Remus left the Dark Side as soon as their episode ended. Janus stopped him just long enough to order him to keep his collar on, his shirt off, and to tell Sir to not touch his back. Janus didn't like for Remus' injuries to be too focused on one spot. His back didn't hurt anymore, but Remus knew from experience that it would be sensitive for the next few days. Cuts and broken bones he could heal immediately, but Remus couldn't do a thing about soap.
Remus hoped that Sir wouldn't be too unhappy that he was wearing Janus' collar. Sir respected that Remus belonged to Janus, but Sir could also be really sensitive about his preferences and opinions being overlooked in favor of someone else's.
Remus snuck into the Light Side. By the conversations he heard he could tell that the others were still eating. That was good. Sir wouldn't be very happy if he had kept him waiting. Keeping to the shadows, Remus peered into the kitchen. He immediately saw Sir sitting at the table. He was writing in his notebook between bites.
Sir wasn't participating in the tabletop conversation at all. This either meant that he was stressed about work and didn't feel that he had the time to spare to have meaningless conversations, or he thought that the others might ignore him and he didn't want to give them the chance.
Either way, Sir was stressed, and Remus couldn't help but be excited about it. Their games were always more fun when Sir was already frustrated going into it.
Remus grinned to himself as he summoned his morning star. He snickered and threw his morning star, sending it flailing right into the middle of the dinner table. Patton and Virgil yelped in alarm and panic. Roman swore in a way that could have been really colorful and original if he hadn't made it into a musical theater pun.
The only one who was unbothered was Sir himself. Logan turned in his seat to see Remus. For a long moment Logan looked confused by his presence, and Remus was worried that he would wave him off like he normally did. Had Logan forgotten about their play night?
Finally a look of understanding came to Logan's eyes. He nodded and closed his notebook. "If you'll all excuse me, I have a prior engagement that must be taken care of." Logan stood up. He grabbed Remus' morning star, ignored the others' questions and terrified comments, and made his way to Remus, who was watching him cheerfully.
"Come along, your Grace," Logan said casually. Remus giggled and followed him into his room. As soon as the door was closed and locked Logan grabbed Remus' arm in a bruising grip. He pulled Remus close to him.
"What have I told you about bringing attention to yourself when we're scheduled to play?" Logan asked coldly. Remus gasped as Logan twisted his arm painfully. He loved when he got rough with him.
"S-sorry, Sir." Remus smiled to himself. He knew that was the only response that Logan would accept in this situation. He was quiet for a moment, but he had a comment burning in his mind, and he couldn't hold it in. "I was just checking in. I thought you'd forgotten me."
Logan gave Remus a harsh push, knocking him to the ground. It probably wouldn't have been even a little painful if he hadn't landed on his back. Remus hissed and arched his back to relieve the pressure, only to grunt in pain when Logan pushed his foot down on Remus' chest, nudging him back to the ground.
"W-wait." Remus said. Logan immediately took his foot off of Remus' back.
"What's wrong?" Logan asked, his voice dripping in concern. He knelt next to Remus and reached towards him, though he avoided actually touching him. "Please don't tell me you got careless in the Imagination and hurt yourself."
"M-master." Remus took a deep breath and sat up. His back was hurting again. "He had to punish me, like, an hour ago, and you know how I am with soap."
Logan frowned slightly, looking more like his usual self than he usually did when they played. Remus hated seeing this look from Logan at the moment. He was supposed to be Sir right now. They were supposed to be playing. Remus didn't want to drag him away from their scene and characters before they even started.
"Roll over." Logan said. His tone left little room for arguing. At least he was still commanding respect, whether he was Logan or Sir, that didn't change, at least in Remus' eyes. He obeyed, rolling over so he was lying on his stomach. Logan carefully looked over his back.
"Well, you'll heal." Logan said, though he still sounded unhappy. "I still don't like it when Janus causes an allergic reaction."
"Master knows how to take care of me." Remus insisted. Logan sighed.
"So you keep telling me." Logan said. He stood up and stepped away from Remus. "You can get up now." It wasn't exactly an order, but Remus obeyed him anyway. He lifted himself so he was kneeling, looking up at Logan. He didn't quite have his Sir look in his eyes, but he wasn't as distant as Logic usually was.
"Are you too hurt to play tonight?" Logan asked. "We can reschedule."
"No!" Remus protested loudly. He wriggled closer to Logan till he was practically kneeling on his feet. Looking up at him from this angle was awkward and humiliating, and oh so much fun. Remus could tell by the way that Logan smirked slightly and his eyes narrowed that he was enjoying himself too.
"Please, Sir, I want to do this." Remus practically begged. "You have no idea how badly I want this."
Logan grinned and loosened his tie, and Remus felt a rush or pride and eagerness. That was the sign that Remus was looking for that Logan was ready to get into this.
"Very good." Sir said, clearly pleased. "Now, before we begin, we should make sure we're on the same page."
Remus was about to pout and whine. He didn't like talking about feelings and having healthy communication, but the burning feeling in his back reminded him to keep his mouth closed. While Janus didn't like being questioned, Sir hated it even more to be disregarded at all. Maybe later tonight Remus would push his luck, but not so soon after they had started.
Instead he kept his face as even as he could manage. He nodded. Logan gave him a very small nod of approval.
"Did you Master give any restrictions for tonight?" Logan asked.
"My back is off limits." Remus said. Logan narrowed his eyes at Remus. It was incredibly similar to the look that Janus had given him just before he'd dragged him off into the kitchen. Remus had said something wrong, and he didn't know what.
"So you knew that your Master didn't want me doing anything to your back, and yet you didn't think to tell me until after I had already pushed you?" Logan's tone was cold, and Remus knew he was in trouble. He kept on getting in trouble with his doms today, and he wasn't even trying to be a brat.
Logan sighed in disappointment and walked towards his desk. He pulled his chair out and turned it so that it was facing Remus before sitting on it.
"You understand that I'll have to be talking to your Master about this." Logan said. "He gave you an order, and by not telling me immediately you made me go against his wishes. He's going to think I don't take good care of his property, and then we won't be able to play anymore. We don't want that, now do we?"
Remus shook his head rapidly. He loved playing with Sir. "I'll tell him it was my fault. He knows how I am."
"But when you're with me, you're my responsibility." Sir shook his head. "I'm sure your Master will blame you, but he'll blame me as well. It took me a long time to earn his trust, and now I may have to do it all over again, just because you didn't think things through." Logan leaned forward. He was eyeing Remus like he was a puzzle just begging to be solved. "You've inconvenienced me quite a bit, and I think that deserves a punishment, don't you?"
"Yes!" Remus said loudly and eagerly. He wriggled happily. Logan narrowed his eyes at him.
"You're so energetic tonight." Logan said. "Maybe you'd focus better if you were sitting still." Logan nodded towards his closet. "You know where my ropes are. Go get them." Remus nodded and immediately did as he was told. He didn't know how this was supposed to be a punishment. He liked bondage, and Logan knew this.
"Are you going to tie me up?" Remus asked eagerly.
"It's not exactly a punishment if you enjoy yourself." Logan said. He turned back towards his desk and opened the dresser. He pulled something out that took Remus' breath away. It was a leather head harness with a muzzle attached.
"I've had this idea for a while," Logan said. This was probaby the first time that Remus had seen him look excited about giving a punishment. "Ever since I heard that you and Janus enjoy pet play. I admit, I didn't understand the appeal, so I did my research. I don't think it's my thing, but the thought of muzzling you, forcing you to be quiet, well, it intrigued me."
Logan held out a hand, and Remus approached him. He handed Logan the rope and then bent over so that he could put the harness on over his head. "Does Janus do this with you?" Logan asked
"No, Sir." Remus said as Logan adjusted the buckles and straps. "He doesn't like to silence me." Janus wouldn't even use his powers to make Remus silence himself. According to Janus, Remus went unheard so often that it would just be cruel to silence him even more. Logan looked so excited though, and Remus was always up for trying new things, so he stood as still as he could manage as Logan put on the harness and made sure the muzzle was firmly put in place.
"Good," Logan ran a hand across Remus' cheek, brushing the muzzle. Remus whimpered and leaned into the touch. Logan grinned in satisfaction at the muffled sound. "That means that this is just for the two of us."
"We're going to try something a little new today." Logan said. He took off his tie. "I had been thinking of choking you with this, just to see what kind of reaction we'd get, but since Janus' collar is in the way I suppose I'll have to do something else." Logan leaned forward and wrapped his tie around Remus' eyes. "How's that feel?"
Remus grunted and nodded. He loved the way that Logan's tie felt on his skin. Logan very rarely incorporated his tie into their games. This was a rare treat, and Remus appreciated it. He hoped it would continue to feel nice.
One of Remus' go-to methods of dealing with his intrusive thoughts was by screaming them at the top of his lungs, but he couldn't really do that when he was muzzled like this. It probably wouldn't be a problem, as playing these games and giving up control helped him to empty his mind and get rid of the intrusive thoughts, but Remus knew that when any of his senses were taken from him, like sight, that left his mind more vulnerable to the not-so-nice thoughts that liked to sneak up on him.
Remus had been blinded before during his games with Janus, but it had never happened while he'd been unable to talk as well. Remus liked this, really he did, but he couldn't help but worry about the possibility of overwhelming intrusive thoughts.
"Are you ready to continue?" Logan asked. Remus nodded. "Very good." Remus jumped when he felt Logan put the rope back into his hands. "I'm going to need you to listen very carefully to me today. I'm not going to tie you up. You're going to tie yourself up."
Remus jolted. He couldn't see anything. He had experimented with tying himself up before, quite a lot, actually, but how was he supposed to do that without his sight?
"Don't worry," Logan said. "I'm going to talk you through it. If you do exactly what I say, you'll do just fine." So, Logan was desperate to be listened to today. Remus could do that. He nodded eagerly.
"To start with, take a few steps back and sit on the ground, ankles together." Logan said. They were simple instructions, but Remus could think of a couple of ways he could sit and keep his ankles together. After a moment's thought he pulled his legs together and set his ankles in front of him.
"Good," Logan said. "Now take one of the ropes, and we can begin." Logan began to walk Remus through binding his ankles in a relatively simple tie, though it took him several minutes to do it to Logan's liking. Once Sir was satisfied he told Remus to bring out his tentacles. Remus was more than happy to bring them out, though he immediately flinched.
His tentacles had a mind of their own, and the suckers liked to cling to anything they could reach. A number of the suckers latched onto the skin on his back. Remus usually liked the feeling of his suckers pulling and sucking at his skin, but his back was sensitive, and the tentacles aggravated it.
It didn't really hurt, it was just on the painful side of ticklish. This was nothing. Remus didn't think this counted as hurting his back, so he wasn't technically breaking Janus' rules.
"You're handy with your tentacles, aren't you?" Logan asked. Remus nodded. "Take the next rope with your tentacles. Put your wrists together. We're going to be doing the same tie as we did around your ankles." Remus couldn't remember exactly how to do the tie. Fortunately, Logan was in a teaching mood, and he didn't mind walking Remus through it again. It took longer than it had with his feet, as his tentacles weren't nearly as dexterous as his hands were, but he eventually got it.
After Remus' hands were bound Logan had him kneel on all fours, with his knees and elbows together. Logan had him use his tentacles to do the same tie to bind his knees to his elbows. His movement was restricted. He couldn't even crawl.
"You look fantastic." Sir said breathlessly. "You listened to me so well. You're such a good student for me, aren't you?" Remus nodded and whimpered. He was good. He'd done what Sir had said, and he'd done it well. He'd helped Sir to actually enjoy punishing him. He was a good boy for Sir, just like he was a good boy for Master.
He wasn't perfect for either of them. He frequently messed up without even meaning to. Just this evening he had questioned Master, disobeyed him, and disappointed Sir, but that was okay, because he was still their good boy. He could be what they needed from him.
"Your tentacles are quite impressive." Sir said in awe. "I've been meaning to study them. There's so much I'm curious about. Can you feel pain through your tentacles? Do they have their own brains, or do you have complete control of their movements? Do they still lie under your skin when you pull them back?"
Remus could have easily answered all of these questions, but he knew that Sir had fun looking for answers on his own. He liked the challenge and satisfaction that came with finding solutions.
Logan sighed. Remus heard him get up from his chair, and a moment later he felt him kneel next to him. Logan slowly and carefully began to untie him. "Unfortunately, I have some work to do, so I'm afraid we're going to have to call it a night."
Remus whined in disappointment as Logan untied him. His feet and hands were tingling and a little sore, but Remus didn't want to be free. He squirmed slightly to try to keep Logan from getting to the ties around his elbows and knees, but Logan just put a hand on the back of his neck. Remus froze.
"I know you want to play more." Logan said. "But I really do have to work. We've already been doing this for longer than I had intended." He finished untying Remus and moved on to take his tie off from around his head. Finally, Logan took off his muzzle and harness. Remus stretched his jaw and rubbed it.
"How are you feeling?" Logan asked.
"A little sore." Remus said.
"That's to be expected." Logan said. "Some ice should take care of that right away. I'm sure that the others have left the kitchen by now. You should be able to pick up some ice and a snack without running into trouble."
Remus frowned. That...that wasn't right. "You...huh?" Logan gave him a curious look.
"Is there a problem?" Logan asked.
"You...what 'bout a-af-af-" Remus' words got caught in his throat. His thoughts felt all muddled. Something felt really wrong, but he didn't know why it should. This really shouldn't be a problem, so why did he feel like it was?
Logan's slightly concerned look quickly became slightly impatient. Remus shrank in on himself. What had he done wrong this time? "Remus, I really do need to get to work. If you need something, you need to tell me, but I can't read your mind, and I don't have the time to try to decipher your gibberish. Not tonight."
Remus flinched. He may be fluent in gibberish, but that hadn't been what he'd tried to say before. He just hadn't been able to get his words out, and even now just the thought of talking was too overwhelming to consider.
Logan watched him for a moment, waiting for him to say what was on his mind. A minute or so passed before Logan sighed and turned to his desk. "Remus, I don't care if you get the ice or not, but I need you to leave me to my work now."
Remus jumped and scrambled to his feet, pushing past the way that his legs trembled. He really hadn't been tied up for very long. His legs should be fine. Even if they weren't fine, Remus couldn't take care of them here. Sir didn't want him around. He couldn't bother Sir, not when he was busy. If he did, he would upset not just Sir, but Master as well, and Remus couldn't do that. He'd disappointed and frustrated them both enough for today. He couldn't test their patience more than he already had.
Remus staggered out of the room. His limbs felt like they didn't want to move, but he couldn't afford to stop. Sir had ordered him to go to the kitchen...no, wait, no he hadn't. Sir had suggested the kitchen, and then said that he didn't care. But was this one of those orders where it was phrased as a suggestion to trick him, but really was an order like any other? Or did Sir not care what he did and didn't want to be bothered about it?
Remus didn't understand. Sir was always so specific and clear in what he wanted. There wasn't supposed to be any room for interpretation. This...this had to be Remus' fault. Sir always gave clear orders, so they had to be clear this time too, and it was Remus' own fault that he couldn't figure it out.
Were they even playing still? Remus didn't know. Sir said he had to work, and he'd sent Remus away, which usually meant that they were done, except Sir always ended a game the same way that Master did, by giving that aftercare that they insisted was so important. There had been no aftercare, so that had to mean that they were still playing. But if they were playing, then what were the rules? What was Remus supposed to do?
Remus stopped halfway down the stairs. His legs were shaking, and his tentacles were waving around like crazy. They were still clinging to and sucking on his back. It was really starting to sting now. He wanted them to stop, but he couldn't put them away. His tentacles hated being pulled back, and whenever Remus did it they started clinging even more than usual. All of his tentacles would grab into his back and refuse to let go, and Remus didn't know if he had the will right now to force them away, and he didn't want to try when he knew it was just going to hurt.
The only thing Remus could think to try was to climb up the walls and onto the ceiling. If he was upside down then his tentacles would be more likely to dangle down instead of dance around his back. He reached for the wall and started climbing it. He barely made it three feet off the ground before his hands and feet stiffened and started to tickle even more than before. They gave out on him and Remus fell to the ground.
Three feet wasn't a very far fall, but the stairs weren't a very wide place to land. Remus was sent tumbling down the stairs. This was the kind of thing he would do for fun, but he'd never done it with his tentacles out before. Remus let out an agonized yelp when he landed harshly on his back. His tentacles were trapped beneath him, and they didn't like that very much.
His tentacles started squirming and wriggling around frantically, nudging and brushing up against his back non-stop. It hurt, and not in a good way either.
Remus whimpered and forced himself to roll over. Everything hurt, and he didn't know why it was bothering him so much. He liked pain. He thought that it tickled. Physically, this pain he was feeling, even the stuff in his back, felt no different from the pain that Remus would purposefully cause just because he was a little bored. So why was his mind telling him that something was wrong, that this pain was bad and was too much? He'd dealt with much worse than this before. Why was his mind only complaining now? What was wrong with him?
"...Remus?" A cautious voice that Remus was all-too familiar with said. "Are you okay?"
Remus was just fine. It was his stupid head that was insisting that he wasn't. He wanted to say as such, but stopped before he could even get a sound out. He lifted his head and looked at Virgil, who was standing at the top of the staircase, looking like he couldn't decide whether to turn and run the other way, or come closer.
Remus' eyes widened. Oh no. He'd messed up again. Sir didn't like it when he interacted with the others before they began playing. That must mean that Remus also wasn't supposed to talk to them when they were in the middle of a scene either. And they were in a scene, otherwise they would have done aftercare. That was how it worked. Those were the rules.
...Rules. Master had rules, and he insisted that they were followed. And though Master didn't like being questioned, he liked to answer clarifying questions. So did Sir, but Sir was busy and shouldn't be bothered. Master was probably busy too, but one of his rules was that he was never too busy to take care of Remus when they were playing, so maybe he wouldn't mind an interruption so much.
Sure, Remus wasn't playing with Master, but he was playing with Sir, and Master had said that Remus should ask for him if he needed help with Sir. Remus didn't want to need help, but he didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know what Sir's rules were right now. How was he supposed to follow the rules if he didn't know what they were? Master probably knew. He knew all the rules.
Remus?" Virgil was closer now. His caution was almost entirely replaced with concern. "Dude, you're really freaking me out here, and not in the way that you usually do either." Remus whined. No! He hadn't wanted to upset Virgil. Sir would be disappointed in him again, and Master would be so upset. Master was trying to be friends with Virgil, and that wouldn't happen if Remus scared him away again.
"Remus!" Virgil said in that double tone of his. He sounded scared. Remus was going to be in such big trouble, and he hadn't even done anything this time. Virgil was the one who had found him. Virgil was the one approaching him. This wasn't his fault!
Remus growled to himself and slammed his hands against his eyes. Maybe if he couldn't see Virgil he would just go away. It was like that theater rule. If you can see the audience, they can see you. Which meant that if he couldn't see something, then they couldn't see him either, right? Wasn't that how it worked.
Virgil made an alarmed sound. "Dude, what...what happened to your hands? Are those...wait a second, you were playing with Logan, weren't you?" Virgil's tone was calm and even. He didn't sound mad or judgmental, but Remus still had to repress a sob when he heard his words. Virgil knew. He wasn't supposed to know. Sir didn't want the others to know. That was why he insisted that Remus not talk to the others before they played, right? Because he didn't want Remus to let the cat out of the bag.
"Hey, it's okay." Virgil said. "I'm not mad or anything. If it's safe and consensual, you do you...you are safe, aren't you?" Virgil sounded concerned again. He probably thought that Remus was taking advantage of Sir...wait a minute, was he? Maybe that was why Sir had kicked him out, because he thought that Remus only cared about what Sir could do for him. God, he was terrible, and he didn't even realize it.
"Y-you're really scaring me, Re." Virgil said quietly. He almost sounded like he was about to start crying, and that felt like a kick in the nuts. Even when Remus wasn't doing anything to hurt Virgil he was still scaring him. "Please, just...just talk to me. Say something. Anything!"
"...E-E-Eden." Remus said quietly, almost inaudibly. The moment the word escaped his lips it was like a key had unlocked the door and Remus suddenly couldn't keep anything in anymore. "Eden. Eden! God fucking dammit." Remus pressed his palms against his eyes so forcefully that he wondered if he could push them right into his brain. His tentacles started writhing fiercely, making his back sting sharply. "Eden, Jannie, Eden!"
A/N Just so we're all perfectly clear, both Logan and Remus make some BDSM mistakes in this chapter (more Logan than Remus). Nobody's perfect, and everybody messes up sometimes, but one should take extra care in these kinds of relationships. Communication is key.