p l a n t me in the e a r t h

“Lola loves you to bits but she still doesn’t just get to shout at you.” He shook his head in amusement. Dishing his own plate, the Dominant took a seat and took a sip of his drink. “I figured I may as well take advantage of the awesome people we have in the House.” He shrugged lightly and as usual was impressed with Lin’s ambitions.

“I was thinking of taking her to the South of France for a couple of weeks. First trip. I want to see how she does so we can maybe start doing a little more travelling. Europe at least?”  

Lin smiled and nodded. That was fair enough. He turned his attention to the food Henri had prepared, taking his first bites once Henri sat down. “It’s very good. Your hard work has already been paying off,” Lin assured him. “Thank you again for cooking for us. And for having me.” In his exhaustion, he couldn’t forget to be polite and to show his gratitude. 

“That sounds really great,” he told Henri. “Lola will surely benefit a lot from traveling, I’m sure.” Lin hadn’t travelled in a long time. He rarely thought to do so unless his family was traveling to see extended relatives. Maybe after graduation it would be a good time for a short trip. “It must be challenging to travel with a young child.” 

Lola pinched each item between two small fingers and began to eat slowly while humming and rocking herself from side to side. “Oncle!” she declared ever so often just so Lin would look at her. He got a semi-toothless grin every time he did look. 

“That’s enough you little ham-sandwich. Eat your food!” Henri scolded with a soft laugh. “Thanks. Honestly I just wanted to be able to eat something good and know I could provide for her. Also I think I was looking for a challenge. Note, I picked up cooking and not housework. More than happy to have someone else scrub the bathroom!” The Dominant joked. “Do you have any plans for the summer, Lin?”

Lin smiled back at Lola, always glad and willing to give in when she wanted his attention. He chuckled as Henri softly reprimanded her. “It’s okay. I’m flattered that Lola wants any of my attention.” It still surprised him, to be liked even by a child. 

“Those are good reasons to learn how to cook,” Lin agreed with a smile. “I like to eat good food, of course, but it’s easier to do instant ramen and get back to what I need to do.” He chuckled at the joke and then shook his head. “I’ll be working for my professor again in his lab and starting to organize the research I’ll be doing for my PhD. I think I’ll try to take some time to rest after graduation though. What about you? And Lola?”

Time felt like it was slowing down exponentially, though Dean knew it was a side of effect of what he’d taken. Every brush of the sub’s lips against caused him to feel a pleasant, slight prickling of goosebumps from the crown of his head and down to his shoulders.

It’d been a long time since he had an idea this good.

Dean broke their kiss just so he could pull the sub’s shirt off before following with his own. His lips attached to the sub’s neck as he lazily pressed a string of kisses from his adam’s apple down to his chest. There, his lips circled around the sub’s nipple while he tongue teased the sensitive bud.

Lin did as best he could at convincing himself not to think about the fact that he was shirtless in Duchess Katarin’s office, something he’d never even considered as a remote possibility or desire in the slightest. But here he was, and with the dominant’s lips on his skin, it was easier to focus on his touch, rather than the space they were in. 

Dean couldn’t help but grin as the sub moved into his lap. He was already feeling warm and light - having a pretty sub right there only made things more interesting. He reached up and slid his hand through the other man’s hair, pulling his face closer so he could kiss him properly.

Maybe it was the drugs or maybe it was the sub, but the other man tasted divine. Dean moved his lips softly against the other’s at first, careful to ease the other into it. His tongue slid along the other’s bottom lip before the sub opened up for him. He moaned softly into the other’s mouth, happy to simply make out for the moment.

Lin was kissing someone new and he couldn’t keep his mind from focusing in on the little differences between this dominant and Micaiai, the only other person he’d ever kissed. In essence it was the same, but it felt different. Still good. Great even, though Lin was a little nervous, a bit timid at first.

“No, not that,” Dean chuckled. “She knows I live to annoy her. It’s out of love, but I will never admit to that. That’s why I’m not worried about getting caught.”

Oh, she would yell and be upset and all of that - but of all the stunts he’d pulled, this ranked fairly low.

He took the sub’s hands and led him in the office, straight toward the comfortable couch. Dean took a seat and scooted back, motioning for the sub to move on his lap. “C’mere. Let me show you it’s okay.”

“I see,” Lin replied. It sounded like the dom was somewhat close with Katarin. Lin didn’t truly understand how this translated to breaking into her office, but he was sure it was a lack on his part, not being able to understand other’s motivations for what they did. 

Still, he let the dominant guide him into the office and watched as he gestured for him to sit in his lap. He did so carefully, all awkward limbs as he sat in the dom’s lap. “Show me then,” Lin said. They were already in the office. The dominant had already picked the door’s lock and led him inside. No point in stopping now. 

“Yeah,” Dean replied, a bit deadpanned. He couldn’t think of a better place to sneak into except for Kat’s room, which he knew he would have a much harder time breaking into. “I’m former Nantes and she knows what I’m about.” 

No doubt the next morning he would get an angry, screeching voicemail - no way in hell would he be in a state to take that call tomorrow.

“Pretty sure. She and her security are too busy with the party to worry about me. Besides, if we do get caught, I’ll take the heat. This is nothing compared to the shit I usually pull,” he couldn’t help but laugh. “C’mon - nothing will happen to you that you won’t like. I swear.”

“She knows that you’re about breaking into her office...?” Lin wondered if this was why the dominant was a former member of the Nantes house. 

When the other man assured him it would be fine, Lin slowly nodded his head, though it was likely against his better judgment to go along with this. On the other hand, he was already sufficiently distracted from the party. He just hoped Katarin didn’t keep many photos of her family within sight. “Okay,” he said. “If you’re sure it’ll be okay then it’s fine.” He knew he didn’t want to go back to the party and he certainly didn’t want to go back to his apartment to think about how very alone he was. 

Liana: What?! Lin! That's amazing! Congratulations!

Liana: You've earned it.

Liana: Thank you for telling me! I'm so proud of you.

Liana: I'm having a great evening, now.

Lin: Thank you. I'm very happy to continue studying.

Dean led the submissive through the castle and was perhaps the only non-Nantes member who didn’t attract any attention doing so. Despite belonging to House Anjou now, all of the security were well acquainted with him. So he took the sub somewhere he knew they wouldn’t be interrupted and also somewhere he knew would annoy Katarin if she knew.

He couldn’t help being a shit.

It wasn’t too hard to pick the lock to Katarin’s office. He nodded for Lin to follow, grin on his face. “C’mon, no one will bother us here. And she’s got a really nice couch in the office…”

Lin trusted the dominant, who seemed to know where he was going well enough. Was he a member of Nantes perhaps? Lin wasn’t sure, but it seemed likely. When they arrived at their destination, it took Lin a moment to realize where they were. “This is...Duchess Katarin’s office...?” he asked, feeling a spike of anxiety, knowing they were definitely not supposed to be there, knowing Katarin already had enough of a reason to despise him after his breakup with her brother.

“Are you sure...we won’t get caught?” The dominant seemed pleased with his choice to pick the lock of Katarin’s office, and truly his confidence was astounding to Lin who very rarely even considered breaking rules.

Dean smirked, nodding. “It would be very useful to me. C’mon, I know my way around this dump. I’ll find us somewhere nice to distract each other.” He raised his brows and held out his hand toward the sub, hopeful the other man was in need of a good fuck like he was. If not, he would happy to settle for a long make out somewhere, especially as his X kicked in.

Lin looked down at the dominant’s hand, hesitating only a second before taking it. “Please lead the way then.” This was uncharacteristically rash of him, walking off with a near stranger at an event. He hadn’t be cut out for love, but maybe he could be up to a mutually satisfying distraction, something that made him forget his woes and made the dominant forget whatever it was he needed to leave aside for a moment. 

Dean shrugged, stuffing the bag back in his pocket. No way in hell was he going to babysit a sub rolling for the very first time. “Well, we won’t start here then,” he said with finality. He had far too much experience with illicit substances in every kind of pill and powder - he knew better than to push someone.

“But you are too pretty to be frowning. So surely you can think of something I can do to help change that,” Dean offered, taking another drink.

Lin nodded his head. Public places and parties were not the kind of places for first time drug experiences, he was sure. He had a feeling it wouldn’t be his favorite experience to begin with, as much curiosity as he had.

The pretty comment surprised him. He couldn’t understand why this man was taking it upon himself to try to make him smile. Why the nice comment? Oh, was this flirting? Lin had a hard time recognizing it when it when someone flirted with him or wanted a specific kind of attention from him, and he certainly didn’t know how to respond to it. It was a worthy question, however. What did Lin need to feel better right now? “I could use a distraction. If that might also be useful to you.” 

“If you could give Lola her plate, that would be great.” Henri replied with a grin. “Do you want anything to drink with dinner? Water? I have some lemon flavoured sparkling water if you like.” he offered up with a chuckle, enjoying seeing Lola’s bliss at having Lin sit with her and listen to her babbles. 

“Please help yourself to anything. I don’t want it to get cold. I’ve been working on my roast chicken. Javan taught me.” 

Lin nodded and got up to retrieve Lola’s plate. “Water’s fine, thank you,” he said with a quiet smile as he placed Lola’s plate in front of her on the high chair. Lin then started to help himself to a little of everything Henri had prepared. He wasn’t a picky eater, but it was rare that he got a quality meal. “If Javan taught you, then I’m sure it’ll be very good. I was thinking of learning how to cook, but I’d only be cooking for myself. It doesn’t seem worth the time. Lola’s going to benefit very much from your new cooking skills.” 

“Go ahead.” Henri replied with a nod. When Lin scurried out of the room, Henri picked up the blankets and shook them out before folding them again. He then headed to the dining area to start setting the table. Smiling warmly as Lin reappeared and the girl flung herself into his arms. 

“If you could get her into her high chair, that would be great. I’ll just get her plate ready.” Henri asked quietly. He put an assortment of cut-up foods on a small plate and filled a cup with water. On the table was sliced chicken, steamed vegetables, fresh bread and a bowl of potatoes. 

Lin caught Lola as she threw herself at him, picking her up and placing her on his hip. He was accustomed by now to holding her, muscles remembering the motion and momentum. “Sure,” Lin said, moving to get Lola into her high chair, which he figured would likely come with some negotiation, but food was likely compelling enough to convince Lola to let go of him long enough to have dinner. He did, however, take one of the seats next to her high chair, holding onto her little hand.

“Do you need any help?” he asked the dominant, not wanting to sit while Henri ran around doing everything. 

“If you want to sleep more, you sure can. I just didn’t want to let you oversleep.” Henri murmured, feeling a slight pang of what … jealousy or something .. when Lin called out for Mic. He wasn’t sure anyone, except Lola called out for him. Frankly half the time she called out for others too like her Liana. 

“But you can go wash up and come eat if you like. Then you can either go back to sleep or head home. Whatever you prefer?” Henri continued. It was tempting to order the clearly exhausted submissive to stay but he did not have the right to such authority over Lin. It would be a massive overstep. Lola wiggled in his arms, trying to get down and climb on Lin again.

Lin shook his head. “I shouldn’t sleep more, but thank you,” he said, appreciating Henri laying out options for him. Structure felt difficult to maintain these days. “I’ll wash up and eat. I appreciate that you cooked. Thank you for that and for waking me up. I’ll just...wash up quickly” 

Pushing himself up from the couch, Lin slowly made his way to the nearby bathroom so he could quickly splash some water on his face. It helped him feel a little more awake than he had a second before, but he hated how tired his face looked in the mirror as he dried his face. He wasn’t sure how much of it was exhaustion and how much of it was his need to submit. He’d have to figure that out soon. 

Lin returned to Henri and Lola, and opened his arms for Lola, who he’d noticed had been wanting his attention when he woke. “Dinner time?” he asked, giving Lola a smile.

Lin: I got accepted into a phd program.

Lin: I just wanted to let someone know. You specifically.

Lin looked adorable as he slept and it was tempting to let him just keep on sleeping. However at the hour and thirty minute mark, food was ready and he knew he had to wake him up. Crouching low, he dusted a hand over Lin’s dark locks. “Hey Lin. Wakey wakey …” he murmured quietly, not wanting to jar the submissive awake. Unfortunately, his daughter did not get this memo. She pressed her nose to Lin’s and squeaked out, “Oncle Lin. Oncle Lin. ‘ood time.” 

Henri managed to get his arm around the toddler and lift her up before she unceremoniously woke their guest with an unintentionally rough smack.

“Mic...” Lin let out a quiet groan as he was gently woken by Henri, the hand in his hair making him think he was somewhere else for just a second before Lola’s voice piped up, and he was very much awake. He pushed himself up, feeling drowsy and heavy in his body, sleep still trying to tempt him as he watched Henri pick up Lola. 

“Did I sleep too long?” he asked, reaching into his pocket for his phone, the bright screen making him wince as bleary eyes checked the time. Just an hour and a half. Not too bad. 

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a small baggie with a couple of pills left inside. “X. It’ll liven up any boring party. Might even help you go home with someone tonight instead of standing in the corner.”

Lin looked down at the pills and then at the other man. It occurred to him that he was probably supposed to want to go home with someone. It wasn’t necessarily that he didn’t. Or did. But he hadn’t thought of it as a possibility at all, not at all a variable of what an evening like this might hold. Not now that he and Micaiai were over. “I’ve never done any kind of drug,” he admitted, not ashamed in the slightest, though perhaps he ought to have been a little embarrassed. He couldn’t decide whether or not he wanted to try it, see what something new felt like, or heed all of the warnings about drugs he’d heard throughout his schooling.