#dr. lenus

When up-and-coming investigative journalist Devin Connally gets an anonymous tip suggesting that society's golden boy, Erik Wildre, may be involved in the dangerous gangs that rule Middleland from the shadows, they sneak into one of his notorious parties to do a little snooping for themself. However, they're caught spying and brought to the man himself. Their time with him will change their life forever.

CW for the series: kidnapping, light-ish torture, Erik is just really creepy towards Devin (in a non-sexual manner)

Chapters:

Before Drabbles:

Brontide // Capernoited // Apodyopis // Lygerastia

Captivity (Whumptober 2020):

One // Two // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve // Thirteen // Fourteen // Fifteen // Sixteen // Seventeen // Eighteen // Nineteen // Twenty // Twenty One // Twenty Two // Twenty Three // Twenty Four // Twenty Five // Twenty Six // Twenty Seven // Twenty Eight // Twenty Nine // Thirty // Thirty One

Recovery (Comfortember 2020):

One // Two // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve // Thirteen // Fourteen // Fifteen // Sixteen // Seventeen //

Whumptober Day 29 - I THINK I NEED A DOCTOR

Tagging @mnmlover2002 @cupcakes-and-pain @lave-e @appy-polly-loggies @lovely-little-whump @just-another-whumper let me know if you want to be added/removed!

CW: medical whump, heavy references to past violence, descriptions of injuries, let me know if I missed anything!

Masterlist // Previous

---

There were voices. They could hear them, talking over them, around them, through them. They knew there were people there, but they were floating, away from reality. Their eyelids felt too heavy to lift, so they didn’t. They thought one of the voices sounded angry, but they didn’t know.

Then they were being lifted up and moved. They tried to curl close to the warm chest but it hurt too much, so they stayed where they were, limply hanging from their arms.

They felt themself being laid down on something soft. They heard what sounded like an injured animal’s whimpering, and it took their disjointed thoughts to realize that it was them making the noise. Before that thought could even sink in, they were floating away again, the pain nothing but a distant memory.

-

Devin awoke to pain. They had been slowly swimming out of the dark foggy haze of their mind, about to surface, when it had started. The pain was in my stomach through my legs around my throat everywhere. A near silent groan slipped their lips as they struggled to open their eyes.

Immediately, they heard rustling of clothing next to them, and a warm hand was taking their smaller one in theirs. They clenched their teeth slightly, stopping as the action sent a burst of pain through their head. 

“Hey, shh, shh,” a deep voice soothed. The hand rubbed circles into their skin. “It’s okay, Devin. You don’t have to try to talk or, or do anything right now.”

They relaxed at the words, recognizing Duncan’s voice. Still, with much more difficulty than they’d have liked, their eyes fluttered open, taking in yet another unfamiliar bedroom, this one filled with the quiet hum and beeping of machinery.

They took in the well lit room, brightened by the natural sunlight filtering in through translucent curtains. The bed they were laying in was much larger than they were used to, and they couldn’t help but feel as if they were drowning in all the pillows and blankets. The room was sparsely decorated, leaving plenty of room for the medical equipment that looked like it belonged inside a movie. 

Finally, they dragged their gaze back to Duncan’s somewhat hunched form. He sat in a chair next to them, leaning forward to hold their hand in his much larger ones. Their tongue darted out to wet their lips, even that small movement hurting their throat. 

They tried to ask What happened? but their voice refused to cooperate. All that came out was a breathy whisper.

Duncan ran his thumb over the back of their hand in a soothing, repetitive motion. “Please, don’t try to talk right now.” He hesitated before adding, “The doctor said there was some pretty bad damage done to your throat.”

Panic cutting through the last of the fog, Devin’s eyes widened and they made to grab for their throat. Duncan gently held back their hands. Their mouth opened and closed uselessly, and they closed their eyes with a frustrated grimace.

They heard him stand and walk a few steps. “I’m going to go get the doctor now,” he said before the door was shutting with a soft click.

Devin couldn’t help the tears that welled up in their eyes. They weren’t able to talk, and every single part of their body hurt. Waves of pain rolled throughout them, causing even their shallow breaths to feel excruciating. 

A few moments later, several footsteps walked in, and Devin forced their eyes back open. They went immediately to Duncan, who smiled reassuringly, to the familiar face of Dr. Lenus, who seemed distantly troubled. Finally, their gaze settled on the figure leaning in the doorway.

Their breath caught, and they scrambled to leave get away from me stop don’t touch me don’t hurt me again get out of the vulnerable position they were in.

Before they could do more than twitch slightly, Lenus was reaching for them, not unkindly holding them down. They stared up at him pleadingly, but he just sighed and shook his head, directing his annoyance at Wildre.

“I told you,” he said tiredly, “if your presence disrupts my evaluation, you’re going to have to leave.”

He grinned. “Don’t worry. Devin, here, can behave perfectly.” His steely eyes shifted to their wide ones. “Can’t you, love?”

They let out a breath of air and nodded- or tried to, wincing in pain before they could really move.

The doctor just grumbled more under his breath, moving around their body to check the various machines with the air of someone who’d done this many times before. After a moment or two, he turned his attention to their battered body. 

“This could be a bit uncomfortable,” he said unapologetically. He pulled the blankets off them, revealing them wearing a thin, nearly transparent t-shirt and some equally thin shorts, and Devin couldn’t help but gasp. Their stomach was every mottled shade of purple, blue, green, and yellow they could imagine, plus more. Their legs were worse, somehow. Thick lines of red crisscrossed them, some as raised welts and others where the cane Wildre had broken the skin. Their legs looked crooked and broken. The gasp caused fire to rip up their throat, their eyes watering and their lungs stalling in response. 

Lenus shook his head. “I wouldn’t be making any noise at all, if I were you. There was extensive nerve damage and bruising in your throat, meaning talking might be a bit of a struggle for a bit. But the trouble should go away fairly quickly, hopefully.” Should? Devin wanted to scream at the top of their lungs.

But it was all they could do to bite back their whimpers and groans as Lenus brought his unyielding fingers along their body, poking and prodding until they felt completely bared. Their eyes squeezed shut as he worked. They just prayed for it to be over soon.

Whumptober Day 18 - PANIC! AT THE DISCO

Tagging @mnmlover2002, @cupcakes-and-pain, @lave-e, @appy-polly-loggies, let me know if you want to be added/removed!

CW: medical whump (although it's probably very medically inaccurate), drug mention, referenced torture, panic attacks, let me know if I missed anything!

Masterlist // Previous

---

Devin didn’t have long to ponder because after only a minute or two, Dr. Lenus was walking back in with Wildre. They glanced between the pair, as if they could read the history between the two.

They realized that Lenus, while he acted grumpy and annoyed with Wildre, seemed to actually respect and care for Wildre, who, in return, acted almost like he has a soul a monster with a conscious boyish, younger and more carefree.

When they came back, they immediately strode over to Devin, the doctor crouching down in front of them and Wildre standing just behind him. Wildre gave Devin an indecipherable look, which made them shiver, although they didn’t quite know why.

“So what’s the prognosis, Doc?” Wildre asked, studying Devin’s mangled feet. “I tried to go easy on them, so it shouldn’t be too severe. Right?” Devin’s eyebrows shot up. That was going easy?

The doctor sighed. “Well, they’re not broken. They do seem to have some pretty bad fractures in them, and probably bone bruising too. I’d say keep them off their feet for a few weeks, but I know you won’t. So just try to keep them sitting or laying down with their feet elevated as often as possible.” He glanced up at Wildre with a frown. “And for god’s sake, please don’t do anything else to their legs.” He reached into his bag and pulled out some things that Devin didn’t recognize. “Based on what you told me ahead of time, I brought some ankle splints.”

At this, he looked at Devin, his voice growing slightly rougher. “You, keep these on as often as possible. The only time you should take them off should be showering, since they’re not waterproof and they’re quite expensive, being top of the line. But sleeping, walking, sitting, whatever, keep them on. Understand?”

Devin gave him a nod, which seemed satisfactory to him. He then put the braces on their ankles, showing them how to do them, fastening them tight enough to be slightly uncomfortable and noticeable but not painful. They gave their ankles a test wiggle and found they could barely move them.

Lenus pushed himself up and, gesturing with his head, began to walk over to the door, Wildre following close behind. They spoke in quiet voices, Devin uneasy at their expressions. They glanced over at them more than once, which only grew Devin’s mistrust. Could Lenus be telling Wildre about how I begged him for help? Oh god, how is he going to react to that? They shivered, staring down at their ankles; they couldn’t let themself freak out about it when they didn’t even know for sure what they were saying.

They glanced back over at them in time to see Wildre sliding something into his pocket and the two shaking hands, before the doctor left, the door closing behind him.

Wildre strode back over to Devin, a small, but not kind, smile on his face. Devin stared up at him through their lashes, not daring to look at him straight on, a sinking feeling enveloping their stomach. Lenus probably told him what I said.

Pulling a chair up next to Devin, he is too close get away from me stay back please stop you’re too close leaned over and asked, “How are the ankles feeling, love?”

Devin stared at him for a moment before answering. “They’re feeling, um, okay, I guess.” Their answer sounded halting and forced, but they were reluctant to answer in case they said the wrong thing.

Wildre gave them his wicked grin. “Okay? So you wouldn’t want these?” He pulled from his pocket a small bottle.

Devin blinked, not quite understanding. Then recognition of the bottle dawned on them. “Pain meds?” they asked, slightly incredulous. And fearful. “How, um, how did you get, get those?” They wanted to lean away from him, get as far back as they could, but they didn’t dare move from their current, vulnerable position.

He waved a careless hand. “Please, when you’re me, you can get anything anytime you want.” He shook the bottle a little. “So, love, do you want them?”

At the rattle, Devin blanched back slightly. “I, um, I, uh, Well, I-I-” They stuttered out, before taking a deep breath, staring determinedly over his left shoulder at the wall behind him. “Do you want me to have them?” They really did not want to end up incapacitated by medication with Wildre near by, but they figured doing what he wanted would be the safest option.

He frowned a little. “It doesn’t matter to me whether you take them or not. But, if you do want them, you’ll have to answer a question for me first.”

Devin’s heart sped up, as they thought this is it the doctor told on me he’s about to get mad hurt me stared up at him, hardly daring to breathe.

Wildre leaned close and murmured, “What did you say to the good doctor, hm?”

Devin involuntarily leaned back in the chair, eyes squeezing shut. “I-I’m sorry, please, I’m sorry, don’t hurt me, I-”

He cut them off smoothly. “Because he almost never suggests, much less hands out, pain meds for my people. And you’re even lower than my people. You, love, are a toy, for me to play with whenever I want.” His lip curled at that. “So what makes you so special?”

When they dared to open their eyes a sliver, they found Wildre’s face mere inches from their own, his ghostly eyes studying their face. They bit their lip quickly, painfully, before cautiously responding, “I- I didn’t really, really say anything, I don’t, um, I don’t think.” Except beg him to get me out of here. “I think, maybe, um, maybe he could see th-that I was struggling, here, maybe?” Their voice squeaked out the end, going high pitched in question. They couldn’t seem to get a breath in, their lungs seeming to reject all their air coming down. They clenched their hands, slowly forming and releasing fists, as they tried not to spiral.

Finally, Wildre leaned back. He stared at them for a beat longer before standing. With him looking down at them, they seemed to shrink back into themself.

“Maybe he did,” he murmured, so low and quiet, it was if he wasn’t aware he was saying it aloud. He then turned and left the room, giving a quiet order to Duncan to bring Devin back to their room.

He took the bottle with him.

Whumptober Day 30 - NOW WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?

Tagging @mnmlover2002, @cupcakes-and-pain, @lave-e, @appy-polly-loggies, @lovely-little-whump, @just-another-whumper, let me know if you want to be added/removed!

CW: medical whump (most likely not very medically accurate), descriptions of injuries, referenced violence, implied/referenced deaths, threats of death, Wildre being himself, let me know if I missed anything!

Masterlist // Previous

---

After an eternity, the doctor finally stepped back with a sigh. Devin opened their eyes as he turned to look at Wildre. “Well,” he started. “Several of the ribs are definitely cracked, fractured if not completely broken. The legs have quite a bit of bone bruising, and multiple possible fractures, but luckily nothing more serious. The throat, however-” He cut himself off, dragging a hand over his tired face- “that’s probably the most concerning. You- There was some pretty bad bruising, which can affect their vocal cords and breathing ability. And there might be some longer-lasting, more serious issues due to the lack of oxygen their brain experienced during- at the time.” Devin stared at him, in slight disbelief. What did that mean? 

Wildre frowned, sparing a critical glance in Devin’s direction. “So? What are you saying? Speak clearly, for god’s sake.”

He hesitated. “Are- are you sure you don’t want to go somewhere a bit more.. private, Erik?”

Wildre snorted. “Why? They’re not going to interrupt us.” They felt a sting of pain at the carefree tone he used when he’s the one who did this to me casual insult. 

Lenus cringed slightly before continuing. “Alright. In the simplest terms possible, it means they’ll possibly have brain damage. Now what type, I can’t say. It could be problems with their memory, with problem solving and logic, even with speech. If their throat heals properly, they may not even be able to talk afterwards. So their mind could be...”

Devin’s head was swimming. What if I’m stuck like this permanently? They wanted to scream, but their voice was gone, their mind was a mess, and they were-

“Broken,” Wildre said flatly. “You’re saying that they’re broken.” 

Devin pressed a sore hand to their mouth to stifle any noises that might slip out, but luckily, nothing came.

“Different,” the doctor was saying, but it was if Devin was hearing him from underwater. “Their mind might be a bit different. Most likely nothing too serious, if anything at all. But still, I want to keep them under observation for a bit longer-”

Wildre cut him off with a wave of his hand. “No need. I can handle things from here.” Lenus opened his mouth, but Wildre shot him a look that had him packing up the rest of his stuff and scurrying out the door, barely pausing to give a small smile to Duncan, who had returned to his position by the door.

Wildre sat down in the chair next to their bed, giving them a hard stare but making no move to touch them- for the first time since they’d been with him, it felt like. They looked at him imploringly, but made no move.

Finally, after the minutes had stretched on into what felt like hours, Wildre let out a sigh, propping his head up on a fist. “It’s a real shame you had to go and try to escape, love.” Devin wanted to scream for the millionth time that they hadn’t been trying to escape, but he continued, “You’ve gone and broken yourself.” you did this to me you monster you’re the one who broke me “And now I have to clean up this mess.” He reached out to gently cup their face. Moving a thumb lovingly against their cheek, he frowned, looking sincerely sad. “It’s such a shame, love. You were beginning to become such the perfect little pet for me.”

Devin’s eyes widen in panic as he moves his hand down, to rest against their throat. No, they tried screaming, please don’t no please stop don’t do this to me. As if he could read the panic written clearly across their face, he drops his hand with a sigh, sitting back. 

“Duncan,” he called, and the other man quickly strides over to them. Wildre looked up at him. “You heard what the doctor said, correct?”

Almost hesitantly, Duncan nodded. “Yeah, I did.”

Wildre nodded. “Good. Good, so you know what you need to do now, right?”

Duncan flinched back. “Um, sir, do you really- I mean, necessary-”

“Are you questioning me?” Wildre cut his rambling off with a harsh tone. Duncan mumbled a quiet apology, which he waved off. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten attached to my little toy, now, have you?”

Duncan shook his head vehemently, which, Devin had to admit, hurt a bit. “No. No, sir. I just think-”

“Think?” Wildre laughed. “I don’t pay you to think. I pay you to shoot a gun and look scary.”

The blood in his face had drained almost completely as he mumbled a “Yes, sir,” under his breath.

Wildre rolled his eyes. “Good, was that so hard?” Once Duncan had shook his head, he continued with a dramatic sigh. “Finally. Now, you had better do what I tell you and do it well, or do I need to begin looking for a replacement?”

Throughout their exchange, Devin had shifted their eyes quickly from one to the other, a confused dread settling in their stomach. Wildre glanced back at them, taking in the expression on their face.

“Oh, you don’t have to look so scared, love,” he said, reaching out and tucking a stray strand of hair behind their ear. “This is just the way of the world. You get a toy, the toy breaks, and-” he smiled then, a terrible and wicked look that shook Devin down to their core- “and then you throw the toy away.”

Devin tried to flinch back, but his grip around the back of their neck was suddenly as unyielding as iron. “Ah, ah, ah,” he chided. “You know better than to pull away from me, love.” They froze he’s about he hurt me some more please don’t hurt me again stilled immediately, watching him through eyes filling up with tears. 

Without breaking eye contact with them, Wildre petted them softly as he ordered Duncan in a too sweet tone, “Take them somewhere remote and put a bullet in their head. Just like I pay you to do.”

Whumptober Day 22 - DO THESE TACOS TASTE FUNNY TO YOU?

Tagging @mnmlover2002 @cupcakes-and-pain @appy-polly-loggies @lave-e @lovely-little-whump, let me know if you want to be added/removed!

CW: referenced injuries, medical whump, noncon drugging, fade to black/heavily implied torture, let me know if I missed anything!

Masterlist // Previous

---

About two days after Devin woke up, the last of the infection seemed to be gone.

Finishing rebandaging their arm, Dr. Lenus sat back. “Yeah, you’re clean now. Once this finishes healing, all you’ll have left to remember this is a small scar.”

Devin watched him carefully. After their last encounter, they didn’t exactly trust the man who was so indebted to Wildre; and neither, it seemed, did Wildre himself.

He watched the doctor’s every move closely from the wall, a small scowl on his face. Once he was done, Wildre pushed off and walked over. “Thank you,” he said coldly. “You’re dismissed.”

Lenus opened his mouth to say something before thinking better of it and silently nodding, grabbing his bag and leaving.

Wildre sat down in the recently vacated chair next to Devin. “How does it feel to be infection free, love?” he asked, a glimmer of his usual snark showing.

Devin shrugged with a sigh. “Good, I guess.” In truth, the past couple days had been awful for them. They’d spent most of their time feeling horribly nauseous and the rest of it extremely lethargic. So they were definitely feeling better now. A small part of them couldn’t help being sad that things would be returning to normal what even is normal anymore and they didn’t foresee that including lots of bedrest. On the bright side, Lenus had checked out their ankles and saw that they were healing okay; a bit slowly, but that was to be expected, since Wildre kept them on their feet so often.

“Wonderful! I expect to see you at dinner, then, in an hour.” Wildre stood to leave but before he did, he commented, “I have sorely missed your company, love.”

Devin shivered slightly at the foreboding feel of the words. They laid there for a few moments longer, alone at last, before dragging themself out of bed, cringing at the pain from their ankles, but grateful that it seemed to be less than before.

They forced themself to take a quick shower, savoring the heavenly feel of the it burns it burns in a good way not like my arm this soothes hot water cascading down their achy body, before getting out. They quickly dried their hair before walking out to grab some clothes, a towel wrapped loosely around them.

With a start, they realized that there were already clothes laid out on the bed. No doubt in their mind that Wildre was behind it, even if he hadn’t put them there himself. Thinking for a moment, they realized they weren’t nearly as freaked out as they logically should be. But they knew Wildre had next to no boundaries, and even those he seemed only to hesitate for a moment before crossing. 

Picking up the clothes, they raised their eyebrows slightly at the soft, expensive feeling material. Pulling the dark purple dress shirt and black, close cut pants without a second thought, they sat down on the bed to lace up the supportive pair of white tennis shoes that fit easily over the ankle braces.

Satisfied with their appearance, they pulled open the door to their room, giving Duncan a small smile, not at all surprised by his presence. The entirety they’d been confined to bed, he’d stood guard, under Wildre’s orders, but still, it was impossible to not grow used to someone when you spent nearly all day with them. 

He gave them a small nod, setting off down the hall, Devin trailing. They stopped a ways away at a door that opened into the room they remembered getting hurt me hurt me so bad he ruined me eating breakfast in.

They froze slightly at the entrance before hardening their expression, their mouth becoming a harsh, thin line. Wildre was already sitting at the table set for two, glancing up as the two from where he typed furiously away at his phone as they came in. He was dressed in his usual attire of button-up shirt with a nice jacket thrown over it and slacks, not a hair out of place. Ever since that first night, Devin hadn’t seen him anything but perfectly put together. He dragged his gaze over them as they walked forward and sat down across from him.

“I see you got my gift, love,” he drawled, smirking lazily and slipping his phone into his pocket.

They raised an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t know I had a choice,” they shot back.

He laughed at that. “You always have a choice. In this case, you chose right.” I chose what you wanted me to do, they thought darkly before turning their attention to the food in front of the two, still hot.

“Soup?” they asked, surprised. “I was expecting something…”

“Fancier? More refined? You’re still healing, love. I wanted to do something nice.” With that, he picked up his spoon and brought it to his mouth, Devin following suit.

They ate quietly, the only sounds the clinking of the utensils against the bowls and the slight slurp whenever they were brought to their mouths. About halfway through eating, Devin paused, a wave of nausea sweeping over them. The soup turned bitter in their mouth.

“Does.. does this taste a bit funny to you?” As soon as they had spoken, Wildre had looked up at them, a knowing grin on his face. The blood drained out of Devin’s as they dropped their spoon with a clatter. “No.” But it was too late. Darkness was already creeping into the edges of their vision and nearly immediately, they felt themself falling.

They woke with a start at a sharp stinging pain on their cheek. Cracking open their eyes, they found themself staring up at a dark stone ceiling. They tried to sit up, only to be stopped nearly immediately by restraints on their arms and legs. Pulling against them slightly, they felt oh god i’m trapped i’m about to die aren’t i he’s finally decided to get rid of me themself beginning to panic. 

“Ah, good, you’re up, love.” Wildre slowly stepped into view on their side, holding something they couldn’t see. “I wouldn’t want you to miss the show, now, would I? It is, after all for your benefit.”

Devin decided that they were becoming more familiar than they’d like at the sensation of their tongue laying thick and heavy on the bottom of their mouth. “Why, why are you doing this, Wildre?” they slowly asked, pleading slipping into their voice.

He grabbed their jaw, a bit too tight to be comfortable. “Because you are mine, and you are here to be my toy, my stress reliever, and I haven’t been able to play with you the past few days, all because you decided to go get yourself broken.” He let go of them with a small push as they finally saw what he was holding.

It was the same knife as a few days weeks months lifetimes ago, their mouth aching in response. He stepped even closer and, in one fluid motion, opened their shirt, the cold air hitting their bare chest with a shiver. 

He placed the it’s too cold it’s too sharp get it off me i don’t want it touching me tip of the knife on their skin, trailing it light enough to not break the skin.

“Now, love, where should I begin?” he asked, his eyes lighting up. Devin could only turn their head away, squeezing their eyes shut with a muffled sob as the first drops of blood welled up.