Love Is War?
“You always talk a good game, don’t you.”
Ninhursag tipped back another long swallow of wine.
“Anyway, I get it. I’ll start preparing ahead of time.”
“Thanks. But listen… you’re a lightweight, aren’t you? Should you really keep drinking like that?”
At Enki’s protest, Ninhursag clicked her tongue.
“Leave me alone. I feel like drinking right now.”
“This isn’t ‘a little.’ Do you have any idea how strong this stuff is? You’re draining the whole bottle!”
The wine jar was enchanted; for all its modest appearance, it held a considerable volume. And Ninhursag was guzzling it straight, without so much as a side dish.
“Don’t be such a miser. I’ll pay you back somehow later.”
“That isn’t the point—”
“Fine, fine. I’ll stop.”
Grumbling, Ninhursag tossed the bottle at Enki. It flew wide and nearly shattered, but he conjured a hand of water from the air and caught it cleanly.
“You’re fine in every other way—it’s just that drinking habit of yours. Don’t go drinking with anyone but me.”
“Quit nagging. What have you ever done right that you get to lecture me?”
“…”
Enki shut his mouth. In all the world, Ninhursag was probably the only one who could speak to him like that—by rank or by moral standing.
“Why is it so hot in here, though?”
That was when Ninhursag’s behavior took a sudden turn. Without warning, she began stripping off her clothes. Full, elastic breasts appeared—large for her frame. She was on the shorter side, but her waist was narrow and her hips broad: the classic childbearing figure. Exactly the body Enki preferred.
“You—!”
“Whaaaat?”
Her words were already slurring. Enki could tell she was completely drunk.
“Pull yourself together!”
“Whaaat are you even saaaaying?”
“If something actually happens, don’t come crying to—”
Enki’s words cut off. No—Ninhursag’s consciousness had cut off. That had been the point of drinking so hard in the first place. This way, at least a little of the tightness in her chest would ease.
To Ninhursag, Marduk was a sore finger—one of the few sources of guilt she still carried. Even hearing his name made her mood sink and her chest ache. If she didn’t drown it in wine, she was afraid she would end up crying in the most undignified way.
What she had not anticipated was the consequence of that choice. That was the fatal miscalculation.
Uuuugh…
Ninhursag felt strangely good. Her body was jolting again and again; something kept striking deep inside her belly—and yet none of it felt unpleasant. There was a fullness, a pressure, but even that pressure was not unwelcome.
What a weird dream…
She was riding a horse—a magnificent beast with a blue mane. And somehow, the horse looked uncannily like Enki.
Hah! Run! Run!!
—Ihihihihing!!
The horse surged forward. It climbed mountains, raced across plains, rode the waves. At last it stepped on the air itself and soared to the edge of the sky. The precarious sense that she might fall only made Ninhursag enjoy it more.
This feels so good…
When she opened her eyes, she realized she was not on a horse at all.
“Nngh♡ You…?!”
—Thud. Thud. Thud.
Ninhursag was sitting on Enki’s lap. He was driving into her from behind while she sat astride him—the position that would later be called reverse cowgirl, taken from the rear.
“You—! Uuugh… y-you planned this from the start—ah♡”
“Hah! What are you talking about now? Haah… you were the one who asked for it first.”
“Y-you got me drunk just so you could—hngh♡ do this?!”
“You’re the one who drank.”
“You led me into it!!”
“Say whatever you want. You know you’re just being stubborn.”
Enki licked the nape of her neck. His right hand closed around one of her breasts; his left rubbed her clit below. Every time Ninhursag tried to form words, his deft hands broke them apart. Frustrating as it was, Enki’s technique was genuine. A man of long experience, he was exceptionally skilled at making a woman feel good.
Outwardly, in pure technical polish, the well-practiced Enki far outstripped the utterly inexperienced Sunya. Of course, stamina and physical chemistry were another matter—technique alone never decided everything in bed. But between the goddess of the earth and the god of fresh water, the fit was simply too good.
Enki’s once lean frame had filled out with muscle. As a god of water whose divinity shifted to match the vessel that held it, such a change was well within his power.
“How’s this? You’ve always been weak right here, under the belly.”
“Don’t say—ahh♡ weird things.”
“Says the one making such filthy sounds.”
His hand settled on her lower abdomen. At that delicate touch, even the womb within seemed to thrum.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it. Hah! Even longer with you, Ninhursag.”
“Ugh-ugh♡ L-long for me, maybe. Haah♡ You’re still out there fucking other women left and right!! Did you think I wouldn’t know Alulim is your son?”
“Remember who took your virginity?”
“Don’t change the subject, you bastard!!”
“Well? Better than that Enlil brat, isn’t it?”
“Why is Enlil coming up right now?”
They were not really talking. Words spoken with the mouth meant nothing here. The only conversation that mattered was the one their bodies were having. Ninhursag herself was only talking back so she would not seem to be taking it quietly.
Squelch. Squelch.
Every time Enki moved his cock, foam leaked from the place where they were joined. Ninhursag had started out resistant, but at some point she was fully lost in it. The air in the room grew thick and hot. Heated moans, wet sounds, the friction of skin on skin filled the space.
“Mmm… nngh♡”
Ninhursag twisted her neck and kissed him—far more aggressively than she had ever greeted him at the start.
“…”
“…”
The ones left in an awkward position were the attendants standing guard outside the bedchamber. In broad daylight their master was noisily fucking, and every sound carried clearly through the door. For the servants, the feelings were complicated in more ways than one.
“I’m finishing, Ninhursag!”
“W-wait—don’t come inside!! Ah-hng♡ I don’t want any more of your kids!!”
“Too late!!”
Enki’s balls clenched. Semen shot from the slit at the tip of his glans and surged, like a waterfall running backward, straight toward Ninhursag’s womb.
I should… pull it out…
If she acted this instant, she could still draw it out—the way she had once drawn Enki’s seed from Uttu’s body. But she did not want to. Whether it was a woman’s pleasure, the maternal instinct woven into her divinity, or simply the wine, she could not say. What was certain was that she was emotional, and she had no desire to break the mood by exercising her power.
That half-hearted resolve carried a price.
Ninhursag became pregnant. Between gods who had used no contraception, it was only natural.
“There’s something I’ve been wondering about.”
Just as she was about to settle in and sleep on top of Sunya, Inanna suddenly found herself curious and asked.
“Yes?”
“People talk about sexual compatibility, right?”
“Th… that’s true, yes?”
Danger. Sunya’s instincts were screaming. He could not name exactly what the threat was, but he knew he had to answer with extreme care. An indescribable dread made him tremble slightly.
“Between me and that fiancée of yours—who felt better later?”
Why ask that now, of all times? Anyone else might have blanched, but fortunately Sunya was the exception.
“I wouldn’t know.”
“What? Why not?”
Inanna’s eyes looked ready to split open. Sunya hurried to finish before she detonated.
“Because I never had that kind of sexual relationship with my fiancée.”
“…Why?”
“Even if you ask me why…”
“Then how many people have you slept with so far? Tell me everything honestly right now and I’ll let it go.”
Why are you doing this to me?
Fortunately, Sunya could answer this one with a clear conscience as well.
“You, Lady Inanna, are my first and my last.”
All the purity he had preserved—by choice or by circumstance—had been the correct answer. Every bit of karma he had accumulated was bearing fruit in this moment.
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“Hm-hm. Well, that’s a relief, then.”
Her mood lifted again; Inanna broke into a bashful smile. To go from that icy face a moment ago to such a cute smile in the next breath—Inanna truly was someone you could never quite figure out.
Well… that’s part of what I like about her.
Sunya huffed a quiet laugh.
“Sunya.”
“Yes.”
In a serious voice, Inanna called his name once more.
“You really won’t leave, will you?”
Repeating a question she had already asked once told him how deeply she worried. If that was the case, he would tell her as many times as she needed. If it would keep her from fretting, he could say it ten times, a hundred times.
“The truth is, I gave up on going back a long time ago.”
“Why?”
“I faced reality. Even if I returned home and undid every misfortune I’ve lived through, as time passed I would only lose the things I cherish all over again. I can’t reverse every loss whenever it happens. And more than anything…”
Sunya drew Inanna into his arms.
“I’ve already found something precious here. I’m not the kind of fool who throws away what he has for something he might never gain.”
“Tch. I really can’t beat you with words.”
After a while, the two of them drifted into easy sleep.
It had been a thoroughly eventful night of pleasure.