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Azul stepped into the room with no small amount of worry in his heart. The screaming and shouting from within had been loud enough to be heard from down the hallway. Any lesser man might have been scared or fearful, but not Azul. He adjusted the S.T.Y.X. uniform he was given as an intern while he looked onwards at the sight in front of him.
It was a typical meeting room- oval table, lots of chairs, employees cowering in those chairs, and the boss siting at the head, scowling and yelling. There was a wide berth around him, probably due to the raging red flames that had spilled out and were lashing to and fro. Idia’s sharp teeth were clicking against each other as he berated the workers, pacing back and forth at the head like a tiger in a cage, one hand balled into a fist as the other gesticulated wildly.
“-And I cannot believe you though that that of all things was a good idea! DO ANY OF YOU IDIOTS REMEMBER YOUR BASIC SAFETY TRAINING!?!? A PHANTOM, on the loose, without having done the proper preparation?! Are you trying to KILL US ALL!? GODS FUCKING DAMMIT, SOMONE NEARLY LOST THEIR LIFE TODAY- all because you IMBECILES didn’t listen to proper procedure. We have those in place for a reason, people!” Idia shouted, chest heaving from the force of his voice.
It was the first time Azul had seen him in person since Idia came to his graduation to see Azul off- their contact throughout the summer had been sporadic at best, and Azul had been waiting to get his visa approved to work at the Isle of Woe as part of his internship. The man looked even paler than he had during their school years, and he had somehow managed to become even more gaunt. The bags under his eyes had worsened too- at this point, he looked more skeleton than human. Was it because he was separated from Ortho? The boy had typically been the one to make sure his brother ate and slept, and he was still attending school, so that could explain it. Still, even at his worst, Azul had never seen him so bad.
The poor man was trembling, likely in rage, as he continued his tirade. “We’re not some grand secret anymore- if word gets out that we have near misses like this one the regular, WE. ARE. COOKED. We’re already the big bad boogeyman, we cannot afford bad rep RN.” At this, he squeezed his fingers on the bridge of his nose, likely to ward off a headache, his eyes clenched shut. “I just- is it too much to ask for you dumbasses to actually do your jobs safely? For one day?”
The man signed deeply, opening his eyes once more as he looked up.
“…Azul?” His voice barely above a whisper as he called out to his lover, looking for a moment as though he had been slapped before once more pasting on a mask of professionalism.
Ah, so he had been spotted. He smiled, peeling himself from the doorway and making his way to the table. “Yes, I’ve arrived. I was directed to give you these files?” Azul said, lifting the papers in one hand.
“Damm, we still have some analogue files? I thought we had digitalized all of those…” The man mumbled, his hair cooling somewhat as his attention was redirected.
“Yes, Sir. The head of the ancient magic reconstruction department wanted you to look over them,” Azul explained as Idia left his spot, marching over to him as the workers parted around him. He placed the bundle of paper into his arms, Idia’s hands shaking as he held them. For the briefest moment, the tips of their fingers touched, and part of Azul yearned to drag him out of this meeting and force him to take a break. Alas, he was but a lowly intern, and Idia was Acting Director.
Instead, he leaned over and whispered in the man’s ear: “See you at my place tonight?”
Idia didn’t bother with a verbal response, only nodding in agreement before turning around and getting back to the meeting. Well, Azul knows when he’s not wanted somewhere. It was no problem for him to exit the room and get back to his tasks, but he couldn’t help himself from taking one last look at Idia.
And there was something dead in his eyes.
Azul looked up from the book he had been reading by lamplight as Idia staggered into the room, shoulders drooped. He had been waiting for quite some time in the dark, already in his nightclothes and having finished his evening routine.
“Idia! How lovely to see you, come here, take a seat,” Azul greeted jovially as he patted a chair that Idia proceed to promptly flop onto. “How was your day?”
“Dogshit. Someone nearly died ‘cause of my team’s fuck ups and now I have to fix it. ‘M tired.” Idia mumbled, curling in on himself. His voice was laden with exhaustion- none of his legendary fast-talking or banter. His eyes were bloodshot, clearly having been sat in front of a computer for too long.
In lieu of saying anything, Azul instead opted to cup Idia’s face in his hands, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Idia practically melted at the touch, but the tension didn’t go away. “I’m so sorry, honey. How about you change into something more comfortable?”
“Sure…” he replied, voice monotone. He just… he seemed so lifeless. It was painful to look at him, so devoid of his usual manic energy. Just what had happened? He was fine last year when he was doing his internship, so what had changed?
Still, he made no move to remove himself from Azul’s grasp or begin changing.
“… do you want me to help you?” Azul asked. From what Idia had told him, he had only gotten so bad during the worst of his fugue state when creating Ortho. How could two months have done this to him?
“No,” he refused flatly, instead prying himself from Azul’s touch and shambling over to the closet, blindly reaching in and grasping the nearest tunic. Thank the sea witch Azul had brought some of the man’s clothes with him (that he had not stolen, thank you very much! It was called borrowing). As he threw his clothes off, Azul winced. He must have lost something like ten pounds over the summer, making his already lanky frame start to border on malnutrition. The tunic, which had fit him perfectly not even a year ago, was hanging off one shoulder.
Azul shook his head as he walked up next to Idia, leaning over to get a good look at him. Now that he was standing close enough to him, Azul could hear how raggedly Idia was breathing.
Playfully, Azul flicked him on the nose with one finger, not even receiving an “ow” in response. The man just stared at him, his electric yellow eyes so dead and dull looking.
Was this how Jade and Floyd had felt when looking at him during his overblot? How Idia’s parents had felt looking at him after Ortho’s death?
“Can we just go to bed?” Idia demanded, irritation seeping through his voice.
“Who are you and what have you done with Idia?!” Azul said, eye twitching. Idia, going to bed without gaming at all? Was the world ending? “You never, ever go to bed without gaming at least a little bit.”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t had much free time lately and I’m tired,” Idia replied dismissively as he turned away from Azul.
Worried, Azul reached out to put a hand on Idia’s back, but the man shook him off. Instead, Idia slipped under the cover’s of Azul’s bed, no stammering or blushing or even hesitation. Not from some newfound confidence, but from sheer exhaustion. After a moment, Azul followed suite, wrapping his arms around Idia as he settled into bed. He remained turned away from Azul, lying on his side. Normally, he would have turned to face him, and held him back, even if he called it ‘cringe’ and teased Azul about it. But no- there was nothing.
Azul swallowed hard as he rested his head on the crook of Idia’s neck. “You… what happened, Idia? You’ve… you’ve changed.”
“…I didn’t want to.” Was the soft reply, Idia’s voice dry as he spoke. “After my fourth year ended… My parents decided it was time that I took on more responsibilities. I’m Acting Director now more often than not.”
Azul could feel Idia tremble in his arms, feel all the pain that wracked his chest and back. It was agony, his lover here, right next to him, and yet so far away.
“I’m just- it’s so much, all the time. I’m- I’m constantly responsible for everyone, all their mistakes, all their actions. Like- like today, someone almost died. And it- it would’ve been my fault. Again. Because I’m responsible for everything here. A-and I’m always the one people go to for orders, s-so if I mess up-!” Idia sobbed out, his voice cracking. “I’m… I’m so tired, Azul.”
“It’s going to be okay, Idia. You- I’ll support you.” Azul consoled him, tightening his hold in reassurance.
“But you can’t. Nobody can. I’m- I’m the boss. I’m in charge,” and oh, Idia said those words like a death sentence, “I want to go back to how things used to be. But I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“… I don’t remember how. I don’t remember how to relax, how to- how to let things go.” Idia answered, choking out a breath.
“… leave it to me, okay?”
Idia sniffled, and his voice broke, “I don’t know how.”
Azul’s sleep was restless that night.
It took a couple of days to set everything up- and each of those days was filled with anxiety and nerves on Idia’s behalf. Azul would have liked nothing more than to do this immediately, but some things needed time to be put in place.
Watching Idia go about his day, working and working and working, not even taking his lunch breaks- he wasn’t even checking his dailies! Every time Azul saw him, he was either sleeping in bed with him or he was working himself to the bone. This simply couldn’t continue.
He waited in his room on the edge of his bed, the lights set low, tapping his cane across his legs as he sighed. He knew Idia would be late considering how much trouble he had prying himself away from work, but still! The later they started this, the harder it would be.
Thankfully, Idia chose that time to open the door, which slammed shut behind him, slouched over and head hung low.
“What’s with the lights…” Idia began to say before trailing off. “… is that a collar?”
Indeed, Azul did have a metal collar held in his left hand. “Yes, do you recognize it? You made it, remember?”
“…” Idia was silently staring at him, a flat look on his face. “I’m too tired-“
“Now,” Azul cut him off, “you also remember our safe word?”
“I’m not doing this with you-!” Idia protested, scowling at him as he trembled and shook. Perhaps he was attempting to look frightening, but as far as Azul was concerned, he mostly just resembled a puffed up kitten- something cute and harmless trying to make itself look scary.
“It’s a very simple question, Idia. Do you remember our safe word?”
Idia gave a sigh, all bone deep weariness and exasperation. “Yes, I remember. Now can w-“
“Say it.” Azul commanded, tapping the cane against the collar, watching as Idia stood up a little bit straighter at the sound. Looks like old habits died hard- it gave him some hope that maybe, just maybe, Idia’s situation wasn’t bad as he feared.
“What? No-“ Idia gave an empty protest, devoid of heat or sentiment. Refusal for the sake of refusal.
“Say. It.” Azul pressed.
“It’s ‘Voicebox’, but what the hell does that have to do wi-“
“Excellent!” Azul exclaimed, grinning sadistically. “Now strip.”
Idia rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not doing that.”
“Either use your safe word, or strip.” Azul instructed him, watching as Idia’s brows furrowed.
“I said, I’m not playing these games with y-!”
“Do. It.”
“Fine! Have it your way!” Idia relented, throwing his arms in the air as he removed his clothes clinically, leaving them in a heap on the ground.
“You know I hate when you leave your clothes all messy like this,” Azul chastised, “Pick them up.”
“Whatever,” Idia conceded, halfheartedly picking up the clothes and throwing them in the hamper. He made a level attempt at looking unbothered, but when Azul kept staring at his body- “Could you not?”
“But I finally get to see my lovely pearl’s body after so very long apart!” Azul replied, his gaze directly firmly at Idia’s body, not even bothering to look him in the eyes.
“… doesn’t matter,” Idia mumbled, one arm clutching the other as he looked to the side. “Same skinny twig as usual.”
Did he really not notice how bad things had gotten? Sure, he had always been teetering on the edge of being underweight, but this was a new low. And he hadn’t even made a comment about how Azul was still dressed in his slacks and dress shirt! Idia normally would’ve been making snarky comments or jokes, anything but this.
“On the contrary- every time I get to see you is a delight~” Azul cooed, watching as Idia flushed, a few meagre strands of pink appearing in his hair. Seemed as though Azul would have to up his game if he wanted a reaction out of Idia. “Ah, my beautiful, priceless treasure~ come here~”
At first, Idia had elected to stay still, not moving an inch until Azul tapped his dress shoes with his cane, prompting Idia to begrudgingly walk over.
“Let me touch you~” Azul said as he reached out, laying his cane across his lap so he had a hand free to caress Idia with. The man didn’t reply, simply staying still and letting Azul touch his cheek, moving down to his neck and tracing the shape of his collar bones. Idia shivered lightly. Azul continue to pet and pat him, his hand running over the skin of his chest and throat, stomach and arms, observing as Idia relaxed minutely- just enough to close his eyes and let down his guard.
With uncharacteristic swiftness, Azul lached the collar around Idia’s neck before he could react. His eyes slammed open, so very wide, but there was nothing to be done about it. “Hey, take that off!” He said angrily, red rippling through his flames.
“Hmmm… nope!” answered Azul, taking in the sight before him.
The collar was actually rather old, all things considered. Idia had made it after his overblot, as part of a penalty game between the two of them. It largely resembled the collars used by S.T.Y.X. in aesthetics, but it could hardly be more different in function. It had no effect on the wearer’s magic, with the only real tech in it being the latch and technomagical leash, which was made of hard light and glowed cyan. In this case, it was tucked away in the collar itself, but all Azul would have to do to activate it was press a button on the front and voila! And more importantly…
It was voice activated. As in, it wouldn’t come off unless Idia said the safe word. Perfect for what Azul had planned for tonight.
“You could just take it off yourself…” Azul teased, watching as Idia contemplated the idea. Ultimately, however, he said nothing.
Both hands now free, he tugged Idia by the collar until their faces were inches apart before his hands went to work grabbing and groping every part of his lover. They stroked across his back, danced over his ribs, brushed over his nipples gently, running his fingers down the planes of the man’s stomach- everywhere.
“Now,” Azul began, still not taking his hands off of his lover, “We are going to be playing a game tonight.”
“No, I am going to bed-!” Idia insisted stubbornly, trying to pull away.
Tragically for him, he had a very prominent and easy to grab weak point. Idia flushed red, his hair a mixture of angry scarlet and salacious pink as Azul grabbed a fistful of it near his scalp and held him in place, making him moan softly. Idia tugged lightly against Azul’s hold, breath hitching as Azul refreshed to let go. The man was utterly unable to hide the way his breathing picked up or the way his cock had begun to harden from the act.
“Like I said,” Azul declared, watching with glee as Idia squirmed, “we are going to be playing a game tonight.”
“SRSLY, grabbing me by the hair? You literally have me wearing a collar and you grab me like this?” Idia grumbled, all bluster as he got steadily harder.
“Well, of course! You make such lovely noises and faces when I grab you like this~ Besides, you could always use your safeword and this would all be over~” Azul reminded him, taking in eyefuls of Idia’s aroused body. Fuck, he had missed this. All the phone sex never even came close to having Idia in front of him, collared and hard.
Idia snarled silently, looking at him through a mask of disdain. Azul could tell he was acting- there was no hiding how hard he was, or the lust peaking through his gaze.
“Lay down on my lap,” Azul ordered, removing the cane so that Idia had space. Since he was sitting on the edge of the bed, Idia wouldn’t be forced to dangle off the sides (as he had all too often complained about when they were still in school).
“No-“
Azul didn’t bother letting Idia finish, instead yanking on the handful of flames, making him cry out as his cock twitched. The man made a futile attempt to resist and remain standing, but Azul pulled him down, leading him by the hair until he was lying on his lap, face down.
“Make yourself comfortable, love,” Azul recommended as he helped his boyfriend into a more relaxed position- pelvis on Azul’s lap, head and legs on the bed, no longer having to support himself or hold himself up.
“Hell no-!” Idia tried to say, but it was half muffled by the sheets and Azul ignored him. “Can we just go to bed? I’m so tired, Azul.”
“Where are your manners?” Azul decried, tugging sharply at his flames again.
Idia moaned shakily, trying to hide the sound in the fabric. His hands were now grasping at the sheets, curled into fists.
“You can remember your ‘please’s and ‘thank you’s, right?” He said as he relaxed his hold but didn’t let go. “So what do we say when we want something from someone?”
“… could you please let me get some rest?” Idia muttered, a wave of pink shooting through his hair as it tumbled over his shoulders and half pooled on the bed, while some strands were dangling off the bed.
“Well of course!” Azul responded, grinning jovially, Idia totally unaware of the cruel glint in his eyes.
“Really? Awesom-“ Idia said, wriggling and struggling against his grip, pawing at the collar excitedly as he looked up at Azul.
“After we finish our game.” Azul corrected, watching happily as the hope left his eyes and he groaned in annoyance, letting his head fall back to rest on the bed once more.
“…what even is this ‘game’?” Idia asked dryly, obviously playing at being unimpressed, which was foiled by the hard on which was poking against Azul’s thighs.
“Choose a number between five and thirty,” Azul dictated, wondering if he would remember Azul doing this very same trick back in school. Oh, the mind games they had played with this! Typically, he’d get to see the gears in Idia’s brain kick into overdrive, trying to figure out if this was a trick question or not. But now? Now there was no light in Idia’s eyes, no spark of curiosity and caution. No fun at all. What a tragedy!
“… I dunno, twelve?” Idia offered up. He was trying to hard to look bored and unaffected, which would be infinitely more charming if it wasn’t because he was overworked.
“Very well then, twelve it is! You always do tend to go on the lower side,” Azul said lightly, the hand not tangled in Idia’s hair petting him softly as the man tried to resist relaxing into the touch.
“…” Idia didn’t bother responding.
“You sure are being rude, you know that?” Azul commented, Idia continuing to ignore him. “If you keep acting like that, you won’t get to hear the rules~”
“…Fine,” Idia spat out the word like an insult, “What are the rules?”
“I,” Azul started, keeping a firm but loose grip on the man’s hair just in case, “Will cane you twelve times.”
Just as he had expected, Idia tried to jerk out of his grasp. Alas, Azul had long since predicted that, and all he managed to accomplish was having his hair yanked, which caused him to mewl into the sheets.
“You didn’t even let me finish! Now, as I was saying, I will cane you twelve times, and you will count them.” Azul instructed, happily looking down at Idia as he squirmed. “Ready?”
“No, no, no, no way-!” Idia yelped, clutching the sheets like a lifeline.
“If you really don’t want to, you use the safe word, okay? Otherwise I won’t stop no matter how cutely you beg~” Azul warned seriously, “You can stop this anytime you want.”
“…okay,” Idia murmured under his breath, quietly enough that Azul had to strain to hear it. Idia had never been so afraid of his own desires before, so hesitant- truly, this situation was dire if he couldn’t even admit out loud that he wanted to submit. Quite frankly, the whole thing was uncanny- normally Idia was rather enthusiastic about his submission. The most bratting he tended to do was a rude comment here and there. Two months, it had only taken two months for Idia to become this stressed. Unbelievable.
Luckily for him, Azul was willing to help him out.
“Bite down on the sheets and try not talk when I’m hitting you- we wouldn’t want you to bite your tongue, now would we?” Azul reminded with a smile, the hand tangled in his hair remaining in place as the other ceased petting him, instead drifting over to grab the cane.
With the cane held securely in one hand and Idia held down with the other, Azul wound the cane back until it was about a foot and a half from Idia’s backside. The man was tensing and squirming, his breathes coming fast and short as he was overtaken by nerves and anticipation.
Swiftly, Azul struck him at the junction between his thighs and his ass with the cane. Idia immediately hissed in pain, hips jerking forwards unconsciously. Azul hadn’t hit him particularly hard, more of a tap if you asked him- it would be the repetition that would cause the pain.
One second, two, three-
“Idia, dear, you have to count them~ if I don’t hear you say it, then the strike doesn’t matter~” Azul said, feeling Idia shake under his grip. “You still have twelve strikes to go~”
“I-I’m not- I’m not going to-“ Idia stammered out, turning his head to glare at Azul, who generously allowed him to do so.
“Yes, yes you are. We will keep going until you do, and if that takes all night, well, then it takes all night.” Azul corrected, smirking down at the quivering man in his lap. “Oh, and just one more thing- if you mess up or lose count, we start again~”
“Fuck- no, no, no-“ Idia pleaded, but Azul twisted his head, holding him face down on the bed as his protests became muffled- not that they mattered, unless he was using the safe word.
“I’m going to try this again, okay~?” He crooned, winding up his cane.
Idia tensed, Azul brought it down in the same spot, and the man yelped, flinching.
“You’re being very quiet, Idia- well, apart from those cute noises of yours- you can count, yes? You know your numbers, you can count to twelve. Do you want me to do it with you?” Azul said condescendingly, “Here, say it with me- one…”
Idia kept shivering, silent as he buried his face into the sheets.
“Say. It.” Azul ordered, not unkindly, as he yanked Idia’s head back by the hair. “Now…”
“…O-one,” Idia choked out, tears welling in the corners of his eyes while Azul could feel the pre-cum from Idia’s cock begin to pool on Azul’s slacks.
“Good boy! Excellent job, I knew you could do it!” Azul praised, loosening his hold on Idia’s flames, letting the man’s neck relax. “Now, I’m going to strike you, and you’re going to count, just like that.”
And without further explanation, he brought the cane down again, Idia’s hips jolting forwards as the man cried out.
“…One,” the man half spoke and half sobbed.
“See? Was that so hard?” Azul asked, gently petting Idia’s scalp with the hand still bundled up in his hair. “…I expect an answer~”
“N-no…” Idia squeaked out.
“Now, we’ll do the second one,” Azul declared, Idia tensing up the moment he said it. He was so very wound up, poor thing.
He raised the cane, pausing for a moment before he lashed out, the cane meeting its target cleanly.
“Two!” Idia cried out as the strike connected.
“Absolutely delightful~” Azul murmured, “you’re doing so well for me! See how much nicer it is when you’re obedient~”
“I-I- I can’t, I won’t-!” Idia said, shaking his head as much as he was able to with Azul’s still holding him by the hair.
“No? But you were doing so well,” Azul commented as Idia shook even harder below him. “Let’s see if you can keep this up, okay?”
Without preamble, Azul struck him again, the same place and power behind it.
It proved to be the strike that broke the camel’s back, however, and Idia-
Burst into tears.
Weeping and wailing into the sheets, the flailing and struggling finally done as he went limp. Gently as he could, Azul lifted Idia’s head, the man gasping as he did so. Tears were streaming down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably.
“There we go,” Azul consoled, massaging Idia’s scalp as let him cry. “Let it all out~ I know, I know, it’s scary and stressful all the time, you don’t need to be strong right now. Nobody’s asking you for orders, all you have to do is follow along to what I say. And you know what? It’s okay if you fail. There’s no responsibilities weighing on your shoulders, no real consequences. It’s okay to mess up. It’s okay to not be in control. All you need to do is listen to my voice, okay? You’re not the boss here.”
Idia kept sobbing, all resistance gone from his body, the result of two months full of stress and fear. All these emotions that he had bottled up, all those feelings- he cried and cried and cried and finally let them out.
Azul didn’t bother trying to wipe away Idia’s tears- he just let him weep as loud as he wanted to. No punishment, no insults, nothing. His lover needed this, needed the gratification, needed the breaking. It didn’t hurt that he was such a pretty thing when he cried, of course, but it wasn’t about Azul tonight.
“All good?” He asked once Idia’s crying had quieted from the wailing and full body sobs. “Ready to continue?”
“…y-yeah,” Idia mumbled, tears still dripping down his face and wetting the sheets.
A loud thump and Idia was struck once again, mewling cutely. “One!”
“Lovely, so lovely~ you did such a good job!” Azul encouraged, smirking as he felt Idia’s cock jump at the words. “You can grind against my legs if you’d like~”
Quietly, without giving any sign he’d heard him, Idia cautiously started to rut against Azul’s lap. So very shy~
“Idia, mind your manners~ I gave you a treat, what do you say?”
“T-thank you,” Idia acknowledged, voice shaky.
Azul put down the cane, rolling his wrist. It was good form to take breaks, both to keep his hand from aching the next day and to let Idia adjust. He really did make for such an adorable sight, shyly canting his hips into Azul’s lap, the collar shining on his neck. It was a shame he couldn’t see his face right now, but he could feel every thrust Idia made and every little sound and that would have to be enough. He was willing to admit to himself- there were several points where he had been worried about going too far, but Idia knew his safeword. Besides, feeling him relax like this after seeing how tense and nervous he was before? That was worth more than gold to Azul.
Absentmindedly, Azul noted that Idia’s panting had gotten louder and his thrusts faster- the man was likely close. Azul might as well help him out~
A raised arm, the cane lined up and-
“Ah-ah-mmmh!” Idia keened, muscles spasming as he came. Azul watched as his partner orgasmed, cum painting both of their thighs Idia rode it out, still thrusting weakly. Once the aftershocks had died down, Idia laid like a ragdoll in Azul’s lap, utterly plaint.
“Did that feel good?” Azul asked, gently petting his lover’s head.
“Mm-hm,” Idia replied, completely complaint as Azul lifted his head up by the hair once more, only a stammering moan as a reaction.
“I suppose it must have, since you didn’t remember to count~” Azul said, Idia eyes shooting wide as his body tensed as much as it was able (which was not very much at all).
“Fuck, I-I’m s’rry- I- don’t be m-mad,” Idia choked out, tears falling faster and heavier than before. He was clearly panicking, coming close to hyperventilating.
“Shhh-shhh-shhhh- It’s fine, darling, it’s okay.” Azul soothed, ducking his head down to plant a kiss on Idia’s tear stained cheek, salt invading his mouth in a way that reminded him of the sea.
“B-but I failed?” Idia muttered, voice laden with anxiety as it cracked.
“It’s alright- remember, no responsibilities here, okay?” Azul reminded him. “You know what’s going to happen now?”
“W-we’re gonna d-do it again?” Idia replied, hope in his eyes.
“Perfect answer, love. See? It’s not so bad. We’ll just do it again, no harm done. It’s okay if you fail,” Azul reassured him, watching as the shivering slowed to a stop as he spoke.
“…you’re not upset? You- you promise?” Idia pleaded, smiling as Azul kissed his cheek again.
“Not in the least. You can fail as many times as you want, and I won’t be mad,” Azul promised, letting Idia’s head fall back onto the sheets made wet from his tears, the man panting as he laid as bonelessly still. At the moment, he resembled a doll more than a person with his porcelain-white skin, which would likely be bruised by morning.
“Okay~ here we go~” Azul warned playfully before the rod struck true once more.
“One!” Idia moaned, his cock hardening as the strike reached through the his body. Honestly, Azul wasn’t surprised at his stamina- sure, both of their stamina had been terrible when they had both started sleeping together, but after nearly two years, Azul was willing to say that their stamina in bed had gotten much, much better. Idia in particular had gotten much more used to having multiple orgasms, something Azul very much intended to take advantage of.
“Good work!” Azul said, grinning as Idia thrust into his lap at the words.
“T-thank you, sir!” Idia called out, bliss in his voice and joy in his half lidded gaze.
…sir? They had never really played around with titles a lot, except in a tongue in cheek fashion. This was new, though Azul didn’t dislike it in the least. Still, he wondered what had brought that on…
As he mused about the title, he brought the cane back again before bringing to down, Idia yowling out “Two!” as the force of the strike reverberated through his body.
“Wonderful~” Azul crooned, “So very good for me, so very obedient and good~”
“A-ah-mmh!” Idia mewled, chasing his second orgasm without hesitation. He looked so very good, so very shameless like this and Azul wanted nothing more then to eat him up.
“You make for such a pretty picture~” Azul praised, bringing down the baton in time with his words, two strikes in quick succession.
“T-three!” Idia cried, “Fourrrr-mmmhf!” The second word had ended up transitioning into a moan halfway through, probably due to the friction Idia was chasing.
“Hmmm, are we sure that last one counted? Sounded more like the moans of a cute little plaything to me~ Welllll, I guess I can count it, even if your pronunciation was messy towards the end,” Azul teased while Idia kept grinding into his lap, head propped to the side on the bed as he panted and gasped.
Laughing, Azul raised his arm and brought the cane down again, Idia’s whines of pleasure heavenly to his ears.
“Fa-five!” Idia said, smiling even as the tears continued to run down his face.
“You know what? You are doing so well right now- I think we should add another rule!” Azul exclaimed. “You were so very rude earlier, so I think you should practice your manners, okay?”
“Y-yes, sir~” Idia said breathily, eyes clouded with lust.
“How about this- every time I hit you, you have to say thank you afterwards,” Azul instructed, desire dripping from his tone as soaked up the lustful and wanting gaze of the man on his lap, “so when I hit you for the sixth time…?”
“I-I say thank you,” Idia finished happily. He looked utterly blissed out, all the tension gone from his face as rutted against Azul’s legs peacefully. Oh, he just looked so cute like this! So submissive and sweet and nice, relieved of the burdens of real life, finally, finally allowed to relax.
And when Azul hit him, he made the loveliest noises and was so, so very good for him. “Six!” He cried out, “T-thank you sir, thank you sir, thank you sir, thank you sir, thank you soooo much sir!”
“That’s quite a lot of ‘thank you’s,” Azul remarked, “What good manners you have!”
“S-sir gave me a-a really nice treat, s-so sir gets lots and lots of ‘thank you’s,” Idia replied, “‘cause sir is r-really generous and- and gracious and I-I love sir so m-much!”
Oh, Idia really was impossible to resist, especially when he gets like this. “I love you too, Idia,” Azul responded as he struck the rod against Idia’s flesh, who moaned and thrusted forwards.
“Seven, sir-!” Idia shrieked, “Ah- Ah- oh, fuck, this is s-so good-!”
“You like it when I hit you?”
“Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes, sir!” Idia said, eagerly letting Azul yank on his hair as his thrusts quickened, no longer any sort of rhythm to it what-so-ever.
“Do you want me to hit you even harder?” Azul inquired, Idia promptly writhing in place as response.
“Please, sir, please, please, please, hit me ha-harder!” Idia begged, looking up at him with such a cute expression that there was no way in hell Azul could even think about refusing him.
Winding up much farther than normal, about three feet from Idia’s backside, Azul swung the cane downward.
The entirety of Idia’s body tensed up, like spool of thread wound too tightly, and then released like a gunshot. The man screamed into the sheets, his hair flaring and back arching and still-
“E-ei-eh-eight-eeeh!” Idia stammered out between moans as he keened, so desperate to be good for Azul, so willing and wanting- Azul felt so very luckily to be here, to be the one that helped him out like this, the one who could make him relax. And yet- he felt even worse when he remembered all the pain Idia must have been going through with Azul completely oblivious to his suffering.
“You are doing amazing,” Azul said the statement plainly like the fact it was while Idia hips rolled as his orgasm came to an end. Azul’s slacks were absolutely soaked through with his boyfriend’s cum, with said boyfriend lying in a daze on Azul’s lap, cutely nuzzling into the sheets, sobbing sporadically. “You even remembered your counting this time! What a good boy, managing to remember your numbers even when you were cumming~ can you remember what other task you have?”
“T-thank you sir…” Idia mumbled, stretching like a cat while Azul petted his head. “Mmmh… that’s nice…”
“Do you want me to take a break? Or do you want me to go right back to caning you?” Azul said, allowing his concern to colour his voice. Idia had been handling everything beautifully, but this night was an anomaly in their sex lives for numerous reasons.
“Nope,” Idia said, leaning into Azul’s touch as adjusted his hips to get more comfortable, “I w-want to take everything you’ll give me, sir~”
“And if sir wants to give you a break?” Azul teased, watching with glee as Idia pouted (pouted! His typical belligerent nature was back! Sweet sea witch, he’d never been so happy to see Idia pouting before! Honestly, once Idia starts making witty remarks again, he might just cry!).
“W-well, sir is in charge… but please, please, please, sir, please can we finish our game?” Idia whined, grinding his still soft cock against Azul’s legs.
“Well when you ask so nicely…” Azul encouraged, chuckling as Idia’s face broke into a manic grin that showed all of his teeth. He remained chuckling as he lifted his cane (and wow, he was out of practice, his arm was tired already?) and swung it back down.
“Nine-eeehhh-!” Yelped Idia in between pants as he struggled to even out his breathing. “Thank y-you, sir! Ah, ah- sir? C-could I make a request?”
“Absolutely!” Azul replied as he none too discreetly eyed up Idia’s backside, which had just started to redden from the hits. “What do you want?”
“C-could you do all the remaining h-hits at once? I dunno if I can t-take this much longer… I still want t-to finish our game though, sir-!” Idia asked from where he was sprawled out on Azul’s lap, comfortably settled in opposed to the tense squirming of the beginning. Ah, it was so nice seeing how relaxed Idia had gotten!
“Of course, darling. In fact, I applaud you for knowing your limits- very good! Since you’re asking for a gift, you know what to say?” Azul agreed, smiling down sadistically, grinning so wide he it was making his face hurt. He just loved seeing people beg, and Idia had the cutest begging face he’d ever seen.
“Please-please-please, sir- I-I want it so- so badly a-and I’ve been good for y-you, right? I’m- I’m sorry I was bad at the beginning, b-but I’m good, right? Please, I- please, sir, use m-me how-ev-ever you want, sir, b-but please-!” Idia pleaded and blubbered, these wonderful electric yellow eyes brimming and spilling over with tears, so full of life, such a departure from the nearly dead ones he had sported prior.
“Oh, don’t worry- you’ve been very, very good. And good boys do get their rewards, yes? Are you ready for yours? I’m going to hit you three times, one after another. It’s okay if your counting is a little bit late for this one~” Azul said as he readied the cane, Idia biting down on the bedsheets excitedly as he arched his back. The man was barely holding it together, tears spilling still from his eyes as he waited in anticipation.
The hits came one after another, Azul not bothering to pause or relent at all, Idia nothing but a shaking, squirming, moaning, mewling mess in his lap, eyes practically rolled back in his head as noises of euphoria spilled from his blue lips. By the final strike, he was weeping once more, sobs that wracked his body and choked his chest.
Mercifully, the second he was done, Azul dropped the cane and immediately lifted Idia up off the bed and into his arms. He was panting with his mouth open like he had ran a marathon, stomach and thighs covered with liquid, eyes struggling to stay open as he cried.
“Ten… e-eleven and twelve,” Idia counted as he sat pliant in Azul’s lap, face to face with him, “T-thank you so v-very much, sir. I-I’m really grateful, sir!” Azul pulled him forwards, gently pressing a kiss to his forehead as the man giggled. “Whee hee hee… that was r-really fun, sir~”
“Do you need help getting your collar off before bed? I’ll deal with the aftercare, so don’t worry about a thing, darling.” Azul said, running his hand over the area where the collar met skin.
“Can I sleep with it on, sir?” He asked, his breath slowly beginning to even out as he came down from the high of arousal.
Well, it wasn’t a safety hazard and Idia had, in fact, slept with it on before, so it wasn’t unlikely to hurt or be sore… “Very well then~ if you want to. Now, you just lay down and I’ll take care of everything.”
“M’kay…” Idia yawned out, resting his head in the crook of Azul’s neck as Azul ran through his mental checklist of clean up that would have to bed done. Normally, Idia was the one who did most of the aftercare (given that Azul usually became rather lethargic after release) but there was no way in hell that the poor man was doing that tonight. Honestly, Azul was just glad he could get Idia to relax.
He kissed the side of Idia’s face, and began to get to work.
“Oh Gods, my ass…” Idia mumbled as he untangled himself from the sheets, “Everything is sore. Everything. I blame you for this, BTW.”
“Relax, it won’t actually start to bruise for another twenty four hours and you know it,” Azul retorted from next to him, stretching and wincing as he felt his back crack. He groped around blindly at the side table until he felt his glasses, hastily shoving them onto his face. A quick glance at the clock let him know that it was long past noon. “Anyways, how do you feel apart from that?”
“…good. Really good, actually,” Idia responded, tugging lightly at the collar still on his neck. “Fuck, it had been way too long since I got off.”
“Truly?” Azul asked, eyebrows raised. “If you told me you wanted to do some denial play, I would’ve helped~”
“That’s not what that was and you know it-!” Idia shot back, hair flaring as he rolled his eyes. “I didn’t even have time for gaming and you think I was able to jerk off? Hell no.”
Azul took a deep, rattling breath as he looked at his partner, more refreshed than he had seen him in days, but still obviously overworked. “How did it even get so bad? I- it was two months, Idia, and you-… I’ve never seen you acting so strangely.”
Idia sighed, head in his hands as he spoke, “I just- it wasn’t so bad before. I was an intern- all I was doing was fun science stuff. I was inventing a-and doing experiments and that’s- it’s pretty fun, ya know? So I started thinking… ‘Maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe my fate won’t be such a bad end after all’.” The man paused for a moment. “But… that’s not the same as being Acting Director. Most of the job is management stuff, ordering people around and making sure everything runs smoothly. And it’s… Gods, some of our employees are worse than NPCs sometimes. A-and I’m doing it alone. When I was an intern, I had a team and everything that I was a part of. Now? Now everyone is relying on me. All. The. Time.”
Azul didn’t bother responding- Idia needed to talk about this, to have this catharsis. Instead, he leaned over, hugging Idia from behind while he caught his breath, quietly supporting him.
“I just… I can’t do this solo. Before, when I was in school, I had Ortho with me as an assistant. A-and I’m glad he’s living his own life and going to school with his friends, I really am-! But- but I just… I can’t handle all this.” Idia sobbed out. “I mean, there so much to do, all the time, a-and people always need my help-! But that’s… that’s not even the worst part.”
Idia shuddered, sobs wracking through his body. “I feel so alone, Azul. During my internship, I was palin’ around with Malleus all the time, a-and chatting on the phone with you and VC-ing Ortho, and playing online chess with Leona, and Cater never stopped blowing up my phone with messages, and I had my gaming buddies. I talked to people. I- gods, I can’t believe I’m saying this- I had friends. Equals. B-but now I’m the scary heir-to-be of S.T.Y.X. I talk with world leaders a-and they treat me like a monster or some kind of threat. Mom and Dad are never fucking home anymore, d-doing their own projects and leaving it all to me! I- and when I do see them, they-! I-!”
Idia bawled into his palms, weeping as Azul rubbed his back, his voice strained as he stuttered out his next words. “I love my parents, I-I really do but-! But when I talk to them, Mom calls me ‘Acting Director” instead of Idy a-and Dad keeps talking about how proud he is of me a-and I don’t know how to get them to stop it-! I know, they just w-want to give me more independence, but I can’t take it! I can’t! Everyone s-says that I can do it, that I can handle it, b-but what if I can’t? What if I c-can’t handle it? What if I-I fail or- or mess up? What then? I-I can’t do this alone anymore-!”
“Idia.” Azul interrupted, feeling the man’s shaking still momentarily. “You won’t be alone. Tell me, does your father do everything alone?”
“…no.”
“So why should you?” Azul questioned, hiding his lover close as he spoke. “We’re partners, right? Requisition me from the ancient magic restoration department and have me be your assistant.”
“I- what?” Idia stammered, broken out of his melancholy.
“I have management skills that are, quite frankly, being wasted running errands. I literally ran a restaurant, a dorm, was top of my class and managed the Leech twins back in college, and you think I can’t help you with meetings? Don’t be foolish, Idia.” Azul added, the corners of his mouth lifting up as he felt Idia relax against him.
“You’re… you’re willing to be my player two?” Idia mumbled, turning to face Azul, no longer crying (which he had been doing quite a lot but given how pent up he had been, Azul would wager that that’s a good thing).
“Idia, I’m already your player two. I’m also your partner in everything- from business to love. We support each other, do we not?”
“Thanks, Azul. That… that really means a lot to me.” Idia said, a smile finally gracing his features
“Don’t you mean ‘Thank you, sir’?” Azul teased lightheartedly, laughing as Idia groaned in irritation.
“Nooo-! I was hoping you wouldn’t bring it up- you’re being so mean to me!” Idia whined, attempting to scowl and only ending up half-smiling instead.
“I must admit- I am curious about the why behind it. Not that I minded in the least, of course~ it was very enjoyable for me to get the respect I deserve~ but it’s not very typical of you.” Azul mused, watching as Idia “Hmmf”-ed in annoyance.
“… I mean. Everyone’s always calling me titles- Acting Director this, Sir that, hell, sometimes I even get called Lord!” Idia complained, leaning backwards onto Azul. “It’s just… another sign that I’m in charge all the time. I mean- I didn’t call you that on purpose? Okay, it was kinda sorta on purpose, but I didn’t plan it or anything! It just kinda… slipped out?”
“I get it,” Azul replied as kissed the corner of Idia’s mouth. “I don’t mind if you use it.”
“But anyhow- how the hell am I supposed to work today? Sitting down hurts like hell- Azul, this is a serious debuff, stop laughing!!!”
But Azul couldn’t help it. He continued his manic laughter as he pushed up his glasses. “You’ve fallen right into my trap, Idia~ I’m forcing you to take a day off!”
“What? No, no, no way, I can’t-!”
“You’re telling me, that despite being the Acting Director and Heir, you can’t take a day off?” Azul said, nuzzling the side of Idia’s face the arms wrapped around his waist began to drag him backwards. “Besides, it’s already noon. I bet they’ve already noted you down as sick. I mean, what can they do about it- fire you?”
“Ughhhh… you crafty bastard,” Idia replied, not an ounce of vitriol in his tone, only fondness.
“And I’m your crafty bastard~”