Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Entrapta remembered exactly when it all began. It was probably after their fourth week during the portal experimentation, her fifth week in the Fright Zone, and exactly eleven days before she built his new armor for him. 

Back then, she wasn’t exactly aware of the way the dynamic between her and Hordak worked yet. Well, she wasn’t entirely oblivious, but since she wasn’t used to paying any mind to that kind of possible development, she’d just ignored the fact that they were growing closer for some reason. 

Apparently, she was the only one ignoring it.

That night she’d allowed Scorpia to drag her out of the lab for a girls’ night in her quarters. Normally she would’ve preferred to spend the rest of her waking hours by continuing her research, but since the new data needed at least six hours to be properly processed by the system, she agreed. Hordak had dismissed her, awkwardly, mumbling something about "the lack of necessity for her to waste her night there while work was stalling." 

So, armed with at least forty super-small and delicious cupcakes, she and Emily had found themselves on a couch, with a more than ecstatic Scopia shoving food in her plate and scrap parts in Emily’s, for some reason. Catra was only a few feet away, carelessly lying on a huge, fluffy pillow while rolling her eyes at every word the other Force Captain said.

Entrapta wasn’t exactly good at conversation. Robots were rarely equipped with a speaking device, or even with software capable of emulating human interactions and speech patterns, so she’d never really bothered to learn what was best to say or do in those situations. 

Even with the Princesses Alliance, a bit more than a month ago, she hadn’t found the time to improve her skills in that department.

“You’re really quiet, Entrapta,” she recognized almost instantly Catra’s mocking tone. After all, Catra just had two tones: the mocking and the angry, furious hissing, “Are you tired? I hope Lord Hordak isn’t consuming you too much.”

What an odd choice of words. And Catra was wiggling her eyebrows too. How weird. 

“Lord Hordak and I share the workload equally,” Entrapta reassured her, “He’s very attentive, and he’s always open to listen to my suggestions and deductions. I don’t mind working with him at all.”

Scorpia, beside her, almost choked on one of those teeny-tiny cupcakes.

“Hum-ah… We’re talking about the same Lord Hordak, right?” she coughed.

Entrapta’s eyebrows raised in confusion. Well, considering the fact that he was a clone, there were probably more Hordaks out there, but none of them had ever interacted with- Oh, right. Irony.

She nodded forcefully. 

“Attentive,” Catra repeated, very slowly, “A. Good. Listener.”

“Like every good lab partner,” Entrapta assured, asking herself why she was feeling defensive all of a sudden. 

“Entrapta?” Catra wasn’t even looking at her as she spoke, playing casually with the tiny cupcake in her hand.

“Mh?”

“Could it be, by any chance, that you like Lord Hordak?”

Scorpia gasped loudly beside them, the couch almost shifting under her weight.

Entrapta frowned, sinking slightly in a soft pillow made by her own hair.

That was indeed the silliest question ever.

“Of course I do!” she pointed out, “He’s my lab partner, we need to trust and respect each other to work together properly!”

Catra groaned, looking frustrated for some reason.

“No, I mean, like him. Fancy him. Have a crush on him.”

Entrapta still didn’t understand fully.

“Well, he almost crushed me when he fell on top of me in the lab,” she elaborated, “But he was trying to protect me, the portal machine was about to explode and he shielded me with his body so-”

Why where Scorpia and Catra looking at her in shock, all of a sudden? 

“He did what?” Catra’s eyes had never been so wide.

“He kind of crushed me then, but it’s not his fault!” Entrapta insisted. “He’s tall and quite heavy, but he was trying to help!”

Okay, Catra was covering her face with her hands now, sighing heavily.“Scorpia, can you please say something?” she protested.

“O-Oh, of course, Wildcat! Let me take care of this. Uhm, mh,” Entrapta felt Scorpia’s pincer landing on her shoulder, gently, “When two humanoids really like each other-”

Entrapta frowned. She had heard another talk beginning exactly like this a month ago when Queen Angella was trying to inquire if Glimmer had some kind of romantic interest in Bow.

That speech ended up with Angella  awkwardly explaining the basics of sexual intercourse, while Adora and Glimmer cringed

Well, if that was the same speech, why did Scorpia and Catra feel compelled to talk about this with her- Oh. 

They weren’t just talking about her. They were talking about her and Hordak.

Why did her face feel so hot all of a sudden?

“I don’t need the Talk,” Entrapta assured, her voice sounding weirdly strained, “I’m kind of knowledgeable about the mechanics of coitus, thank you.”

“Thank goodness.” Scorpia sounded incredibly relieved.

“So he did explain to you,” Catra’s tone sounded particularly mocking, especially on the word ‘explain’, but Entrapta couldn’t get why. After all, intercourse was a pretty common, natural, enjoyable interaction between sentients.That was common knowledge - even she knew it - despite her lack of experience. Catra, though, was trying to speak as if she needed to feel ashamed, even if said interaction with Hordak never occurred.

“And I thought that he had nothing between those stompy, awkward legs.”

This must have been a joke about genitalia. Well, at least that was where genitalia were supposed to be placed in humanoids. 

“I’m not aware of his reproductive anatomy,” Entrapta explained blankly, failing to get the point of the whole discussion, “Besides, I don’t see how engaging in a work collaboration with Lord Hordak could lead to me interacting with his genitals.”

“Catra is asking if he’s your boyfriend!” Scorpia finally pointed out, and her eyes looked huge and shiny as she spoke.

Oh, that did make sense, actually. Humanoids in romantic relationships usually shared coitus and spent time together. Well, Hordak was her friend, but ‘boy’ wasn’t exactly a word that made her think of him. He was certainly presenting as male, even if she didn’t have enough data to be sure that female and male designations made any sense in his biology. But he wasn’t surely a ‘boy’, a word that sounded young and naive to her. She wondered if he had ever been a boy, with tiny limbs, gentle smiles, soft thoughts. Probably not, but this didn’t mean that he couldn't be soft sometimes, at least with her. 

It was kind of extraordinary, now that she thought about it, that he’d managed to be so gentle in his own raw, sometimes rude, way: despite never experiencing that gentleness on his own. Even her robots were programmed to be kind, who had ever been kind to him? 

For a moment, the thought of him actually allowing himself to be somewhat kind with her made her feel cherished as she had never felt before. Not by sentients, at least. 

Her face was running furiously hot now, again, for some reason.

So yeah, maybe, if he fancied her, or whatever Catra had said, maybe that could be mutual. But he wasn’t her boyfriend, no - Hordak would have surely been outraged by that term alone.

So Entrapta just shook her head, surprised at her own confusion.

“We aren’t in any kind of agreement of that sort,” she explained as flatly as possible.

“Awwww, listen to her,” Scorpia cooed, sounding genuinely excited by her statement, “She talks just like him! It must be love!”

Entrapta didn’t reply, lowering her protective mask over her face as Catra started laughing on her huge, fluffy pillow. 

***

After the episode in Scorpia’s quarters, Entrapta had resolved to think about nothing but work. After all, portals didn’t build themselves.

Despite her initial resolution to pay no mind to anything but work, the back of her mind kept collecting data without her noticing.

Hordak being an inch or two closer than necessary as they consulted the data about the energy fluctuation.

Hordak staring in awe at her hair as it worked on some circuits beside him while she was fixing Emily’s leg on the other side of the room.

Hordak’s steps slowing down as he walked past her on his way out of the Sanctum, his mouth opening slightly as if he wanted to initiate conversation, only to just walk away in silence a moment later with a stern, almost frustrated look on his face.

Hordak handing her his tools personally instead of just letting Imp do it.

Initially, Entrapta repeatedly reminded herself that no, Scorpia and Catra weren’t exactly champions of the scientific method, therefore, there was no proof that their observations could be unbiased and reliable. As time went on, though, pieces of evidence kept piling up.

Then, the incident with Hordak’s armor occurred, and a lot of new data had been added to the equation. 

Hordak was a clone. He needed to belong, to fit his own species’ standards. He felt lost, forgotten by his people on a planet that wasn’t his own. Abandoned for being different, unworthy. She could totally relate to that.

His health was worrying, to say the least. 

It took her less than a second to remember that, among other findings in one of the last missions, there was a tiny, perfectly intact crystal with the word ‘Loved’ embroidered on top in First Ones’ writing.

Maybe it was a bit too forward, but Hordak could really use better armor. 

Entrapta ended up being particularly surprised by how good it felt to actually help him, take care of him. She was used to the sensation of being proud of her work, but this was something entirely different, and definitely better.

He even thanked her, in his own goofy, stiff way, and even if they both might possibly be a failure at interacting as most people did, it was heartwarming and beautiful to be imperfect together. To understand each other.

From that odd, blissful moment, it all escalated unexpectedly.

The turning point came up a few days after when Hordak was busy in the throne room, having a meeting with his Force Captains  - and Entrapta, Emily and Imp had remained alone in the Sanctum.

As her hair was busy assembling a tiny mechanism that would have helped to keep an eventual portal stable, she looked for a size two wrench elsewhere. Her eyes ended up on Hordak’s personal datapad, resting on his work table. 

She didn’t expect the sudden wave of curiosity that rushed through her. One of her violet strands took it gingerly, as if she was aware of doing something wrong. But she wasn’t, right? Hordak was her lab partner and they were working together. There was probably only data, deductions, notes on that pad anyway . It wasn’t a privacy violation, this was work, and they were working together.

As the device lit up, though, her eyes landed on something definitely unexpected. 

‘Read the Signals: A guide to the pursuing and understanding of the Etherian woman for the modern-day man.’

Well, that was...weird.

As she scrolled through the premise, Entrapta realized what this file really was. Mermista had talked about something similar while she was in the Rebellion, declaring that Sea Hawk could really use one of these manuals.

One particular paragraph called for her attention.

“ What we should really get rid of when we talk about emotional interaction, is the concept of shame. Most males who grew up in a strict environment have been raised with the hideous concept of being scared and ashamed of the act of making affection explicit. 

You’re not less of a man for being in contact with your feelings. Feelings don’t make you weak, the need for connection doesn’t make you pathetic.

Being in touch with your vulnerabilities, embracing them, is fundamental to making sure that your potential partner knows you for who you really are. 

If you want to emotionally offer yourself to anyone else, you should make sure that you’re opening up completely, first.

Everyone is worthy of love and everyone is worthy to find someone to be vulnerable with. ”

So, Hordak’s readings were focused on self-help. That was peculiar information.

She put back the datapad, placing it carefully in the same exact spot, and sighed.

Well, even if this kind of thing had captured Hordak’s attention later it didn’t mean she was the object of it.

After all, the Horde had a lot of strong, clever women in its ranks, there was no chance he would -

Her train of thought was interrupted by Hordak’s voice, and she almost jumped out of her skin.

“Day four, attempt at smooth human interaction number fifteen,” 

It took Entrapta a second to realize that this was, in fact, a pre-recorded voice. She looked up at Imp, staring at her from the top of a crowded shelf with his mouth open.

“Good morning, Entrapta,” Hordak’s deep, grumpy voice stated stiffly, “Your hair looks lovely today-” He cleared his throat awkwardly, trying another tone.

“Your hair looks lovely today,” he repeated, and the word ‘lovely’ seemed the most problematic, rolling over his tongue on a confused, very frustrated note that made abundantly clear that he wasn’t used to pronouncing it at all.

Oh, this must have been part of his experimentation. But why was he using her name? Well, maybe- Oh. 

Well, apparently Scorpia and Catra were right. 

It was weird how excited she felt all of a sudden.

“Hello, Entrapta,” the recording continued, “Your hair - Ugh!” 

A frustrated groan was instantly followed by the distinct sound of something being crushed.

“This is pointless.” She instantly recognized Hordak’s disappointment.

With her heart beating at an alarming rate, Entrapta bit her lower lip. 

Well, maybe this could work. After all, they were scientists. Solving minor issues on their way to a greater good was part of their job.

***

The next day, Entrapta woke up with an unusual excitement bubbling up in her stomach, making her even more excited than usual to go to work in the Sanctum. 

As she entered the lab, she kept reminding herself of what she had learned the night before. he also did her own research on romantic interactions, since she wasn’t naturally proficient at them either.

The book she had found in the library was definitely outdated, but could that matter? After all, romantic interactions had happened since the dawn of civilization. They were a constant. What could go wrong?

Hordak’s tall, imposing frame was already in the lab, his thick, armored arms working on a messy knot of wires.

“It appears that power dispersion will no longer be an issue in a few moments,” he stated, sounding as detached as possible. 

“That’s great!” she remarked with her usual bright smile, her hair raising her whole figure to allow her to give a proper look at the wiring. 

Yeah, the portal was, of course, their primary task, but maybe this could be a good time to experiment - with a certain amount of discretion - on this whole romantic-interaction-thing. 

Entrapta tried to be as casual as possible as she moved a bit closer, her tiny shoulder brushing slightly against his, while a thick strand of her hair braced itself on his arm, her eyes staring at his work.

His arm stiffened slightly under her touch, and the fact that she could feel it through the armor must’ve meant that his muscles were tensing far more than that.

Maybe this was the cue she had read about, maybe this was the right time. She turned her head to look directly at him, their faces inches apart. 

Then, she just followed the instructions. She batted her lashes, slowly, a couple of times.

Hordak turned his head toward her, finally noticing her stare. Oh, he’d missed the whole lashes thing the first time! Maybe she should have done it again!

And she did. One, two, three times for good measure. 

He looked… Unconvinced. Confused even. 

Well, he was an alien after all. Maybe a bit more effort was needed to cross the unspoken language barrier.

As she batted her lashes again, four times this time, Entrapta could only notice his brow furrowing.

“Entrapta?” his voice sounding formal as usual. “Is there something in your eye?”

She had to force herself not to push her protective mask on. She just allowed her hair to drag her away at a more comfortable distance.

“Yeah, sure.” she sounded a bit off as she reached for her desk, turning her back to him.

Great. The book was rubbish, absolute rubbish. If even the easiest tip about lashes had not worked, how could she move forward?

Entrapta couldn’t help but think about the picture of the refined, elegant woman on the cover. She was leaner than Entrapta, with a cute, elegant bob cut, perfect nails and a frizzy, dress. 

Well, Entrapta was nothing like that. 

She actually frowned when the realization hit her. She wasn’t like that cute, young woman, but he liked her anyway. Maybe this was why it wasn’t working - maybe she just needed to do this her own way. 

“Hordak?” She called almost casually, keeping herself busy with some gears as she gathered just the right amount of nerve she needed.

“Yes, Entrapta?”

“You know.” Gosh, these gears looked really, really interesting all of a sudden.“I think your hair is lovely, too.”

There was no direct response for a few seconds. Just the loud, metallic sound of something being dropped to the ground.

Hordak cleared his throat.

“I’m afraid my presence is required elsewhere,” he stated as coldly as possible, even if his voice sounded strained, “I’ll talk with you later.”

He was walking toward the Sanctum door in a bit of a rush when she turned her head to look at him with huge, shocked eyes.

That was it? This was clearly not the response she expected. 

This was supposed to be a cute ‘I know how you feel, I feel the same’ moment. There wasn’t supposed to be some kind of panicked escape involved.

“Excuse me?” Her voice came out a bit too aggressive, for some reason as she moved toward him, “Did I say something wrong?”

“None of your concern,” he dismissed her, without even turning to look at her “I really need to go!”

Entrapta rolled her eyes, frustrated.

Her hair moved forward to grab his torso, but despite her expectations he didn’t fight it. He grew even more stiff in her grasp, allowing her length to just turn him around, facing her.

Now that she could see him, there was a weird scowl on his face - an expression she hadn’t seen yet on his features.

“Hordak?” she called him, hesitantly.

“Yes, Entrapta?”

“Are you mad at me?” 

He raised his chin defiantly.

“Not at all,” he replied, slightly baring his teeth, “I’m furious. But not at you. I suppose Imp is responsible for this considerable and flagrant violation of my privacy,”

Well, he was right, kind of. 

“Can we talk about this?” Entrapta insisted, coming a bit closer.

“I’d rather not.”

“Why?” 

“Because unrequited personal interest is an irrelevant variable in our line of work,” he stated as flatly as possible.

Oneviolet eyebrow raised in surprise.

“Who said it was unrequited, or unwelcomed for that matter?”

It was Hordak’s time to look absolutely shocked.

“Well, I-”

“I have to be honest,” Entrapta remarked, “your capacity for observation is awfully limited for a scientist.”

Ouch, that came out a bit harsh. She tried to soften it with a wide, encouraging smile.

It took Hordak a few long seconds to realize what was actually going on.

“Oh,” was his only comment after that.

“Oh?” Entrapta asked “Care to elaborate?”

Hordak lowered his gaze, the same defiance keeping him together until a moment ago rapidly slipping away.

“I wasn’t prepared for this turn of events,” he declared, sounding weirdly defeated.

“Why not?” Entrapta asked, genuinely curious as she moved even closer, raising up on her hair to balance their relevant height different.

“I found rather improbable that someone like you could be interested in someone like me.”

His red eyes were almost closed at this point, like it actually pained him at a physical level to say those words.

This made no sense.

“Why?” She asked again, feeling almost lost in his line of reasoning.

“Because I’m imperfect,” Hordak barely muttered, lowering his head, “I’m broken.”

Well, even if she had come to know him, she didn’t expect him to be so blunt about his own vulnerabilities, not even with her. Entrapta barely registered her own hands landing on his face, cradling the sharp line of his jaw. 

Despite her expectations, he didn’t move away.

Maybe it was a good time for a kiss, or maybe not. She had read that first kisses were supposed to be special, she didn’t want him to remember theirs as linked to a moment of discomfort.

Her forehead landed on his and she just sighed. 

Hordak opened his eyes at the contact, and even from that weird angle she could see how confused he looked.

“You know,” Entrapta considered, “You’re far too smart to think something this stupid. Even if what you said was true, we’re amazing at fixing broken things together.”

She gave him her brightest, widest smile, and for once, in return, Hordak smiled back.

Well, it wasn’t exactly a smile, more like an awkward,  stunned grin, but she didn’t care.

Baby steps, as they say. 

Chapter Text

Preliminary romantic interactions weren’t supposed to be smooth, that was a fact, so Entrapta hadn’t actually expected them to be. 

She did register the fact, though, that after what she catalogued in her mind as the ‘forehead moment’, no further episodes occurred. 

Hordak, on his part, didn’t seem more relaxed, as she had hoped once the declaration of mutual interest was out. If possible, he looked even more on edge, nervous, unfocused. 

Normally she would have just questioned her methods, but in this very particular instance, maybe she should have examined the intentions more thoroughly too. Maybe he wasn’t that interested after all, maybe his species didn’t experience attraction like Etherians did, maybe…

There were so many possible variables to the equation! She needed to narrow them down if she wanted to move forward with this. 

A few days after the ‘forehead moment’,Entrapta took her chance.

It was late at night, the diagnostics on the latest expansion of the supporting system was up and running, and Hordak was at his own desk, head low as he looked at his own datapad with absent eyes.

He squared his shoulders, barely holding back a gasp as she pushed herself up, sitting on his desk.

The act of sitting this close to him, especially in an unorthodox position, was nothing new. His nervous reaction, though, was slightly more alarmed than usual despite his clear attempt to act as normal as possible.

“Hordak?” 

“Yes?”

Entrapta tilted her head, furrowing her brow.

“I think we should discuss the following procedure, if we want this to work,” she hazarded.

Why did he look so tired? This portal project was really draining him.

“We will, as soon as the diagnostic is complete.”

Oh, of course he thought she was talking about the portal again.

“I wasn’t talking about that, actually,” she declared.

Hordak’s claws were clinging very firmly to his datapad all of a sudden.

“I see.”

Entrapta gave him a worried look, her brow furrowing.

“Listen. We can ignore what happened, if that makes you feel more comfortable,” she assured him, despite not liking her own idea at all, “I don’t want you to feel pressured into giving attention to a situation you’d rather ignore.”

“What?” his voice came out a bit harsher than necessary as his eyes landed on her face, as if trying not to seem too panicked. “No, no. That is not an issue.”

“Well, what is it, then?”

“I-” Hordak cleared his throat, hiding his hesitation behind a stiff, stern expression, “I just realized I might not be qualified to pursue this project.”

“And why so?”

“Clones are not programmed or trained for emotional interaction,” he explained, his ears low as he kept his eyes down. “I’m not aware of the protocol. And my further research in the field has left me unconvinced.”

Entrapta blinked. Well, she wasn’t exactly a veteran of the field either, quite the opposite.

“What do you mean?”

“Most Etherian sources agree that it’s crucial to the beginning of every emotional interaction to spend a lot of time together and find common ground,” he explained hesitantly, “but we already spend most of our time together, and already acknowledge that we have common ground. I’m honestly unaware of how to move forward from that.”

Entrapta hummed pensively, her gloved hand scratching absently her chin.

He had a point, after all, but there was surely something more they could do to make the experience more fulfilling. There must have been something they didn’t know about each other, something they could discover together, something just theirs.

Of course physical interactions, especially sexual ones, could be a great way to deepen their bond, but she doubted jumping into that without a possibly very awkward conversation about compared anatomy could help.

After a long moment of deliberation she realized they had the answer just under their noses. As scientists they were extremely good at observing, and sharing their observations was probably a great place to start.

“I have an idea!” She finally declared, “Why don’t we just delineate the reasons why we’re attracted to each other? Maybe this could help us elaborate the next step!”

Hordak seemed slightly embarrassed by the suggestion, but he didn’t deny her. After a few seconds of awkward silence, though, he still wasn’t speaking, and his thin lips clenched in a nervous line.

“Okay, I’ll start!” Entrapta beamed at him. “I like that you’re highly intelligent. I like that we understand each other both on a professional and personal level. I like that you’re a bit of a grump-”

“I’m not a grump,” he protested, sounding weirdly uncertain. 

“Yes, you are, and it’s okay.” A long strand of her hair grabbed his hand gently. He didn’t pull back, surprisingly, when that same hand ended up between her much smaller ones, almost as if she was analyzing it, “I really like the sound your voice makes when you’re saying something out of your comfort zone. It’s like a cute, hesitant growl. You have very pretty cheekbones, and we already established that I like your hair.”

The said cheekbones were rapidly turning a darker shade of blue. He must be blushing. Entrapta had to restrain herself from just grabbing his face and squeeze it. No matter how cute he was in her eyes, he wouldn’t have been prepared for that kind of sudden contact, so she just went on.

“And I like that your hands are so big and yet so precise. They’re fascinating.”

“I thought the claws would be unlikable,” he confessed in a low whisper.

“I don’t mind them,” she shushed him, her fingers still lingering on his palm, “And I like that you don’t mind the fact that I’m weird.”

“You’re not weird,” Hordak muttered hesitantly, and it took Entrapta a couple of seconds to realize that his hand was no longer standing still, his thumb stroking slightly, hesitantly against her fingers.

“I am,” she pointed out, her eyes stuck in awe at their hands finally entangling together “but it’s okay. I think it’s your turn, now.”

He just sighed, and it was kinda  a weird, unexpected sound, coming from him. 

“I- “ He hesitated for a slight second before clearing his throat. “I appreciate how knowledgeable you are for an Etherian.”

Entrapta’s eyebrows raised. This wasn’t exactly flattering, but he was clearly out of his comfort zone - no wonder he was kind of awkward at this.

He must have noticed her perplexity cause he rephrased almost instantly. 

“I mean- Mh. I appreciate that you’re smart, very smart. And I also appreciate that you’re smarter than me most of the time.”

She couldn’t help but smile at that, even if maybe repressing the huge ‘awwww’ that just wanted so badly to come out of her mouth was for the best.

“I also admire the fact that-” Hordak hesitated slightly “-I would appreciate if you could not mention this in the future; but I really admire the fact that you don’t seem to be scared of me. Even if I’m used to people’s fear, and for many years that has been my only form of interaction, I don’t know, it’s sort of refreshing, I guess. It makes me feel… less lonely.”

Her grasp on his hand grew a bit tighter, but he didn’t move away.

“This is very sweet,” she barely blurted out, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

“I am not sweet.” It was some kind of automatic response from him, Entrapta was pretty sure of that. Normally he would have stated something like that with some kind of outraged hiss, but it was more like a soft, weak protest this time.

“Yes, you are,” she replied calmly, her hair gently cradling his shoulders, “but I like it.”

“You do?” Hordak sounded genuinely surprised.

Entrapta nodded, feeling the same warmth in her cheeks blooming on her lips, making them restless. She suppressed the need to chew them. She had read about reactions like these, this was just her body pointing out that maybe this was a good time for a kiss. 

“Yes,” she murmured, finding herself staring at his mouth. Would the fangs have been a problem? Not that she cared, she was good at figuring out solutions anyway. “A lot.”

It took her a moment to realize that his breath had growing slightly heavier, or just closer, or maybe both. 

She couldn't really tell if it was her hair, or if Hordak had leaned down on his own, but his face was a few inches from hers now, his hands planted a few inches away from her sides on the table under her.

Entrapta was feeling nervous, all of a sudden. Excited even.

“You know,” her voice came out a bit lower-pitched than she expected, “At this point the usual procedure would be to indulge in some kind of oral interaction, if you -”

“I’m aware of what a kiss is, Entrapta.” His voice too had been affected by changes pretty similar to hers, but if her own shift in tone had made her slightly uncomfortable, his had awakened a weird, sudden warmth in the pit of her stomach, almost making her squirm.

She tried to regain the slightest amount of composure, failing miserably as her eyes searched for his, only to end up back on his mouth less than a second later. She swallowed thickly.

“Excellent,” she muttered, “Would you like to-”

The babbling that surely would have followed ended up being interrupted by the unexpected, hesitant pressure of his lips against hers. They were thin, much thinner and far less soft than hers, but the contact wasn’t unpleasant at all, quite the contrary.

He remained stiff as a board against her face until she managed to gather enough confidence to kiss him back, adding a softer, warmer turn to it as her mouth searched for his a bit more intently than she expected. 

It took them a few seconds to find a rhythm that felt natural, not too stiff or too sloppy, but as soon as her mouth opened against his - because yeah, Entrapta was aware that tongues were supposed to be involved in this, at some point - he emitted some kind of soft, low groan in her mouth, and that sound, well, did things to her. 

She didn’t expect arousal to be so obvious, but here she was, her lower belly feeling on fire as her hair guided his huge hands towards her waist and her arms encircled his neck. 

He breathed slightly harder against her cheek for a moment as his fingers clung to her hips in a grasp that was just adorable but also slightly stronger than necessary.

Hordak wasn’t being too invasive, probably just allowing her to set the pace, and when her tongue finally pushed past his lips, searching for his, he seemed, for lack of a better term, extremely into it.  

The soft, low growl that she had enjoyed so much in the seconds earlier hadn’t been some kind of isolated incident, it was pretty obvious now, since every time they tasted each other a bit more deeply he was making similar deep, tiny noises. It made him sound like he was enjoying something particularly delicious.

It was weird, in a way. Hordak had never acted like he actually enjoyed any food in front of him, but for some reason the fact that he was enjoying her - her taste - was making her feel almost dizzy. 

Entrapta realized with a second of delay that her own body had moved forward, clinging to his much larger form with everything she had, hair included.

The sudden rush must have surprised him, or he must have felt a bit dizzy himself, because his balance failed him, making him almost tumble on top of her, on his work table. 

Hordak managed to brace himself on his forearms, clearly not wanting to crush her, and since the sudden stumble had caused their lips to broke apart, Entrapta finally managed to take a proper breath, regaining some clarity.

It took her a second to realize that he almost looked scared, stuck in that position, suddenly stiff as a board as he looked at her with wide, almost shocked eyes.

“This was too forward of me.” He sounded cautious, like he was about to apologize, and Entrapta knew exactly how uncommon that was for him. 

“Not at all,” she pointed out, still a little breathless, “I actually enjoyed it - a lot. All of it.”

He frowned, surprised.

“Even this,” he cleared his throat, “position?”

‘

Well, Entrapta was quite new to this whole thing, but his weight on top of her, his warmth all around her, his breath against her cheek -  were a;; feeling quite nice, very nice actually.

She was also, honestly, a bit proud of herself. Hordak’s armor on its own was probably heavy enough to crush her, but the fact that he was managing to hold himself up and lean on top of her with just the right amount of pressure was a considerable success.

That was surely her best work yet, and it came to her as a realization that she wanted that armor off of him as soon as possible. 

Entrapta took a deep breath, realizing just then that he was still waiting for an answer. Her eyes fell on the crystal on his throat, exactly where she had put it.  Her fingers lingered there for a brief second.

“I have no problem with this position at all,” she murmured, biting her lower lip. “It’s nice to be so close to you.”

“Shall I continue, then?” 

She just nodded, nuzzling gently against his cheekbone as she did.

The new kiss that followed was slightly different: slower, softer, calmer. And if the previous one felt like something that Entrapta could only describe - for lack of a better term -as hot, this one was different. This one was warm.

There was something undeniably cute to it, something Entrapta couldn’t really place due to her lack of expertise, but that was definitely there, lingering between them, silent and yet obvious.

Her hands cradled his face, on the way there grazing casually over his ears. 

They were definitely warmer than the rest of him, and in the moment she touched them, they twitched slightly, probably some kind of involuntary reaction. Something changed dramatically in that precise moment.

Under her touch, his whole body seemed to shake for a brief moment, only to hold her with a firmer, tighter grasp right after. His breath grew harsher, and one of those soft, deep groans turned almost instantly into a deep, rumbling roar that almost shook her to her core.

Hordak broke the kiss, but only to nestle his head under her jaw, tongue and fangs scraping her soft skin there, making her squirm.

“I suggest you don’t do that again.” For the first time since they met, he sounded like he was actually struggling to speak.

“Why?” Normally her tone would have been of actual, genuine curiosity, but right now, all she could do was protesti at the possibility of not touching his ears again.

“Because...” It took a long moment for him to gather enough composure to speak, between one gentle bite and the next. “I’m very sensitive there. I don’t want the consequences of my eventual lack of control to make you uncomfortable,”

His obvious concern was cute, and absolutely unnecessary.

“Do you like it, though?” Entrapta asked, trying to get a hold on her breath.

“The issue is, in fact, that I might like it a bit too much.”

Entrapta found herself beaming at him. Without any further comment, she just touched his ears again, with her hair this time, letting one of her thick strands caress the long, delicate shell there.

“What did I just say, Entrapta?” His voice came out harsh and ragged as he swallowed thickly, his jaw clenching. 

“Oh.” She was actually surprised. “I think it was obvious that, by stimulating your ears further, I was implicitly agreeing to an eventual lack of control on your part.”

It was his turn to look surprised. Stunned, even. 

Hordak’s face was particularly hard to read now, somewhere between discomfort and fascination. 

“This means that I can touch you, too?”

“If you want to touch me, yeah, sure!” She nodded enthusiastically. 

“Mh.” He rose from the table just a little, bracing himself on his hands as he started looking at her, his red eyes roaming over her much smaller form splayed on the table.

Entrapta knew pretty well the expression on his features. He was examining her, in the same way he might have examined something new and unknown. 

“Are there parts you want me to avoid?” He asked, sounding weirdly practical, “I’ve read that mammary glands are usually pretty sensitive, but since their primary function is to feed eventual offspring, I would totally understand if you’d rather I leave them alone.”

Probably, to any other person on Etheria, those words would have been an incredible let-down. Too practical, too forward. To Entrapta, this was probably the most thoughtful, romantic thing she’d ever heard. She couldn’t help but smile as her whole face turned hot.

“I’m more than okay with you touching whatever you want, actually,” she assured him as she wiggled out of her top a bit too enthusiastically, her purple strands pushing the hem up her head and folding the shirt neatly as she waited for his reaction. 

On a conscious level she was aware that the undressing itself was part of the ritual, that it was supposed to be teasing, intriguing, meant to create some kind of suspense she really didn’t manage to understand no matter how much she read on the matter.

This way it was surely practical, but also natural, like them exchanging tools as they worked. It was just a step forward in their research, this was giving her the confidence necessary not to blush too much. 

Her bra was surely not the most sensual thing around, but Hordak seemed almost hypnotized nevertheless.

“Your pigmentation is very homogeneous,” he stated, almost choking, eyes stuck on her chest.

“Uh, Thanks?” 

“They look… Very soft,” he continued, sounding more as if he was recording his observations about some strange, unexplainable phenomenal.

“They... are?” Entrapta couldn’t help but furrow her brow, “Don’t females in your species have breasts?” 

“I have no idea,” Hordak admitted candidly. “There are no females among clones. Most of us spend our entire lifetime without seeing one. Not that it matters, for rarely clones manifest sexual urges of any kind. Usually, they get discharged for that. And by that I mean terminated. A distracted soldier is a useless one.”

Entrapta felt her heart clench helplessly at his statement. This must surely  be one of the reasons why he had felt so uncomfortable at the idea of sharing his attraction. 

Her hair encircled his shoulders affectionately as her hands took his much bigger ones.

“None of this is making you weaker, you know?” She assured him in a warm, gentle whisper, “This is only meant to make us happier in the end, you know that, right?”

He just nodded, looking still a bit hesitant, eyes almost closing, just to open wider than before, definitely surprised as she guided his huge hand on the side of her still covered breast.

His touch was nervous at first, slightly incoherent as his digit sank slightly into her flesh, as if he was trying to evaluate the texture.

When Hordak finally grew slightly bolder, his whole hand opening wide to try a gentle grasp, Entrapta found herself almost gasping, a shiver running down her spine as his touch lit her skin on fire.

Her reaction made him stop immediately, and for a moment she could read panic on his face.

“Was that pain?” he investigated with a weird urgence.

“Not at all,” she assured, chewing her lower lip.

“Oh.” He sounded genuinely surprised now. “Shall I proceed, then?”

“Yes, please.” 

Hordak got diligently back to work, his long fingers grazing and grasping, even squeezing at some point, as her breath got deeper. When, probably by accident, his digits detected her nipple hardening under the cotton of her bra, he took his time to investigate exactly what it was, and how it worked. 

He probably realized that pretty soon, because, as Entrapta realized after a few minutes, everything he seemed to do was consequently bringing her closer and closer to the verge of self combustion. And she was being very, very vocal about it. Not in an articulated way - articulating didn’t seem like a particularly available option right now, but the soft, high pitched noises coming out of her mouth were probably telling enough.

“I was right,” he declared after a few more seconds, his voice sounding almost lost, mesmerized. “They’re very, very soft. And warm.”

Entrapta swallowed thickly, nodding helplessly as she struggled to find something to say, clearly too unfocused to add something relevant to that statement.

His breath grew closer on her cheek, his face moving next to hers so that he could nuzzle gently under her jaw.

“Can try and figure out if you’re soft all over?”

His words almost kicked the air out of her lungs. Before she knew it, Entrapta was nodding, eagerly so.