Trussed
It was, unsurprisingly, Axel’s idea.
Not that Roxas wasn’t willing to try new things-evidenced by his agreement—but Axel got around to asking first.
He said it in a casual tone over lunch, because even though they’d known each other for a while, Axel was always learning something new about Roxas. And anyway, how else does one ask? “Have you ever thought about being tied up?”
Roxas paused, fork halfway to his mouth, and raised an eyebrow. “Want to try something different?”
Axel lowered his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, a little embarrassed. “Maybe?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it. But…” Roxas gave him an appraising look, his eyes darkening. “It could be fun.” He brought his fork to his mouth, delicate and sensuous, watching Axel with half-lidded eyes as he ate.
Axel bit his lip, face reddening.
Roxas cocked his head. “Would you…like me to tie you up, Axel?” The corners of his mouth tilted up in a salacious grin.
Axel, perhaps, had intended to be the one doing the tying, but the predatory look on Roxas’s face sent a shiver of anticipation through him, and any fantasies he might’ve had of seeing Roxas trussed up were quickly replaced by something else entirely. To be at Roxas’s mercy…had as much appeal, if not more, than his original plan.
Axel propped his chin on his hand, his voice slow and deliberate. “Yeah. I think I would.”
After lunch, they turned to the Internet, and spent as much time researching basic rope techniques as they did ogling intricate shibari. Axel didn’t miss the way Roxas’s eyes flickered back at him, or the way his tongue darted out to wet his lips.
And when Axel leaned down to kiss his cheek, Roxas held him there with a hand in Axel’s hair, his lips next to Axel’s ear. “This is a good idea.”
They couldn’t do it right away—they had to go to the store to buy the rope, and then come back and inspect it, and read a few more guides—but it made a certain kind of anticipation grow between them. And then Roxas asked him to strip, and, oh, it took so much self-restraint, from them both, to not just toss the idea out the window and skip to the main event—
But that would be missing the point entirely.
So Roxas draped the rope over Axel’s shoulders, keeping to his task. Only touching what he needed to knot the rope, and adjust it, just so, and even then, Axel’s skin burned whenever Roxas’s hands brushed against him. He shifted, to test the tension of his bindings, once Roxas had tied the last knot. The rope was secure, tight enough to press into his skin, and restrict his movements, but not enough to cause discomfort. His arms were tied across his back, and that was a strange feeling.
Exhilarating, to think that he would be helpless. That Roxas could do as he liked, and Axel could do little to help or hinder him.
Axel didn’t notice the collar until Roxas was buckling the leather against his throat. “This was my idea,” Roxas murmured, attaching a lead to it. His eyes glinted in the low light, his mouth resting in a self-satisfied smile as he tugged it. “You should see yourself. You look…” Instead of elaborating, Roxas led Axel to the mirror.
“Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” Axel stared at his reflection, at the lines of black criss-crossing his skin. They were neatly placed, and beautiful.
Roxas shook his head. “First time.” And then, softer, “On your knees, Axel,” with another tug on the lead to punctuate the order.
It was, admittedly, harder to balance without the use of his arms, and he teetered forward gracelessly, until Roxas steadied him.
The spark of anticipation that had been there since the afternoon grew into a blaze in a moment, as Axel knelt there, waiting. Wondering.
Roxas’s hand shifted, from Axel’s shoulder, to his chin, gathering the slack in the leash, and guiding Axel’s face up. With Axel kneeling, Roxas had to bend to kiss him, and that was what Axel expected when Roxas’s face grew closer.
Except he didn’t.
Roxas stayed just out of reach, teasing, his breath hot against Axel’s face, and Axel made a noise of frustration, tried to close the distance between them. Roxas’s hand on his chin was firm, stopping him.
Roxas smirked, gazing into Axel’s eyes. “No. You have to ask. Very nicely.”
Axel found, when he opened his mouth, that it was very dry, and that his heart was beating erratically. He licked his lips before he could say it, but he did. “Please. Please, Roxas. Kiss me. Touch me.”
Roxas’s thumb stroked his cheek. “Close your eyes.”