Dynamic Equilibrium - Part Six
6.
As Sam so rightly pointed out, Rome wasn’t built in a day and even if Sam and the SRA do manage to pressure the Hunters’ Guild into allowing Subs into the Guild, it could be years before Dean has any hope of being able to Hunt legally. Having that glimmer of hope helps somehow, but it doesn’t make him any less bored.
So Gabriel gets him a job at a local garage. Premium clients get their cars cleaned for them as part of their service and most of Dean’s work is washing and vacuuming expensive cars. Occasionally he’s allowed to do an oil change, refill the coolant, change the blades on the windshield wipers or refill the washer fluid. It’s hardly challenging work, and watching the douche-canoe Dom who’s in the third year of his Mechanic’s apprenticeship botch transmission jobs that Dean could’ve done with his eyes shut is frustrating, but it gets him out of the house and gives him something to do with his hands, so it’s worth it.
He still trawls through the newsfeeds for Hunts and reports them to Bobby, but having somewhere to go and something productive to do each day reduces his urge to pack up and leave considerably.
A few days before Thanksgiving, Gabriel casually mentions that he has a standing invitation to join Victor and his family for the holiday. Dean is kneeling naked at his feet enjoying the feel of Gabriel’s hand tightening and relaxing in his hair.
He tenses at Gabe’s comment. “Okay.”
“You want to go?” Gabriel sounds surprised.
“Hell no,” Dean shudders. “Do I get a say?”
“Of course,” Gabriel sighs. “We can just stay at home, if you want. We’ll be eating leftovers for a month, but I stuff a mean turkey.”
“Do you want to go?” Dean asks.
Gabriel’s fingers tighten in Dean’s hair. “I want you to enjoy the day,” he says firmly. “Victor would insist on High Protocol; you wouldn’t enjoy it.”
--
Gabriel banishes Dean to the living room to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the television, while he cooks up a storm of walnut and cranberry stuffed turkey, roast potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. After lunch they collapse on the sofa in a food coma and watch the Lions lose to Atlanta, followed by a tense, exciting game between the Broncos and the Cowboys, with the Broncos scoring a 24-yard field goal in overtime, to win the game. Dean falls asleep on the sofa and doesn’t wake up until midnight, when Gabe shakes him awake and drags his sleepy, uncoordinated ass upstairs to bed. Dean’s asleep again before his head hits the pillow. It’s the first night in weeks that they don’t have sex.
Gabriel is on call on Black Friday, but everything is quiet and he doesn’t have to go into the office; which is just as well because they’re both still so stuffed from the day before that they can barely move. The spend the day on the sofa watching a Clint Eastwood movie marathon, and that night, they’re still too tired and full from the previous day’s eating binge to do more than swap lazy hand jobs before falling asleep.
They make up for it over the weekend.
On Saturday Gabriel decides to experiment with Shibari. He binds Dean’s arms behind his back, entwining the rope around his torso and arms in intricate diamond patterns, creating a sort of a harness. It takes him some time and Dean, who had been expecting to find the process of being tied up boring, is surprised to find that it’s actually relaxing, the pressure on his skin almost like a massage. Gabe binds his calves to his thighs next and then drags an A-Frame in from out in the garage and uses it to suspend Dean face down, with his spread legs tied to the frame. Dean hangs, trussed up and helpless, swinging gently, and it isn’t long before he finds himself falling gently into a trance.
Gabriel watches intently as Dean swings in his makeshift harness, his skin beautifully patterned by the rope and his cock hard and leaking against his belly. Dean had grumbled when Gabriel first produced the rope, but so far he’s been nothing but calm and biddable. When his jaw goes slack and his eyes glaze over, Gabriel is delighted.
Fan Art by TheGreenestGreenToEverGreen
“Are you okay, Dean?” he whispers.
“Uh huh,” Dean’s voice is slurred, but he nods.
Gabriel spends a long time slowly and carefully opening Dean up and then he teases him with the prostate massager until he’s begging for release. Gabriel gives him permission and he comes all over the floor without his cock even being touched. Gabriel wipes the mess up and makes a note to get the carpet steam cleaned. And then he unzips and takes out his own swollen, aching cock. Dean’s face is flushed, his pupils are huge and his breathing is slow.
Gabriel grips one of his hands. “Are you okay, Dean? Squeeze my hand if you’re okay.” Dean squeezes his hand.
“So good for me,” Gabriel says. “You really are amazing.”
Dean smiles sleepily and Gabriel nudges his cock against his Sub’s lips. Dean obediently opens his mouth and Gabriel feeds him his dick, groaning when Dean relaxes his throat and swallows him all the way down. Before long, Gabriel is holding Dean’s head and fucking hard and fast into the warm, wet cavern of his mouth. He comes with a shout, straight down Dean’s throat and when he pulls out, Dean is so deep in Subspace that he’s barely responsive. Gabriel unbinds him and then sits on the couch, cradling him in his arms until he finally stirs.
“Wow,” Dean says. “That was awesome.”
Gabriel grins. “Looks like we found another sure fire way to get you into Subspace.”
--
On Sunday Gabriel drags a free-standing fucking machine in from the garage. “I forgot I had this in storage,” he says.
He spends the morning tinkering with it, cleaning and sterilizing it and then, fifteen minutes before Kansas City is due to kick off, he pulls it into the living room and orders Dean to strip.
“But…football!” Dean says.
“You can still watch the football,” says Gabriel. “It’ll just be more fun this way.”
Dean isn’t entirely convinced, but submitting to Gabriel usually results in him having at least one earth-shattering orgasm, so he gets naked and allows himself to be positioned doggy style in front of the television.
Gabriel places a whole bunch of pillows (and towels-he learnt his lesson yesterday) under Dean’s torso and then cuffs his ankles to a spreader bar, so that Dean has no choice but to keep his asshole exposed, angled up and readily available. Gabriel smothers two fingers in KY jelly and works Dean open quickly and efficiently, before lubing up a fat eight inch dildo and attaching it to the machine. He places it at Dean’s entrance and then pauses. “You okay?”
At Dean’s nod, he sets the machine to run on its lowest speed-setting and the machine whirs and then thrusts up into Dean just in time for kick-off.
By the end of the first quarter, Dean is panting hard and straining for completion. The machine isn’t thrusting hard enough and isn’t positioned at quite the right angle to get him off untouched. Gabriel takes pity on him. Sort of. He undoes his pants and nudges his hard, red cock against his Sub’s lips. “Get me off before the commercial break finishes and I’ll let you come.” Dean looks up at him with glassy eyes and then sucks the head of Gabriel’s cock into his mouth, drinking it down with more suction than a vacuum cleaner, while using his tongue to great effect. As horny as Gabriel is from watching Dean get fucked by the machine, it doesn’t take long before he’s coming down his Sub’s throat.
“Please,” Dean says when Gabriel pulls off and tucks himself away. He sounds thoroughly wrecked and Gabriel has barely wrapped his hand around Dean’s dick before he’s coming, hard. Gabriel gentles him through it and then snaps a cock ring into place with a wicked grin. “You don’t get to come again until the game’s over,” he says.
He turns the machine up a notch and then settles back onto the sofa with a bowl of Gummi Bears.
By half-time Dean is a moaning, sweaty, writhing mess. Gabriel wipes him down with a cool, wet cloth and makes him drink a small bottle of water. He strokes Dean’s hair and tells him how well he’s doing, ignoring his desperate pleas. Dean has his safe word; he’ll use it if he needs too.
“You can take a little bit more for me, can’t you, Babe?”
Dean shakes his head frantically.
“Yes you can,” Gabriel says. He turns the machine up another notch. “And you know what to do if you can’t.” Dean swears vehemently and slumps down against the pillows. “Good boy,” Gabriel praises. And then he goes and gets a ball gag so that Dean can scream as much as he wants to without disturbing the neighbors. “You remember your safe signal?” Gabriel checks. Dean nods.
By the end of the third quarter, Gabriel is feeling pretty desperate himself. The sound of Dean’s muted groans, the smell of his sweat and his pheromones and the glorious sight of the fat dildo pounding his ass is almost more than Gabriel can handle. He breathes through his arousal and fixes his gaze on Dean’s swollen purple, leaking dick. If Dean can be this strong, if he can take this, then so can he.
Gabriel turns the machine down to its lowest setting. He wipes Dean down again and takes the gag off, giving Dean some more to drink. “You are so awesome,” he tells his Sub, massaging his neck and shoulders and running his hands along his flanks, “I am so proud of you right now. Just one more quarter to go and then I’m gonna take you off this machine and put my cock in you, give it to you hard and deep and slow, just the way you need it.”
Gabriel leaves the machine on slow but repositions it slightly, changing the angle so that every thrust will hit Dean’s prostate dead-on. He leaves the gag off.
The last quarter is the longest one in NFL history, or maybe it just seems that way to Gabriel. The moans and whimpers coming out of Dean’s mouth are just the prettiest noises he has ever heard and his Sub’s pheromones are screaming fuck me so loudly that Gabriel’s surprised half the Dom’s on the street aren’t beating down his door.
When Dean starts to sob, Gabriel lets him cry his frustration into the pillows for a couple of minutes and then goes to him and strokes his back. The game isn’t quite over, but Gabriel doesn’t care. Dean has been so incredibly good for him. He turns the machine off and pulls it out slowly, running a hand soothingly across Dean’s lower back when he whimpers. “So good for me,” he says as he uncuffs his Sub from the spreader bar and moves it out the way, pulling Dean up onto his hands and knees. Gabriel unfastens his pants and pulls them down. He spreads Dean’s ass cheeks apart with his hands and then thrusts inside. Whatever resistance there might have been has been battered away by the machine and Gabriel is balls deep in one long slide. He rolls his hips and gives half a dozen slow, deep thrusts before reaching around and taking off Dean’s cock ring. Dean starts coming immediately and Gabriel jacks him off with firm, even strokes. Once he’s done, Dean collapses onto the pillows, his mouth slack and his expression sleepy. Gabriel keeps moving inside him, slowly and gently at first, and then, when he gets no complaint from Dean, he picks up the pace and rocks into him harder.
“You okay, Dean?” he asks
Dean stirs sleepily and looks over his shoulder at his Dom. “M’good,” he says.
In truth he’s sore and a little shaky, but he always enjoys the sensation of Gabe’s cock filling him and despite his own discomfort he likes the fact that he’s making his Dom feel good.
Gabe starts thrusting faster, his hips snapping hard against Dean’s ass and Dean can’t quite contain the little hurt noises that escape from his bitten lips. Gabriel pounds in, fast and desperate, gasping and groaning as he chases his release, and Dean can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt, can’t pretend he doesn’t feel a deep-seated throb of pain every time Gabe drives in deep.
Gabriel fucks in deep one final time, his body going rigid as he comes, hot and wet, inside of Dean. He pulls out carefully and then cleans his Sub gently before helping him stand and leading him over to the sofa. Gabriel goes to the kitchen and gets a fresh bottle of ice cold water for Dean and they sit together, their arms wrapped around each other, coming down from the high.
“Who won the game?” Dean says after a while.
Gabriel laughs. “No idea. You want me to find a replay?”
--
Dean is surprised to discover that he enjoys routine and domesticity.
He grew up on the road and once he took off at eighteen he never stayed in the one place long. Not only was he breaking the law by living outside the Guardianship of a Dom, he was also breaking it by Hunting unlicensed, and a lot of the things he did to support himself were illegal too; credit card fraud, pool hustling, backroom poker games, even the occasional spot of prostitution if he was really down on his luck. So it had made sense to stay on the move. The one period in his life when he’d been settled had been the three years he spent at Ellen’s and that had been the most miserable period of his life. Up until he’d met Gordon, anyway.
It wasn’t that Ellen was cruel or uncaring; she’d done her honest best by him, but Dean was in a really bad headspace by the time she got him.
Ordinarily, juvenile Subs are managed by their Submissive parent because Subs can help other Subs achieve Subspace without feeling that it is in any way sexual. A lot of Doms struggle with that, unless they’ve been specially trained. Dean’s dad didn’t think the training was necessary, didn’t have time for it, and had refused to take on Guardianship of an adult Sub to help Dean out, preferring to try to manage Dean himself. That had been an unmitigated disaster, culminating in a nightmare, and his Dad had ended up dumping him at Harvelle’s Roadhouse, reasoning that Ellen would have an easier time managing him because she was same-dynamic oriented-her partner Bill had been killed on a hunt with Dean’s Dad a few years back. Besides, Ellen was already the Guardian of another Sub, Ash, so that was proof that she could do it.
Ash is a couple of years older than Dean and if it hadn’t been for him, Dean isn’t sure he would’ve made it. Ash introduced him to Zero and on the few occasions when that didn’t work, he was happy to fool around with him. Dean discovered pretty quickly that despite the fact that he hated the way most Doms looked down on Subs, he was neither a-dynamic nor same-dynamic oriented, and after a few months he stopped caring that his Dad might call him a slut and started batting his eyes at every Dom in school who looked at him twice. What did it matter if Dean Winchester had a reputation as the school bike? It wasn’t like he was looking to get bonded and it wasn’t as if he was planning on sticking around.
So discovering that he likes stability and domesticity is something of a shock.
It’s also kind of nice to be himself again, not having to worry about whether his true pheromones are poking their way through the spray-on Dom pheromones, not having to constantly police himself for undomlike behavior, not having to worry that he’ll get caught checking out a Dom and people will see through him and realize that he’s a Sub. He’s feeling comfortable and content for the first time in a very long time and he has Gabriel to thank for it.
Gabriel, who seems to be even more estranged from his family than Dean is.
Dean knows that Gabriel is an Archangel and he knows that the Archangel family is High Protocol. He also knows that Gabe isn’t, that he likes working in the Sub Division of the DoD because he feels like he can do some good there and that he’s pro law reform where Dynamics are concerned. It’s really no wonder his family doesn’t talk to him.
Thinking about Gabe’s estrangement from his family gets him thinking about Dr Milton. Dean researched him online when he found out Sammy was working closely with him. Before he got bonded, he’d been Castiel Archangel. Everyone knew that. And everyone knew the story of how he’d run away from the Sub Finishing School his family had sent him to and gone to a friend for help. That friend had never been identified in any of the articles written about Dr Milton; all anyone knew was that from the time Castiel Archangel presented until the time he bonded with Anna Milton, he’d been helped by a supportive Dom, without whom, he frequently told interviewers, he never would’ve gotten anywhere. Dr Milton never names the mystery Dom, out of respect for his privacy, and he is always referred to in interviews by the code name Loki.
It’s good, Dean thinks, that Dr Milton had someone to support him. It’s just a shame that when Gabe’s branch of the Archangel family turned on him, he didn’t have someone to back him up.
--
Gabriel buys Dean a laptop. When Dean protests, he says it’s an early Christmas present. Besides, he says, it’s awkward them both needing to use the one computer.
Every evening after supper, Gabriel disappears into his study to do extra work on DoD cases and Dean either watches television (he’s become slightly addicted to Dr Sexy M.D.) or he trawls the internet looking for Hunts, emails Sam, or calls Bobby or Ellen.
Sometimes he hears Gabriel on the phone, but it’s just a background burble, Gabe is never loud enough for Dean to make out his words.
Until one night, about a week and a half before Sam and Jess are due to arrive. Dr Palmer is looking particular sexy in his white coat and cowboy boots and he’s having a very compelling conversation with Dr Wang, the sexy but arrogant heart surgeon, when Gabriel starts cussing so loudly that Dean can hear every word he’s saying. He pauses his show and cocks his head to one side.
“No. No way,” he hears Gabriel shout. “Don’t you dare put that on me. You know I can’t…Are you serious?”
Dean gravitates to the study door and puts his ear against it. “Okay, okay. Goddamn it. What about Dean? What am I supposed to tell him?”
And that? That doesn’t sound good at all. It sounds as if Gabe is considering lying to him about something and that? That just doesn’t work for Dean. He can’t submit properly to a Dom if he doesn’t trust him or her completely.
Dean opens the study door and pushes it open. Gabriel turns and stares at him.
“Set it up,” he says into the phone. He ends the call, his eyes still on Dean’s.
“Sounds like we need to talk,” says Dean.
--
Gabriel makes coffee and digs a box of liqueur chocolates out of the back of the pantry. They sit together in the kitchen and Dean lets the silence build, content to wait Gabe out.
“You know my family don’t speak to me,” he says at last, “black sheep of the family and all that,” he gives Dean a grin, but it’s strained and doesn’t fool Dean one bit. “You know the Archangel family is very protocol driven and you know that I’m not,” he looks at Dean, his eyes suddenly serious. “I do everything I can as a DoD officer to make sure that the Subs whose cases come across my desk have proper access to justice. Sometimes I have to bend the law,” Gabe takes a sip of coffee and rubs a hand across his chin. “And sometimes,” he breathes in deeply, “sometimes I have to break it.”
Gabriel’s eyes are sad and wide and he looks at Dean as if he’s expecting condemnation or censure.
Dean sticks out his hand. “Hi,” he says. “Dean Winchester. Convicted felon.”
Gabriel huffs out a laugh. “I’m a DoD officer. I’m supposed to uphold the law.”
Dean helps himself to a bourbon-filled chocolate, the crinkle of the wrapper loud in the stillness of the kitchen. “This is gonna sound…religious or whatever,” he puts the chocolate in his mouth and chews, “but sometimes there’s a higher law. Sometimes, some laws are bad. And most good people do nothing because they don’t wanna get in trouble. Sometimes, the real hero is the person who risks themselves to challenge a law they know is bad.”
Gabriel grimaces. “I’m no hero,” he says. “In my own way I’ve been in hiding just as much as you have.”
Dean nods thoughtfully. “Tell me about this law-breaking we’re about to do.”
Gabriel puts him hands over his face. “Can’t believe I’ve dragged you into this,” he mutters, before sitting up straight. “Tomorrow, after work, I’m gonna be taking delivery of a new St Andrew’s Cross. At least, that’s what the box’ll say. Inside the box there’s gonna be a Sub called Lisa Braeden and her six-year-old son, Ben.” He pauses and peers up at Dean, trying to gauge his reaction, but Dean’s face is blank. “Lisa is on the run from a rich, powerful, abusive asshole of a Dom and we’re gonna hide her and her son for a day or so while somebody else arranges some false papers for them.”
He’s watching Dean carefully, his body leaking tension, ready to spring into some kind of action if Dean reacts badly.
Dean grins widely. “Cool,” he says.
--
They’re both home when the delivery truck turns up. The delivery drivers wheel the big box inside and Gabriel signs for it out in the driveway, while Dean starts the process of unpacking. Lisa, when she steps out of the box, is beautiful. Beautiful and terrified. Her eyes dart around looking for threats, landing finally on Dean’s collar. She raises fear-filled eyes to his. “Why are you wearing that?” her voice shakes.
She isn’t wearing a collar, although Dean can see a ring of pale, flaky skin where a collar used to be.
“Got into some trouble a while back,” Dean says easily. “I needed a State Guardian and Gabe stepped up to the plate,” he squats down and holds out his fist to the little boy clinging to Lisa’s leg. “Hey there, little guy. You must be Ben.”
The kid looks up at Lisa and when she nods he does too.
“Fist bump,” Dean wiggles his fist and Ben smiles shyly and makes his own fist, bumping it against Deans. Dean ruffles his hair and stands up.
“Cute kid,” he says to Lisa. “Kids are the best, huh?” It’s possible that he’s laying it on a bit thick, but Dean really wants Lisa to relax.
She folds her arms and raises her eyebrows at his comment. “Uh huh,” she says. “Name three kids you even know?”
Dean grins, putting every ounce of impudence he has into it. “Well, there’s Ben,” he says, “And my little brother Sammy was a kid, last time I saw him in the flesh.”
Lisa’s smile is both sad and understanding, but before she can say anything Gabriel comes back inside and Lisa freezes.
“It’s okay,” Dean say softly, running a soothing hand across her shoulders. “Gabe’s one of the good guys.” Lisa leans into his touch and relaxes slightly.
Dean crosses to Gabe and throws an arm around him. “Lisa, Ben,” he says, “I’d like you to meet my Dom, Gabriel. You can call him Gabe if you want. Or short-stuff.”
Lisa boggles at him and then glances up at Gabriel fearfully.
Gabriel gives her his kindest smile. “Hi Lisa, Ben. It’s great to meet you. I’m really glad we could help you out.”
Lisa still looks untrusting and ready to run and Gabriel silently curses the asshole Dom who betrayed her trust and the gift of her submission so horrifically.
Dean squeezes his arm. “How about I show Lisa and Ben into the guest room?” he suggests.
Gabriel nods and stays standing stock still while Dean helps Lisa retrieve a large duffel bag from inside the box.
“We didn’t have time to pack much stuff,” she says apologetically.
Dean ruffles Ben’s hair. “Don’t sweat it,” he says, “you got the most important thing out, right?”
Gabriel doesn’t move until the three of them have disappeared up the stairs and then he breaks the box down and takes it out to the garbage before heading into the kitchen to get started with supper.
They don’t come downstairs again for an hour and a half and when they do, both Dean and Lisa are sporting red-rimmed eyes and Ben is in Dean’s arms, clinging to him like a limpet.
The sight of his Sub clearly distressed and another Sub who’s in his care equally distressed causes Gabriel’s protective instincts to surge and he’s across the floor and taking Dean (and by extension, Ben) into his arms before he’s really had a chance to think. The scent of fear radiating off Lisa spikes wildly and then begins to dissolve in the wake of the soothing, calming pheromones Gabriel is emitting. She gazes at him with big eyes, bewildered and confused, but she comes willingly enough when Gabriel opens an arm to bring her into his embrace with Dean. “Group hug,” he says.
Dean tolerates the embrace for a little while longer and then pulls away, setting Ben down on the ground. “Dude,” he says to Gabriel, “how many times do I have to tell you that I don’t do chick flick moments?”
But he’s smiling and he smells thoroughly content, and his comment makes Lisa laugh, something Gabriel suspects hasn’t happened in a long time.
Gabriel spends the entire evening checking himself for overtly dominant behaviour, but Dean is just wholeheartedly himself. As per usual Gabriel goes to spend an hour working in the study and when he comes out again, Ben is nowhere in sight-presumably he’s been put to bed- and Dean and Lisa are curled up on the sofa together watching Hunters: Miami. Dean hates the show, only ever watches it so that he can poke fun at the actors playing the Hunters and complain about all the inaccuracies. Lisa apparently thinks the lead Dom is hot.
Dean gets up when Gabriel walks in and makes room for him on the sofa, before disappearing out into the kitchen. He comes back with three mugs of hot chocolate, all topped with marshmallows and whipped cream. Lisa is up one end of the sofa, Gabriel up the other and there is plenty of room for Dean to sit between the two of them. Instead he settles himself down on the floor at Gabriel’s feet, and Gabriel realizes with a start that it is almost 9.30pm. His fingers are in Dean’s hair before he can stop himself. He remembers Lisa with a jolt of guilt and casts a furtive glance her way. She’s watching them out of the corner of her eye, a wistful expression on her face.
When the hour is up, Dean climbs up onto the sofa and settles under Gabriel’s arm with a content sigh. And then he holds out an arm to Lisa. Lisa hesitates for a moment, her gaze flickering between the two of them, and then she scoots across and cuddles up next to Dean. Gabriel gives Dean a look of approval. Lisa is much more relaxed than she was when she arrived and-Gabriel subtly scents the air-her oxytocin levels have risen too.
Later that night, Gabriel pins Dean to their bed and fucks him long and slow and deep. Every deep thrust punches a cry of pleasure from Dean and the Sub makes no attempt to keep quiet, or to reign in his pheromones, which are advertising loudly just how content and thoroughly well-fucked he’s feeling.
--
The next morning while they’re cooking breakfast together, Dean mentions, in an off-hand kind of way, that he has the day off work.
“Told the boss you were getting a new St Andrew’s cross and, being a typical impatient Dom, you’d probably want to try it out straight away, so I probably wouldn’t be fit to work today.”
Gabriel’s mouth opens and closes a couple of times. “I…you...” he splutters.
“I’m a devious genius, I know,” Dean remarks solemnly.
“If I didn’t know you better,” says Gabriel, “I’d think you were angling for a spanking. You deserve one for that.”
There’s a gasp from the doorway, where Lisa is standing, looking horrified. “He beats you?” she says to Dean before turning to look sadly at Gabriel. “I thought you were different.”
Dean rubs at the back of his neck. “He doesn’t beat me,” he says. “He doesn’t even spank me all that often since we discovered Shibari. And even then, it’s only cuz it’s the quickest and easiest way to get me into Subspace. Trust me when I say that nothing abusive is going on here.”
Lisa nods her acceptance of Dean’s claim, but continues to shoot Gabriel wary looks throughout breakfast. Gabriel and Dean keep up a stream of witty banter and gentle teasing of each other until she relaxes again and by the end of breakfast both she and Ben are giggling at their antics.
“Well,” says Gabriel, as Dean starts to take the plates over to the dishwasher, “seeing as how some of us didn’t con our boss into giving us a day off, I suppose I’d better head into the office.”
“Yeah, okay, bye,” Dean says taking a handful of cutlery from Lisa and bending over to put it into the cutlery basket. Gabriel creeps up behind him and before Dean can straighten up, he lands a playful slap on Dean’s ass, following up with a lewd grope which makes Dean yelp and haul himself upright. At the table Ben laughs out loud.
Gabriel can’t resist grinding against his Sub’s ass and pulling his head around to nuzzle and bite at his jaw. “Don’t you have some breadwinning to go and do?” Dean gasps. He’s trying to sound put-upon, but the spike of lustful pheromones gives him away and Lisa clears her throat pointedly.
“Uh guys? There are children present!”
Gabriel steps away from Dean reluctantly and takes his leave while Dean finishes stacking the dishwasher and tries to get himself back under control.
When he finally turns to face Lisa she’s back at the table, sipping her coffee and watching him thoughtfully. Ben is sitting quietly next to her, drawing with his crayons.
“You really like him, huh?” she says.
Dean slides into the chair opposite her and nods. “Yeah. It’s crazy, but we work.”
“What about that ugly thing?” she nods at his collar and Dean explains that it has to stay on while he’s under the State Guardianship Order.
“You know it’s micro-chipped, right? If you run they’ll track you; if you try to get it off it’ll scream out an alarm, as well as report back to the computer that it’s been tampered with.”
Dean does know that.
“How long’s it been on?” Lisa asks.
“Seven weeks.”
Lisa raises an eyebrow. “And how long is the Order for?”
Dean rubs a hand across his jaw. “Twelve months ‘til I’m eligible for my first evaluation.”
Lisa adds some more sugar to her coffee and stirs it. “What then?” she asks, not looking up.
“I don’t know,” Dean admits quietly. “I guess we’ll just have to see.”
--
Lisa and Ben’s new papers arrive early the next morning and Gabriel and Dean smuggle their guests into Gabe’s car through the garage and drive them to a rendezvous point where they meet up with the person who’s taking them on the next leg of their journey.
Lisa hugs Dean long and hard and wishes him good luck. And then she surprises Gabriel by hugging him too. “Thank you,” she says, “both of you. I’d forgotten that it could be good; forgotten that there were decent Doms out there. You reminded me of that. I hope I get as lucky as Dean one day.”
<
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Back to Masterpost
As Sam so rightly pointed out, Rome wasn’t built in a day and even if Sam and the SRA do manage to pressure the Hunters’ Guild into allowing Subs into the Guild, it could be years before Dean has any hope of being able to Hunt legally. Having that glimmer of hope helps somehow, but it doesn’t make him any less bored.
So Gabriel gets him a job at a local garage. Premium clients get their cars cleaned for them as part of their service and most of Dean’s work is washing and vacuuming expensive cars. Occasionally he’s allowed to do an oil change, refill the coolant, change the blades on the windshield wipers or refill the washer fluid. It’s hardly challenging work, and watching the douche-canoe Dom who’s in the third year of his Mechanic’s apprenticeship botch transmission jobs that Dean could’ve done with his eyes shut is frustrating, but it gets him out of the house and gives him something to do with his hands, so it’s worth it.
He still trawls through the newsfeeds for Hunts and reports them to Bobby, but having somewhere to go and something productive to do each day reduces his urge to pack up and leave considerably.
A few days before Thanksgiving, Gabriel casually mentions that he has a standing invitation to join Victor and his family for the holiday. Dean is kneeling naked at his feet enjoying the feel of Gabriel’s hand tightening and relaxing in his hair.
He tenses at Gabe’s comment. “Okay.”
“You want to go?” Gabriel sounds surprised.
“Hell no,” Dean shudders. “Do I get a say?”
“Of course,” Gabriel sighs. “We can just stay at home, if you want. We’ll be eating leftovers for a month, but I stuff a mean turkey.”
“Do you want to go?” Dean asks.
Gabriel’s fingers tighten in Dean’s hair. “I want you to enjoy the day,” he says firmly. “Victor would insist on High Protocol; you wouldn’t enjoy it.”
--
Gabriel banishes Dean to the living room to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the television, while he cooks up a storm of walnut and cranberry stuffed turkey, roast potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. After lunch they collapse on the sofa in a food coma and watch the Lions lose to Atlanta, followed by a tense, exciting game between the Broncos and the Cowboys, with the Broncos scoring a 24-yard field goal in overtime, to win the game. Dean falls asleep on the sofa and doesn’t wake up until midnight, when Gabe shakes him awake and drags his sleepy, uncoordinated ass upstairs to bed. Dean’s asleep again before his head hits the pillow. It’s the first night in weeks that they don’t have sex.
Gabriel is on call on Black Friday, but everything is quiet and he doesn’t have to go into the office; which is just as well because they’re both still so stuffed from the day before that they can barely move. The spend the day on the sofa watching a Clint Eastwood movie marathon, and that night, they’re still too tired and full from the previous day’s eating binge to do more than swap lazy hand jobs before falling asleep.
They make up for it over the weekend.
On Saturday Gabriel decides to experiment with Shibari. He binds Dean’s arms behind his back, entwining the rope around his torso and arms in intricate diamond patterns, creating a sort of a harness. It takes him some time and Dean, who had been expecting to find the process of being tied up boring, is surprised to find that it’s actually relaxing, the pressure on his skin almost like a massage. Gabe binds his calves to his thighs next and then drags an A-Frame in from out in the garage and uses it to suspend Dean face down, with his spread legs tied to the frame. Dean hangs, trussed up and helpless, swinging gently, and it isn’t long before he finds himself falling gently into a trance.
Gabriel watches intently as Dean swings in his makeshift harness, his skin beautifully patterned by the rope and his cock hard and leaking against his belly. Dean had grumbled when Gabriel first produced the rope, but so far he’s been nothing but calm and biddable. When his jaw goes slack and his eyes glaze over, Gabriel is delighted.
Fan Art by TheGreenestGreenToEverGreen
“Are you okay, Dean?” he whispers.
“Uh huh,” Dean’s voice is slurred, but he nods.
Gabriel spends a long time slowly and carefully opening Dean up and then he teases him with the prostate massager until he’s begging for release. Gabriel gives him permission and he comes all over the floor without his cock even being touched. Gabriel wipes the mess up and makes a note to get the carpet steam cleaned. And then he unzips and takes out his own swollen, aching cock. Dean’s face is flushed, his pupils are huge and his breathing is slow.
Gabriel grips one of his hands. “Are you okay, Dean? Squeeze my hand if you’re okay.” Dean squeezes his hand.
“So good for me,” Gabriel says. “You really are amazing.”
Dean smiles sleepily and Gabriel nudges his cock against his Sub’s lips. Dean obediently opens his mouth and Gabriel feeds him his dick, groaning when Dean relaxes his throat and swallows him all the way down. Before long, Gabriel is holding Dean’s head and fucking hard and fast into the warm, wet cavern of his mouth. He comes with a shout, straight down Dean’s throat and when he pulls out, Dean is so deep in Subspace that he’s barely responsive. Gabriel unbinds him and then sits on the couch, cradling him in his arms until he finally stirs.
“Wow,” Dean says. “That was awesome.”
Gabriel grins. “Looks like we found another sure fire way to get you into Subspace.”
--
On Sunday Gabriel drags a free-standing fucking machine in from the garage. “I forgot I had this in storage,” he says.
He spends the morning tinkering with it, cleaning and sterilizing it and then, fifteen minutes before Kansas City is due to kick off, he pulls it into the living room and orders Dean to strip.
“But…football!” Dean says.
“You can still watch the football,” says Gabriel. “It’ll just be more fun this way.”
Dean isn’t entirely convinced, but submitting to Gabriel usually results in him having at least one earth-shattering orgasm, so he gets naked and allows himself to be positioned doggy style in front of the television.
Gabriel places a whole bunch of pillows (and towels-he learnt his lesson yesterday) under Dean’s torso and then cuffs his ankles to a spreader bar, so that Dean has no choice but to keep his asshole exposed, angled up and readily available. Gabriel smothers two fingers in KY jelly and works Dean open quickly and efficiently, before lubing up a fat eight inch dildo and attaching it to the machine. He places it at Dean’s entrance and then pauses. “You okay?”
At Dean’s nod, he sets the machine to run on its lowest speed-setting and the machine whirs and then thrusts up into Dean just in time for kick-off.
By the end of the first quarter, Dean is panting hard and straining for completion. The machine isn’t thrusting hard enough and isn’t positioned at quite the right angle to get him off untouched. Gabriel takes pity on him. Sort of. He undoes his pants and nudges his hard, red cock against his Sub’s lips. “Get me off before the commercial break finishes and I’ll let you come.” Dean looks up at him with glassy eyes and then sucks the head of Gabriel’s cock into his mouth, drinking it down with more suction than a vacuum cleaner, while using his tongue to great effect. As horny as Gabriel is from watching Dean get fucked by the machine, it doesn’t take long before he’s coming down his Sub’s throat.
“Please,” Dean says when Gabriel pulls off and tucks himself away. He sounds thoroughly wrecked and Gabriel has barely wrapped his hand around Dean’s dick before he’s coming, hard. Gabriel gentles him through it and then snaps a cock ring into place with a wicked grin. “You don’t get to come again until the game’s over,” he says.
He turns the machine up a notch and then settles back onto the sofa with a bowl of Gummi Bears.
By half-time Dean is a moaning, sweaty, writhing mess. Gabriel wipes him down with a cool, wet cloth and makes him drink a small bottle of water. He strokes Dean’s hair and tells him how well he’s doing, ignoring his desperate pleas. Dean has his safe word; he’ll use it if he needs too.
“You can take a little bit more for me, can’t you, Babe?”
Dean shakes his head frantically.
“Yes you can,” Gabriel says. He turns the machine up another notch. “And you know what to do if you can’t.” Dean swears vehemently and slumps down against the pillows. “Good boy,” Gabriel praises. And then he goes and gets a ball gag so that Dean can scream as much as he wants to without disturbing the neighbors. “You remember your safe signal?” Gabriel checks. Dean nods.
By the end of the third quarter, Gabriel is feeling pretty desperate himself. The sound of Dean’s muted groans, the smell of his sweat and his pheromones and the glorious sight of the fat dildo pounding his ass is almost more than Gabriel can handle. He breathes through his arousal and fixes his gaze on Dean’s swollen purple, leaking dick. If Dean can be this strong, if he can take this, then so can he.
Gabriel turns the machine down to its lowest setting. He wipes Dean down again and takes the gag off, giving Dean some more to drink. “You are so awesome,” he tells his Sub, massaging his neck and shoulders and running his hands along his flanks, “I am so proud of you right now. Just one more quarter to go and then I’m gonna take you off this machine and put my cock in you, give it to you hard and deep and slow, just the way you need it.”
Gabriel leaves the machine on slow but repositions it slightly, changing the angle so that every thrust will hit Dean’s prostate dead-on. He leaves the gag off.
The last quarter is the longest one in NFL history, or maybe it just seems that way to Gabriel. The moans and whimpers coming out of Dean’s mouth are just the prettiest noises he has ever heard and his Sub’s pheromones are screaming fuck me so loudly that Gabriel’s surprised half the Dom’s on the street aren’t beating down his door.
When Dean starts to sob, Gabriel lets him cry his frustration into the pillows for a couple of minutes and then goes to him and strokes his back. The game isn’t quite over, but Gabriel doesn’t care. Dean has been so incredibly good for him. He turns the machine off and pulls it out slowly, running a hand soothingly across Dean’s lower back when he whimpers. “So good for me,” he says as he uncuffs his Sub from the spreader bar and moves it out the way, pulling Dean up onto his hands and knees. Gabriel unfastens his pants and pulls them down. He spreads Dean’s ass cheeks apart with his hands and then thrusts inside. Whatever resistance there might have been has been battered away by the machine and Gabriel is balls deep in one long slide. He rolls his hips and gives half a dozen slow, deep thrusts before reaching around and taking off Dean’s cock ring. Dean starts coming immediately and Gabriel jacks him off with firm, even strokes. Once he’s done, Dean collapses onto the pillows, his mouth slack and his expression sleepy. Gabriel keeps moving inside him, slowly and gently at first, and then, when he gets no complaint from Dean, he picks up the pace and rocks into him harder.
“You okay, Dean?” he asks
Dean stirs sleepily and looks over his shoulder at his Dom. “M’good,” he says.
In truth he’s sore and a little shaky, but he always enjoys the sensation of Gabe’s cock filling him and despite his own discomfort he likes the fact that he’s making his Dom feel good.
Gabe starts thrusting faster, his hips snapping hard against Dean’s ass and Dean can’t quite contain the little hurt noises that escape from his bitten lips. Gabriel pounds in, fast and desperate, gasping and groaning as he chases his release, and Dean can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt, can’t pretend he doesn’t feel a deep-seated throb of pain every time Gabe drives in deep.
Gabriel fucks in deep one final time, his body going rigid as he comes, hot and wet, inside of Dean. He pulls out carefully and then cleans his Sub gently before helping him stand and leading him over to the sofa. Gabriel goes to the kitchen and gets a fresh bottle of ice cold water for Dean and they sit together, their arms wrapped around each other, coming down from the high.
“Who won the game?” Dean says after a while.
Gabriel laughs. “No idea. You want me to find a replay?”
--
Dean is surprised to discover that he enjoys routine and domesticity.
He grew up on the road and once he took off at eighteen he never stayed in the one place long. Not only was he breaking the law by living outside the Guardianship of a Dom, he was also breaking it by Hunting unlicensed, and a lot of the things he did to support himself were illegal too; credit card fraud, pool hustling, backroom poker games, even the occasional spot of prostitution if he was really down on his luck. So it had made sense to stay on the move. The one period in his life when he’d been settled had been the three years he spent at Ellen’s and that had been the most miserable period of his life. Up until he’d met Gordon, anyway.
It wasn’t that Ellen was cruel or uncaring; she’d done her honest best by him, but Dean was in a really bad headspace by the time she got him.
Ordinarily, juvenile Subs are managed by their Submissive parent because Subs can help other Subs achieve Subspace without feeling that it is in any way sexual. A lot of Doms struggle with that, unless they’ve been specially trained. Dean’s dad didn’t think the training was necessary, didn’t have time for it, and had refused to take on Guardianship of an adult Sub to help Dean out, preferring to try to manage Dean himself. That had been an unmitigated disaster, culminating in a nightmare, and his Dad had ended up dumping him at Harvelle’s Roadhouse, reasoning that Ellen would have an easier time managing him because she was same-dynamic oriented-her partner Bill had been killed on a hunt with Dean’s Dad a few years back. Besides, Ellen was already the Guardian of another Sub, Ash, so that was proof that she could do it.
Ash is a couple of years older than Dean and if it hadn’t been for him, Dean isn’t sure he would’ve made it. Ash introduced him to Zero and on the few occasions when that didn’t work, he was happy to fool around with him. Dean discovered pretty quickly that despite the fact that he hated the way most Doms looked down on Subs, he was neither a-dynamic nor same-dynamic oriented, and after a few months he stopped caring that his Dad might call him a slut and started batting his eyes at every Dom in school who looked at him twice. What did it matter if Dean Winchester had a reputation as the school bike? It wasn’t like he was looking to get bonded and it wasn’t as if he was planning on sticking around.
So discovering that he likes stability and domesticity is something of a shock.
It’s also kind of nice to be himself again, not having to worry about whether his true pheromones are poking their way through the spray-on Dom pheromones, not having to constantly police himself for undomlike behavior, not having to worry that he’ll get caught checking out a Dom and people will see through him and realize that he’s a Sub. He’s feeling comfortable and content for the first time in a very long time and he has Gabriel to thank for it.
Gabriel, who seems to be even more estranged from his family than Dean is.
Dean knows that Gabriel is an Archangel and he knows that the Archangel family is High Protocol. He also knows that Gabe isn’t, that he likes working in the Sub Division of the DoD because he feels like he can do some good there and that he’s pro law reform where Dynamics are concerned. It’s really no wonder his family doesn’t talk to him.
Thinking about Gabe’s estrangement from his family gets him thinking about Dr Milton. Dean researched him online when he found out Sammy was working closely with him. Before he got bonded, he’d been Castiel Archangel. Everyone knew that. And everyone knew the story of how he’d run away from the Sub Finishing School his family had sent him to and gone to a friend for help. That friend had never been identified in any of the articles written about Dr Milton; all anyone knew was that from the time Castiel Archangel presented until the time he bonded with Anna Milton, he’d been helped by a supportive Dom, without whom, he frequently told interviewers, he never would’ve gotten anywhere. Dr Milton never names the mystery Dom, out of respect for his privacy, and he is always referred to in interviews by the code name Loki.
It’s good, Dean thinks, that Dr Milton had someone to support him. It’s just a shame that when Gabe’s branch of the Archangel family turned on him, he didn’t have someone to back him up.
--
Gabriel buys Dean a laptop. When Dean protests, he says it’s an early Christmas present. Besides, he says, it’s awkward them both needing to use the one computer.
Every evening after supper, Gabriel disappears into his study to do extra work on DoD cases and Dean either watches television (he’s become slightly addicted to Dr Sexy M.D.) or he trawls the internet looking for Hunts, emails Sam, or calls Bobby or Ellen.
Sometimes he hears Gabriel on the phone, but it’s just a background burble, Gabe is never loud enough for Dean to make out his words.
Until one night, about a week and a half before Sam and Jess are due to arrive. Dr Palmer is looking particular sexy in his white coat and cowboy boots and he’s having a very compelling conversation with Dr Wang, the sexy but arrogant heart surgeon, when Gabriel starts cussing so loudly that Dean can hear every word he’s saying. He pauses his show and cocks his head to one side.
“No. No way,” he hears Gabriel shout. “Don’t you dare put that on me. You know I can’t…Are you serious?”
Dean gravitates to the study door and puts his ear against it. “Okay, okay. Goddamn it. What about Dean? What am I supposed to tell him?”
And that? That doesn’t sound good at all. It sounds as if Gabe is considering lying to him about something and that? That just doesn’t work for Dean. He can’t submit properly to a Dom if he doesn’t trust him or her completely.
Dean opens the study door and pushes it open. Gabriel turns and stares at him.
“Set it up,” he says into the phone. He ends the call, his eyes still on Dean’s.
“Sounds like we need to talk,” says Dean.
--
Gabriel makes coffee and digs a box of liqueur chocolates out of the back of the pantry. They sit together in the kitchen and Dean lets the silence build, content to wait Gabe out.
“You know my family don’t speak to me,” he says at last, “black sheep of the family and all that,” he gives Dean a grin, but it’s strained and doesn’t fool Dean one bit. “You know the Archangel family is very protocol driven and you know that I’m not,” he looks at Dean, his eyes suddenly serious. “I do everything I can as a DoD officer to make sure that the Subs whose cases come across my desk have proper access to justice. Sometimes I have to bend the law,” Gabe takes a sip of coffee and rubs a hand across his chin. “And sometimes,” he breathes in deeply, “sometimes I have to break it.”
Gabriel’s eyes are sad and wide and he looks at Dean as if he’s expecting condemnation or censure.
Dean sticks out his hand. “Hi,” he says. “Dean Winchester. Convicted felon.”
Gabriel huffs out a laugh. “I’m a DoD officer. I’m supposed to uphold the law.”
Dean helps himself to a bourbon-filled chocolate, the crinkle of the wrapper loud in the stillness of the kitchen. “This is gonna sound…religious or whatever,” he puts the chocolate in his mouth and chews, “but sometimes there’s a higher law. Sometimes, some laws are bad. And most good people do nothing because they don’t wanna get in trouble. Sometimes, the real hero is the person who risks themselves to challenge a law they know is bad.”
Gabriel grimaces. “I’m no hero,” he says. “In my own way I’ve been in hiding just as much as you have.”
Dean nods thoughtfully. “Tell me about this law-breaking we’re about to do.”
Gabriel puts him hands over his face. “Can’t believe I’ve dragged you into this,” he mutters, before sitting up straight. “Tomorrow, after work, I’m gonna be taking delivery of a new St Andrew’s Cross. At least, that’s what the box’ll say. Inside the box there’s gonna be a Sub called Lisa Braeden and her six-year-old son, Ben.” He pauses and peers up at Dean, trying to gauge his reaction, but Dean’s face is blank. “Lisa is on the run from a rich, powerful, abusive asshole of a Dom and we’re gonna hide her and her son for a day or so while somebody else arranges some false papers for them.”
He’s watching Dean carefully, his body leaking tension, ready to spring into some kind of action if Dean reacts badly.
Dean grins widely. “Cool,” he says.
--
They’re both home when the delivery truck turns up. The delivery drivers wheel the big box inside and Gabriel signs for it out in the driveway, while Dean starts the process of unpacking. Lisa, when she steps out of the box, is beautiful. Beautiful and terrified. Her eyes dart around looking for threats, landing finally on Dean’s collar. She raises fear-filled eyes to his. “Why are you wearing that?” her voice shakes.
She isn’t wearing a collar, although Dean can see a ring of pale, flaky skin where a collar used to be.
“Got into some trouble a while back,” Dean says easily. “I needed a State Guardian and Gabe stepped up to the plate,” he squats down and holds out his fist to the little boy clinging to Lisa’s leg. “Hey there, little guy. You must be Ben.”
The kid looks up at Lisa and when she nods he does too.
“Fist bump,” Dean wiggles his fist and Ben smiles shyly and makes his own fist, bumping it against Deans. Dean ruffles his hair and stands up.
“Cute kid,” he says to Lisa. “Kids are the best, huh?” It’s possible that he’s laying it on a bit thick, but Dean really wants Lisa to relax.
She folds her arms and raises her eyebrows at his comment. “Uh huh,” she says. “Name three kids you even know?”
Dean grins, putting every ounce of impudence he has into it. “Well, there’s Ben,” he says, “And my little brother Sammy was a kid, last time I saw him in the flesh.”
Lisa’s smile is both sad and understanding, but before she can say anything Gabriel comes back inside and Lisa freezes.
“It’s okay,” Dean say softly, running a soothing hand across her shoulders. “Gabe’s one of the good guys.” Lisa leans into his touch and relaxes slightly.
Dean crosses to Gabe and throws an arm around him. “Lisa, Ben,” he says, “I’d like you to meet my Dom, Gabriel. You can call him Gabe if you want. Or short-stuff.”
Lisa boggles at him and then glances up at Gabriel fearfully.
Gabriel gives her his kindest smile. “Hi Lisa, Ben. It’s great to meet you. I’m really glad we could help you out.”
Lisa still looks untrusting and ready to run and Gabriel silently curses the asshole Dom who betrayed her trust and the gift of her submission so horrifically.
Dean squeezes his arm. “How about I show Lisa and Ben into the guest room?” he suggests.
Gabriel nods and stays standing stock still while Dean helps Lisa retrieve a large duffel bag from inside the box.
“We didn’t have time to pack much stuff,” she says apologetically.
Dean ruffles Ben’s hair. “Don’t sweat it,” he says, “you got the most important thing out, right?”
Gabriel doesn’t move until the three of them have disappeared up the stairs and then he breaks the box down and takes it out to the garbage before heading into the kitchen to get started with supper.
They don’t come downstairs again for an hour and a half and when they do, both Dean and Lisa are sporting red-rimmed eyes and Ben is in Dean’s arms, clinging to him like a limpet.
The sight of his Sub clearly distressed and another Sub who’s in his care equally distressed causes Gabriel’s protective instincts to surge and he’s across the floor and taking Dean (and by extension, Ben) into his arms before he’s really had a chance to think. The scent of fear radiating off Lisa spikes wildly and then begins to dissolve in the wake of the soothing, calming pheromones Gabriel is emitting. She gazes at him with big eyes, bewildered and confused, but she comes willingly enough when Gabriel opens an arm to bring her into his embrace with Dean. “Group hug,” he says.
Dean tolerates the embrace for a little while longer and then pulls away, setting Ben down on the ground. “Dude,” he says to Gabriel, “how many times do I have to tell you that I don’t do chick flick moments?”
But he’s smiling and he smells thoroughly content, and his comment makes Lisa laugh, something Gabriel suspects hasn’t happened in a long time.
Gabriel spends the entire evening checking himself for overtly dominant behaviour, but Dean is just wholeheartedly himself. As per usual Gabriel goes to spend an hour working in the study and when he comes out again, Ben is nowhere in sight-presumably he’s been put to bed- and Dean and Lisa are curled up on the sofa together watching Hunters: Miami. Dean hates the show, only ever watches it so that he can poke fun at the actors playing the Hunters and complain about all the inaccuracies. Lisa apparently thinks the lead Dom is hot.
Dean gets up when Gabriel walks in and makes room for him on the sofa, before disappearing out into the kitchen. He comes back with three mugs of hot chocolate, all topped with marshmallows and whipped cream. Lisa is up one end of the sofa, Gabriel up the other and there is plenty of room for Dean to sit between the two of them. Instead he settles himself down on the floor at Gabriel’s feet, and Gabriel realizes with a start that it is almost 9.30pm. His fingers are in Dean’s hair before he can stop himself. He remembers Lisa with a jolt of guilt and casts a furtive glance her way. She’s watching them out of the corner of her eye, a wistful expression on her face.
When the hour is up, Dean climbs up onto the sofa and settles under Gabriel’s arm with a content sigh. And then he holds out an arm to Lisa. Lisa hesitates for a moment, her gaze flickering between the two of them, and then she scoots across and cuddles up next to Dean. Gabriel gives Dean a look of approval. Lisa is much more relaxed than she was when she arrived and-Gabriel subtly scents the air-her oxytocin levels have risen too.
Later that night, Gabriel pins Dean to their bed and fucks him long and slow and deep. Every deep thrust punches a cry of pleasure from Dean and the Sub makes no attempt to keep quiet, or to reign in his pheromones, which are advertising loudly just how content and thoroughly well-fucked he’s feeling.
--
The next morning while they’re cooking breakfast together, Dean mentions, in an off-hand kind of way, that he has the day off work.
“Told the boss you were getting a new St Andrew’s cross and, being a typical impatient Dom, you’d probably want to try it out straight away, so I probably wouldn’t be fit to work today.”
Gabriel’s mouth opens and closes a couple of times. “I…you...” he splutters.
“I’m a devious genius, I know,” Dean remarks solemnly.
“If I didn’t know you better,” says Gabriel, “I’d think you were angling for a spanking. You deserve one for that.”
There’s a gasp from the doorway, where Lisa is standing, looking horrified. “He beats you?” she says to Dean before turning to look sadly at Gabriel. “I thought you were different.”
Dean rubs at the back of his neck. “He doesn’t beat me,” he says. “He doesn’t even spank me all that often since we discovered Shibari. And even then, it’s only cuz it’s the quickest and easiest way to get me into Subspace. Trust me when I say that nothing abusive is going on here.”
Lisa nods her acceptance of Dean’s claim, but continues to shoot Gabriel wary looks throughout breakfast. Gabriel and Dean keep up a stream of witty banter and gentle teasing of each other until she relaxes again and by the end of breakfast both she and Ben are giggling at their antics.
“Well,” says Gabriel, as Dean starts to take the plates over to the dishwasher, “seeing as how some of us didn’t con our boss into giving us a day off, I suppose I’d better head into the office.”
“Yeah, okay, bye,” Dean says taking a handful of cutlery from Lisa and bending over to put it into the cutlery basket. Gabriel creeps up behind him and before Dean can straighten up, he lands a playful slap on Dean’s ass, following up with a lewd grope which makes Dean yelp and haul himself upright. At the table Ben laughs out loud.
Gabriel can’t resist grinding against his Sub’s ass and pulling his head around to nuzzle and bite at his jaw. “Don’t you have some breadwinning to go and do?” Dean gasps. He’s trying to sound put-upon, but the spike of lustful pheromones gives him away and Lisa clears her throat pointedly.
“Uh guys? There are children present!”
Gabriel steps away from Dean reluctantly and takes his leave while Dean finishes stacking the dishwasher and tries to get himself back under control.
When he finally turns to face Lisa she’s back at the table, sipping her coffee and watching him thoughtfully. Ben is sitting quietly next to her, drawing with his crayons.
“You really like him, huh?” she says.
Dean slides into the chair opposite her and nods. “Yeah. It’s crazy, but we work.”
“What about that ugly thing?” she nods at his collar and Dean explains that it has to stay on while he’s under the State Guardianship Order.
“You know it’s micro-chipped, right? If you run they’ll track you; if you try to get it off it’ll scream out an alarm, as well as report back to the computer that it’s been tampered with.”
Dean does know that.
“How long’s it been on?” Lisa asks.
“Seven weeks.”
Lisa raises an eyebrow. “And how long is the Order for?”
Dean rubs a hand across his jaw. “Twelve months ‘til I’m eligible for my first evaluation.”
Lisa adds some more sugar to her coffee and stirs it. “What then?” she asks, not looking up.
“I don’t know,” Dean admits quietly. “I guess we’ll just have to see.”
--
Lisa and Ben’s new papers arrive early the next morning and Gabriel and Dean smuggle their guests into Gabe’s car through the garage and drive them to a rendezvous point where they meet up with the person who’s taking them on the next leg of their journey.
Lisa hugs Dean long and hard and wishes him good luck. And then she surprises Gabriel by hugging him too. “Thank you,” she says, “both of you. I’d forgotten that it could be good; forgotten that there were decent Doms out there. You reminded me of that. I hope I get as lucky as Dean one day.”
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