Remus was bouncing off the walls, literally. He would launch himself at a wall, cling to the side just for a moment before kicking off of it and launching himself at the next wall. He was so excited. It was play night, and he couldn't wait. Remus knew that if he had too much energy while they played then he would be even more fidgety and bratty than he usually was. If he was playing with Master tonight, that might be okay. Master liked to tame him, at least, during their play nights.
Tonight though wasn't for Master, it was for Sir, and Sir liked nothing more than obedience. If Remus was bad, Sir would have to punish him, and while Remus enjoyed the punishments, Sir didn't have nearly as much fun with it. Remus wanted Sir to have fun with him, because if he enjoyed himself, then he would come back and play more.
Remus didn't think he'd be able to get rid of all of his energy, but at least he was trying, and hopefully Sir would recognize that and reward him for it.
Remus continued to run around, laughing and screaming out his intrusive thoughts. He only stopped when he heard Janus whistle. Remus immediately screeched to a halt, literally, screeching as he stopped, and looked towards Janus, who was sitting on the couch, watching him. Janus looked amused, but there was a fond and challenging look in his eyes. Remus grinned broadly. Oh, he was a lucky boy today. He knew what that look meant.
"Remus," Janus snapped his fingers and pointed at the ground in front of him. "Come here, boy."
Remus grinned and clapped his hands excitedly before he dropped down to his hands and knees. He quickly crawled to the couch. Janus took off his gloves and held a hand out to him. Remus nudged his head against his hand. Janus smiled and pet him gently for a moment before he smirked and tightened his grip painfully around Remus' hair. Janus gave his hair a harsh yank. Remus whined as he was pulled up. His instinct told him to stand up and relieve the pressure, but he knew the rules. When he was on his knees for his Master, he couldn't get up until he was given permission.
"You're making so much noise." Janus clicked his tongue. His tone was similar to what one would use when they were talking to a misbehaving dog, and Remus lived for it. "Are you really that desperate for attention?" Janus loosened his grip slightly on Remus' hair, giving their signal that this wasn't a rhetorical question. He wanted to be answered.
"It's play night with Sir." Remus said. "He doesn't like it when I bounce off the walls with him, so I'm doing it now."
Janus' expression softened. He stopped yanking on Remus' hair and returned to petting him. Remus whined and nuzzled against him. It felt so nice.
"Are you trying to be good for Sir?" Janus nidded approvingly. "Such a good boy. You're so good for us." Remus fidgetted excitedly. He loved it when Janus was pleased with him, especially when he was playing the part of Master.
Janus moved his other hand to Remus' chin. He made him look up at him. Remus whined slightly when he saw Janus' small frown.
"Did you talk to Sir about your play night?" Janus asked. "He's very busy with work this week. I know you two like to play on Wednesdays, but you can't just count on him being available."
Remus quickly shook his head and sat up. "He said we could." Remus said desperately. He didn't want Janus to forbid him from playing with Sir tonight. As Remus' Master, Janus' commands trumped Sir's. "He said it would be shorter tonight, but we could still play."
Janus hummed slightly and gave him a stern look. "Fortunately for you, you're not lying." Of course he wasn't. Remus rarely ever lied, let alone to Janus, but he would especially never lie to him when he was his Master. That was one of their rules, and Janus took his rules very seriously.
"However, since tonight is going to be different, and your Sir will probably be a little more impatient than usual, we need to go over your rules before you leave." Janus said.
"What?" Remus pouted. Janus' eyes darkened and Remus knew he had slipped up. He may be playing with Sir tonight, but he was with Master right now, and Master didn't like to be questioned.
Janus tightened his grip on Remus' hair again, harsher than before. He yanked on it, making Remus tilt his head back and expose his neck. Janus snapped his fingers and Remus' collar appeared around his neck. It wasn't tight or uncomfortable, not unless Janus wanted it to be. It most often served as a reminder to Remus, and everybody else, that he belonged to Janus.
I may allow you to play with your Sir," Janus hissed. "But you are mine, and I expect you to follow my rules and commands." Janus stood up, still holding Remus' hair, and made his way into the kitchen, pulling Remus behind him. Janus released his hair and pointed at a corner. Knowing better than to test his Master's patience when he was already going to punish him, Remus crawled to the corner and put his head against the wall, just like he knew Master wanted him to.
He could hear Janus working in the kitchen behind him. Remus shuddered when he heard the faucet turn on. He knew what Janus was doing, and he both dreaded and looked forward to it.
"I gave you rules that you need to follow when you play with Sir." Janus said as he turned the water off. Remus couldn't help but wriggle slightly when he heard the twisting of a cap. Janus clicked his tongue in disapproval. He snapped his fingers and Remus' shirt suddenly vanished.
His excitement and unease grew when he heard the swishing and shaking of a bottle. He flinched when he heard the test spray of the bottle. A moment later there was another spray, and Remus cried out in pain and alarm when he felt the water mist hit his skin. The water itself was cool, but it immediately became a burning sting.
Janus had added just a touch of soap to the water. It wasn't enough to cause him any real harm, but even just that small amount of soap was enough to hurt. Janus knew about his allergy, and he liked to use it to his advantage as a proper punishment when Remus was being particularly bad. He never took things too far though. Janus knew Remus' limits, probably even more than Remus did.
The slightly soapy water on Remus' back was just starting to ease in pain when Janus sprayed him again, causing the burning sensation anew. This was one of Janus' favorite forms of causing pain, for it to be just a little excruciating at any given moment, but for the suffering to be prolonged rather than absolute torture all at once.
Janus continued on for nearly five minutes, with Remus barely being given a break. His back felt like there were tiny, fiery insects biting him hundreds of times over. It hurt so good.
Janus finally stopped his punishment, only to return to the command that had sparked this punishment in the first place. "Now, tell me what those rules are."
Remus sniffled and pushed his forehead against the wall. The pressure wasn't a very good distraction from the stinging across his shoulders and all down his back, but at least it was something.
Janus sighed in displeasure and sprayed with the bottle again. Remus flinched and cowered slightly, but he didn't feel any stinging droplets. It was just a warning shot. "The rules, Remus. Number one?"
"Say our safeword if Sir goes too far." Remus said.
"And what will happen if you use your safeword?" Janus asked.
"Sir will stop what he's doing." Remus said. "He won't touch me again until you arrive. You'll take care of me, and you and Sir will talk about what happened. If you don't like what Sir has to say, I can't play with him anymore. Otherwise, you will supervise our next five scenes, just so you know that Sir knows how to take care of me."
Janus put a hand on Remus' back and rubbed it, spreading the water droplets. Remus hissed. "And?" Janus encouraged. Remus didn't respond right away. "Come on, pet, you know there's more. Why else would I need to watch you and Sir play?"
Remus sighed. He knew what Janus expected him to say. Janus had drilled all of this into Remus and Sir before they were even allowed to start playing. Remus just didn't like this part. It involved his least favorite parts of these games. Still, Janus was expecting an answer, and Remus knew he had to give it to him.
"...You're supposed to be there so that I know that I'm safe." Remus said quietly. Janus hummed in approval and pet Remus' head.
"That's a good boy," Janus said. "Now was that so hard?"
Remus grimaced. "Yes." Janus chuckled. He grabbed Remus' collar and gently pulled him to his feet.
"I was going to go over the rest of the rules with you." Janus said as he started to pull Remus out of the kitchen and towards their rooms. "However, I think it's more important that I remind you how important it is to take care of yourself."
"I don't need it." Remus tried to insist. Janus just petted his hair gently as he brought him into his room. Remus was only allowed into Janus' room for aftercare.
"The very fact that you're saying that is proof that you do, in fact, need it." Janus said. He led Remus to his bed. Remus didn't say a word as he layed down on his stomach, baring his back for Janus to take care of. "You know this is the most important part of our games." Janus summoned a towel. He gently began to dab at Remus' back to dry it off.
"But we didn't really do much." Remus tried to argue. He hoped if he was bratty enough then Janus would have to punish him. It didn't work though. As soon as Janus started his aftercare he refused to lose his patience with Remus, no matter how much he may deserve it.
"That doesn't matter." Janus dried his back until it wasn't even a little moist. Janus then summoned some soothing ointment, which he began to expertly massage into Remus' back. It felt nice, which was exactly why Remus didn't like it. He liked pain and torture. Soft and comforting touches just felt wrong.
"I don't care how long or short a session is." Janus said. "And it doesn't matter if it's intense or not. If you play with me or Sir, you need aftercare. Do you remember why?"
Remus fidgeted slightly. He didn't like it when Janus asked him these kinds of questions when he was providing aftercare. Normally if Master asked a question, Remus was punished if he didn't answer it right, but he knew that Janus wouldn't punish him now, as it would defeat the purpose of aftercare.
Remus had no incentive to answer Janus' question, but it didn't feel right to ignore his Master's question. Remus sighed. "Because we play roles during our games, and it can be hard to just slip back into reality." Remus turned his head to look back at Janus. "But I always act like myself when we play."
Janus raised an eyebrow at him. "I assure you, Remus, you most certainly do not. You try to be obedient and well-behaved when you're with me or Sir, and I know for a fact that's not something you normally care about."
Remus frowned. "I try because it's what you want." Remus liked having play partners, and he was willing to give them what they wanted to make it happen.
"And we appreciate it." Janus continued massaging Remus' back. "And that's the other reason why we do aftercare. We want you to know that you're not just some toy for us to take our frustrations out on. Me and Sir care about you, so we want to make sure you're properly taken care of."
"But it makes me feel weird." Remus whined.
"That's because you're not used to it." Janus said. He knelt on the bed in front of Remus' head and summoned a stick of deodorant. Remus smiled and opened his mouth, letting Janus feed it to him. Remus lifted his head and rested it against Janus' thigh. He may not like aftercare, but he did like using Janus' leg as a pillow. The attention was nice too.
"I can't always give you the attention you need." Janus said quietly, regretfully. "Me and Sir are both really busy, but we should never be too busy to make sure you're okay. That's why we do aftercare."
"Can we at least call it something else?" Remus asked. The term aftercare made him feel weak and pathetic. It made him feel like somebody who fell to pieces if he wasn't pampered just right. It made him feel like Roman.
"We can discuss it later." Janus promised, and Remus knew that he would keep his word. Just like how Janus expected Remus to not lie to him, he did his best to not lie to Remus either. "Now, do you know what Sir is wanting from you today?"
Remus thought about it for a second. Sir liked to plan everything out and be organized, but he rarely told Remus what he had in mind. Sir sometimes saw their games as an experiment, and he felt that the experiments worked best with a sincere, raw reaction from Remus. However, Remus knew that Janus wasn't talking about what kinds of games Sir had in mind for that night.
Sir used their play nights to work through his frustrations and find some closure from things that he felt were unsatisfying about his regular life. Sometimes that meant that he encouraged Reus to actively talk to him, ask questions, and engage in the discussion. Other times it involved gagging Remus and not allowing him to say a word all night while Sir did all the talking.
"Nope," Remus said unashamedly. Sir wasn't nearly as forgiving during their games as Janus was, but he always gave Remus at least a few minutes to adjust to what he wanted that day. "Any suggestions?"
"That would be cheating." Janus smirked. "Sir's usually pretty good at telling you exactly what he wants." He wasn't wrong. While Janus liked for Remus to know exactly what he wanted with nothing more than a look, Sir always liked to be thorough in his instructions, even if they were doing something that they had done dozens of times before. Sir didn't want to take the chance that he would be misunderstood.
"What time are you supposed to meet him?" Janus asked. "You know how much he likes punctuality."
"After dinner." Remus said. "His dinner, not ours." The others had dinner promptly at 6:30 pm every evening. Janus and Remus on the other hand were more flexible about their meals. Remus preferred to eat later, between 10:00 pm and 4:00 am, and sometimes if he was really caught up in his creative spells, or when his mind was being especially unkind, he would skip a meal or two.
Janus snacked regularly, whenever he craved something. He was a big believer in indulgence. Janus was always the one to encourage Thomas to have that sugary snack in the middle of the day, even if it would spoil his appetite, and generally Janus liked to follow that pattern himself. Janus only ever ate large meals when he was feeling hungry, which only happened once a week or so. Remus wondered if it was because he ate so many snacks that he didn't need big meals, or if he was just going that extra mile into the snake aspect of it all. Janus refused to answer either way, so Remus was left to his speculation.
Janus flicked his wrist, summoning a clock. They didn't keep clocks in the Dark Side. Remus didn't like to adhere to a schedule, and Janus claimed that hours and telling time was just a construct of men to encourage conformity. Remus didn't entirely understand what that meant. All he knew was that since they didn't follow a schedule most of the time, he didn't have a bedtime, and that was a win in his book.
Remus and Janus looked at the clock, which read 6:12 pm. The others would be having dinner soon, and Remus knew that Sir expected him to be in his room waiting.
Janus sighed. "I would prefer it if I had more time for the aftercare."
"I still have twenty minutes." Remus said. He may not like the thought of aftercare, but there were certain aspects of it that he enjoyed that he didn't often get otherwise. "Can we cuddle and watch What We Do in the Shadows?"
Janus frowned slightly. "The episodes are just a little long, but sure, we can watch just a single episode."
"And cuddle?" Remus asked again. Janus chuckled.
"Of course," Janus said. "You know I always like to sponge off your body heat. You're like a living furnace."
"It's the mix of acid and fire I inject into my bloodstream every morning." Remus said cheerfully. Janus gave him an odd look.
"How do you inject fire into anything?" Janus asked.
"Very carefully." Remus giggled. "I can show you sometime, if you want."
"Maybe later." Janus said. "Maybe Sir would be interested in your process." Remus was excited with the thought of sharing anything with Sir. He was one of just a few sides who bothered to listen to anything that Remus had to say.
"Do you want to go downstairs or stay up here to watch?" Janus asked.
"Up here." Remus said instantly. He loved watching movies in bed. "I'm comfortable."
"So am I." Janus said. He waved his hand and summoned a television, with Remus' favorite episode already set up. Sometimes Remus wondered if Janus would be able to survive as a normal human, unable to bend the world to his whim. Remus thought he'd make a pretty good human if it weren't for the pesky laws that would get him locked up immediately.
Remus snuggled up against Janus as the episode started. He may be looking forward to spending time with Sir, but he was still going to enjoy his time with Janus.