Day 265 - Friday, September 12th

[papalobo]

[A Chinese man who is definitely a mature adult and not a teenager checks in to the Hyatt, one of their more exclusive rooms, along with his half-white half brother who is also certainly not a teenager and most definitely not the notorious gang leader wanted on suspicion of a September 11th New York City bombing in retaliation for an angry rogue sect of anti-American zealots.

The entire suite floor has been rented out, and it requires a special key card in the elevator and on the stairs to enter that floor. But they can rent one of the still very luxe rooms directly beneath.

A familiar white limo is in the car garage, though the opportunity to gawk or investigate is slim, between the security cameras and live guards.

There's still no contact from Max, but the Department of Homeland Security has become involved, and has begun to enter Ash's territory with intent to arrest any known figures within his gang to bring in for questioning.]

Day 284, Wednesday, Oct 1st

Comments

[papalobo]

Shut up! [Max's hands insistently pull and rearrange Ash's feet and legs, urging the boy's wet face into his shoulder, instead of his chest, the other arm keeping him balanced as one leg stretches out to hook his foot around the edge of the desk just in case the chair threatens to tip.] There's an internet joke thing about cats fitting everywhere, so your stupid cat ass is gonna fit and it's gonna be a metaphor about how cats fit anywhere, even in your fucked up ass life. 'cause my metaphors or irony or whatever're better'n his, and you'll like 'em more, and stop thinking about stupid things like someone else making the cats happier'n you do.

[jadedlynx]

Max?

[ This time, the word comes out a bit better, if confused. He has no idea what's happening right now. He went from lost in whatever fog that was stinging everything to here in the moment but... completely unsure of what was happening in the moment. ]

So...what?

[ Ash is getting it under control, but some things do linger. ]

I fit in your lap, and I have to keep the cats?

[papalobo]

And if you try and fight me, I'll knock your ass out and tie you up and take a picture of you all bundled in my lap. Now fit.

[jadedlynx]

[ It's so ridiculous that it's impossible to remember the last two weeks. ]

Why would I help you...with your own bet?

[papalobo]

You're not helping willingly, I'm bullying you and threatening you and pickng on you when you're vulnerable.

[jadedlynx]

[ And again, his shoulders begin to shake. Maybe being bullied was too much. Only... the next sound that comes out of Ash's mouth, with his face still pressed against Max's chest, isn't one so tortured. It's laughter. The sound is lighter for how tortured he'd sounded just moments before. ]

You're... ridiculous.

[ And god, so much like Max. ]

[papalobo]

You're the one curling up in my lap at your age. I'm the ridiculous one?

[A hand smack's Ash on the thigh, once his legs are in place. Ash fits. Ha. Point made.]

[jadedlynx]

You're definitely...

[ His words are cut off by another laugh. ]

Definitely the ridiculous one.

[ Max is the one who put him there. ]

[papalobo]

And you're keeping two cats.

[Satisfied with his 'win', Max's arm moves to let Ash's feet down, if he wants.]

[jadedlynx]

Or what?

[ He'll try to move, but he's really laughing now. ]

You're going to rock me to sleep?

[papalobo]

You punched me, I'm still feeling it, so you do got one coming for you.

[For his part, Max does a pretty convincing act at someone sincere, completely serious in his frustration, as if dealing with a drunk, rather than being the ridiculous one himself.]

[jadedlynx]

I'm not sorry at all.

[ Ash is collecting himself now. That... had been a rollercoaster. One that leaves him a bit unsteady without knowing how to feel, but one that...

well, at least it didn't end at the bad part. ]

Sometimes people deserve a punch.

[papalobo]

If you're gonna do it when I'm too weak to fight back, make it one good enough I can stop feeling bad about the Christmas eve punch I gave you, at least.

[jadedlynx]

It was enough to knock you down. If I swung any harder, I'd have knocked you out.

[papalobo]

I can't hit back hard, but I can still take it pretty good. You think I'm that glass jawed?

[jadedlynx]

[ He's wiping at his face, trying to at least dry it. ]

Less than an hour later, you're forcing me to cuddle into your lap. I hit you plenty hard enough.

[papalobo]

Remember that. I'll do it next time too. [Max's hand pushes at the top of Ash's head, as if to push his bangs into his face, to give him an excuse to be wiping at his face as if just pretending to be straightening his bangs out of his eyes.] Think twice before you go picking a fight with me.

[jadedlynx]

Yeah, I don't want to know what comes after that. I'm going to go and try to bleach it from my brain.

[ It's bad enough that he needs to wash his face. But, more telling, since Max is close enough to rub at his hair, the tears were enough to wash at the makeup that was hiding the bruises. ]

[papalobo]

[Closer now, noticing those marks, he grabs that wrist. Suddenly standing, Ash is splayed over Max's desk, surprisingly agile and able to keep him from toppling over the computer with that single motion.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Expecting nothing aside from a clear path, Ash is completely taken off guard. Max knows why he wanted to get to the sink: to wash away the signs of crying.

Green eyes stare up at him, greener for the pale skin that allowed for such easy bruising. Bruises that were all too obviously shaped like finger marks. ]

Max?

[papalobo]

[Ignoring his confusion, his vulnerability, without thinking twice about possibly inflicting a flashback, Max holds that wrist tightly, a vicious shake running through his arms, as his eyes take it all in. He knew it happened. This wasn't a discovery. But the reality of it, as if Ash's tears, Ash's voice hadn't been real, needles into him when he's already been shocked too deeply in his core to take it.

They did this to him. Ash could have killed every single one of them, bare handed, and forced them to gas the room to get him to go down when more came in to try to subdue him directly. But he had to weakly, meekly let them overpower him, because Ash knew the reality outside of that cell wouldn't allow him any escape through violence even if the closed world of the interrogation rooms they violated him in would be within his sphere of control.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Instead of the fear, for now, Ash is overcome with shame. Realization hits him: the makeup is washed off. He's exposed. He'd kept nothing from Max once they were home, regarding the rape, so it's not a reveal, but there's a difference between bruises left in a fight and those left by people clutching your jaw while they forced themselves down your throat. ]

Max, I need to get up.

[ Ash turns his head to the side, trying to hide both his gaze and his bruises. ]

[papalobo]

[The hand not holding his wrist cups his face.]

If Bull's alive, I'll get any of them I can in a cell with him and make sure rumor gets around they're friends of yours. Anything they try to brag about doing to you'll get treated like empty bullshit. They'll remember you kicking even his ass, and show them a real power imbalance.

[His own words disgust him. He's fine with wanting to murder people. But setting up anyone's rape makes his own stomach churn.

But they did this to Ash.

And it's something he can do, in revenge.

He hasn't liked himself in three months. He'll get used to this new side of himself to hate soon enough.]

[jadedlynx]

It doesn't have to go that far.

[ Ash doesn't want it to go that far. The same boy who tried to get Max to be disgusted by his abuse of Ling is now assuring Max he doesn't want them raped. Another person raped adds to the numbers, it doesn't make them go down. ]

It'll be enough if to have them in jail. They'll feel it no matter what they do, what it's like to lose their freedom.

[papalobo]

[A few seconds pass, and something in Max's eyes clears up. There's still the rage at Ash's state, but it's not the raw rush on a raw nerve; it steams to a more manageable level as he releases Ash's wrist.]

...Yeah.

Yeah.

[This is the feeling Ash has when he scares himself. It's not Max's first time with it either, but it's not a good feeling.]