Enslaving the King

Chapter 9

When Raine awoke, he explored the penthouse. What he found was surprisingly tidy - must’ve been cleaning bots’ work for how good it was. Raine seriously doubted Hayden was a man who liked to clean. The penthouse wasn’t as large as he expected. Well, for Helios, it was a decent-sized space, more than even a department head could hope for. But for a gazillionaire? It was underwhelming. The penthouse contained a living area with amazingly soft recliners and sofas and a TV set, a kitchen that was well stocked, a bathroom that was just as lavish as everything else - golden showerheads (six of them, why ? But also, nice ). Raine also found a loft that was nothing but a soft, thick bed.

Raine had access to all this now, he thought with a grin. He was the luckiest s*x worker alive.

Raine found himself in the kitchen, hesitating before the fridge. He was quite hungry. He didn’t think Hayden would begrudge him helping himself, not with the Hayden-styled offer of an apology. And Hayden had indicated that Raine could make himself at home. Raine wasn’t even sure Hayden would be back any time soon, or really notice anything missing.

Raine helped himself to some prepackaged cooked garlic shrimp with noodles from the fridge. Delicious. 

Afterward, Raine wandered back to the living area and fiddled with the TV controls. After about five minutes and a loud curse, he found that it was voice automated. Apparently not just Hayden-voice-automated. Once started, he plopped down on the sofa and stretched out, more comfortable than he had been in some time. It took trial and error, but he got it to land on a less annoying channel.

He must have fallen asleep because he was awakened by the sound of the door opening and footsteps on the carpet. He sat up, spotting Hayden. Hayden stared at him for a moment…and smiled. “Raineie cupcake, you’ve been making yourself right at home.” He gestured at the TV.

“Oh…yeah,” Raine said, glancing at it. His eyes met Hayden's again. “Definitely have. I ate some food,” he admitted.

“Yeah, that’s good. Can’t have you too hungry, can we? I’ll just take it out of your check.”

“Hey,” Raine sat up, about to defend himself.

Hayden laughed. "I’m just joking, pumpkin. Jeeze.”

Raine resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but not without a surge of warm emotions in his heart. He ignored them. “Of course.” He sat back.

Hayden came over. “You’ve really gotta loosen up.” Hayden's posture slumped in a way that came from weariness, too many long hours. Hayden collapsed onto the sofa next to Raine like a sack of potatoes. “Mm, c’mere, kitten.” He reached out and brushed his hand over Raine’s leg. Raine had to laugh. He shifted closer in compliance, pressing their thighs together. Hayden grabbed his hips and pulled him into both his lap and his lips. Kissing. Hayden kissed hungrily, desperately. Raine shifted until he was straddling Hayden's waist.

Raine sat back on Hayden's legs and allowed his hands to rest on Hayden's shoulders. “You alright?”

“I’ve been better,” Hayden grunted. “It…it’s not important, cupcake. All that matters right now is this.” Hayden's hands squeezed against his hips.

“Could…could you tell me what’s wrong? Would you? It’d make me feel better about what happened…before at the office.” He hoped Hayden understood what he meant.

Hayden furrowed his brow for a few moments, seeming to search Raine’s gaze. He shrugged. “I s’pose I could.” He let out a deep exhale. “There’s been a surge of Maliwan spies at Hyperion. Someone must be paying them a lot. It’s frustrating. I don’t know how they got in. We’ve had three hacker attempts in the last week. One of the perpetrators still hasn’t been found. I can’t find out who it is, but when I do.. .” His grip tightened for a moment on Raine’s waist. It slowly loosened. Hayden head-bumped Raine, sharing Raine’s air. “That good enough, babycakes? I just wanna quit thinking about it for awhile, ya know?”

“Mmhm,” Raine said, leaning into Hayden's neck and putting his lips there. It did make him feel a bit better knowing that it was not him upsetting Hayden.

Hayden broke the moment with his usual crassness. “I’d rather think about this tight ass of yours.”

Raine laughed. “You always have the best flirts, Hayden,” he teased. “But yes. Let’s think about other things. Much more enjoyable things.”

Hayden hummed, hand coming up Raine’s back to tug him closer. “I’d say you’re breaking that personal talk rule again, kitten, but I guess that rule’s been busted all to hell at this point.”

Raine chuckled, warm to his soul.

“It’s almost a pity you already ate,” Hayden commented, hand moving in circles against Raine’s back. “Coulda ordered a nice dinner, just for us.”

Dinner.

For us. 

Raine couldn’t explain why he felt so…so content , being against Hayden like this. It was such a good feeling, one he wasn’t accustomed too. He didn’t remember ever being this relaxed in anybody’s arms in a long time. Strange when that someone was Lord Hayden, a man who shouldn’t have evoked such feelings. And one of Raine’s clients, no less.

Raine struggled to push away the familiar rising bitterness at that last thought. Just a client...

“So uh,” Hayden started, voice rumbling against Raine. “Given any more thought to the whole…taking it out on me thing?” His voice was tight and eager, like he was about to get a birthday present. 

“That excited for it?” 

“Y…I mean, no.” Hayden faked a grimace.

“You wanting to roleplay now too? Or are you just lying?”

“Neither… Well, have you?”

“A bit yeah,” Raine admitted. “Do you have cuffs here? I would assume so, but…”

“I’ve got a lot here, babe. Get up and let me show ya.”

Raine did, following Hayden back to the bedroom. He watched as Hayden opened a door Raine had assumed was a closet. Inside lay a large gold chest.

“Oh seriously?” He blurted. “That’s corny as hell.”

“Pshh, you’re one to judge, buttercup.” Hayden opened the chest.

Raine saw an assortment of toys. Whips, crops, vibrators, dildos, masturbators, plugs, lubes, ties, ropes, and…the list went on. More importantly, Raine’s eyes picked out something that made him smile knowingly – fluffy, dark handcuffs. He had a desire to touch them. 

Hayden noticed Raine’s expression. “Heh. Never know what someone’s gonna need.”

“Fair enough,” Raine said. He grabbed the cuffs, smiling at Hayden. “Ehh?” He waved them, fighting his grin.

“Fine,” Hayden said, planting his hands on his hips. “You can use those on me.”

Raine eyed the crop and grabbed it.

“Somebody means business.”

“That’s right.” Raine eyed it, feeling a shiver of excitement go through him. “You really want this, Hayden? From me?” His breath was shortening and he knew that if it weren’t in his control, he’d be moments from popping a boner.

There was a beat. Hayden shrugged. “'Course I do.”

Raine breathed out, long and slow, at the power in that statement. 

“Then get on the bed.”

Raine didn’t know why he expected Hayden to hesitate, or dwadle, or even make excuses, try to reassert some control. It probably had to do with Hayden's pride, ego, his dominating personality. But Hayden did none of those things. He turned and climbed on the bed, almost quick enough Raine suspected that he was more than ready for this. Raine followed and cuffed Hayden to the head board. Hayden stared up at him hungrily.

“You sure you don’t want a safeword?” Raine asked. He collected the crop and returned with it. This was the first time Hayden had let Raine restrain him, and he was worried about Hayden's need for security. He’d thought for sure Hyperion's mistrusting, murderous CEO would be a little more flighty with this, given his history with paranoia.

Hayden narrowed his eyes. “Like I said. You’ll know if I don’t want ya to do something.” Eyes flashed. 

“I’m serious, Hayden, when I say this. I’m going to get stressed over here not knowing what’s good with you for real? Give me a way to know.” He sighed. “Please. It’s just safety alright? I don't...don't...want this to go wrong. Especially since you're letting me have the lead right now...”

Hayden eyed him for a few moments, seeming to consider. He grimaced. “Ugh, you and your safety , cupcake, taking the fun outta this,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Fine. Just...stoplight system works for me, mm’kay? That good enough for you?”

Raine tried not to judge Hayden's careless bedroom habits as harshly as he felt like doing in that moment. It was going to kill the mood - or rather overkill it. “Great, thank you,” Raine said. “We need to discuss your lack of caution later, though. Now. Back to the fun.”

“Finally.”

Raine...tried not to think about it too hard-  that Hayden trusted him enough to do this. What that really implied, when there were so few…

It implied nothing. Maybe this was normal for him. To just bring people he wanted to f**k up here. Maybe there was some failsafe in case they turned on him.

For some reason, he didn’t quite believe that. One thing Raine had learned about Hayden, working for him all this time, was how little Hayden trusted others. If someone stood too close, he shoved them. If someone tried to get nosy, he hit them. And if someone gave him any reason to be suspicious, he killed them.

Hayden wouldn't let anyone on Helios tie him up.

Hayden let Raine do it.

Raine went in, planting a kiss against Hayden's neck, pushing at his layers. Hayden stiffened for a few moments, and Raine stopped, questioning if it'd finally gotten to be too much for Hayden's paranoia. Hayden relaxed, slowly, muscles unknotting one by one. Raine let the moment pass without the hassle of bringing it up. It wasn't a big deal. Just a momentary hesitation.

He undressed Hayden as best he could with Hayden's arms tied up. He should've thought that through better. He was too caught up in the moment to properly correct it, afraid any distractions would change Hayden's calmness, make him uncertain. Raine opened the coat, moved on to the vest, and then pressed up an old work shirt- damn it with the layers. He just wanted to get to skin. Skin he hadn’t really accessed before. The soft vulnerable belly and solid chest. No six pack that all those infomercials proclaimed - thank god, to be honest. Raine had never been into muscle-heads. And Hayden did have an office job technically.

He took a deep inhale of Hayden's unique scent. He was drunk on it. His memory of his soulmate's scent had faded as it had faded in The Shirt, but Raine could swear it was the same as Hayden's.

Probably the fault of all the oxytocin in his head right now. 

He had Hayden exposed. He couldn’t stop exploring with his hands, feeling Hayden's chest rising and falling, tracing the skin that was dusted with hairs, softer than expected. Except for the places there were scars, little rough patches marking the skin with whites, pinks and reds against the tawny flesh. Raine gazed at them, wondering about their stories. Something grand, like opening a vault? Or something ridiculous like tripping down some stairs? He almost laughed at the mental image.

Raine kneaded the skin, couldn’t get enough. He looked up at the gaze that burned with a power of a million stars. But he didn’t feel intimidated, like he usually did. There was a familiarity here, a sense of calm. He smiled at Hayden. "Your body's amazing."

Lord Hayden grinned a million dollar smile. "I know. I'm in it, after all. It's the best." Was that a bit of bluster? Raine didn't think Hayden was as comfortable as he let on, what with the way he'd stiffened at being undressed. He hadn't shown any previous reservations to Raine's touch, not after that first day, anyway. The thought that Hayden might have insecurities about his body was almost too much. A man this egotistical...being vulnerable... Raine's heart skipped. Very. Hard.

It made sense in a way, with how hard Hayden drived his own marketability, the mystery of his mask along with his "Lordness". But the mask covered something Hayden didn't want to show to the world. Oh, he'd show them something. That was the point. Show them that he was perfect enough to be plastered all over the company posters. So it made perfect sense Hayden might not be fully comfortable in his own skin, with how high of an expectation he'd built for himself, how high he'd built the expectation for others to have of him. 

That explained the massive praise kink... 

It also made perfect sense for Raine to want to soothe that discomfort. 

"It's perfect, every part of you."

Hayden's eyes slid shut, and his breath left him in a rush, deflating in a very contented way. 

Raine flushed, giddy. He'd been completely right. 

I’m way too close to this. Raine thought, dropping his eyes and slowing his progress on exploring Hayden's torso. He was way too into this job. In a way like he’d never been before. Now he had...feelings, damn it. But was it such a bad thing? He wasn’t expecting anything back… Couldn’t afford that. And he couldn’t bow out now. Too much was riding on his success. And Hayden didn’t seem to be planning to get rid of him any time soon, giving Raine unfettered access to his home. Raine shuddered at the thought, felt like something really heavy was there, but he pushed it away. At least it couldn't get worse if he had no expectations. Right?

He tried not to think of it all as an impending train wreck. 

"You okay there, pumpkin?" Hayden voiced, somewhat hesitant. The sound of uncertainty only added to Raine's belief in his insecurities theory. 

By way of answer, Raine leaned in and captured Hayden's lips, tasting him, savoring him, taking his time. He forgot about his own disappointment and lost himself in this wonderful moment. He wanted Hayden to feel what he felt right now, even if indirectly - wanted Hayden to feel how deep this burned in him. How strong was his desire. He braced against Hayden's shoulders, moving to straddle him. He played along Hayden's smooth lips with his tongue, tracing the seam. He filled with euphoria, humming and pressing his tongue forward. Hayden opened up willingly, and he deepened the kiss. Now that kissing had become somewhat normal for them, it was like Raine couldn't get enough of it.

Raine pulled away, albeit reluctantly. He still had a job to do. He moved down Hayden's chest, tonguing the exposed flesh until he traced over Hayden's n****e. He felt Hayden's breath hitch.

Hayden's voice reached his ears, once more strong as ever. “Honestly, cupcake, if this is your idea of punishment, I’m not sure I find myself that worried of inviting your armageddon-like wrath in the future."

Raine leaned up. “Oh? Disappointed? Don’t worry, we’re just getting started. Also, I've got some rules for you to follow. From now on, no speaking unless spoken to.” He lifted the crop with feeling, eyebrows raised. "Also, you can't call me by anything other than just 'Raine', got it? That means no pet names, no cupcake, or babe, or even Raineie."

Hayden looked like he was debating on disobeying, but it eventually became clear he wasn’t going to break the rule...yet. He nodded.

It seemed Hayden at least somewhat understood the ropes of submission. “Good boy,” Raine praised, even as he grew more curious about Hayden's history of s****l experiences.

Hayden visibly shivered. Raine smirked, face stretching with glee.

Raine pushed Hayden's pants down to his knees. He leaned down and licked the half-hard c**k. He worked Hayden up with light twists of his hand, sucking on the head and teasing the dip around it until Hayden's c**k was hard and firm in his grasp. He stayed shallow, kept his touches light, and never put much of Hayden's d**k in his mouth. His only goal was to raise an interest. He looked up at Hayden, noting the frustration there in his eyes.

Raine sat up.

“Babe, come on,” Hayden complained, shifting. Raine grabbed his legs and held him still. “I need, need those soft lips on me, just suck it already, would ya-?”

Raine huffed a disappointed sigh. “What did I tell you about speaking out of turn? Or using petnames?”

“To not to,” Hayden snapped. Looked like Raine had finally hit the right buttons to bring out the defiance. “Like you got anything worth a damn to back that up, though, you little-”

As Hayden spoke, Raine shifted back, putting space between them. Raine brought his crop down across Hayden's thigh, hard enough it made an audible c***k. Hayden winced and cursed. Raine watched him, assessing if Hayden was fine. He may have hit a little harder than he’d originally intended to. A red mark was already visible. Hayden groaned and met his eyes, only a little less fiery. “That it? That was nothin', may as well've gotten hit with a paper towel. What, lost your nerve, cupcake? Kiddo? Pumpkin? Pumpkin muffin? Sweet candy cane princess? Little hot honey sugar beet-”

Raine’s crop struck again, on the top part of Hayden's hip, where it met his belly.

"What's my name?"

Hayden bit his lip. "R-Raineie-" And laughed.

The next strike had Hayden's back arching against the bed. "Oh friggin' s**t-"

Smack.

The crop had hit Hayden's lower belly, just above the groin, a clear warning. Raine spoke again, calm and firm, "You don't need to say anything else but my name. What do you call me?"

It took a few seconds for Hayden to get a word out, eyes unfocused and muscles shaking. "...R-...Raine."

"Good. Keep saying it until it gets engrained in that dense skull of yours." Raine brushed Hayden's c**k with the crop, an incentive.

"Raine, Raine, Raine," Hayden babbled, over and over until Raine felt satisfied.

"Finally." Raine moved back up Hayden's body, gripping his shoulder and leaning in, forcing Hayden's eyes to meet his own. He’d already told himself he wasn’t going to touch Hayden's face tonight. Not when they were getting this deep in their play. 

"Color?" He asked.

It took Hayden a second to comprehend the question. When he did, there was also some annoyance in his voice. "Green. No check ins. If I ain't green I'll tell ya."

"Fine. Have it your way."

Raine clambered off the bed to grab the lube. While up, he took the opportunity to strip naked, ignoring Hayden's ogling all the while. Seriously, did Hayden still think he was straight? A question for another day. Raine returned quickly. He straddled Hayden again and rubbed his c**k against Hayden's stomach where the welts were forming, fighting back a groan at the softer skin against his d**k. Hayden's breathing went off tempo in response.

Raine got up to Hayden's ear, brushing it with his lips, whispering, “I’m gonna break your d**k off, cupcake.” He used Hayden's own petname against him.

He half-expected more defiance to be ignited by his words. But Hayden merely moaned, his hips twitching beneath Raine, chest heaving with sharp breaths. “Raine- ”

Raine tapped his shoulder. “Ah ah, no talking." Raine sat back and dabbed some lube on his flesh hand. “Just watching. If that's a problem you have some nice gags over there I can use instead.” It dawned on him. He had full control for the first time. Warmth and adrenaline flooded his system like a shot of drugs. Oh yes, he'd been praying for this, for Hayden to let him do this. It took everything in his power to not move too fast as he slipped his lubed finger in his own hole, spreading the stuff generously. 

Hayden's expression shifted with curiosity and even more anticipation, but he said nothing, a restless shift telling Raine everything he needed to know. It was almost shocking how obedient Lord Hayden could be when he tried. Raine spent a few minutes, letting himself moan to show Hayden his pleasure. He sank back on his fingers before pulling up and repeating the action, building the anticipation. It seemed to work, because Hayden groaned in tune to his voice, wetting his lips.

Raine took a few moments, watching for any signs of impatience winning over Hayden. A part of him wanted to really drag out the teasing. Another part was good and ready for the main event. 

Raine pulled his fingers out, interest in the activity waning, his own impatience winning out first. He leaned back and rubbed his ass against Hayden's c**k, feeling the still-hard, thick, leaking c**k head against his flesh. “You’ve been kinda bad at this, but... I think you're learning. You want inside me, Hayden ?” Raine purred, staring right into Hayden's glittering, begging eyes. He leaned in and licked Hayden's neck to sweeten the deal, tongue flat against the tendon in his throat. “Answer me with your words.”

"Raine," Hayden's tone was ragged, voice thick. “ Friggin' yes.” Was he already this wrecked? Raine smirked at how Hayden was like this all for him. 

“Not good enough," he dared. “What do you want from me?” Raine muttered against his ear, pinching a n****e.

Hayden let out a short hiss of air. “I...I want ya...to...sit on my cock.”

“I think you want more than just sitting. We just talked about this.”

“Y-yes, ride me, Raine-”

“I never said ride... Let me give you a hint,” Raine said, gripping the part of Hayden's lapel still around his shoulder and tugging until they were nose-to-nose. He raised his crop in warning. “What. Do. You. Want. Me. To. Do. To. Your. Dick.”

Hayden looked confused. “I...I want you to…” He was trying to find the answer somewhere, it seemed, in his mind. Raine had him too strung out to think properly, though. That was his bad, really.

Raine was going to have to help. He did so in a singsong voice. “Break~ ”

“Break…” Hayden shivered under Raine, eyes shutting. “Hooo-god… I...I want you to...break…” He took a deep breath. “....my d**k off, Raine.” There was some reluctance in his words.

A blaze of heat pooled inside of Raine. He shut his eyes, his own breathing growing ragged. “What’s...the magic word?”

“Please … Raine, Raine...”

“More. Beg.” A rush of defiance entered Hayden's eyes, but it flitted away in a heartbeat. Raine teasingly slid his d**k along Hayden's stomach again. “This is your punishment, remember? I'm not gonna be nice,” Raine hummed. He dragged the crop's tip across Hayden's bare, heaving chest.

Hayden broke all at once. “Please, Raine- please, just- come on, please- a-anything- I'll do anything-”

“Good boy,” Raine praised, letting go and lowering the crop. He dropped it on the bed.

With the help of his hand, he sat on Hayden's c**k. Raine’s mouth fell open and a groan spilled out as he filled himself with Hayden. Hayden moaned heavily beneath him, giving a shudder so violent it traveled through Raine’s hips. Hayden's thighs jerked, his c**k shifting inside of Raine. Raine shut his eyes, gasping for air. His thoughts scattered. His mind buzzing. His skin on fire .

“Yeah, that’s more like it,” Raine whispered, holding still until he adjusted to the change. “You’re such a good cock.” His hands fell to Hayden's heaving body. “And you’re mine. You’re my good c**k, to stuff myself with, f**k myself on- f**k-” He felt precum drip from his d**k. "Hayden-"

Hayden groaned so loud it cut Raine off. 

He'd been waiting for this to happen for a long time. And the anticipation of getting to let loose on Lord Hayden was going to be the death of him. He had experienced quite a few s****l encounters in his line of work, some of them had even been very enjoyable. But this was the best damn thing he’d ever gotten to do. 

He was going to ride the Lord Hayden.

What a thing to get paid for. He would never admit it, but he would’ve done this for free. “And you’re just so Lord, too, aren’t you? King of Helios. What would people say if they realized you were basically my dildo right now?” Raine opened his eyes. “Hey, look at me,” he said, tapping Hayden's chest.

Hayden's own eyes had slid closed, but they peeled open, wet and dark. Through what looked like great effort, he met Raine’s gaze.

Now the tables were turned. Not that Hayden was intimidated. Just destroyed.

His hair fell over his face, sweat dripping down his brow, mouth agape, gasping for air. His ears were darkened, and Raine could only imagine the intense flush that must be under the mask. Raine wished he could see it.

Raine's hands traveled up until they landed on Hayden's chest, feeling the pounding heartbeat under his hand.

Raine rolled his hips, testing the feel. He watched Hayden's response for a second, saw the way Hayden's face shifted in that life-like mask to reveal...utter desperation. Raine moved more and more, picking up the pace.

In moments, he was f*****g himself on Hayden's c**k, chasing each slide of it against that sweet sweet spot inside. With every roll of his hips, he drove his own c**k into Hayden's stomach, and then rocked back against the d**k in his ass, hitting both spots with delicious, dizzying spirals of pleasure. Raine couldn’t contain his moans for very long. They spilled out in every burst of gratification like gunshots going off in his brain. 

Raine kept going, didn’t stop, even when his legs started burning. It felt so good, so good-

Hayden made a pathetic noise that probably could’ve been used as blackmail. His hips jerked up, c**k slamming deep into Raine. Raine’s eyes rolled into his head, the sensation stealing his breath away. Hayden forced Raine to find his balance as he thrusted into him, over and over, relentless. Raine had no time or thought left to regain control. His o****m crashed upon him like a wave and it was all he could do not to fall over, crying out and spilling impressive amounts of c*m across Hayden's stomach and chest.

Raine’s hands were digging probably painfully into Hayden's chest. He’d finished releasing but the repeated movements of Hayden inside of him were keeping his c**k from going limp. It might have been possible for Raine to force it down if he’d had any presence of mind left. The idea of hitting that high again, though- It was all he wanted.

Hayden's voice pitched, high and strained. “s**t, Raine, I’m gonna-” He writhed beneath Raine. “I’m gonna c*m, holy nuts !” 

“Then...do...it!” Hayden's pace slackened in exhaustion, Raine returned back to riding him, desperate rocks of his hips that had him whimpering. “Cum...for me, Lord,” Raine groaned. “Nng- My Lord boy…”

Hayden did. A wet heat seeped into Raine’s body. Raine moaned and ground his sensitive spot against the d**k responsible. He was getting closer again...so close.

Hayden's d**k went limp.

“Hayden, I...come on- I need to c*m again,” Raine hissed in frustration, throwing himself forward to rut against Hayden's belly again - but it wasn’t enough. 

Hayden's response was faint, as if he were on the verge of passing out. “Mm, sorry, baby boy-”

Raine pulled off the soft c**k, fumbled and released one of Haydens’ cuffed hands, guiding it to his entrance. “Just- Finish me with your hand. Now . And I won’t...punish you for being disobedient.”

Two of Hayden's fingers slid up inside him without hesitation, searching the angle Hayden had used before. Raine exhaled in satisfaction. Hayden had large fingers, and the rougher texture was just what he wanted. The fingers pumped within him, in and out, a repeated motion that had Raine's legs shaking. Raine’s eyes landed on Hayden's wrecked face, before a wave of pleasure made them close. He leaned forward, cursing, felt himself edging closer to release. 

He tumbled over that edge.

"Jaack!" Raine cried out, spilling once more. Hayden obediently worked him through it, pushing each wave of satisfaction through Raine's core. Raine swore he was about to see stars, body shaking uncontrollably.

It faded almost too slowly.

He slumped onto the bed, aching, but so, so satisfied. 

“God...that was...fuck...” he murmured, rubbing his face against the silky sheets, the softness felt ten times softer in the aftermath of an o****m. Two, actually. He rolled over, figuring Hayden would need some sort of aftercare-

Hayden was snoring.

Loudly.

“Ugh, damn you, you old man,” Raine muttered. Deciding to leave Hayden's other arm bound and in that awkward position. He was feeling a bit vengeful in spite of himself. He curled up on the bed and closed his eyes, telling himself that he needed to stay near his bound top. It was just safety. Hayden would need someone to release him in the morning... Raine should probably try to find some cream for those welts, too. He'd do that in a minute, once he caught his breath.

Sometime that night, Hayden awakened to feel one arm aching as if he’d ripped it out of his own shoulder and used it to beat a bandit to death in heroic badassery. His hips were equally pained, and his back...and well, everything really… He wasn’t as young as he’d once been. And he hadn't done anything this strenuous in awhile.

But there was soft hair against his chin that tickled at the edges of his mask. It distracted him somewhat. His mask was also clammy and uncomfortable. He would need to remove it sometime after Raine left in the morning. 

Raine.

Hayden looked right down on the mess of locks on his chest

“Rh-Raine?” He croaked, voice raw, dry. He cleared his throat, swallowing some spit to soften it. “Raineie? Babe?”

Raine yawned and shifted closer to Hayden, pressing his face against his chest. Hayden hadn't realize until now that Raine's locks were somewhat curly.  “Mmm,” Raine hummed in response, sleepy and not paying attention. Hayden gazed down at what he could see of the soft face, and his heart stuttered a bit. Could he…? He couldn’t… Not for this little s**t. Not for a dude. Having s*x was one thing. 

Not the other thing.

“Raine.”

“Whaaat?”

“Could you undo the cuff. I gotta piss.”

Raine sat up, hair falling over his eyes, glaring. He looked like an angry puppy. “You’re insufferable.”

“ What ? You’re the one who left it tied up. It feels like hell now. So, thanks for that.”

Raine began muttering and unlocked Hayden's arm, “-gotta piss . What are you, a savage? You could at least say pee.”

“Sure, whatever is nice enough for you, princess. I gotta go pee sparkles in the toilet.” 

“It’s certainly fancy enough in there you may as well try to convince me you do pee sparkles. I don't think that makes me the princess in this scenario."

"Whatever." Hayden rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom, rubbing said arm and shoulder.

Right. He was just feeling confused because Raine was a bit cute. For a dude. That was it. Nothing more. Everyone felt at least a little inclination to grin when thinking of a cute kitten, right? It as the same science, human brains, and all that s**t. 

He was too tired for this.

When Hayden finished his business and returned, Raine had his legs dangling off the bed, yawning as he ran his hands over his face. “Well, are you done with me for tonight?” He asked sleepily, mussing his hair. It was a mess. A good mess.

“You should stay.”

Raine froze. The weird change in the set of his shoulders made Hayden's eyes narrow. He turned to look at Hayden, suspicion on his face. “ Why ?”

“Don’t sound so weird about it- I…” Hayden sat on the other side of the bed, shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. “...might want a quickie before work in the morning, is all. You know what I mean, right? Seems silly to move if you just need to be back in here in a few hours,” he lied, uncertain how to say that he just wanted that cute butt in his bed until dawn.

“Well, surely you don’t want some lowly w***e sullying your nice bed until then,” Raine said in complete opposition to Hayden's thoughts. His tone and words were weirdly hostile. Hayden knew that much. He wondered if Raine was still mad about before, when Hayden had snapped at him in the office. But Hayden had just let Raine tie him up and take it out on him, and until now, Raine had been quite happy with that arrangement... “I’ll just sleep on the couch,” Raine spoke in a decisive way before Hayden got a chance to dispute it.

“If that's what you gotta do,” Hayden said, stamping down his disappointment. “There’s some extra blankets over there. But if you’re worried about sullying stuff, I’m sure the c*m’s done a fine job of that, w***e or not. Nothing money can’t fix of course.” Hayden was too tired to try and puzzle through Raine’s mood. “‘Sides, you’ll just sully the couch, not that I mind that cute ass on every surface in this house-” He was trying to joke, but somehow, Raine just wasn't seeing the humor in it.

“I think it best, yeah," Raine replied curtly. "Someone has to take the whole minimal personal interactions thing seriously around here. Don’t worry. I won’t leak anywhere. I'll um, clean up a bit in the bathroom real quick.” Raine stood, and Hayden's eyes were caught by that glowing soulmark that highlighted his ass so prominently again. 

Hayden yawned as his exhaustion mounted, but his half-tired brain blurted, “so, do they approve of you doing this kinda work or....?”

Raine looked back at him with a flabbergasted expression as he grabbed one of the spare blankets. “ Who ? Approve of what ?”

“Your soulmate. Of the whoring.”

Raine looked away. “Isn’t that about as personal as it gets?”

“Oh uh, yeah. Right. But uh, I can’t help my curiosity, cupcake.” Hayden lay back against the pillows, sleepy again.

There were several moments where Raine fiddled with the blankets, messing them up quite a bit for no apparent reason. He seized one and smoothed it several times with his hands. He stilled. The words he uttered next were so quiet, Hayden had to strain to hear them, especially since he was starting to doze off. “I don’t know .”

“Don’t know?” Hayden was wide awake again.

“I have no idea if they would approve. I don’t even know who they are.”

Hayden frowned. That didn’t make much sense. How could Raine not know who his soulmate was?

Hayden didn’t know his either, but his soulmark was broken, so it didn’t count, really. As far as he could tell, he didn't have a soulmate. Probably.

“I woke up one day,” Raine said, not needing a prompt to answer the silent question. “The mark was glowing and there was nobody else there. And I don’t remember the night before. All I have is the shirt I accidentally stole from him... It's not fair." He sighed.

Him.

Hayden frowned at a pang inside his chest, rubbing his mask, hard. Sounded like familiar bullshit to him. He could remember how his own had come alive for no real reason. Or rather, didn’t remember. Ugh, his head. But unlike Raine, he didn’t really care if he ever knew who his supposed ‘soulmate’ was supposed to be. “So it’s broken eh?”

“What?”

“Broken soulmark. Just kinda sitting there uselessly, didn’t even alert ya. If it weren’t broken, you’d know, right?” Hayden yawned again, shifting in the pillows. A part of him wanted to reach out and drag Raine on top of him like a human blanket. “Well, Raineie. If ya ask me. You should choose who you get with, not the damned universe.” Come to think of it… Hayden couldn’t seem to find his favorite button up anymore… But that was definitely a funny coincidence. The cleaning bot had probably got it. "No wait," he rambled on in his sleepy state, "if you really wanna know what I think....screw getting with anyone. They're all out for themselves, in the end. Meaningless s*x all the way, baby."

Raine cracked a hard smile. His expression held no mirth, almost cold, almost angry. “Right. Easy for you to say. You don’t even have a mark.”

Hayden opened his mouth to correct that.

And closed it again.

He couldn’t. He couldn’t even dream of explaining what was under the mask to anyone, especially this w***e he didn’t know that well. Instead, he just shook his head. “It's just a damned mark, is all I’m saying.”

“Yeah, well, and all I’m saying is that you don’t understand. Someone without a mark could never understand. Besides I didn't ask you... Anyway, I’m going to get more sleep. Let me know when you need me for my actual services. And yes, I am charging an extra fee for pillow talk.” With that, Raine canted his hips at Hayden tauntingly and sauntered away.

“Yeah, right, jaggoff!” Hayden watched him go, a desperate, heavy feeling in his chest.