Not a Toy

Hunter was way too drunk at this point.  He couldn’t possibly take another drink even if someone offered it to him.  His steps had woven him to the bathroom and he’d nearly tossed up all of his celebration champagne.  That’s what had made his decision.  It was a much better choice to have Ethan drag his ass to the side of the road and hail him a cab than to puke on the bathroom floor of Eden.

“Hey, E...” he slurred.  “You’re kind of pretty awesome, you know that?”  The hiccup that followed the sentence made him giggle like a moron.  

Ethan just laughed.  “Thanks, H.” 

“No!  No..no, no.  You don’t get it,” he said adamantly.  He turned his head to make sure his friend was listening.  “You’re like... cool, man.  You’re my best friend in this whole world!”  He added that last bit in a very loud voice and gestured grandly.

“Shhhh, H.  It’s four in the morning...” his friend muttered.  

“Don’t care!  People need to know how awesome you are!”

His words were stopped when Ethan dropped him to the curb.  Hunter’s good mood vanished as the world spun for a moment.  “No puking, Hunter.”  At those words, he looked up to glare at Ethan.  But then a random thought fluttered through his mind and put his mood right back on top of the world.  

“I kissed you tonight,” he said with a grin.

“You kissed a lot of people tonight, my friend.”

“Yep.  You know I love you, right?” he asked, still with a grin on his face.  “Not like that, stupid!”  He hastily added that sentence when Ethan’s face changed to one of pure shock.  “Like... you’re my brother.  I’ve never had a brother before.”  Hunter’s tone shifted to serious one.  “You’re my brother and I love you for it ‘cuz you don’t care when I fuck up and then go get trashed at your bar because I feel like shit.  You just watch out for me and make sure I don’t puke on myself or anyone else.  Or get into a fight.  I used to do that shit all the time, you know?” he asked as his words drifted along with his thought patterns.  He knew he was rambling, but simply didn’t care at the moment.

For a long time, neither of them said anything, choosing instead to wait for the cab Ethan had called.  “I know you do,” his friend said as the car finally pulled up.  

Hunter couldn’t stop himself from laughing uproariously.  Seeing Sebastian’s usually graceful self fall flat into the mud was just priceless.  

After a rainy day, they’d decided to try out a simple obstacle course that had been set up in Central Park.  The ground was slippery and the mud was thick.  One of them was bound to fall.  And Hunter was way too excited when that person turned out to be his fiancé.  

He watched in amusement as Sebastian got up and whipped the mud off of his face.  He did his best to hide his grin when the taller man glared at him for laughing, but he didn’t think he did a great job.  

“You tripped me,” Sebastian accused.

“Did not,” Hunter returned childishly, still laughing because he may have had something to do with his lover tripping.  He would never admit it though.

“Yes, you did.  You’ll pay for that.”  

“I don’t see how, seeing as I’m winning,” Hunter shot back with a cocky grin.  He was on the other side of a cargo net fence that the participants had to climb in order to continue.  However, Sebastian didn’t seem to give a damn about that.  He simply went around it.

Hunter’s eyes widened and he took off, not caring which direction he was going or even if he was still on the course.  Sebastian was sure to catch him, the length of his legs would help him immensely, but that didn’t mean Hunter was going to make it easy on him.  He dodged through a copse of trees just before he felt Sebastian’s hand connect with his wrist and turn him around.  

Hunter’s feet went out from under him and he too fell into the mud.  His fiancé followed, landing right on top of him and forcing the air from his lungs.  Once he had his breath back, he discovered they were both laughing like lunatics.

“Guess you caught me,” he said reaching up to try and stop the mud from Sebastian’s hair from getting on to his face.

“I told you you’d pay for tripping me,” Sebastian threatened again just before he took a handful of  mud off the ground and smeared it along Hunter’s neck.  The feeling of the cold, wet gunk getting on his skin shocked him and he gasped.  

“You ass!” he glared, picking up his own bit of dirt.  

When the mud fight was over, they were both covered head to foot, and still laughing.

Hunter was exhausted, both physically and emotionally.  He’d finally been ordered by Sebastian’s doctors to go home and get some sleep, but he’d never been able to sleep in their bed without his lover there.  Instead, he camped out on the couch, bare foot and wrapped in the blankets from their bed.  

A text came through on his phone that Aiden was coming over to check on him and he wasn’t allowed to complain.  It brought a ghost of a smile to his face.  It would be nice to see Aiden, even if he didn’t feel entirely up for company.  He wouldn’t be much of a host, but he really didn’t think Aiden would give a damn. 

A cursory knock on the door emitted from the entry way just before the door was swung open.  Aiden took one look at him and immediately pouted.  “Not gonna lie, Hunter... you look like shit,” he stated as he took his jacket off.

He shrugged in reply.  

“Have you eaten?”

“Can’t.”

Aiden pressed his lips into a thin line and marched to the refrigerator.  He came back to the living room with a handful of grapes.  “Eat these.  Then I won’t pester you about it anymore,” said as he plunked down next to Hunter and set them in his lap.

It seemed like he instinctively knew that Hunter was craving physical contact when he wrapped an arm over his shoulders.  That alone helped ease the knots in his stomach enough for him to eat the grapes.  Hunter picked at them.  Placing each one in his mouth and deliberately chewing.  He barely tasted them, but to appease Aiden, he kept eating until they were gone.  

Once they settled into his stomach, the lethargy hit.  His eye lids drooped, and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning into Aiden’s shoulder a bit.  

“It’s okay, Hunter.  You can sleep.”  Aiden’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet and soothing.  That level of consideration and kindness was entirely unexpected from the usually flirtatious and loud Aiden Harris.   

The game was still going on.  They’d been playing Truth or Dare for what felt like hours.  And it had been a while since Hunter’s last dare.  He was starting to get bored.  His fiancé was across the circle from him, so he couldn’t use Sebastian to keep entertained.  It didn’t help that his buzz was fading.  

He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands.  Only half listening, he heard one of the girls in the circle confess to having a massive crush on Ethan.  He laughed at the look on his best friend’s face afterwards.   

Apparently, that laughter annoyed the girl enough to draw her attention his way.  She glared at him a little, then looked to send a similar, slightly softer glare Ethan’s way.  It was pretty obvious that she wanted to punish them both in some way to make up for her being so embarrassed.  “Alright, Mr. Chuckles,” she drunkenly referred to Hunter and pointed to Ethan as she continued, “I dare you to kiss his boyfriend.  And make it good this time!  Tongue and all.”  She slurred the last part.  

Internally, Hunter jumped for joy at having another dare to complete.  His boredom waned a bit.  He glanced over at his fiancé for permission this time.  Being dared to kiss Ralph was a very different thing from being dared to kiss Ethan.  Luckily, Sebastian seemed more intrigued by the idea than affronted.  He gave Hunter a subtle nod and sipped at his wine.  

Hunter grinned.  It was time to get this party revved up again.  “Alright.  Let’s share a shot, shall we?” he asked Ralph with a heated tone.  He wanted his buzz back, and combining the dare with a method of getting to that point was logical.  He crooked his finger to request Ralph join him at the bar. 

Ralph had the option of turning down the dare, but Hunter didn’t think he would.  They’d never had that surge of attraction for the other before tonight.  They’d always been in that ‘off limits’ category since Hunter was completely wrapped up in Sebastian and Ralph kept most of his attention on Ethan.  But getting to explore that newly simmering attraction would be too much of a temptation.  Hunter grinned when Ralph joined him at the bar.

“Have you ever shared a shot with someone before?” he had to ask.

Ralph just grinned.  “A few times.”  His knowing look set a fire under Hunter’s skin.  

“Good,” he returned, taking the shot of tequila from the bartender, tapping it on the rail, and then pouring it into his mouth.  The fact that they were the same height helped a lot for keeping the distance between them to a minimum.  Hunter did his best not to swallow any of the liquid before he was able to press their lips together.  

Ralph pulled him closer and took charge of the kiss.  He couldn’t help but go lax as the other man’s dominant presence took over.  Apparently, Ralph didn’t like to back down from dares either.  The burn of tequila was soothed away by Ralph’s tongue.  His last coherent thought was that Ethan was a very lucky guy.

The kiss went on and on; all wet and warm.  Their saliva diluted the liquor, and they shared sips of it between them.  Ralph’s hands ended up on his hips and his body pressed Hunter’s into the bar.  That new found spark of heat flared up between them quickly, like the flash point in a fire, leaving them both a little breathless as the flavor of the shot dissipated.

Reluctantly, they pulled away.  Hunter could help but let his cocky attitude come out.  “Not bad,” he said as he ran his tongue over his lips.  

“Not bad yourself,” Ralph shot back with a barely concealed heated look before turning away to drag Ethan out of the circle and up the stairs.  

Hunter threw the frisbee for Hans and the dog took off.  He grinned at how big the puppy was getting.  He’d end up terrorizing the cat with his sheer size soon enough.  Sebastian would get a kick out of that.

Their playful rhythm of toss and return was soothing to both of them.  German Sheppards were notoriously high stress animals.  They’re protective instincts made it difficult for them to fully relax.  Hunter’s thoughts moved to how similar he and Hans were in that regard.  So it was nice to have a day to sink into familiar territory like a game of fetch.  

When Hans brought the frisbee back again, he did his best to whip it as far down field as possible.  This time however, Hans didn’t come back alone.  Another dog clutched to the other side of the frisbee as they both trotted back to place the disk at his feet.  “Ollie?” he asked when Hunter finally recognized the dog.  The animal obviously knew his name since he sat back on his haunches and wagged his tail, ready for the frisbee to be thrown.  “Where’s Shiloh then..?” he muttered to the dogs.  

Hans took off without any prompting.  “Hans!  Get back here!”  Ollie stayed prepared for the frisbee to be thrown at a second’s notice, and he couldn’t leave the mutt here as he went to find his own dog.  “Come on, Ollie.  Let’s got find Hans and your owner,” he said, patting his leg so the dog would follow.  

They only got a few feet before he saw Hans charging back with what looked like a shirt clutched in his jaws.  He set the piece of clothing down at Hunter’s feet with a proud look on his face.  “Obedience school.  Tomorrow,” he said sternly to his puppy.  Ollie barked, causing Hunter to glance up.  Shiloh was heading their way, looking nearly out of breath.  He glared down at his puppy once again, before picking up the shirt.  “I take it this is your’s?” he called out.

Ollie and Hans returned to fighting over the forgotten frisbee as Shiloh made his way over so his nod could be seen.  “Your dog’s fast...” he told Hunter, slightly breathless.

“He’s stupidly smart too,” he commented, handing the shirt back.  

“No kidding.”

They stood there in silence for a moment.  Neither one of them knew what to say.  Watching the dogs chase each other seemed the best option, until Shiloh suddenly spoke up.

“He’s grown a lot since the last time I saw him.”

Hunter smiled.  “Yeah.  He’ll be terrorizing Clarence once he realizes he’s bigger,” he returned, cocking his head to look at Shiloh.  “It’s pretty early in the morning for you, isn’t it?”

The dogs were forgotten for a moment now that an actual conversation was starting up.  “A little, but with Ethan take over most of the duties at Eden, I’m free to get my sleep schedule set to normal people’s expectations,” he said with grin and a shrug.  

“Welcome to the normal world?” Hunter offered, causing Shiloh to chuckle a bit and send back a ‘thank you’.  He turned his attention back to the dogs for the time being.  He saw Ollie and Hans fighting over the frisbee again, so he reached into the fray to save the thing.  Only, the dogs didn’t let go.  Now it became a three way tug of war, and the dogs were winning.  Thinking it was  game, the dogs teamed up, growling and digging their back legs in for better traction.  “Come on, stupid.  Let go,” Hunter ordered, referring to Hans, but the puppy seemed to take the order as a dare and dug in further.  Suddenly, Hunter’s grip failed and he fell back into Shiloh.  

They went down in a pile of flailing limbs and shocked grunts.  He was sure he heard one of them mutter the phrase “Damn dogs” a few times before he burst out laughing.  One of Shiloh’s elbows digging into his ribs ended his mirth quite quickly.  

“You’re way heavier than you look,” Shiloh complained, trying to gain some leverage in order to heave Hunter off.  

“If you’d stop fucking moving, I could actually stand up,” Hunter returned, both irritated and amused by the situation.  The dogs both abandoned the frisbee to join the pile, causing both men to let out a whoosh of air and get tangled again. 

“Off!” Shiloh yelled to the dogs, and his tone must have actually registered with them since their weight disappeared.  “Stupid...” the older man muttered as they were finally able to separate.  

Hunter coughed a couple of times to get the dust they’d kicked up out of his throat.  “Definitely stupid,” he agreed.  “This never happened, okay?”

Shiloh agreed.  Giving Aiden or Ethan more ammo to tease them was never a good choice.  “I think that’s enough of a workout for one day.  Ollie!” he called.  The dog ran to him obediently.

Hans had gone back to mangling the frisbee.  Hunter sighed and reminded himself to call an obedience school.  “See you at Eden this weekend?” he asked before Shiloh could leave.

The game was probably getting a bit out of hand, but no one was quite ready to put an end to it.  It seemed like every couple had wordlessly decided to set aside their own specific rules in order to participate; even Hunter and Sebastian.  A silly game like Truth or Dare wouldn’t shake their relationship’s foundation.  

He quickly found that he had a hard time turning down dares.  Hunter had already been dared to do a few harmless things like showing off his gymnastics skills and flexibility while taking shots.  And when Shiloh piped up to dare him to kiss Ethan, he didn’t think twice about it.  He didn’t even look over to Sebastian in order to gain wordless permission.  His drunk brain knew it was harmless, and he let his competitive side kick in further.

Not one to let an opportunity to put on a show pass by, Hunter stood and walked over to Ethan with an almost predatory gleam in his eye.  He pulled his friend up to his feet, pleased to see that Ethan was just a little bit shorter than him.  He let his fingers trail down the other’s arm, slowly and deliberately, making sure Ethan felt every touch.  Hunter moved to put them chest to chest.  His other hand came up to use his friend’s strong jaw line to tilt their faces closer.  

Awareness of the fact that everyone around them was watching bloomed along his skin.  That was what he craved; that undeniable attention.  The kiss would just be a bonus.  

He let their noses brush and their eyes connect.  Hunter tried to wordlessly convey that he was only trying to put on a show, but he couldn’t deny that he was into this.  His eyes slid shut to savor the pull of attraction in his gut and the anticipation-filled atmosphere.  The kiss, when it finally came, was a soft press of lips with a hint of tequila and cigarette smoke.  He pulled away after a long moment, and shot a wink to Ethan so he’d know what he was doing.  After, among groans of disappointment and phrases of “You tease!” and “That wasn’t nearly enough!” from Shiloh, he looked back over to his friend.  They grinned at each other and ended up laughing at the affronted look on Shiloh’s face.  

He turned to face Shiloh.  “Next time, you should be more specific about what you want.  You got a kiss.  Now shut up and stop complaining,” he groused, still with a smile on his face.

send me ✗ for my muse to fall on yours and land on top of them

send me □ for your muse to fall on mine and land on top of them

send me ♕ for your muse to get dared to kiss me

send me ♢ for my muse to get dared to kiss yours

send me ♫ for your muse to catch mine singing in the shower

send me ♩ for my muse to catch yours singing in the shower

send me ♡ for your muse to drunkenly confess feelings to mine

send me ☽ for my muse to drunkenly confess feelings to yours

send me △ for my muse to get trapped in a small closet with yours

send me ❅ for my muse to cuddle up next to yours while asleep on the couch

    Nineteen: My muse finds yours naked and tied to the bed 

When Sebastian left him, completely naked and tied to one of Eden’s elusive roof top corners, he tried not to let it bother him.  After an evening that included teasing his Dom by dancing with several others, he knew this was coming.  However, he didn’t think ‘Bas would leave him for quite so long.  He must have gotten sidetracked.  

After nearly an hour, he was starting to get cold and his hands were nearly numb.  He made sure to keep flexing them on occasion just to keep the cold away.  Sebastien didn’t typically stay away this long, but he stayed patient, knowing that his Dom would come back for him.  

The door to the roof top entry opened, causing Hunter’s heart beat to quicken.  But instead of Sebastien’s sure footsteps coming his way, he heard a heavier step, one that seemed to meander through the roof top scenery.  That wasn’t like Sebastien at all.  And the only other people who knew about this area was Ethan himself, Aiden, and... Ralph.  

Mortified with his state in Ethan’s rooftop garden, Hunter looked down at himself.  He steeled his body for when Ralph would turn that final corner, and when it happened, they took a long moment.  Each to assess the situation.  Hunter was happy to see Ralph look away to spare him from mortification.  But that didn’t help the fact that he was tied up to one of Ethan’s rooftop sunbeds.  

“...can you please untie me?” he asked tentatively.

   Fourteen: My muse ties up your muse

“What the fuck are you doing?” Hunter asked irritably.  Waking up from a content nap to find himself tied to his own desk chair was beyond unacceptable.  Normally, if it involved Sebastien, it wouldn’t have bothered him.  But when he came to, and Aiden was the one stepping away from him after he’d discovered his wrists were tied to the arms of a chair... that’s where he drew the line. 

No one, save Sebastien, had the right to do something like this to him.  “Aiden...” he growled.  It didn’t help that Aiden was now working at his wine bar.  The kid had obviously wanted to test his status within the groups’ hierarchy... starting with Hunter.    

He did his best to take a deep breath and hope this was nothing more than some stupid prank.  “Aiden, untie me,” he ordered.

Aiden simply raised an eyebrow and shook his head.  “Nah.  You look pretty that way.”

Hearing a phrase similar to what Sebastien might say raised his hackles.  “Aiden, you have ten seconds to let me go before I fire your ass...” he threatened... and something in his tone must have registered.  Because not long later, a long suffering sigh came from the younger Harris brother and he came over to untie Hunter.  

“Has anyone told you that you’re boring?” Aiden asked as he released the last of his bindings.

    Twelve: Your muse goes down on mine  (TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE, KARU!)

Hunter can’t help but feel like he’s putting on a show for everyone at Eden tonight.  He’d been dancing all night, not caring about the poll results might be.  He’d never been a popular sub anyway.  Most thought he came across as too demanding, too picky, too ‘dominant’ for a submissive.  So him being chosen to play in Eden’s submissive games was a long shot.  Instead, he chose to take advantage of a night off, giving into the crowd and the atmosphere of Eden for a change.

He spent most of the night just dancing.  It was easy and no one seemed to know who he was on the dance floor.  Liberation was all he thought about... until his name blared over the loud speaker.  He and Ethan had been picked for a ‘hands off’ round during the games.  They wouldn’t be allowed to use their hands to touch each other, but everything else was within the limits of the game.  Hunter had seen several subs give into the temptation of full body contact and mouth play to get around the rule.  It was all for the benefit of the Dominants in the room anyway.  Another shot helped loosen him up enough to let go of the few inhibitions he had.  Sebastien would only get pissed at him if he went too far with this game.  He’d make sure to keep everything playful, rather than sensual.

As he and Ethan climbed on stage, he sent the other a wink.  He used it as a way to show the other that neither of them would cross the unspoken, and unseen, line.  They’d become too good of friends to step over it, but, a little playfulness never hurt anyone.  Hunter stripped off his shirt and he and Ethan came together on stage.  They didn’t kiss.  That would step over the line.  But touching and grinding to the beat of the music wasn’t against the unspoken rule.  They danced for a while, not caring who watched, until the demands for more became nearly deafening.  

At the insistence, Hunter fell into a crouch.  Kneeling was something he only did for Sebastien.  Instead, he chose to run his hands up and down Ethan’s legs, and back up to his waist.  He shot his friend another wink before moving in to bite and lick at his hips, even going so far as to unbutton his tight, black pants.  

  Three: Your muse owns mine for two days 

Having you as my play thing would be very entertaining.  And for two days?  I think I’d be able to play out nearly every fantasy I have.  I’d get to play the big bad Dom for a change, and I’d get to tie you up.  I have to say that you’d look damn good in black rope.  Maybe one day, we’ll get to do that, and I’ll get to ride you the entire time, just to drive you crazy.

  Five: My muse dominates yours

I think we almost covered this in the last one, but this time, you wouldn’t go easy on me.  You’d be in complete control, and I’m the sub.  Which means you get to tell me to do whatever you want you to do.  Make me suck you off, or fuck me, or do nothing but sit there, naked, while I looked at you.  Basically, all the things you’ve made me do already.  Get the picture?

    Sixteen: Your muse removes one article of my muse’s clothing

                                           I don’t care.

                                                        But if you harm,                                                              The people that I love.                                                                     If they shed a single tear?                                                                                      A drop of blood?