Story Title: Another Lifetime
Author: Amedia
Rating: NC-17
Characters/Ship: Cain/Ambrose
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Imagiquest. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: PWP flashback in which arrogant!Ambrose is arrogant and Cain tops from the bottom.
Word Count: 1592
Warnings: Explicit slash. Consensual BDSM.
Author's Note: This isn't the kind of story I usually write! I've adopted a couple of pieces of fanon here, namely young Ambrose as an arrogant jerk and the notion that everyone in the O.Z. is a little bit queer.
Glitch surveyed himself in the mirror and gave a proud, happy nod. "Now that," he said, pointing at his reflection, "is someone I recognize." He turned sideways, admiring his profile, and winked at himself. "You handsome devil." He sighed happily. "That is my color."
"Don't you think so, Cain?" he asked as the door opened and his friend walked in.
"Don't I think what?"
"I look good in chestnut, don't I?"
Cain responded automatically. "Of course you do." Then he took a good look at Glitch, who was preening in front of the mirror, in an elegant new suit, perfectly tailored to fit him. An equally elegant cream-colored shirt peeked out its understated ruffles at collar and cuffs. The deep reddish brown sheen of the suit fabric brought out glints in Glitch's hair and eyes. The change from the tattered clothing in which Cain had come to know Glitch was striking, and Glitch himself appeared more dignified and composed, more like the advisor he had once been.
Cain inhaled sharply. "That's amazing," he said.
Glitch smiled, his face lighting up. "I can't tell you how much that means to me," he said. "Wait, there's matching gloves, too. You have to get the full effect." Cain chuckled fondly as Glitch rummaged among the pile of delivery boxes, finally retrieving the gloves from the packing material. Glitch pulled them on and struck an aristocratic pose. "What do you think?"
Cain stared at Glitch's gloved hands, startled as memory flooded his mind, a memory of a time long ago and long forgotten. Before the Sorceress took over, even before Cain met Adora, a time when he was a young Tin Man moonlighting as a security guard in a brothel. A time when a chance encounter had brought him a surprising experience.
******
From a nook near the back of the room, Cain studied the pretty aristocrat who had just entered. One of the girls noticed his interest and drifted over to share gossip. "He's called Ambrose," she said. "I heard that he's very orally inclined. The boys like that - it gives the rest of them a rest, if you know what I mean."
Cain licked his lips, trying to keep his tone one of idle disinterest. "What do the girls think?"
"We haven't had a chance to find out," she said with a pout. "He's never given any of us a try."
Cain patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Sorry to hear that," he said. He wasn't so much sorry as surprised. Most customers drifted from one side of the room to another from one visit to the next; few stayed exclusively with either gender. He was also surprised at his own strong reaction to the man; he wanted nothing more than to throw him to the floor, pull those fancy pants down, and go to work with his tongue. Maybe I've just been here too long this evening, he thought, and glanced at his watch.
"Time for me to go off shift," he said. "And you?"
"Oh, I just came on," she said. Spotting a new customer headed in their direction, she swept away in a swirl of skirts and perfume to beam at the newcomer.
Cain moved out into the room and nodded to his replacement, who had come in a few minutes ago and was already ensconced in a convenient observation spot. A thought coalesced into solidity in his mind and he made his way over to the alcove where Ambrose, surrounded by young men, was taking his time making his choice. Cain wasn't supposed to hassle the nobility in such a situation, and he was sure everyone knew it. He pushed through the circle and stood just a little too close to the young nobleman. "Five more minutes and you'll be looking at opportunity cost, mister," Cain growled in a low voice. "Our boys don't make money on their feet."
As he had hoped, Ambrose turned toward him, anger flooding his pale cheeks with color, nostrils flaring as he swept Cain's body with his eyes. "You're a very insolent employee," he said. "Certainly your customer management skills are raw, to say the least."
Cain forced himself to hold the other man's gaze and not to let his eyes wander. "Perhaps I need re-training," he said without expression.
Ambrose's eyes narrowed. "I came here for the talent. Not the help," he said, but there was a note of curiosity beneath the disdain.
Cain shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said, and turned as if to leave.
Ambrose laid a gloved finger on his arm. "Wait," he said, and waved over the madam. A whispered conversation took place that Cain could not quite make out, but both parties appeared satisfied at the end. Ambrose turned back to Cain. "Follow me," he said imperiously, and set out for the private rooms without looking to see whether Cain actually obeyed.
******
Cain followed Ambrose into the room with a mixture of elation and trepidation. "Strip and lie on the bed," said Ambrose coldly. Cain obeyed, dropping his clothes on the floor and climbing onto the elaborate four-poster. There were straps on the bedposts; Ambrose began fastening Cain's wrists and ankles with them. Cain tensed his wrists, spreading his fingers out as if in apprehension, although he was more excited than afraid. The ropes were not especially tight, though snug enough to hold.
In contrast to Cain's naked, spread-eagled form, Ambrose merely unbuckled his belt. Still fully dressed, he climbed up and straddled Cain, settling his knees on either side of Cain's chest. Unbuttoning the fly of his pants, he pulled his erect penis free of its confinement and placed the tip of it on Cain's closed lips.
Cain moaned as the very thing he had wished for was coming true. He opened his mouth just as Ambrose leaned forward, grasping the headboard with both hands, and pushing his penis into Cain's mouth. Cain reveled in the sensation as he closed his eyes and lips and ran his tongue over the hard column of flesh. He flicked his tongue over and around, memorizing every detail and feeling satisfaction as Ambrose groaned with pleasure.
Meanwhile, Cain tore his attention away from his mouth to his hands. Relaxing his fingers and wrists reduced the circumference of the latter, making his bonds loose enough that he could work his hands out of them; the tricky part was to do so without Ambrose noticing. He licked attentively around the head of Ambrose's penis, darting his tongue into the slit at the very tip before returning to the main shaft, and was rewarded with another groan. One of Ambrose's hands came off the headboard and grasped the top of Cain's head, the fingers threading through his hair.
Cain's hands were both free now. With a single quick motion he brought them up and pushed through the back of Ambrose's loosened waistband to grasp the bare buttocks underneath. Ambrose gasped; Cain felt the flesh under his hands tighten and flex in reaction. Cain dug in more firmly, half-squeezing, half-massaging, imagining himself licking and nibbling that firm ass, choosing a spot he would have sucked with a hint of teeth until he left his mark on that delicious skin.
Finally daring more than he had ever planned, he pulled Ambrose's buttocks apart and ran a finger down the crease in between, skating lightly over the tight opening there. Ambrose cried out in surprise and indignation, rocking forward suddenly to thrust his cock more deeply into Cain's open mouth, down almost into his throat. Cain felt for a moment as if he would gag, then relaxed his jaw muscles to accommodate the invasion. Until now he had chiefly licked; now he began to suck hard, teasing ever so gently at Ambrose's opening with the tips of his fingers.
Looking up, he saw Ambrose throw his head back, abandoning himself to sensation, and a moment later he felt Ambrose's buttocks convulsing under his hands, and Ambrose's penis jetting hot, salty liquid into Cain's mouth and down his throat. Cain made sure to swallow every drop, licking hungrily at the tip as Ambrose pulled out.
Ambrose climbed up off him with surprising grace, and stood for a moment, staring at Cain's flushed face and wet, swollen lips, then down to his erect penis. Ambrose sat on the bed beside Cain and reached out with one gloved hand.
"Do that again," Ambrose said, stroking a single leatherclad finger up and down the shaft of Cain's penis, "and I'll have you flogged."
Cain had a vivid mental image of himself moaning and writhing under the stinging caress of a whip wielded by Ambrose. He gasped and came violently, helpless to resist.
Ambrose raised one eyebrow, smiled, and left.
******
Glitch, still facing the mirror, was staring at Cain's reflection. "Those reminded you of something, didn't they?" he asked, hastily pulling the gloves off and tossing them onto the nearest box. Then he turned and looked at Cain directly. "Had we met? Before?"
Cain silently cursed Glitch's ability to read him. Turning Glitch back toward the mirror, he put his arms around Glitch from behind and pulled him into a comforting hug. "If we did, sweetheart, it was another lifetime," he said, and nuzzled at Glitch's neck.
Glitch smiled. He smiled even wider when Cain nipped him ever so slightly. "Ooh," he said. "I liked that, didn't I?"
"Do you still?"
Glitch brought a hand up and threaded his fingers through Cain's hair. "I think I'm going to like it again," he said.