LOVE & STITCHES at The Asylum Part Fourteen
The weekend is here, a little chilly around here, but perfect weather for cozy blankets and yummy soup!
Also, Wren would be thrilled, because it snowed!
I hope, wherever you are, the temperature is...well, comfortable enough for storytime. lol
Happy Reading!
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Home. With everyone gone. Pike took a few deep breaths, trying to ditch the whole not wanting to show weakness when it wasn’t safe, but it wasn’t working. Why the fuck had he even walked out that door? Biting into his inner cheek, he glared at the wall and struggled to pretend his hand wasn’t part of his body. And not cry like a fucking baby.
“Pain reliever.” Seth brought him to their bedroom, where Quint reclined against the headboard in his dark blue robe that made his eyes stand out. “Tuck him next to you, my boy, while I get him something for his burn.”
Quint’s eyes went wide as he took Pike from Seth. Holding him close, he spoke into Pike’s hair. “How did you manage to burn yourself? I told you that is not how you check if the stove is ready. And to let me cook.”
“I wasn’t cooking.” Pike frowned at Quint, then stopped when his co-sub cuddled him close. “I was helping make coffee. It’s dangerous.” He stiffened in Quint’s hold. “Don’t you gotta work? Or Seth? You don’t both gotta be here because I messed up.”
The medicine cabinet thumped shut in the bathroom, Seth returning with a white bottle. Pausing by the drinks fridge they mostly kept around for easy access to bottled water, he snagged a couple bottles and handed one to Quint. “Every six hours. This should help.” He popped the cap with his thumb. “If it doesn’t, I can get you something stronger.”
Taking the pills, Pike slipped them into his mouth, letting Seth give him a sip from the second bottle, even though he made a face and ended up dripping some over his chin. “It’s not so bad. Stupid hurts.”
Seth shared a look with Quint, the way they sometimes did and Pike knew he was about to hear some story about the desert that was supposed to make him feel better but would probably only show how much cooler both the mercs were than him.
“We worked in a burn unit for a while.” Yep, there it is. “It’s one of the most painful injuries there are. Your skin has a great deal of nerve endings. It’s your body’s first line of defense against injury.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, Seth caressed Pike’s leg from thigh to knee and back, gently squeezing. “Especially your hands, which are the most tactile part of the body for obvious reasons. Basically?” He tipped his head to one side. “It’s designed to hurt like a motherfucker.”
“Okay, but you’re talking war wounds and I got hurt making… No, I wasn’t even making the coffee. Jamie was. And I saw the coffee was spilling and tried to fix it. And made more work for everyone.” Pike rolled his eyes and thunked his head back against Quint’s arm. His co-sub hadn’t moved an inch, even when he’d started being all emo. Actually, both Seth and Quint were ignoring him being an asshole, which...probably wasn’t good. He lifted his gaze to Seth’s. “And I argued with you when you were totally right. My ass is already fucked up, and so’s my hand. Not offering my dick for punishment, but...I don’t know, I got plenty of parts. Pick one.”
Lips slanting, Seth reached over to tweak Pike’s nose. When his hand came away, he poked the tip of his thumb between his first and second finger. “All right. I’ll keep your nose until you’re better behaved.”
Fighting not to giggle at that, because his Dom was a goof, Pike pressed his eyes shut. “You’ll be keeping it forever, then. I went out, I made an attempt, and I failed miserably. I can’t make Jared like me by planning the party, someone will probably die. Or catch on fire.” His eyes opened wide and he shook his head. “Holy shit, now I sound like Danny. He could probably predict shit with me just walking in a room. Like ‘this will be a disaster.’ And he’d be right.”
Quint shook his head, pressing his lips to Pike’s hair. “You’re being a bit extreme, but I don’t think it’s unwarranted when you’re hurt. Also, I’ll have you know Jared doesn’t often carry subs around. Certainly not ones he doesn’t like. And you managed that while doing things he doesn’t tolerate from many. You’re not doing as badly as you think.”
“True.” Nodding slowly, Seth appeared to think over Quint’s assessment. “I’m trying to think of how often I’ve even seen him carrying Wren...and I don’t think I’ve seen him carry Jamie.”
Snickering, Pike rested his bandaged hand on Seth’s thigh. It was still throbbing, but not so bad he felt like he wanted to scream and shove it back in the ice water, which had been a different kind of torture. “Rhodey picks Wren up sometimes and it’s obvious he doesn’t like it, but Rhodey’s all like ‘deal with it’ without saying it, you know? And Jamie? Well, when would Jared even get a chance? I think Noah’s got a kink for not letting his sub touch the ground. I’ve been trying to figure out everyone’s kinks and that’s definitely on his list. If he starts carrying me, know we’re fucking.” He ran his tongue over his teeth. “And save me. Yeah, he’s hot, but...just no.”
“I’m not sure I even know what to say to that, my pixie.” Seth blinked several times, the beginnings of a horrified frown pulling his brows together. He shuddered, shaking out his limbs. “Jared always did have interesting taste.” Gaze skipping to Quint, Seth grinned. “Present company excepted.”
Quint chuckled, gently batting Pike’s hand away when he started toying with the buttons on his shirt—apparently being gifted his own buttons wasn’t as special. Totally taking notes. Meeting Seth’s eyes, Quint laced his fingers with Pike’s. “Jared takes his time getting close to people, but under the right circumstances he does let people in. Noah isn’t all that surprising, they have a complicated past. He does not like brats, or…” His brow furrowed slightly. “He doesn’t appreciate intentional acting out. So when Pike does that, no, he wouldn’t give him any attention. If it’s just his personality and he sees he’s trying?” Quint’s gaze shifted to his. “He can tell the difference. And he’ll encourage it. He’s a healer, Pike. A protector. You aren’t demanding anything from him, you’re offering it.”
“Badly.” Pike stroked his fingers up and down the length of Quint’s, bringing his bad hand to cover Seth’s on his thigh because he needed to touch them both and figure out how to stop going mental over stupid stuff. “I...really do want to help with Wren’s party. And I could probably do some stuff good, but I ain’t a sub wrangler like Quint. And I ain’t suddenly gonna not find ways to break my own neck, or someone else’s, hanging decorations or blowing up balloons.”
“Which is why you’ll be the head of the decorating and design.” Taking a sip of water, Seth swallowed and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “You’re visual. You know how to create atmosphere, and from what I have gathered Jared wants some kind of spooky theme and haunted house type experience.” He handed Pike the water. “Drink a little. You need to stay hydrated.”
Bleh, I had to go get hurt and be stuck with boring shit. Pike obeyed, taking a sip, but he really wished he hadn’t messed up that coffee. Or that he could get Matt in here to make something tasty to drink. But thinking over Seth’s words gave him an idea. Like Curtis would say, two birds, one bullet. Or something like that. “Now that I’m not being all pathetic, could you call Jared and have him come back here so I can do a round two on party planning? He’ll probably have to be around a lot.” Look innocent, you can do it. He gave Seth his most brilliant smile. “And I need all the other subs. And Wren needs to be kept busy. How about, like, you call the Facebook people and have them crash the system and make it so he’s the only one who can fix it?”
Seth snorted, then shook his head. “No... While I appreciate your faith in me, if I could crash Facebook? It would stay down.” Not a fan of social media, Seth tended to frown whenever either him or Quint spent too much time on any of those sites. “I will, however, see what I can do about getting the subs back here.” His blue eyes narrowed, lips thinning with his mock glare. “Are you angling for permission to sleep with Jared?”
The edges of his lips twitching, Pike shook his head. “I didn’t think I needed it, sir? I wouldn’t say no, but I am totally not trying to get you to spend more time together so you don’t implode The Asylum next time one of you gets all… Hell, I don’t know, you’re like two junkyard dogs trapped together in the wrong lot. Only…” He shuddered. Yeah, picturing that was probably not what Stephan meant when he said to ‘desensitize’ himself. “Not so scary.”
“If you don’t think they’re just as scary, you haven’t seen them at their worst.” Quint relaxed back on the pillows, one arm still around Pike’s stomach, holding him loosely, but not pulling him away from Seth. “Try being the one stitching up both your Doms while they’re still growling about how ‘pigheaded’ the other is. Of course I would never presume to tell either they are well matched in that regard.”
“You know, I am making up a new rule, smiley.” Cupping Quint’s crotch under his robe, Seth leaned in. “If I can read the cheek between the lines, it’s a punishable offense.” He must’ve squeezed because Quint made a breathy sound that trailed into a moan. “And I was definitely not the pigheaded one that time... Or the other.”
Quint’s smile widened, lighting up his eyes in a way Pike wished he could paint, but wasn’t in his skill set. Not yet, anyway. He’d be willing to spend time with Noah to learn, even though, from some of Curtis’ stories, he might be safer with the junkyard dogs.
In his always so polite tone, Quint replied to Seth while inclining his head. “Of course, sir. I apologize for implying otherwise. You’ve always been very reasonable.”
“Hmm...” The response came out sounding so much like Jared that Pike had to bite his cheeks to keep from laughing, and judging by Quint’s expression he did the same. “All right.” Seth removed his hand from Quint’s junk, leaning over to take his phone from the nightstand. “I’ll call Curtis to round everyone up, because I think it’ll be less suspicious than me calling Jared this morning after how we’ve been arguing lately.”
“Or—now hear me out.” Pike sat up, grinning at Seth. “Jamie had a brilliant idea when we were talking about Matt. He’s a super smart guy, for real. I mean, both of them are, but I think that happens when you get all old.” He ignored Quint’s huff and kept going. “So, like him and Matt get along now because he sent Matt ‘junk mail’. So do that. See what happens.”
Seth glanced toward the living room like he was trying to see the hall table where all of the mail got piled up until Quint had time to deal with it. “I don’t understand how giving him our Restoration Hardware catalog might help...”
“Dude.” Pike burst out laughing, shaking his head and kinda loving how clueless his Dom was sometimes. It was cool to be able to teach him stuff too, like...bridging the gap from him being all sexy and experienced and having lived a whole lifetime, and giving him a taste of how the world was now. Seth being older didn’t bug him, and he loved that it didn’t bug Seth either. But this? Yeah, it felt good. He had something to give back. “I’m talking about a dick pic. You get all hard and show him one of the many reasons he used to be all into you.”
It was surreal to watch Seth sputter, but there it was. His Dom blushed, looking to Quint with a ‘help me explain’ expression. “I am trying to picture me and Jared vying for...” Another head shake. “No. I can’t even try.”
Quint reached out, cupping Seth’s cheek. “I know, sir, but...I believe, one of the things he enjoyed about being with you was that you were unexpected. I’m not sure how he’d react to something like this, but it would certainly get his attention. And you’re not a sub, so it’s not like you’re being a brat.”
“Exactly.” Pike rubbed his hands together, instantly regretting it and biting hard into his bottom lip. But he forced himself to keep going. Getting all excited had his accent coming out again, but it was okay with just Seth and Quint here. “He can’t get mad about it, he’ll be all like ‘What?’ and then not want Wren to see because what’s he gonna say? And he’ll want to know what’s up. So, if it goes bad? Blame me. I’m hurt and you’ve gotta give me my own way.”
“You’re both conspiring to get me killed.” Still shaking his head, only now a bit like he couldn’t believe he might actually be contemplating the idea, Seth stood. “I can’t even...” He stalked to the bathroom, his phone in his hand. There was the sound of a zipper and rustling clothes, then the electronic shutter sound on Seth’s phone. “There. I did it.”
A moment later, Pike’s phone chimed in his back pocket. So did Quint’s on the nightstand.
Frowning, because his phone never went off when he was with both Quint and Seth, except sometimes when Curtis texted—but he’d usually just come to the door—Pike lifted up a bit, tugging out his phone with his good hand. He smiled as he looked at a very clear, very well angled picture of a very familiar dick. His mouth watered a bit as he grinned up at Seth.
Behind him, Quint let out an appreciative sound. “Very nice, sir.”
And it hit Pike.
No. Seth couldn’t have…
He gave Seth a hopeful look. “It was cool of you to send me and Quint copies, sir. I might use this as my wallpaper.”
“I didn’t—” Pike and Quint’s phones chimed again, as did Seth’s.
Glancing at his phone, Pike winced at the message from Curtis.
Lonely?
“Oh fuck.” Pike’s eyes went wide as several more messages followed.
From Keiran it wasn’t so bad.
Very good lighting, sir?
But the others were a mix of confused, some even not seeming sure who it was from. Like Danny, who was messaging Jamie through the group text.
We have a stalker now, don’t we? I knew this would happen. I bet Trevor gave him our numbers. What if it’s a serial killer? I’m going to find Avery and hide in his secret place, you should come.
The unexpected replies came from Drew, and apparently Vani.
I don’t think I should be a member any more. I am not good at this. Do I have to reply? I don’t know how to take a pic with my phone like that. Do I need a license?
Vani’s was straight to the point.
Seth, please delete my number from your phone until future notice.
A couple more chimes and vibrations came in, Seth staring at his phone like Danny’s proverbial ceiling crash was happening in their bedroom. A dick that was slim and curved but with a plump head and a nice flush, and another that was a little darker and wider with a thatch of dark blond pubes.
“Umm...well, I can probably fix this, sir?” Pike took a deep breath, wanting to laugh because this was a whole mess, but also not, because it was his Dom he’d gotten stuck in the middle of it. Maybe keeping his accidents to breaking himself was better after all.
He replied to the group text.
My bad, I was sending that to Quint and Jared. Seth doesn’t know I took it, so don’t make it a thing. You’ve all seen dicks before. Can y’all delete it so I can sit again this month? TYVM.
“Pixie...” Groaning, Seth laid his phone face down on the nightstand, then lifted Pike off the bed so he could sit with him in his lap. “You don’t need to cover for me. It’s not the end of the world, and isn’t your fault.”
Shaking his head, Pike pressed a kiss to Seth’s cheek. “I just did, sir. And you’ve always got my back. I can’t do it the same way, but I can do this.” He hooked his fingers to the buttons still left to hold Seth’s shirt together and grinned at him. “You’re gonna let me, right? Either that or...I don’t know, I’ll have to do something drastic to distract you and then shit will go down here and you won’t have a choice.”
Looking over his shoulder, Seth motioned Quint to sit closer so they could share Pike between them. “I don’t think anyone is going to believe it was you taking a photo at that angle, when it was my hand holding my underwear open.” Seth’s burble of laughter ended in a snort. “Oh my God.” He closed his eyes, laughing harder, until tears leaked down his cheeks. “This...this...Vani!” He howled, falling backward onto the bed with Pike. “Lawson!” More laughter and names followed. “Jesus.”
Now that laughing wasn’t mean, Pike let it out, laying on Seth’s chest. “Okay, I’m not the super brain you and Quint are, but this is easy. If it’s gotta be talked about at all, we were being all sexy together and sending pics because it’s a thing. But only I had that one, and I was being a brat sending it to Quint and Jared to tease them. Simple, right? Sometimes you can’t be here, or you come up while me and Quint are downstairs and you gotta sleep. But no one’s gonna ask all that. Just...I said what I said and we leave it.”
“I am the worst Dom ever if I let you take the fall, Pike.” Sobering, Seth wiped the tears from his eyes with his knuckles, then brushed a hand over Pike’s hair. “We’ll figure it out. If it needs figuring out. Let’s wait and see what—”
The loft door lock beeped, then opened, bouncing off the wall. Curtis strode in at a near-run, coming into the bedroom and looking around like he expected them all to be held at gunpoint. His gaze landed on Pike. “Oh, thank dog. I thought maybe they left you alone and you were going to blow the place up.”
Frowning at his cousin, Pike put both his hands over his Dom’s lips, wincing as one reminded him it was still fucked up. He stared down at Seth, talking under his breath. “You are an awesome Dom. Next time you say shit like that, I’m throwing a fit.” Lifting his head, he let out an irritated sound. “Thanks a lot. I can do some stuff on my own, you know. Fine, I fucked up and turned something that was supposed to be all fun and sexy into a whole deal, but…” No, this wasn’t fair. Curtis got to worry about him. He’d given him so many reasons. He lowered his gaze. “I’m...sorry. Like, I appreciate it, but...they don’t just ditch me. And...I’m trying to stay alive. For real.”
“You wouldn’t be an O’Rourke if you didn’t dance with disaster on the regular.” Grinning, Curtis winked, then held up his phone, where there was what looked at a distance to be a pic of his dick. Fingers moving across the screen, he joined the fray, and everyone’s phones chimed. “Go all in, or don’t go in at all, right cuz?”
Throat tightening, Pike pushed to his feet, running to his cousin and throwing his arms around him. “Owww. I fucking love you so much. Thank you, big bro. I wish I’d had you for always, but...I’m so fucking lucky to have you now. You’re the best. Seriously.”
Eyes sheening, Curtis cleared his throat roughly and brought his arms around Pike. They were strong and his chest was warm, the waffle weave fabric of his white Henley softly abrading Pike’s cheek. “You’re one gajillion times the man and brother Fallon ever was. Thanks for giving me back a piece of myself.”
“You gave me back my whole life, it’s the least I could do.” Pike rubbed his eyes against Curtis’ shirt, not wanting to get too sappy on him. When he was pretty sure he looked kinda okay, he lifted his gaze. “I wanted Seth and Jared to be cool and Jamie told me about him and Matt and...I should probably get better at keeping some shit to myself, huh? Y’all are so tight and I...wanna make sure we vibe the same, ya know?”
Seth and Quint stood to flank Pike, Seth’s hand rubbing the small of Pike’s back. They didn’t interrupt, but it was clear his Dom and co-sub wanted him to know they had his back.
“You know...” Chin tipped down, brown eyes on Pike, Curtis loosely looped his hands around Pike’s waist. “Things around here have a way of shaking out after a lot of earthquakes.” His familiar lopsided smirk lightened his gaze. “The dust settles and we all seem to forget what the rumbling was about. It’ll be the same with Jared and Seth. You’ll see.”
“But…” Pike hated the idea of utterly humiliating his Dom for nothing. He chewed on his bottom lip and stared up at Curtis. The man knew pretty much everything. “This’ll help, right? Y’all will chill and see he’s good people?” He shut his mouth and tried to get a grip on the way he was talking. His mom had only slapped him once and it was for stupid shit like this. He knew better. “Seth really is awesome. Even if no one else gets it, please...tell me you do?”
“‘Course I do, ceann beag.” Treating the subject with all the seriousness it deserved, Curtis grew quiet for a moment. “It’s not...that I don’t think Seth is a good person.” He threw Seth a small smile. “I don’t know him that well, but I know he takes great care of someone I love very much.” It took Pike a second, but he realized Curtis meant him. “That’s all I need to know.” The devil reappeared in his expression. “Well, that and he rivals both Noah and Lawson in the size department. Who wouldn’t want to get on his good side?”
Quint arched a brow at Curtis, one hand on Pike’s shoulder as he glanced down at him, then addressed his cousin. “I can’t speak for Lawson, but Noah? Yes, that’s a fair comparison.” He smiled warmly at Curtis. “I’m glad you understand what happened here and will make sure no one holds it against Pike. It was a pretty harmless mistake. I’m sure hearing that from you will help a lot. And Seth obviously won’t punish him harshly for it, which I doubt anyone expects.”
“Over my dead body.” The way Curtis’ spine went rigid and his eyes filled with the O’Rourke fire so quickly made Pike’s head spin a little.
“There will be no punishments.” Seth growled the mandate, matching Curtis’ mood. “I love your spirit, pixie. Anyone who tries to crush it will need to get through all three of us.”
“Mew?” There was a bump at Pike’s ankle, then another, “Mrrew?”
Crouching down, Pike smiled and lifted the tiny bundle of fur in his arms. It made his hand throb, but so worth it. “Hey, Kitten. Did Daddy feed you? Sorry for taking off, and I swear, if I can’t take care of you, I’ll find somewhere that you’ll be happy.” He didn’t want to give Kitten away, but...maybe it was time he stopped being selfish. He looked up at Curtis. “Cuz, you...you took care of Reed and Ez, Ez told me all the time. Maybe...you should take Kitten? Seth and Quint work a lot and I’m...me. I mean, Jared offered to help and I’m sure everyone wants to, it’s not y’all it…” He swallowed and shook his head. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“Hush, now.” Curtis’ quiet words mingled with Seth’s, “You absolutely can.”
It was Seth who continued, turning Pike to face him. Cupping Pike’s chin, he stroked lightly along Pike’s jaw with his thumb. “We’ll make sure we help you learn, and when we can’t be here if you’re unsure then Curtis will help.” He met Curtis’ gaze. “Right, my man?”
Anyone around here who got a ‘my man’ from one of the core was ‘in like Flynn’ as their gran used to say. Which meant that Curtis’ echo of certainty when he said, “Right, my man,” was something Pike and Seth could count on. In more ways than one.
“Okay, I’ll...do my best. But he’s little and no one can get mad at him. If he fucks up, it’s all on me.” Pike held Kitten close to his chest. “And he doesn’t get a job. I want him to get fat and lazy and just...happy.” A weird thing to say, but Curtis would get it. So he looked up at Seth. “Sorry, I know I’m being extra again.”
Quint rubbed his shoulder. “Communication isn’t something to apologize for, brat. I hope you know...we haven’t been where either you or Curtis have, but we do understand why some things are hard. And I wanted this for you, so much. I can’t sit back and let you have a rat, I have my own experiences that make that difficult and...you know I worry. But this sweet little thing?” Bending down a bit, Quint brushed a finger between Kitten’s ears. “I believe he’s perfect for you.”
Joining the party, Seth loved on Kitten by playing with his tail in gentle strokes until Kitten twisted around a little to bat at Seth’s fingers. Seth huffed, his lips turning up at the corners and his gaze softening. “Nobody can be mad at anything so little and sweet.”
“True.” Sharing a look with Pike, Curtis nodded a little, then brought his mouth to Pike’s ear to share a secret. “It’s pretty much a sacrosanct Asylum rule. No getting pissy with littles.”
Pike smiled up at his cousin, loving that it meant Kitten was gonna be protected, no matter what. He really...felt like this place was somewhere he wanted to be every time he heard something like that. Or when he saw a Core Dom sticking up for a sub, and setting the other Doms straight. It was like this place was somewhere things could be safe and good and that was...fucking awesome.
“I’ll try not to be too much trouble so this isn’t, like...more work, Cuz.” Pike thought about the coffee machine and wrinkled his nose. “Is Matt pissed? I shoulda cleaned up. I just...I don’t think of shit like that a lot. Quint usually does and maybe I think he likes it and it’s got me all sloppy and dumb.”
“I do like it.” Quint gave his hair a light tug. “I enjoy taking care of you. Don’t stop giving me reasons to, I’ll be completely lost.” His lips curved. “But when I can’t...I need to know you won’t come back hurt. If it can be avoided, which is a whole different issue.”
“And no cousin of mine could possibly be dumb.” Curtis appeared offended Pike had even suggested it. “But to answer your question, Matt is not pissed. Just pissy. He’s still stinging—literally—from yesterday, so he knows he’s supposed to be watching his emotional regulation and didn’t. That’s on him. He got lines and will apologize to you, because he is sorry all on his own.”
Pike liked Matt a lot and it was really sucky that he was in trouble. He gave his cousin a dirty look because the man wouldn’t spank him and he was so gonna use that. “Dude, I decide if someone should be sorry and I messed up his machine. And he wasn’t emotional whatever with me. Y’all gotta…” He blew out a breath. “I’m also deciding Jamie doesn’t get to be in trouble either. He saved my hand. Quint, I ain’t good at lists, I think they’re stupid, but Wren’s always talking about them so can you make a list of demands before we start on this whole party thing? Because...yeah, I’ll probably fuck it up but I’m doing that too. And I’ll send Jared a picture of my dick if it’ll help.”
Shooting him a sideways look, Quint went to the cupboard and got his favorite sweater, which was missing all the buttons for some mysterious reason. He laid it over Pike’s shoulders. “Lists usually include something specific. More than ‘No one can be in trouble’.”
“I do not need a photo of anyone else’s penile appendage this morning.” Jared’s wry tone had everyone swiveling to face him. He stood in the bedroom doorway, phone in hand, broad shoulders seeming to take up the entire space. “Did someone suffer a rupture? Why all of the blue texts? Or are you taking a sudden interest in pornography like Bizzy?”
Crouching down, Pike set Kitten on the floor and covered his ears. “He’s too little to hear about stuff like that. And whatcha mean, Seth’s into porn?” He looked up at Seth. “Did you get a new hobby you didn’t tell us about, sir?”
Seth rolled his eyes like Jamie. “Offer a favor to a coworker and see what happens?” He shook his head at Quint. “Let this be a lesson to you, smiley. Jared has a phobia. Just one, and it’s porn. No... Correction. Three.” He tilted his head to one side. “And it’s porn, sharing, and straight people.”
Since Quint got that expression on his face he always did when he was stuck between Seth and Jared, Pike decided to come to his rescue. He grinned at Seth. “Well, can’t really blame him for the last one. And if he can’t share, he’s in the wrong place.” Letting his sleeve fall over his hand, he waved it in front of Kitten, watching the tiny thing bounce around. “And it’s not like he’s a prude, Quint’s told me all kinds of dirty stories about the three of you to get me to go back to sleep after I have nightmares. I have much better dreams after.”
Snickering, Curtis gave Pike a thumbs-up and a wink. “Nicely done. And did you never realize the kind of blackmail material you have? We need to talk.”
“Do you need me to step in while Lawson’s out of commission?” Jared came up behind Curtis, landing a solid smack on his ass that had him stumbling closer to Pike.
It didn’t seem to perturb Curtis, who only gave Pike another wolfish grin. Even he didn’t test Jared though, going silent in favor of leaning down to pet Kitten.
“Pike was trying to get you back here so he could begin party planning, sir.” Quint sat on the floor next to Pike, fussing with the sweater over his shoulders and frowning at the missing buttons. “He has a...unique way of going about things, but he means well. He very much wants to help, but we were just discussing how he can best do that. And how to involve the other subs.”
Jared glanced down at his phone, then back up at Quint, like he needed a dictionary to translate what he saw and heard. “Why not just say so?” He clucked his tongue, then sighed. “Nevermind. I believe I stopped understanding humanity the moment I joined the Army. If I ever did.” Seth made a quiet sound of agreement, everyone crowded around Kitten now. “Alright, little gremlin. What do you propose? Besides marriage, because I’m reserving my ring finger for my little raven.”
“That’s okay, I don’t need all the paperwork stuff. But you should help me get Seth and Quint hitched, Quint likes all the mushy stuff, he just doesn’t admit it.” Pike laid down on his stomach when Kitten started stretching up to try to play with his hair. “I’m gonna name him so he knows he’s part of the family now. What about Fresco? Because it’s food and paint?” Not why Jared was here and he didn’t want to annoy the man, so he peered up at him. “Do you think we could get Wren out of The Asylum or do we gotta do everything here?”
“We’ll need to figure a way to get him out, but I think Rhodey will provide one of his safehouses.” Twisting his lips to one side, Jared frowned. “Hm. No. I think pretending there’s a threat would be too triggering. We want everyone to have fun.” He scratched his beard with two fingers. “Oh well, I’ll think of something.”
Seth lowered himself to the floor, and Curtis did the same. It was like one of those group therapy session circles Stephan sometimes did, except way less weird and a lot more fun.
Curtis leaned over to wiggle his fingers at Kitten. “As long as we don’t end up calling him ‘Al’ Fresco, like Uncle Al. Remember him? He once tried to cut off my thumb. The only nice thing Fallon ever did was to kick him in the nuts so I had time to run and hide.”
“Yeah, no calling him that. I think he ‘disappeared’ when I was still pretty young?” Pike wrinkled his nose as he tried to picture the man and came up blank. Grinned when Curtis whistled, all innocent like. “I think some of the uncles forgot, we get bigger.” He rolled his eyes, glancing down at himself. “Well, most of us.”
Making a resigned sound at the back of his throat, Jared sat next to Curtis, then ruffled Pike’s hair. “From what I could see, you grew in all the important ways.”
“Thanks, sir. And I don’t mind being fun-sized now that it’s not a huge issue. I mean, a lot of the subs are.” Pike had thought the meeting would be all stiff and formal, but this was much better. And everyone was getting along. Dick pics for the win! “Maybe that’ll help with getting us all out of here? We’d fit pretty easily in a few trunks.”
Jared’s eyes widened. “Oh, yes...” He stared off into the middle distance, a smile spreading across his face that made him look softer. Kinder. “He would have so much fun with my hearse and a coffin. We’ve not played that way. Outside Kelly, who was the one in the coffin at the time.”
Coughing, Seth, brought his fisted hand to his mouth. “You’re welcome.”
“Ah. That’s right.” Turning arctic blue eyes to Seth, Jared nodded slowly. “I’d forgotten it was you who gave me that as a birthday present.” He activated his phone to send someone a text message. “You are the only two in the Asylum who know when that is. No telling.”
Curtis leaned back on his palms. “If anyone but Wren goes in a box, we’re having words.”
“That’s probably the only way Rhodey will let me leave.” Pike blew at Fresco’s fur—yeah, I like that name a lot—and snickered when Fresco tried to pounce on the air. “Maybe not a coffin for me, though...might start giving him ideas.”
“No. No ideas.” Thumbs still plodding over the glass, Jared swore softly. “I’ll protect you from the Russian.”
“I think you’re making a lot of assumptions about my needing your help, Jared.” Leaning in, expression darkening, Seth caught Jared’s eye. “I’ve been doing a fine job with Quint.”
Jared’s brows rose. “Oh? Congratulations on thinking so.”
The sharp whistle Curtis made through his fingers had Fresco arching and puffing up like the scrubbie that Quint sometimes used to clean Pike’s back...a loofah. That was it. Little loofah. “Stop fighting or I’ll get the water bottle and squirt everyone.”
“Can you do that anyway? I so wanna see that.” Pike was really glad Curtis was here. Dom wrangling seemed even harder than managing a bunch of subs.
Even Quint looked like he had no clue how to handle the two.
Holding up his good hand, Pike got them back on track. “So we’ve kinda got transport handled. Keiran will make tons of food and I’ve got plenty of suggestions for that. The games we’ll need all the subs to figure stuff out. And Wren doesn’t seem like the music and dancing type, so...yeah, games or things will get boring. Maybe…”
What kinds of things is the dude even into?
“Do you think he’d like ice sculpting with chainsaws?”
From the expression on Quint’s face? So not going to happen. Seth and Jared didn’t look too enthusiastic either. With the amount of time the three had spent in the clinic taking care of one member of the core after another, having to potentially reattach limbs probably didn’t sound like much fun.
Pike nodded, not letting himself get discouraged. He’d come up with something.
Think more sexy and less...power tools.
****
Part 15 is coming tomorrow, so stay tuned!
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Have and amazing weekend!
Hysterical! Especially vanis response
ReplyDeleteI laughed when i read this, nice to see Seth not so dom like.
ReplyDeleteThat was epic! Go Seth 😆
ReplyDelete