Just trying to quickly get this done so I can move on to the others and get them done too. Also, a pretty dark lemon ahead. Proceed with caution
That night when Tala reached home, Bryan was sprawled across the couch with both their puppies dozing on his stomach. No, they weren't their puppies, they were Tala's, and it wasn't home, it was Bryan's house and never before had he felt it so acutely in his bones.
He stepped closer and watched their revolving side table lamp spill colorful lights across the fair face of his boyfriend, trying to feel something, anything. He couldn't even find it within himself to hate the man, far less love him. Living with him even after finding out the truth must have done that. He didn't know why he was numb, now. The anger that had cooled and solidified in the pit of his belly was nowhere to be found and he gazed upon the smooth porcelain skin with a clinical fascination he had never associated with Bryan before.
As he turned to move away, a hand tightened around his wrist in a vice-like grip.
"Where were you?"
He wondered if this was how he treated Ray. He didn't love the idea.
"I grabbed dinner with Mariah today."
"Uh-huh. She told me you were with her when I called her to ask. Except that's exactly what Kai said when I called him too. Which brings me back to my first question. Where were you?"
Tala whirled around to face Bryan, who was sitting up, with Frost and Fenrir now asleep on the sofa. He opened his mouth, then realized he had nothing to say so closed it again. Seeing that he would need to bullshit his way out of this one, and not wanting for their voices to raise and startle Fenrir who was only starting to get comfortable, he jerked his head in the direction of the bedroom and allowed a scowling Bryan to pull him inside.
Once the door was secure behind them, he pulled his wrist out of Bryan's hold and crossed his arms. "So I fancied a drink alone. What'ds the big deal?"
Bryan's eyes bulged out to comical proportions as he threw his arms out. "You fancied a drink?! You fancied a fucking drink?!" He shook his head in exaggerated disbelief and Tala rolled his eyes. "Well, did the entry pass to whichever club you were in also required you to be shady about fancying that drink cause you could have just told me!"
"I would have if I knew you were gonna blow up like that! That's the entire reason I told you I was with Mariah!" He screamed a little louder than he wanted to.
"NO! The only reason you said you were with her is you don't want me to know where you really were!" Bryan was absolutely livid now and Tala really couldn't recall when his boiling point was met and passed, and the redhead wanted to laugh.
"When have I even once, in our past two years together, given you reason to doubt me, Bryan?! Why can't you just trust me here?!"
"Because you have never disappeared on me like that, never lied to me like that and it's making my head spin why you'd need to, now!"
That made Tala shut up in a bitter moment of realization. What the fuck was he doing?! Millions of people got cheated on and whoever did this?! Why couldn't he just break a car and get on with it?! He should have just left Bryan instead of dragging Ray into this stupid plan which he could clearly foretell wasn't going to please him any.
Bryan growled in his throat and pushed Tala against the wall roughly. "You reek of guilt, bitch."
Hold the fuck up.
He reeked of guilt?! When all he had done the entire evening was be there for Bryan's bloody boyfriend, playing Bryan's bloody role! The bastard couldn't even cheat properly and he had the nerve to be tearing into Tala like he was the one out there two-timing! Where did this crazy fuck get all these shamelessness? Did they sell it out in the market? Was he the only one who hadn't received the fucking memo and decided to stick with being faithful instead?!
Roughly, he shoved Bryan away. "I DID NOT cheat on you, NEVER have and NEVER would if everything magically goes right. Where is all this coming from Bryan? Cause from where I am standing, it looks like you are just projecting your own motherfucking guilt on to me!
"Get away with your half-baked suspicions and this controlling behavior! You are gonna let everything slip away from you if you don't get a grip right now!" He could no longer tell if he was talking in regard to himself or Ray.
The nerves that acted up only added to the elder's rage, and he grabbed a fistful of the red hair and tugged on it, hard. Stepping threateningly close to Tala, he whispered, seething, "Where. Were. You?"
Wincing, the cerulean eyes teared up as he gazed at his boyfriend, (ex-boyfriend? Cheating nightmare? Roommate? Yes, roommate) his skull throbbing in pain as the fist kept twisting around and shaking his head hurtfully. "You will not believe a word I say till I confess to sucking some random guy's face in a dingy alley behind a stupid bar, and I am not going to lie to you like that."
With a huff of anger, Bryan let go of him. Big mistake, the moment he did, Tala pounced. Pushing him back down onto the floor, his hand tightened around his throat. Bryan's eyes widened in fear as Tala applied pressure while pulling back his left to backhand Bryan across the face. Hard.
He could feel Bryan writhing underneath him, hands clumsily changing track between trying to pry his hand off and pushing his torso back, but there were tears slipping out of their eyes now and they knew they weren't going to turn back that night.
That face, those features, so familiar… two years… two fucking years with this man who had cheated on him and then accused him of doing it… and all Tala could think of was how he had made Ray cry.
Ray… fucking Ray… fucking Ray with his sharp canines and love for animals… his long-ass hair and that smile, that godforsaken smile… that smile this bastard had taken away from him.
He couldn't even tell who he was angry at anymore, Bryan, Ray or himself.
He was taken by surprise though when Bryan's hand pinched his side. He yelped, and the man underneath took that opportunity to grab the back of his neck and crash their lips together. Their teeth clashed together painfully, and he was pretty sure Bryan sliced his offending lip against Tala's teeth.
More prominently, he felt Bryan's hard cock against his hip and he couldn't help smirking.
Pulling himself away, he sat up again, grinding his pelvis down onto the other's hips. "You really like this, don't you? You like being humiliated like this?" Bryan kept his mouth stubbornly closed, but his fingers had found Tala's waist and were currently digging into it. As expected, a thin trail of blood went front his lower lip and lead to just above his chin. "Is that why you kept pushing me? Waiting for me to push back so you could satisfy your sick perversions? Oh, I will humiliate you all right." Reaching up, he grabbed a fistful of the faint lavender strands before pulling Bryan's head as far back as it would go, giving himself ample space to suck on his neck. Latching on to the front of his throat, he wiggled himself a little farther back on Bryan's hips so that the older man's wandering hands could find space to undo Tala's jean buttons.
Just as Bryan's hasty fingers reached into his pants, he pulled back, then with immense effort, drew himself completely away from him. Looking him hard into the eyes, "Strip."
The older man stood up with a smirk, clearly hoping to put on show but Tala turned his back on him. There was a surprised halt in movements, and then the slap of a belt buckle and Tala chuckled before reaching into his bedside drawer.
When Tala turned back to Bryan, he was naked, rock-hard abs and tight thigh muscles displayed to the redhead's sight. His bright eyes were staring weirdly at the object in Tala's hand.
They had never needed to collar their dogs, they were small so they avoided collars at home and the two always traveled around in Tala's arms when they weren't out for walks. The redhead now held out the similarly red collar they had first bought for Frost to Bryan and he, still clueless, smirked wider and obediently fastened it around his neck, the vibrant red clashing beautifully with the pale skin of his untanned torso.
As he fiddled with the strap, the redhead produced another device he had secretly bought and never used before. He chucked the mini cock shaped butt plug at Bryan, who caught it and stared at him in confusion. "Put that in. I don't care if you use lube, or not but I am not gonna prepare you for shit later. I am waiting in the car. You get three minutes, I don't mind if your ass is on fire by the time you are down there, but if you take a second more Bryan, you will pay and you will not enjoy it."
He stalked off to the door, leaving a visibly stunned man in his wake. Never stopping, he called over his shoulder, "And if you dare to cover up, god help you."
As soon as he was out of Bryan's sight, he ran a feverish and trembling hand through his hair. God, did the sight of that man naked and collared do things to him but he had to hold out. He had to show him for real, show him how Ray would never be able to fuck him like that, like how he secretly wanted to be taken.
Leaving, he stopped for his coat, keys, and Fenrir's leash. He didn't bother with Bryan's coat, he won't need it. Humiliation didn't have shit to do with modesty.
Bryan was in their doorway, in record time, before his three minutes were up, slightly shivering and obviously limping. He was hurt, that was good. Tala honked the horn, he had moved the car from the driveway across the street after making sure there was no-one out and about. They couldn't afford to be seen doing this by the neighbours after all but Bryan would have to cross the street to get to him and he could already see the elder's hesitation.
He blasted the horn twice more, almost as if threatening to wake up the neighborhood with it and the bastard finally got the idea, leaving the porch of their house and crossing the lawn to the front gate, his raging hard-on swinging in front of him. Desperate for some release, Tala freed and gave himself a couple of hard pumps before taking his hand off his dick. Gods knew the idea of what he was going to do to Bryan, coupled with the image of the aforementioned streaking across the street naked was bad enough as it was.
Quickly yanking the door open, Bryan got in, rubbing his biceps a little and wincing as his ass sank into the seat. His eyes immediately found Tala's member, and he automatically made to touch it but the redhead was having none of that as he grabbed, twisted and shoved the arm away. He was in charge here besides, Bryan touching him just then would make him explode.
He started the car without a word and tried to come up with something derogatory to throw at his partner's dick, except they'd all be lies. Their sex life had been pretty active and downright amazing, saying otherwise would not be believable.
So he pulled into town.
Bryan's eyes widened and from his peripheral vision, Tala saw his thin lips part. Cerulean eyes whipped towards him and glared, making him shut up. A satisfied smirk found its way on to Tala's lips. He was mostly the one receiving, and the power this gave him made him feel like he could pretty much rule the world.
He pulled up to a small stationery store first.
He knew the man who worked there, had slept with him a few years ago. Honking the horn, he rolled down the window, immediately catching the attention of said person, Spencer he believed, the dude's name was. Pretty big in build, completely submissive in bed.
Spencer grinned as he saw Tala and he motioned for him to walk over. Inside the car, Bryan's shivering hand grasped Tala's thigh and the redhead let out a sigh of relief. He wanted to humiliate Bryan alright, he was angry at him but he would never do something the other was not okay with. So it was good to register the shivering, for his roommate only ever shivered in arousal.
As the blonde giant walked over to them, Tala smirked. He could bet his ass that presented with the naked body in the car, Spencer would never notice his own aching dick. He heard Bryan's breath catch in his throat as the stranger's eyes raked over him. Spencer blushed a deep red and hastily tore his eyes away to find Tala's.
"That's alright Spence, you can look." He reached out to fist Bryan's leaking cock for the first time that night and Spencer's green eyes uncontrollably followed. "You can even touch if you want."
Spencer blinked once, twice and then tore his eyes away again. "No, no it's fine. Did you need something?"
"Yes, a black marker please." Tala held up the money needed, or to be specific quite a bit more than the money needed. Spencer hastily tore it out of his hand and rushed into the shop, a visible tent forming in his own pants.
While he was gone, Bryan relaxed his hold on the jean-clad thigh and Tala turned to look at him. His skin was flushed and illuminated by street lights and his hair looked messed up from when Tala had tugged on it. He rose a brow, letting his expression soften and Bryan looked on. Silent confirmation, this was alright.
When Spencer returned, he held out both the marker and the change from a distance, but Tala made no move to take either. "Oh, keep that." Spencer frowned, knowing something was fishy here. "Help me test that pen though. Can't be stuck with a faulty one. Round right up to the other side."
Hesitantly, the blonde man pocketed the money and did as he was told. Tala motioned for Bryan to open the door. He, in turn, gave one concerned glance at the traffic on the street to the side of which they had pulled over and threw the door open for Spencer, baring himself for whoever decided to turn and look in their direction.
Tala smiled a gentle, welcoming smile. "Step up don't look so nervous. I am out of paper, see. Guess skin will have to do."
By now, Spencer's hesitation had vanished. He had caught on to the smirk on Tala's lips and the lust in Bryan's eyes. He stepped closer, and leaned over Bryan, letting his hand rest dangerously close to the other's cock. "Any requests?"
"I think 'cur' should do it."
Grinning, Spencer uncapped the pen and started drawing across Bryan's chest while Tala reached over and tweaked one of his nipples. The lavender haired man threw his head back, and almost reached for his dick, except for the hard tug on his nipple that made him abandon the effort. His legs quivered instead, and he bit down on his lip. His half-lidded eyes found Tala's and the red-head let out a lengthy curse at having to control himself like that and refrain from fucking him raw right there.
"Pretty fucking sexy for a dog, isn't he?" Spencer straightened to admire his handy work and then looked over at his companion, who grinned in approval and mock saluted him. "Have fun, you two." He called, before shutting the door to the car and leaving.
Staring at the smoothly drawn black markings across the pale skin, Tala couldn't stop himself. He reached over and kissed Bryan, hard. He encountered no resistance when he shoved his tongue into the open mouth. Tongues tangled roughly and once that began, hands came into play, Bryan's fist finding his still exposed cock, for which he was rewarded a sound smack. He took his hands off him but whined in Tala's mouth and that cued him to part.
Starting the car back up again, he reached for his phone in his pocket. He had pre-programmed and set the device up with his phone before, all he had to do was hit a button.
Which he did and was awarded a loud yelp, so dog-like in nature Tala wondered if Bryan was taking his role too seriously. Without sparing him a glance, Tala drove on, his destination barely fifteen minutes away.
"Tala please."
"What?"
"Let me… let me touch…-", Bryan panted in between high-pitched groans.
"Let you touch what?"
"Let me touch myself." Finally forming a coherent reply, he waited hopefully for Tala's answer before growling in his throat when he was rewarded with a sharp twist of his left nipple.
Keeping the vibrations to a minimum, Tala allowed Bryan to make as much noise as he wanted, silently taking pride in the moaning, helpless mess he had turned the proud Bryan Kuznetsov into, till they reached where he was headed to.
Quickly undoing his seat belt, he turned to Bryan. "Go ahead." He said as he pushed the vibrations a notch higher. "Touch yourself."
The open mouth formed an o of relief as the cur visibly relished in the feeling of a hand upon him, even as the now faintly audible thrum of the vibrator filled the space between them. "Oh, fucking hell, God."
Tala turned on the video recorder as the purple-haired man pumped himself and gripped his own balls, eyes closed and lips parted.
"I am going to send this to the next person who texts me, Bryan." Of course, he won't and Bryan knew that too, which was why instead of panicking he continued jerking himself and letting Tala record it.
Tala's hand reached his own dick, which was in the periphery of the camera too and he ran a finger over the top of it. Quickly deciding he won't last much longer, no matter how much he denied himself explicit contact, he reached over and retrieved the leash from where he had thrown it in the back, quickly hooking it on to Bryan's collar. Hiking the vibrations to the highest they would go, he allowed himself the pleasure of listening to Bryan's moans escalate to wanton and painful cries before putting his phone away, getting out and rounding on him.
Yanking the door open, he was confronted with a panting, slightly drooling man, with his hands full and his ass in the air as he arched out of his seat. Tala lowered the vibrations to the barest minimum again so Bryan could walk. Quickly dragging his hand away from his cock, Tala grabbed on to the leash and pulled him out of the car, his own fly still undone.
Once outside, stumbling and shivering Bryan crashed into Tala's body, their dicks rubbing together. Tala thrust against him once, before pulling back and his cur finally took in their surroundings. They were standing in somebody's front garden, with another car in the driveway. Squinting at the name-plate on the door a few yards in front of him, Bryan could piece together that it belonged to the Wongs.
He looked up questioningly at Tala, who just yanked on the leash and jerked his face around. "Walk, and if you dare open your mouth…" he let the unfinished threat hang between them for a few moments before tugging on the leash and pulling him along around the dark house and into its backyard where they subsequently exited into thick woods behind it through the rickety garden gate half hanging out of the frame.
The car was Lee's, he and his friends were out here for a weekend getaway. According to Mariah, they'd be at the pond behind the house and he knew the way very well from the numerous times he had snuck off to it with Mariah, Kai, Johnny, and Michael. Walking the leaf-littered path that cut its way through the foliage they drew closer to where Tala assumed the pond was. To his relief, as they came closer, they could make out the orange glow of a bonfire burning through the thicket. He didn't personally know Lee, never had been introduced, and frankly, it didn't matter. If things didn't go to shit they'd never have to face the asshole tonight.
His footsteps halted, listening in for any sudden movements from the group that detected they had heard the crunching of the leaves on the path or any other sounds that would alert them to the presence of the two. That made the cur go quiet behind him too.
Unbidden, all that he had heard about Lee from Ray jumped to the forefront of Tala's mind.
Feeling conflict rise in his chest, he closed his eyes, excitement nearly dying out. Rapidly, he turned to Bryan. Looping his arms around the elder's neck he cocked his head back, offering the pale column of his throat. Bryan quickly bit down on to it and Tala let him suck at his skin before tugging on his hair and making him look up. Licking Bryan's lips once, Tala began pressing him on to his knees on the ground.
He had no idea why they had never tried it out in the open before because the moon rays made Bryan's hair and eyes appear silver and the way the celestial light danced off his skin, making the sheen of sweat on his torso shimmer, had Tala mesmerized by how beautiful he looked.
Softly, he whispered. "Right ahead of us are seven to eight boys having a quiet drinking party by the bonfire. You make one sound, and they hear us, I will leave you here naked with that fucking plug vibrating at its max for them to do with you as they please so all through this, you better keep your mouth shut. Hands behind your back, too. Got it?"
Gulping, Bryan nodded, eyes still trained on Tala's member. Lining the other's face up with his dick, Tala rammed it down his throat, the moment the mouth opened. Bryan was used to his size though and knew how best to angle himself so he could accommodate him well. Tugging at Tala's jeans, he pulled back till only the tip of the pulsating flesh remained in his mouth as he looked up into the rapidly darkening blue eyes, requesting him to take his pants off.
Tala took a second to admire the view, and the hasty word scrolled across his lover's pale chest but in response, simply pushed Bryan's face back onto his dick.
Pulling out to the tip again, he let Bryan suckle it and lick across his leaking slit. He had always enjoyed that. As the other's bright eyes lifted up to him, almost begging to be filled again, he reached down to fondle his own balls as Bryan was forced to keep his head where Tala had placed him.
It was only when the expectant eyes dropped from his face that he jerked back into Bryan's mouth, catching him off-guard. With hasty movements of his hips, he fucked it raw and deep while still cupping his balls. Faint sounds of laughter and chatter, littered the air around him as his cur gagged on his cock. He kept going.
Deciding to switch increase the vibrations again, he reached for his phone, only to find one unread message from Ray. Frowning, he felt his throat clench. Forgetting all about the vibrator he placed the phone back in his back pocket. The familiar heat of an oncoming rage warmed him and he cursed at himself for the confusing mess of angst and hormones that he seemed to be tonight. Nevertheless, he grabbed a happily busy Bryan by the throat again before forcing him to stand up.
A loud slap was delivered to his cheek forcing him to get rid of his sex-crazed expressions before Tala forced him to turn around. "For your sake, I hope you lubed up.", he growled.
Knowing he hadn't given him enough time to.
Landing a loud smack against his butt cheeks, Tala parted them to reveal the black plug, while Bryan, bent at an awkward angle with no support to rest his weight against, panted with urgency. Tala slid the plug out of him, Bryan giving out a low hiss with the movement. He was pleased to find his hole had been well stretched out, but it was dry as powder and Tala was awfully glad for that.
Sucking on two of his fingers, he put them inside Bryan, making him groan and clutch his own dick. He prodded him with his fingers a few times, reaching over with his other hand to grab onto his throat and get him to straighten. Despite the slight chill of the air, the skin under his fingers was now slick with sweat as Bryan cocked his head back and rested it onto Tala's shoulder. "Take it standing up, bitch." He thrust his fingers inside him thrice more, to lure him into a false sense of security. Then, pulling away quickly, he plunged his dick into Bryan's ass, hand simultaneously moving to cover his screaming mouth.
Bryan's own hands found themselves holding onto Tala's hips behind himself, who continued thrusting hard without pausing to let his partner get accustomed to the feeling. Bryan's body vibrated against him, and he remembered him once saying he loved the feel of cloth against his naked skin.
Thrusting faster and deeper, his hand returned to its place on to Bryan's throat. He knew with this angle, he would never hit Bryan's prostate but he didn't really care whether he came or not. He'd, in fact, be happier if the nasty little slut was fucked sore. If he wanted to help himself along, he was free to but given the way he was panting and jerking himself towards Tala, he could rest assured the man was going to get himself done.
With his free hand, Tala gripped Bryan's ass again, spreading it a little to provide more space. Biting a groan at the cramped friction along his shaft, he buried his face in Bryan's shoulder, resisting the urge to scratch his way down his sides.
Usually, when he topped, he would wait for Bryan to finish, but today he had no such qualms. Driving himself as deep as he could go, he bit along the fair shoulder in front of him zeroed in on his own pleasure and almost completely oblivious to his partner. If anything was truly humiliating about this night, it was Tala's newfound disregard for Bryan's pleasure.
His thrusts got harder, and slowly Bryan started to lean more and more into him. Tala could tell his buckling knees could hardly support him now and his expression was frozen in a wince. Yet the guy seemed to be enjoying himself, jerking off and moaning every time Tala's teeth dug into his flesh, his body rocking with the pounding he was receiving. All dry and overused like that, Bryan's ass was going to be on fire when he woke up next.
Feeling something thick and tense pool into his belly, Tala drove himself faster, hardly thrusting and more rutting into Bryan's ass, his balls smacking the other's skin in soft slapping sounds. Removing his hand from the bastard's throat he brought it on to the other ass cheek. Spreading them as far as they could go, he almost made Bryan topple over as he struggled to contain his own cries, shuddering.
When Tala's orgasm hit, it was strong but nowhere near as satisfactory as it would have been if Ray's name hadn't flashed across his screen.
Pulling out of a startled Bryan, he did up his fly with shaking hands. Undoing his jacket, he let it drop to the ground beside Bryan's legs and made to leave.
"Tala…-" A pained voice rasped out behind him.
"Finish and sort yourself out, I am waiting in the car." He turned away.
…
He wanted to bang his head against the steering wheel as he sat there waiting for Bryan to show up.
What the fuck had he just done?! One and half hour of mindless lust and anger ended with him wanting to slit his own wrists.
To start off, he had fucked Bryan without lube and didn't even stop to finish him off. Who treated their boyfriend like that?
Secondly, leaving Ray with those sad golden eyes still in the back of his mind, he had promised himself he wasn't going to sleep with Bryan again. That would absolve him of some guilt at least. He just couldn't be that person in Ray's story.
Now he had gone and shit over everything, all because Bryan had a dehumanization kink and Tala had things to prove to him.
With a sigh, he unlocked his phone to be met with Ray's chat thread, realizing he must have clicked on it before stuffing his phone away. He groaned and ran a hand over his face. Great! Now Ray could probably see he had read the messaged and must be thinking he was deliberately ignoring them. His suspicions were confirmed when he came across a string of worrying texts.
'Hey, thanks for the evening. I needed it and I am so sorry I unloaded on you out of nowhere. You must be thinking I am a big crybaby. I mean who tells someone their whole life story on their third meeting, lmao.'
It seemed light-hearted enough but Tala could clearly see the crippling insecurity behind it. Especially that 'lmao', the International online expression for nervous laughter. In a sense, he got it. It was clear Ray didn't share personal details with just about anyone so it must have been nerve-wracking to realize how much he had given away to Tala.
After fifteen minutes he had sent another.
'I mean, you were probably looking for a fun thing, just to kill a bit of time and I just went all Eeyore on you. That is, it felt nice for me of course, but I shouldn't have only spoken about my problems like that and I would totally get if you don't wanna like, do this again.'
Goodness, THAT was the text he had left on read? Could the universe actually deal him the worse hand?
The ones that followed after Ray must have seen he had 'ignored' the texts made his stomach drop.
'Tala?'
'It's okay if you don't wanna speak to me.'
'Like, it's not okay! I'd want you to but if you don't want that's fine. No pressure.'
'Ugh shutting up now.'
'Sorry.'
This time Tala actually hit his head against the wheel. Where had this boy let his thoughts run off to?! Hadn't Tala asked him to go out again and even promised to buy ice-cream?! Where was this coming from?! Did this guy not know trust?!
One second thought, he was probably used to be shamed for being honest about himself, and then abandoned.
There was no point in responding now. The contact bar said Ray hadn't come online after sending in that last text. Furious again, Tala honked the horn one more time, desperate for Bryan to show up.
He only had to wait two more minutes and he caught sight of a fair man walking towards him in the soft moonlight, wearing his tan leather jacket. Resisting the need to honk at him again and reminding himself that Bryan's limping gait was all his own fault, Tala impatiently drummed his fingers against the steering. Why couldn't this bastard hurry up?!
One more minute and Bryan was climbing into the passenger seat. As soon as he had closed the door behind himself, he turned to Tala and pulled him in for a couple of soft and brief kisses.
"That was good." Bryan whispered against his mouth and Tala couldn't help raising a brow in doubt. He'd be utterly pissed if Bryan had just left him there to make himself cum but then again, he hadn't really liked any part of tonight, which apparently Bryan had been wanting for a while now. It was hot, admittedly but this humiliating others thing? He would rather not. He liked it rough, yes, but he enjoyed pampering his lovers both before and after the act, making them feel so good about themselves, they won't ever feel the same with anybody else. So yeah, never doing that again.
Tala gave him a tight smile and quickly started the car.
…
When they got home, Bryan wobbled in and crashed almost immediately as Tala battled with the want to call Ray.
He took himself to the living room with a cigarette and settled next to where Fenrir and Frost were cuddled together on the floor at the foot of the couch. Lighting up, he came to a decision and let his fingers dial the Chinese beauty.
Ray picked up on the eighth ring. "Hello?" He slurred out groggily, and a smile ghosted across Tala's lips. Sleepy Ray sounded sweet.
"Check the caller ID."
A shuffle and a small gasp before Ray returned to the phone, considerably more alert. "Hi, how are you? All good?" He rushed on, breathlessly.
"We just met a few hours ago, you dumb. And I get your sorrow over not having taken the chance to listen to my dulcet tones more, but really aren't we overthinking a little here?"
A nervous chuckle. "Maybe."
"It was perfectly alright, Ray. I am sorry all that happened to you, but I am very, very happy that confiding in me could be of some help and I'd love to hang out with you more often, no matter how gloomy, angry, hyper or batshit crazy you're feeling just then. Alright?"
"Yeah, I just… I don't know what happened. God, I must seem like such a mess to you. I promise I am not this hopeless all the time."
"Can you promise me something else though?"
"Yes! I mean, yeah, what is it?"
"Stop being so fixated on what I am thinking of you. Just consider me as a safe space, okay? You can be completely honest with me, totally genuine. I am not judging and I am not gonna be thinking ill of you over anything you might tell me."
There was a pause and Tala could clearly picture him biting his lip. It drove him to lick his own.
"Thanks, thanks a lot Tala. I barely know you, and yet the more I get to, the more it seems someone like you is exactly what I need in life right now."
That made him feel all cottony inside. "Yeah well, don't worry. You got me."
"Heh, looking back, I am pretty happy I happened to catch your eye."
"Happened to? Oh sir no, you were bound to."
Ray chuckled a little. "Don't flirt with me." His tone had gone from bearing the warning it had the first few times, to being laced with shyness.
"Oh well, that's goodbye to my will to live." Tala sighed dramatically, unaware of his big, dopey grin.
"Mhmmm will I get to say a few words at your funeral?"
"I will make sure you do. Mention my undying devotion to you, make a point to."
"Only if you alter your will to clearly state that your pups will be handed to me as mine."
"Excuse me, they will go to my best friends. Those tiny puppers are what keep the two idiots alive."
"Never mind that. I am sure you'd like company up in hell, after all."
Another chuckle escaped him. "Not if it ain't your rotund derriere's."
"Tala!", Ray whined while sniggering.
"Sorry."
"…Tala?"
"Yeah?"
A brief pause. "Nothing. Good-night."
"Night, kitten."
…
When ringing the bell thrice didn't fetch a response, he called Kai.
"What?"
"Don't 'what' me, you lazy bitch! I have been standing here for two hundred and seventy-three years now, where the fuck are you?"
"The door's open. Thought you would eventually figure that out."
"Why couldn't you just text me that or something?!"
With a click Kai hung up, leaving Tala fuming again.
Turning the handle he found the door was indeed open. The moment he stepped into the posh apartment of his best friend, he was greeted with two Russian blue cats curling excitedly around his legs. Smiling, he dropped his duffle bag by the door and picked up the felines in both of his arms, stomping through the house to find its owner.
"Where's your asshole dad, guys?"
"In here!" Mariah's chirpy voice called out to him from the living room and he got pretty damn annoyed at that. If she was here too, surely she could've come up to open the door for him! Scowling, he headed to the living room where sure enough both of them were reclining on the couch with their laptops, Kai checking his mail and Mariah browsing through some weird site he didn't bother to try to figure out.
"You are both just sitting here! Why couldn't one of you come and get the door or something?"
"Didn't wanna see your face any sooner than when absolutely necessary." Kai remarked and Mariah nodded in agreement.
Smacking the back of both their heads, he went to plop down in between them, Kai's cats resting on his thighs. Immediately, Mariah spread her legs out on his lap, nudging the cats an inch or so away as he brought out his own phone and got busy for twenty minutes or so.
Till Kai finally looked up at him from over his thin, frameless spectacles. Tala thought they made him look a decade older but Kai insisted they were convenient and classy. "Why are you here?"
Tala sighed. "Mainly, because I couldn't bear having to look at Bryan all through the day. I needed a week or so away from him, but I suppose it's also because I have to start looking for a house. I want everything sorted before I move out."
"I have started looking actually."
"You started looking for houses for me, without consulting me?"
"I have put out some notices and shortlisted likely properties in good neighborhoods so you don't have to start from scratch, yes."
Surprised and yet not, (this was Kai Hiwatari after all, always a step ahead) he nodded dumbly before a smile broke out on his face. "Guess I am going to be okay after all?"
Mariah grinned, Kai smirked and Tala felt a little of his guilt chip away.
…
"You make me go in there and see him one more time, Ivanov and I will set termites loose in your hair!", Mariah seethed as she came in with both Frost and Fenrir tucked under each one of her arms. Queen was close behind her, holding the door open and smiling a greeting at him.
Both the puppies barked joyfully and skipped over to Tala the moment Mariah set them down. Happy to see them again after a whole three days, he spent a full six minutes fussing over them before calling out to the pink-haired girl who had taken herself and her girlfriend to the kitchen. "What did he say?"
"He was a total jerk!", she called back and he could hear her smack a pan on the countertop in apparent distaste. If Kai were home, he would scream at her to go easy on his cutlery but Tala didn't have that sort of courage. "Didn't even say hi to me when he opened the door and completely ignored Queen! Honestly, what is his problem?"
"He is just a man of loose morals and no courtesy. Don't bother with him, god knows I don't." Frost jumped onto his lap for cuddles and Fenrir, who had been running around the place and nosing everything in his new surroundings followed immediately after. Almost making the husky topple over with a rough shove, Fenrir settled in Tala's lap contently, bushy tail wagging behind him, and tongue hanging out, desperate for Tala's affection showers.
Mariah came back into the living room a moment later and squeezed his shoulder with a sympathetic smile. "If it's anyone's loss, it's his." Behind her, Utre and Veche, Kai's two Blues followed immediately trotting over to Tala to inspect both the newcomers.
Tala scoffed, not for a second doubting her words. "Don't I know that? He just played two of the most amazing men he could ever hope to encounter, and damn, is he gonna regret that." Saying, that he returned to his sketchpad, featuring his latest designs for the Fall-Winter collection. He had meetings coming up and needed to finish at least seven of them that night alone so he could be free to meet up with Ray the next morning.
….
Tala left Frost at the animal care Kai left Utre and Veche at every day, before heading over to pick Ray up from his house. The Chinese suggested they meet halfway, but Tala had insisted. Ray didn't need to drive when he could easily get him.
His neighborhood was exactly what Tala had assumed it would be like, all quiet, respectable and friendly-looking. Every house had a small front garden and neatly trimmed hedges. Ray's own house was a modest white-beige two storey with a 'Beware of animals' sign hanging outside the front gate. Tala assumed it must be nice, living a peaceful, non-chaotic life in there.
He pulled up outside and texted Ray he had reached. After a five minute wait, he responded saying he would take two minutes and then took fifteen to finally rush over into Tala's car with his trainers still untied.
With a sheepish smile, he put on his seatbelt. "I am so sorry, I was just sitting there in my towel when you texted me you had arrived."
"It's no big deal." Passing Fenrir, who was previously in the passenger seat, to Ray, who immediately began cooing at the puppy, he headed towards the breakfast place, he had decided to take his 'friend' to.
…
Over the course of the next two weeks, they texted regularly and met up five times, for coffee or drinks, or just so Ray could meet Fenrir. He always insisted Tala bring his other pup too, but Tala told him Frost was staying with a friend of his. The redhead had even gotten to meet Ray's other friends, all of who were immature airheads, whom Ray acted as a mom friend towards but Tala supposed they weren't bad at heart and fairly tolerable once he tuned them out.
Over time, they had gotten pretty close too. They joked and messed around for hours on end, without getting bored of each other, which was quite a statement, in Tala's case at least. Ray was playful and smart so it was easy for him to keep up with Tala's mischief-loving streak without getting butthurt, and the Russian in-turn craved the calm of Ray's presence which was a much-appreciated break from the controlled chaos that Tala's life always was. He had always believed he liked things to be fast-paced and lively, and to an extent he did but when it inevitably got overwhelming, the peaceful persona of the Chinese man was more than welcome to him.
As things proceeded into the dangerous territory of 'waiting for replies', 'checking if he's online' and 'wonder what he would think of this shirt', Tala's two best friends sat back and watched with satisfied smirks on their faces. It was nice to see Tala Ivanov be reduced to a giggling teenager once in a while, or more like for the first time, and they believed that he had actually forgotten what he first approached Ray for. His words had become genuine and his actions were heartfelt instead of being scheming and suggestive. Mariah was happy for him, Kai was worried to a degree but for once, they decided it was best to let things flow instead of interfering with the course of them.
However, the two weeks of respite were soon over and it would seem absurd for Tala to avoid going back home any longer. With a thunderous scowl on his face, he stomped around Kai's apartment ignoring the host himself, as well as the animals, on the last day of his stay there. He won't respond to Mariah's messages either and when Ray's notification pinged, he all but threw his phone across the room.
Letting Ray's call go to voicemail, he sat pouting in front of the TV and that was how Kai found him when he returned home with take-away that night.
As his friend placed himself next to him, Tala's pouting intensified. With a huff, the slate-haired man leaned into Tala's line of vision. "You don't have to go back. I can go get your stuff."
"Just this morning you asked me to get the fuck out of your hair."
"Since when do we take each other literally, Tala?"
"I really don't want to."
Kai shifted and leaned back, throwing his arms behind his head. "Then don't. Move out straight into your house when you have to." Yes, earlier in the week Tala had filed in for a cool ranch-style house that he had fallen in love with when he first saw it. There was a spacious back yard for Fen and Frost and his yet to come army of dogs, a garage to the side and fairly priced bar close by. Apart from that, Tala really wasn't a demanding dweller.
"That will give the game away, Kai."
"Are you even playing it any more?"
It was a question Kai had been avoiding asking him outright, not wanting him to snap and lose his shit.
To his surprise, Tala remained calm. "No, I am not." He paused for a second, then turned to look at his best friend. "I lost but well, Bryan didn't win either."
"I thought you would freak out."
Stretching back, and subconsciously moving closer to Kai, Tala said, "I like to believe I am a self-aware man, Kai and I can see it, I like him. I really do. It gets confusing. At times, I feel like I am deluding myself and that I have somehow managed to convince myself I have fallen for him just to be able to justify tearing him away from Bryan, knowing his history with Lee and everything. And yet, I know that's not it."
Intrigued and surprised at how openly Tala was speaking about this, Kai decided to question him further. "What is it, then?"
"I want to be close to him, and not because it would hurt Bryan but because I simply want to be."
"You can always tell him the truth."
"Should I though? If I would just step out of the scene here, he could have a real relationship with Bryan."
Kai quirked a brow, sensing more to come. "But?"
Tala smirked. "But I want him to be happy and I know for a fact I make him happier than that two-timing pillar of dog shit does."
…
Probably gonna be done in three more chapters.