Waiting
Jim stayed seated after the doctor had finished up. He did, predictably, feel a bit sick after having blood taken. His message to Poppy was short, and he barely acknowledged her on arrival, but he knew she didn’t much mind. His quiet sulks were much preferred by the team to his worse moods, whether that was his rages or the dangerously unpredictable playful ones.
Besides, getting up and acknowledging Poppy might have made her notice the pallor he expected he had, or the little plaster on the crook of his arm. The team didn’t know about Sebastian’s tigantrophy and the most plausible reason Jim could think of for he and Seb both having blood tests done was… embarrassing: a couple getting STI tests together before making the conscious decision to stop using condoms.
The fact that Jim had been coming inside Seb for months now was neither here nor there. The thought of being thought to be doing something so horribly domestic twisted Jim’s insides.
He was thoroughly glad when Sebastian suggested food. Jim had initially hoped to strip Sebastian the second the doctor gave the all clear, but his body clearly needed a bit of time to settle. He felt cold and light-headed after the blood loss, but that would certainly pass after the amount of food Seb always saw fit to order.
And Seb was having to order food, evidently having realised that he couldn’t reheat their leftover goat without a kitchen. If the cartons had been nearer Jim would have picked at it cold anyway. As it was he looked around for where he had tossed his shirt. Although the smell had offended Sebastian hadn’t it? Yet it was still in the room, so if Jim kept his distance wearing it perhaps that would be fine? He could hardly ask Sebastian to give him a loan of a sweatshirt until he’d eaten and the cold, wobbly feeling had passed. It was humiliating enough Jim had been seen in Seb’s teeshirt after the tiger incident.
Sebastian seemed no worse the wear for his own bloodletting, but he did have a lot more to spare. He’d been a very good boy for the doctor, ridiculously content in the knowledge that Jim was probably going to do bad things to him afterwards, and having something made by Caruso’s talented hands bolstered his good mood further. It hadn’t escaped Jim’s notice that simple things like having another man tell Seb to open his mouth and stick his tongue out had done the opposite to Jim’s good mood. It was wise of Seb not to quip or wink at him during that or Jim might have done something far more inappropriate than invite the doctor into Seb’s bedroom when they were both shirtless.
Seb hadn’t missed Jim’s possessive feelings either, not that he could have missed the reason why Jim had growled and drawn Seb’s blood himself. Sebastian smiled, seemingly pleased with the jealous attention, and gave Jim’s exposed weapon a pointed look as he teased.
Jim scoffed at him, amused despite everything. “You already promised me your fingers in your arse today. Letting anyone else in there would be overkill, don’t you think?”
Jim’s smile faltered a bit. Shooting the doctor and pistol whipping your lover for a prostate exam was hardly a normal urge to have, was it? Jim had been resentful enough about that happening weeks ago… but now he felt even more unreasonably possessive. Sebastian Moran really was making him more unstable by the day.
~
“I promised no such thing,” Sebastian had the chutzpah to point out, mumbling under his breath. “It’s what you said I would do.” Although the result did probably amount to very much the same thing – as no doubt Jim would prove to him later.
For the moment he stayed conspicuously glued to the seat of his chair, while looking around, his face a bit pinched and pale around the nose. If his shirt was what he was looking for – Sebastian picked it up, opened the door and unceremoniously dropped it – outside.
He also held his tongue, and any impulse to usher the man to the bed to lie down. Helping was one thing, mothering Jim Moriarty quite another.
From a cupboard he retrieved a sweatshirt which he lobbed over to Jim, who eyed it dubiously. No haute couture, but it was as soft as only beloved pieces of clothing became - worn and washed so many times that the colour had faded to an indiscernible blue, with the print on the front largely gone. Then he placed a water bottle in front of Jim and finally a still wrapped but somewhat mangled chocolate bar, a remnant from his stash under the bed. The three items made for quite a Spartan first aid kit, but… Caruso would soon have a much better one on the way?
“Not that I don’t find it hot,” Sebastian nodded towards Jim’s weapon’s holster, “but the doc just declared me fit for duty again.” So it was a bit ignominious if Jim deemed it necessary to carry a gun in his bodyguard’s bedroom. (It would also not be of much use under a sweater).
Sebastian flopped down onto the bed again, in a way that left enough room for a second person, but avoiding the presumptuousness to invite the person in question.
~
Jim looked at Sebastian and managed a mocking smirk. “It’s hardly for my benefit,” Jim said of the proposed fingering in faux indignant tones. “Excuse me for thinking you’d find it easier to readjust to increasing your duties if you weren’t too bloody sore to sit or walk.” Jim raised a brow. “By all means, Sebby, if you want your subordinates to see you limping and bleeding through your trousers for the next few days I am perfectly willing to force myself into you and make do with merely your blood as lubricant.”
Sebastian’s ears turned a very fetching colour, whilst at the same time his face managed to finally match Jim’s current paleness.
Too tired and tetchy to continue teasing, Jim looked away. He poked at the tender part of his inner arm as he debated internally whether he felt too nauseated not to limp stiffly himself.
Jim glanced back around as Sebastian moved towards Jim’s abandoned shirt. It was almost annoying, how well Sebastian could recognise his needs. Or had Jim become predictable?
Sebastian had evidently become quite the opposite, as he shocked Jim by walking right past him and throwing the shirt into the hallway.
“What the actual fuck, Moran?” Jim demanded. Surely a little bit of blood loss couldn’t make Sebastian irritable enough to need rid of the shirt’s scent. He didn’t have Jim’s shitty circulation, or Jim’s rotten temper.
Seb ignored him, which was just asking for a good, hard slap in Jim’s opinion. Sebastian continued on, surprising Jim further by retrieving a jumper and lobbing it at him. Jim caught it awkwardly, his fingers and inner arm twinging a little as he did so. Nonetheless Jim squeezed the fabric in his ragged little fists.
Absofuckinglutely not.
Sebastian brought over a water bottle and a sorry-looking chocolate bar. Jim stared at them hard.
Sebastian finally spoke, but only to… ask Jim to remove his chest holster? Jim was hardly going to shoot him for bringing what Jim needed, and besides, being comfortable enough with Sebastian to forsake wearing weapons was how Jim had gotten himself into such a risky situation when Seb had grown whiskers and massive teeth.
Sebastian retreated to his bed whilst Jim frowned and considered.
“I’m going to need the gun to shoot anyone who sees me in this hellish monstrosity,” Jim groused, pulling the soft, blue jumper over his head and not removing his weapons, although only because he felt sickly and self-conscious and they brought him comfort. His arm ached some more, but it would pass soon enough. Hopefully the same could be said for his stinging pride.
Jim avoided Sebastian’s gaze, not ready to see surprise or smugness, and focused on ripping into the chocolate instead.
“Thanks,” Jim muttered after a couple of mouthfuls, resentful and self-conscious and nonetheless grateful for Seb’s efforts.
Jim focused his attention on the remainder of the chocolate bar, and on taking some water. He was sure he normally felt better more quickly than this, but perhaps he was a little run down. The past few days had been intense, as indeed had the previous month. Between work and researching Sebastian’s symptoms and getting distracted by how Moran was turning his life upside down, Jim hadn’t so much been burning the candle at both ends as burning multiple wicks at once.
And things wouldn’t get better any time soon. There was a fuckton of work to catch up on, because Jim’s concentration had gone to shit lately, and he still had to find a cure for his man.
It could wait a few more hours though. Fucking Seb’s brains out would give Jim some focus, and then he’d get down to work. Food would be with them soon, so he might as well conserve some energy until then.
Jim groaned and got up. He crossed the room and placed his water on the beside table, then nudged Sebastian over and draped himself across the man’s broad chest. The bare skin exuded a very comforting heat.
“Don’t let me fall asleep,” Jim said in clipped tones, face turned away from the blond, “and give me a nudge before anyone comes up, or I really will shoot people. Even if it’s Caruso.”
Jim breathed in Sebastian’s scent, snug in the man’s ugly clothing, and shifted a little so his pistol wasn’t digging into either of them.
~
Of course Jim would wallow in explicit descriptions, malignantly surpassing even Sebastian’s more… robust fantasies. Making him awkward and uneasy, and reminding him that this was essentially not a game designed to cater to his wishes. They might be met as a beneficial side-effect of Jim indulging his own, or surpassed, or disregarded entirely.
Jim watched this realisation sink in with a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. He had this knack for bringing Sebastian up short before he could get too comfortable.
Just as he had the knack of behaving like an obnoxious, tyrannical feline – resentfully eating your food, then mobbing you away from the spot you currently occupied, of course not in order to recline there, but on top of you. Claws poised to sink in, should you dare to move.
This was the image Sebastian had to resort to to keep his hand from doing anything stupid like settling into the black hair, or on the edgy shoulder blade beneath the soft, faded sweater – the only parts of Jim he could see, pinned down as he was. But yes, it was nice. To feel Jim’s weight settling down on him, jaw and chin in the dip of his sternum, his warm breath ghosting over his ribs settling down too after a while, until it was in sync with his own. And even if that meant Jim had fallen asleep – Sebastian decided to disregard his instructions only a little while longer…
He startled awake at the notification sound of his phone – which counted as a nudge, right? - and struggled
with it one-handedly to type a reply.
[knock and leave fool outstanding]
Fucking auto-correct.
But whoever brought the food got the gist, because a minute later there were footsteps, followed by a knock (on the doorframe, given the wrecked state of the door) and retreating footsteps.
“Food’s here,” Sebastian murmured, “I’ll get it.” He stirred, enough to underline the suggestion, but not enough to dislodge his occupant.
~
Sebastian was the perfect pillow, until he jerked jarringly upright as his phone went off. Jim narrowed his closed eyes and reluctantly came to terms with the fact he’d need to get up and take Seb’s fucking hideous jumper off for the sake of appearances, even though he was comfortable and cosy.
Sebastian reached for his phone and texted a reply significantly longer than ‘K’. Jim judged by the level of tension in Seb’s body that he could probably stay where he was a little longer. If Jim had his usual self-restraint he’d have gotten up immediately, but he was feeling unusually lethargic.
Footsteps approached, making Jim slowly crack his eyes open. They paused before becoming visible through the claw gouges in the door, then retreated, without him needing to move. Good.
Jim stayed limp, liquid as a sprawled cat, when Sebastian finally spoke. The food outside needed retrieved.
“No,” Jim said petulantly. “You’re comfortable.”
Sebastian might be the one with supernatural senses, but Jim could hear those blond brows rising. And Jim ignored them, or pretended to.
He stayed where he was, deliciously cosy still but no longer truly comfortable.
Jim huffed and slid over Seb’s side, rolling sulkily onto the mattress. He then gave Seb a kick for both appearances and to soothe his miffed feelings.
“Go on then,” Jim grumbled. He sprawled flat on his back, not bothering to watch to see if Sebastian would obey. “For someone who gave me a list of things he didn’t want to play with, you’re not exactly showcasing what a good boy you can be.”
Sebastian was very still for a moment, but then he got up and fetched the food.
Jim found himself sidling into the warm space Seb had vacated. The fabric of the bedding smelt just a little like the man.
The scent was lost as Sebastian opened the food containers and released the aroma of cheesy pasta. Part of Jim was a little put out by the prospect of eating like a poor person, but his stomach burbled interestedly regardless.
Jim sat up, then conceded Sebastian’s side of the bed so the man would have somewhere to sit.
“We have a perfectly good dining room,” Jim sniffed even as his hands went out to take the bowl Seb offered him. Blue sleeves slipped down his arms and he paused, tugging them up to his elbows and frowning as he tried to prevent one cuff rubbing against his little Elastoplast there.
At least the sleeves submitted more willingly than Sebastian usually did. Jim took his food at last and supposed it didn’t remind him too horribly of his youth. Now he was closer he could differentiate the different expensive cheeses Caruso had used, and the meal looked far from bland with broccoli and peppers giving the dish colour.
Sebastian settled in beside Jim, and silently reminded Jim that his close proximity was far preferable to civilised dining.
“I suppose this will do,” Jim muttered haughtily. He leaned back against the headboard and smiled around his fork as he took a first bite.
Wordlessly Jim hooked his ankle lightly around Seb’s. Possessively.
~
“Yes, this will do nicely,” Sebastian mumbled around the first bite of heavenly cheesy pasta, after he had settled down beside Jim. Ever so slightly he rotated his ankle to give Jim’s a better hold. Just casually enough that one could dismiss it as … accidentally. Much nicer than their posh dining room, once in a while at least. Carefree (these were his own sheets!) and yes, comfortable.
Jim suddenly looked … almost fragile and achingly young, in his oversized sweater, sleeves pushed back up… Something about him fiddling with the sleeve, about the soft, slightly frayed fabric against his pale, almost translucent skin in the crook of his elbow, the small shadow around the plaster there, squeezed Sebastian’s heart with a sudden, affectionate surge of protectiveness…
But god forbid Jim sensed or even saw any of this, anything that might be construed as tender shit, any silliness beyond the protectiveness defined by his job description, otherwise Jim would fly into this face and give him tender shit.
~
Jim felt a glimmer of a smile stretch his mouth around his fork as Sebastian shifted to make his ankle sit more comfortably with Jim’s. Entirely awful, the way a warmth flooded Jim’s chest that had nothing to do with the comforting, hot meal.
They ate in companionable silence. If the squelching of the pasta could be called silent. Jim briefly wondered whether Sebastian could hear their food being digested.
Jim better not have caught anything. That would drive him fucking mad! …er.
Afterwards, Jim took the dishes and put them on his side since the bedside table on Sebastian’s was already piled high with cold leftovers.
Jim swallowed a sigh. He was tired, sated, and horribly content. He quite wanted to curl up against Seb in his oversized, hideous, lovely jumper and nap.
So instead Jim removed the jumper and glared away any interest from Sebastian.
Jim gathered the various food containers and crockery and ignored the twinge of his cut feet.
“I’ll be back before your results are due,” Jim said. He gave Sebastian a burning, filthy, mocking look up and down. “You might want to make sure you’re cleaned up for whatever I’m going to do to you… especially if I’m likely to break any skin.” Jim winked as he added, “I am also going to be watching very thoroughly when you stretch yourself out for me.”
Jim left, taking his shirt with him.
~
The food was delicious, as was anything coming out of Caruso’s kitchen, and, after ingesting half a goat, Sebastian didn’t even complain about the lack of meat. The meal left him lazy and content and looking forward to resuming their nap, even more so when Jim divested himself of the jumper.
Anticipation turned into disappointment when instead of settling down to resume that basking cat impression on his chest again, Jim got up, … gathering the dishes?
Why not buzz someone over to deal with that?
Before he could utter that suggestion, the Look Jim gave him instantly froze the process of Sebastian melting back into the sheets. It seemed to set his skin on fire, and his ears followed suit, when listening to the instructions.
A few minutes after Jim had left, Sebastian was staring at a bunch of utensils in his bathroom cabinet he had not put there. And they confirmed his suspicions that ‘cleaning up’ was meant to be more thorough than taking a shower. Rubbing a hand across his face he murmured a curse before he reached for them.
The second part - taking said shower – was more enjoyable. During the past weeks he had almost forgotten the pure, unadulterated joy of a hot shower on full blast – without pain, without fumbling around festering wounds and swathes of bandages, washing his hair without caring about which course the stream of soap suds took … He shaved the stubble off his face and as for other parts… well, he decided on a bit of a trim. For one, Jim liked neat and tidy, and it might put the little snobbish connoisseur in a good mood, secondly, the absence of too much snaggly hair in sensitive places seemed beneficial in Sebastian’s own interest too…
Inevitably his thoughts kept circling around what he might have gotten himself into, around the fascinating… freaky collection in the underbed drawer, until his heart was pounding with a mix of adrenaline, arousal and a pinch of dread. It almost felt like bathing before a ritual, one you only had the blurriest ideas and fantasies about, not knowing where it would lead, shivering with anticipation, but the back of your mind whispering that you might end up as the sacrifice…
Something curled in his belly… but it was less akin to fear than to the exhilarating feeling of stepping out of a plane into the night sky at thirty thousand feet. Free-falling for twenty seven thousand before you pulled the rip cord.
Just that this time there might not be one.
~
Jim paused in the hallway and put his burden down so he could dress. He grimaced at the cool slide of shirt fabric over his already pebbled nipples and sorely missed the vile tent-sized rag of Sebastian’s. Disgustedly, Jim smoothed his hair into something less casual and retrieved everything intended for the kitchen. His hands weren’t happy and neither were his feet, protesting all the time he had spent on them today already.
Jim ignored the discomfort. Next door could see he was laden and someone rushed to let him in. Poppy offered to take the things and Jim finally relented.
Then he frowned.
“Why are you up and about? Shift change was ages ago.”
“Dara’s sick, and I couldn’t sleep anyway, so I’m just making up the numbers,” Poppy said.
“There’s no need to make up the numbers; there’s nothing sensitive enough happening today that we can’t manage being a body down,” Jim said as he walked with her to the kitchen. Someone else jogged after them to open the kitchen door and Jim almost rolled his eyes. He was capable of opening a door for Poppy when her hands were full.
But of course they weren’t wrong to do so. In one of his moods that would be enough to send him flying off of the handle, and no one could afford to take risks with his temper.
Jim felt wildly frustrated. He stalked into the kitchen with Poppy at his heels as the door closed behind them.
Poppy was barely given the chance to set everything down on the kitchen table before Jim spun her around and sent her towards the door again with a brisk slap on her arse. “Get yourself to bed; that’s an order, soldier,” Jim said. “I’ll inform Eamon.”
Poppy’s gaze flickered like she couldn’t tell whether he was in a good mood or a bad one, but she gave a crisp nod. A soft ‘thanks, sir’ lingered in the air once she had gone.
“I’d have had your hand if you’d tried that with me,” Mrs Caruso said.
Jim raised his brows. “I wouldn’t dare be that familiar with you,” he said wryly. He began separating what had been placed on the table into leftovers for the fridge, rubbish, and dirty dishes. He wasn’t one for chores, but sometimes having something to do with his hands helped.
“I’m beginning to wonder whether the kitchen’s beating was a ploy to get me to cook for you more,” Caruso said, checking the temperature of the leftovers then moving them to the fridge.
Jim snorts. “Seb says he’s booked a guy to come out to start getting it in order. Although he might sabotage that if he thinks he’ll be missing out on your dinners.”
Caruso returned, opening her mouth to respond, but then frowned instead. “You’re looking a bit peaky.”
“I’d have preferred ‘handsome’,” Jim grumbled. “I’m fine.”
“You always say that,” Caruso said. “Sit there; I’m going to heat you some soup and you aren’t going to argue this time.”
Jim immediately protested, “I am fine!” Although that was probably far from true.
Caruso tutted. “Even if you are, we already have one member of the team feeling poorly, so we’d better get some of my Sicilian chicken soup into you to make sure you stay that way.”
“But I’ve just eaten!” Jim said.
Caruso gave him an arch look. “Like you said earlier, you’ve been burning lots of calories buggering Sebastian. You’ll eat.”
“I didn’t come here for this,” Jim snapped, but he found he didn’t have the energy to fight. “And Sebastian’s waiting.”
“Then you can tell me the reason whilst I make this warm enough,” Caruso said. Archly she added, “And that poor boy’s behind could benefit from the rest, if the way you had him sitting earlier was any indication.”
“It was Seb I wanted to talk about,” Jim sighed. He glowered at Caruso’s interest. “Don’t get your hopes up. Just… practical things.”
“I’m listening,” Caruso said.
Jim looked away. “All going well, Seb’s going to increase his duties again soon. I need you to keep an eye on him. Mother him if you think he’s pushing himself too much.”
Caruso stared at him for an uncomfortable moment. “And whose pride is that for?”
“Just do it,” Jim said shortly, pushing away from the table.
“James,” Caruso pressed.
Jim refused to turn around, but he reluctantly paused. Waited.
“With all your brains, it must occur to you that not everything has to be a weakness. Stability is good. Having someone to watch your back, to look after you-”
“Finish that sentence and you’ll find yourself in the flower beds,” Jim said with a calculated coldness he rarely used. He left before Caruso could call his bluff.
Despite his fizzing mood, Jim found Eamon and relayed the staffing update. Eamon wisely kept the exchange short.
Surprisingly, Jim’s unstable nerves felt soothed the closer he got to home. Jim stripped in the hallway at the sound of water running. He found Sebastian in the shower and padded into the room quietly.
Sebastian turned anyway.
Jim felt like his atoms would spill everywhere if he wasn’t touching the man. “I guess I should join you, if the smell of my shirt’s so abrasive,” Jim said softly.
~
Sebastian had been luxuriating in the scent of his new shampoo, which had ‘mysteriously’ replaced his no name discounter stuff. He wasn’t sure about the ulterior motive… Whether it was because the little possessive narcissist liked to smell himself on Sebastian or because of Sebastian’s habit to bury his nose in Jim’s hair whenever he thought he’d get away with it. Or for the benefit of Sebastian’s blond hair itself?
Whichever it was, it brought a little smile to Sebastian’s face. While he liked high quality things, in fact found them indispensable when it came to weapons, gear, tools, motors and, to a lesser extend, food and clothes (everyday teeshirts exempted), the point of smearing something in his hair that probably cost more than a packet of high velocity rounds, just to rinse it out again, eluded him.
But yes, it did smell really good, although the best thing about that scent – it being physically attached to Jim – was missing. Something that seemed about to be rectified.
Unless the scent’s association conjured up hallucinations of a naked Jim. Sebastian grinned and moved aside a bit to make room. “If you’re not afraid using the ’for blonds' version; might be detrimental to your intellect?” He held up the bottle questioningly, and as an offer to help.
Also, although he’d learned to never mention he noticed such things, he was touched by Jim’s considerate gesture of stripping off his offensively smelling garments outside. Well, not so much offensive or abrasive, just ... distracting.
Someone else’s blood – it was the smell of an intruder.
~
Jim snorted and gave Sebastian’s rear a squeeze before slipping into the space Seb had made for him.
“Is that sorry attempt at humour to remind me you want to be gagged?” Jim purred, flashing Seb a quick smile before dipping his head under the stream of water to wet his hair.
Before Sebastian could manage more than catching his breath, Jim edged closer, pressing his back against Seb’s wet chest. He could count on one hand the amount of men he’d trust at his back, especially when Jim tilted up his chin and closed his eyes as he did.
“Behave,” Jim warned wryly as he felt Sebastian’s interest grow.
It took a beat for Sebastian to wrangle his concentration around to actually washing Jim’s hair, but when he did, it was worth tolerating the infraction. Jim breathed slowly as Sebastian’s fingers worked into his scalp. The shampoo smelt much the same as Jim’s own, the ingredients only marginally different, but it was vastly more pleasurable to have someone else - to have Sebastian - massage the product into Jim’s hair.
Sebastian seemed to take much longer than necessary, but Jim did not find himself impatient for once. When Seb finally finished and nudged Jim towards the shower spray, Jim’s lightheadedness felt almost like drunkenness, like he’d been up all night and forgotten quite how to move properly. Seb shielded Jim’s face with a large hand as he rinsed suds from Jim’s hair, protecting Jim’s eyes.
Jim twisted, shifting under the water to look at Sebastian, and pushed back his dripping hair when it threatened to fall forward into his face.
There was a weight on Jim’s tongue, like words about to be formed, but Jim stepped back under the water again, wary of speaking when his moods seemed so fragile. Sebastian reached for something to wash Jim’s body with and that’s when Jim finally paid attention to Seb’s own.
Jim grinned, a slow, predatory thing that spread like a fracture across his bony face. He stepped close to Sebastian, their wet feet pressing against each other, and trailed his fingers down to a welcome surprise.
“That’s a flattering look for you,” Jim said, fingers moving from the cropped hair to the exposed skin.
It was. Sebastian looked bigger than ever when he had less blond curls to hide within.
Jim tugged unkindly at the remaining wet hair. “Sensible too, should I cage you.” Jim feigned a sympathetic grimace. “Nasty, uncomfortable things. Sometimes they pinch.” Jim yanked until he forced Sebastian’s breathing to catch, then curled his free arm around the man.
“But you don’t mind if I play a little roughly with you, do you, my Sebastian?” Jim asked calmly, flicking his gaze up towards Seb’s.
~
To be allowed to touch Jim was a rare pleasure – restricted by both clearly defined rules and unspoken boundaries, so of course Sebastian made the most of it when he got the chance. He would have tended to every single one of Jim’s hairs individually, and every inch of his skin, could he have thought of any excuse for needing a week for the procedure … Exploring every curve of Jim’s skull, finding the spots that made the line of Jim’s brow relax, feeling the tension of his neck and shoulders ease…
Naturally, Sebastian had no means to will his body into feigning disinterest, but even that only prompted a lazy and rather playful caution from Jim.
Equally thrilling was the reward Sebastian received for his own grooming efforts – a slow, rapacious look and a compliment both. Whose tickling effect Jim of course deviously nipped in the bud by mentioning pinching cages. For a moment Sebastian regretted his honesty about the Like and Dislike list, but in the end those were all idle thoughts. Their understanding had been reached, long before that. Jim would do as he liked, and Sebastian had stepped out into free-fall long before tonight. The only ripcord in existence being Jim’s reassurance to keep him, to some degree, whole. For all that was worth, coming from the epitome of mood swings. For whatever ‘a little roughly‘ meant.
But … that was neither here nor there, not any more.
“No, I don’t mind,” Sebastian breathed, after his breath unhitched, and Jim’s gaze, unblinkingly sinking into his own, surely saw the even deeper truth behind that: It didn’t matter.
’My Sebastian’ -
“Yours.”
~
Jim gave Sebastian such a fiery look it was a good thing Jim already had an arm around the man.
“When you say it like that I’m tempted to flatten you into the wall and take you right here,” Jim announced in a growl. Sebastian shuddered against him in no semblance of a refusal.
Jim tutted. “As pleasant as it would be to claim you this very second, that would interfere with our plans to play.”
Jim raised a brow. “I trust you are amenable to our cutting this delightful shower short in favour of withdrawing to the bedroom, pet?”
If Sebastian had any protests, they stayed lodged firmly in his throat. Jim switched off the water without looking and pushed Seb firmly out of the cubicle.
Sebastian glanced hopefully towards the door. Jim held him in place by taking hold of the man’s wrist and gave it a brief but firm tug.
“As delightfully easy as it is to break skin when it’s wet, precious, you are not traipsing sodden along
my corridor leaving puddles on my good floors,” Jim admonished. The threat was not as ominous as it might otherwise have been had water not been dripping heavily down his own face from his soaked hair.
Jim smoothed it back with one hand; droplets hit Seb’s face and chest from the movement.
With his other hand Jim reached for a towel. Instead of tossing it idly in Sebastian’s vague direction, Jim spared a few moments to wrap the thing around Seb and make a start at towelling the man, like the blond was a beloved, old Labrador and not his favourite killing machine, his pet tiger.
Sebastian didn’t seem to know what to make of it. After a moment Jim didn’t either; he pulled away without a word and grabbed for a towel of his own. They had agreed no plans for what could uncharitably be considered tenderness.
Jim moved to the bedroom and stiffly indicated Sebastian ought to follow.
Jim ignored the man momentarily, or at least avoided looking. Jim finished drying, a small frown marring his brow, then he smoothed his expression and tossed his towel aside.
Jim lifted a pillow from Sebastian’s side of the bed and threw it to the floor. Sebastian looked at it, evidently recognising the unspoken direction but uncertain of following it.
Jim didn’t push. Their plans would bring Moran to his knees soon enough.
Jim opened the underbed drawer with his foot. First he lifted a heavy bottle of lubricant, and spared Seb a smirk. “You’ll be needing that.”
Then Jim made a show of thinking. “Now, let’s see: a toy.”
Jim retrieved a plug, jewelled because he was a magpie at heart, and placed that on the bed. An open-mouthed gag followed. “It’s likely for the best if you can’t sass me when I have so many implements at hand, but it seems unimaginative to rule out use of your mouth,” Jim said.
Jim made a show of retrieving his most brutal method of impact play. He brought it to Seb and grazed it against the man’s skin, with a murmur of, “Terribly easy to break bones with this toy.”
Jim drank in Sebastian’s expression then threw the toy hard at the bin, where it landed with precision and an ominously weighty noise. Jim avoided Seb’s gaze as he continued, “I promised you nothing too rough.”
There were other toys to be culled too, but Sebastian needed not be privy to that. Jim heard the man find his knees on the pillow provided.
“Restraints,” Jim said brightly. He pulled out a set of padded cuffs attached to a spreader bar.
Jim lifted a whip and returned to Sebastian. He looped the curls around Seb’s skull and tilted the pretty head upwards.
“I cannot emphasise enough how your inexperience,” Jim quirked his lips mockingly, “your being untouched, pleases me.” Jim held Seb in place and kissed him firmly enough to underline his words. “I shall certainly introduce you to the sting of my whips, tiger, but not for this game. Something special deserves its own moment.”
Jim removed the whip and tossed it back to the drawer.
“So,” he said, looking pointedly at the bed. “My selection of what you like.”
Jim pulled three more things from the drawer, giving Sebastian a good look at each before placing each on the bed. A heavy metal cock cage that opened on hinges to reveal shining spikes inside. A dubiously small plastic cage with pads and wires and a remote control that had an ominous electric bolt symbol. A fine, rattan cane that could cut skin but would snap if used at a force that would bruise.
Jim’s voice was smug and cruel and rich with desire. “Your turn again, Sebby. Which of these three is joining our playtime?”
~
They did make to the bedroom, resisting the alluring diversions – Jim being tempted to fuck Sebastian then and there against the tiled bathroom wall; Sebastian almost melting into the big towel Jim rubbed him down with, which led to a strange little spot of awkwardness on both sides. Which Jim seemed to shake off much quicker, leading the way, with Sebastian falling in behind him, teetering between eagerness and trepidation…
Jim discarded his towel with the casualness of someone completely at ease with his nakedness, wearing it just as suavely as his bespoke suits and expensive shirts, while Sebastian, usually unbothered by that state … felt it – naked. Bare. As always with Jim in close proximity, as if the mere presence of the man was enough to strip or singe or flay the skin off his body.
Which might not be far from the actual truth, emphasised by the underbed drawer Jim kicked open with a flourish and the pillow he dropped from the bed to the floor. Sebastian was rooted to the spot, breathing slowly to keep his bearings under a flood of mental images of what was to come. Jim gave him a bit of time, but not too much and not without subtly raising the tension. The pillow and the (ominously pint-sized) bottle of lube were both a gesture of kindness and the very poignant hint he’d sorely be in need of them.
Heart beating in his throat, Sebastian watched Jim slowly, thoughtfully, carefully making his selection from the drawer. The plug didn’t much faze him (even though he wasn’t sure whether its flamboyance was flattering or humiliating, probably a bit of both). Sebastian tensed at the sight of the vicious-looking rubber whip, before Jim, true to his word, binned it. The selection grew and Sebastian’s stomach did a little flip and squeeze, slightly flustered by the epiphany that his imagination had been a tad limited regarding gags and restraints.
As if reading his mind, Jim pointed out that such a degree of inexperience … - Sebastian tried not to look too crestfallen, because yes, he understood that Jim must find this quite tedious – wait, he… didn’t? It … pleased him?
This, as always, inevitably caused a vexing flush of heat rise in Sebastian that seemed undecided where to go first.
But Jim was only half done yet, just with his picks from Sebastian’s ‘Approved’ list.
At some point Sebastian’s knees had hit the pillow. He wasn't even sure when that had happened, but the position felt strangely … grounding, not a bad thing while following the ongoing selection. Not moving, he had difficulties finding his voice, staring at the three items resentfully - two cages and a cane. Jim’s expectant, gleeful silence was thick in the air.
“Well, if you can’t choose, Sebby, I’m happy to help,” Jim purred, his hand slowly inching towards the creepy little implement that seemed designed for frying someone’s balls. Sebastian unfroze. Staying on his knees, he lunged forward, grabbed the cane and pushed it into Jim’s hand with a barely suppressed snarl.
~
Jim chuckled delightedly, at Sebastian’s discomfort as much as the choice itself. That was a precious thing, the way Seb’s face twisted and his skin pinkened - but he stayed on his knees and played along. Jim curled his fingers comfortably around the cane.
“There’s my predictable boy back,” Jim smirked. This version of Sebastian had been missed in the lead up to the turn. Jim raised a brow and teased, “You should have let me pick the electronic cage for you; it’s not charged.”
Jim’s grin bloomed across his face, cruelly amused, and he shrugged. “Too late now of course.”
Sebastian gave him a hot look that would have frightened a lesser man. Jim drew closer to pet the man’s hair instead. “Don’t sulk; Daddy’s going to have fun with you- I promise.”
No such promise had been given that Sebastian would have fun, and the fact burned in Seb’s gaze as he looked up. Jim grinned and petted him a bit more, twirling the light cane around the fingers of his other hand. Then he stepped back.
Jim swept the rejected toys into the drawer and kicked it closed. Sebastian flinched a little at the noise of toys crashing together, and his shoulders stayed tense afterwards.
Jim sat on the cleared space on the bed, comfortable in his nakedness and Sebastian’s nakedness and Sebastian’s naked discomfort.
“Here’s what’s going to happen, petal,” Jim said, voice firm and mocking and lilting soothingly just a fraction. “You are going to give me a lovely show, stretching yourself nice and wide for me. Then this friendly little plug is going inside of you, prettying you up, and to keep you ready for my dick when I decide to fuck you.
“You are going to let me bind you, and gag you, and beat you, and when I damned well please, I am going to fuck you belly down on this mattress - good and hard - just like I promised you.
“There will be no safe words. You will be able to make noise, and I welcome you to do so, but you will be unable to freely speak. There will be no alternative failsafes; no stopping or adjusting once I have begun. I might ask for your input on how many strokes or where and have you respond with your vulnerable fingers, which should behave themselves for their own sake, I am sure you realise. I do not promise to take any of your feedback into account.”
Jim looked Sebastian over analytically. Weighed the trepidation and excitement.
Jim slowly brought the cane to Sebastian’s face, moving in a way that made it clear a blow was not imminent, and rested the implement just under Seb’s chin. Jim met the man’s eyes seriously.
It was too late to say no, even if Sebastian wanted to. Jim’s smoulder made that very clear. But the question came slowly, like the touch of the thin cane, suggesting Jim might spare a little time should Sebastian need to find his nerve.
“Are you ready to begin?” Jim asked.
~
Jim’s hands – slim and strong, graceful and capable of… anything... always had a hypnotising effect on Sebastian. Like now - that brief, almost imperceptible tightening of sinews and knuckles, as his grip settled slowly around the cane. Which Sebastian had handed to him, because it seemed the lesser evil compared to getting his privates electrocuted…
What?! It - wasn’t… ?
When Jim blithely informed him the thing wasn’t charged, Sebastian cursed through his teeth, before realising – “Now that isn’t necessarily true either, is it?” He glared at the manipulative little bastard, who had the bloody gall to mock him for being predictable. “Well, compared to you, anyone is, so that’s no great feat,” Sebastian murmured testily. Insolence was certainly extremely unwise towards the man who’d have raw and unlimited power over him shortly, but since the gag had already been decided on anyway…
Sebastian tensed under the conflicting messages of Jim’s hand stroking his hair, and his other one twirling the cane.
All this... was certainly stupid, reckless, and downright dangerous.
But in the end – all technicalities and details of which tools and toys to use were as irrelevant as splitting hairs. The only thing that fundamentally mattered was that Sebastian wanted this.
Of course he did, just as much as Jim did.
That’s what had brought them to this moment. To this point where he handed all power over to Jim and Jim did with it as he saw fit. As it would please him. In a way, this sounded easy. But it wouldn’t be.
Taking the line of least resistance was not what either of them was here for.
A hard, adrenaline-driven pulse thrummed through Sebastian’s body while listening to what was going to happen - every lurid, embarrassing and delicious detail, explicitly devoid of any promise or assurance that not just Jim would enjoy it but Sebastian too. Which was bound to egg on his obstreperous and defiant streak… but also left him feeling giddy, almost drunk, and unspeakably turned on.
No way back. Good thing he did not want one...
The tip of the cane came to rest under his chin and after a few seconds Sebastian raised his head until his gaze met Jim’s. Smouldering darkness and wildfire.
~
Jim smiled slyly as Sebastian voiced his suspicions about the toy’s lack of charge, and indeed, Jim’s relationship with the truth. “By all means darling, if you want more than one thing from your ‘No’ list I am entirely happy to accommodate you. Do you want to test whether I’m being honest about the charge?”
Sebastian’s expression was darling.
Jim yanked Seb’s hair a little, although his touch was no less affectionate for it. “That’s what I thought,” he said sternly.
Jim chuckled fondly as Sebastian openly sulked. The blond muttered cheekily, eying the cane with mistrust and something more guarded, that made Jim return to playing with Seb’s hair approvingly. Seb glanced up briefly, uncertain how to interpret the warmth of the prideful, possessive petting when the dreaded and anticipated cane remained in view. Sebastian feeling off-kilter brought Jim further satisfaction. Seb would have that feeling in abundance in the next while.
Jim pulled away, clearing the bed a little to lecture Sebastian on just what the man had let himself in for. Sebby listened attentively, his breathing already ragged.
Sebastian’s agreement came quicker than Jim anticipated, and was all the more welcome for its weight and enthusiasm.
Jim tapped the cane ever so lightly against Sebastian’s skin, little but affection in the touch, then tossed the implement quietly onto the bed at his side.
Jim looked Sebastian over. Softened his gaze.
Then dove at the man, hooking Seb’s throat between thumb and forefinger with enough force to knock Sebastian from his knees onto his back. Sebastian’s quick reflexes were swift enough for his arms to raise defensively, rough fingers curling around Jim’s bare arm. Jim curled his free hand carefully around Seb’s skull and neck as they fell, cradling them protectively before they hit the ground and taking the impact with his own, thin arm. Sebastian’s fingers twitched, but they didn’t push Jim away. Sebastian brought his gaze to Jim’s instead, the interest in his blue eyes sending enough heat past Jim’s stomach that Seb’s own was in danger of being skewered.
Jim squeezed the sides of Sebastian’s throat playfully, just enough to get a good feel of Seb’s pulse. With one arm under Seb, Jim was somewhat trapped himself, but he grinned victoriously as he crouched closer.
“Need a little confidence boost before you put your fingers in your lovely arse for me?” Jim whispered throatily. Sebastian flushed so darkly Jim could feel the rush of heat, of blood, through Sebastian’s broad chest, pressed delightfully against his own.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jim murmured, and ground shamelessly against Seb as he stole the man’s mouth in a possessive kiss.
Jim tried to keep his subconsciousness alert to any buzz or bleep from a device, there was surely a mobile or two around here that would alert him when the doctor had their results, but it was difficult to think of anything other than how much he wanted to mark and fuck Seb. The writhing, eager, naked body beneath his own. His impossible tiger.
His-
Jim growled impatiently against Sebastian’s mouth. He could let Seb prepare himself now, right? Then he could just keep Seb plugged until the doctor signed off that Sebastian was definitely well enough to be tortured a little.
Jim sucked Seb’s lower lip then pulled away, easing his hand out from under the other man. Not having to be careful of Seb’s injured shoulder any more was very convenient. Idly Jim noticed his grinding had left a very sloppy approximation of his initials on Sebastian’s stomach, which made him twitch even as he smirked and leaned forward again just enough to pinch both of Seb’s nipples.
“You seem warmed up to me,” Jim said, and reached for the lubricant.
~
Jim was the master of confusion, and Sebastian’s reactions were a mix of reflexes going haywire and malfunctioning completely. Between a hand in his hair and one on his throat, between a light tap with the cane and a reckless push, he’d been bowled over with only a touch of resistance. His shoulders hit the deck and the back of his skull - - did not. The jarring impact he heard was Jim’s elbow and knuckles that took it. Like another wordless reassurance that Jim would look out for him as Sebastian was about to give up any power to do so himself…
That was exactly what was going to happen, and Jim’s eyes sparkled with a triumphant ’Gotcha‘. Sebastian huffed, slightly exasperated, because yes - hook, line and sinker. But of course, nothing was ever enough for the little fucker, he had to keep needling him, until Sebastian was flushed from head to toe and kissed him back viciously, grinding back against him, until Jim was just as short of breath as himself.
“Sure you’re gonna last long enough?” Sebastian murmured with a suggestive look at the glistening trace on his abdomen. “You might wanna -” he hissed, as Jim cut his cheeky recommendation short with a sharp pinch that made Sebastian's hips twitch and Jim grin more widely.
After all, bound to await permission, Sebastian would have to show much more self-control than himself.
Which would probably be easier if he saw to the preparations himself. Not just because that’s what Jim told him to do, but also considering the state of Jim’s hands. Sebastian pushed himself up on one elbow and took the bottle of lube from Jim’s fingers, opened it and squirted a good helping of it into his palm.
Christ. This was awkward - and he knew Jim knew, of course – so all the more reason to give the little bastard an eyeful rather than too much reason to gloat. “You might have to dismount for me to do that,” Sebastian muttered, “I’m not Houdini.” He very lightly bucked his hips, jostling Jim a bit, who was still sitting astride him with that fucking Cheshire kitten face…
“Any particular wishes as to where you want me?”
~
Jim’s grin was wide as Sebastian tried to force him to dismount, snark and all. Perhaps it oughtn’t have been, surely Moran deserved a painful consequence for his daring, but Jim felt something bubbling bright in his chest all the same. Jim had probably laughed genuinely more in the time Sebastian had been in his life than all of the decades before that added together.
Sebastian seemed dryly unsurprised when Jim stayed precisely where he was, even as lubricant threatened to spill down Seb’s palm or between his fingers. He was a handsome man, especially with his ugly clothes discarded, but that was almost irrelevant to how Jim felt about Sebastian.
No one else would dare speak to him that way, true, but there was no one else in the world - and there never had been - that Jim didn’t really mind being snarked at by. Jim allowed Seb all manners of insubordination and it didn’t truly feel… bad?
Sebastian had asked Jim to move, but only so he could follow an order Jim had given him; one that embarrassed Seb greatly. The words didn’t matter really, not when Sebastian did things for Jim even when they made the blond uncomfortable?
Except they did matter, all the things Seb muttered. Because Jim would never tolerate that from anyone else. There was too much at risk.
It felt oddly safe when Moran backchatted. Domestic, in a nice sort of way. Even if it twisted Jim’s insides and frightened him in ways Jim hated to examine, that warm, bright, bubbly feeling overpowered everything else.
Jim wondered if Sebastian could tell? Jim had only ever had to hide spiteful glee before Seb. Actual joy, the type that felt like it glowed right through Jim’s skin, had to be more than just a shine in the eyes and a certain stretch of the lips, surely?
Jim glanced back uncertainly. One of Sebastian’s knees was raised since being knocked to the floor, and Jim pressed against it a little. It felt grounding, comforting, that strong piece of Seb under the messy blond fuzz, that couldn’t tell a thing about how Jim felt.
Any particular wishes as to where you want me?
Jim considered briefly, giving Seb’s leg a quick hug as he allowed a small line of thoughtfulness to openly cross his forehead as he considered the safer topic.
Except it wasn’t safer, not exactly. The answers Seb might expect were unassuming enough, but so many things rushed to mind that Jim would rather carve out his tongue than say: here, forever; with me, always; I don’t care where you are as long as you’re near me.
Jim gnawed lightly at Seb’s raised knee in lieu of kissing it.
“Depends,” Jim said. “You can stay here on your back, so I can see your face and your hands all at once. Or you might be more comfortable on the bed, if you can manage not to grind off against it, given your worries about lasting.” Jim graced Sebastian with the wickedest, most flirtatious look in his arsenal. “Of course, I hardly need tell you I won’t let you hide your wonderful face when I put you to work.” Jim tilted his head in the direction of the mirror. “Whichever way you face, I want eye contact.”
Jim pushed Seb’s leg aside and dismounted before Sebastian could say much of anything - although behind the look of horror it looked like some variation of fuck right off, Jimmy was taking up space on Seb’s tongue. Not that Sebastian was ever so familiar as to use Jim’s name.
Jim settled between Sebastian’s legs and crawled onto his stomach. “I could help a little, if you want me to,” Jim murmured. He pressed a possessive kiss against Sebastian’s opening, and curled his arms up around the back of Seb’s legs. “Show you where those fingers go?”
Jim met Sebastian’s gaze intently, then dipped his head and licked pointedly all the way up Seb’s crease.
~
Jim had turned away before Sebastian could savour the rare, unbridled joy in his eyes as long as he would have liked to. It evoked a strange little flutter in Sebastian’s chest, because it was so… unguarded, there was almost something of a child in it. Just like in that shy little gesture of hugging Sebastian’s knee and burying his face against it. Sebastian felt small, sharp teeth pressing into his skin, but very obviously with no intent to hurt. Just a playful nibble. Chewing on his toy?
Then, in a blink, the sweet, strange little interlude had passed and slipped back to what was Sebastian’s very own ... awkward predicament. There was nothing remotely innocent in Jim’s gaze now, nor in his ‘wishes’ and the options he gave Sebastian. Who listened with rekindling embarrassment and defiance both… eye contact? Seriously? But of course, Jim had never meant this to be easy for him, that would completely defy the purpose and the fun of it.
Processing, Sebastian tilted his head to meet Jim’s eyes in the wall-length mirror, at the same time trying to somehow keep the warming lube from dripping and going anywhere it would be of … no use.
Namely not on Jim’s hair, as he changed position, flopping off his perch on Sebastian’s midriff and settling back in between his legs. Oh dear fucking god, he really wanted a front row seat didn’t he? Wait, what, he wanted to - -
Sebastian was about to point out the dangers of sepsis due to Jim’s lacerated fingers, when his brain screeched to a halt with a full-body shiver, as Jim’s tongue demonstrated what exactly he meant by a little help.
“Oh fucking… Jesus…” Sebastian choked out, “I don’t know if that is …” He heaved in a shuddering breath as Jim blatantly did it again. “This might not….” he croaked, then the back of his head thumped back to the floor. He felt Jim chuckle against his wet, tingling skin. How ... was he supposed keep functioning when what Jim was doing just now was creating a molten heat that started to melt his very bones…? He jerked when teeth nipped his perineum, admonishing him for dripping lube onto his shoulders. With a ragged breath Sebastian snatched back his slippery hand, blindly groping the floorboards in desperate search for something to hold on to.
~
Jim didn’t exactly mind the sudden grip on his shoulders, even though it resulted in smears of lube across his bare skin. It was very difficult to mind anything at all when Sebastian - his mouthy Sebastian - was failing to string a sentence together and reduced to the most delightful garbled noises instead. The tiniest of attentions to some rather sensitive areas had Seb’s big, strong body squirming so helplessly; it was impossible not to thoroughly adore that. To adore Seb.
Jim bit the man anyway, and the trembling hand withdrew.
Jim pressed his mouth close and hummed in faux cogitation. Sebastian startled, and set about scrabbling ineffectually at the floor some more.
“I don’t remember telling you to lie there and take this like the bitch you are,” mused Jim in a mocking tone.
Jim flicked his tongue a few times off of Seb’s opening, which produced a noise from his tiger that didn’t sound particularly human.
“Pillow princesses aren’t generally my type,” Jim told the damp skin. “I like my men with a bit of spine, and here you are, doing your best impression of a whimpering blancmange.”
Jim nudged Sebastian with his nose, then mouthed him some more with sinful skill. Seb’s fingers twitched with such a violent intent they seemed to be imagining slender Irish throats.
Jim abruptly paused, and peered up over Seb’s flushed genitals. Jim forced a stern look, but let his eyes sparkle in their true amusement.
“I said I’d help you, not do all the work.”
Jim flicked a finger carefully and not at all kindly off of Sebastian’s puckered skin. The smile in his gaze turned to a simmer.
“Does Daddy need to warm your bottom for you already, you naughty, lazy, precious boy, or are you going to behave yourself and help with your chores like you were told?”
Jim gave Seb’s opening a glancing but still effective little slap. Sebastian’s gasp was the most beautiful thing Jim had ever heard.
“Your finger goes here, little lamb,” Jim scolded. “Daddy’s licked you all nice and wet, but if you don’t work your clever fingers in here you’re going to have a very tender, sorry fuckhole later.”
Jim knuckled Seb’s opening gently using the hand he hadn’t punched a mirror with, what seemed like a very long time ago.
“You’re going to be sore tomorrow, but you don’t want to be too sore to enjoy playing for the next few days, do you?” Jim asked, dipping back down to lick and suck Sebastian enough that the blond didn’t simply kick Jim for being a dreadful prick.
Jim reached for Seb’s wrist, half-expecting to be batted away. “Come on, tiger, we make a good team. I’ll kiss you open, even try to keep you relaxed, but you need to man up and show me how many slick fingers you can push inside yourself, because you’re my good boy, aren’t you, pet?”
~
Jim was lucky his wickedly skilled ministrations drained all strength from Sebastian‘s body, so his response to the demeaning little mockeries was a mere twitch of his leg instead of a kick. Jim wielded his tongue in ways that were nothing short of… debilitating. Reducing Sebastian to mindless lust and at the same time needling him into indignation and fractiousness. With a rather sorry attempt at a baleful glare, his eyes met Jim’s as he looked up, first at Sebastian’s face, then pointedly at the proud, unmistakable evidence of his arousal.
No one but Jim hurled him into such a tempest of utterly conflicting urges – he wanted to throttle the devious, beautiful bastard, kiss his feet and lick his hand; to open his veins for him, yet snap every single one of his sorry little bones, he wanted to growl and snarl and bite and … to melt into a blissful, helpless puddle on the floorboards when Jim as much as looked at him.
“Didn’t want to interfere,” he muttered, and managed an ironic inflection: “You helping me with my chores… ” Jim flashed his teeth at him, pointing out what a good team they were.
Sebastian swallowed but didn’t resist as Jim tugged at his wrist.
Remembering what the requirements were – eye contact – Sebastian drew himself up into a half sitting position and wriggled around a bit, just enough to find some support against the bed. Since the first helping of lube had been distributed to largely unhelpful places by now, he grasped the bottle and got a second one. Curling his fingers, he coated them thoroughly.
Eyes on Jim’s. Which were hungry and dark and positively gleaming.
“Eye contact has one flaw, you know,” Sebastian breathed, licking his lips. “For you I mean.” His hand travelled down, while he drew one foot closer, bending the knee to cant his hips for better access. “You’ll miss part of the show.” He’d also miss Sebastian not strictly limiting himself to given orders. But, it also had not been explicitly forbidden either, and so, closing his hand around his cock, he gave himself a few slow, measured strokes. Which was only a moderately good idea in terms of lasting. And also judging by the narrowing of Jim’s eyes.
Sebastian bit back a grin, his hand wandering further down, his slick fingertips evoking the echo of the exquisite, lingering sensation Jim had bestowed on the sensitive area - even more sensitive when wet and exposed. He exhaled quietly, a bit shakily, then pushed one finger inside, felt the muscles twitch, then give... Felt the heat around that one digit when slowly working himself open, more heat rushing over every inch of his skin, especially when a harsh whisper from Jim prompted him to reopen his eyes. When had he closed them?
But no, he didn’t want to miss Jim watching, riveted, whispering lewd little encouragements, and it was at once breath-takingly intimate and ...mortifying.
~
Jim was pleasantly surprised by the lack of resistance from his rather melty tiger on the floor.
Somehow Sebastian managed to wrestle with the laws of physics to obey Jim’s command, and he rose up from his puddles self into a man capable of sitting up and arching back against the side of the bed.
Seb was an impressive specimen in all ways.
Jim smirked breathily as Sebastian pointed out the flaw in the eye contact rule. It was unfortunate that Jim couldn’t watch everything at once, but he was losing nothing by watching Seb’s gaze. Sebastian was wonderfully expressive and every intimate emotion he felt showed on his face and blazed in his eyes. He was, without any doubt, perfection.
A perfect brat too, because a flare of mischief in his gaze preluded Sebastian gripping his dick, touching it deliciously in ways Jim had certainly not authorised. Jim glowered at the man but could not bring himself to say stop, because who could, when gifted such a view?
Still, Sebastian’s hand wisely drifted lower, and Jim felt singed with heat and desire all over, like he was filled with more hot blood than he had the skin to contain. Seb’s fingers worked over and in and out of himself, and Jim was certain he could feel his body expanding with the feverish heat the sight provoked, feeling floaty and flushed and-
“Eyes open, Sebastian,” Jim chided in rough, hushed tones. He wasn’t sure why his voice was so low. Perhaps his vocal chords were trying to follow all of the blood that had raced beyond his belly.
Sebastian’s pale lashes opened at once then flickered under a brow briefly creased in confusion. Seb seemed momentarily lost, then grounded in the sight of Jim, and flushed as hot as Jim felt. Sebastian’s collarbone was shining prettily enough for pride of place in a confectioner’s window.
Jim looked from Seb’s face to the man’s fingers then back up again. Then Jim surged closer and licked the shining sweat from Seb’s clavicle.
Sebastian paused, fingertips still trembling but wrist suddenly still. Jim nudged his forehead into the side of Seb’s face.
“I didn’t say stop,” Jim whispered. He trailed his fingers down Seb’s damp belly, unable to tell the smears of Seb’s precome from his own. Jim grasped Seb firmly, and wasn’t sure why his body’s response to the resulting catch in Sebastian’s breathing was a surge of adoration as much as lust. This was certainly as close as Sebastian would ever come to a ring on his finger.
“I just wanted to help,” Jim said softly, and began timing his strokes with the rock and twist of Sebastian’s fingers.
Jim nuzzled Sebastian with arousal-hazed tenderness. Seb made an undignified noise, caught between the attention of Jim’s fingers and his own.
“I won’t hurt you until the doctor clears you for heavier handling, but he did say you seemed fine,” Jim murmured. “You’re such a good boy for me that I think we should let you come now, and then again later.”
Jim shifted, taking in a good look of Sebastian’s face and fingers in turn, but keeping his hand in movement.
“It comes with a cost, though,” Jim warned. “You’ll have to ask very nicely.” Jim smiled crookedly. “I can be very nice to you if you say ‘please, Daddy’.”
~
Jim’s sudden closeness overwhelmed Sebastian’s senses – his warmth and the subtle layers of his scent, the slow swipe of his tongue, his rough velvet voice – no wonder Sebastian’s own … activities came to a halt. All this, together with the tenderness of Jim nuzzling the side of his face, murmuring sweet encouragements and approval was like a mind-altering drug, and his hands… Oh, sweet fucking Jesus.
Jim ‘helping him out’ so beautifully started to eclipse the vague awkwardness, it took the shame out of putting on a show and last but not least, it threatened to send Sebastian on a very short…. shortcut to release. When Jim dangled that bait seductively under his nose, Sebastian uttered a small, helpless noise, turning his face towards Jim’s, just a fraction, not loosing contact, but rather seeking it. He was almost shaken by the rush of devotion he felt. Grateful, overwhelmed, but also a tiny bit amused and – conflicted. Naturally there was a small catch. Several, even.
Just a tiny condition to be met … But the fact that Sebastian had begged before didn’t mean he’d do it again, at least not that easily, the memory alone was enough kindle resistance. Also, he wanted to hold on to that glowing state of arousal for a while longer, as it bent every sensation its way, and turned it into something glorious, even if per se it was not... And in the light of what was to come, he might need that. There was no reason to believe his refractory period had become as supernatural as his healing abilities...
“It’s very tempting,” Sebastian breathed, rocking into Jim’s grip, “but I think I’ll pass, for now.” Even without seeing Jim’s face, Sebastian sensed him go still – surprised? Plotting? Sebastian smiled a little, but swiftly tried to make amends for rejecting such a magnanimous offer by remembering and following instructions. Easing his fingers out of himself he reached behind him, found the plug on the bed and made sure it was well covered with lube.
Jim had not moved, so settling back into his former position, Sebastian leaned the back of his neck against his shoulder. He tilted his head a bit, affording Jim a view of both his face, and the plug being pushed slowly into place.
Sebastian exhaled slowly and his eyes wanted to close. He kept them open, if not from becoming a bit unfocussed for a moment.
The plug wasn’t overly big, but big enough to feel … alien. To feel its weight inside him, once it was in place. Intrusive and yet impersonal in a very personal way, and arousing, recalling its purpose.
‘Keep you ready for my dick when I decide to fuck you.’
Not open, the base was too narrow for that. Just sufficiently yet barely prepared enough for a rough intrusion without further preliminaries…
Belatedly and just from the glint in Jim’s eyes, Sebastian realised the low moan in his ears had come from his own throat.
~
Jim blinked, interested. He hadn’t expected Sebastian to blindly accept the condition without resistance, but it showed considerable restraint to outright say no to two offered orgasms when one was already bucking desperately between the touches being bestowed.
Sebastian paused that beautiful rocking to give a small, peculiar smile. Then he eased his fingers out of himself. Jim quirked one brow. Sebastian reached over for the sparkling plug and both of Jim’s eyebrows rose.
Jim’s chest also rose high as his breathing shifted. He watched, entranced, as Sebastian slicked the toy.
Sebastian returned and slotted himself back against Jim comfortably. He raised his head before Jim could do much more than shift his arm around the man, and then Sebastian made eye contact.
Jim could barely tear his gaze away to watch Seb work the plug slowly inside of himself. Jim felt dizzy with arousal, like all of the blood he had available had relocated to his dick in hopes that if it stood proudly enough both men would pay it attention.
Jim ignored it, because Sebastian moaned. The sort of moan that made Seb’s blue eyes widen, as though it surprised him that the low, erotic noise came from him.
Jim’s eyes sparkled fondly. “Like that, pet?” he teased smugly. “I’ve got something much bigger for you later.”
It was marvellous that Seb was still capable of looking embarrassed, despite everything that had happened so far.
Jim moved a possessive hand to the gemstone glinting between Sebastian’s slick cheeks. Patting firmly enough to make Seb gasp and flinch, Jim smirked. He ran his thumb along the edge of the toy, making the nerve endings of Sebastian’s skin sing.
“Very pretty,” Jim whispered roughly. He tugged at the toy, making Seb gasp beautifully. Jim smiled, kissed the love bite on Seb’s cheek, and twisted the toy back in firmly. Sebastian jerked reactively, arching into Jim’s side helplessly.
“Exquisite, aren’t you?” Jim murmured approvingly. He trailed his fingers up, teasing Seb’s balls slightly, then gave the blond’s shaft a few firm strokes. “The way you look is only the least of you, isn’t it?” Jim said. “The way you sound, the way you react… You are a treasure, aren’t you?”
Jim’s lips twitched as he circled the wet head of Seb’s prick with his ragged thumb. “Pity you don’t want to come, my darling. I’d have made things so good for you.” The look Seb gave him was worthy of framing.
“We’ll just have to find some other way of passing the time until I hear from the doctor,” Jim said, and he swung around onto Sebastian’s lap. Grinding close, Jim plundered Seb’s mouth in a passionate kiss.
~
Sebastian couldn’t help basking in the appreciative glow in Jim’s eyes and voice, while his pride still twitched in a half-hearted, token revolt at being treated like a toy, to be adorned with jewels and called pretty… And still, that same pride wished Jim had ordered this particular bauble just for him, specifically, and yes, he fucking liked that…
“Suppose I should feel spoiled?” Sebastian mumbled, “By how perfectly it matches my eye colour...”
His words turned into a gasp as Jim tapped the jewelled end of the plug, sending a little bout of vibrations to the most exquisite places, and Sebastian needed a moment to catch his breath.
“I hope it’s a real sapphi-” A little twist and push shut him up completely, his whole body arching in Jim’s hold, who pressed his mouth against his cheekbone with a grin.
His murmured appreciation turned Sebastian’s mind into a blissful mush.
His fingertips trailed over slick, tingly skin, and Sebastian’s brain ran out of cocky replies.
He barely managed a dazed glare at Jim’s indulgent description of what he’d deliberately decided to miss.
Which, Sebastian realised, might still happen anyway, despite his heroic waiver, when Jim swung around and straddled him. Reflexively sitting up to brace himself against the side of the bed, Jim’s weight pressed against his cock and ground him down onto the plug at the same time. Caught between a rock and a hard place suddenly revealed its full meaning. It drove a rush of air out of Sebastian, half a grunt, half a moan, which Jim devoured with a wild and hungry kiss. Trembling and panting, Sebastian kissed back messily, with an increasingly desperate moan, because Jim kept rutting against him, the insistent pressure of the plug finding that spot that made Sebastian see stars and his hips buck, and Jesus fucking god he’d be done for in a few moments.
The thundering rush of blood in his ears almost drowned out the chirp of a phone.