Morning sunlight came streaming in through the ceiling skylight, casting dim shadows on one half of the room and blaring light on the other. Jack first felt it on his bare toes, a stark contrast from the cold air nipping on them as he walked the streets. It was an uncomfortable feeling, mostly because it was different. He wriggled his toes and realized not only were they warm, but they were also lying on a soft surface with fabrics draped over them. With his eyes still shut tight, he cringed and wrinkled his nose. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but it was definitely too comfortable for his taste.

Jack tried to sit up, but then he remembered he wasn't alone. Behind him, still pressed against his back, was the older man breathing softly against his neck. Now that Jack was fully awake, the feeling of his breath made the hairs on his neck stand on end and he tried to squirm as far away from Aster as he could. The handcuffs weren't exactly making that any easier and Jack worried their rattling would wake up his bed partner.

And he did not want that.

The boy scanned his surroundings again like he'd done on repeat since he arrived. Still, there were no window except for the skylight above him. Maybe he could get out the door? But then that left him with the cuffs to deal with.

Jack experimentally twisted his wrist against the warming metal. There was the slightest space between his arm and the cuff that gave him a little hope. Even though it wasn't a large space, it was still a space. With little confidence, Jack kept on twisting his wrist as quietly as he could manage. The friction he was creating made faint red marks appear on his skin, but he expected as much from all the strain he was feeling from beating his hands against the headboard the day before.

Just then, Aster made a sound in his sleep. Jack couldn't make out what the man said but he immediately halted his movements and waited in panic for the gang boss to say something else.

The gray haired man simply rolled over onto his back and slung an arm over his eyes. Jack snickered at Aster's light snoring. It really was a shame he didn't plan on staying with the boss any longer; Jack could have had a lot of fun teasing Aster about how he sounds like a sixty-year-old when he sleeps.

Jack resumed twisting his wrist around the metal. If he could just get his hand to slip out-

An idea struck him. A disgusting idea, but an idea nonetheless. With a regretful groan, Jack leaned down to the cuff-as he couldn't lift it without rattling them-and spat on his wrist.

This is so gross, he cringed to himself as he felt the warm liquid drip around his skin. Desperate times, I guess. Now that it coated his raw skin, he could slide the metal around easier and was incredibly relieved to see his idea actually working. How often did things go his way? Never. So he sure as hell wasn't going to take this godsend for granted. Jack pulled hard on the cuff and tried to curl his hand up as small as he could.

"Yes!" He said out loud when his hand was pulled free. Then after he realized what he did he slapped a hand over his mouth, silently screaming at himself for being so damn stupid. Aster moved again.

The hand over Jack's mouth pressed harder until his fingernails dug into his cheeks. Aster only rolled over again until he was resting with his back to the teenager. Fucking hell, was Jack's only thought as he let his shoulders sag in relief. Without taking his eyes off the sleeping figure, Jack inched his way off the bed and felt a swell of confidence when his toe touched the hardwood floor. The white-haired boy didn't waste any time tip-toeing his way to the door.

Locked.

Fuck me, he shouted over and over in his head. It's not like he could hop back in the bed and think up a new strategy! Aster would be able to obviously tell Jack tried to escape, the evidence was cuffed to the boss's wrist covered in spittle. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK! Jack gripped at his white locks, feeling them tangle between his fingers and he could just vaguely remember tugging at his hair the same way when he was a kid. Sometimes sleeping outside got so ice cold that the burning pain in his head was a relief. He supposed he did feel a little comforted by the gesture and he wondered: did he really want to go back to that? Scratching himself raw and bleeding himself dry just to try to feel what it was to be warm? He loved the cold-especially when it snowed and he could have snowball fights with the other orphans and bury himself underneath the white fluff, listening to it crunch under his back and watching it turn the place he lived in to a white utopia. But he always hated it when it got dark and cars sloshed brown muck from the day over the white ground. On top of that, he was always reminded of just how alone he was. He didn't sleep with the other homeless people, it just wasn't something you did-groups made easy targets. Damn it, Jack thought. Did Jack really want to go back to that?

Yes.

Bottom line, he didn't want to spend the rest of whatever life he had left chained to a bed waiting to get violated. He would rather die outside with his back leaning against a graffitied brick wall than have that man touch him anywhere.

Jack went for the doorknob again, this time jiggling it quietly to hear all the pins inside. It was a pretty standard door knob, but he didn't have anything to pick it with. Jack huffed in frustration and glanced around the room. Mid-morning sunlight flowed into the room, settling dangerously over Aster's resting form. Of course Jack knew how much he eas pushing his luck, but he went to the desk full of draws and checked them anyway.

A small gold key sat at the bottom of a few papers and envelopes in the top right draw. Jack felt the air leave him when he saw its lustrous shape pressed into the green velvet bottom. Yes! He remembered to say in his head. Jack pressed the key into the palm of his hand and felt relief flood over him when he squeezed it and felt its teeth dig into his hand. It was likely that he would have red indents, but he didn't care.

He eagerly thrust the key into the doorknob and twisted it. The key fit so perfectly, gliding in and opening the door quickly. Jack glanced again over at the older man fast asleep in the large bed before ducking out of the room.

Once he was in the spacious hallway, he picked a direction and took it, hoping he would end up at a door that would lead him outside. Dim lights barely lit the halls, and there weren't any windows either. Jack tripped a few times over his own feet trying to avoid the multiple armed guards patrolling around, but he was completely okay with it. A few times, he caught sight of some brighter light and ran towards it wholeheartedly hoping that it would be the way out. Over and over Jack thanked whatever deity out there that he hadn't been seen by anyone. He wasn't sure what he would tell them if he was-hell, he wasn't even sure many people knew he was here! Jack would rather not bet on that one though.

The orphaned boy couldn't hear anyone chasing after him yet, so he took that as a good sign and continued looking for a way out. The entire place was a stone labyrinth of heavy metal doors and lights hanging from insecure cords above him. Jack's breath began to fall short and his stride hesitated while he tried opening every door he came across. Gradually all of his confidence and hope diminished.

But he had to get out. He had to! So Jack picked up his pace again and tried another door. To his surprise, the knob turned easily and he thrust open the unlocked door. Of course the idea that he might just be leading himself further into the warehouse-esque building did occur to him, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

Jack froze when he heard an angry voice shouting behind him, unmistakably belonging to Aster. His heart pounded against his rib cage hard enough to give the illusion of a heart attack -and that might have actually been it. Jack couldn't help looking over his shoulder to check if the man was getting any closer. The sounds of the gang boss's infuriated yells were as clear to his ears as if the man were standing right next to him.

Well that's just fucking fantastic, Jack snarled dryly in his head. I don't think my situation could get any worse.

Immediately he regretted saying that because he knew from experience how prone he was to karma and jinxing himself. His paranoid self kept insisting he should check every three seconds to make sure nobody was behind him. But with his focus concentrated over his shoulder he forgot to look where he was headed and felt himself colliding with something hard.

"Ah!" Jack yelled, landing roughly on the cold floor. Only then did he see who he ran into and he wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not. "Who the fuck are you?"

The stout man stared at him. "Does Boss know his plaything is wandering on his own?"

Plaything? "I am nobody's plaything. You can tell your boss to go fuck himself!" Jack shouted, too angry to bother with keeping his volume down. At this point he was certain someone else heard. The idea of his escape was becoming even more chimerical by the second. What the hell do I do now?

The stout man with the rodent-like features made a grab for him, but Jack twisted away from his outreaching hand and sent one of his own long legs hurling into the man's chest. The man doubled over, gasping for breath and choking on the air. Jack didn't wait to see if the short man stayed down and took off down the hall. Good, this is good, Jack kept repeating in his head.

A voice shouted from somewhere behind him. "Can I rely on you for anything, Phil!?"

Of course Jack recognized the voice, but he didn't dare look back behind him. He kept his eyes focused on the expanding hallway ahead of him, staring intently for any hint of natural light, and listened to the thumping of his bare feet against the concrete. I'm not going to stay here. I'm going to go home.

Light flooded from somewhere at the end of the hall. It wasn't the same flickering artificial light that Jack had gotten so used to seeing so he sped up. He ran faster and barely registered how his breathing had become ragged and a heavy sheen of sweat had built up along his forehead. Yes!

He actually saw it. A faint glimpse of the outdoors from an open glass window. Relief flooded through him early the sight of it and when he felt the cool breeze of wintery air he almost cried it felt so good. Fear wasn't something he was used to feeling, so tears weren't something g he felt a lot either. But he just felt so damn relieved that he could go home to his alley that he embraced the cold wrapping itself around his watering eyes and making him squint.

The window was so close. It would be easy to just jump right through it and out into the streets. But there was something blocking his way.

Two men stood like stone golems in front of Jack's only escape route. The white haired boy skidded to a stop, feeling the rough floor tear at his skin. No matter how much adrenaline he had, he didn't have a chance of getting around them. Jack slowly began to back away, he could find another route, right?

Then more footsteps approached behind him and he whirled around. Aster stood in his boxers with the handcuff hanging off his wrist. The man didn't look at all happy and his face was contorted into a grim scowl. Jack gulped and found it hard to move. His feet were frozen to the floor and his breath caught in his throat. He looked all around him but there was nowhere for him to run. Aster took a step toward him and Jack took a step back, sending him right into the two bulky lackeys behind him. One grabbed him under the arms and pushed him to the floor. Jack felt the cold concrete scratch the side of his face with the force of it. He felt a certain warmth along the side of his face that smeared when the second man punch him. He hit him again after that, and a few more times until Jack had trouble keeping his eyes open. But he couldn't just close them. He didn't want to wake up in some unfamiliar place. No, he wanted to see exactly what was happening to him.

Aster told the men to stop and they did. They stepped back to let Aster closer to Jack's limp form. "You really are a troublemaker, aren't you?" He leaned in close, the cinnamon smell of his cigar fresh over his teeth. Then Jack felt himself being lifted. Two hands found their way under his knees and he could feel a bare chest under his cheek. "It really does pain me to do this, but I can't let some kid make a fool of me. What kind of message would that send to my subordinates?"

Jack tried to move, but a sharp pain in his ribs kept him from still. He wanted to ask what Aster was planning, but he couldn't find the words. He let Aster take him back down the hall, too depressed and hopeless to do anything about it. Sure his spontaneous plan was a long shot, but he still had faith it would be worked. Now he didn't know what he could do.

As expected, Aster took Jack back to his bedroom. This time, however, he didn't put the handcuffs on. Why isn't he..?

Aster tossed him on the bed. Jack lied down and watched the man move about the room. It was difficult watching him move about the room pulling open drawers and slamming them shut again. Black spots danced across Jack's vision trying to keep up with him. His eyes closed for a few seconds before he actually realized he shut them. He snapped them back open and tried to keep his focus. Then Aster was standing over him.

"I don't think using just the handcuffs is going to work," Aster told him. Jack glared up at the man, his eyes shifting between Aster's face and the object he held in his hands. Once again, it was made out of metal, but much more polished and expensive looking. When Aster stood at the foot of the bed, glowering down at him, Jack felt an uneasy feeling arise and tried to crawl further onto the bed. His injuries weren't exactly helping and Aster quickly caught on. "Not so fast sweetheart," he hissed and grabbed Jack's leg with his hand. At first Jack tried to pull his leg back, but stopped when Aster's nail started to dig into his exposed pale skin.

Jack hissed and grit his teeth. "Stop it," he squeaked. Talking was becoming even more difficult with every pained second. Aster didn't stop and Jack swore he had to be bleeding. However, the white-haired boy's head was too dizzy to tell.

"The sooner you realize who's in control, the better," Aster kept his grip around Jack's leg.

"Not likely," was the strained reply Jack gave him. The gang boss growled, his upper lip curling in a hate-filled snarl. Clearly he has issues with superiority, Jack thought to himself. The orphan watched the older man's face go from furious to some indecipherable emotion-almost...content? Whatever it was, it rattled Jack's mind to no end. He tried to push himself into the mattress, not really wanting to show he was actually scared, but also not wanting to get hurt.

Aster suddenly sunk his nails all the way through his skin and yanked the boy down closer to him. Jack screamed but Aster paid no attention and leaned in as close as he could to Jack's ear, "We'll see about that." Then Jack barely had time to blink before the man's fast came colliding toward the bridge of his slender nose and sparks danced across his vision like black, ashen snowflakes. Aster stood over him, watching the younger boy drift in and out of consciousness until that feisty frame stilled, and Jack's small chest rose and fell steadily with sleep-induced breathing.

Aster watched the boy sleep for a few seconds that soon turned into a few minutes. How can someone so intolerably annoying look so damn peaceful? Aster wondered to himself. He quirked an eyebrow at the way Jack curled in on himself-a habit, Aster guessed, he got from sleeping outside. The boy looked so young and innocent, even though the boss new he had to be at least sixteen years old. It almost made him think twice about what he was going to do. But if I don't, he's just going to run off again, and he will set a bad example for the rest of my followers. E. Aster Bunnymund doesn't go easy on anyone.

Aster looked down at the sleeping form and then at the object in his hands. With a regretful sigh, he slipped the silver collar over Jack's wintry neck and hooked its chain to the bed. He redid all the handcuffs Jack managed to get off and laid down next to Jack on the soft comforter. You will respect me, no matter what. And Aster unbuttoned Jack's pants.

…

I'm so sorry for the wait! I just got anally raped by my exams. Quick question for the next chapter: should I describe everything that happens (if you know what I'm saying), or just do the before and after?

Thanks for reading!

~BSotM