Blessed by light and burden of shadows. [ closed ]

[privatematter]

WHO Shannon Vaughn (privatematter), Eli Delacroix (aspectional).
WHAT Eli is an idiot; Shannon is curious. How exactly does D/s go down when you're not to the Having Sex stage in the relationship yet?
WHEN Late 1990. Seven months after Jumpscapades.
WHERE Shannon's place.

Shannon was anxious. Not in a bad way, but the anticipatory way that everyone got when something new and exciting was going up and there was no way it could go badly, but predicting the end outcome was almost impossible. It was a great feeling, but one that left Shannon feeling like a teen heading out to prom instead of a grown man getting ready to have fun with his boyfriend and potentially make some hilariously heartfelt gestures to express his trust in Eli. That was probably something he didn't do enough in general, actually.

Breakfast had been something simple. Pancakes, fresh cut fruit and sausage. Eli had come over pretty early to get ready, talking over the generalities of what they were going to do while the specifics were to wait for after they were done. Well, now they were done and sitting on the couch, and Shannon's leg was jiggling even under the hand he had placed on his knee to keep himself still. Lacey had wandered off after breakfast, stomach filled with her own food and presumably was napping on the foot of the bed in Shannon's room. Probably for the better, really.

"So," he said, ignoring the obvious tell he was giving off. If Eli took it for misapprehension, then Shannon was going to definitely lean over and smack him. "Where do we start?"

Comments

[privatematter]

"Right," Shannon said slowly. It was Eli's other powers that he made the largest note of; the electricity and the teleporting around. That he could essentially make things imperceptible to a sense that Shannon didn't even have was something he didn't often consider. "Slipped my mind."

He held the clamp out for Eli, still obviously thinking it over. Being so brazen about it wasn't exactly his sort of thing, but he would have his shirt to cover it and that was a pretty settling idea. They just needed to get away with it in the first place. "I can keep quiet. It just holds on, right? Like if... say someone were pinching it." His tone definitely indicated the positive that it was. He'd give it a try, because despite knowing how much of a trouble-maker Eli was, he didn't often get to experience it when it came to such intimate things like their relationship.

[aspectional]

"Helps that you're blind," he pointed out, not really bothered that he forgot. It'd be weirder if he actually remembered something that couldn't affect him.

Taking the clamp back, he watched Shannon carefully, knowing that he was thinking on it and leaning towards a yes. He couldn't help but grin since he could tell this was going to happen and that Shannon really was going to enjoy it. By this point, he knew the basics of what Shannon liked as a sub and he could extrapolate from there. "Yeah, it's like pinching but harder since it's a clamp. So what do you say?"

[privatematter]

"Yep. You'll never get to pull the wool over my eyes," said Shannon. That was always a plus. It helped when dealing with Eli that he couldn't hide from Shannon in the way he had options to hide from anyone else. It was almost a badge of honor somehow.

Shannon merely loosened his grip around Eli's waist just enough to indicate that he could start his covert operation if he so wished. Judging by the way it seemed to work, he doubted it would be any sort of bad experience, he just wasn't sure yet how he would respond to different types of pain inflicted on a personal level. "I say you've got my approval. I'll let you know if it's not my thing."

[aspectional]

"Well, I could, it's just that it'd never work." With how Eli was after he had returned, hiding and lying from everyone he had know, it had been a relief that he could be honest with Shannon, though he had hated it when he had first returned because of the torture he had gone through while he was gone. It was better now that he was with Shannon and dating him and was definitely a comfort that he knew that Shannon would always see the real him despite being blind.

"Alright," he said before what felt like a blanket of static covered them and then was absorbed into their skin. It wasn't the same type of feeling Shannon was used to during scenes and felt more like something resting in the back of his mind, letting him now that the illusion was on. Eli grabbed a second clamp and then pulled up Shannon's shirt, expecting him to hold it up while Eli placed both clamps on his nipples, tightening them just enough to be on and exerting a good amount of pressure, but not enough to truly cause agony. He then looked to Shannon expectantly, waiting for his reaction to it.

[privatematter]

Shannon shook his head minutely at the feeling. It wasn't invasive and it didn't set anything off, but it did make him feel almost like he was forgetting something. A constant tip of your tongue sensation without the endless frustration. At his shirt being rucked up, he automatically moved the hand not holding Lacey's harness to keep it out of the way while Eli did his sneaky work.

His first reaction was the hitch in his breath each time a clamp was placed on and adjusted. It wasn't bad or anything at first, just a constant feeling that ebbed and flowed with his attention. Despite the fact that it was pain, it certainly wasn't inspiring a negative reaction. Unbidden, his head tipped back as he took it in and let the waves roll through in time with his breaths, shoulders straightening back before he let them rest again. It was more distracting than anything, at least so far.

[aspectional]

The reaction was nice, but that wasn't enough for Eli, terrible person that he was. As someone who loved to do things in public that weren't allowed and not get caught doing them, he loved the thrill of the risk and Shannon was doing amazingly well not really outwardly reacting, though what there was gave Eli high hopes for the clamps' use in the future. This was definitely going to be a buy.

Looking around, he saw that people were unaware of them thanks to his illusion and smirked. Right now, the only person who could see Shannon like this was himself and he knew that he had to tempt things. Moving closer, Eli started to kiss Shannon just as he reached up and gave the clamps a nice little tug, knowing that was enough to get a real response out of him and actually give him some trouble keeping quiet, just like Eli wanted.

[privatematter]

Shannon reacted to the kiss easily. Even if he was somewhat distracted, his focus was easily pulled by Eli's attention — however, the pull on the clamps elicited a gasp and he had to hide any noise he made into the kiss. To do that, he raised a hand and held Eli there while he deepened the kiss to let out a soft moan. That had gotten a tremble out of him, the tease of pain mixing with another undefinable sensation.

After a moment, he pulled away. "What was that for?" he asked under his breath.

[aspectional]

Now that was the reaction he was looking for. If that was how he reacted while trying not to, then they were definitely going to have some fun with them when they were at home and able to truly pull out all the stops. When Shannon pulled away, Eli rested his head on his shoulder, looking very amused. "I was curious," he answered softly. "That was good though, wasn't it?"

Whatever else Eli had in store for him was interrupted when a young man walked over to them, looking at Eli curiously. He couldn't see through the illusion or otherwise he'd be staring at him, so this must have something to do with his past in the scene. "Excuse me, but you're Cross aren't you?"

"I might be," Eli said, not moving from his position closer to Shannon. He wasn't tempting fate by playing with the clamps while he was talking, instead pressing a finger against Shannon's lips momentarily to keep him quiet. "Why do you ask?"

There was a light in his eyes that people got when they met someone famous and Eli felt strange about the fact that he apparently was famous, at least in the BDSM scene. "I'm a big fan of your work and was wondering that if you've found another sub, are you going to be doing public scenes again? I know there's a lot of people who would be interested in you returning to the clubs."

[privatematter]

Shannon could only dip his head in acquiescence. It definitely wasn't bad, and he'd be interested to see what else Eli could do with it. Just not in the middle of the store where people apparently knew Eli well enough to just approach him and ask after his 'career' in the scene. That was odd.

Waiting until the finger was gone from his lips, Shannon asked, "Public scenes?" He took the chance that no one else was looking to fix his shirt for now. He didn't know how exactly their powers as Aspects worked, but he was willing to bet it would be easier if there would fewer things to hide. "You've got a stage name?"

[aspectional]

"It's not my choice and I wasn't planning on returning," Eli said to the man, who seemed slightly disappointed by it, but he looked over to Shannon and the disappointment was replaced by realization. If Eli left the scene, it must be because of Shannon and while that wasn't true, if he heard about it, he wouldn't deny it. It was better than the truth.

"If you change your mind or just want to check it out, there's a play party going down at Chrysalis in two weeks that you're welcome to come to with your boyfriend," he said before he walked off, not giving Eli a change to decline, which made him sigh. He was planning on saying no just out of habit and not wanting to pull Shannon into that just yet.

Finally, Eli turned back to Shannon and slipped his hand under his shirt to play with one of the clamps. Nobody else seemed to really care or want to walk up to them, so it was safe again. "Public scenes are when you do a scene in front of people. Remember how I told you I usually painted my subs? It's part of that. Apparently I've gained a following. And the stage name is just an alias I was given. Real names are usually not used and if they are, it's usually a first name. They like to either call me kid or Cross, for the record."

[privatematter]

Shannon huffed at the fingers toying with the clamps. Eli was already getting a whole lot of fun out of this; who knew what he was going to do once they were actually in private? Instead of worry about that too much, he simply brought his hand back around Eli's side and thought all about what he had just learned.

"So... can I be Ash?" he asked. Public scenes were an interesting prospect, something he wasn't quite sure he could pull off, but it sounded like the sort of thing Eli appreciated or possibly even missed judging by the respect of the man who had just come and gone. Shannon would have to learn more about it, but he wasn't going to condemn Eli for the interest or anything. "What's this about a party?"

[aspectional]

This was only a small taste of what Eli was going to do to Shannon when they were somewhere much more private than this store. He gave a clamp another tug as Eli kissed his cheek. Shannon didn't seem too annoyed and if he went too far, he knew Shannon would tell him to stop. It's why they worked so well together, that they weren't afraid to let the other know when things got too out of control.

"If it's what you want to be called, sure. I don't see a problem with it." Eli never got the chance to pick his own name out, instead being named for the design on the collar he had worn at all times when he was at the clubs as both sides of the relationship. He didn't mind the name and had eventually stopped trying to pick out his own, but he still wished he had the chance to get something that didn't stick so close to his actual surname. "Play party. It's a BDSM party where you can meet people who are in the scene and you can even participate in public scenes like I used to do, but you can decline and just watch. They have rules in place so that everyone in engage in them without worry about being taken advantage of and so on."

[privatematter]

This was definitely not too far yet. Simple tugs and light kisses were fine if Eli kept only to those. Shannon had more resistance in him than he let on during their scenes. Every time he did it, however, Shannon would have to adjust his breathing against the spark of the pull. Yeah, this was definitely going to be more than interesting enough once they were out of public.

"No wonder you were into it," Shannon said with an amused hum. After the previous week and learning what he had about Eli's voyeuristic tendencies, it didn't surprise him at all, nor did the idea of him being on the other side and showing off. "Are you thinking about it?"

[aspectional]

Thankfully, Eli was planning on sticking to only that until they got home and Eli could experiment further on just how much he could do with them on Shannon. This, after all, was just a simple test before he was actually going to buy them. He wasn't going to take them off quite yet because he was enjoying seeing Shannon respond to them.

"Honestly? I'm not. Sure, I love watching people and even like to show off a bit, but I want to keep you to myself and occasionally Michelle. There are some things I don't want to show off and one of them happens to be the way I make you mine," he answered calmly. It was true, he didn't want to share that part of Shannon with anyone. With Michelle, it was different and she had fit herself into things, if only partially. There were some things that even she wouldn't intrude on and they all knew it even if they hadn't really talked on that part of things yet.

[privatematter]

That seemed to be the point of the whole excursion, really. Not only to bring something back for use later, but to have fun while they picked out their tools. Eli was confident enough for the both of them that they could do it without getting in trouble, and that was enough for Shannon. He tipped his head forward to give Eli a kiss on the nose, just because he could. It was nice to see Eli feeling safe enough to be more open in public.

"Then we won't go," Shannon assured. This was all up to Eli. And, really, he had to admit that there was no arguing with that reasoning. Eli was his just as he was Eli's and what they had together was not really something to be shared. "Just relax, huh? I can tell people to bug off if they keep asking you stuff."

[aspectional]

When he was out with Shannon, it was easier for him to relax. It also helped that he was covered an illusion so that he was separated from the world and nobody could really get to him besides Shannon. All of that together comforted him and made him able to come back to these places that he hasn't been to since before everything happened.

"Thank you," he said as he leaned against him and kissed him gently. Eli still wasn't sure how he got so lucky but he wasn't complaining. He then pulled away to grab some chains for the clamps and started to lead Shannon over to the next thing he wanted to get him. "And now let's look at waxes."

[privatematter]

Shannon tilted his head as he heard the chains, making a mental note to add them to what they were already buying. As he did so, he paused and raised a brow over at Eli, realizing. "You gonna take these off?" he teased. He personally didn't mind keeping them on, but he didn't want Eli to get away with it without knowing Shannon was paying attention. Hard not to, actually.

"You said they're special waxes, right?" he asked as they went. "They melt easier?"

[aspectional]

"Not right now. Maybe when we're done with this place," he answered with a smirk in his voice. He had a plan and that plan was to keep those clamps on until they had to be taken off. For now, they stayed on since Shannon didn't seem to have any problems with them.

"Basically, it's a softer wax, so it melts faster and easier." He didn't mind having to explain things to Shannon. It was better that Shannon asked things and learned more so that it'd make the transition of switching roles much easier for them. "It's also to keep from burning the person you're pouring the wax onto. It doesn't need to heat up as much to melt, thus it's a lower temperature. I have no idea if it would affect you any because of your Aspect, but if you'd like, we could test it out at some point."

[privatematter]

Shannon rolled his eyes expansively, then let himself lean against Eli just a bit as they walked. It figured that Eli wanted to keep them on as long as possible. Eli just loved teasing reactions out of people whenever he could get away with it, and considering Shannon was not only allowing it, but passively encouraging the behavior, he wasn't surprised at all.

"You know, I've never once in my life gotten a burn," he said contemplatively. It hadn't been any sort of life-shattering realization for Shannon once he came to that conclusion. For the longest time, he blamed it on his above average body heat and now he knew there was a little more kick to the excuse than before. Even sunburns didn't happen. He supposedly just tanned nicely. "Then again, maybe that's just because no one wanted the blind guy near an open flame."

[aspectional]

As long as Shannon kept encouraging it, Eli was going to keep up what he was doing and slowly pull out any and all responses that he could get from him. It was fun for him to do and if Shannon had no problems with it, then he definitely wasn't going to stop. As if to prove that point, Eli leaned over and kissed him while he tugged on the clamp a little bit harder, wanting to elicit another response from him as the moved away from the majority of the customers.

"Let's add that to our to do list then," he said easily as he picked up a few boxes of wax, them varying from a soft wax that was meant for what they were doing to a much harder wax that was similar to most normal candles. Eli had no issues testing this out with him and they could do this easily. "So, restraints or whips?"

[privatematter]

From where Eli's hand was, he could feel Shannon's chest tense up while he grunted into the kiss and tried not to make more sound. His hand tightened around Eli's waist as he held back his reaction. It was a pretty close thing, but he had begun to expect it and wanted to see how far Eli was willing to go in public under the relatively thin veil of his power.

"Uh." Shannon tilted his head as if to look ahead and survey their options. He was still operating entirely on hypotheticals where real pain play was concerned, but he already knew how he reacted to restraints and other measures to bind him down. "Yes?"

[aspectional]

What Shannon didn't know was that Eli was willing to go very far with this, finding the idea of doing something like this in public without getting caught a massive thrill. If he kept it up and wanted to see how far he'd go, he'd find out pretty quickly that Eli was going to go to the limit and get to borderline public indecency if Shannon didn't stop him.

"I meant what we should grab next. I'm think whips and then restraints. What do you think?" He was amused by the answered and kept himself incredibly close to Shannon, basking in his boyfriend's warmth that usually filled him with the feeling of safety and comfort.

[privatematter]

It was going to be quite a learning experience for Shannon. All in all, though, it seemed like a harmless enough game and this place was safer to play it in than pretty much any other public venue. He knew he could put a stop to it if it really got too bad, but Shannon also knew Eli wouldn't do anything to actually bring them to harm and that was the important part.

Shannon grinned at the question, enjoying the closeness of his boyfriend in the meanwhile. Whereas Eli appreciated the warmth, Shannon appreciated the contact. He wasn't exactly standoffish with other people, being fairly touchy thanks to the excuse of his blindness, but it was different when you could just lean right into someone and support each other without a word. "Knowing you, let's go for the whips before you start tying me up, too."

[aspectional]

"I wouldn't tie you up here," he pouted dramatically, looking slightly down at him. There were some limits to what he'd do in public, especially since Shannon was here with Lacey. Tying Shannon up would only cause Lacey stress and he didn't want to put her through that.

Leading him over to the whips, he picked up one to hand to Shannon so that he could feel it and judge it for himself. There were other sorts of punishment equipment there besides the whips and Eli was eyeing the floggers to pick one out for Shannon. "Don't crack the whip. He gets upset and you don't want to accidentally hurt somebody because you can't handle it properly."

[privatematter]

Shannon merely laughed at the put-on affront and tilted his head up to kiss it away. That was a good response, and helped Shannon figure out where Eli put the limits on his exhibitionist-slash-forbidden-thrill-seeking ways. As well as they knew each other, this was still entirely new territory for the both of them. "What about in a box? What if I brought a fox?"

Shannon humbled down a bit with the whip in his hand. He set Lacey's harness down for a moment to feel it over with both, checking the length and density as well as material and tip. It was certainly not something to play with idly and he shot a look in Eli's direction. "I wouldn't have the first idea how to do that, Eli. Of course I'm not going to try it in an unknown space with you standing right next to me and Lacey at my feet. This one doesn't seem too bad, though," he added contemplatively after he had finished checking it out. It was definitely powerful and sturdy; the idea of it cracking across his skin was one he couldn't really imagine. That would have to wait until they actually tried it.