La Maison 5: Darkness (Complete: mxm BDSM)

Arc 2 Chapter 2.3

Ellis looked at Suzu's brother for a long, long moment, taking up space in the expansive foyer of their brownstone. He'd arrived on the doorstep, hours earlier than expected, with an unanticipated friend in tow, and the tension had been ranked at catastrophic for every second since.

He and Suzu were twins, though fraternal, but you'd never guess. His Suzu was all bulk and power. Six and a half feet of dominance that managed to make even six-foot Ellis feel delicate. Laurent was only shorter by maybe an inch, but far leaner, built out of athletic muscle. It was the difference between a tiger and a leopard. The same went with their looks and, so far, their personalities. Suzu looked incredible filling a suit, of course, but even then, there was a wildness to him; an idea that he'd look just as good in plaid wielding an ax. Laurent was smoother – clean shaven and charming, if you liked your charm in a thick layer of smugness, which plenty of people did.

But there was something extra about Laurent. A darkness that Ellis had never felt from Suzu, even when things between them hadn't been great; had been at their worst. Suzu had hurt him – emotionally and physically – in the past, when he'd been blinded by his own ego. But he'd never enjoyed it, never wanted to cause pain. The way Laurent looked right back at him, unflinching, with a smirk, told Ellis he wouldn't be the same way. It made Ellis – resolutely not masochistic – shiver.

"You sure do collect 'em pretty, don't you?" Laurent's eyes finally flicked away from Ellis, though the smirk stayed as he turned to his brother.

"I suggest you take care how you speak about my boyfriend, Laurent, if you hope to stay in my house." Every line of Suzu's body was tense and he was emanating anger aimed firmly at Laurent.

"'Your house', sure," Laurent grimaced, casting an eye around the luxurious surroundings. "Paid for by great-grandmere. Don't forget that. You didn't do this on your own."

"You got the same trust fund, Laurent. Don't blame me if you'd pissed it away before you were twenty-five. And turned down a position in the family business."

Ellis recognized the wince from Suzu even as he said that, and he knew it was because he hated working for the family himself. When he'd taken the mantle of CEO when his father retired it was never for the sake of money, or kudos, but because he'd felt obligated. And part of the reason he did was because his twin had abandoned the family with impunity the first moment he could. Ellis didn't know the full details, as Suzu didn't like to talk about it, but he'd been able to infer, and he watched for Laurent's reaction with his own eyes narrowed in sympathetic anger.

Laurent just chuffed a laugh and rolled his eyes, glancing at his companion.

"Besides," it was clear Suzu couldn't help himself, his voice sparking with uncharacteristic snideness, "you could say the same about your own 'collection'."

Laurent laughed properly that time, almost a guffaw. "Oh, I'd take Aloiki on board in a heartbeat, bro, but I'm not sure he'd appreciate the position."

His friend, as tall as Suzu and almost as broad, with long, glossy hair in beachy waves to his shoulders and deeply tanned skin, reached a hand out in a manner completely out of place in the charged atmosphere, though Suzu reluctantly shook it.

"Please, call me Loki," his voice was surprisingly soft, "I'm sorry we dropped in on you out of the blue. And Laurent's not lying. I prefer my boys with a lot less shit-headed obnoxiousness than he has."

"Hey!"

The confused hurt was perfect and Ellis couldn't help laughing, even if he definitely agreed with the summary.

Regardless, something about Loki's straightforward reaction to Laurent's pushing broke the tension and, even if Suzu and Laurent did continue to needle at each other, it didn't feel like it might descend into violence after that.

After some catching up – Laurent confirmed both of them had resigned from Medecins San Frontieres and were 'on the lookout' for something new – the housekeeper, Alanna, insisted on showing them to their guest rooms, and Ellis boiled water for tea, a habit he'd picked up lately from Owen.

"How long will they stay?" he asked Suzu while he waited.

"I don't know. He's family, it'll take a great deal for me to throw him out."

"Even though you don't get on?"

Suzu shrugged. "Just don't let him get to you. He likes to push. But I'm the only one who gets to push you." He punctuated the words by coming behind Ellis, stroking big hands under the flimsy t-shirt he was wearing until he found his nipples, easily teased into hardness as he kissed and nibbled at the nape of his neck, the line of his body hard and hot and tempting pressed against Ellis' back.

The smug voice made them both jump. "So, you still into all that kinky shit then?"

* * * * *

Ellis and River had been coming back every day since that first time. He knew Ellis worked at a nightclub somewhere and River wrote music for people who contracted it. He'd even shown Gabe a couple adverts that were his, which was amazing. The benefit, though, was that they were, apparently, happily available just so long as he needed them. He figured his need wasn't about to change any time soon.

Gabe had picked up the cello Ellis had brought round and started playing, without music, immediately and instinctually. River had been badly hiding tears when he'd finished and admitted Gabe had played that during one of his final performances at the conservatory. That broke a dam, of sorts, and after that Ellis and River seemed less worried about bringing up his time at the Conservatory and reminding him how skilled he'd been. He appreciated it and paid them back by playing often when they came.

Part of it – his willingness to perform for them – had to come because they gave him no pressure. They may have returned with new instruments to see if he wanted to try, but sometimes they just came to sit and hang out with games and movies. Gabe had had a few flashes of memory after spending so much time with them – more 'moment in time' snapshots that he wasn't sure if they were real or wishful thinking. Either way, they made him feel good, so he embraced them.

Today, River and Ellis had stayed for dinner. Owen was at work, so Gabe was grateful. Gray was always nice, but he could tell he was being careful, and it was starting to make him squirrely. Added to that was trying to communicate with people who knew more about him than he did but couldn't talk about it. It was exhausting. He didn't really want all the missing memories back – though when he'd gone for his check up with the doctor the day before, the man had said again that he thought it was only a matter of time – but he did want to get on with whatever his new life needed to look like.

So, tonight, he fell asleep easily, for once, and he knew he was dreaming. That was the thing about dreams though. Just knowing they weren't real wasn't enough. They could be as abstract as you could hope for, and they still felt visceral. Real. Dangerous.

And this one wasn't abstract. Gabe was there but could also see another version of himself as clearly as if he was having an out of body experience. His dream-sight couldn't follow the line of his Other's arms and legs, but he knew instinctively that he was bound on his front, that the star position his naked body was in was immovable. Just like he knew there was nothing he could do about the screams being dragged from the throat of the Other. Nothing he could do about the lines of fire appearing across his back from an invisible weapon, and an invisible assailant.

He felt sick at the sight – and the sounds – but he couldn't move. He wasn't the bound one, but he might as well have been for all the agency he had. Worse; he felt a tightening across his groin. He refused to look down to confirm, refused to try to put his hands there. He should be disgusted by that reaction. Should be. That voice in his head was loud, insistent. Sarcastic. He recognized it though it wasn't his voice. He couldn't place it. Was too distracted by the screams building to a crescendo, turning into moans as his Other threw his head back and came.

Gabe woke with a start, the moan still on his own lips, sticky wetness flooding his sleep pants. Even though there was no one to see it, he flushed; sickened and embarrassed and turned on by his body's reaction. He scrambled to clean up in the attached bathroom, pulling on clean pants. But he couldn't sleep, the night darker than ever. Emptier than he thought he could cope with, an image of a man with light hair and cold eyes burned into his mind.