Tarnish

[Malkavian Riddler]

Cain listened to all Ben's false starts, finding them uncomfortable yet satisfying to hear. The main one he liked was the 'you're safe' one. That was what he really wanted to be told... but not the bit about Ben never coming near him again. He was upset now but he knew from past experience (with other awful vampires) that he'd feel differently tomorrow. He'd get over it. He always had.

His gaze followed Ben away from the table and when it became awkward to turn his head, Cain looked at his burger instead, thinking. It wasn't his place to go running after a vampire that obviously wanted to be alone but their dynamic had shifted dramatically tonight.  As Ben had pointed out, he'd said 'fuck this' when he'd reached a new level of pain and fear. It felt like an important moment, now. Like something he wasn't going to back away from, so that he could resume his former obedient behaviours. This relationship with Ben was testing him in horrible ways but he liked the feeling of empowerment he got from Ben apologising, too.

He'd done wrong by Cain and Ben knew it. Cain wasn't going to let him forget it and he had an idea about how to go about doing exactly that. It would mean he definitely wasn't going to return to his previous role with Ben and maybe with any vampire because he knew he was worth more than they gave him credit for. That excited him. He hurried after Ben, emboldened enough to enter his bedroom and turn on the pretty light near the doorway but hovering beside it while he sought Ben out with his gaze. "I said 'fuck this' because I decided I didn't want to put up with you hurting me anymore. I'm your pet, not your chew toy," he explained, hoping to get Ben's attention before he continued.

[Trillian]

As soon as Ben entered his bedroom he moved to the underwear drawer. The light in the corridor was well enough to see by. He had time to open the drawer and pull out a pair of briefs when the Moroccan light was turned on. He'd been reeling so much that he hadn't heard Cain follow him until the mortal was in his room. Ben stared at him, underwear in hand, wondering what was going on. He didn't have to wait long to find out.

"I won't hurt you anymore," Ben promised again. He fiddled with the band of his underwear, stretching it between the fingers of each hand and scrunching the fabric up again. Still, he couldn't hold Cain's stare and he dropped his gaze to his chest before looking away. He stared at the bed instead. Then he looked back down at his underwear. He wanted to take his jeans off, get dressed again, and leave.

run away benny-boy
how far do you go before you realise
you can't run from yourself

[Malkavian Riddler]

"I believe you," Cain said, keeping his voice as steady as he was able. Ben would hear how nerves were causing his heart to pound a little faster, though, as he psyched himself up to saying what he really wanted to say. "But I still want you to tell Kerr what you did."

He swallowed loudly after he said it then exhaled slowly and deliberately. He didn't want to keep secrets from Kerr. It felt like a dangerous path to tread and Cain was aware that it had already happened, after the first time Ben was an asshole to him. He wasn't about to out Ben's toxicity, though.

[Trillian]

Cain tapped straight into Ben's defensiveness with his request. The change from Ben's awkward shifting and fidgeting to standing up straight and presenting his stubborn arrogance was so definitive that it looked like he'd been taken over by a different person. The one that liked to abuse Cain, in fact.

"He already knows about that side of me," Ben declared. The conversation had been recent enough to be fresh in his mind. "What are you hoping will happen?"

He unbuttoned his jeans, unzipped his fly and shucked his jeans down as Cain answered, intending on pulling on his underwear now that he wasn't feeling uncomfortable getting changed in front of Cain anymore. It wasn't like his pet hadn't seen everything anyway. And done even more.

[Malkavian Riddler]

The challenge unnerved Cain, mostly because Ben was completely confident in his rebuttal. So confident, in fact, that the wounded animal side of him wished to shy away and get the fuck out of Ben's bedroom after all. His senses were already attuned to the rise of that predator. What was he hoping for in having Ben confess?

"Uh, well, I guess that you telling Kerr would make it feel less like a secret battle between us. Like... and maybe make it more likely that you really won't do it again? He... he really already knows how you want to hurt me and that my only value to you is for sex and because Kerr likes me?" he asked haltingly, thrown by the notion that Ben had already told everything to Kerr.

An empty feeling rose in him, like a boat whose mooring rope had slipped free and cast it adrift into a turbulent and unfriendly ocean. He was that boat and Kerr had been his safe harbour but now he wasn't so sure.

[Trillian]

"No," Ben said, sounding uncertain but not liking the idea of emotionally hurting Cain right after he'd promised not to. Ben hadn't found anything in Cain that interested him beyond sex but that was different to the question asked of him. He'd been interested in Cain as a sado-experiment, too. He also knew, if Cain had been less scared and more malleable, that the torture wouldn't have stopped. That was something Ben had to face. Perhaps he should seek out a masochist. Except that was him, too. Perhaps he should start a fetish club. Or add a fetish zone to Lovebite. Huh.

Ben stepped into his jeans and pulled them up again, refastening them at his hips.

"I'll tell him if you like. If Kerr doesn't like what happened I imagine he'll want to protect you by giving you your own apartment. Either here at the Luminary or probably at the Capital. You won't be a pet anymore but you'll have access to him." Ben shrugged. He didn't think Cain would want that but maybe he did. Maybe Ben's word not to attack him anymore wasn't enough. That was Cain's other option.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Panic returned as Ben talked about telling Kerr and Kerr moving him away. And terminating their agreement. Was he blackmailing him, because Cain had tried to do it first, by forcing him to tell? Either way, he didn't want anything like Ben described. He also had a very different opinion of Kerr's reaction than Ben did, which confused him. Surely Ben would know his partner better than that? But not necessarily in this case; not when it came to Cain. He knew better with this because he'd lived it.

"I have an apartment. I don't need charity, I need you two. If Kerr does that - if he sends me away - I'll never see him again," he blurted, his breath coming faster as the panic battered his chest. "He doesn't adore me," Cain admitted, though it pained him to do so. "He adores you. If you tell him what you did and he doesn't like it, he'll get rid of me but that'll be it. He won't see me again, I'm only here because of you. He was only game to touch me because you told him to. An-and I don't want you to never touch me again, I just want you to like me like I like you so we can all be happy!" he cried in exasperation and then took a step towards Ben, his hands fretting at one another.

"You don't have to tell him!" he said frantically. "Don't tell him. I know you won't do it again. I believe you. It was a stupid idea. Please, just... give me another chance," he whispered, his face scrunched up with fear. Yet again.

[Trillian]

Ben stared.

It was the strangest turnabout he'd ever experienced. It sent a ripple of something along his skin, turning it to gooseflesh. He couldn't even call it excitement - it wasn't that at all. The power had shifted back to him. Somehow, with Cain coming in here and making demands, Ben had managed to say exactly the right thing to turn it back around.

It should've been Ben begging him for forgiveness. It should've been Ben pleading with Cain not to tell. It was more exciting as a dirty little secret, wasn't it? Even though Ben knew it wasn't really a secret because he and Kerr had talked about him exploring his darker side... the details might not go over well. Kerr really might get rid of Cain to protect him - Ben hadn't been lying about that.

He moved slowly towards Cain, not wanting to spook him but wanting to get close - to see if he could. "Did you just say... you want me to touch you?" he queried carefully, still moving forward. He turned his head slightly like he was paying extra close attention to Cain's response.

Cain admitting he liked him was a surprise as well. Ben thought he was the side-salad to Kerr's steak, when it came to Cain's opinion on him. That if it came down to it, steak could be served on its own and make a grand meal while salad, while nice, would never satisfy him completely.

There were all kinds of reasons that Ben could've plucked from to motivate him into bullying Cain. Tonight had been pretty bad, but he'd also started the night sour and angry.

Ben stopped in his approach within touching distance - their bare chests roughly ten centimetres apart. It was when he fronted Cain like this that he felt like he could be made into a good little sub, if Cain had it in him to boss him around. He had the kind of body befitting a powerful kind of guy and Ben physically responded to it. But Cain's personality was timid.

He thought he'd give Cain a chance to experience something different. If he missed the opportunity, then so be it. Instead of using his demanding, aggressive, arrogant tone, Ben chose the one he used to use with Themba. Frank and open, softly spoken and eager.

"What would you like me to do?"

[Malkavian Riddler]

Cain blinked as Ben changed the tone of their conversation completely. He was physically close but because he was speaking sweetly, Cain remained calm. He tilted his head, observing Ben curiously. Was he kidding? Testing him? Trying to make amends? He liked the idea of the last one. He owed him. He'd put him through hell tonight and Cain knew he deserved better (he just wasn't great at demanding it).

He wasn't sure how he felt about touching Ben but he didn't want to give up the opportunity he was being offered. Refusing Ben's gesture now would make things worse and he was interested in mending their situation, not in going the other way.

"Hug me," he ordered, wanting to start slow. He was pleased when Ben stepped forward without hesitation and wound his arms around his torso. Cain stooped down to hug Ben back and his heart sighed with pleasure. He grasped Ben tightly when he realised he felt okay with him touching him so he grew bolder.  He straightened up, taking Ben with him. "Wrap your legs around me," he instructed, buoyed when Ben did as he was told. He shifted his hold, cradling Ben's butt in one hand to support him while the other gently stroked his bare back.

"Kiss my throat better," he smiled. He didn't want anything sexual with Ben but the tenderness of holding him was lovely. Kisses would be nice and soothe his soul more than arouse him, he hoped. Of course, having ingested Ben's blood not so long ago, it would be easy to slide in that direction but it wasn't his goal.

[Trillian]

He thought Cain might be testing him, advancing them step by step. He'd already given Cain the opportunity to get his own back last night, and he'd been a little rougher in his sex but that was about it. Cain wasn't surprising him with his orders for tenderness. It wasn't anything Ben had given him yet so it made sense he was coveting it.

With his legs wrapped around Cain, hooked at the ankles, his arms over his shoulders and one hand buried in Cain's hair, holding gently rather than tightly, Ben kissed the places he thought he'd bitten. There was a lingering taste of blood on Cain's skin so he managed to find where even though there was no scar, no evidence. Ben kissed a path upward, pressing lips to the spot just behind Cain's ear, nuzzling his earlobe so he could scrape teeth, suck a little and kiss some more.

He wanted to bite, he really, really wanted to bite, especially when he found Cain's pulsing vein in his neck. Ben released a soft sound, one of need, but he kissed away instead, moving down now and then back up, working his way to where Cain's jawline angled.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Cain's eyelids fluttered closed, his breath catching and then sighing out of him as Ben kissed him gently. It sent shivers and tingles through him, especially when Ben gave attention to his earlobe. He fought off the pleasure as best he could. "The other side, too," he growled, tilting his head as Ben switched to the other side of his throat obediently. It quickly became too much, his erection growing between them, hot and throbbing.

"Stop," he said through gritted teeth, "get down." He attempted to put Ben on the carpet and take a step back, breathing steadily in order to calm himself down. He didn't want Ben's tenderness anymore. It felt disingenuine. What he really wanted, he wasn't sure he was game to ask for but then he found himself speaking without putting any thought into it. "Get on your knees." He'd wait and see how that worked out before he continued.

[Trillian]

It wasn't a surprise that Cain would eventually demand such a thing, but it certainly made things more interesting. Ben wasn't sure if the gentleness would continue - if Cain would continue being tender while Ben was now the one being used. Maybe he would; leading by example and demonstrating how he would like to be treated. Or maybe it would be revenge - showing Ben just how awful it was. Oh... he knew how awful it was, but Cain didn't have a clue.

Ben held Cain's gaze and sank to his knees, looking up and knowing that Cain was excited about this by the thick rod that Ben could see lining his jeans. He had one of his own fattened uncomfortably behind denim. The discomfort was part of the turn-on though, wasn't it?

He would give Cain the whole night to explore. Maybe more, if they both got off on it.

[Malkavian Riddler]

The reality of what he was doing hit Cain once he had Ben on his knees in front of him. He was in charge. Ben was probably doing it to make it up to him but did that really matter? It didn't change the fact that he had a compliant vampire kneeling before him.

One that had taken his pleasure in scaring the fuck out of him just a short while ago because he was a sick fuck with anger issues. Cain wasn't like that but being continually exposed to Ben's sickness was certainly motivating him to develop a talent for negotiating it. He doubted he'd ever emulate it but who knew what that motivation could accomplish?

He walked over and sat on the corner of Ben and Kerr's bed, leaning back on his hands, his legs extended before him, heels on the carpet and feet upward. "Kiss my feet. Suck my toes," he ordered. His feet weren't ticklish and he enjoyed having his toes sucked. Plus, the symbolism of Ben kissing his feet was definitely not lost on him. He smirked, wondering if he'd refuse.

[Trillian]

Ben watched as Cain moved away and sat on the edge of the bed. The order was a surprise but Ben was getting the symbolism of it as well. He didn't know how Cain felt about whether he liked his toes sucked or not. It didn't matter, ultimately. Instead of standing and going over there, Ben crawled over on his hands and knees.

It wasn't something he'd done a lot of, but he did have a bit of experience with it. Ben kissed along the top of Cain's right foot at first and then shuffled closer so he could lift his foot up gently behind the ankle and bring it to his mouth. Looking up at Cain now, he worked each toe into his mouth, starting with the pinky and gradually abandoning it for the next one in line until he was at Cain's big toe. He sucked that one much like he would've Cain's erection before lifting Cain's foot a little higher and licking along the sole of his foot.

He exchanged feet after that, to perform the same act with minor differences, just so it wouldn't get too predictable.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Cain hummed his pleasure, his eyes closing when the exquisite sensations peaked, opening when Ben changed it up. His smile was gentle as he admired the top of Ben's head, feeling soothed as much as aroused. The sucking on his toes was insanely good but he had a question he needed to ask.

"Do you only want to hurt me? If I let you do anything to me, what would you do?" he enquired curiously, his hips shifting as he tugged at his shorts to relieve some of the pressure Ben was creating.