he signed to the other ape, It doesn’t need to hurt.

Koba’s whole body was tense, his claws clinging to the branch. His one good eye darted around nervously, while his bad eye stayed in place. Finally, he released the branch long enough to sign back at Caesar. I might fight you.

The other ape wasn’t exactly relaxed, but he wasn’t cringing back enough to risk falling from the branch. When Caesar moved close enough for their bodies to touch, Koba tensed up visibly; but Caesar didn’t force the contact. He allowed their bodies to brush lightly against each other and just sat there, letting them touch under the light of the moon.

Koba remained still and tense, his body vibrating with tension. But as Caesar just sat close to him and didn’t push or press, his body began to slowly relax. After several long moments, he even allowed himself to press a tiny bit closer into Caesar.

Closing his eyes, Caesar allowed himself to inhale the wild, musky scent of the other ape. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself looking straight at one of the scars covering Koba’s torso. He reached out and placed one claw over the scar, holding it there as Koba tensed up and then, finally relaxed. Then he moved his claw and signed, No one will ever hurt you again.

Koba grunted softly, pulling his lips back from his teeth in a half-nervous snarl. We should take this world back from the humans.

It wasn’t the first time Caesar had heard that sentiment from his fellow apes. Koba wasn’t the only one to want to make the humans suffer for everything they’d done. Caesar leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Koba’s for a second before pulling back enough to sign, The humans will destroy themselves. Fighting them is not our way.

You let one of them die. Koba’s hand gestures were sharp. Angry.

Caesar could have pointed out that he’d stepped aside and allowed Koba to make the decision. But it wouldn’t help. He took a few moments to decide how he was going to respond. When he did, the slow, sad gestures were a mirror demonstrating how torn he felt inside. We have all made difficult choices. But nothing will be gained from turning to violence. The most important task we have now is to ensure the survival of apekind.

Koba bared his teeth even more. We cannot survive alongside the humans.

If they continued in this vein, it would cause hostility and aggression. We’re not talking about humankind or apekind now, he signed. This is about you and me now, Koba. He let one claw brush gently over a second scar covering Koba’s torso.

The other ape tensed up visibly, once more drawing his lips back from his teeth. His one good eye rolled wildly in his head.

Caesar pulled his claw back, watching as Koba’s body relaxed and the tension bled away. He crawled closer to the other ape, brushing their bodies lightly together once more. He let one claw run through Koba’s dark fur, watching as the silver moon sheen lit it up. The light showed Koba’s horrific scars, yes, but also allowed Caesar to see every part of the other ape’s body; what was whole along with what was broken.

Once more, Caesar allowed his head to press against Koba’s. This time, he pressed their mouths together, kissing the other ape. He pressed until he felt Koba yield against him. And then, instead of pulling away, he allowed his claws to run down Koba’s back, lightly raking through the other ape’s fur.

Koba’s body was trembling, but no longer as tense as it had been. The rest of his body followed as he yielded, pressing against Caesar, which had the added bonus of allowing their members to press together.

After a few moments, Koba pulled away. With a quiet grunt, he turned his back on Caesar, presenting his rump, holding onto the branch for support.

Caesar didn’t pause. He mounted Koba, only eliciting a soft grunt from his fellow ape at the penetration. Once he was positioned in place, he began to run his claws through Koba’s fur, grooming the other ape as he took pleasure and gave it in return.

By the time they were both sated and spent, Caesar was beginning to feel the first stirrings of tiredness overcoming him. He carefully released Koba and climbed down off the other ape, waiting for Koba to face him before signing, Come and join me in the shelter. He then turned to walk back along the branch.

A few seconds later, he heard Koba following him back to the canopy provided by the trees. As soon as they were back in the shade of the trees, the two of them curled up together. Koba’s body was a bit stiff, but no longer carried the same amount of tension it had done when Caesar had touched him for the first time.

The End