(Author's note: wow, this chapter has been sitting in my word processor for way, way too long. I wanted to finish the Saturday Valentine's Day interlude, but I think it's going to have to go up in parts, because the rest of Saturday is going to be at least another 10k. This chapter includes a lot of Adam and Sarah, but a little of everybody, including introducing two other key players at Tessera, Phillip and Lydia. Warnings for flogging/whipping and D/s negotiations. Thanks for your patience while real life and other stories distract me from the Donutverse. Looking forward to Adam on Glee tomorrow! -amy and flinchflower)


It took forty-five minutes for Kurt to get his dad from you're getting tattooed over my dead body, to sleep on it while I talk to Carole. Finn had to shake his head.

"I'm impressed. My boyfriend's a master manipulator."

"I'm offended," Kurt declared cheerfully, tugging him down the hallway. "Perhaps I will choose to hear it as a compliment."

"Whatever, dude. You're a lot closer to making this happen than I ever thought you would be. I think you can hear it any way you want."

The stairs in this place were like Hogwarts. Finn didn't realize where Kurt was taking him until they were standing outside the door to Adam, Puck and Kurt's suite. He paused, hanging back, when Kurt moved to open the door.

"You sure it's okay for me to come in?" Finn asked.

"What the hell does that mean?" Kurt stared at him. "You're my boyfriend. Our boyfriend is sleeping off his disciplinary hangover in there."

"Kurt, don't try to pretend this weekend isn't about Adam. And Adam has nothing to do with me." Finn shrugged, not looking away. "You get to have your thing, you know? I'm not standing in the way. But I know Puck's not wearing our collar right now."

Kurt reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open. "How many times has Noah ever told you no?"

Finn laughed. "A lot. And I know he never meant it." He followed Kurt in the room, shutting the door behind him, and dropping his volume down three notches. "But he's not really the problem."

"You have a problem with Adam, you talk to him about it. I'm absolutely sure he wouldn't tell you you couldn't have anything you wanted."

"Yeah?" Finn watched Kurt strip down to t-shirt and underwear with a kind of amused incredulity. Kurt always did that to him, but it was especially strong when Finn watched him take off his clothes: I get this? He really wants me? He huffed out a sigh when Kurt brought his hands up to unbutton Finn's shirt. "You think if I said to him, Puck's going to wear my collar when I put him up on that St. Andrews cross, not yours, he wouldn't decide to deck me?"

Kurt smiled, broad and delighted. "I think he might ask to watch."

Finn let that startling idea settle over him for several moments. Then he realized he should probably say something before Kurt saw his back. "Um, so… we tried it out? The St. Andrews cross. Carl did, I mean. And he — he used the signal whip, on my back, and —"

Kurt's eyes widened. He seized Finn's arm and swiveled him around to examine his back, almost knocking him down. "Oh my god."

"Yeah," Finn agreed. "You're telling me. I seriously had no idea what he could do with that thing. I went in saying I don't want to bleed and ended up begging him for — well, basically that."

He felt Kurt's fingers trace the raised, thready lines on his back. Finn had spent a good deal of time in front of the mirror, looking over his shoulder at the marks, feeling an amazing combination of proud and embarrassed. He knew just what they looked like, but he had no idea what Kurt was going to think of them.

"I just… don't even know what to say." He felt Kurt gingerly lean his cheek against Finn's back. "I don't feel protective of you very often, but this is… intense. And maybe I'm a little jealous."

Finn laughed, surprised again. "What? Really?"

"A little," Kurt insisted. "Not really." When Finn turned around to face him, he was hiding behind crossed arms, frowning ferociously. "Maybe."

"Wow." Finn gathered him up, ignoring the grumbled protests. "You know I would do that for you any time you wanted."

"I know." Kurt snuggled close to Finn's bare chest. "But not with the whip. You are not getting anywhere near me with a whip until Carl can assure me you have exceeded expectations with precision and control."

But when Kurt crawled onto the enormous bed toward Noah, Finn made a little gasp that stopped him where he was. He turned back to look at him with concern.

"What is —"

"Kurt, your back." Finn reached out a hand to touch the marks. They were so numerous, Finn didn't think he could count them all. Kurt craned his neck to see.

"Oh, god," Kurt whispered. "I had no idea — I can't feel them, so I just —" He paused, stricken. "Finn, my dad saw these this morning in the bathroom."

Finn choked on a laugh, inspiring a sleepy murmur from Puck. "I guess he's dealing okay, though?" He lifted the cover beside Puck and crawled in beside him, while Kurt joined him on the other side. "It can't be any worse than my mom finding that text from Carl."

"Carl sends dirty texts?" Puck was fully awake now, grinning up at Finn. "Hey, check it out, there're two naked guys in my bed."

Finn pretended to think. "No," he decided, grinning, "Carl hasn't had two guys in his bed in a long time. He wouldn't send me a text like that."

"Heh." Puck wrapped his arms around Finn, giving him a long, dirty kiss. "Maybe we should change that."

"Noah," Kurt sighed, moving in to hold him from behind. "Do you need another spanking?"

"No, I'm just saying —" Puck froze in comical surprise as his fingers found the lines on Finn's back. He groped him for a few moments, then demanded, "Finn, what the fuck happened to you?"

Finn couldn't help flushing, but he grinned. "Something that's going to happen to you, too, if you want it. There's a St. Andrews cross upstairs on the third floor. Stephen set it up for us. I got to be the test subject, but it's really for you."

"For me?" Puck echoed.

Kurt touched Puck's. "If you want it."

"If I — for fuck's sake, Finn!" He struggled to sit up, but Finn wasn't letting him go any more than Kurt was, and it wasn't long before he stopped trying. "Are those lash marks?"

"Yeah, that part I couldn't do," Finn admitted. "But…" He paused, looking over Puck's shoulder at Kurt, and it was like Kurt could read his mind.

"Carl could do that for you," Kurt said softly. "We all could. All four of us could have you, while you're suspended on that cross. Each of us could use a different instrument."

Finn almost wanted to smile, the way Puck's eyes went dark and overwhelmed, like somebody was offering him a million dollars. Then he thought about the way he'd felt, looking at his own stripes in the mirror. Maybe it does feel like that to him.

"You deserve it," Finn said. "Not because you've been bad. But because you're our good boy."

Puck let out a little whimper, and both of them immediately surrounded him with their arms and legs and bodies. They'd all been having enough sex that being together like that wasn't desperately arousing. It just felt so good to Finn to hold them both.


Adam was great, no question, and Sarah was more than a little curious about what he was going to do about that challenge to sell her on poetry. She'd been reading on her own since they'd spoken on the phone in January. The e.e. cummings guy was still a little weird for her. Mostly when she read things, she wanted them to make sense, and a lot of poetry just didn't make sense. But Adam made sense, and she was willing to listen to him.

Right now, she needed a little break from the unrelenting stupid love she saw on his face, and everybody else's face, every time she turned around. Even Tatenui, who usually was so mellow and calm, seemed to be stuck in some kind of weird angsty place. It was driving her nuts. Her whole family had been dumped together in this place and given a firm stirring. This wasn't home, by any means, no matter how happy they were to be together. They needed to settle out.

She'd explored enough of the main building to feel like she was ready to check out the rest of the grounds. But it wasn't going to be possible to get around Phillip and his security. It was time to take the direct route. Sarah marched up to Tess's office and knocked.

"Come in," she heard. Sarah opened the door to find Tess standing at the window, looking out over the grounds. She crossed her arms.

"So what's outside?"

Tess's lip quirked. "Snow, I imagine, if my eyes do not deceive me."

"What else?" Sarah asked, not quite rolling her own eyes.

"You'd like to visit the grounds," Tess guessed. "Or possibly the stables? Or the greenhouses."

"Any of those. Yeah. Is that allowed, or am I going to get in trouble for going AWOL or something?"

Tess approached her calmly, her smile growing. "I promise you, you'll find enough of your own trouble if you look for it. But I am happy to have someone escort you around the grounds."

"No thanks. Can't I just go myself?"

"Have you been down to visit with Phillip in his office?" It wasn't a direct answer to the question, but Sarah ignored that.

"No? What does he do down there, anyway?"

Tess nodded firmly, and held out a hand. "Let's go find out. And then, I promise, I will answer your question about going outside."

The hallways were busy, but everybody seemed to have an idea about where they were going. None of them paid any attention to Tess or Sarah. She realized, after passing several people who completely ignored them, precisely what Tess was doing.

"You're a silent fox too," she accused.

Tess chuckled. "That's a lovely description, Sarah. My compliments, from one sneaky watcher to another."

"But you're so..." Sarah had to think about what she saw, because Tess was actually small and unassuming, when she looked at her objectively. "So big," she settled on.

Tess nodded, clearly thinking, given the little crease between her eyes, Sarah thought.

"Jesse — pardon me, Carl; he didn't use his first name, when I met him, so I forget sometimes. Carl would likely say that you're observing my Colonel Highness."

Sarah laughed out loud. "That's awesome," she declared. "I definitely don't have one of those. I mostly stick with being invisible. But I guess here it didn't seem... enough, somehow?"

"Ah. The invisible ones hear and see and learn the most. And thank you. We're going down to have a quick peek at Phillip's domain, because he's really better at explaining the risks here than I am. This is my home, my choice of business in my retirement, and I know I can be blind to them sometimes. And Phillip has better maps than I do, too."

"Maps are cool," Sarah said grudgingly. "Okay, sure."

The room Tess pushed open was cluttered, in a totally good way, with all kinds of equipment and electronics and things that made noises, but the man in the center took up the vast majority of the room's real estate. God, Sarah thought, staring up at him. If Finn's a dog, this guy's got to be a dinosaur. Or possibly Clifford.

"Phillip," Tess greeted the big man. "Sarah would like to explore the grounds."

"I see," Phillip chuckled. "So, my sneaky one, I assume you've exhausted all of our dusty corners? I'm surprised you haven't been in here yet."

Sarah shrugged, trying not to be intimidated. He did seem nice enough. "There's lots of stuff on the main floor, but my brothers are being super dorky about each other. I seriously need a change of scenery before I go insane."

She watched the adults around her, but to her surprise no one laughed.

"Sarah, you're welcome to the ground floor down here as well," Tess told her. "The only two things truly out of bounds are locked and chained, and monitored by security."

"What's out of bounds?"

"No swimming without someone else present. I'd avoid the exercise rooms, if I were you. But you'd wanted to go outside?"

She shrugged. "Somewhere. I'm not trying to be obnoxious, so if you just tell me where I can go, I'll stick to those places."

Tess shook her head. "No one thinks that. People need their freedom, hmm? And thank you again."

"Well. There are three things to know," Philip told Sarah, holding up three fingers, each one of which had to be equal to, like, three of her own. "One: a map." The big man produced a big sheet of paper out of a drawer. "If it were summer, I'd hand you a compass and let you run, girl. But it's winter, which brings us to Two. Winter's serious business out here on the plains. There's places you can go outside, sure, without anyone objecting, or needing an escort. And there's places that you need a buddy, or security detail with you, in the winter. Dangerous out there in the winter, people die." Sarah's eyes widened as Phillip looked straight at her, clearly not kidding.

"Um. Okay." She surveyed the map. "Where can I go, then?"

The man drew a diagonal line through through the building. "Nothing forward of this line, outside - those are areas the the country club members access, and even though they're boring, we don't want them bothering you — their morals regarding children are a little too high -"

"Phillip."

Sarah glanced nervously at Tess, but she didn't look that upset. "Well, anyone under sixteen without a parent is going to raise eyebrows, front of that line. And back of the line…" Phillips big finger drew a sort of boundary line. "Best to avoid the loading dock and garages, but they're not forbidden. The stables, and the garden within these walls," he said. "Anywhere else outside without someone with you, and you're looking at a family conference, and those aren't fun, believe me."

"What's three?"

"That was three," he said, frowning, but Tess coughed. Sarah fixed her attention on the woman, who'd seemed to fade into the background again.

"I'll add a fourth," Tess said, meeting Sarah's eyes. They were a calm grey, but they were serious. "If you're outside, please dress for it. I'll take you straight up to the private access to the gardens, and we'll find you a jacket and whatnot there. Yes-" she said holding up a hand as Sarah took a breath. "I know you have your own, but if you want to sneak right on out - just take a jacket and the rest, please."

Sarah blinked. "You mean - I can just go?"

Phillip pointed one of those huge fingers at the video monitors. "You're not invisible to those. It's fine, Sarah. So long as you're keeping to those two areas, it's no different than us keeping an eye on you while you poke around on the first floor. Or either of your brothers, who tend to wander when they ought to be sleeping. And we appreciate that you sleep," he said with a chuckle.

Sarah decided not to point out that she mostly was awake during sleeping hours, even if she was in her room, but she understood what he was getting at. "I don't get in trouble," she informed him.

"Even Tess gets in trouble. Be safe, small one."

The concept of Tess in trouble stuck with her as she made her way back to the surface. She kept sneaking little peeks at Tess while they walked, trying to picture her being cowed by anybody. Tess didn't do more than grin at her, though, until they got to the door leading outside.

"Right here," Tess said casually, gesturing at the rack of winter gear hanging beside the door. "You're small, but it won't hurt for a jacket to be big, right? Just hang it back up here when you come in, or ask security to bring it back down."

The jacket she lifted down was camouflage print, and Sarah spotted the name on it: Riordan. She blinked, startled, and looked up at Tess, who was holding the jacket like someone would for royalty. Sarah slid into the jacket. It was lined with fleece, and very heavy.

"Check the pockets before you run, please."

Sarah explored the big pockets first, which were bulging, and pulled out a hat, scarf, and mittens, all in a dusky, muddy green.

"Good," Tess said decidedly. "I'm not your mother; I won't make you put those on, but I will suggest that it's nasty cold out there, and I'd rather not have you in the onsite clinic treating you for frostbite, hmm? Someone did mention I was a nurse in my former career, I'm sure?"

"Warm is totally good." She pulled the mittens on, clapping them together, and grinned at Tess. "You're pretty smart."

Tess raised her chin a fraction. "Thank you for that assessment. Now, I don't need to be chasing you around, asking you to return these, do I?"

"No ma'am." Sarah wasn't sure what a salute looked like, so she didn't attempt one, but she kind of waved in a sharp little motion as she scampered out the door, and Tess smothered a smile.

It really was cold, colder than Sarah guessed it was in Ohio at the moment. She stayed on the plowed sidewalk, keeping her shoes dry, but once she arrived at the biggest outbuilding, the snow was flattened enough to allow her to tread on it. It didn't look like cars had done that, and when Sarah saw a pile of steaming poop on the ground, she knew what it had to have been. She wrinkled her nose. Horses.

She'd ridden on a horse once in her life, the summer she'd turned five, when Noah had been away at soccer camp. Her babysitter had brought her to his fancy house, where he'd helped her sit on the saddle and led the enormous animal around the yard. It had scared the crap out of her. Frances had liked riding a lot more than she had, but Sarah never been motivated to seek out horses again after that. But — she guessed the stable would be warm, and there might be interesting things to see that didn't have to do with animals. She crept inside, sticking to the walls, and made her way around to the back from which she could survey the stable.

She thought she was being pretty quiet, but the woman saw Sarah before Sarah saw her. She was untangling a pile of leather straps and metal, not unlike the equipment her brothers kept in their room. Behind her was a stall, from which extended a big grey head. When Sarah stopped, the horse tossed its head, making a whickering noise.

"Hello there," the woman said quietly. "He's a little spooky, and we'd both be more comfortable if you came out where we could see you."

Sarah emerged from behind the stall door. "I'm not used to people noticing me."

"He noticed you before I did. He was abused. Beaten, starved, and caged, used as a bucking horse. He doesn't trust very easily. Come here, though. Let him see you - come here, right up beside me."

She waited, as Sarah tentatively approached. Whoever she was, she didn't look surprised to see Sarah. Maybe Tess had told her she was coming?

"You can pick my pocket, there," the woman suggested casually. "It's full of baby carrots."

Sarah hesitantly dipped a hand in, palming a few carrots before withdrawing. How she was going to feed them to the enormous animal, she had no idea. Was the woman seriously suggesting she put her hand close to his mouth? Didn't he have teeth?

The woman winked at her. "You'd make a good pickpocket."

Sarah frowned. "Is that a compliment or what?"

"You bet it is. Now, hold that handful out - way far in front of you, all right? Hand flat. Yes, like that. I'm going to rein him in, but it'll be slow. Don't let that arm get tired, now." She nodded at Sarah as she opened the stall door and led the horse out. "Now, with Liberace here, watch how this works."

Sarah observed, fascinated. The woman chirped and clucked at him, coaxing him as she fastened a long line to his halter. Pretty soon, he was circling around the two of them on the lead, safe within the paddock. Every turn that the grey took - Liberace, she repeated to herself - the woman shortened the rein by an arm length, until he was circling so closely to the two of them that Sarah could have reached out and touched him if she wanted to. Not that she was going to. Liberace's grey coat was starting to darken with sweat, as he came closer, and though he still obeyed the woman, his eye rolled back to watch Sarah as long as possible.

"That's right, boy," the woman murmured. "You know what you have to do to get those sweets."

The woman slowed the horse, with soft, verbal commands. Sarah was standing right next to her, and still she almost had to strain to hear her. Liberace's ears pricked and swiveled towards them. Finally, the woman shortened the rein. Liberace was alternately glancing and sidling toward Sarah, his nostrils snuffling. Sarah swallowed.

"Just keep your palm flat," the woman said calmly. "He might press down a little, but he doesn't nip; he knows better. He likes those carrots too much to bother misbehaving."

Liberace snuffled into Sarah's palm, and she held still. His muzzle was warm and soft, softer than velvet or silk or custard or just about anything she'd ever felt before, and his breath warmed her hands.

"Step up to him, really slow. I've got his halter; it's all right. Look up at him now, and blow really gently onto the end of his nose, there."

Sarah did so. She could see the horse relax, and she felt the woman next to her relax as well.

"He likes me," she whispered.

"You can go ahead and put a hand up to his neck now. There you go. Good. Now, I'm the grounds and facilities manager - Lydia, if anyone's told you the names of the managers. And I know you're probably Sarah - am I right? Tess told us all about your little family visit this weekend."

"Yeah. Noah's sister. And Kurt's. And kind of Finn's, too?" She touched Liberace on his strong neck. That didn't seem scary anymore, but Lydia's next words made her tense up.

"Sarah, do you ride?"

She shook her head. "Once, when I was a kid. I have a friend who does, though. She's been trying to get me to come ride with her, but..." She made a face. "It's kind of a freaky thing, being on top of a big animal like that."

Lydia smiled gently at her, leaning in closer against Liberace, giving him a good scratch right behind his jaw. Sarah couldn't help grin at his contented sigh. It sounded so much like Finn's when Noah rubbed his feet. Before she thought about it, she'd reached out to join Lydia's hand, feeling the way she did it.

"I'll tell you what I think," Lydia said conspiratorially. "I think it's one of the most exciting, freeing experiences I can imagine. And I've leapt out of an airplane, so you know that I have some idea of what I'm talking about."

Sarah giggled. "I've never done that. But I've had two older brothers wrestle me. If they could squash me, I don't know if I really want a thousand-pound animal that close to me." She rolled her eyes. "Sometimes it sucks to be the youngest."

"Well." Lydia moved her hand to Sarah's shoulder, resting it there for a brief moment before moving away. Sarah glanced up at her, surprised, and flashed her a tentative smile. "It's clear what rests on your heart."


Adam ran into Sarah in the hall, smelling like horse and grinning like an idiot. He grinned back.

"I don't need to ask where you've been." He surveyed her shirt, covered with straw. "You didn't get thrown, did you?"

"No!" She looked somewhat offended. "Nothing throws me, especially not Liberace. I just needed to come in to warm up my hands."

Adam reached out, grasping her hands, and chafed them between his. She startled a little, but watched him warily for a few moments before she relaxed, sighing.

"How's that?" he asked. She nodded. "Good. If you're up for it, then, I'm going to make good on that bet I made you."

She was as quick as he'd anticipated. "The poetry thing."

He held up the books in his hand. "The poetry thing. You give me half an hour, I'll sell you on poetry, and I'll tell you why."

"But poetry is stupid," she said, very clearly.

Adam fixed her with a stare that would have made Noah avert his eyes, but Sarah just stared back. "Excuse me?" he said. "Are you telling me that e.e. cummings poem I read you was stupid?"

"Not every poem is stupid," she amended. "But anything you have to explain is totally pointless. Why not just say what you mean? And don't try to tell me it's like art, because art has all kinds of other things, color and shade and value and perspective and stuff, but poetry is just - words."

"Don't tell me you don't listen to the lyrics when you listen to music," he countered. "I know you do."

"Your lyrics are fine. There's nothing I can't understand. Plus, there's a tune. It's, like, the redeeming aspect of music. You don't have to have great lyrics because the music and the rhythm make it okay."

He felt somewhat indignant. "Are you saying my lyrics aren't okay on their own?"

"Ahem."

They both looked up, apparently equivalently startled, to find Tess standing beside them in the hallway. She raised an eyebrow at Adam. Implicit in the criticism was an inquiry as to why he was having a heated argument with an eleven-year old, no matter that it was simply about poetry.

Adam's mouth snapped shut, and a victorious look flitted across Sarah's face, at least until she realized that Adam's eyes were fixed on Tess.

"Poetry," Tess inquired mildly, and the unlikely pair nodded. "Would references perhaps be of any assistance?"

Adam frowned, but Sarah looked interested. "Sure."

"Then you may both come with me," Tess instructed serenely. There wasn't a word out of either of them, she strode away like she didn't expect one.

She led them down the long flight of stairs in severe silence, and into a dimly-lit library. Among the thousands of volumes on the shelves was what turned out to be a small collection of poetry, beautifully bound in matching leather. Tess laid a light hand on Sarah's shoulder, and Sarah glanced directly at her and smiled.

"I shall be in my office, just upstairs, if I'm needed," Tess said. "Unless you require a referee. And Adam? I expect a clean argument from you, if there's going to be one." Her tone offered a gentle rebuke, and he felt himself flush.

"We'll keep it civil," he assured her. "But thank you."

He started by giving her some Edna St. Vincent Millay to read, because he knew at least one of her objections was that she couldn't understand poetry. She wasn't going to appreciate Emily Dickinson until she had a little time to sit with some more concrete verse. She bore it with stoic patience, but he could tell she was just humoring him.

"Look," he said, feeling exasperated, "you're not paying attention. Don't you feel something?" He flipped through the text and stopped on a random page. "I mean — just close your eyes." With all the expression he could muster, he began:

I, having loved ever since I was a child a few things, never having wavered
In these affections; never through shyness in the houses of the
rich or in the presence of clergymen having denied these loves;
Never when worked upon by cynics like chiropractors having
grunted or clicked a vertebra to the discredit of those loves;
Never when anxious to land a job having diminished them by a
conniving smile; or when befuddled by drink
Jeered at them through heartache or lazily fondled the fingers of
their alert enemies; declare
That I shall love you always.
No matter what party is in power;
No matter what temporarily expedient combination of allied
interests wins the war;
Shall love you always.

He looked at her stricken face, eyes still closed, and waited for her to open them again before asking, "Well?"

"It's — okay?" She rolled her eyes as he huffed. "Okay, fine, it's awesome, but… the awesome isn't the poetry. It's you. You could read me the most recent version of the Facebook terms of agreement and it would be awesome."

Adam laughed, blushing. "That's really sweet."

"Fuck you," she muttered. "I'm not getting all boy-crazy over you. I'm just saying, when it's your voice, it makes a difference." Then she grinned. "Just think how awesome your music would be if your lyrics were good."

"Oh, really?" Adam didn't even think. He reached across the table and dug into her ribs with one hand, just like he would have with Neil when they were kids. Sarah shrieked and scrambled back, protecting her sides with both arms. He drew back when he realized what he was doing and how it might be misconstrued, but she was grinning at him triumphantly. As he watched, she reached up with one finger and drew an invisible line in the air.

"Sarah, one," she said. "Adam, zero. Now read me more poetry before I get totally bored."

She didn't look bored. In fact, she listened with apparent fascination as he selected piece after piece, doing his best to convey the meaning behind each line. He'd worked his way through Vachel Lindsay and was about to start on Sara Teasdale when Kurt and Noah appeared at the door of the library. Kurt cocked his head at Adam in surprise, but Noah just smiled.

"You wanna read me a story?" he said, leering at him.

Adam leaned back in his chair, grinning back. "Oh, you want a bedtime story tonight, little boy?"

Sarah sniffed. "It's not a story. It's poetry."

"We, uh…" Kurt bit his lip. "If you're in the middle of things, we don't have to bother you."

She gestured at her brothers, closing the cover on the Teasdale volume. "Go on. I've monopolized him enough today. I can go find Tatenui and get him to play Uno with me. I'll see you guys at dinner — I think James has something major planned."

"What was that all about?" Kurt asked in an undertone as they flanked Adam in the hallway, heading for the stairs.

"I gave Sarah a challenge. To be honest, I'm not sure who won." He smiled at his boys. "Looks like you might have some nefarious plans for me?"

"Finn asked me… us… to invite you up to the third floor. Carl's there already. He's set something up for Noah, and he…" He laughed. "I think he wanted to make sure you weren't going to be upset by it."

That doesn't sound reassuring. "Do you think I'll be upset by it?"

"No," Kurt said, still smiling. "I think you're going to love it."

Finn and Carl were already in the room when they reached the third floor, rigging a St. Andrew's cross. Adam had seen similar contraptions before, at Threshold and private clubs in LA, but he'd never had the opportunity to try one out. He watched as Carl fastened a second set of rings to the connection points already installed on the tall wooden frame. He spoke quietly to Finn, who was listening intently.

Adam turned to Noah, taking in his peaceful, self-satisfied glow. "This is something you've wanted."

"Well, you know. On my way back from Santa Fe, I saw it downstairs, in the public space, and I…" He shrugged, nodding. "Yeah. Couldn't stop thinking about it."

"That's okay, honey. You're allowed to want things." Adam tucked Noah in close to his side and felt his contented sigh. "Anything you want, I'd listen to that. I think we all want to give you what you want."

"That's kind of the idea," Kurt said. He picked up one of the tools arrayed on the table, a leather paddle with fine, tight stitching. "We all do. Something from each of us, while he's suspended up there."

Adam felt the first ripple of response from Noah — not a noise, but an intensification of his focus, as though Kurt had already brought the paddle down on his ass. Finn looked sharply at him from across the room, then at Adam.

"That sounds fabulous," Adam said, his eyes on Finn. "You can definitely have that."

"Finn wanted Noah to wear our collar while he's up there," Kurt added.

Adam could hear the hesitation in his voice, and he smiled reassuringly at Kurt. "Of course. He'll need one for stability."

Of course it wasn't just about stability, and Adam was pretty sure Kurt knew it, but he wasn't going to go into details, not with Noah standing there. He was going to have to have a conversation with Finn and Kurt before he left Tessera, but right now, this was about giving Noah something he wanted. He kissed Noah's forehead and gave him a little push toward the cross, and then moved back to stand against the wall, out of the way, while Kurt surveyed the tools.

Carl said something quietly to Noah, then watched while Finn buckled suspension cuffs on Noah's wrists. Then he left them and walked over to stand beside Adam, leaning against the wall beside him.

"I'm the least involved here," Carl told him in an undertone, "and I'll be using the tool with the least impact, so I thought I would go last." He indicated the table, where Kurt was running his fingers through the tails of a suede flogger. "What's your tool of choice?"

"Paddle, usually. Wooden, leather, Lexan, although I wouldn't use that here." Adam smirked. "Occasionally I've had to resort to a cane."

"Mmmmm. I've heard stories about Puck. That doesn't surprise me." Carl smiled back, wide and sincere. It was so different from the expressions Adam had seen on his face up until now that he found himself responding with an equally wide smile. "This is Finn's scene, and I'm here to support him. But I've never been in a scene with Kurt present before. You think he'll be okay with this, sharing Puck this way?"

"He's never had trouble sharing him before." Adam observed Kurt's body language: alert, but not tense. "I think he's worried about how I'm going to react."

Carl nodded. "And how are you going to react?"

"I have no idea," he said. "I've never done this before."

"Which part?"

"Any of this. I've seen a St. Andrews cross used, but I've never flogged Noah publicly."

"Adam," Carl said dismissively, "this isn't public. Consider me to be part of the furniture, if that helps."

Adam paused before daring to run his eyes over Carl's compact frame. "Mighty fine furniture," he murmured.

Carl appeared to ignore this. "I'm here to support Finn's progress, so that's my primary goal, but I think it only makes sense to play with your lovers' lovers, even if you're not sexual with them. It provides a sense of intimacy that only benefits the group as a whole." He gestured encouragingly. "Go ahead."

Adam still wasn't sure what to do with Finn in the room. Carl had convinced him he was no threat, and he reminded Adam enough of the Doms that frequented the clubs he sometimes attended with Jacob that flirting with him came naturally. But Finn… Finn was big enough and handsome enough that he triggered all of Adam's bad memories of being the awkward, chubby theater geek in high school, tormented by the popular jocks. He wasn't going to let his guard down around Finn.

"Which tool are you going to use?" he asked Carl.

Carl didn't reply. When Adam turned from the table to look at him, he saw him uncoiling a weighty length of rope. No, not rope — a whip. Adam glanced up in alarm.

"You're going to use that on him?"

"He's quite safe, believe me, at least when I'm the one wielding it. I guarantee you'll see more marks on his back from that tipped flogger than from the cracker on this whip." Carl leaned back, and then, very deliberately, ran his eyes over Adam's body, just as Adam had done to him. "Consider yourself invited for a private session yourself sometime."

Adam considered, instead, bolting out of the room. Whatever he thought Carl might have been doing, being friendly and accommodating, had vanished in the glitter of his eyes and the lazy curl of that motherfucking whip. This wasn't just him playing with his two very sweet boys. This was serious shit. A weapon like that could blind a person, could flay him raw — could, in fact, kill him. And today, the subject in question was Noah.

He swallowed his panic, knowing it was obvious, but not sure he had a choice. "I — think I'll stick with the paddle."

"Of course," Carl agreed, with a little bow of his head. And then he appeared to relent somewhat, dropping his imposing formal posturing down to a tolerable level. Adam found he could breathe more easily. "There's no shame in relying on the familiar, especially in an unfamiliar situation. My first priority is keeping Finn safe; yours is keeping Noah safe. In the same way Noah may, you may always tell any of us to slow down or stop, using yellow and red, on his behalf."

Adam wondered if he should feel affronted that Carl was the one setting boundaries with him, as though Carl were Adam's own Top, but he nodded, somewhat calmed. "That's a good point."

Noah did look stunning, the muscles in his bare back contracting as he tested the limits of the carabiners which hooked his wrists and arms to the St. Andrew's cross. Finn showed him the mirror, conveniently located so as not to require him to turn his head at all to see who was working on him, and leaned in to whisper something into his ear. Noah visibly shivered.

When Adam looked away, he saw Kurt was holding two different floggers in his hands, weighing each one and swapping them from hand to hand. Pitching his voice to carry across to Finn, Adam said, "Why don't you try both of them on him and see which one is better?"

"Oh —" Kurt paused to look at Finn, who was politely not reacting, then back to Adam. "I… do you mean I should ask him which one he likes?"

"No, honey. The less you talk to him, and the more you talk about him, where he can hear you, the more quickly he'll drop into subspace."

Kurt blinked, wrinkling his brow. "That seems a little demeaning to me."

Adam didn't look at Finn, but took Kurt's hand and drew him over to stand behind the cross. Adam placed his hand on Noah's arm. Noah squirmed a bit, but didn't attempt to turn his head, keeping his eyes on the mirror as Finn had no doubt instructed him. He was definitely hard, Adam noted.

"Does he look upset?" he asked Kurt.

Kurt was watching Noah's calm, blissful face in the mirror. "No," he admitted.

Adam nodded. "I don't think he is. I'm sure he's just waiting for one of us to begin."

Noah let out his breath, sagging under the support of the cuffs, and made a small noise that made Adam's cock jump. He stroked Noah's back lovingly, letting it linger at the base of his spine. Then he backed away again, leaving Kurt to stand there behind Noah, holding the two floggers. He was certain Kurt wouldn't let Noah wait long — and he was almost as certain that Kurt would decide on the stingier of the two tools he held.

The sound of Kurt whispering gentle words to Noah while he peppered his back with slaps from both tools was blissfully sweet. Adam couldn't help sighing in appreciation, listening to him. He could see Kurt in the mirrored wall in the back, but he was distracted by the look on Finn's face. It wasn't particularly possessive or grim, but Adam could see an underlying hurt, one that he'd thus far hidden from Adam. He couldn't help wonder what had caused Finn to look like that. He had to admit he was surprised to discover Finn had layers; he'd seemed like a pretty simple soul to him.

But that might explain why Kurt and Noah love him, he thought, and gave Finn one more speculating glance — just as Finn looked at him.

"You want to go next?" Finn asked, his voice even.

"Whatever you want,"Adam replied, trying to make a grand gesture, but he was pretty sure it just looked like he was trying too hard. He covered with a smile, but Finn didn't return it. He held up the tawse.

"That'd be good. I haven't used this tool on somebody else before."

Adam caught the subtlety in that. On somebody else. Meaning you've had it used on you. Not for the first time, he felt his own inexperience looming before him, a barrier that only he could see. It was funny how Carl didn't make him feel that way, but this seventeen-year-old kid sure as hell did.

"I'm sure Noah will love it."

Finn nodded, already preoccupied with Kurt, watching him winding down. Adam knew he didn't have the arm strength to go very long with that flogger — he had indeed picked the one with the firmer strips of leather — but Noah was already squirming under the impact. Kurt took one look at Finn and stepped back, breathing hard from more than just effort.

"All right." Finn gestured, staying where he was. "Adam?"

Noah made a little moaning noise at the sound of Adam's name. Being there, beside Noah, looking at his red, raw back was a lot less like being on stage than he'd expected. Carl was right: it wasn't public. This was intimate. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sure he'll remember his safe word," he said to Carl, kind of like a question. Carl nodded.

"We'll all be listening, whatever he says." He smiled. "Puck's never been so safe. He has all three of his Tops, right here."

There was another noise, more fragmented, from Noah. Carl's smile widened.

"I love that sound," he said, like he was confiding in Adam. He put a hand on Adam's shoulder, directing him toward the St. Andrew's cross. "That's the sound of a very good boy, being so good for his Top. Waiting, ready to take anything you give him. Don't you feel so lucky, hearing that sound from your boy?"

"Yeah," Adam agreed, his voice coming out hoarse. "God. Yeah." He looked at Noah again, feeling more confident, and rested the paddle against Noah's behind. "He's such a good boy."

"Ohh," Noah groaned, even before the paddle hit. It was like the actual impact was happening five seconds before the leather impacted his skin. Adam could feel the shock of it run up his arm and into his core. He had to check himself to be sure he wasn't actually hitting Noah too hard. He heard Kurt's breathing behind him, ragged and quick, echoing Noah's.

"Are you okay?" he said quietly to Kurt. Kurt nodded in response, his eyes on Noah.

"It's intense," Kurt said. "But I… I'm good."

Adam didn't even bother to try to shut out his surroundings while he finished paddling Noah. It might have been possible to pretend this was a performance, that it was no different from being on stage, or doing a public scene at the club. But this didn't feel public, not here. Not the way Kurt was breathing, or the noises Noah was making, or the way Carl was nodding at him approvingly — like he had anything to do with what was happening. Fuck.

He placed one more swat in the center of Noah's red behind, then took two steps back. Adam realized he was sweating hard enough that his hair was sticking to his forehead; he brushed the locks out of his eyes impatiently.

"All right," he said, to himself as much as to Finn.

But Finn wasn't the one stepping forward. It was Carl, clearing the space in the center of the room with a cautionary sweep of his hand. They all moved back to stand along the walls, well out of range, while Carl let the supple length of leather coil along the floor.

"Puck," Carl said, his voice gentle. "I want you to listen to me. You're going to hear some very loud noises. It's not the sound of the whip hitting your skin that you'll hear. It's the sound of the cracker, breaking the sound barrier. I'm going to take very good care of your skin, all right? You don't have to worry, but if you are worried, you can tell me to stop, and Finn will take his turn. Using your safe word with me won't mean the end of the scene. Do you understand?"

Noah didn't answer right away, but Adam saw him turn his head a little, nodding, and finally say, "Yeah, I get it."

That made Adam relax a little. Noah might be falling into subspace, but he wasn't losing his clarity of desire. He wasn't going to call Carl sir.

Carl seemed satisfied with this answer. He shook the whip, once, twice, and then did the move that looked like it was straight out of Indiana Jones. There was a crack. Kurt flinched; Adam managed to restrain the impulse to do the same. There was no mark on Noah's back, but Adam watched his left shoulder twitch. Carl paused a moment, then did it again. This time the right shoulder twitched.

"Finn," Carl said, and Finn came forward immediately. "Stand next to me, right here, so he can look at your face in the mirror."

Finn didn't take his eyes off of Noah after that. When Noah squirmed away from the impact of the lash, which still wasn't leaving marks, Finn spoke to him gently, calling his attention back to the moment. He called him Noah, which Adam hadn't known Finn did, but it didn't seem to surprise either Noah or Kurt, so he guessed it wasn't the first time he'd done it. Carl just stood there, his arm making relentless, countless identical arcs through the air, the snap of his whip invisible to the eye.

Noah had gone still by the time Carl stopped. He spoke quietly to Finn, who nodded and carried the tawse with him as he moved closer. He ran his hand over Noah's back, and Noah shuddered, but didn't speak.

Adam felt a warm touch. He looked down to see Kurt's hand in his. Kurt didn't look upset, but he wasn't speaking either. Adam thought they all felt it, the solemnity of the moment, being here and giving Noah what he needed.

Finn only made four strokes with the tawse before Noah began to cry. Adam couldn't be sure the reason, not from across the room, but Finn didn't seem to be striking him very hard.

"You know how to get me to stop," Finn said calmly, which made Noah cry harder. Adam clenched Kurt's hand harder, but Kurt looked serene, even blissful, watching Finn work.

"There's no reason not to say it, if you're done," Carl told him. "We're here to give you what you want. If you don't want it, all you have to do is tell us to stop, and that'll be the end. Whatever's happening here is just for you."

"God," Noah moaned. He sounded frantic. "M — red, red, I can't, please —"

Finn dropped the tawse on the ground and moved toward Noah at exactly the same time Kurt did. They surrounded him, reaching to unhook the suspension cuffs, and recaptured his shaking arms to fold them into his chest. Adam waited, though he had to bite his tongue on the impulse to call out to him. This was Finn's show, and Noah was wearing Kurt and Finn's collar. Adam wasn't going to interfere. Noah didn't need him, not at the moment.

But Noah looked so conflicted, so agitated, that Carl ended up approaching the two boys trying to comfort him. "Take him back to your room," he said. "Don't let him out of your sight. He's having a crisis; there's nothing to indicate why, but he's not going to be able to tell you what it's about until he's out of subspace. Make sure he's warm and hydrated." He turned to Adam. "They're not supposed to be alone on the third floor. Would you go with them?"

Adam nodded. Kurt still looked worried, but Carl leaned in and kissed Finn and smiled reassuringly before ushering them out the door and closing it behind them. Adam put a hand on Noah's shoulder as Kurt and Finn half-carried him to the staircase and back downstairs to their room.

When they got to the room, Adam turned down the hallway to the door to his room, but Kurt reached out and clasped his hand.

"Stay?" he asked.

Adam looked up at Finn, and when Finn nodded, he nodded back.

"Yes, thank you," he said, trying not to sound stiff.

"Whatever's going on with him," said Finn, unlocking their door, "we probably all need to hear it."

Noah collapsed on the bed before Kurt could even pull the blankets back. He shied away from all of them, curling into himself, until Adam let out a determined breath.

"Noah," he said, trying not to feel self-conscious about using that Voice in front of Finn. Noah quailed. "You're going to take five more seconds to calm down, and then you're going to tell us what frightened you."

"Can't," Noah gasped, shaking his head, "can't, it's too — I can't."

"Sweetheart." Kurt was soothing, not caustic, but Adam could tell he was frustrated. "You can tell us anything."

Finn sat back a little ways, one hand on Noah's leg, but otherwise letting Kurt do the holding. "Can I guess? Like, yes or no questions?"

Noah's agitation quieted somewhat. After a moment, he nodded, his face still hidden.

"Is it about what we were doing upstairs?"

Noah shook his head immediately. Kurt stroked his back, all along his spine, letting his hand rest on his neck, his lower back.

"Is it about what Carl said up there?"

A longer hesitation this time, and he nodded again.

"About… asking for what you want?" Finn guessed.

"You didn't want it to be just for you," Adam said quietly. Kurt looked at him, startled, but Noah nodded yet again, so Adam went on. "You hate feeling selfish, even when you do want something. You never do anything just for yourself."

"I do," Noah protested, despair in his voice. "I'm totally selfish."

"Not when you're like this. When you feel safe and loved, all you want to do is give. You can't have it be about what you want."

Noah choked on his response, trying to disappear into Kurt's arms. Kurt sighed, kissing him.

"I think I knew he was feeling that way," he said. "I just didn't know what to do about it. How do I keep him feeling bad about getting what he needs?"

"Make him work for it," Adam replied.

Kurt caught his breath, looking at Finn with hope alight in his eyes. "Do you think — could it really be that simple?"

Finn still looked perplexed. "What?"

"Noah," Kurt asked, tugging him back so he could look at him directly. Noah rubbed his red eyes and did his best to pay attention. "You don't want to move into my house?"

The conflict was so obvious, Adam could almost trace its progress on Noah's face. Kurt nodded, taking his silence for an answer.

"What if I told you we needed you? All the things you can do, cooking for us, being there for Sarah, and —the baby, when she arrives. And other things, too. You're such a good boy, you'd be able to give us exactly what we need."

"Kurt," Finn murmured, looking uncomfortable, but Noah was nodding, hopefully, almost frantically.

"I want that," he said. "I want — to be like that. For everybody. But your dad, he'd never be okay with that. He'd freak out if I told him —"

He stopped, his mouth closing abruptly. But Kurt's face was clear now.

"If you told him," Kurt said, stroking his head, "that you wanted to serve us. All the time."

Noah closed his eyes, taking a shuddering breath, almost like a wince. "God."

"Oh." Finn looked stunned, but it only lasted for a moment. He scooted down the bed, bringing his face level with Noah's. "That's what you want? For real?"

"I know I can't," he said, still shaking, his eyes remaining closed, "I know I can't fucking have that, not — not in real life. Not if I want to be the kind of boyfriend you guys deserve. Not if I'm going to be her Papa."

"Noah, you're wrong," Kurt said firmly. "We want you to have exactly what you need. Not because you're selfish, but because when you get what you need, you're — your best self. The kind of man your daughter's going to need, to be a good Papa."

Noah started crying again, but this time he opened his eyes, looking at Finn with that same wild pleading look.

"No fucking way," he spat. "You don't want that. You don't want a guy who just —"

"Submits?" Kurt asked, smiling. Finn chuckled. "What kind of a guy do you think we want, sweetheart?"

Noah was at a loss, staring at Finn. He just shook his head again.

"Do you think you'd be a burden?" Adam asked, moving closer to touch him, too. Now they were all three surrounding him. "That being like that would make you somehow less valuable to us?"

"Well, I would, wouldn't I?" Noah sounded a little calmer now, like he was asking the question instead of assuming the answer. "If I wasn't relying on myself anymore, that'd be a bigger deal for you guys."

"Maybe in some ways," Kurt countered, "but you'd be giving back in other ways. And — Noah, I think it might give you what you need. Really. That would only be good for all of us, for you to have that."

Noah was silent for a moment. "And how do you think you could explain it to your dad?"

"I could do that," Adam said. All three of them turned to look at him. He nodded. "It would be okay. I think he would understand it differently, coming from me. And I imagine Carl would be helpful here, since he has a slave."

They were all quiet. Finn looked a little stricken, but Kurt nodded slowly.

"A slave," he said. "That's… that's really what we're talking about here, isn't it?"

"That wouldn't totally piss you off?" Finn asked, sounding fascinated. "To be a slave? Our slave?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I think — it would just be fucking weird, but —" Noah's face was flushed. "No. It wouldn't piss me off."

"Like Angela," Kurt added.

Noah thought about it. "Yeah, but I could never be that awesome. She's totally in charge of everything."

"But that's the way you are in the kitchen. And with the kids, when we babysit." Adam was startled at Kurt's comment, about Noah with Brad's children, but the more he thought about it, the more he was sure Kurt must be right. Kurt looked earnest and entirely certain of himself now. "I think the reason she's so strong and in charge is because she's getting what she needs. Maybe you could have that too?"

Noah was clearly overwhelmed, but he wasn't hiding from contact with them anymore, and when Finn touched his collar, his eyes closed and he sighed. Adam reached out and took his hand.

"I don't even know what that would look like," Noah said, his voice hushed. "What about school? And at the garage?"

"It doesn't have to be 24-7, honey. Most people don't do it everywhere or all the time. You only wear your collar at home in the bedroom, right?" Adam waited until Noah nodded. "It could be like that. When you get home, you have someone put your collar on you, or something like a collar, to act as a trigger that now, things are different, that you belong to them. That you're there to serve them."

"It's okay for you to want that," Kurt added. He nudged Finn, who paused in the middle of his focus on Noah to listen to Kurt's words.

"Uh… yeah," Finn agreed, his voice a little shaky. "It's totally okay." He gathered Noah closer to him, like he might need something to hold on to. "You really… you think that would… like, solve everything? That would be enough to get you to — to move in with Kurt and your sister and — everybody?"

Everybody. Adam suppressed his irritation and squeezed Noah's hand again. Everybody except me.

"I know, it sounds stupid," Noah sighed, but Finn cut him off with a reproachful eye-roll.

"Not stupid. That's totally not what I meant at all. I'm saying, if that's really what you want, it seems like a pretty small thing to ask for. And — dude, it would be for us."

"Sort of." Noah shook his head, closing his eyes. "I don't even know anymore."

"It's okay. We can talk more about it when we get home." Kurt's face was so hopeful and determined that Adam wished he could say something, caution him against putting too strong of an expectation that this actually would solve everything. He leaned in and kissed Noah, snuggling into Finn and Noah's embrace. Within a few minutes, Noah's breathing had evened out, and he was sleeping peacefully.

"He won't sleep long," Adam said. "Isn't this nap number two today?"

"Good preparation for tonight." Kurt extricated himself from underneath Noah, then moved in close to Adam to hug him tightly.

"You okay?" Adam murmured.

Kurt nodded, looking at Finn, still wrapped up in Noah. "I think so. That was… intense. What we did, upstairs, yes, but I'm talking about this revelation."

"I think as long as he knows he's not getting in anybody's way by being in your house, it wouldn't be anything but beneficial." Adam shrugged. "You're really all that surprised?"

"I guess not," said Finn. "On the surface, it sounds bizarre, but… I think after knowing Angela, I can see how it would… I don't know, suit him?"

"Angela. She's Carl's slave?"

"For now. Historically he trains slaves and then they find another employer who can give them what they need, but so far she's refused to leave." Finn nodded at Adam. "That, what we did upstairs? That was okay?"

Adam refused to bristle. "It was fine." He added, after a moment, "Thanks for including me."

"Hey." Finn's voice was soft. "I'm not trying to be an asshole here. You're really important to both of these guys, and all of this, what we're doing, it means something."

Kurt was waiting quietly, listening to his body language. Adam took a deep breath. "Yeah. I know. I'm not trying to be an asshole either."

"It's just…" Finn went silent. He gave Noah a little nudge, rolling him onto his side and pulling the blanket over him before coming over to stand by Adam and Kurt. He hesitated, then put a hand on Adam's shoulder. "We're talking about, like, tattoos and things? I'm… well, I'm not a tattoo kind of guy, if you know what I mean. Doing this with the five of us, this would be… special." He put his other hand on Kurt's shoulder. "And whatever else happens between you guys, I felt like I should make that clear."

Adam could see the way Kurt's eyes were going liquid and soft, but he also was pretty sure Finn wasn't just saying those things for Kurt's benefit. He smiled, feeling some of the tension ebb. "You'd better watch out. You're within hugging range."

"I think I can deal with that," Finn said. It was more a one-armed hug, with Kurt in the middle, but it was a good start, and a hell of a lot better than animosity or jealousy. Adam let Finn hold on as long as he was willing.

"Thanks," Finn said quietly, close to his ear. "For being willing to share him."

Adam laughed. "Are you talking about Kurt or Noah? Either way, I'm pretty sure you got there first."

"Noah. And I kind of lost whatever claim I had when I beat the crap out of him. He forgave me, and I still don't know how I got that lucky, and…" Finn struggled to keep talking. "I want you to know, I'm never going to hurt him like that again."

He didn't quite know what to say. It was like Finn was trying to apologize to him, and it felt so completely unnecessary and so good at the same time that Adam just shook his head. "I — I know you won't."

Kurt was standing there, watching them solemnly, wiping away silent tears. Then he hugged Finn hard, let go, and did the same to Adam. Finn stroked Kurt's hair while Adam held him.

"I love you," Kurt whispered.

"Love you too, baby," Finn whispered back, kissing his cheek, and this time, it didn't feel bad to Adam at all.