Mutual
Jim made it to his bedroom without falling over and came face to face with the fact that his bed was still in a vile state. If he was feeling himself he’d probably have words with Seb about it, but even in his touchy mood he seemed to find enough reason to remember: Seb hadn’t had a chance to change the sheets yet.
Jim grimaced and stripped the bed himself. It exhausted him enough that he made no attempt to fetch fresh sheets. Instead he sat on the bare mattress and tried to catch his breath a little. Jim took stock of his injuries. His fingers were a bit achey from his efforts and his sore foot throbbed, but nothing was bleeding so that was an improvement.
He weighed up whether a bath or shower was closer to his current energy levels. He could probably get in and out of the bath even with his sore foot, but he was tired enough that he might conk out and drown himself.
But in the shower he’d need to stand unsupported, or at least get up unaided after sitting down to wash. And he wouldn’t be able to keep his remaining bandages out of the water.
Jim sighed and opted for a shallow bath. He could soak for a bit rather than expending his energy too much on scrubbing.
Jim grabbed a towel and ran the bath. Rather than his preferred toiletries, he added a medicinal wash he sometimes used after being shot or stabbed. He didn’t much like the smell, but at least it might cover the scent Seb objected to.
Jim felt a niggle of rejection from that. He wasn’t used to that feeling anymore and he didn’t like it, but it was disorientating that he wasn’t flying off the handle about it. Normally anything that made him feel insecure met a messy end but instead Jim was… what? Trying to appease Sebastian? Please him?
The thought soured his mood as much as it unnerved him. Was this a symptom of illness or something more insidious? Infatuation?
Jim huffed and lowered himself carefully into the hot water. If he concentrated he could hear noises from downstairs - and a few crashes that he could hear without straining - but his nostrils were finally clear of Seb’s scent. Everything smelt like antiseptic.
When was the last time Jim had a moment like this? Been alone with his nostrils full of this medicinal stench? He hadn’t been seriously injured in all the time Seb had been here, had he? Sebastian was good at his job(s).
Jim pictured Seb now, talking to the workmen downstairs. They probably thought the place was Seb’s, what with the remnants of the prick’s plummy accent.
It sort of was, given that Jim was actually letting the man model an entire room to his liking. And it wasn’t the first either; the den was entirely Sebastian’s space.
Jim scooted under the water and tried to scour the unhelpful thoughts from his mind.
He quickly sat up, spluttering, as the medicated water burned his nose and throat, but his thoughts malingered beyond reason. Jim coughed bitterly.
He’d be letting Moran redecorate the master bedroom at this rate…
~
More than two hours had passed when all aspects of the new kitchen that needed sorting today had been talked through and Sebastian could leave the men to their work, at least for a while. Almost feeling bad about neglecting his patient, he headed upstairs.
With due alarm Sebastian noticed Jim's absence from his bed, in fact any bed.
The bathroom door in the master bedroom was slightly ajar. Pushing it open, Sebastian found himself in a cloud of medicinal vapour wafting from the direction of the tub.
He had a brief vision of horror: Jim drowned after conking out in the bath, while Sebastian had been distracted by planning a feckin' kitchen. He wouldn't put it past the little spiteful fucker!
Still, Sebastian was glad to find Jim neither drowned nor hypothermic; apparently he had retained the strength to top up his bath with a bit of hot water every now and then.
Sebastian sniffed the air. "Hmm, juniper and rosemary?" It smelled like a herbal witch brew in here. "Marinaded long enough?"
Sebastian's grin changed into a more contrite expression, when Jim blinked up at him sleepily, apathetic even, and Sebastian realised that indeed he might have simply been too weak and wobbly to get out on his own. "Let's get you back to bed, yes?"
Which he got in order with new sheets and pillowcases, before he returned to help Jim out of the tub, drying him and then sitting him down in the bed to change his bandages. Wisely, he refrained from any jokes about prunes and wrinkles…
"Sorry, I forgot the time a bit. Quite an elaborate job, kitchen planning..."
~
Jim hadn’t noticed Sebastian enter the bathroom. That was odd, because he usually always paid attention to the man’s approach, and Jim blinked through a fog of tiredness as he tried to remember: had he fallen asleep?
It did feel like he’d been in here for a long time, enough that he’d topped up the hot water because he couldn’t bring himself to drag himself out of the tub. The bath was still shallow after the warmer water had been added, but not so much that falling asleep was without much risk. Jim grimaced a little and observed his hands: as ugly as they’d looked with their injuries, they looked even worse shrivelled by their prolonged stay in the water.
Seb was talking, and it took Jim an inordinate amount of time to process what the blond way saying. Marinading in..? Oh, right.
“Running a bit low on blood of virgins,” Jim mumbled, rubbing at his face as though that might shed some of his tiredness.
Sebastian didn’t laugh, his face oddly pinched with worry. He said something about going to bed, then left the room as Jim watched blearily. Was he supposed to follow? He distantly remembered that he was supposed to be cross with his tiger, but couldn’t quite remember why?
Jim sat upright with a groan. Either that or the splash of water drew Seb’s attention, because the man came hurrying back with a towel and supported Jim’s efforts to leave the bathtub. He dried Jim too, as Jim swayed a little on his tender feet and failed to command his face enough for his features to look exasperated.
Any attempts to make it to the bedroom himself were thwarted by Sebastian trapping him in a large towel and carrying him. Jim couldn’t find it in himself to be mad about it, even if he felt a little jealous that Seb was strong enough to carry him like he weighed about as much as a feral cat. Jim huffed and let his damp hair press hard enough against Seb’s shirt to release some uncomfortable moisture into the man’s previously crisp collar.
Which then made it less pleasant to loll against. Jim huffed and rubbed his face against Seb’s neck, realising that he hadn’t shaved. No matter. He certainly wasn’t going into the office today, and it wasn’t like he had much growth in a day or two anyway.
Jim rubbed against Seb’s cheek and supposed that might change. Seb’s hair and nails (and cells!) grew quicker now, so a side effect of being infected might mean Jim was finally capable of growing a beard. Jim wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Wait. Growing quickly… or ageing quickly??
Jim wriggled around at once to look at Sebastian, suddenly worried about finding lines on the man’s face that weren’t there before. Seb seemed to think Jim’s struggling was a desire to be released and lowered Jim onto the bed.
He… looked alright? Normal? Handsome as always -although Jim doubted that would fade with age- and if anything, looking vibrant and full of life despite still being a bit thin. But what if he wasn’t okay??
Sebastian reached past Jim, who belatedly noticed both the fresh bedding and the first aid things. Sebastian started tending to Jim’s injuries and Jim sat woodenly, allowing Seb to manipulate his limbs any way he pleased as he bandaged Jim carefully.
Seb apologised too, for taking so long, and… what if? What if he was wasting precious moments on restoring a fucking kitchen that Jim had trashed, instead of… instead of what? Living?
Jim snatched for Seb’s shirt, which was too expensive to go see-through when wet, and didn’t Jim’s ill thought out urges always fuck himself?
Sebastian looked startled by the grip, but Jim dragged him close.
“I don’t care, come here,” Jim growled, and found energy he didn’t know he had. Which he used to kiss Sebastian as hard as he could, as if Jim could keep Seb on this mortal plane by the force of his desire alone.
~
As unusual and sweet as it was, Jim being quietly compliant was ... worrying. As long as he was grousing and teasing and complaining, Sebastian was quite sure that he wasn't too poorly, but now?
Well, obnoxiously and deliberately soaking his shirt collar only to then huff in displeasure about the result - that was still very much Jim, but Sebastian couldn't bring himself to be truly annoyed, not with Jim rubbing his face against the side of his neck like an overtired and thus slightly clingy child.
"Sorry, no virgin's blood here," Sebastian apologised with a small grin, "but I can ask around next door..." Not that he had much hope there either.
Sebastian hurried to set Jim down on the bed, although he did not see how his lame little joke could have caused the sudden wriggling and the look of alarm? Worry? Sebastian could almost feel the scrutinising gaze lingering, even with his own focused on the task of replacing Jim's bandages.
He looked up after he'd applied the last tape. "Is something wro - "
Jim grabbed and pulled him down with such force that the first aid utensils clattered to the ground before Sebastian could put them aside. What -
Ohh... sweet fucking Jesus that did not feel like something was wrong, or maybe it was - so hot and feverish and urgent as the sudden attack was. But also much too delicious to do much thinking, at least not right away.
Still, reflexively bracing his hand against the mattress, Sebastian managed to slow his fall and subsequently kept them both from accidentally breaking teeth or biting off tongues. When they both needed to come up for air, he found himself on the bed nonetheless, on his side and one arm loosely around Jim, half caging him with the other, yet more ... protectively than possessively.
Yes, he knew, possessives and tenderness were unwanted behavioural traits, but no pet was ever entirely obedient, least of all after such a kiss.
"So," he finally picked up where he'd left off a while ago, "what's wrong? Are you feeling worse? Do you need anything?" He smoothed a few damp strands of hair back from Jim's forehead, but his hand froze when he belatedly realised what he was doing.
~
Jim felt lightheaded after the kiss, having been too focused on Sebastian to even remember to breathe properly. He gulped in air as they finally broke apart, and distantly noticed how the arm Seb had slithered around him didn’t feel constrictive at all. Jim blinked up at Seb dazedly, noting that they rarely lay on their sides together like this and wasn’t it nice?
Sebastian seemingly thought otherwise. Jim’s full attention snapped to him as Seb asked if something was wrong -which it was- but couldn’t Jim just kiss Seb because he wanted to?
Jim struggled to respond to any of Seb’s questions when the blond reached for him gently, smoothing back some unruly lengths of Jim’s dark hair. It did fall into his eyes sometimes if he didn’t slick it back. Sebastian wasn’t usually so brave as to touch him like that though.
Seb stilled, realising this himself, and Jim felt his insides twist. That was becoming an exasperatingly familiar feeling.
Jim butted Seb’s fingers gently with his damp forehead. “‘S’okay,” Jim murmured. “You’re allowed.”
Sebastian looked at him, then seemingly decided it was safer not to. Which was probably correct, for both their sakes.
Regardless, Jim wriggled a little closer, until their hips were pressing together. He huffed in a deep breath of Seb’s scent then said, “The only thing wrong that you need to concern yourself with is the fact that I haven’t been inside of you all day.”
Sebastian looked at him again, but there was a quantity of scepticism that did Jim’s ego an unkindness.
Largely because Jim wasn’t well enough to do all the things he liked to do to Sebastian, and wasn’t that a cruel fact?
But… Jim wasn’t without some vim yet, and if… if he let…
With anyone else, Jim would never consider it. There was not nearly enough control for him to desire it.
But Seb… Seb’s pleasure was a treasure altogether different from anything else.
And… of course Jim would continue his research, and pursue a cure, but in the meantime… he wanted every last drop of Sebastian he could take.
“I’m not… I’m not well enough to ravish you as thoroughly as I would prefer, but I’m not so poorly that I’m willing to go without,” Jim said carefully. “So yes, I do need something from you.”
Jim tugged at Seb’s waistband firmly. “I need you to show me how prettily you can ride my cock.”
Sebastian blinked at him. He’d never been offered such before, but did he realise Jim did not offer that to anyone? Jim didn’t share control. Not ever.
Jim kicked his heel against the underbed drawer, lest Moran get any fanciful ideas. “And you can fetch some cuffs when you’re getting the lube, because even were I at death’s door, you are not in charge.”
~
Sebastian snorted with amusement.“If that isn’t proof of life... And here I was worrying about you.” His voice sounded a bit … off, because a sudden pang of desire had made his mouth go dry in an instant. To be wanted like this, by a man who could barely stand… To be wanted like this by Jim, making such a concession to the circumstances just to have him, was dizzying, and arousing. And of course, Jim tugging at his waistband and giving him orders worked as inevitably and immediately as the ding of the bell on Pavlov’s dog. Only mildly shocked, Sebastian realised that he was far past the point to be truly, awkwardly embarrassed by his... telltale reactions.
Now, that he was explicitly allowed, he stayed on his side, half curled around Jim, but without crowding him too much, his hip comfortably pressing back against Jim’s.
His gaze wandered down to the drawer that had slid partly open after the kick from Jim’s heel, dangling over the side of the bed. The primitive parts of Sebastian’s brain threatened to take over immediately, punch drunk with the images that started reeling at the glint of metal and leather and Jim’s instructions …
Sebastian swallowed a groan, conflicted between very primal instincts and … responsibility.
“I’d like nothing more than to show you, but… I can’t.” Jim’s face went almost blank, the only expression one of total and utter disbelief. Obviously he could not think of any viable reason why Sebastian would not, or even could not comply. He blinked slowly, and then his eyes narrowed a fraction, but before he could voice whatever horrible consequences there would be, Sebastian added: “… the kitchen blokes are still downstairs.” And if there was one situation in which Sebastian would not let himself be restrained and made helpless, it was strangers in the house. “I know, with all my various qualities it must be easy to forget, but I am still your body guard.”
Also, he wondered if Jim could not hear the men downstairs as he could, even thought the heavier demolitions seemed to be done. That would be a good thing, right?
~
Having his advances rebuffed on his own bed by his presumed long term sexual partner was… a surprise. And not a pleasant one.
Was Moran under the impression Jim was too ill to function? Or… not well enough to dominate Seb in a way he could enjoy? Did he object to the position or-
The kitchen blokes? Why the fuck should they give a fuck about the kitchen blokes downstairs?? Anyone that came up those stairs without permission was getting shot in the face, whether Seb was alert enough to do it himself or not.
Jim stared at Sebastian very hard. He looked like he was being serious, although Jim was gratified to see Seb looked regretful about abstaining.
“You are full of surprises,” Jim said, although it didn’t sound as complimentary as whenever he told Seb that he was never boring. Jim seriously considered for a moment negotiating - would Seb consent to sex now if he wasn’t restrained whilst there were vetted strangers downstairs?
Jim’s gaze flashed as he remembered that there was a point where consent hadn’t mattered. He sat up with a frown, wondering if it really did where Seb was concerned, or if his subconscious had simply already dismissed force due to recognising Jim wasn’t feeling his physical best currently.
Sebastian shifted at Jim’s side, having the sense to expect displeasure, but his expression exasperatingly, endearingly stubborn nonetheless.
Jim sighed. “I’d prefer if you were less conscientious,” he said, tweaking Seb’s belt in a scolding manner that made Seb look somewhat regretful himself. Good.
“You’re lucky I’m not up to forcing you right now, or I’d be treating those workmen of yours to the sight of you being buggered over the kitchen table; hang what they think,” Jim grumbled.
Sebastian looked sceptical that he’d allow any such thing, but he still looked perfectly aroused anyway. Jim snorted, annoyed at himself for feeling so fond of the blond at all but especially when there was a threat of insubordination on his pretty face.
Sebastian looked at him questioningly, but Jim merely mouthed at Seb’s neck until Sebastian was moaning softly. And tensing suspiciously, as if he thought Jim was trying to get around his no by simply continuing on deafly instead.
Jim pushed at Seb’s chest. “Perhaps you should go give the interlopers the benefit of your help. I’m sure that supernatural strength of yours could hurry them along impressively.”
Sebastian looked questioning, openly wondering why he might do any such thing. And perhaps surprised Jim had been lucid enough recently to notice that strength. Jim refused to admit it exasperated and impressed him in equal measures. He loved Seb’s strength, and its supernatural improvement did not dim that.
Instead Jim gave Sebastian a wicked look and snuggled back onto Seb’s side of the bed. He locked eyes with Seb and a heated look passed between them as Jim reached down languidly to stroke himself.
“I’ll be sure to keep myself entertained,” Jim promised, dark eyes twinkling. “Since you don’t want to play, I might as well get started…”
Seb’s mouth was blatantly dry and his jeans tented in a way that wasn’t remotely appropriate to greet downstairs’ workmen. He growled a little, and Jim didn’t care whether it was a warning, or regretful, or even possessive noise.
Jim kicked Seb lightly. “If you want to be allowed to come today, I suggest you are back here before I finish. And not traipsing grime through here either…”
Sebastian seemed about to move, so Jim surged up and grabbed at him.
It was too much sudden exertion and Jim gripped Seb hard whilst his vision swam in revolt.
After a brief moment Jim willed the discomfort away and found Seb’s throat to suck another bruise there.
“Don’t miss me too much,” Jim said, and reluctantly let go.
~
Jim’s compliment about Sebastian’s sense of duty sounded rather caustic.
“I’ll remind you next time when you find it lacking.” Which rarely ever happened, because Sebastian was good at his job. All of them, and - -
His stomach did a thrilled little flip at Jim’s musings of forcing him, and another, harsher, almost nauseous one when an audience was added to the scenario. His pulse hammered in his neck from titillation followed by furious dissent and Sebastian clenched his teeth.
He’d never… -
Jim would never -
Wouldn’t he?
‘That doesn’t mean I won’t do things you don’t like. It does turn me on when you submit to me in ways that make you resentful. That humiliate you… because you are mine, and what you want is irrelevant.’
Judging from the sardonic glimmer in in Jim’s eyes, his observant brain gleefully watched the path Sebastian’s predictable one hurtled down, which made Sebastian feel even more fractious.
“What happened to 'any uncharacteristic familiarity I show you in private is meant to stay private'?” he ground out, his voice not remotely as even as he would have liked.
Jim just made this fucking honey-I’m-so-chaaaangeable face before he latched onto Sebastian’s neck, until if not Seb’s tension and dislike of such a scenario had dissolved, but definitely his capability of articulating verbal protest.
That accomplished, Jim deigned to offer a less disgraceful approach, suggesting Sebastian might hurry the pesky disturbance downstairs along by chipping in his newly gained supernatural strength. That was actually an idea so simple that even Sebastian might have had it himself. Not that Jim made leaving any easier by snuggling back into the warmed sheets, with a no-skin-off-my-nose air about him, leaving Sebastian in no doubt he was by no means indispensable. A sight fit to make Sebastian almost forget rules, his manners, and primary job.
With a growl he forced himself away, just to be yanked back. For a moment Jim’s grip seemed a bit shaky, but before Sebastian could start to fret again another fresh bruise got sucked into his neck. High up over his jugular, deviously placed to make it impossible to conceal before anyone who had eyes in their head.
As was other evidence he tried to will back down while he walked down the stairs, doing some breathing exercises.
Thankfully the workmen were almost finished clearing out the broken ruins of the old kitchen. Sebastian volunteered to load the skip outside, hopefully he could send most of them away soon. Demolition was always an enjoyable task, and in this case it was also a good opportunity to carefully get familiar with his new physical strength. Despite all the benefits, it could also pose a danger, just as with any weapon you had not learned to handle and operate with skill. Sebastian lugged around splintered furniture and other debris just like anyone else, but when no one was close enough to watch… Well, it was exhilarating – and a bit freakish - to lob the two parts of the broken sink over the side of the skip as though they were made of styrofoam. Of course it was quite silly to wish … Jim could watch.
After the skip and most of the kitchen team had trundled off, instead of just ringing next door, Sebastian walked over to where he saw Jerry working the dogs in a mix of play and training.
“How’s the situation on the plague ship?” he asked while filching a few treats from a bag, to at least try and diminish the doubts Smith and Wesson had recently displayed towards him.
Jerry shrugged. “They’ll live, I’m sure.”
“How are you?” Sebastian asked, meaning Jerry, but maybe the dogs too, who’d raised their hackles but didn’t growl – which meant progress.
“I’m okay, nothing so far,” Jerry replied, while Sebastian tried to lure the dogs closer with the treats. But they were good dogs, their suspicions not easily dispelled by a fucking treat where their duty was concerned – good boys, right? Just like himself, Sebastian thought with an internal eye-roll – or they’d be in the wrong job. They’d all be.
“Good,” Sebastian told Gerry. He settled for them to stalk closer and pick up the treats from the ground where he put them. He didn’t attempt to pet them.
“Look, I know you’re still on off-time,” he said to Jerry, “but we’re short-staffed and I need someone in the house, overseeing the two blokes still there measuring the kitchen. I am…” otherwise tied up?! Christ, since when did he feel obliged to give reasons for a simple task like that. “You can bring the dogs,” he finished instead.
So, about forty minutes after he’d left, he arrived back upstairs, which was of course multiple times as long as Jim would have needed to … well, what he had pretended to begin when Sebastian had left.
So maybe he was sleeping. Sebastian tiptoed upstairs, skirting the mess on the landing (that would have to wait until later) and towards the master bedroom. Slipping through the door and approaching the bed, Sebastian was quite sure Jim hadn’t heard him approach, although the lump in the bed wasn’t asleep.
~
Jim was not asleep, but he had been, until he heard familiar footsteps on the stairs. His phone had dinged moments before, presumably announcing Seb’s presence, and it chirped a reminder that he continued to ignore.
“Hi, baby,” he murmured sleepily, knuckling the tiredness out of his eyes. Sebastian looked at him oddly, and Jim tried to remember what had happened before he’d succumbed to the pillows.
Seb had left to hurry the kitchen men along. Jim had threatened to take himself in hand without the blond’s help, but he’d known he wouldn’t have the energy to spend on Sebastian later if he did.
Likewise Jim had dismissed his temptation to pull up research. He’d have weeks for that, probably, but what he’d offered Seb… that wasn’t something he was likely to do often, if ever again.
Whatever Jim’s odd dreams had suggested.
“Finished downstairs already?” Jim asked. He thought he could still hear people moving around, but there were no longer any distant crashing noises.
Then he heard a soft bark. Closer than might be heard from the grounds.
Jim snatched at his phone dubiously, checking who had entered the house, as Sebastian explained, “Jerry’s got the dogs. He’s keeping an eye as the last of the measurements are done.”
Jim’s lips quirked. “Impatient, were we?”
Efficient, too, insofar as it freed Seb up sooner. Jim didn’t usually permit the dogs inside the house, but he didn’t currently give a fuck about pet hair.
Or the kitchen grime marring Seb’s clothes. That Jim had fucking warned him about.
“Not like you to be overdressed,” Jim commented, raising a brow until Sebastian understood it was a command. Those dirty clothes had to go, and it felt wrong too, Seb being dressed when Jim wasn’t. Didn’t even have product in his hair, which was about as naked as it was possible to be.
Jim sat up properly as Sebastian approached, unbuttoning his shirt only as much as he needed to pull the thing off. Whether that was impatience or just obedience, Jim liked it. He liked too that Seb was efficient enough to delegate responsibility enough to be here already. It was kind of intoxicating actually, having someone who could be relied upon without having to micromanage their every move.
Jim tore his gaze away before Seb noticed he was being looked at with more than pride and lust. Jim directed his attention to the open underbed drawer. His head swam a little as he bent forward to reach for a few things, but without needing to be told, Seb was suddenly between Jim and the floor.
Sebastian’s body hair was soft against Jim’s cheek, and it was impossible not to kiss the blond’s navel before looking up. “The lube,” Jim said, pointing, “and those nipple clamps with the chain, so I can pull you to me without much effort.” Jim hesitated. “And that.”
He gestured to a segmented orb of metal, prevented from spreading open like a cracked chocolate orange - or the jaws of a carnivorous plant - by the U-shaped shackle of a loose padlock.
It restrained wrists, poorly. It was easy to escape from, and was only ever used for games where the object was always to bring someone to breaking point, to use their desperate escape as an excuse for crueller punishment.
It also potentially offered Sebastian the peace of mind that in an emergency, his submission wouldn’t cost them dearly. The thought of telling Seb so made Jim uncomfortable, but he resolved to at least mutter it when he was restraining the man.
Jim moved along the bed. Seb needed opened up before all of that, and Jim’s torn fingers might be useless but that didn’t mean he couldn’t kiss Moran stupid enough that he’d welcome the chance to get even his own fingers into himself for the promise of Jim’s cock afterwards.
Jim dragged Sebastian down on top of himself.
“I waited for you,” Jim growled, “so you better show me that you’re worth that.”
~
Sebastian would probably never be able to wrap his head around how a man so genuinely terrifying as Jim Moriarty could look so utterly cute and innocent and vulnerable as Jim did right now - sleepy, befuddled and naked. And of course, no one would ever get to see him like this but … Sebastian.
Not the close scrapes they’d gotten into with Sebastian throwing himself into harm’s way to protect Jim, not the running and recruiting of the empire’s staff, not even sharing bed and table – it was this sleepy blink, and a few soft strands of hair pointing every which way above Jim's left ear when he knuckled his eyes, that made the enormity of how much Jim trusted him, hit Sebastian in a place he didn’t even have a name for.
Not because that trust was in any way unfounded, but because it was woven into the very fabric of Jim’s being to trust no one. Not to this extent, not on a scale that went so far beyond what contracts, calculations, manipulation and blackmail could buy.
It was one thing to be told somewhat teasingly, that there was something that set Sebastian apart from all others in that regard, that, whatever he was to Jim, it was unique, ... and quite another to … realise how true it was.
Whatever Jim was saying rushed past Sebastian as white noise, before he managed to catch the gist of it and wipe whatever moronic or moon-struck expression he probably had off his face, and explain the state of affairs in the kitchen. And the presence of dogs.
But Jim Moriarty wouldn't be Jim Moriarty if he didn’t take up the reins even when he was barely able to hold them, with a little help from his magic underbed drawer. Which instantly reminded Sebastian, why he had delegated a task he normally wouldn't and had rushed back here.
So he hurried to refute the accusation of being overdressed, and to help by retrieving the things Jim required. The gentle brush of Jim’s lips over Sebastian’s stomach was a heart-stopping contrast to the nature of the clamps he pointed out. The things looked like small, mean crocodiles – but Jim had no use for vanilla toys, and - Sebastian realised despite a bit of trepidation - neither had he.
The shackles looked comparatively flimsy, the reasons for which seemingly ranged from practical ones to mind-fuckery. With some effort (and his newly acquired strength) Sebastian would be able to wrench his wrists out of them, but when Jim locked them behind his back, he of course stated that external danger would be the only excuse to do so.
“I didn’t let you wait deliberately,” Sebastian couldn’t refrain from pointing out when Jim leaned back against the head board and pulled him close. “I’ll do my best not to have you falling asleep agai- ” Sebastian bit down on the last word and the yelp that almost escaped him when Jim attached the first clamp, with a faux innocent smile.
Sebastian ground out a mangled curse, breathing tightly through the pain that lanced like a red hot wire through his left nipple and from there to… quite a number of places. “Couldn’t this wait until I -” The second clamp and a merry twinkle in Jim’s eyes told him that no, it couldn’t. Sebastian made a noise between groan and growl.
He was the one on top, straddling Jim, which was a thrilling novelty yet at the same time completely irrelevant to the question of who was in charge. Jim popped open the little bottle and sat up, reaching around Sebastian, haphazardly depositing a fair amount of lube on his bound hands. “I don’t have to tell you what to do tiger, do I?” he purred. Closing the bottle and dropping it into the sheets, he sank back again, not without flicking a finger against the chain, and his tongue across one of Sebastian's nipples. Very lightly, yet it felt like a bite.
It was safe to say that Sebastian’s threshold for embarrassment had been upped considerably since shacking up with Jim – who in turn effortlessly found ways to keep him from becoming too smug. Not even a full day had passed since he’d ordered Sebastian to prepare himself right under his discerningly watching eye, but this was a premiere for doing so with his hands cuffed behind his back, which renewed the awkwardness. Holding himself up on his knees, Sebastian had to arch his back for his fingers to reach far enough…, and every tension of his arms, the smallest movement seemed to go straight to the jaws of those devious clamps … Christ.
Sebastian gasped. Not from sheer pain, but a complex sensation of almost electricity-like quality, which raced with a harsh tingle along neural connections he hadn't known existed – to his neck, his navel, his groin… so that when he’d completed his task as well as possible, he was dripping with arousal.
Breathing heavily, he realised he’d closed his eyes. Opening one, he caught a glimpse of Jim watching him, mesmerised. Which was not the only effect apparently. With a tiny smile Sebastian let himself self sink down a bit, lube-slicked skin rocking against Jim’s, transferring some of the mess to where it would certainly be … beneficial for what was to come?
~
There was nothing prettier than Sebastian preparing himself for Jim. Except there was, because a restrained Seb lowering himself towards Jim’s waiting cock was an exquisite sight.
And sensation.
Jim shifted closer and played at lining himself up, smearing his slicked and leaking prick across Seb’s arse cheeks just because there was nothing the bound blond could do about it but wait frustratedly.
After an endearing grunt of that very frustration, Jim generously manoeuvred himself to press against Seb’s opening. He pushed up just enough to make Sebastian’s breath catch, and then he grabbed Seb by the hips and dragged him down past the tip, but not quite to the root. Jim kissed Seb’s torso, giving the man the briefest moment to adjust, then yanked Seb’s bottom flush against him, until he couldn’t be buried any deeper into his favourite person.
Jim rocked his hips and tried to smirk at the look Sebastian gave him, but Jim could feel something soft at the corners of his mouth and his gaze was far too fond to be smug. Jim didn’t look away, but he did release one of Seb’s hips in favour of reaching up to give one of his darling crocodiles a tug.
That was worth it for Seb’s delicious wince alone, but especially so because of how Seb’s body tensed around Jim.
Jim rolled his hips gently and arched close enough to take the thin chain connecting the nipple clamps between his teeth. He worried it this way and that with cruel playfulness, making Seb cry out and squirm. Seb’s movements served to make him writhe on Jim’s prick, and being a prick himself Jim held firm to Seb’s hips and refused to let him escape, pressing his knees up to keep Seb better enclosed (and upright).
Jim kept the chain in his mouth and kissed his way up Seb’s chest. And throat. Seb made delicious noises all the while.
Jim slid one arm up over Seb’s back, keeping him steady whilst his wrists were bound. Jim stretched up, grinning as he captured Seb’s mouth. There was no way for Sebastian to kiss back without jostling the wet chain trapped by Jim’s tongue and no way for Seb to avoid the kiss either.
Jim dragged his ragged nails down Seb’s shoulder blades, thrusting just enough to keep Sebastian incapable of thinking clearly. There was a pained whine from somewhere within Seb as Jim’s chest rubbed against his, jostling Seb’s reddened nipples and the vicious metal there.
Jim kept the chain in his mouth. It kept the praise from falling out, not that the precious blond didn’t deserve it. It was just that in a moment like this, when Jim felt weak and Sebastian was so undeniably perfect, it felt too easy to slip from mocking praise into something genuine, and from there…
Well, Jim had a constant stream of thoughts in his head at any given moment. But right then the only noise in there was it’s you, it’s you; I’d never do this with anyone but you…
~
Sex with Jim was just as unpredictable as any other interaction with the little dark eyed hazard … Occasionally he answered Sebastian’s desperate pleas (or most secret wishes) promptly and beautifully, sometimes not at all or with a lot of delay, and sometimes in a way that came with a ’careful what you wish for!’ glitter in his eyes.
Like now. The transition between teasing, breaching and to the hilt was so brief, it drove the air out of Sebastian’ lungs. Any attempts to adjust quickly, Jim thwarted by not much more than just simply touching one of the clamps. From which there was no escape, even less so when Jim caught the chain between them with his teeth and -
The sparks of pain merged into a fiery current, washing any clear thought down the train. Sebastian writhed, but his struggle, helped by his own weight, only resulted in him – well, both of them from the rapturous look on Jim’s face – truly feeling every inch that impaled him.
Between Jim’s knees behind Sebastian’s back and his wiry arm around him, Sebastian was held safely, and mercilessly, as Jim made the most of the full length (and cruel effect) of the chain as he laid a trail of sloppy kisses from Sebastian’s navel, up to his throat, and finally his lips.
Lips which would forever deny the whimpering sound he made. Even a state where he couldn’t think clearly did not completely erase Sebastian’s inner conflict between surrendering to the utter perfection of how Jim handled him, and the tatters formerly known as his pride. Tatters, that by now probably looked a lot like a white flag.
The chain clanged against their teeth as he kissed Jim back furiously, greedily, wincing yet stubbornly defying the pain he consequently inflicted on himself just as much as Jim did.
And even with Jim initiating a position that was far outside everything he’d ever normally allow, the trappings and the things he did, nipped any misconceptions Sebastian might have had in the bud. Jim was not relinquishing a sliver of control by being underneath Sebastian, but the setup simply allowed him to wield it with less physical effort, and with the exquisite grace of a musical genius playing his instrument, dominating Sebastian with ease and snuffing out any advantages Sebastian’s superior strength might have gained him. Every touch, every embrace, every movement were apt to inflict pleasure and pain alike, in fact did, one was not to be had without the other, until Sebastian was in a state when he ceased to register them as different sensations. Just like the other day, when Jim’s every thrust had pressed a knife into his skin and Sebastian had pushed back regardless.
At first with small rocking motions, then with more intent, Sebastian started grinding his hips. By now his body had fully accepted Jim deeply inside him, but the angle left a bit to be desired.
His instinctive attempt to change it by leaning back was curbed by Jim tutting a bit breathlessly and correcting him simply by looping two fingers into the chain and flexing his wrist. Sebastian groaned and complied, a note of desperation in his voice.
~
Seb’s needy groan made Jim chuckle. He pulled the chain from his mouth, keeping a firm hold of it like the reins of a wilful horse, and trailed his free hand down Seb’s torso. Sebastian seemed to like Jim’s fingers on his chest and belly, and his breath caught when Jim curled his fingers around him tightly.
Jim stroked Seb masterfully enough to keep the blond groaning in pleasure, even though he tweaked the chains unkindly a number of times.
And then Jim paused, even more unkindly.
“You made me wait, remember?” Jim whispered. He smirked wickedly at Sebastian as the man’s expression told him openly about Seb’s distress about that. He wasn’t stupid enough to argue that he had been doing the right thing, even though that burned in Sebastian’s gaze. They both know that didn’t matter when Jim was feeling vengeful.
As thoroughly fond as Jim was of the man, and as right as Seb was too, Jim Moriarty did not care to be told no.
“You know Daddy has to punish disobedience, you naughty boy,” Jim teased, and grinned as Seb’s expression flickered from apprehensive and warily excited to annoyed, because he hated the Daddy thing. Which was of course Jim’s favourite reason for using it so often.
Jim yanked Seb’s chain hard enough to make him yell (and jerk, which Jim’s cock enjoyed considerably).
“Take that disrespectful look off of your face, sweetheart, or Daddy will do it for you,” Jim warned.
He rolled his hips hard enough for Seb to struggle with his balance. Jim shifted his angle, finally brushing the bundle of nerves Seb was so intent on earlier, and stroked Sebastian in time with the rhythm Jim’s hips set.
Sebastian looked torn. His body was clearly sending him pleasure signals, but he knew better than to trust-
Jim froze his movements. And tugged the chain for good measure.
Seb tried and failed to hold back any resulting noise. Jim gave him a look then a possessive bite to his side that had a number of teeth involved. Seb groaned, his leaking prick twitching in Jim’s fist.
“Disobedient boy,” Jim murmured. “I am going to make you come so hard, because you’re mine and I adore your pleasure, but you’re going to have to wait for it, you bad boy.”
Jim worked the flat of his tongue over the red circle he’d left on Seb’s skin.
“You did the right thing,” Jim murmured, “but I’m punishing you anyway.”
Sebastian made a noise Jim savoured.
“You are mine, and there’s not a second of the day when I don’t want you,” Jim growled. He bit down, and twisted the chain. Seb writhed and Jim rocked up harshly into him.
The breaks gave Jim opportunity to rest, but he wasn’t certain how long he could keep up the teasing. He wanted to snatch Seb’s arms free, flip them onto Seb’s back, and fuck into him until the blond was screaming, but that, most regrettably, was not practical.
Jim sucked on Seb’s skin and worked Sebastian’s cock in his fist instead. Sick and resentful or not, he’d never been inside Seb without giving the blond a blinding orgasm and Jim certainly wasn’t about to start now.
~
Huffing through his teeth, his vision blurred from involuntary tears, Sebastian looked at the man who took yanking his chain to a whole new level.
You did the right thing, but I’m punishing you anyway.
Also the only man who could utter such a glaring absurdity as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world. Sebastian did not question it. Maybe because this man came closer to a god - one that was walking the earth - than any of the supernatural chimeras delusional people devoted their live to. If he hadn’t created the earth (and there were moments when Sebastian wouldn’t have put that past him), Jim certainly shaped it to his liking, and it was a sight to behold.
To be part of this, to be so close to feel his whims, favours and cruelty alike, was like being close to the sun – yeah there was that Icarus business but fuck that … Who could bloody know if it hadn’t been glorious?! Maybe the bloke's brain had melted in a blaze of splendour long before he ended up in a heap of broken bones on the ground… Who was to say it hadn’t been thoroughly worth it?
You are mine, and there’s not a second of the day when I don’t want you.
Jim sounded almost furious, about the presumptuousness of someone daring to do that to him, and Sebastian cried out, writhed and groaned under the resulting punishment that hurled him to new heights of pleasure and pain.
Breathing raggedly, he rocked into Jim’s tight fist and on his cock. Supernatural strength or not, his knees and thighs had long given up any attempt to control the depth and whenever he helplessly tried to influence pace, Jim rid him of that notion too, with a pull on the chain, a harsh thrust or - a pause.
And even as far gone as Sebastian might have been, he realised these pauses were not solely for the benefit of his education. He swallowed, succeeding at holding back a whine but not at ceasing his movements entirely. “Please, it’s -”
A mere questioningly cocked eyebrow from Jim made Sebastian revise his words before they slipped out: ‘ for your own wellbeing’.
You did not offer Jim Moriarty to speed things up under the pretence of charitableness because he was unwell. Even less did you blatantly use your position sitting on his cock and thereby him to get off. You did not take anything except exactly what was given. Sebastian had learned forgetting that could have you looking at spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair, or Wales, respectively. Or, at worst, both.
Jim, presumably reading him like an open book, smiled jaggedly, and gave the chain a small but sharp tug, that made Sebastian’s nerves and muscles twitch, and in all the right places, judging from Jim’s reaction.
~
“‘Please, it’s’ nothing,” Jim mocked. He was a little breathless but who wouldn’t be with Sebastian Moran riding them?
He fucked up into Seb as brutally as he could, but he could feel the strain on his rationed energy, frustratingly so.
Sebastian was always introducing him to new experiences, the fucker.
Jim sat up higher and felt marginally mollified by the catch in Seb’s breath. He pressed a smirking kiss into the man’s side and reached behind him, finding Seb’s wrists. Jim was too impatient to unlock him and they were both a little slippery with sweat anyway; he guided Seb’s damp hands out of the restraints and growled, “Don’t get any ideas.” He’d have nipped at the chain with his teeth if Sebastian jerking wasn’t counterproductive to his efforts to release him.
Jim avoided Seb’s eyes when the blond was free. He focused on reaching for one of Sebastian’s knees. The blond had his weight on both, but Jim guided him off of them, wrapping them around his back one at a time. Sebastian juddered and hissed at the shift in position, suddenly sitting down deeper on Jim’s prick than before.
He rolled his pelvis, trying to get comfortable, and Jim groaned.
“You’ll be the fucking death of me,” he grumbled tightly, wrapping his arms around Seb’s back and pulling him closer still.
Sebastian started to mumble something rude in response, but his comment cut off abruptly when Jim thrust up into him, dragging Seb’s hips down at the same time.
“You might need… to hold my shoulders,” Jim admitted. That was normally too intimate for him, but this was Seb.
Who looked at him then, but Jim pressed closer, trapping Seb’s dick between their stomachs as he fucked him. His chest rubbed against Sebastian’s and the blond shivered, the nipple clamps sending pain signals all through him, that resulted in Seb’s internal muscles clenching harder around Jim’s cock.
In this position their height difference was almost negligible, and Jim could hide his face in the crook of Seb’s neck.
He felt Sebastian’s arms rest on him, palms curling over his shoulderblades. I love you, Jim could have said, if he was an entirely different person. But he wasn’t, so he latched his teeth to Seb’s throat - he groaned - to keep the words in, and focused on fucking Seb to climax.
Sebastian moaned and shuddered, his chest sore and his cock getting friction and Jim’s dick hitting him at an intense depth. And their bodies tangled around each other, perhaps more intimately than they’d ever been, a chest to chest embrace and their legs curled around each other, caging them close.
Sebastian was close, Jim could feel it. He threw the last of his energy into fucking Seb to orgasm, and didn’t think about how his mouth found Seb’s, kissing the blond with an urgent, confusing mixture of resentment and tenderness. Seb was too close for Jim to think what are you doing to me? any longer. All Jim could think, all he could say, was, “Come for me.”
~
Sebastian had been a very good boy, but now very close to being a bad one – at the end of his tether, about to wrench his sweaty wrists out of these shackles, because they’d never been this close and yet it seemed not enough, not enough, not enough. It wasn’t the flimsy shackles that kept him from freeing himself, but Jim’s wish and will alone.
Finally allowed to, Sebastian was clutching at Jim like a man drowning, his last functioning brain cells keeping him from using his nails. He was panting against the side of Jim’s neck, groaning as Jim’s teeth sank into his. A multitude of sensations were blazing through him, pleasure and pain seemingly taking the exact same path, intensifying each other, but nothing was as divine as the moment when not an inch of his skin touched anything, anything at all but Jim. It seemed impossible to get closer still, but they did, Sebastian hooking his ankles behind Jim’s back, Jim clawing at his hips and pulling him down. Wherever he took such strength and energy from, but Sebastian was long past the point of being sensible. They were in a frenzy, desperately fucking and kissing and clinging to each other like there was nothing in the whole wide world left to hold on to.
The lines between submission and domination blurred as they were both in each others power, both taking and relinquishing control, and it had never been… anything like this... The the traces of rules a mere shadow - yet still there. Sebastian’s kiss became sloppy, his movements a bit disjointed as he struggled to delay what was rushing inevitably past the point of no return, and Jim knew…. Of course he knew… The ragged tension in Sebastian’s breaths broke into a groan of relief and utter and mindless devotion.
Come for me.
And this time Sebastian’s nails possibly did break skin, as he was helplessly convulsing in a blinding orgasm, coming on Jim’s cock and in the tight heat between them, creating the most godawful, glorious mess and maybe one day they would be the death of each other, but … if it felt like this Sebastian would gladly die any fucking day, and several times over.
The only irrefutable flaw of dying would be leaving Jim behind, but in this case, today... he didn’t have to…
~
Jim did not particularly notice Seb’s nails pressing into his shoulders. He was too focused on the dizzying array of Sebastian being on and around him all at once, and convulsing, his inner muscles doing things to him that made him want, fiercely.
Jim bucked up into Sebastian, chasing that feeling, chasing what he’d given Seb, but he’d used the last of his energy on getting Sebastian off.
Jim was exhausted, trembling with it, and drenched in sweat; close as Seb’s climax brought him, Jim could feel the promise of his own ebbing away as the rock of his hips grew weaker and weaker, each movement more strenuous than he could maintain.
However dazed Sebastian may have been from coming hard between their pressed torsos, he still managed to notice Jim’s dwindling movements. He shifted, looking at Jim, and Jim could only glare ineffectually, humiliated that he was too tired to finish, and that he’d blatantly used himself up on some else’s pleasure.
Sebastian’s. Because who else had Jim ever wanted so badly to see happy?
Sebastian… didn’t run his mouth for once. He had the opportunity; Jim was in no fit state for delivering punishments, and even the bite of the clamps wasn’t really such when Seb got off on it.
Sebastian leaned back. Jim thought for a moment the man intended to dismount, but he only took one arm away and braced it on the floor, improving his purchase. His other arm shifted along Jim’s back, holding him tight, and…
Fuck.
Sebastian moving felt… intense… but then he was circling his hips, fucking down on Jim with increased vigour even though he had to be oversensitive now that he’d come. Jim panted, not sure where to look, because all of Seb was gorgeous but right then he didn’t trust himself to keep his gaze guarded if he met Sebastian’s eyes.
Sebastian who tweaked one of the clamps and hissed, tensing inwardly and twisting with the pain. Hurting himself, because… Jim got off on it.
It wasn’t that Jim had never fucked someone who’d hurt themselves for his pleasure, but that it had never been an act of generosity before. It had never been… a mutual thing. Two people getting off together, Seb doing this not because he was afraid or manipulated but because… because..?
Seb hurt himself again, and the way he squirmed under his own fingers made Jim… bite down hard on something that was almost a whine.
Not quickly enough. Or perhaps Sebastian’s sensitive hearing was the reason why the blond grinned at Jim then, horribly smug as he fucked Jim until the Irishman couldn’t speak, couldn’t think straight. Could only dig his fingers into Seb’s flesh and try to prevent his ragged panting descending into whimpers.
It had been a lifetime since Jim had last had his pleasure be at someone else’s mercy. He had never done this with someone he’d trusted.
There had never been anyone like Seb before. Jim scrabbled to remove Seb’s nipple clamps because he couldn’t take this a moment longer, but Sebastian kept on fucking him regardless, the beautiful brute. Jim bit down on Seb’s skin because he couldn’t take the sensations anymore. He felt like screaming, and crying, and if he’d been trembling before he was probably spasming now, feeling Seb’s blood in his mouth as he convulsed helplessly against the solid weight of him, of Sebastian, smelling of copper and salt and that musk that was specifically him, and Jim felt dizzy, the arm around his back seeming gentler but entirely secure as he spilled up inside the man.
And then Jim’s vision was white. And then it was not.
When Jim opened his eyes again, he was still against Seb’s chest. The blond had shifted into an upright position, breathing quietly, and he loosened his arms carefully as Jim pushed away slowly. There was a painful looking bite on Sebastian’s skin, and his nipples looked sore. Jim didn’t look at Sebastian’s face.
Small tremors of exhaustion continued to shake Jim’s frame periodically, although he got the feeling he’d been out cold for a moment or six.
“Need to lie down,” Jim murmured, his voice raspy, and he wriggled to pull away only…
Only it had been so long since he’d fucked in this position. And back then, he’d been the one being penetrated. All he’d had to do then was retrieve his legs, stand, and step away.
He was currently trapped under Sebastian’s weight, and cradled within the protective crook of Seb’s strong legs. He couldn’t leave, without Seb moving first.
Jim felt a wave of panic, but it was Seb - it was Seb- but… that was alarming in its own right, because when he was with Sebastian… he was never entirely himself. Or rather, he was a self he was unfamiliar with. One that he didn’t have under control.
And didn’t entirely care, so long as he was with Sebastian.
~
As much as Sebastian craved being at Jim’s mercy, desired it, thrived on it … because in the natural order of things everything and everyone gravitated towards and finally found the place where it belonged … Sebastian was also spellbound by that glitch in their universe. It was not so much because the temporary power shift meant being more in control, but rather the rare chance to give something to Jim he wasn’t able to obtain himself.
And Sebastian went about it with great dedication. The impulse to be smug about it receded behind something that made his heart clench a little bit when he realised that Jim, who shouldn’t be exhausting himself, unwell as he was (as if either of them had a whiff of sense), had used up all his strength taking care of him. With a mind-blowing orgasm no less, instead of chasing his own.
Jim, who wasn’t exactly an epitome of altruism, but rather the opposite.
Sebastian didn’t revel in the hint of awkwardness in Jim’s glower, but pretended not to see it. He braced one hand on the floor, giving himself a good hold, and, with his other arm, Jim as well. Although still a bit dazed and just coming down from the height, Sebastian valiantly struggled out of that hazy afterglow his body wanted to slip into.
The sounds he drew from Jim as he rolled his hips were more than worth it.
It was safe to say that the creative part when they fucked was usually Jim’s, and it had not only taught Sebastian plenty about himself and the things he’d been in denial about, but also about Jim. About what he liked, wanted, needed…
Rocking his hips, Sebastian mouthed the side of Jim’s neck, before he leaned back just enough to reach up and twist one of the clamps... Not trying to fight the pain and all the reflexive responses of his body (as he sometimes did when feeling fractious), but embracing it, as it raced along overstimulated, twitching nerves. Stripped of the pleasure part, it was like eating a ghost pepper raw, as dessert after a very spicy, succulent meal, and yet… there was something exhilarating about it too.
It wrenched a ragged gasp from Sebastian as he finally removed the clamps, and a similar sound from Jim, caught up in that twisted, gorgeous feedback loop. He hooked his nails and teeth into Sebastian, not even with an obvious urge to hurt him, but ... desperate, like he was holding on to him, to … control, or fighting to hold back what no one was ever supposed to hear, to feel, to see…
As he came undone in erratic spasms, Sebastian pulled him in as deep as he could with his legs and held him tight, hoarsely whispering endearments and praise and encouragement, all of which would hopefully be wiped from Jim’s memory when he came to… later.
Sweat or tears or both burned in Sebastian’s eyes as he buried his face into the crook of Jim’s neck, riding him through his release, adjusting his movements to the waves - until they finally receded. The way Jim slumped against him would have been cause for concern, if Sebastian hadn’t felt his heartbeat against his chest, eventually slowing down, but reassuringly … alive.
Feeling dazed and content, his knees back on the ground to take part of his weight, Sebastian traced little patterns through Jim’s damp hair, and could they… could they stay like this for a while?
They could, and they did.
Until Jim stirred, slurring something about needing to lie down. Sluggishly, Sebastian helped, pushing himself up, gently disentangling their limbs. He snatched the nearest pillow for Jim’s head, and then the nearest garment to clean them both up a bit.
Then, dropping the ruined shirt on the floor, he stretched and picked up the water bottle. Drops of blood trickled down his chest from where it looked (and felt) as though Jim had tried to rip his heart out with his teeth. Sebastian couldn’t have cared less. Quietly he handed Jim the water bottle and helped prop his head up enough to drink. Then he flopped down, closely beside Jim, and guzzled down the rest of water from the bottle Jim handed back to him.