The sun was barely rising through the window when Feyre twitched awake from a memory turned dream and looked to her sleeping mate. She had dreamed of his visit to Tamlin in Spring when she had been human, the day he had held her mind in his power enough to make it hurt. The dream should have terrified her but she knew now why he had done what he had done. It had been only enough to scare her and Tamlin. Only enough to make Tamlin send her home to try and protect her from Amarantha. She dreamed of it often along with other memories of Rhys that he would likely consider some of his worst moments.
But this dream had caused her to snag on one small line that Rhys had quipped at Lucien: who do you think taught your beloved Tamlin the finer aspects of swords and females?
She knew that Rhys and Tamlin had been friends. Good friends by how Rhys had indicated several times over. She knew he had taught Tamlin some Illyrian fighting and sword play. She knew Tamlin had once owned Illyrian knives that she had stolen before leaving him a second time. But it was the second part of that phrase that had her awake and thinking. How had Rhys taught Tamlin the finer aspects of females.
It could have been simple advice that Rhys had given Tamlin. Advice that Tamlin hadn't taken or had turned into his own brutish way of having a female in bed. He certainly lacked Rhys' ability to flirt and seduce. But somehow, she doubted Rhys ever just gave advice. He was more of a hands-on instructor which would mean he likely had shared a female with Tamlin and some twisted part of her mind wanted details. It had been the same when she had discovered Rhys had indeed gone to bed with Helion and a female several times over several centuries before or when he had admitted to have multiple women at a time.
Well, not quite the same. She actually liked Helion and enjoyed teasing Rhys with pretending she wanted to invite Helion to join them in bed. She was intrigued by the idea of multiple bed partners at a time, the images Rhys sent her on the matter certainly made her reel, but she knew she was far too territorial to invite another female and she didn't doubt Rhys was still a little possessive given how he responded to other males flirting with her.
But when she considered Rhys sharing a bed with Tamlin, her body got excited even if her mind shied away from the details that she simultaneously craved and shut out. They were such different lovers. Tamlin had been demanding, focused more on himself than her, and saw his claws as a way to dominate and control. Rhys was demanding in a different way, placing her pleasure well above his until she would cry and beg for him to let her have him. But, in the same measure, he never demanded control when she wanted to take charge. He simply laid back until primal instinct took over.
"What is going through that cruel wicked mind of yours?" Rhys' voice was husky from waking.
"Why?" She turned on her side to face him and saw his eyes dip over her naked body.
"You know why," he smirked at her and reached to stroke a hand down her side, down her thigh, and under her bottom to pull her in closer so she could feel his hard length.
"I had a dream and it got me thinking," she admitted as his mouth started a lazy path of kisses from her ear down her jaw and throat.
"And you didn't think to bring me into the dream?" He demanded, pulling back to look insulted. It was a trick the two of them had learned together, bringing each other into dreams. Often it was foreplay to what would happen when they woke but sometimes it served to soothe nightmares.
"You were already there, sort of," Feyre admitted.
"And what was I doing?" Rhys smirked at her, his violet eyes twinkling with stars.
"You were talking to Tamlin and Lucien," she told him and he stilled against her. "It was the memory when you visited Spring when I was mortal. When you held my mind." She explained. She felt Rhys draw away from her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry for what I did and said that day."
"I'm not," Feyre smiled at him. "It's led us here." She pressed a kiss above his heart.
"So how, pray tell, does that memory have you needing attention?" He stroked a finger through her center and she bit back a moan.
"You mentioned you taught Tamlin the finer points of females," she tried to keep her mind focused on the question at hand. Which became exceptionally easy as Rhys drew back completely.
"You're thinking about what it was like with him," Rhys accused.
"More or less the difference between the two of you," she pulled herself back against him. You know I have no care for him, she thought down the bond. "But I've been thinking about your particular style of teaching and thought you might have a decent story about you and Tamlin sharing a female."
"Tamlin and I never shared a female," Rhys' voice was oddly measured.
"Oh," Feyre settled her head back against Rhys' chest, tucking her head under his chin. "I just thought since you're such a hands-on teacher you had to have shared a bed with him and another female. You don't normally just rely on words. Though that could explain why Tamlin is somewhat of a brute in bed compared to you."
"Feyre, Darling," Rhys sighed. "I can't believe I'm admitting this," he buried his face against her shoulder she felt his cheeks go hot with a blush.
"So you two did share a female," Feyre laughed, feeling triumphant. "I knew it!"
"No, Darling," he peeked up at her. "We didn't share a female… Tamlin was a female."
Feyre blinked and blinked again as she processed the words. They didn't make sense. Tamlin was a male and she knew that very well. There wasn't a way for that to change… unless… "He shapeshifted," she announced out loud and Rhys nodded, his golden cheeks a brilliant crimson.
That was certainly not a possibility she had ever considered. She had shapeshifted herself into Ianthe once to save Elain from the heart of Hybern's army, but she limited using her shifting power to her wings. She had never considered that she could shift her gender. She certainly never considered that Tamlin would shift his gender. She had only ever seen him shift into his beast form.
"We were young, and drunk, and… curious," Rhys tried to explain.
"I don't suppose I could bribe you into showing me?" Feyre asked.
"I'm not exactly proud of this, Feyre," Rhys pulled back to stroke the hair from her face. "I convinced him to shift. Convinced him to let me have him. He was inexperienced and didn't want to be so I offered to show him on himself. It sounded like a wonderful plan at the time. He wasn't exactly willing at first but I talked him around to it."
"Well, if ever you're ready to tell me or show me, I would like to know," she pulled away from him to slip out of bed. She did need to get up and get ready for the day. She had a class to teach in a couple of hours that she needed to set up for.
"Fine," he breathed out and darkness beckoned to her down the bond. She followed after it and found herself by the pool of starlight in Spring looking at Tamlin as she had known him. It seemed he hadn't changed in the centuries between this moment in Rhys' memory and when she had met him.
"Rhys, I don't know about this," Tamlin rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. "I'm not even sure I can do it."
"You can," Rhys purred. "I can guide you. Then I can show you exactly what to do with a female."
"As if you know what to do with a female," Tamlin huffed. "I saw you get turned down multiple times just last week when we had to visit Winter."
"I wasn't actually trying," Rhys said, his mouth pulling into a smirk that Feyre could feel on his/her face. "Well, you could always ask your brothers." Rhys turned to walk away, a calculated move.
"Fine," Tamlin sighed. "How do I…" Rhys turned back to see Tamlin blushing vibrantly.
"Allow me," Rhys' smile became feline. Feyre spiraled with him into Tamlin's mind, pushing aside barriers of thorns and vines to access his power. A few guided tugs later and Rhys was retreating out to stare at a very beautiful blonde female that was now swimming in the shirt and pants that Tamlin had been wearing.
"Cauldron boil me," Tamlin's voice came out of the female making Feyre flinch and Rhys laugh.
"Now," he stalked over to Tamlin and started kissing his now much more delicate neck, brushing aside golden hair to do so. Rhys pulled Tamlin into him, pressing Tamlin's now full breasts against his chest while he sucked on Tamlin's pulse point.
It didn't take long for Rhys to be able to scent Tamlin's arousal. Feyre half expected it to just be Tamlin's body reacting and for Tamlin to not be into this, but when Rhys stepped back she could see the desire in Tamlin's still green eyes.
"Now what?" Tamlin asked, breathless.
"Now we lose these clothes," Rhys told him, already vanishing both of their clothing with a burst of power. Rhys gave Tamlin an appreciative once over, gloating over the form he had guided Tamlin into. Slender with defined curves and heavy breasts. "Look at you," he breathed out. "Stunning."
Then he all but attacked Tamlin, not taking any time to explain as he licked, bit, and stroked every part of Tamlin's body. It wasn't long before Rhys was mounting Tamlin and to Feyre's surprise, Tamlin seemed to be enjoying it completely. He begged and moaned shamelessly, his deep voice coming from that female's body. And then he shattered followed shortly by Rhys. Then they separated rolling to lay next to each other in the grass next to the pool.
"Rhys," Tamlin whispered after a few moments.
"Hmmm?" Rhys hummed in response.
"You didn't actually teach me anything," Tamlin reminded him what the whole purpose of this was. And a feral smirk lit Rhys' face.
"Of course, how silly of me. Allow me to teach you," he rolled back on top of Tamlin once more.
Suddenly Feyre was back in her body look out of her own eyes at Rhys, his cheeks still inflamed with a deep blush.
"How many times did he fall for that before you actually taught him anything?" Feyre asked, realizing what Rhys had done.
"We didn't leave that pool until the following day," Rhys admitted. "I felt terrible about it after. Ended up giving him some Illyrian blades to assuage some of my guilt."
"Huh," Feyre stood up, stretching out her spine.
"Huh what?" Rhys asked.
"I don't think Tamlin feels as terrible about it as you do," she grinned at him.
"What do you mean?" Rhys asked, his gaze burning into her back.
"Nothing," she glanced over her shoulder at him but Rhys was no longer there. Instead he was standing in front of her, his hands finding their way to her hips to hold her in place.
"What do you know, you cruel, wicked, mate of mine?" Rhys demanded and it was Feyre's turn to smirk at him.
"Tamlin took me to that pool when I first came to Prythian in one of his attempts to woo me. When I asked what the place was, he told it was one of his favorite haunts as a boy," she grinned at the odd look that cross Rhys' face. "And in that memory you shared, Tamlin did not look unhappy with you needing to mount him again to show him." Another thought dawned on her. "And he wore those knives almost all the time. I thought it was just because they were better blades, but perhaps it's because he wanted something you gave him close."
"That's absurd," Rhys rolled his eyes and stepped away from her.
"Then answer this," Feyre called as she walked into the bathing room. "Did he ever try and approach you for lessons again?" She glanced at Rhys and saw him blush again, giving her her answer without using words at all. "Did you ever take him up on it?" Another blush. "How long were you two a couple?"
"We were not a couple," Rhys growled. "We just had sex occasionally."
"Alright, how long did you two occasionally have sex?" Feyre asked. For someone who felt bad about persuading Tamlin into it the first time, it seemed to have gone on often enough that Rhys was embarrassed.
"The last time we were intimate was a week before he sold out my mother and sister to his family," Rhys' voice was soft.
And just like that her teasing was cut short and she was punished for even asking. They had had some sort of relationship beyond friendship for over two centuries and it had ended with the slaughtering of each other's families.
"You think he actually enjoyed it?" Rhys asked coming to stand behind her in front of the mirror.
"Well, I know what it's like having sex with you. I keep coming back for more," she teased earning a smirk from him. "And I bet some good memory made that pool his favorite haunt."
"You know, I showed him that pool. He didn't know it was there," Rhys bragged.
"I think you're just proving my point," Feyre turned to press a kiss to his cheek.
"Well, he certainly is over it now," Rhys reminded her, kissing her nose. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" She demanded tracing the whirl of one of his tattoos.
"I should have told you that I slept with Tamlin," he admitted.
"Well, I should probably tell you I slept with him too," she told him fighting to keep her expression earnest. It earned her a chuckle from Rhys before he turned her loose to start her morning routine.
As she braided up her hair and dressed a wicked thought entered her mind. It was all she could do to wipe the smirk from her own face as she made her way to the dining room where Rhys was already seated alongside Azriel, Mor, and Elain. He had already loaded her plate with a slice of quiche, a muffin, and fresh cut fruit.
"Good morning," she chimed as she sat down next to Rhys. She received the greeting back from her family and turned an ear towards Mor who started to brag about the new shop she had found in Winter.
What has you so amused, Darling? Rhys spoke down the bond.
Amused? Me? She attempted to feign innocence.
Yes, you, came the sensuous laugh that made her bones shiver.
I was just thinking about our conversation this morning and what you showed me. It got me wondering about something. She tried to phrase it carefully.
What more could you possibly wonder? I showed you what it was like, he glanced at her.
It got me wondering about my shifting powers and what more I could do with them, she clarified.
Oh?
Rather than answer in words, Feyre sent one wicked image down the bond of Rhys on his knees before her as he had been numerous times. She felt his intrigue just before she pulled the image back to show he knelt before a male with her coloring.
The table shook as Rhys' knee banged into it and he began to choke on his food.
"No, Darling, just… no," he managed to get out, forgetting all of the eyes on them or that he wasn't speaking down the bond anymore.
"What is going on?" Mor demanded.
"Nothing," Rhys smoothed his face back into its normal cool, confident state just as Feyre sent another image of her male form behind him, his face contorted in pleasure. He choked again.
You cruel, wicked creature. Whatever am I going to do with you? He demanded down the bond when she started cackling out loud.
"I'm not sure we want to know," Azriel told Elain and Mor. "In fact, I'm going to suggest we leave." It took less than twenty seconds for them to clear the room at the suggestion.
"I suppose if you are set on that, Darling, I should show you want you're doing," Rhys rose from the table, took her arm, and winnowed them to the bedroom.
"What about my class?" Feyre tried the feeble attempt as he laid her down on the bed. "Already taken care of."
Then he proceeded to pay her back for the images she had sent by making her beg for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon.
A/N: So... I've had this idea for awhile where Tamlin and Rhys slept together when they were friends and it's just one more reason Tamlin dislikes/feels betrayed by Rhys. So here's my attempt to write it out.
I'm also officially out of ideas so feel free to comment/pm with prompts modern au or canon.