Ren S & Archie W : Rain Check WHO: Archie W and Ren S WHEN: Monday (17th) evening, and following this WHERE: Archie’s room at the BnB SUMMARY: A rain check and confidence boosting WARNINGS: Manhandling, suggestive language STATUS: Complete
Archie was under absolutely no illusion as to where this evening was going. And he was looking forward to it. He liked company, he liked company in his bed, and it felt like it had been a long time since he’d had that.
Over the last few months he’d managed to make his room in the BnB a little more homey, had collected some books and decorations that put his stamp on the space, to offset the garish, floral tones it had come with. It was comfortable, certainly, and he was kind of hoping he’d keep Ren distracted enough that he wasn’t going to be looking too hard at the decor.
And speaking of Ren- Archie had always been drawn to him, as he’d told the other man already. It wasn’t a sexual attraction right away, just an attraction, but he couldn’t deny that something more had sprung up the longer they’d worked together. Ren didn’t seem to realise how talented he was, that much was clear from their last conversation. Archie was going to do his best to make sure that changed. In fact, there was something incredibly appealing about drinking beer and lavishing praise on Ren. Aim to make him blush, at the very least.
He was clean and dressed in a pair of soft pants and an overly large sweater. He’d turned the heating up in his room, even if he didn’t need it, it would help keep up his facade. A facade he began by heating up and drinking down a considerably meal (purchased from the butchers) not long before Ren arrived so that his body was warm, so that it would react as though he were alive. Archie had no idea if Ren knew anyone else a-little-less-than-human, but he wasn’t willing to risk it right now.
Ren didn’t know anything about Archie being a-little-less-than-human, although it turned out that at the moment it likely would have made no difference in his decision-making process. He wasn’t, probably, making the best decisions. Or at least, he wasn’t making the most selfless decisions. He’d drank a quarter thing of beer, then pulled on a black pair of jeans, a dark cable knit sweater, and black boots, and grabbed the remainder of the six pack on his way out the door.
The cold gravel crunched under Ren’s feet as he headed for his motorcycle, storing the beer, and then taking the short drive to the B&B. He’d had been using the play as a distraction, and the play had run out, as obviously it was going to eventually do. If he were being honest, he didn’t know if he’d really believed that he and Louis would last, but the relationship had felt less volatile than anything he’d ever had, and perhaps because of that there had been some hope it might. Or there had been some hope that something less volatile, might be healthier, longer lasting, and now he wondered if it hadn’t been unlikely from the beginning. He was a series of turbulent emotions that he hadn’t been for a long time, not since before he’d come to Repose, and the turbulence, much like a storm at sea, wasn’t exactly welcome, and the easiest way to try to avoid it was to anchor himself in something that he could throw his focus into, and with the play no longer available, he was left floundering.
He hadn’t invited himself to Archie’s dinner as a way to get into his bed. His only real intention had been to not spend Christmas alone in his apartment, reminded of all of the things he didn’t have in his life this year. But when offered, it hadn’t been an unwelcome notion. Ren liked Archie, liked his enthusiasm, and his willingness to throw himself into a part, and his willingness to undertake a woman’s role, seemed to indicate a sort of internal bravery that was almost certainly attractive. Perhaps particularly right now, when Ren felt anything but emotionally brave – a thought he didn’t want to spend too much time on.
He climbed the steps, ran his fingers through his hair, and headed towards Archie’s room. Outside he straightened his shoulders and knocked.
Archie had been giving everything a lot of thought regarding Ren, especially in the hour or so that had lapsed since agreeing to have him over. He had been alive -for lack of better word- a long time, and he had learnt a lot of things. He’d had some harsh learning curves and had an idea he could, at the very least, make Ren feel good about himself whilst they were in the same close vicinity. It didn’t need to be anything more than that, they could both get something out of it.
He could hear Ren approaching, both his footsteps and the thump of his heartbeat. He could smell him, too. Warmth and oil and beer. Archie swung himself lazily from the bed and wandered over to the door, pulling it open, and taking a breath. Oh, most people were taller than him, but Ren was very tall, and broad, and there was nothing to distract him from that now.
“I’m glad you could make it,” he said sincerely, stepping aside to let the other man into his room. “Make yourself at home.” There was a chair as well as the bed, if Ren felt so inclined, or didn’t want to be too close too soon. Archie resumed his spot on the bed once the door was closed. “I was reading War of the Worlds earlier- have you considered perhaps a happy middle ground of adapting something into a play? Rather than writing your own for now. I think there’s a danger of getting too lost in your head if you go straight into that, and it’ll make you miserable rather than proud.” There was no point in beating around the bush, was there? “You were proud of this one, right?”
The thought of really talking through what he was doing with Archie faded as he came face to face with the man. He stepped in, his gaze flickering across Archie, and eyes warming with a smile. Archie had definitely given him reasons to come over, and that alone was something Ren was finding himself grateful for. He took in the room, and he'd been in one of the rooms with Leo, ghost hunting, so it was easy to note the differences - the places where Archie had made the room his own - or where he guessed that he had.
Without thinking too much, or second guessing his actions too much, he set the beers on the table, and he sat down on the bed, and turned his brown eyes over towards Archie who had joined him. There was a hint of a smile at the suggestion as he tried to run through the dozens of things that he could potentially adapt. "Maybe," he shrugged, but it wasn't so much a dismissal as it was a consideration of possibilities. "I mean, the trick would be finding something to adapt that would make for a good play, and something that I like, and something that hasn't been already adapted," an eyebrow raised, with a sort of smirk following.
"I was proud of this one, or am. You guys really pulled through for me," he paused for a moment, and then he reached for the beer. "Here," he popped the tab of it. "Fulfilling that raincheck," he handed it over, and opened another one for himself. A swig or two and he'd probably relax a little bit further. "Did you have a notion of something to be adapted when you said that though? Something you'd like to see me adapt?"
“You say that as though it had nothing to do with you,” Archie said gently, stretching out a hand to take the beer, shuffling down the bed a little so that they were sitting closer. “And thank you, you’re a man of your word. But clearly you should have given me a some more time then, because clearly you weren’t getting enough praise from everyone else.” His smile was similarly gentle, his eyebrows raising slightly.
“You know it was down to you, the whole thing, don’t you? Your idea and your effort, your vision, Ren- we wouldn’t have come together like that on our own, it didn’t just happen. It was you-” Archie gestured towards the other man with his can, then sipped his beer slowly to let his words stew a little.
“There was nothing in particular, no. I just imagined it would be a slightly easier stepping stone. Of course pretty much everything has an adaption these days, but you can just- reinterpret something. I’m reading Dorian Gray right now, and it’s ludicrously homoerotic, I think it might go down quite well here-” he said, a small tease in his tone now.
“But you have time to read, read things and imagine how you would give them life. Imagine who you would cast. You can certainly use me in this process in any way you like. I’m completely at your disposal.”
Ren smiled, and accepting the way he'd moved nearer, Ren turned so that one leg was pulled up on the bed, so he was facing Archie, and he took a sip of his own beer. "I didn't quite realize the number of complements I was giving up by pulling away so early," he replied, easily, but with an intent gaze. "I've wanted to do it since I got here," he added, giving way to allow himself a moment of pride in the accomplishment. "I did theatre in college, I thought maybe someday I'd do something more with it - and I haven't, but there seemed to be the possibility of it here, and it worked. People were into it," and this brought a genuine smile. "The thing about theatre is you can't really do it on your own though. Maybe I was the spark, but I couldn't have done that play on my own."
"I think Dorian Gray would fit right in," he offered a knowing smile of his own, and then he set the beer down on his knee and with his other hand he reached over to brush back a hair at Archie's temple. "You shouldn't overlook that I had good actors, willing to take on all of my directions."
“Well, you know now, for the future,” Archie grinned. “Though maybe in the future I’ll just take the opportunity to get you alone and tell you.”
He sipped his drink again as he listened to Ren, beaming at the smile that stole across the other man’s face as he spoke. That was what he wanted to see, there was some sense of pride, and Archie was glad of it.
“I enjoyed theatre in London, even if we were just dabbling, it wasn’t anything of a big deal. And I missed it a lot. So I was glad that you decided to do it. So glad. And that you should cast me.”
Archie enjoyed the feeling of his cheeks warming as Ren’s fingers brushed against his hair, not bothering to even pretend to be subtle as he moved himself close so that their legs touched on the bed. “Well, they were good directions to take on. Maybe we should have played a little harder to get, though, you never really needed to get demanding. I’m sure I would have loved to hear that. But- and I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m going to - we wanted it to be good for you.”
"I'm glad I was able to provide something you'd missed," Ren's gaze flickered up to Archie's face, his voice low and sincere, intended just for Archie. One of the things he'd loved about theatre from the beginning was how it met other people, told a story, helped them to explain something they didn't know about their own lives, gave joy, laughter, or helped deal with sadness or trauma in their own life- all of these things were true from the stage to audience, but the idea that he might have given Archie an opportunity to do something he missed was an added sort of nice, and increased his determination to do it again.
Encouraged by Archie's movement, he slid his hand up against the other man's face. He no longer particularly cared whether they were talking about the play or not, and it seemed very likely they weren't. "It was good," his thumb traced Archie's cheek. "And I didn't even have to use my demanding voice. I have one, of course. Every good director does. The one that says I rule your world, and you'll bow to my command."
Archie shivered. He outright shivered where he sat, a thrill running through him at the careful brush against his cheek and the words being spoken to him. “Then I really am going to have to argue with you next time, aren’t I? Make sure you’re being challenged enough. I wouldn’t want you to think directing was so easy-” Unlike making him a trembling mess, which was apparently the easiest thing in the world.
He licked his lips. “Plus, I would love to hear that voice. You have a way about you that demands attention, anyway, so add a commanding tone and I’ll be on my knees, never mind bowing -” Archie reached out his own hand, pressing it into the warmth of Ren’s sweater. “Imagine, all those boys getting on their knees for you, hm? I know it won’t just be me, but I can learn to share.” There was a gentle tease in his voice as his fingers moved up to stroke against the base of Ren’s throat. It - this - wasn’t anything serious, but whilst Ren was here he had all of Archie’s attention. It was what he deserved.
It was impossible to not be pulled in by Archie's reactions. Impossible to not want to pull another one out of him and Ren focused in, sliding his thumb against his cheek, then sliding his hand up against his neck. "Please do," he told him. "Be belligerent and difficult o that I can set you straight." There was a beat and he grinned. "Not too straight, maybe."
Archie's tongue just drew attention to those lips, and Ren's eyes fell to it. The idea of those lips finding his, the idea of Archie on his knees in front of him? Ren's breath caught and he licked his own lips. Focusing in on the moment was easy, so much nicer than anything else that he'd been focusing in on through the last few weeks. The hand against his chest, made him lean in, close enough that he could have kissed him, although he chose not to just yet. His eyes closed as Archie's fingers sent shivers up his spine. With some difficulty, he opened his eyes, and brought his gaze to Archie's eyes. "You're obviously a good boy," his voice was low, intense. "If you're so willing to share. Whatever have I done to deserve such a good boy?"
Archie’s eyes fluttered shut momentarily as Ren’s fingers moved to his neck. He grinned back, too. “Reprimand me in front of everyone else. All call me aside and give me a warning or two-”
His eyes opened again just in time to see Ren’s tongue move across his lips, a soft, pleased noise following when the other man leant into the touch against his chest. And the shiver he managed to get was a point of absolute satisfaction.
“Now you’re giving me mixed messages. You want me to be bad so you can reprimand me, but I’m also a good boy-” Archie’s smile was lazy and pleased, and he reached back to put his beer on the table beside his bed so that he had two hands free to touch. He moved around so that he was kneeling on the bed, inching in as close as he could, both hands resting against Ren’s neck. “A very good boy. And you’re smart, you’re intelligent, you’re creative. You have this big, sexy brain in here that is capable of more things than I think you realise-” Archie whispered, fingers sliding up and through Ren’s hair. “Or things that you do realise, but don’t think you should share. Which is ridiculous.” he bumped their noses together gently, affectionately, still smiling. “I can teach you to share.”
Ren swallowed, allowing himself to be ensnared in the moment. There were thoughts he could have pulled to the front, and they might have been good ones to pay attention to, but he instead turned himself over to the emotion of the moment, the sheer pleasure of fingers in his hair, and he leaned in, a hand reaching out to tug Archie's waist closer. "Are you complaining now?" He returned, even as his eyes fluttered shut. "It's not my responsibility to explain myself, it's your job to take what I say and put it to action," he shivered as Archie's fingers slid past a sensitive spot on his neck.
He wanted to kiss the man in front of him - the desire to do so was pulsing past almost every other sense in the moment, and yet at the same time he wanted to pull it out - too much reward too soon never did anyone any good did it? So instead he leaned forward, putting his lips near the pulse point at the base of Archie's ear as he whispered in that ear: "Are you saying that I need to learn to share?"
Archie let out a little breath as he was pulled closer, grinning even if Ren couldn’t see once his eyes were closed. “I wasn’t complaining, sir, I was just stating a fact,” he teased. “Just making sure I understood you properly, so that I can give you my best performance.” His voice was only slightly above a whisper, enjoying the shiver he’d caused, pinpointing the exact position so that he could do that again.
And of course now he was staring at Ren’s neck his eyes had found the softly fluttering spot where the other’s pulse beat against his skin, and instinct sent another little buzz through him to join the everything else. Just to press his mouth to that skin, to feel the beating against his lips-
The brush of Ren’s beneath his ear pulled him back and drew a soft, surprised moan from him. Archie’s fingers were buried in Ren’s hair, his body arching towards his companion. The moan was followed by a breathy laugh, and Archie leant in to reply, his words grazing against Ren’s temple;
“Yes. I am. You can start by sharing with me and we’ll see how that goes-” he grinned, sliding a hand back around to stroke that same spot that had made Ren shiver before. “Maybe I can get you to express yourself, hm?”
That moan, and the laugh that followed, pulsed pleasure through Ren. He felt as if he could do anything just then, take on the entire world, succeed while doing so. In its own way it was a reminder of how he'd felt that night in the maze - dominant and powerful - and it was a lie to say that he hadn't enjoyed that feeling. He discarded the beer he still held behind him, and reached an arm to pull Archie in, demanding that he keep doing the things he was doing.
"Maybe I don't want to share," he told him, once again near his ear, offering a challenge for Archie to take on. "Maybe I'm greedy, and I want you all to myself. What would you do then hmm?" He moved fingers up, sliding against the back of Archie's neck up into his hair. "I'm very demanding. And I'm an only child, we're notoriously bad at sharing."
Even if he could have stopped the shivers, Archie wasn’t sure he would have, his whole body trembling as he was pulled in closer and Ren spoke -tone holding that hint of dominance and power.
His thumb stroked slowly over the pulse in Ren’s neck, enjoying his own private thrill at the thrumming of the other man’s heart, other hand resting lightly at the base of his throat as Ren’s fingers made their way up.
“I’m the younger child, I had an older brother, I never got to keep nice things for myself,” Archie purred, moving forward so that he was astride the leg Ren had resting on the bed. “Makes me a little selfish when I do get something I want. Which is very bad of us both, hm? But I think it’s different if you’ve earnt it.” His lips brushed the shell of Ren’s ear, and the other man’s scent was making him more drunk than that beer could have. “You get to be possessive and demanding if you deserve it. Don’t you think you deserve it?”
Ren swallowed. He wanted to believe he deserved it, and Archie didn't seem to be protesting at all. If anything, he seemed to be encouraging, pushing forward, suggesting the idea, and Ren nodded enthusiastically, ignoring every protest that bubbled to the surface in favor of Archie's more palatable suggestion. "Yes," he murmured, possessively running his hands down Archie's back seeking edges of clothing - places where he might uncover the buried treasure of bare skin. "Yes, please - just there," he leaned towards where he hoped Archie's lips might be. "You get to have me to yourself tonight - there's no one here to steal from you."
He felt breathless, and although he wanted to keep teasing, keep flirting, there was also the sensation of Archie aside his leg, and that urge to push forward, even if it would shift everything so quickly, Ren was certain of it, and there was pleasure to be found in the way Archie seemed to be responding to him, flipping switches and pushing buttons to increase the rush of blood pulsing through him. "And if anyone should try," he murmured, "I'd be so angry. I'd have to punish them."
Archie laughed softly, breath stirring the little curls of hair at Ren’s temple. He turned his head, their lips almost, almost touching, barely grazing as he spoke.
“Safe word is ‘cut’, since you’re my director. I’d have stuck with ‘red’, but that sounds too much like your name, and I plan on moaning that a lot in the next hour or so,” he whispered, nipping gently on Ren’s lower lip before indulging himself and leaning down to run his tongue carefully over the fluttering pulse in the other man’s neck. Just a moment. Just a tease. Then he pulled back.
“So- what if I try and steal myself away, hm? After all this-” Archie shifted backwards, pulling himself out of Ren’s grasp with a smirk on his face, backing up towards the pillows at the head of his bed. “What if I decided you just weren’t possessive enough for me-” he thought he was being a little bit cruel. But he would more than make up for it. He lay back, legs ever so slightly parted in invitation, the evidence of his enjoyment quite obvious now. “Would you have to punish me?”
“Cut,” he murmured under his breath. “Noted.” And then his eyes were fluttering closed, his fingers grasping for purchase against the other man, longing to pull him forward, and he was about to do so when Archie pulled away, snapping Ren’s eyes open to follow his movements. For a heartbeat there was a question in them and then realization swiftly followed and Ren’s look was intense, stern, maybe even just a little dangerous.
“Here I thought you were such a good boy,” his voice was a rumble. “Now I’m finding out perhaps not. Of course I would have to punish you. You’ve led me on, Archie, and that’s unacceptable behavior.”
He punctuated this by kneeling on the bed, crawling up over him, and it was his turn to straddle him. “You should stop and think about the consequences of your actions,” he laid a palm across the bulge in Archie’s pants, no pressure, just enough to be felt - enough to tease a hint of touch to come. “You should think about what might happen if you deprived me.”
Archie genuinely felt bad for a moment at the expression that first graced Ren’s face, but it turned into more of a thrill when that expression changed into something a lot darker. And he tried his absolute hardest to not smirk, to not react, to not look smug and pleased as Ren crawled towards him.
He gasped, hips twitching up when Ren’s palm pressed against him, wanting the friction he knew he absolutely didn’t deserve. “I’m- I’m so sorry,” Archie managed to stammer out, breathless. “I’m sorry for leading you on. I promise- I promise I’ll be a good boy for you. The good boy you deserve-”
Lifting his hand, he slid his fingers through Ren’s hair again, tucking some back behind his ear. “You’re so brilliant, so clever, so creative- I should be better for you. I will be better-” Propping himself up on his other arm, Archie leant in closer, again brushing their lips together. “I’m not worthy of a man like you,” he said, finally adding a little more pressure, even if it wasn’t his place to initiate it.
Ren cocked an eyebrow, as if he were uncertain of Archie’s sincerity even as his hand pressed down just briefly before moving to run up his chest, watching the man’s reactions and cataloging every one of them, wanting to know exactly what each touch elicited. It had been a long time since he’d indulged any of this particular want in the bedroom - at least so freely and without any hesitation and every movement Archie made spoke towards continuing, diving in, and playing with the heady feeling of power the whole thing gave him.
“Why should I believe you,” he asked, pulling a little distance between them. “What will you be doing to make up for your bad behavior?”
The thought occurred to him, and for a heartbeat he hesitated, and then he reached out, tapping into the ease with which he could control things with magic, and caught Archie’s wrist with it, gently, but firmly, and Ren pulled back. “Perhaps I should just leave you there,” he suggested, eyes declaring that he was teasing, but with a hint of danger that suggested maybe not. “Let you cool down…”
The warm hand moving over his chest made Archie press up again, as though he were desperate for contact, as though he had been starved of touch. Of Ren’s touch specifically. His hand still lingered in the place it had come to rest, even as Ren pulled back from it, distancing himself.
“Anything you ask, of course,” Archie whispered. “Anything to prove I am worthy of you, your time, your attention. Pl-”
He didn’t have time to finish the word before he felt the grip at his wrist, looking at it wide eyed for a moment. Ren wasn’t holding him. Something else was- Archie’s eyes lit up. There was a little earthy zing of magic in the air, and he smiled rather devilishly at Ren. But for now that was going to go unmentioned. Now he was going to get back into his role.
“Please?” Archie was getting such a thrill from this. “I will give myself to you. I’ll be such a good boy- You deserve that, don’t you? Someone like you.” His gaze ran slowly over Ren, from his face down his body and then back up again. “Let me prove I’m worthy of you.”
Maybe he could play with it for a while longer - let Archie keep begging, and keep teasing, but the truth was Ren wanted to press his body against Archie's, and he wanted Archie to praise him, and he wanted - everything that was laid out in front of him right now. He reached fingers forward again, still holding Archie's wrists with his magic, and instead running his fingers against the edge just above his belt line. "Are you?" He murmured, his eyes on Archie's face. "Can you be a good boy?"
Fingers sliding along skin, pressing further to find bare skin and to run his fingertips and his hands against it. And then he leaned forward, pressing himself against Archie's body, whispering just near his lips: "You're such a good boy, Archie. Be good for me."
These were the last words he spoke before he pressed his lips to Archie's, finally allowing himself to taste Archie's lips, and to allow his hands to slide against the other man's body, touching, teasing, lingering over the tell-tale sign of how ready Archie was to have him. He could give directions for where he wanted Arche's lips, his hands, and what he enjoyed as Archie did it. And everytime Archie followed a direction Ren's heart pounded a little faster, reaction running through him with every touch and whisper, and feeling of being absolutely the center of Archie's universe. And when all of the reactions were run out, he was left breathless with Archie by him, his eyes closed as he laid still so his heart could quiet.
He reached over, letting his fingers slide through Archie's hair, massaging his scalp silently as he breathed in and out.
Archie was absolutely thrilled with the magic that was holding him down, for so many reasons. Partly it was to do with how strong the magic was, so that even if he tried he couldn’t fight it. Partly it was because it meant that Ren had two hands free to touch him-
And Ren really did touch him. And tease him. And pulled noises from him that Archie wasn’t even aware he could make. Needy, desperate little sounds,
It was a relief to finally kiss, too. Yes, to taste. Ren tasted wonderful, and Archie was completely enamored. He’d done with his teasing, with playing, and now he was going to indulge the other man in anything he wanted. Obediently. Like a good boy.
The back of his hand rested gently against Ren’s chest, against where his heart was beating, letting that soothe him. His own pulse had settled to almost nothing now, and his skin would start to cool, but for the moment Archie couldn’t bring himself to move away. He smiled at the fingers in his hair, head turned just slightly to watch Ren as he relaxed.
Archie wanted to tell him he could come over whenever he wanted. He could come here and let Archie spoil him and praise him and indulge him. He could come here when he felt down on himself and let Archie build him up again. He wanted to say that, but maybe, he hoped, it went without saying.
Ren's eyes tentatively moved up to meet Archie's, and at the look in them he smiled, and he leaned forward, pressing lips to the edge of his lips. He should leave, and he would, in a moment, but right now he kept his fingers tangled in the other man's hair, and he drew in a breath, and with a smile, a tease, and half a promise he murmured: "such a good boy."