Love & Stitches at The Asylum: Part Forty-Three
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Jared scanned the room as it filled, enjoying the happy buzz of activity.
Sitting forward as Keiran headed out the door, Noah snapped his fingers. “Hey, I think you’re forgetting to ask before stealing our boy away with you, pet. As much as you may care for him, you can’t keep him.”
Cheeks red, Keiran hugged Wren a bit tighter. “Sorry, sir. May I please bring Wren with me?”
About to pat his own lap for Wren to sit on, Jared cleared his throat, bringing his hand to the back of his neck to idly scratch his nape to hide the action. “If you’re back within the half hour, I don’t see why not as long as you’re not leaving the building.”
“I won’t be long, sir. And I’d never take him out of here.” Keiran let Wren slide to his feet when he wiggled uncomfortably, taking his hand instead. “Thank you, sir.”
Jared inclined his head, watching as his boy left with the other sub. “It’s good for him to get out with company. Keiran is a good influence.” Though he spoke mostly to reassure himself, Jared knew his words registered as conversation with Noah.
“I suppose. Though I can’t say I mind when he’s with one of us.” Noah caught Jamie around the waist when he returned with his water, lifting him onto his lap. “I’m greedy with our boys. And not the least bit sorry about it.”
Snuggled into Noah’s chest, Jamie tucked up his knees. The over-large shirt slipped down his legs in a way that exposed his lack of underwear to the room.
Curtis coughed in his hand, catching Jared’s eye. “How about them Yankees?”
“Is my punishment starting now?” Reed groaned, lying on the floor with his head on Matt’s thigh. “Small talk and baseball. I’m not sure what’s worse.”
“Jamie flashing his junk to the world?” Leaning forward, Curtis set the cigar on the ashtray. “But sure, you mind if we get the non-fun out of the way, Law? It’s like an elephant farted in the room and the air won’t clear until we do something about it.”
Lawson sighed, shaking his head. “No, I think that’s probably the best idea, so we can enjoy the rest of our afternoon and evening.” His eyes shone with amusement. “Besides, Jamie’s kept himself prepared, which is very thoughtful of him.”
Glancing down, Jamie caught sight of himself and squeaked, moving his feet and legs across Noah’s lap with a speed that nearly tipped him onto the floor. Palm coming down, he caught Noah’s crotch as he stopped his tumble.
“Fuck, Jamie.” Noah jerked, moving abruptly away from Jamie’ grip to protect his dick from more harm, the way he shifted sending Jamie plunking down on the floor on his ass, the shirt rising up like a parachute that had been opened on his way down, leaving his entire lower half exposed. For the first time in their entire relationship, Noah didn’t immediately check on Jamie, too busy pressing his hand to his crotch and gritting his teeth over the pain.
Jared stood, crossing to Noah. One hand under Jamie’s arm, he hauled their boy to his feet so the shirt fell around Jamie’s knees. Leaning down, he settled a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “Breathe. I’m so sorry, my love...” Catching Curtis’ eyes, Jared shook his head. “You dare ask if you should kiss it better, and I’m adding you to the punishment list.”
Both hands flying up, Curtis backed up into the sofa cushions. “I didn’t say a word!”
Huffing in air through his teeth, Noah nodded. “It’s not your fault.” He pushed himself to his feet with his free hand on the arm of the sofa, moving a bit stiffly to the kitchen. “I’m just going to get some ice. No part of me is meant to bend that way.”
“Ouch.” Reed curved his knees toward his chest, scooting closer to Matt. “That is not the fun kind of pain.”
“I’m sorry, sir!” Jamie called, trying to follow Noah, but Jared’s hold prevented him from taking more than a step.
“You usually got smoother moves than that, popslut.” Grinning, Matt made a small kissy face at Jamie.
Reaching forward, Lawson raked his fingers into Matt’s hair, tugging his head back. “I don’t want to hear that nickname again. Or that kind of teasing. Not when someone is hurt. I expect more thoughtfulness from you, my boy.”
The column of Matt’s neck convulsed with his swallow. “Sorry, sir. You’re right. It’s not funny.”
“No, it’s not.” Lawson released Matt’s hair, then smoothed his hand over it as though to soothe the ache, turning his attention to Jamie. “You know your Dom. Let him have a few minutes and give him some calm to return to.”
“Yes, sir.” Going quiet, Jamie lowered his gaze, assuming a pretty wait position as Jared let go of his arm.
“I’ll check on him.” Though it was the man he loved most alongside Wren who was hurting, Jared made the decision based on what he would’ve done for anyone under his care.
In the kitchen, he approached Noah with a careful hand to his shoulder. “Let me get you some pain reliever.”
“Thank you, my man. Fuck, I prefer getting shot.” Holding a bag of ice to his crotch, Noah pressed his forehead to the fridge like once he’d gotten there, he’d decided any more movement wasn’t worth it. “Actually, that’s a great idea. Shoot me, it’ll divert the pain.”
Going for the medkit, Jared brought it to the table and opened it for the second time that afternoon. “I’ve got you.”
Noah nodded, breathing out a laugh. “All right, but I should probably move away from the fridge. It’s brand new, I don’t want bullet holes in it.”
Laughing despite himself, Jared nodded. “Why don’t you come here and I’ll do you one better. I have some magic cream, and I don’t mean the kind that won’t be coming out of your dick for a few days.”
Grunting, Noah pushed away from the fridge, walking a bit awkwardly to the closest chair, then lowering himself to it. “I don’t know what kind of magic cream is going to fix this. I’m not a fan of needles near my dick, but if it’ll help? Go for it.”
Foil tore, the packet of lidocaine cream opening in Jared’s hands. “I can’t put it on over your jeans, and I do recommend a pair of sweatpants.”
“Please don’t make me move.” Noah popped open the top button of his jeans with one hand, then drew down his zipper. He groaned again as he struggled with his belt. “Fucking Christ, why do I wear so many clothes?”
“To keep the adoring slash fiction fans from Jamie’s retinue from losing their minds?” Keeping his humor dark, because really flowers and hearts were a terrible coping mechanism, Jared grinned evilly. “Just remember. Jamie is in my class and I can always add a module on CBT.”
Noah finally got his belt open, breathing like he’d just finished wrestling a bear. “If you don’t, I’ll start thinking you don’t love me.”
Grin widening, Jared tipped his head briefly. “Consider it done.”
Lifting his hips enough to work his jeans down, Noah closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “Lawson, can you send your boy to grab me a pair of jogging pants?” He cursed under his breath when someone knocked at the door. “Curtis, go get that.”
Matt’s voice lifted quietly from the living room, his steps lighter than Curtis’ as the other man went to the door to answer it.
Gloves on, Jared gently probed the red spot that promised to bruise along Noah’s shaft. He made a concerned sound. “Yes. That’s going to take a while to heal. No needles necessary though. This will help.” He held up the foil packet, squeezing some of the white cream onto his fingertips. “The cold will feel nice, and the pain relief should be close to immediate.”
From the doorway, Shea’s voice was loud. “Looks like there’s some High Protocol shit going on. Go kneel next to Jamie, Danny. Show me you can do it just as pretty as he can and maybe I’ll put your play collar on you later.”
“Yes, sir…” Danny’s voice was barely above a whisper. “But Quint said I couldn’t play like that until I was ready to take my patch off. I’ll wait a bit longer.” He paused. “Hey, are we kneeling because of something bad? Are we allowed to talk? I hate the kneeling when we’re not allowed to talk, it gets quiet and everyone’s all serious.”
Jamie’s answering laugh was wet, his sniff that followed making it obvious he’d been silently crying in the next room. “Nah. We can talk quietly. I don’t think I’m on speech restrictions. Maybe every other kind, but you don’t have to worry. Nobody’s gonna do anything drastic.”
Smoothing the cream in small dabs on and around the bruised area, Jared kept his touch as light as possible. “We’ll get you the pain reliever too. I wouldn’t recommend getting hard anytime in the next forty-eight hours. Morning is going to be...interesting.”
Noah grunted, not lifting his head, or moving a single muscle. “I don’t see anything making me hard. And I’m sleeping in the guestroom. With a fucking jock on.”
“Why don’t we send the boys to the guest room? You’re going to want the space, as well as a bathroom nearby. That way I can take care of you during the night.” Finished with the last of the cream, Jared removed his gloves before he flicked open the cap on the pain reliever.
“Yeah, that would probably be better.” Noah rubbed one hand over his face. “The guest bedroom always makes me feel like I’m back in prison. I’m not sure why.”
Pills in his palm, Jared handed Noah a bottle of water from the fridge. “That would be because the furniture in there is from the bedroom you had the second time Rhodey had you confined. Before I came back.”
“Oh.” Noah sat up a bit, moving carefully, and took the bottle. “I’ll have to get Curtis to make us some new pieces for in there. I think he’d enjoy that.” He took a few long gulps of water. “Thank you, my man. Stretching out on our bed would definitely be more comfortable.”
Blinking slowly, Jared forced away a vision of the kind of guest room he found himself suddenly interested in constructing. “Yes...”
Curtis came in with a pair of light gray sweats, his gaze dropping to and then skating away from Noah’s open jeans. He held out the clothes. “Here you go, my man. I hope you’re feeling better.”
“Yeah… Better enough that I won’t ask Jared to shoot me again.” Noah took the sweat pants and laid them over his thigh. “Thank you. If you don’t mind…could you cuddle Jamie so he doesn’t feel too bad? My lap is going to be off limits for a while.”
“Sure.” Curtis’ nod was quick and sharp. “He’ll be fine. Nothing we haven’t all done and felt like shit about.” One side of his mouth kicking up in a self-conscious smile, Curtis turned away. “Some of us more deliberately than others.”
Popping the pills Jared handed him in his mouth, Noah gulped down the rest of the water. He gave Curtis’ back a disgruntled look. “Now is the wrong time to be reminding me about that, my man. I may find this amusing one day. In a month or two when my dick is ready to trust again.”
There’s a theme to this day...
Jared shook his head, dispelling the memory of his conversation with Reed for the moment. He’d have to talk with Lawson and Curtis later, when he could devote his full attention to the important topic. “Let’s get you dressed and I’ll be out. Curtis, pick out a movie with Matt and Reed.”
“On it. Cuddle the kitten, pick the porn.” Curtis waved vaguely, walking out of the kitchen.
The front door opened, Wren’s voice traveling as he spoke excitedly, leading Keiran, Avery, and Dallas into the loft. “It’s very cold outside. I’m sure it means snow any day now. Will you let me know if you see any while you’re on watch? I’ll come right away. Maybe I should go on watch too. No, I don’t know how to shoot and watching for snow won’t be much help with security. But I really don’t want to miss it.”
Dallas’ deep voice rumbled into the kitchen from the living room. “I have one of those weather stations. We can set it up on the roof. Wire it to the sound system in your loft so the snow alert plays a cool song or something when the snow starts.”
Smiling at Noah, Jared listened for Wren’s response.
“Yes, please, sir. That would be incredible. Then I’ll have time to get dressed properly.” Wren sounded more excited than he really got about anything. “I’ll put something warm enough on so I can stay up there and just watch it for hours. You should come to Noah’s art room and see the snow he painted. It’s not the same, but very close.”
Jared held out the sweatpants, low enough that Noah could brace himself on his shoulder to step into them. “Damn, I love that boy more than my next breath.”
Smile a bit tight as he pushed himself to his feet and stepped into the sweatpants, Noah nodded. “It’s nice to hear him enjoying something so much. He’s usually so calm, but the little things light him up. We should try to find more of them.”
“I’d really enjoy that.” Standing, Jared broadened his smile, leaning in to press a kiss against Noah’s forehead. “Would you like to hide away in your book room I’m not supposed to know about while we watch the movie?”
Shaking his head, Noah took a deep breath. “No, I want to hang out with everyone. I just need a few minutes. Go enjoy our company and let me know when everything’s set up for the movie. I’ll join you then.”
“Alright.” Jared rubbed his hand up and down Noah’s arm, noting his chill. “You need your robe. I’ll have Wren get it for you while Lawson and I get Jamie and Reed taken care of.”
Elbow braced against the table, Noah inclined his head. “Thank you, my man. Have fun breaking in the paddle. You’ll have to tell me how you like it.”
Jared found himself growing quiet, his attention on the quiet conversational hum in the living room. “You know...it doesn’t seem appropriate now. Jamie and you...everyone, including Reed...we’ve all been through enough today. I’m going to let it go and encourage Lawson to do the same.”
“If that’s what you feel would be best.” Noah adjusted himself a bit on the chair. “You know I’ll support your decisions.”
“Yes, I do. And I know you’re strong minded enough to tell me when you disagree with them. Especially when it comes to those you love.” Giving his lover a soft smile, Jared nodded once, then left the kitchen.
In the living room, Curtis sat on the sofa with Jamie on one knee. His arm loose around Jamie’s middle, he talked with Dallas about a trip to Vegas to see a match between two fighters they each backed.
Crossing to Lawson’s seat, Jared crouched down. “He’s doing better, but needs a bit.”
“That’s good to hear. It could’ve gone either way.” Lawson altered between petting Matt’s hair, then Reed’s, both of them sitting on the floor against his thigh, Matt between them, and Reed close to his side. “I like the idea of this get-together, but we’ll need to keep everything pleasant and mellow.”
“Agreed. Let’s let things go, if you don’t mind?” Jared glanced toward the kitchen. “I’m not sure it was ever a good idea to plan to do anything like that in front of him. You have my apologies.”
Lawson’s brow furrowed. “Are you saying it would bother him to see me punish Jamie…for something Noah himself suggested I punish him for? I assumed…he trusted me with his boy. And by him replacing the paddle, he seemed to understand why the damage to it was serious. I’ll let it go if that’s what you’d like, but I’d thank you to keep your boy out of my office in the future.”
Scrubbing his hands over his face, Jared shook his head. “No. That’s not what I meant.” He spoke into his palms, then dropped them. “I thought I’d be punishing Jamie and...you’d be punishing Reed. I thought... Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t want to make a tense situation worse.”
“I understand. And there’s no need for it to be.” Lawson sighed and shook his head. “There’s been enough punishments for one day. Let’s just…go enjoy the movie.”
“I’ll send Jamie to you tomorrow. Where you can take care of things in private, as it should have been. Between you.” Jared pushed to his feet, meeting Jamie’s searching gaze. He nodded toward the bedroom. “Get some actual pajamas of your own on, my boy.” Then took in Wren’s happy but concerned face. “Can you work with Jamie to get the guest bedroom ready for you both after the movie is over? Noah will need to be able to spread out tonight.”
Wren rubbed his hands on his pajama pants. “Yes, sir. I’ll put some fresh sheets on the bed and bring in a few extra blankets.”
On Jacks’ lap, Danny peered up at Jared. “Is everything all right, sir? We can go if this is a bad time.”
“It’s a lovely time for you to be here, little Despereaux.” Moving around Matt and Reed, Jared joined Jacks and Danny, sitting next to the Dom. “I heard about the uniforms. Are they the same as Avery’s or did you make any embellishments to the original design?”
Brightening, Jacks bounced Danny on his knees a little. “I made the patches a little different on each, embroidering their names below the logo along with a school motto.” Sharing a look with Danny, Jacks returned his gaze to Jared. “In Doc We Trust.”
Voice quiet, Danny leaned a bit closer to Jared. “Shea told me Quint seemed to think I called him the scary doctor. I meant the Russian ones, not him, he helped take very good care of me. I hope he’ll still come to class. Everyone here fights sometimes, but it turns out okay, right? You said Pike wasn’t kicked out. Next class, everyone will be super good. The uniforms will help. And Jacks made sure they’re not flammable.”
“That is an excellent safety precaution.” Unsure what material the man would’ve had to use in order to insure the subs couldn’t light each other on fire, Jared nodded anyway. “Have you helped pick out a movie while I’ve been patching up Noah from his mishap with Jamie’s fist?”
Danny shifted a little, shaking his head. “As long as it’s not really scary or bloody, I don’t mind watching whatever everyone else wants to watch. Reed mentioned a cartoon movie. Have you seen Home? It’s really good. I watched it five times with Drew.”
“I haven’t. I think it might be good for you to see something you haven’t seen before though, don’t you?” Jared glanced up as Jamie returned from the bedroom in an elegant black satin pajama set with black piping and a matching robe. His hair had been fixed and his makeup repaired, no sign of anything out of place. “What about Brave? Have you seen that?”
“No, sir.” Danny tugged the sleeves of his soft, coffee colored hoodie over his hands, tipping his head back like it would make the hood with the floppy ears come up on his head. “Were we supposed to dress fancy? Is this being recorded?”
“No, Jamie was ordered to dress in his own pajamas. These were the ones waiting for him, I imagine.” Not wanting Danny to feel underdressed, Jared leaned in to whisper to him. “I am partial to the adorable outfit you chose, but please keep that to yourself so we won’t make Jamie feel overdressed.”
Nodding seriously, Danny spoke just as low. “I won’t, sir. Wren’s pajamas are very fancy too, so at least they match. And Reed is still being a school boy and Matt is wearing jeans, which always look good on him. Keiran and Avery are in all black and that’s...safer for them. And kinda scary sexy.”
“What’s important is that everyone is comfortable. Are you comfortable?” Caressing Danny’s hoodie ears back from where they’d flopped in front of his face while he’d been speaking, Jared noted that Jamie played hostess, offering drinks to everyone and laughing at something Avery said to Keiran.
Danny opened his mouth, then closed it. “Yes, sir. Very comfortable.”
Behind Jared, where he’d been grabbing himself a beer from the kitchen, Shea clucked his tongue at Danny. “Try again. There’s more. Half truths are still lies.”
“It’s always a little cold in your loft, sir.” Danny wrinkled his nose at Shea. “It’s rude to complain when you’re visiting people.”
“Ahh...I see now.” Sitting back, Jared glanced around for Wren. “Little raven, come here, please.”
Weaving around the people now filling the living room, Wren came to Jared’s side.”Yes, sir?”
“Do you remember the heated vest we got for Jamie when he first came to Anniston Falls?” Jared glanced toward the laundry room where a closet held some of the overflow coats. “Would you mind terribly getting it for Danny? I believe he’d enjoy wearing it under his hoodie.”
Nodding quickly, Wren smiled. “Yes, sir. He doesn’t have a lot of fur so it makes sense that he’d get cold easily. I can get some mittens, too.”
“Would you like mittens too, little Despereaux?” Frowning, Jared couldn’t quite tear his gaze away from Jamie, who circulated among their guests now like he hosted a Hollywood cocktail party, chatting and glowing like there were hundreds of cameras on him instead of only the ones Rhodey had placed God knew where.
Sounding like he was more indulging Wren than anything, Danny nodded. “Mittens are always nice and cozy. Thank you.”
Wren inclined his head, then hurried around the edge of the room, disappearing into the laundry room.
“I need to sew mitts onto the ends of his hoodie arms. Ones he can fold back when he doesn’t want to use them.” Head tipped back, Jacks met Shea’s eyes. “Useful when we can’t get his nails done too. Hides a multitude of sins.”
Looking down at his hands, Danny blushed. “They still look okay right now, don’t they, sir? I only scuffed them up a bit scrubbing the frying pan Shea was gonna throw out when Keiran told me how to fix it. Keiran said those frying pans will survive the apocalypse. We need to make sure we have plenty of supplies, but I don’t want to look…not put together.”
“Have you thought about having your manicurist come for a home consult? We’ve started doing that since we’re not going out so much. I could hook you up, bro.” Jamie held out his hand to Danny in the position he did when he was going for their ‘Glamshake’.
Returning the gesture, Danny chewed on his bottom lip, looking from Jacks to Shea, his other Dom having folded his arms over his chest and scowling darkly. “Umm…I’ll think about it? Thanks, though. That’s really cool of you.”
“Sure. No prob.” Circulating, Jamie wandered off to the next victim of his hospitality.
“Will you excuse me, please? I need to check on the media room.” Jared stood, reminding himself that at least no one was bleeding.
“Yeah, no problem.” Shea took his place beside Jacks, growling under his breath. “Can’t he just have mitts to stay warm? You seriously gonna get him all paranoid about his damn nails? He’s gonna start not wanting to touch anything.”
Danny shook his head. “No, that’s not…”
Leaving the family unit to get the media room in order, Jared took out his phone as he entered what, of course, was a perfectly pristine and welcoming space thanks to Wren. He took a deep breath, making an executive decision, and opened his text app.
Quint, would you and Pike like to come over for a movie?
Everyone is here. We’d enjoy your company.
There was a slight pause, then the text came back. Something about it didn’t look like how Quint texted at all.
Are people going to be cool? Can Seth come too?
Is this really Jared texting?
Prove it with a dic pic
Eyes skyward, Jared filed the exchange under the heading ‘No Good Deed Goes Unpunished’ before he took down his pants and snapped the picture, just to be a total shit. Sending the message, he waited.
Whoa. Nice. Sec, I’m gonna tell him we have super important merc duties. Be right there.
This could either go very wrong or very right.
Hopefully, the ‘very wrong’ quota had been filled for the day.
Next, he threw a text to Rhodey.
Please help. I am going to murder my sub.
No pause this time. Rhodey’s reply was immediate.
Which one? Why? Do you need one of my boys to do cleanup?
Very possibly.
Jared sighed, firing off his next.
Jamie bears a striking resemblance to Paris this evening.
There was no return text, but the front door opened and closed hard.
Coming into the living room, Jared shoved his phone in his pocket, betting on Rhodey not to do anything that might throw Noah over the edge. Because something about the day had to go right.
Rhodey stopped by the kitchen, glancing in, his expression hardening. He turned his focus to Jared, walking the rest of the way over to him. “What happened?”
Beckoning Rhodey to come with him, Jared stepped back into the media room. “I think three things. Reed. Curtis. And Jamie.” He held up one finger. “Reed went postal service on the SUVs.” Then the next. “Curtis and Jamie reminisced about the island, with Curtis turning into that person he becomes when he can’t handle the emotional weight of something.” The last finger. “Lawson was—or I was—supposed to punish Jamie for the paddle incident, and other things, but he accidentally slammed Noah in the crotch...and I don’t mind telling you I’ve seen less bruising in that region in the ring.”
The last made Rhodey wince, not in a way most people would notice, but would be caught by anyone who knew him well, which Jared did. He rubbed his hand over his mouth. “I was hoping he could handle Reed, but I wasn’t counting on him being afraid to hurt him by grabbing him. I should have gotten you to deal with him instead. Any of those things alone—well, probably not the last, but either way—he could deal with. Them building up is a problem.” His eyes narrowed. “And Jamie’s decided to start acting like Paris? That shallow little toxic arm candy Atticus keeps?”
It was tempting to say yes, but Jared shook his head.
“Not at all like that. I don’t think Noah would handle well seeing Jamie’s Hollywood host doppelganger in his living room at present, however, and I can’t say anything without causing a scene.” Jared explained the situation as clearly and succinctly as he could. “We need calm.”
“Calm. Got it.” Rhodey patted Jared’s shoulder. “Just give me five minutes and everything will be fine. Except my nephew’s dick, but I’ll leave that to you.” Turning, Rhodey strode into the living room. Picking Jamie up, he threw him over his shoulder, cutting off his conversation with Keiran, who’d been giving Jamie funny looks. Pausing by the sofa, Rhodey pointed at Shea and Jacks. “This foreplay bickering stops or I’m locking you in a cell together. Danny, unless you’re dressing up, I don’t want to see nailpolish on you. Go take it off now.”
And with that, he strode out the door, letting it slam shut behind him.
We’re working together.
For once.
Everything is going to be just fine.
****
I love Rhodey
ReplyDeleteSometimes Rhodey is just all heart :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to see Jared and Rhodey Dom Jamie together… or Avery and Wren… anyone really. 🔥
ReplyDelete