roneal | (no subject)

"Aren't you going to... work in the morning?" Whatever work is. Mortals do it to earn currency to buy things, but he really doesn't know why Jade bothers with it. "Bring him here after."

"Now, why would I do that?" For one thing, he has his doubts that Jonathan will want to set foot in a faerie's home - he has harboured suspicions that Jonathan had realized his true nature some time ago. For another, why would he want to bring Jonathan into contact with Heine?

Besides the fact that it'll be fun, obviously.

"So I can see him." And see him without venturing out into a city of metal and concrete, more importantly. Heine doesn't like this place. The streets smell of smoke, and clean water is so hard to sense that he feels uncomfortable.

But... "I'll go looking for him if you don't bring him here." And does Jade really want Heine butting into his workplace?

He pauses to think. Heine has a point; he doesn't really want him rampaging around the city and knocking over the life Jade had carefully built for himself like a toddler kicking over a pile of toy blocks - although he doubts Heine would understand that particular simile.

"I'll see if he'll agree to come," Jade finally says. "But I'm afraid there's not much I can do if he refuses. Unless you won't mind meeting him outside my home?"

"I could," Heine mutters. He doesn't really want to, but if he has no other choice, he'll go out and meet the mortal there.

"Fine," he confirms a second later. "I'll wait."

"Good." That's as good as he's going to get for now. Jade stands up, satisfied. "I'm going to go prepare dinner. Do you want anything?"

Heine is here as a guest, so the rules of hospitality forbid Jade from doing anything too untoward, such as, say, poisoning him. The rules of hospitality say nothing about influencing him, however, and everyone knows that faerie food is never the safest thing to ingest.

Heine eyes Jade for a moment before just shaking his head. If he wants food, he'll get it himself. Fairies are certainly not above playing tricks on each other.

As he settles in for the night, Heine returns to his dog form, flopping on his belly on the couch with his head resting on his paws. If Jade tries to approach he turns alertly in his direction, but he doesn't move otherwise for the night.

Heine remains on the couch even as Jade departs the next morning. While Jade is at work, he entertains himself by wandering around the apartment. Technology really has changed. He can't really figure out how many of the devices work, but he does remember refrigerators and televisions.

He spends some time (most of the time) watching a series of episodes from the same show, trying to figure out what on earth mortals are interested in now—and mostly fails. By the time Jade returns, Heine is still in human form, just as naked as before, and searching through the fridge for food that isn't enchanted or otherwise altered by mortal chemicals.

"You're back." He pulls back from the fridge, not shutting the door. "And you brought him."

The mortal. Heine's eyes fix on him, pulling at the energy in his soul that he can sense even from across the room. Yes. He wants this one.

It took a fair bit of talking for him to convince Jonathan to come. By this time, Jade is almost completely certain that Jonathan suspects his true nature; Jonathan had been subtle about it, but he has ensured that Jade is inviting him to come as a guest before agreeing to visit his home.

Of course, any suspicions Jonathan might have probably solidified completely once he sees Heine in his full glory. Jade bites back a sigh. He hadn't even told Jonathan about Heine; he thought Heine would have the good sense to stay in dog form — or, at the very least, put on some clothes.

"Well, this is awkward," he says, forestalling any questions. Jonathan is looking at Heine, the fridge, then back at Jade himself. He's smiling faintly, but there's a note of confusion on his face. Jade resists the urge to sigh and rub at his temples.

Ignoring the boundaries of human decency (which he wouldn't care much about, even if he knew them), Heine turns from the fridge and walks closer until there are only a few feet between them. His gaze is fixed on Jonathan even as he speaks to Jade.

"What are the terms?"

"Heine, your lack of tact is truly astounding." That's likely an ambiguous enough statement to make while conveying the true extent of his annoyance with Heine. His eyes narrow. "Why don't you put on some clothes before we talk?"

His mind is whirling. Eichel may suspect his true nature, but suspicion is quite different from actual confirmation. Right now, Jade isn't entirely sure what to do, so he resorts to what he does best: evading, stalling for time.

He doesn't have any clothes, though, and Jade should know that. Heine looks at him suspiciously, crossing his arms.

"He already saw." Heine looks Jonathan in the eye, bringing the temptations of the lake, cool water on a hot day, into his voice. "Come here."

The mortal takes a few steps forward, seemingly before he realizes what he's doing.

"Jade, this is... why did you ask me to come here again? And who is this?"

"An acquaintance of mine." He touches Jonathan's wrist lightly, anchoring him as he glances at Heine. Such an overt exertion of his power, and so soon? Heine has no understanding of subtlety, but that's hardly a revelation.

If this goes poorly, they might both lose Jonathan.

"I apologise for his behaviour," he continues smoothly. "I'm afraid he doesn't have the best sense of appropriateness."

He's still talking without saying much, continuing to stall for time. There's so many odd things about this situation - Heine's nudity, his collar, the talk of terms, not to mention Heine's commanding attitude... How does he present this in a way that wouldn't drive Jonathan off immediately?

Jonathan laughs, and it only sounds slightly forced. "This is a surprise, to be sure. But let me introduce myself. My name is Jonathan."

"Heine." He already knows the mortal, but giving him a part of his true name will allow him very little power. Especially if he doesn't offer any other information while letting the awkward silence drag on until Jade breaks it.

This really is quite awkward. No one seems willing to speak, and Jade senses it won't be long until Jonathan's caution gets the better of him and he decides that leaving would be the wisest choice.

(Which, to be fair, would be entirely correct. It's never a good idea to be caught between two fae.)

He has to stop him before that happens. An idea is slowly beginning to form, but it's rather outrageous, even by his standards. Oh well. He's never been one to be easily embarrassed.

"Heine and I have a proposition for you," he says, choosing his words carefully. "As you can see, Heine leads a rather...alternative lifestyle. We were wondering if you'd be interested in being part of that."

Most people will never realize just how "alternative" their lifestyles are, but he wonders if Jonathan is sharp enough to pick up on the double meaning in his words.

Jonathan keeps up the polite smile, and it strengthens the longer Jade speaks. He still isn't sure what, exactly, is going on, but Jade's explanation gives him an easy way to understand. With Heine looking at him, red eyes sharp, his mind follows the path of least resistance.

"What does 'being part of that' entail?" he asks. "I'm interested, but I'd like to know more first."

Servitude, he thinks. He would be able to put Jonathan's mind to such good use. It'd be such a waste to give him up to Heine, to see all that intelligence and ambition vanishing under the bleak waters of Heine's lake like so much wreckage.

"It's simple, really. I'm interested in matters of power and control."

Heine's power lies in stillness, in the restful calm of his lake. Why not combat it with heat? Action? Jade isn't a particularly passionate creature - quite unlike his Unseelie kin - but he thinks he can pretend well enough. He has never really contemplated seduction as a method of holding sway over a mortal, but it seems to work well enough for some of the fae, so why not give it a try?

At the very least, it would make things interesting.

"Which do you prefer?" He asks, watching Jonathan intently. "Would you rather be the one in control, or the one submitting?"

Edited 2017-02-25 15:38 (UTC)

Of course, power and control are what all all sex is about, Jonathan thinks. He meets Jade's eyes with a slight tilt of his head.

"I'm used to being the one in control." He glances at Heine—and his collar, before speaking to Jade again. "So are you, I'd guess."

"Oh, either way is fine by me," he responds with his usual airy attitude. He smiles with eyes closed, the intensity of his stare vanishing in an instant.

"Now, let's discuss the terms." He smiles at Heine this time, dagger-sharp. "Heine, are you willing to give us joint ownership over you?"

A bold thing to ask for, but if Heine insists on making things so difficult for him, Jade sees no reason not to repay the favour.

Heine balances his hip against one of the kitchen counters, head tilted as he waits.

'Ownership'. Though he doesn't cross his arms, Heine's posture becomes markedly more guarded. "I'm not going to give you my lead."

"Would you give it to Jonathan?" He's watching Heine now. He's taunting him, mostly, but there's a part of Jade that is legitimately interested in Heine's answer.

"No." Why the hell would he do that? Even if he wants a mortal, he wouldn't offer them the power of ownership, whether it were by name or by possession of his lead.

"It would just be for tonight, if you didn't want it again." Without speaking Heine peers at Jonathan out of the corner of his eye, frowning. That isn't how it works.

"Whatever you're ready to give me," the mortal is saying. He walks closer slowly, making sure that Heine can see his approach. Raising one hand he touches Heine's jaw, smoothing the pad of his thumb over his skin. "I'll be gentle."

At this point Jonathan has been directed to believe that this is simply a strange sexual encounter and is acting accordingly. Heine thinks this might be a bad idea, but he's not opposed to sex, even with mortals. He turns his face into Jonathan's hand, almost nuzzling it, watching him slyly through his eyelashes.

"You can have control of Jade too," he murmurs. He smirks at Jonathan, not bothering to look at the other fae.

Edited 2017-02-26 19:01 (UTC)

Jade doesn't miss a beat. "I think Jonathan would have his hands full with just you, won't you agree?"

He watches Heine, tapping his fingers thoughtfully against his chin. It's strange to see him rubbing against Jonathan in such a manner, and equally strange to see Jonathan cup his cheek, thumb brushing tenderly across Heine's skin.

"Why not give him your lead, Heine? One night won't hurt."

Probably.

Heine stifles the urge to growl and settles for glaring at Jade once. "Bring it, then." He glances significantly at the store-bought leash that's still lying on the floor in front of the couch. After speaking he changes tack to lean forwards. He presses a slow, soft kiss to Jonathan's mouth, lips parting slightly so he can taste the mortal for the first time.

His keen ears pick up the sound of Jonathan's pleased hum as he kisses Heine back. Jade smiles to himself, amused, then he thinks about Heine sucking the air from Jonathan's lungs and his amusement fades somewhat. He stoops to pick up the lead - the store-brought one, he isn't entirely sure where Heine's actual lead is; is it still around his neck? - and rejoins the two of them.

"Hold still," he tells Heine. He knows Heine must want to clip on the lead himself, but that's just too bad, isn't it? He had already chosen to give up control.

Swiftly, he clips the lead onto Heine's collar and gives it a light tug to test its sturdiness. This may not be Heine's actual lead, but it's still a lead, a symbol of control, and sometimes symbols can be every bit as powerful as the reality.

Kissing a mortal is unlike kissing another fae. His skin is unevenly warm, he breathes heavily, and Heine can taste bits of food on his tongue.

The click of the lead and the tug makes his eyes dart to the side. Heine sneers at Jade for a moment, then kisses Jonathan again. He smooths his hands over the man's chest, slender fingers trailing along his sides to touch his hips.

The lake welcomes those it desires. Heine wraps his arms around Jonathan, pressing the length of his body against him.