Love & Stitches at The Asylum: Part 48
Good morning, peeps!
It's a lazy day at The Asylum, and we're cuddling up with Jared and Jamie in the aftermath of an eventful evening. We hope you enjoy this softer take on their relationship.
Change in life takes time, and we like for these relationships to feel as real for you as they do for us. We enjoy exploring the nuances of what it takes to get everyone to where they need to be, and hopefully you do too.
Now, without further ado, here is a step forward. We can't promise, like in any good story, that there won't be some steps back, but what fun would The Asylum be without a little mayhem? ;-)
Let Bianca and I know what you think of these developments in the comments, below, and feel free to join in some lively conversation about this chapter in the Spoiler Group.
If you'd like to ask your questions in a 'live' forum, I'll be hosting an Ask Me Anything from my personal Facebook Group in a Facebook Live next weekend. Hope to see you there!
xo
Tibby
*****
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
PART 6
PART 7
PART 8
PART 9
PART 10
PART 11
PART 12
PART 13
PART 14
PART 15
PART 16
PART 17
PART 18
PART 19
PART 20
PART 21
PART 22
PART 23
*****
That boy is going to choke. And not in a fun way.
Back in the media room for the second time in so many days—more than Jared usually spent here in a month—the morning haze faded with the observation. Flopped in a pink bean bag chair with his cat ears and glasses on, Jamie bounced his feet, stuffing popcorn in his maw by the fistful as he watched a YouTube video about what appeared to be making beds.
Jared tilted his head, standing back for a moment to watch him as the woman in the sexy maid uniform bent over, displaying her breasts as she tucked in the sheets to make military corners. Her perky demeanor and...assets were so sideways to what he’d expected to find Jamie viewing, it took until almost the end of the video for him to speak.
“If you’re looking for conversational topics with Wren, I believe you’ll find gothic antiques a better try.” Jared sat on the nearest leather recliner.
Pausing the video, where the maid bent over with her curtsey, giving them both an eyeful, Jamie twisted around. “Oh, no, sir. I was trying to figure out why Wren disapproves of the way Quint folds sheets, and I went down a rabbit hole.”
“Ah. I see...” Awkwardness descended, Jared staring at the screen, at the largest breasts he’d seen since he’d been on leave in Amsterdam—trying to convince himself he liked women in an attempt to forget Rhodey. Tearing his gaze away, he held out his hand to Jamie for the remote. “Let’s find something to watch, shall we?” At least if they were watching television, they wouldn’t need to talk. “You have chocolate on your lip.”
Jamie scrambled to his feet, handing over the remote with one hand, and rubbed at his face with the heel of the other. “I had a nanny who used to spit on her fingers and clean my face. It’s so gross. Except when Noah does it. Then it’s kind of hot.” He licked his fingers, wiping some more. “But no matter what, it works.”
Palming the sticky remote, Jared went through the motions of pausing the video on something a little less distracting. “How...about you get the wipes from the bathroom so I can clean the remote and you can clean your hands?”
“Sure.” Moving more slowly than he usually did, Jamie walked to the powder room off the media room. Water ran, then shut off, Jamie washing his hands. He emerged with a packet of wipes. “Here, let me clean it, sir.”
Jared handed over the remote, watching as Jamie pulled out a wipe and cleaned every button and crevice before he gave it back. Reclining the seat, Jared patted the one next to himself. “Join me. Do you enjoy Science Fiction?”
“Um...” Plopping down on the seat to Jared’s right, Jamie tucked his knees to his chest. “Like, movies with math? Or chemistry?” He shook his head. “Can we watch one of your and Wren’s Friday the Thirtieth movies? That might be enjoyable.”
“Thirteenth.” Flicking through the Plex server Noah had Wren install, Jared gave the boy a sidelong look. Jamie stared back at him with feigned innocence and Jared’s lips quirked at the clever bit of humor. “But you knew that.” He tapped Jamie on the head with the remote. “Just because there are a lot of them doesn’t mean they’re not good.”
Gaze scanning the framed movie posters around the room, landing briefly on the glass display case that held his music, film, and television awards, Jamie nodded. “Yeah, but I used to get so bored making all the same songs with Glam. Don’t the people who make those movies want to do something else with their lives sometimes?”
“Good question.” Jared flipped through the Sci-Fi shows. Firefly, Battlestar Galactica... They seemed too large for a novice. “We need something universal...”
“Ooh!” Jamie pointed at The Martian, and not the good one with Matt Damon. The 1950s television show. “I’ve seen that! That’s good science stuff. We can watch that.”
Making a mental note to come prepared for their next movie date, Jared shook his head. “It should be something we’ll both enjoy.” And that won’t make me regret not living in my hearse. “Jamie...” He turned a little in his seat. “Why do you enjoy these old shows and films? Don’t you have an interest in any of the things Reed likes?”
Shrugging, Jamie pushed his glasses up on his nose—the ones he wore whenever he was feeling too lazy or tired to clean his contacts the night before. “I like Reed’s anime and cartoons. But the shows I like? They have good moms. It’s always happily ever after. Nothing epileptic like the horror movies and action flicks.”
Jared squinted at the boy until Jamie looked as blurry as Jared’s brain felt as he parsed the words. “Ah. Apocalyptic.” He shook his head. “You find explosions triggering?”
“I don’t like anything I can’t tell how it’s gonna come out.” Wetting his lips in a broad swipe of his tongue, Jamie glanced at the large screen that took up all of the far wall, with red drapes on either side. “You know, the explosions happen and you don’t know where to look, and things are all over the place. It feels like reading a really big book without my special paper. When I watch Fred and Ginger and Shirley, even if I don’t get the story sometimes because it’s so old and antichrist, I can get the dance moves and escape into that.”
“I think you’re looking for anachronistic, but that’s not the correct use of the word.” Scrubbing his hands over his face, the remote between the fingers, Jared took a moment and a breath. “Your brain likes the older shows because they have longer scenes, more constant camera movements, and a generally slower pace. They’re predictable and happy. Do I have that right?”
Jamie nodded slowly. “Yes. And they have moms.”
“Define…‘moms?’” Settling the remote on his thigh, Jared leaned back.
“Parents who tuck people in. Some of them have old timey punishments and stuff, but that just feels like Noah, so that doesn’t upset me.” Gaze going far away, Jamie turned a little so his cheek rested on the recliner back. “But parents who don’t swear and have bedtimes and don’t make their kids work, and who say please and thank you and things like ‘wash your teeth’ instead of ‘brush’ which was really weird but kinda cool.”
You are the strangest creature I ever met.
Trying not to let his consternation show on his face, Jared nodded slowly. “I can see where that would be...comforting.” In reality, he found the idea suffocating, like it would place him under the thumb of some asshat who didn’t know child rearing from dog showing. “So...if I showed you a Science Fiction television program that was older, slower, but still had action in it, would that be stressful for you?”
“Maybe not?” Without turning his head, Jamie glanced sideways at the screen where all the images showed the covers and titles for the shows and movies on their server. “I’m willing to give it a shot?”
“That’s all I ask.” Leaning forward, Jared plucked up a cupcake and napkin from the low table in front of them. “The original Star Trek should be about your speed, I think. It was a favorite of mine as a boy. I never quite got into the newer ones. The unintentional camp of the first series makes for good re-watching too.”
“‘kay.” Jamie settled back, pulling his fluffy white throw over his lap and taking off his cat ears, like he thought they didn’t belong on his head while he watched ‘serious science and math’ shows.
Jared queued up episode one of season one, and as the credits rolled he changed his mind. “You know what? We should start with one that you’ll really like a lot, to whet your appetite.”
“I never got why people say that. I mean, why would I want my appetite to be wet? I get drinking water with dinner, or milk, but by then you’re eating so having an appetite isn’t as big a deal.” Jamie watched, eyes glued to the screen, as Jared flicked through the seasons looking for the episode he wanted.
“W-h-e-t, whet, Jamie.” Holding back his brand of snark, Jared bit his tongue. “Here we go.”
The title flashed on the screen, Jamie wrinkling his nose. “There’s a typo.”
Pausing, Jared frowned at him.
“Dribbles is spelled with a ‘d’.” Jamie pointed at the screen. “Even I know that.”
“Just...watch?” Jared set his teeth, deciding any plans he had to teach Jamie chess would be a disaster. “Please.”
“Yes, sir.” Pulling his blanket over his head, Jamie made a mini fort of it, just his face peering out at the screen.
Over the next fifty minutes, Jared paid more attention to Jamie than the screen, watching for and gauging his reaction as the tribbles took over the Starship Enterprise. Captain Kirk’s getting buried in the cute, furry things had his boy in snickers, then giggles. At one point, he looked up at Jared with wide-eyed wonder, whispering, “I didn’t know science could be silly.”
The idea of the destruction of the creatures had him predictably pulling his blanket over his head and burying his face in his knees. “Let me know when it’s over. I don’t want them to die. Can we write the producers and ask them to reshoot this? People do remakes all the time. That would be a good one.”
“It’s alright, love.” Hand on Jamie’s back, Jared rubbed in slow circles. “You can look now.”
Jamie emerged slowly, like he always did after something on the screen struck him as sad or intense. Just his nose and eyes peered out from the blanket. “Maybe we could adopt the ones the Enterprise doesn’t want?”
Not having the heart to tell Jamie they weren’t real, Jared pulled his boy into his lap. “Would you like to watch another one?”
“Yes? Are there more tribbles?” Jamie cuddled sideways in Jared’s lap, leaning his head against Jared’s chest.
“There are some tribble episodes in some of the spinoffs. One is a cartoon.” Picking up the remote, Jared searched for the shows he thought he remembered.
By the time they finished, they’d watched all of the tribble spinoffs, a pile of YouTube videos about Star Trek conventions and the filming of that particular episode, and Jared knew more about the life of William Shatner than he’d previously thought to entertain.
“His star is six down from mine.” Jamie mumbled the words sleepily, growing a little heavier in Jared’s lap.
“Maybe we’ll have to go see it sometime.” The words left Jared’s mouth before he thought about them, and given Jamie’s happy sigh, there was no way he could take them back.
“Your lap is warm.” This time, Jamie cracked a yawn and buried his face in Jared’s chest.
“Yes, my little tribble,” he murmured into Jamie’s hair. “Yes, it is.”
They sat a while longer, Jamie dozing a bit, Jared staring at his face wondering how in the hell either he or Noah would be able to approximate Donna Reed in his life. Wren came close, his homemaking skills likely the kind of settled comfort Jamie craved.
A cramp started at Jared’s thigh, then moved to his lower back, the angle of the seat not the most comfortable he’d experienced with a hundred-and-thirty pounds in his lap. Possibly one-twenty. He frowned down at Jamie, noting the shadowed hollowness under his cheekbones. He hadn’t grown taller, but he was definitely leaner. Rangier under his fluffy clothes, except for his ass which would likely always have that curve Noah loved so much but made fitting trousers on him a challenge unless Jacks specifically tailored them for his measurements. It might’ve been the effect of shedding the last vestiges of his teenage and early twenties boyhood, but it felt like more.
Standing, he brought Jamie with him to the living room, settled him onto the sofa with a soft blanket, and stretched. Somewhat automatically, he poured two bourbons, then brought them both to the main bedroom. Nudging the door closed with his heel, he crossed the room to set Noah’s glass down on his bedside table.
“I was going to offer to see if you’re able to get erect yet without pain, but you look so comfortable.” Smiling down at Noah’s dark curls, Jared met his gaze when he looked up from the book perched on his lap. “How about I get you a little mellow with an afternoon whiskey instead?”
Making an appreciative sound, Noah nodded. “That would be very nice, thank you.” He held the book with one hand and picked up his whiskey, taking a sip. “How was the movie night?”
Having forgotten about the previous night’s festivities in light of the morning entertainment, Jared had a moment of confusion. “Ah.” He shook his head a little, settling onto the edge of the bed by Noah’s hip. “Very nice, actually. I finally got to see the end of that movie, but I still haven’t seen the beginning. Someone was very kind to explain why the girl behaves so oddly. Animation has never been my thing, but it was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves.”
“Good. Since I didn’t hear any shouting or bodies being thrown around, I’m guessing this was exactly what everyone needed to get back to a good place.” Noah took another sip of whiskey before setting his glass down. “Are you looking forward to your next class?”
That comment pulled a laugh from Jared’s chest. “Yes? Provisionally. I feel a bit better about everyone understanding his place, including me.” Lifting the cover of Noah’s book, Jared peeked at the title but couldn’t quite make it out without losing Noah’s place. “Do you enjoy Sci-Fi?”
Smiling, Noah glanced down at the book and nodded. “It’s not the genre I usually reach for, but now and then it’s refreshing. A whole different kind of story with some complicated concepts and worldbuilding. I actually got into it because of Wren. He missed some of his video games when we were in prison and found the right kind of books fulfilled his need for a bit of excitement. I introduced him to High Fantasy and he introduced me to books like this.”
“I’ve never heard you talk much about the books you trade. Is that because he doesn’t remember them, or because I work too many hours?” Palm curved over Noah’s thigh, Jared rubbed Noah’s quad in a gentle massage. “I always wondered. You share the love of fiction.”
Noah’s eyes shadowed with regret. “He doesn’t remember a lot of them. Some he doesn’t seem to be as interested in as he was, but others…” His lips curved a bit, as though he’d latched onto what Wren had gained, rather than what he’d lost. “It’s like he’s discovering them all over again, which is nice. A few of the books I’ve ordered were books we had then, but I’d never gotten a chance to replace. This one…” He held up the book. “Was one he recommended. He thinks it’s a recent release and he’s excited for me to finish so we can discuss it. It’s been a while, so I didn’t mind reading it again. I’m glad he remembers some of it.”
“Mmhm...” Making the thoughtful sound, Jared glanced toward the bedroom door. “It’s nice to be able to share things with him. You. I remember bringing you that Heinlein book one time on leave. Friday, I think? It was very connecting to share that with you.”
Inclining his head, Noah put his hand over Jared’s. “It was. Those books you brought me got me through a lot of long hours in that cell. Rhodey’s, not… Anyway, I adapted to being more comfortable in my own company, taking pleasure in something simple, but…not. Seeing whole new worlds being created before my eyes. There was no maneuvering involved, just pure enjoyment. Something I liked sharing with you.”
Closing his eyes, Jared pictured perfectly the soft gray cotton clothes Noah had worn, the loose fitting pants and the way his muscles had played beneath the material even then. Being in the confined space had felt like a refuge to him from the dirt and depression of the desert. Cool. Controlled. So very cushioned. When he opened his eyes he met Noah’s gaze.
“You were always my first stop when I came home, and the hardest place for me to leave.” Flipping his palm up, he curved his fingers around Noah’s hand. “I think you came to symbolize home for me very early on. I had a thirst for you to get better because I knew then I could take you with me. There was no...sexual component then, but definitely a connnection. If you could’ve changed one thing, other than that, what would it have been? About how I went about things then?” His lips twisted with a repressed smile. “You were my first student, after all.”
Book set on the mattress beside him, Noah lifted his hand to rub it over his mouth. “I would’ve only said sex, because I became obsessed with ‘going there’ with you once I started trusting you, but that wouldn’t have taught me what I needed to learn at the time, and I was too fucking young in the begining. Other than that? I don’t know. You did the best you could with what you had to work with. And I turned out all right in the end.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “If you’re asking because of these classes? There’s no way to take the same approach. What worked for me wouldn’t work for any of our boys.”
Jared had to chuckle at that, in return. He squeezed Noah’s hand, then patted it. “No. I can barely get one approach to work for one sub, nevermind all of them.” He tipped his head, considering. “But I did wonder if there was anything I could’ve improved with you. It’s good to know you didn’t find...much lacking.” Taking a sip of his whiskey, Jared considered the next module. “It’s on submission. I think I’ll probably take a month of classes to go over it. It’s broad, and I won’t be able to cover everything I want to. It should give everyone a grounding in the facets of the subject, however.”
“You could spread it out over a longer period if you wanted to. Having this is good for the Core subs, and they’re learning more than the course material itself. They’re learning how to behave under the watch of one Dom—for some of them, a Dom who isn’t their own—in a very specific scenario. Seeing how the other subs behave, how to interact themselves in a way that’s appropriate.” Noah tilted his head to one side. “I expect the next class will be very different. I bet it’ll be at least a week before you see them all comfortable enough to be themselves again, without going too far, one way or the other.”
“From your lips...” Speaking over the rim of his glass, Jared blessed the prayer with a sip of whiskey then set it down next to Noah’s. “I could use some calm, I don’t know about you.” He stood. “Jamie is on speech restrictions tonight. He’s working in the club. I’ll watch over him.” Glancing at his watch, he noted the time. “I’ll have him come in to get ready soon. We had a nice afternoon watching Star Trek. It got me thinking about Sci-Fi. He’s definitely not going to go further than tribbles, but he seemed to enjoy it.”
A warm smile curved Noah’s lips. “Yes, I can see him enjoying those little things. I can almost guarantee, the second he mentions that to Reed, he’ll be introduced to the big, dirty world of slash fiction. Not that I have anything against it, some are very well written. But I had a much less…open minded view of it when Reed was younger.” He gave his head a little shake, then furrowed his brow slightly. “Why is Jamie on speech restrictions?”
Opening his mouth to ask about slash fiction—because it didn’t seem like it would be something Jamie would enjoy if it were full of knives—Jared closed it again to take a moment with Noah’s question.
“He needs to feel some lines, to know I’m paying attention to him. I thought it might be comforting after yesterday.” Humor lightening his expression, Jared lowered his arms. “Apparently, Jamie asked Rhodey last night whether Stephan ever did ‘physical therapy’ like Rhodey does. I about spat out my orange juice this morning when he said Rhodey wanted me to explain what it really was.”
Snorting, Noah shook his head. Then he gave Jared a shrewd look. “So I take it you had Rhodey do this ‘physical therapy’ on Jamie? I won’t question your decisions with him, and I’ve seen Rhodey around him for long enough that I know he won’t go overboard, but…did it help?”
Jared’s smile turned soft, the memory of holding Jamie last night and this afternoon warming a spot within him that he hadn’t ever thought he might allow the sub to enter. “Yes. I think it helped both of us.”
“That’s very good to hear.” Noah relaxed back against the pillows. “By the way, I know what both you and Rhodey are doing and you can stop. I’m not in a bad place. I won’t hurt either of them by…showing them that fucked up side of me. You can let them come back in here.”
“Jamie?” Jared called out. “Come in here and prove to your Dom that you can still function after being under my care for almost an entire day. Then get dressed for work.” Making sure there was plenty of warmth and humor in his tone, he turned back to Noah. “And, for the record, that’s not what had me worried.”
Opening the door just wide enough to slip through sideways, Jamie stepped in, then closed it quietly behind him. His bright green eyes immediately landed on Noah, everything in him relaxing from the line of his shoulders to the taut expression on his face.
Something in Noah’s posture made it clear he was aware of Jamie’s presence, a smile softening his lips, but even as he held his hand out in their boy’s direction, his gaze locked with Jared’s. “It’s where your focus needs to be. Sure, I was being a big baby about it, but that wasn’t the issue. It put me in a vulnerable headspace. That’s when I slip. And Jamie, Wren…they need to be protected. First. Always.”
Countermanding Noah’s order with a hand gesture of his own, Jared kept their boy by the door so as not to interrupt the conversation. For once, Jamie obeyed beautifully, coming to a natural halt in a pretty ‘wait’ pose.
“They always will be, and I do understand, love. However, we had a house full of guests for the first time in a long time, and I was more interested in saving your pride. I didn’t notice a flicker of your alter, or a sign of dissociation. It crossed my mind, and I was aware, but I didn’t keep you away from them or them from you for that reason.” Attention on Noah, Jared made a split second decision to allow Jamie to hear what he needed to say. “When I am taking care of you, we have a rhythm, one we’ve developed over more than a decade. I know what you need. As a patient, a lover, friend, and yes as a sub. I need my focus to perform that dance, however, because you’re not my sub anymore. Jamie is. Wren is. I need to not get them and you mixed up. I also need you to see that you can take room for yourself to be cared for. And last night, Jamie needed someone, too, and my priority was you. So, I called in Rhodey for him.”
Rubbing his hand over his mouth, Noah held Jared’s gaze for a moment more in silence, then nodded slowly. His throat worked and he glanced over at Jamie. Back at Jared. Finally, he blew out a breath. “This is…difficult. Part of me worries—when both you and Rhodey are involved—that I’ve missed something. I’ve gotten better at catching myself. Not perfect, but I’ve gotten more comfortable knowing it doesn’t catch me off guard as often as it used to. I didn’t want you—or Rhodey…fuck, especially Rhodey—thinking I needed…to have Jamie kept away from me. Because of an accident.”
“Your instinct would’ve been to take care of him. It’s a good instinct, but there were others who could do that while I took care of you.” Reaching over, Jared ruffled Jamie’s hair. “We’re a large and screwed up family in this place, and I think it’s high time we began to rely on each other as one. We can trust people to take our burdens, just as we take theirs. As well as our joys.” He tapped Jamie’s ass, making him hiss. “And I must say, this is one of our joys.”
Expression warming, Noah gazed at them both, as though seeing the casual affection washed over the fear that the situation might have had a very different impact. He rested back into the pillows a bit more, the slight tension in his muscles visibly melting away. “He certainly is. And, though I don’t want you to tell my uncle this, I’m glad he stepped in the way he did. I wouldn’t have trusted him to take proper care of our boy a few years ago, but he’s…shown a bit of a softer side. It looks good on him. But don’t tell him that either.”
Jared’s lips quirked. “Never. Besides, have you ever tried to give that man a compliment? It’s like trying to pet a king cobra.”
“That’s true. And the last thing we need is him deciding he needs to prove he isn’t soft at all. It’ll ruin things for his stable of subs who’re getting a chance to enjoy it.” Noah gave Jamie a mock frown. “The spanking once in a while is fine. But you’re not joining the herd. I only share you with the elite class Doms and…well, you already have the only ones who count. If you’re interested in another, I’ll review the applications. And probably toss them in Rhodey’s fireplace before showing whoever’s got the balls exactly why they don’t measure up.”
“Hmm...” Nudging Jamie forward, Jared winked at Noah. “Cats don’t have herds. They have prides. I don’t think you need to worry.”
Jamie approached the end of the bed, one hand reaching out to gently brush over the bedding covering Noah’s foot. “Hello, sir. Are you feeling better?”
Noah gave Jamie a soft smile. “Yes, my love. Though I have learned stamina doesn’t make me completely invulnerable, as much as I’d like to believe it’s more than enough. There are parts of me that can be fragile. I’ll have to work on fixing that.”
Eyes widening, Jamie glanced at Jared before he refocused on Noah. “I’m going to work on being slower and more careful. I’m really sorry I hurt you. Other than your everything, it’s my favorite part of you.”
“It was an accident, little cat. One I hope never ever happens again, but I know you didn’t mean it.” Noah let out a quiet laugh. “Damn, wouldn’t that be nice, though? Being able to become invincible? I like to think I’m pretty close, but then I’m proven very wrong.”
“Enough of the perfectionism.” Jared wagged a finger between the two of them. “Let’s practice being human, shall we? We have enough problems achieving that bar or normalcy without setting outrageous expectations for each other.”
“That’s true.” Jamie pouted teasingly, but there was an air of seriousness shadowing his expression. “If I want my ass to survive, I have to put away the Glam sham sh— stuff or Rhodey’s going to use something worse than his hand.”
Noah’s brow furrowed as he looked Jamie over. “Put away the… What does that even mean? You’re not abandoning your career to please that man. You’re an artist. So long as you love the music and however you approach sharing it with the world, you’ll keep doing it. If my uncle has a problem with that, I’ll deal with him.”
Without comment, Jared took his phone out, thumbing it on and scrolling to the last photo—the one he’d sent to Rhodey—and held it up where both Jamie and Noah could see it.
“Ah…” Noah sighed, reaching out to clasp Jamie’s hand and tug him a little closer. He laced their fingers together, looking down at them. “Damn it, I’m sorry, little cat. That…no, I don’t want that for you. You’re not in Hollywood anymore and…I don’t want you feeling like you did back then. Not here. Fuck…never here.”
Gaze on their joined hands, Jamie twisted his lips in thought. Then sighed with a measure of regret. “I’m sorry, sir. Rhodey landed me back in the present though?” He glanced up from under his brows, head lowered. “I like being here and not there. Being there was really lonely and scary. I didn’t know how to take care of everyone. And there were a lot of people here.”
Noah chuckled a bit at that. “There were.” He lifted his gaze to meet Jamie’s eyes. “Jared made a good point, though. Several, but one I’d like you to keep in mind.” He patted the edge of the bed for Jamie to sit. “None of them are…the kind of guests you need to entertain. Or try to impress. They already love you. No one comes into our home that doesn’t enjoy our company. All of us. Exactly as we’re comfortable. If you want to learn a bit more about being a service sub, that’s fine. But only if it fulfills something in you. Do you understand?”
Standing back a bit, Jared let them have the conversation without him, interested to hear how the discussion played out. Folding his arms over his chest, he leaned against the dresser, giving Jamie an encouraging nod when he glanced his way.
“Thank you, sir.” He met Noah’s eyes, wetting his lips with his tongue. “They saw me hurt you though, and you need to have a working dick to be powerful around here. I thought maybe...” Turning bright red, Jamie stammered. “Y-you know? It was like Samson getting his hair cut off? And my fault. I needed to make sure your guests were happy so they’d think everything was okay, and I only know how to do that as Jamie Kent. Not as Jamie Leonov.”
That got a few blinks from Noah. He seemed to be playing over the words in his head, the moment he came to a conclusion clear in the slight incline of his head. “I can see how you’d feel that was a priority. And I won’t pretend it isn’t one for me. There are times I struggle to remember I don’t have to maintain that kind of power, that image, with the people we love.” He sat up a bit, winced, and huffed out a laugh. “Like I told Jared last night, this is humbling. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. How about we both use it as an opportunity to see the people we chose as family as exactly that. We can work on it together. I think they’ve earned that from us, don’t you?”
Warmth flooded Jared’s chest, his grin undisguisable as he heard Noah’s words. If he were a praying man, he would’ve sent up a few thoughts of gratitude. It had been years since he’d thought to hear those words cross Noah’s lips, and several more beyond that since he’d seen that kind of trust in his eyes for anyone outside of his nuclear family. His quad.
“Yes, sir. I’d like that.” Jamie gave Noah’s hand a squeeze. “I do think they’ve earned it. And I’d like to earn it from them, too.”
It wasn’t perfection, it was very real progress. The kind that would see them through tougher times, and help to create the good moments that had been absent for far too long. A solid foundation on which to take The Asylum into its next phase.
Together.
Awww. Progress
ReplyDeleteLove these soft and quiet moments <3
ReplyDeleteSo sweet 🙂
ReplyDeleteI love the tender moments, but I’m struggling with Jared having a hard time “seeing” Jamie. I get that people grow over time, but they’ve all been together awhile and I feel like Jared has put a lot of pressure on Jamie to be there for Wren and watch out for Noah to lose it, now he’s struggling to “see” Jamie and his issues with submission. Idk I guess I kinda hoped he’d “see” him better by now.
ReplyDelete