roneal | (no subject)

His behaviour is almost endearing. Jade smirks, even as he wonders if he had made a mistake in choosing Shinjirou. Things are always so much difficult when emotions such as fondness come into play, particularly in his line of work. But he's confident in his ability to compartmentalise, to be manipulative and ruthless as necessary.

He'll have to teach Shinjirou to hold his tongue eventually, but for now, Jade indulged him. "There's no reason to turn down a free gift. Besides, I was hoping to use it as positive reinforcement instead."

It's a pity the blanket isn't wrapped around his head and therefore unable to muffle his gasp and hide the color rising to his cheeks. Maybe it's not an advantage at all that Jade knows him intimately already. Too late to undo that night -- and that damn morning, with him sober and still so easy to read. Easy to lead, with the right approach.

He fidgets and stays unnaturally quiet for a bit, staring at the buildings rushing past them. "If you like having things for free, why didn't you just pick someone up? Too exhausting or what?"

Edited 2014-09-23 15:15 (UTC)

He hadn't been entirely certain if Shinjirou would find the idea appealing, but his reaction tells him everything he needs to know. Jade smirks again, but refrains from saying anything, concentrating on the drive instead.

By the time Shinjirou speaks again, they've almost arrived. He parks and switches off the engine before he replies.

"I'd like to see where you can find a free housekeeper." Jade reaches out, running two gloved fingers along the edge of Shinjirou's collar. "Don't forget why you're here."

"Tch. Pretty sure you're going to remind me of that should I ever forget." His seller would shake his head at him staring right back with a dark grin on his lips, but that guy is far, far away now. Thank God. Jade isn't half as annoying. He's actually kind of--

With a snap he turns his head away, pulling his shoulders up in an attempt to shove Jade's hand away. "So let's get home, so I can start vacuuming the living room or whatever." And get out of the cuffs. They've been bothering him for a while now and hey, you can't clean with your hands bound behind your back.

Still smiling, Jade allows Shinjirou to have his space, at least for the moment. He unbuckles him from the seat and takes hold of the chain again, leading him into the house. The whip dangled casually from his other hand.

The garage is clean, but the interior the house is spotless. If Shinjirou bothers to glance out of a window, he'll see that the "garden" is little more than a flat lawn, already mowed and just as immaculate as the inside of the house.

Jade shuts the door and locks it.

"I'm going to release you now. I do hope you're not planning on making a break for it." He knows he can overpower Shinjirou, but having to fight is always such a bother, especially when it's against someone he'd rather maintain a cordial relationship with.

With quick, precise movements, he steps behind Shinjirou and unlocks the handcuffs, allowing them to clatter to the floor.

Even if he were interested in escaping already, he wouldn't try anything: running out onto the streets without clothing is always a dumb idea. Docile as he can be, he waits until he hears the cuffs meet the floor before he moves. Lifting his hands up to his face, he investigates them for any cuts or bruises the restraints might have left on him. Looks fine to him.

Rubbing his wrists, he turns to face Jade, one eyebrow raised. "Doesn't look like there's anything to do for me here. Uhm. Apart from making dinner? That gonna be my first task?"

Shinjirou taps his fingers against the collar, pushing one beneath the leather. It's not too tight and he doesn't have the key to unlock it anyway. He can deal with a bit of collar and leash, he guesses, and drops his hands down to his sides. In a way the leather clinging to his skin is reassuring, not that he'd admit to it.

Shinjirou might seem docile, but Jade doesn't relax yet. It would be foolish (or desperate) for him to make a break for it as soon as he was free. It's more likely that he'll wait until Jade's guard is down.

At the question, he raises an eyebrow in return. "What are you talking about? The floor hasn't been vacuumed today yet."

He bends down to pick up the handcuffs, placing them on a nearby shelf along with the whip. Then he slips off his shoes and pulls at the length of chain again, tugging Shinjirou deeper into the house.

"I assume you're familiar with the place. At least, I hope you are. You'll be cleaning all of it everyday, except for my study. I can take care of that myself."

He doesn't keep anything sensitive within easy reach, but he does have a meticulous organization system in place, and he'd rather not risk having that be disturbed.

"Are you a student?" He asks suddenly.

In his opinion, the floor is void of any dust. Everything looks like ... well, like Jade already has a housekeeper. If he doesn't and did all the cleaning up himself, then he can't be half as lazy as Shinjirou thought he was. He tries to find a spot that isn't clean as he stumbles into the house, books or clothes lying around, but there's nothing.

"Yes, I'm familiar with it." Actually, he's having some not so chaste flashbacks. Hugging himself, as if it could contain his thoughts, he shrugs. "Okay, no study. Got that."

He wonders if he's allowed to sit down. Or what the rules in this game, job, whatever, what they even are. Is he supposed to find out by trial and error? He's not very good at not making mistakes and he doesn't want to make the learning curve too steep for himself, just because he's a fuck-up.

Jade takes him out of his worries with a question Shinjirou really didn't expect. His eyes widen, but then he snorts. "I'm not going to school."

"Hmm." He supposes he'll have to find some other way for Shinjirou to spend his free time. But it's good that he isn't a student; this way, there's less chance that someone is searching for him. He plans to keep Shinjirou confined inside for the foreseeable future, but it's always good to have less things to worry about.

For now, though, he threads his fingers through Shinjirou's hair, tugging sharply. "Stand up straight, arms at your side." He instructs in a clipped staccato, devoid of his previous amusement. "I'll tell you when you can act naturally. Right now, we really need to work on your discipline."

The hand in his hair makes him drop his guard for a second, letting both uncertainty and excitement shine through. Before he can put his angry facade back on, Jade's voice cuts into the heavy silence.

Without thinking about it -- he's too surprised to snap at Jade and disobey -- he drops his hands to his side, jerking up straight. He does frown once the first shock at the sudden change in tone has passed. "Discipline? I, uh, thought I was supposed to vacuum?"

Jade briefly considers reprimanding him for talking back, but he doesn't truly wish for him to stop. If he wants someone utterly obedient, he would have purchased someone broken in properly.

"Don't you need discipline for that?" He counters. "It would be such a bother if you did a poor job of it. And besides, that's not going to be your only duty."

He takes a step closer, reaching out to toy with the collar again. With adept movements, he hooks two fingers under the warmed leather, brushing his knuckles right against Shinjirou's throat.

"I need your help," he said, voice low, hoping he hadn't misread Shinjirou entirely. "But you'll have to let me help you first."

He's been there before. He knows how intoxicating it is, how safe it feels to allow somebody else to take control entirely. But only if it's someone trusted. He very much doubts that a bond like that exists between him and Shinjirou.

No matter. He'll find a way.

No, he doesn't think you need discipline for that, but then he's been living on the streets. What does he know about housework and how much discipline is needed to do the job properly, or rather the right, Jade way. He barely manages not to say it out loud, chewing on his bottom lip and the tip of his tongue.

Jade's knuckle pushing into his skin, he swallows hard, his throat shoving back. "Help me?" With what, asshole, he wants to spit out, but then again ... there's plenty of things he could need help with. What if, Shinjirou thinks, what if he became more disciplined, learned to control himself? What if it saved someone's life. He can't resurrect Ken's mother, but Jade might just help him prevent a thing like that from ever happening again.

"Okay." It's worth a try. He feels an odd, calming heaviness in his chest that he doesn't want to explore any further. Letting it settle, he curls and uncurls his fingers. It's surprisingly hard, just standing there doing nothing. "So, uh, are you going to tell me more about those duties yet or how's this going to work?"

He feels a distinct sense of pleasure as he watches the way Shinjirou's expression changes, from apprehension to anger to slow acceptance. As much as Jade wants to deny his darker impulses, he doesn't lie to himself; holding this much power over someone is thrilling. He can use Shinjirou however he pleases, mould him into something useful, a perfect tool to be used -

Having so much power in his hands makes him uneasy. It's for the mission, Jade reminds himself harshly, burying his concerns behind a lazy, satisfied smile.

"We'll discuss that later." He eases his fingers away, then nods in the direction of a little door that leads to the storeroom. "Focus on cleaning up. All the supplies you need should be in there. If you need me, I'll be in the study."

"Yeah, alright." Jade's secrecy makes him both curious and a bit uncomfortable. Might be that these duties are entirely harmless, if obnoxious tasks that Jade simply doesn't want to do himself and Shinjirou's worrying for no reason at all. Maybe he's just being tricked into thinking there's an unpleasant surprise up ahead waiting for him. That weird smile Jade's giving him could mean either.

He throws the chain over one shoulder to get it out of the way, then walks off towards the storeroom. "Just, uh, is there a reason I gotta be naked for this?" Seems kind of pointless, especially when no one's around to watch. He's not familiar with this slave thing, so he figures it may be part of that, but that hardly means he understands the reasoning behind it.

He raises an eyebrow.

"I would have thought that was obvious." Tucking his hands into his pockets, he grins, red eyes bright with a hint of mischief. "You'll hardly be inconspicuous if you do decide to escape. Besides," he adds, almost as an afterthought, "I enjoy looking at you."

"Now that you put it that way, yeah, it's pretty obvious." Grimacing, he turns away. Asking less questions is what he's planning to do, most importantly. The answers are just never much to his liking and when they are, he doesn't want to slip and show it.

It's a mystery to him why anyone would enjoy looking at a street rat like him, but maybe that's some weird fetish.

He doesn't wait for Jade to leave before he starts working, hopefully proving himself worthy of vacuuming when he makes sure to get into every corner and below the furniture. The noise numbs his mind; that's a plus in his book.

He checks on Shinjirou a few times, giving his work a quick glance and an approving nod, but for the most part he leaves him alone. It's not until he's almost finished that Jade exits the study for good, sitting down at the couch to watch the news while he waits for Shinjirou to be done. By then, the clouds outside are streaked with the yellows and deep crimsons of sunset.

"Brew me some tea," he orders, once the vacuum cleaner is packed away. "Then get started with dinner. I'd prefer something light tonight."

And, as an extra incentive: "After that, I'll tell you how tomorrow will go."

Most of the time, Shinjirou isn't aware of Jade's presence when the man decides to take a quick look at how he's doing. Which is bad, because it means that Jade can see how at ease he is while not being watched. He takes the task seriously, though, and the floor is even more spotless than before his arrival once he's done.

Putting the vacuum back into the storeroom, he keeps one eye on Jade. Not that he expects Jade to jump him any second, it's just that he's not used to any sort of domesticity, even if it's only between slave and master.

"Tea and dinner. That's easy." He shrugs and stops in front of Jade.

"Uhm, you got a hair tie?" Jade deserves a hair or two in his soup, but cooking is one of the few things Shinjirou regards important enough to do right. Especially if doing it right now also means getting to know what to expect the next day. "It's not sanitary if I do it like this."

"So you do know what you're doing." Jade sounds very pleased.

He usually keeps a hair tie on him, just in case, and he takes it out now, dangling it from his fingertips for Shinjirou to take. "There's also an apron if you need it."

Then he settles back and relaxes again. He could get used to this, even if he misses his privacy. It's not often he has his house this clean - he keeps things in order, yes, but he had spent most of yesterday tidying up just to make an impression.

"Huh?" Pulling his hair back into a tight little knot, he blinks. "Told you I can cook, didn't I? Already forgot about that or what?"

An apron sounds good, too. Being naked isn't that bad, getting dirty however he can do without. Especially after that very thorough washing session done by his oh-so-kind kidnapper. If being dirty equals scrubbing until his skin feels raw, he'd rather be careful. Besides, hot sauce hitting bare skin isn't very appealing when it happens accidentally.

"Ah. Am I supposed to cook for you or for the both of us?"

"Telling me is one thing. Proving it is another matter entirely." Lounging back against his couch, he tilts his head slightly to make sure Shinjirou had located the apron, then turns his attention back to the news again.

"We may as well eat together." It's not like he eats extravagantly anyway; he won't be wasting much money by allowing Shinjirou to share his food. Besides, he doesn't want to treat Shinjirou too poorly. "Make enough for both of us."

"Too bad. Means I can't spit into it," he mutters, tying the apron behind his back. It tickles his thighs where the loose ends hang down. Well, he's going to get used to that, he figures, once he's busy actually preparing dinner.

After opening the fridge and checking what it has to offer, he decides to do just what Jade requested: something light, so salad it is. Letting the water boil in the meantime, he cuts a piece of turkey breast into small slices. A bit of protein, a bit of fiber. Little to no fat and carbs. That'll hopefully be light enough.

"Did you say something?" He's more amused than anything, but at the same time, he wonders if he's being too loose. He prefers Shinjirou this way, honest and spirited, but he knows his "friends" would like someone more acquiescent. Soon, he'll have to train Shinjirou into behaving properly in front of guests. Perhaps he could gag him at first...

But that can wait until after dinner.

"No, nothing," he says, trying to sound as sickly-sweet as possible. The edge is audible, though, and his smile is forced when he brings the tea. Without needing to be prompted, he pours Jade a cup.

However, he's neglected to bring sugar and milk. That's not the way he drinks tea and he's mostly survived on discarded soda cans and tap water in public restrooms. Drinking isn't half as interesting as cooking so he doesn't spend much time thinking about it.

"Don't burn your sharp tongue on that."

Without warning, his hand shoots out, grabbing hold of the chain and giving it a firm tug. Not enough to really hurt; just to choke him up a bit.

"This sort of tea requires milk." He says calmly, releasing the chain as if nothing had happened. "Go get some from the fridge. A little bit will do."

Not that he really think Shinjirou had done anything wrong. Jade is not unreasonable; he knows that it's unlikely for someone like Shinjirou to be familiar with the minutiae of tea preparation. This is just another test. An experiment, to see how Shinjirou reacts to being tugged around, and how he responds to corrections.