The Five - Part 2 (Harlan/Radu)
(Will most likely be around 6 parts plus a planned sequel.)
Title: The Five - Part 2
Author: korepersephone
Pairing: Harlan/Radu
Rating: NC-17
Theme: #16 [invincible, unrivaled]
Notes: Blindfold!kink, light D/s. An expansion of drabble #7 here in which the Casers are home and not coping all that well. Not Beta’d, I apologize for any mistakes!
Part 1
Summary: Radu takes control over the only thing he can. Harlan lets him.
The Five - Part 2
Harlan knew, even before they arrived back at their hotel suite, that Radu was in one of his closed off moments again. He could tell by the stiff posture, the blank expression, how he held himself rigid and quiet yet still managed to radiate frustration.
Harlan knew it well. It happened more than he thought was healthy but Harlan was never one to turn him away whenever he needed the support. Still, he was constantly surprised that Radu held up as well as he did, even after two years of hatred and vitriol.
The stress of the evening had undoubtedly led to Radu's state as it did whenever they ran into trouble that involved him. Radu had eventually found a way to cope with the threats and the taunts. Even the people that outright ignored him could sometimes cause him to lapse into this silence.
So Harlan was prepared the moment they stepped inside.
Radu clicked the door lock, the noise sharp in the expectant stillness. Harlan stood, just by the door, and waited silently while Radu swung his dark cloak carefully over the back of a chair. His movements were always so controlled and precise as if to make up for the many areas in his life that were not.
Harlan knew he shouldn't enjoy these moments so much since they only came about because Radu was hurting and angry. There were times when Harlan was certain Radu knew how much he loved it when Radu was in charge, but neither of them ever said anything about it.
Harlan watched every movement closely as Radu unhooked his cuffs and loosened the front of his jacket. He still hadn't looked at Harlan and no words had been said between them since they had left the club.
The jacket was folded precisely along well worn creases and placed carefully on the seat of the chair. He then knelt to untie the laces on his sturdy boots, hands gracefully unloosing knots. The laces soon slipped free and Harlan's breath quickened slightly before he realized it, heartbeat seeming to pulse throughout his entire body.
The boots were pulled off next and placed exactly side by side on the floor before Radu finally stood and turned to acknowledge Harlan. He stared at him intently until Harlan knew he should lower his eyes and he did so, giving Radu what he wanted - someone besides himself forced to look away.
Radu was never really allowed to stand up for himself in public so that here and now was the only time Radu could get what he wanted - needed - without even asking. Harlan could never deny him that. Never.
He felt Radu moving toward him and heard the clink of metal and the slick slide of cloth and leather that meant Radu was removing his belt. Not being able to watch - only listen - made Harlan feel as though the temperature in the room had suddenly increased.
“Off,” Radu said softly, almost carelessly and Harlan hurried to obey the obvious command. It was always the same every time, first the jacket, then the boots.
He knew Radu watched. Harlan, still with his head bowed, could feel the heat of his gaze as he efficiently removed his trousers next. He knew Radu liked neatness and bent quickly to fold his discarded clothes.
Next were his undershirt and shorts, quickly folded and placed on the pile of clothing, until he was bare but un-chilled due to his racing pulse. This was always when he would next be ordered to the bed and Harlan waited with stilled expectancy.
Instead, Radu did something he never had before. Harlan felt a soft finger beneath his chin as Radu tilted his head up so they could look at each other. Harlan watched him closely, waiting for some sign as to what he was supposed to do next but Radu merely looked at him for a few long moments before trailing his finger back along Harlan's jaw over unshaven skin, lightly, until his hand was cupping the back of Harlan's neck.
Radu leaned in slowly, breath ghosting across Harlan's lips before pressing them lightly to his in a soft touch of a kiss, the kind that never happened on nights like this.
Harlan let Radu set the pace because that was the point of this situation, it always was. Radu having control over this one aspect of his life when so much of it otherwise was completely out of his hands.
But he did not deepen it as Harlan expected him to and instead pulled away slowly, his hand still holding Harlan gently. Radu's gaze seemed heavy, weighted with some emotion Harlan did not recognize.
There was only a small gap left between them and Harlan could feel the heat radiating in the closeness and he realized that, once again, he had no idea what was going to happen next.
And that's when he knew what Radu was trying to show him, what it was like to not know, to not have a plan and when Radu stepped away for a moment and returned with his black scarf, Harlan suddenly understood that Radu also wanted him to know what it felt like to be helpless - how he must always feel helpless these days.
Harlan hadn't realized that the night's events had affected Radu this much, something bad must have happened to make Radu panic like he had in the hallway and this was his way of telling him that.
That was the problem, though. When it really counted, such as on a night like tonight, Harlan would never fully understand what Radu went through every time he stepped out in public. He only had this to give him hints and he tried to work the rest out on his own.
So he let Radu tie the scarf over his eyes. They had never done this before and the feel of the soft fabric on his skin ignited feelings of both comfort and intrigue that he so always craved.
The heat between them had already begun to work on him and the hesitancy of not knowing had quickly changed to a building anticipation; something to be desired. Radu spun him gently in one direction and led him in the blackness until he was pushed backward gently.
Harlan felt a moment of panic before the backs of his legs hit the edge of the couch and he fell onto the soft cushions. He couldn't help feeling, in that brief moment, a rush of fear even though he knew Radu would never let him get hurt.
The darkness pressed intently against his eyes as he felt Radu arranging his limbs in the firm way that always meant Harlan was to leave them there in the absence of any restraints. Harlan was quietly relieved that there was something at least he recognized. His feet and legs were spread a comfortable distance apart and his arms were draped along the back of the couch.
Each touch came out of the blackness to surprise him and Harlan had never before experienced the intensity that came with not knowing where the next touch would land. He squirmed pleasurably, focusing intently on each one as it fell.
A hand lightly brushing his thigh, a finger tracing along his ribs and the light gust of air along his neck up to his ear. A soft swipe of tongue over a sensitive spot as a hand gripped his bicep, a bruising kiss, a playful tug of hair all working in tandem with the blackness to force soft whimpers out of him, before those too were drowned by lingering kisses, Radu's tongue filling his mouth, breath hot and insistent. Then Radu was shocking a gasp out of him, caressing him gently, small, warm hands wrapped around him, gripping and twisting and Harlan could no longer stay quiet when a welcome heat engulfed him, tongue swirling and sucking.
Not allowed to move his arms or legs, he instead threw his head back to rest on the back of the sofa and let out a long groan and sharp breathy pants as Radu worked him, letting himself fall into trusting nothingness cradled only by heat and sound.
Radu always seemed to know when he got worked up to a certain point and, when Radu drew his hands and mouth away, Harlan felt acutely abandoned, wanting to break the rules and blindly reach for Radu to draw him back.
His self restraint had increased over the years, though, and it was never more obvious than now when he felt Radu's comforting heat move away from him completely. He wanted to cry out, to protest, until he heard the sounds of lighter clothing hitting the floor and Harlan never knew until then how much that could turn him on.
He focused on those sounds, of Radu patiently folding his clothes, in order to try and control himself, take his mind off the part of him that was chilled in the cool air. He realized then that he must be quite a sight, spread out and expectant, and the thought that Radu was probably looking at him right now and he had now way of knowing made him whimper in frustration.
Swiftly, Radu was in front of him again and Harlan shivered, not from cold, but from knowing that Radu was wearing nothing as well.
Harlan waited, breath caught in his throat, as he felt the cushions dip beside him and Harlan wondered what Radu was planning next when a low wet sound and a small moan came from that direction. Harlan's breathing increased as he imagined all the things Radu could be doing to himself at that moment.
Radu's own hand, touching, stroking, maybe with his head thrown back and eyelids heavy with arousal, legs wide, a pink flush traveling along his skin. Harlan's breath quickened at the mental image, loud and uneven in his own ears.
It wasn't until Radu crawled over him and straddled his hips that he realized what was happening. There was a hand on him, warm and slick, its movements quick and efficient before Radu was sinking slowly down onto him, wet and tight, with little hitched breaths and a contented sigh.
And this was the difference that surprised Harlan the most; Radu never wanted this on these nights, what had changed? He quickly stopped wondering as Radu began to move, slowly at first, building him up to a point where Harlan desperately wanted to take Radu in his arms, flip them around and pound him into the cushions.
Instead he groaned deeply, indulgently, giving himself up to each sensation, the pain of a bit lip flaring distantly as abstract lights flickered behind closed lids, feeling Radu's strong legs never falter in their rhythm.
He wanted Radu to have this freedom - he needed it so badly that Harlan would never disrespect his wishes. Their trust in each other had been hard won, so much so that Harlan never wanted to go back to the time when they didn't have that. When they didn't have this.
Harlan clenched his fists tightly, fingernails digging into his palms as he felt the rising heat being gradually coaxed out of him, the sounds of Radu's hand on himself and the other, he imagined, with a death grip on the back of the couch for leverage. He visualized Radu's face as he had seen it many times before: eyes half-lidded, head back just far enough that Harlan could lick a stripe from his collarbone to his ear only to suck on that sensitive spot just below it, until Radu was completely lost, unworried and as open as no one else had ever seen him.
Then there, the glorious clenching and the heat of release striping Harlan's chest, scalding even his already flushed skin. Radu's sharp shout, as though almost in surprise, sent Harlan following quickly after into oblivion.
It seemed his eyes had given him false light to see by in the enforced darkness because, when Radu finally removed the scarf, he could not blink the spots out of his eyes. But there was Radu through the haze as Harlan squinted in the sudden brightness, looking at him contentedly, a hand resting lightly on his jaw as he leaned in for another soft lingering kiss, just like the first.
Radu rose up off of him then and slumped to the side next to Harlan, eyes closed and weary, already starting to curl up next to him.
This was the time that Radu gave himself up to Harlan.
Not before, that was when Radu set the ground rules and made sure Harlan knew who was in charge, and especially not during, that was when Radu used him to release his own frustrations in a way he normally couldn't.
It was always After, when Harlan would clean them up and put Radu to bed and turn out the lights. He would slip under the sheets and let Radu curl around him, limbs tangled, as Harlan listened to him fall asleep. That was when Harlan could plainly see the amount of trust that Radu placed in him.
None of their friends knew the extent of their relationship, just that they were simply 'together'. This was something only for them.
Title: The Five - Part 2
Author: korepersephone
Pairing: Harlan/Radu
Rating: NC-17
Theme: #16 [invincible, unrivaled]
Notes: Blindfold!kink, light D/s. An expansion of drabble #7 here in which the Casers are home and not coping all that well. Not Beta’d, I apologize for any mistakes!
Part 1
Summary: Radu takes control over the only thing he can. Harlan lets him.
The Five - Part 2
Harlan knew, even before they arrived back at their hotel suite, that Radu was in one of his closed off moments again. He could tell by the stiff posture, the blank expression, how he held himself rigid and quiet yet still managed to radiate frustration.
Harlan knew it well. It happened more than he thought was healthy but Harlan was never one to turn him away whenever he needed the support. Still, he was constantly surprised that Radu held up as well as he did, even after two years of hatred and vitriol.
The stress of the evening had undoubtedly led to Radu's state as it did whenever they ran into trouble that involved him. Radu had eventually found a way to cope with the threats and the taunts. Even the people that outright ignored him could sometimes cause him to lapse into this silence.
So Harlan was prepared the moment they stepped inside.
Radu clicked the door lock, the noise sharp in the expectant stillness. Harlan stood, just by the door, and waited silently while Radu swung his dark cloak carefully over the back of a chair. His movements were always so controlled and precise as if to make up for the many areas in his life that were not.
Harlan knew he shouldn't enjoy these moments so much since they only came about because Radu was hurting and angry. There were times when Harlan was certain Radu knew how much he loved it when Radu was in charge, but neither of them ever said anything about it.
Harlan watched every movement closely as Radu unhooked his cuffs and loosened the front of his jacket. He still hadn't looked at Harlan and no words had been said between them since they had left the club.
The jacket was folded precisely along well worn creases and placed carefully on the seat of the chair. He then knelt to untie the laces on his sturdy boots, hands gracefully unloosing knots. The laces soon slipped free and Harlan's breath quickened slightly before he realized it, heartbeat seeming to pulse throughout his entire body.
The boots were pulled off next and placed exactly side by side on the floor before Radu finally stood and turned to acknowledge Harlan. He stared at him intently until Harlan knew he should lower his eyes and he did so, giving Radu what he wanted - someone besides himself forced to look away.
Radu was never really allowed to stand up for himself in public so that here and now was the only time Radu could get what he wanted - needed - without even asking. Harlan could never deny him that. Never.
He felt Radu moving toward him and heard the clink of metal and the slick slide of cloth and leather that meant Radu was removing his belt. Not being able to watch - only listen - made Harlan feel as though the temperature in the room had suddenly increased.
“Off,” Radu said softly, almost carelessly and Harlan hurried to obey the obvious command. It was always the same every time, first the jacket, then the boots.
He knew Radu watched. Harlan, still with his head bowed, could feel the heat of his gaze as he efficiently removed his trousers next. He knew Radu liked neatness and bent quickly to fold his discarded clothes.
Next were his undershirt and shorts, quickly folded and placed on the pile of clothing, until he was bare but un-chilled due to his racing pulse. This was always when he would next be ordered to the bed and Harlan waited with stilled expectancy.
Instead, Radu did something he never had before. Harlan felt a soft finger beneath his chin as Radu tilted his head up so they could look at each other. Harlan watched him closely, waiting for some sign as to what he was supposed to do next but Radu merely looked at him for a few long moments before trailing his finger back along Harlan's jaw over unshaven skin, lightly, until his hand was cupping the back of Harlan's neck.
Radu leaned in slowly, breath ghosting across Harlan's lips before pressing them lightly to his in a soft touch of a kiss, the kind that never happened on nights like this.
Harlan let Radu set the pace because that was the point of this situation, it always was. Radu having control over this one aspect of his life when so much of it otherwise was completely out of his hands.
But he did not deepen it as Harlan expected him to and instead pulled away slowly, his hand still holding Harlan gently. Radu's gaze seemed heavy, weighted with some emotion Harlan did not recognize.
There was only a small gap left between them and Harlan could feel the heat radiating in the closeness and he realized that, once again, he had no idea what was going to happen next.
And that's when he knew what Radu was trying to show him, what it was like to not know, to not have a plan and when Radu stepped away for a moment and returned with his black scarf, Harlan suddenly understood that Radu also wanted him to know what it felt like to be helpless - how he must always feel helpless these days.
Harlan hadn't realized that the night's events had affected Radu this much, something bad must have happened to make Radu panic like he had in the hallway and this was his way of telling him that.
That was the problem, though. When it really counted, such as on a night like tonight, Harlan would never fully understand what Radu went through every time he stepped out in public. He only had this to give him hints and he tried to work the rest out on his own.
So he let Radu tie the scarf over his eyes. They had never done this before and the feel of the soft fabric on his skin ignited feelings of both comfort and intrigue that he so always craved.
The heat between them had already begun to work on him and the hesitancy of not knowing had quickly changed to a building anticipation; something to be desired. Radu spun him gently in one direction and led him in the blackness until he was pushed backward gently.
Harlan felt a moment of panic before the backs of his legs hit the edge of the couch and he fell onto the soft cushions. He couldn't help feeling, in that brief moment, a rush of fear even though he knew Radu would never let him get hurt.
The darkness pressed intently against his eyes as he felt Radu arranging his limbs in the firm way that always meant Harlan was to leave them there in the absence of any restraints. Harlan was quietly relieved that there was something at least he recognized. His feet and legs were spread a comfortable distance apart and his arms were draped along the back of the couch.
Each touch came out of the blackness to surprise him and Harlan had never before experienced the intensity that came with not knowing where the next touch would land. He squirmed pleasurably, focusing intently on each one as it fell.
A hand lightly brushing his thigh, a finger tracing along his ribs and the light gust of air along his neck up to his ear. A soft swipe of tongue over a sensitive spot as a hand gripped his bicep, a bruising kiss, a playful tug of hair all working in tandem with the blackness to force soft whimpers out of him, before those too were drowned by lingering kisses, Radu's tongue filling his mouth, breath hot and insistent. Then Radu was shocking a gasp out of him, caressing him gently, small, warm hands wrapped around him, gripping and twisting and Harlan could no longer stay quiet when a welcome heat engulfed him, tongue swirling and sucking.
Not allowed to move his arms or legs, he instead threw his head back to rest on the back of the sofa and let out a long groan and sharp breathy pants as Radu worked him, letting himself fall into trusting nothingness cradled only by heat and sound.
Radu always seemed to know when he got worked up to a certain point and, when Radu drew his hands and mouth away, Harlan felt acutely abandoned, wanting to break the rules and blindly reach for Radu to draw him back.
His self restraint had increased over the years, though, and it was never more obvious than now when he felt Radu's comforting heat move away from him completely. He wanted to cry out, to protest, until he heard the sounds of lighter clothing hitting the floor and Harlan never knew until then how much that could turn him on.
He focused on those sounds, of Radu patiently folding his clothes, in order to try and control himself, take his mind off the part of him that was chilled in the cool air. He realized then that he must be quite a sight, spread out and expectant, and the thought that Radu was probably looking at him right now and he had now way of knowing made him whimper in frustration.
Swiftly, Radu was in front of him again and Harlan shivered, not from cold, but from knowing that Radu was wearing nothing as well.
Harlan waited, breath caught in his throat, as he felt the cushions dip beside him and Harlan wondered what Radu was planning next when a low wet sound and a small moan came from that direction. Harlan's breathing increased as he imagined all the things Radu could be doing to himself at that moment.
Radu's own hand, touching, stroking, maybe with his head thrown back and eyelids heavy with arousal, legs wide, a pink flush traveling along his skin. Harlan's breath quickened at the mental image, loud and uneven in his own ears.
It wasn't until Radu crawled over him and straddled his hips that he realized what was happening. There was a hand on him, warm and slick, its movements quick and efficient before Radu was sinking slowly down onto him, wet and tight, with little hitched breaths and a contented sigh.
And this was the difference that surprised Harlan the most; Radu never wanted this on these nights, what had changed? He quickly stopped wondering as Radu began to move, slowly at first, building him up to a point where Harlan desperately wanted to take Radu in his arms, flip them around and pound him into the cushions.
Instead he groaned deeply, indulgently, giving himself up to each sensation, the pain of a bit lip flaring distantly as abstract lights flickered behind closed lids, feeling Radu's strong legs never falter in their rhythm.
He wanted Radu to have this freedom - he needed it so badly that Harlan would never disrespect his wishes. Their trust in each other had been hard won, so much so that Harlan never wanted to go back to the time when they didn't have that. When they didn't have this.
Harlan clenched his fists tightly, fingernails digging into his palms as he felt the rising heat being gradually coaxed out of him, the sounds of Radu's hand on himself and the other, he imagined, with a death grip on the back of the couch for leverage. He visualized Radu's face as he had seen it many times before: eyes half-lidded, head back just far enough that Harlan could lick a stripe from his collarbone to his ear only to suck on that sensitive spot just below it, until Radu was completely lost, unworried and as open as no one else had ever seen him.
Then there, the glorious clenching and the heat of release striping Harlan's chest, scalding even his already flushed skin. Radu's sharp shout, as though almost in surprise, sent Harlan following quickly after into oblivion.
It seemed his eyes had given him false light to see by in the enforced darkness because, when Radu finally removed the scarf, he could not blink the spots out of his eyes. But there was Radu through the haze as Harlan squinted in the sudden brightness, looking at him contentedly, a hand resting lightly on his jaw as he leaned in for another soft lingering kiss, just like the first.
Radu rose up off of him then and slumped to the side next to Harlan, eyes closed and weary, already starting to curl up next to him.
This was the time that Radu gave himself up to Harlan.
Not before, that was when Radu set the ground rules and made sure Harlan knew who was in charge, and especially not during, that was when Radu used him to release his own frustrations in a way he normally couldn't.
It was always After, when Harlan would clean them up and put Radu to bed and turn out the lights. He would slip under the sheets and let Radu curl around him, limbs tangled, as Harlan listened to him fall asleep. That was when Harlan could plainly see the amount of trust that Radu placed in him.
None of their friends knew the extent of their relationship, just that they were simply 'together'. This was something only for them.