Chapter Text
Pike could tell, these days, when Vax was getting ready to come to her. He didn’t do it often: less than once a month, but more than once a season. But they’d been together as a team for long enough that she knew his tells and signals, and she knew what he would need based on how he’d been behaving.
Sometimes he needed to be hurt and punished, but sometimes he just needed time to relax, a little period where nothing was his decision or his fault. Sometimes both. When he needed to be hurt he’d give people reasons to want to punish him, run into fights he wasn’t prepared for or start hitting Grog in the nuts to try to get him to fight back. He would act out to try and get someone to bring him into line. When he needed to relax he was the opposite, more dour and quiet than usual, going only where he was told or where he’d be useful, withdrawing into his own head too much.
Lately, he’d been acting out.
Earlier, Pike had watched as Vax tried to bait Grog into fighting him, darting around like the nimble little shithead he was and taking potshots. She hadn’t said anything at the time, just watched this happen, so she wasn’t surprised when he showed up at her door in the mansion that night, head down and hands behind his back.
“Come on in, Vax,” she said softly, stepping back and opening the door. He waited for her to close it, then dropped to his knees, as was their routine. This was good for both of them — he’d tell her exactly what he wanted, so there was no confusion, and the submission and vulnerability of offering this up to her would put him in the right headspace for it. Pike, in turn, could hear his requests and choose whether to grant them or not, as well as how and to what degree.
Also, his embarrassment at having to ask so explicitly was precious, and his demeanor as he did it told Pike whether it was real. If he could meet her eyes, he wasn’t being honest and wasn’t ready to be good. Right now, his eyes were closed.
“I want you to tie me up,” he began, hands in his lap and fidgeting. “Then spank me with a paddle, then m-maybe…” He swallowed hard. “Maybe whip my cock with that little thing. And then I want you to fuck me with…I mean, with whatever you want, but maybe…maybe your hand.”
Pike listened to all this impassively, then tilted his chin up with her fingers. He looked her in the eye, face a fetching pink. “Anything else?” she asked.
“Um…” He licked his lips nervously. Pike continued to look impassive. “Be, uh…a little mean, maybe? Like…don’t call me a good boy until I’ve earned it. Because I haven’t, yet.”
“Well, it’s good that you know you’ve been bad lately.” She let go of his chin. Then she smiled, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed his forehead. “I would be happy to do that for you, Vax. Thank you for asking so nicely.”
He was like a puppet with his strings cut, all the tension draining out of him at once. He still had that little bit of damage, that moment of waiting to be slapped away when he asked for what he wanted. But once Pike didn’t do it, he’d remember that she never had, and never would, and that it was safe to be so vulnerable with her. It was a leap of faith for him every time, and Pike felt honored that he trusted her to catch him.
But he’d asked her to be mean tonight, so she contained it a little, drawing herself up straight and pulling on the same impassive face. “Let’s go to your room and do this.”
Scanlan was bright enough to soundproof all the rooms, at least, but somehow Pike trusted Vax’s room more than her own. He started to stand up, and she raised her eyebrows.
“I did not give you permission to stand.”
Face burning, he nodded and came back down. Slowly, he came forward onto his hands and knees, and started crawling to the door. Pike gave him a minute to steel himself, then opened it to let him out.
The actual chances of someone coming upon them like this were relatively slim, but not zero. Enough to set Vax’s breathing heavy, enough to give Pike a little thrill at seeing him crawl for her. The progress down the hallway was slow, slower than she could have walked it, but it was worth it to have Vax plodding along next to her, his head at just the right height to reach over and scritch. She opened the door to his bedroom for him, then left him alone to start undressing while she went to borrow the bag of holding from Grog.
When she got back, Vax was halfway through the armor process, and Pike started helping, making him kneel so she could get his boots and start on his breeches. It took them a couple minutes, but soon enough Vax was naked and kneeling.
Pike proceeded to ignore him for awhile while she set his armor aside and summoned a servant to stand guard outside the door. She was softening him up, letting him stew a little while she did these other things, humming lightly when she started to pull necessary tools and supplies out of the bag. Grog didn’t know these things were in here, just their weight so they didn’t overfill the bag, so Pike and Vax were the only ones who could retrieve them. First was a silken rope, smooth so it didn’t leave marks on him. Next was the paddle, a simple wooden thing, then the switch, a thin, flexible stick with a leather handle, somewhere between cane and whip. Vax’s reactions when it was used on his cock were exquisite. Next was the jar of thick oil to be used for slick, and then a few other things, just in case she decided he needed more than he’d asked for. It was better to have everything laid out and organized properly than to have to go digging in the middle. And it gave her an excuse to linger more, let Vax keep working himself up in his own head. She did love how well he could be softened up by just ignoring him, it was fascinating.
After a few minutes, however, she’d gotten everything done that she could think of, so she approached Vax again. “Hands behind your back, Vax.”
He was quick to obey, eager to be good after being ignored for awhile. Pike bound him at the elbows, having learned well that there was really no way to tie his wrists that he couldn’t get out of. Elbows worked pretty well, though, and he was flexible enough to hold that for an hour or two without any problems.
“Face down,” she instructed him, so he moved, pressing his face into the pile carpet. It was a familiar position, and he let his hips settle back a little bit, so it was easier to maintain. Feet tucked up under him, like Vex guarding a pair of damned boots. Also, his ass was stuck out, making a wonderful target.
The first blow with the paddle was hard and satisfying, making him groan in appreciation. His cock was already hardening by the third blow, but Pike paused, making a thoughtful sound. Vax just stayed where he was, closing his eyes. He knew that it was time to let Pike take control, to be a good boy and just take what she gave him. If she wanted his opinion, she’d ask for it.
“I think you need a gag,” she declared, and he heard her footsteps walking away. “You’re getting noisy already. I’d ask if you had a preference for which one, but I’m probably just going to pick the one I want anyway!” she said cheerfully.
Vax just laughed, and didn’t bother moving or trying to offer his opinion. He just closed his eyes and lifted his head up enough that she’d have room, opening his mouth.
The thing that pushed between his lips was long: soft leather sewn in the shape of a cock and overstuffed so it was stiff but still had some give. Leather straps extended from the sides of it, and Vax sucked contently as Pike fastened the buckle behind his head, tight enough that he couldn’t just spit it out without help. Pike pushed on his head to lay it back down when she was done, and Vax let out a soft moan of thanks. The cock gag was good for him. It wasn’t big enough to restrict breathing, but enough to make him feel filled. It gave him something to focus on when there was nothing immediate happening, and it made him feel useful to be able to really use his mouth, even though he wasn’t actually pleasuring anyone but himself with his sucking. It was practice, and it made him want to be filled at the other end, too.
He moaned around it as another blow came down on his ass, and he was glad for the position he was in. It made it really hard to rub his legs together or try to get any friction for his cock. He could just focus on the pain. It blurred everything else out, let him live in sensation and forget about anything but his body. At least for a little while, his mind would be blissfully blank, and after the nice rest, the weight of everything would be off him for awhile.
Every hit was a little harder, starting to pitch Vax forward into the floor with every hit, making him whimper behind the gag. The paddle was only a warmup, though, and they both knew it.
Once his ass was satisfyingly red, Pike set the paddle aside and picked up another length of rope. This one had a loop tied in one end.
The straight end got tied around the ropes binding his elbows. Pike adjusted the length carefully, then grabbed Vax’s hair in a fist and yanked it back unceremoniously, making him cry out behind the gag.
“Don’t try to act like you’re complaining, Vax,” she scolded. “I know how much you love this.” She was working busily as she spoke, wrapping Vax’s hair several times around the loop in the rope, holding it secure. It forced him to keep his head arched back, and meant that if he struggled, he’d get it pulled more. She gave it a few yanks to make sure his hair wasn’t slipping, then nodded, satisfied.
“Ready for the next step?” Pike asked.
Vax nodded, a motion that yanked his hair and pulled all of him long with it — his hair pulled on his elbows which pulled on his shoulders, and on until his whole body was into the motion. The pain made him whimper a little, eyes watering and cock throbbing.
Pike’s hands went to the gag, working the buckle open and pulling it out of his mouth gently. “I need you to tell me with your words.”
Vax exhaled, a little breathless from the gag, and closed his eyes as he said it. Pike at least allowed him that much. “I want you to whip my cock with the switch,” he told her. “And I…”
Pike paused, raising an eyebrow. There hadn’t been an addition to this when he first asked. “Yes, Vax?”
He bit his lip briefly. “I really want something…something i-in.”
Pike waited, silent.
“Something inside my ass.”
“I can imagine you do. Do you think you’ve earned that yet?”
Vax swallowed hard. “M-maybe?”
Pike slapped him across the face. Not enough to really hurt, but enough to get his attention.
“N-no, ma’am.”
“No, you haven’t. So I don’t want to hear about it again.”
Vax swallowed hard and gave that whole-body nod again. “Yes, ma’am.”
She put the gag back in his mouth and rebuckled it, a little looser this time in deference to the bound hair. “Sit up,” she instructed. Vax sat back on his heels. “Can you stand without help?”
Vax made an unsure sound through the gag and started to slide one foot forward, testing his strength, but Pike put a hand on his knee. “No no, don’t worry about it. Wait here for me.”
He didn’t want to nod again, so he didn’t, just closed his eyes briefly in assent. Pike went over to the chair they would use, a simple wooden desk chair, and pulled it over right behind Vax so he didn’t have to go anywhere. From here, Pike could help him up onto it, hooking his arms over the back and sliding his butt onto the seat. He was hard, his cock jutting out proudly between his legs, and it brought that fiendish smile to Pike’s lips.
“Someone’s eager,” she said, running her fingers lightly over it. “We’ll see how long that lasts, won’t we?”
Vax made a soft sound, settling into the chair with his legs splayed open wide, presenting himself to be hurt. He closed his eyes and tried to block out everything else, focus only on the smarting pain of having to sit on his abused ass. Having his legs splayed and leaning as far back as he could get kind of helped, but there was no real escape. It was delicious, and just enough to let him zen out on it. He didn’t want to know it was coming when she hit him, and sure enough, that first blinding stripe of pain caught him by surprise.
Vax’s legs pulled up instinctively, wanting to protect himself, but he forced them back down, eyes squeezed shut.
“Tap your foot twice if you need your legs tied, okay?”
Two taps, immediately. He didn’t want to have to worry about it. Pike giggled and confirmed that she’d heard him, then went for more rope. Binding his ankles to the legs of the chair was quick and easy, and when he got another stripe across the underside of his cock, his legs jerked but stayed in place.
“Oh, my,” Pike said softly, and the tone in her voice made Vax want to spread even more, give her as much of himself as he could in hopes she’d say it again. “Do you think you’ve been a good boy yet?”
“Mm-mm,” Vax answered, about as close as he could get to language with the gag in.
“No? All right.” It was with that same soft tone, punctuated with a shocking hit to his balls. “I’ll make sure you get plenty of punishment, so you can be good again.”
Vax moaned and closed his eyes again, the cry he gave muffled when his cock was hit again.
The advantage of the switch was that it was thin and flexible enough to feel like a whip, but stiff enough that Pike could control it with precision. Comparatively small targets, like his cock and balls, could feel the narrow, laser-focused pain of a thin whip without risking anywhere Pike didn’t want to hit him. The pain of it was bright and hard and good, like Pike was painting the lines on him in beautiful, white-hot light. He could swim in it, drown in it, and know that she had his hand.
Soon enough, though, the pain was tipping over the line from bright to blinding, becoming too much, so Vax tapped his foot and slapped the chair and made noise, everything he had available to get Pike’s attention.
“Shhhh, I hear you, it’s okay,” she told him, stroking his arm, then reached up and unbuckled the gag. “What is it, sweet boy?”
“Too much,” he gasped, nearly choking on pooled saliva and swallowing hard to clear his mouth. “My cock. Enough.”
“Okay,” Pike said, but she knew him well enough to hear what he was struggling to express. “Does that mean you want me to stop?”
He shook his head, making a little noise as it tugged his hair.
“Do you want your hair free?”
He shook his head again.
“Okay. Do you want me to keep hitting you?”
“Uh huh.”
“Just not your cock?”
“Uh huh.”
The image was becoming clearer. “How about I strap it out of the way and carry on with your balls for a little while. And then when you’ve had enough of that, we can let you out and see about your reward. Is that what you want?”
“Yes.”
His tone was desperate, half hiss and half moan, full of joyful rapture, desperate arousal, and fearful apprehension all at the same time. The combination was intoxicating, and she wished this chair had him low enough to be easily kissed. It didn’t, though, so she went and retrieved one of his belts, binding his cock out of the way with it and buckling it at his hip.
“Good?” Pike asked, giving the head of it a reassuring rub where it poked out above the belt.
“Uh huh,” Vax said, licking his lips.
“Ask me for what you want now, Vax. Use your words again, please,” she prompted.
“Whip my balls until I beg you to stop.” He was too deep in sensation to feel a thing like shame anymore, no hesitation in his voice, and it made Pike smile.
“How are you doing, Vax?”
“Feel…floaty. Hurts a lot. Might come. Don’t wanna talk.”
“That’s okay, that was enough talking.” It was pretty normal for Vax to struggle with words after awhile, particularly when a gag was involved. She considered it evidence that she was taking his mind apart good and proper. “Do you want the gag back?”
“No ma’am. I mean.” He took a second to make sure his words were in the right order. “Don’t care.”
“Let’s leave it out, then,” she said, setting it aside to be cleaned later.
With that, she resumed the hits, careful to avoid his cock, but lavishing attention on his balls and inner thighs in the form of her switch, enjoying every cry and whimper now that his mouth was unoccupied. She was warm and slick between the legs under her nightgown, and knew that tonight she wouldn’t be sending him away without satisfying her, but it wasn’t time for that yet. She’d have plenty of time to enjoy his tongue later. He’d have earned a reward by then; Vax loved going down on a woman so much that it counted as a reward to let him do it, which Pike was more than happy to give him when he’d been particularly good.
A particularly high whine hit her ears, and Vax’s cock jerked a little under the belt, dribbling a little bit of seed. Pike raised one eyebrow, shadow of a smile touching her lips.
“You just edged, didn’t you?”
“Yes ma’am.” His voice was a needy whine and he was squirming in his bonds, trying desperately to get enough friction to make it more than that.
“Do you want me to keep hitting you until you come?” Unable to resist, she stepped up close enough to whisper in his ear, lips a scant quarter-inch away from the pointed shell. “I could hit you faster and harder, keep you tied like this and abuse you until you come all over my switch, then let you lick it clean. Would you like that, Vax?”
The sound he made was urgent, and he nodded.
“Okay, I can do that for you. But if I do that, you don’t get my hand. Is that what you want?”
It wasn’t meant as denying him something he wanted, so much as reminding him he’d wanted something different before. He groaned in frustration and shook his head, and as he squeezed his eyes closed, a tear ran down his temple.
“You’ve been in this position a long time. We’re going to untie you and move you so I can get at you a little better, and then you can decide how you want your reward. Okay, Vax?”
He swallowed hard. “Okay,” he said, voice small.
She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “You’ve been a good boy,” she told him. “You’ve taken your punishment so well. I want you to know this is just about making you feel good now, so you can tell me what would make you feel good if it’s not what I’m doing, okay?”
Vax took a breath, steadying himself. “What would feel good is you to do whatever you want,” he said. “Ma’am.”
Pike kissed his cheek again. “Okay, then. That’s what I’ll do. Your hair’s coming unbound, okay?” She unwrapped it from the loop in the rope, letting him groan and shake his head out for a moment. Next was his elbows getting unbound and letting him move his shoulders around, working out the stiffness. She untied his ankles last and had him stand on wobbly legs, then brought the chair around in front of him to let him bend over the back, binding his hands to the sides of the wood. It was easier to bind his wrists separately in a way he couldn’t get out of, no crossover action to pick those knots free. Satisfied with how Vax was bent over with his balls hanging down, cock still strapped to his belly, she ran the tip of her switch over it.
“Time to use your words, just for a minute,” she warned him, and gave him a second to get ready for it. “Tell me what you want.”
“Hit me,” he said urgently. “I can take more. But don’t make me come. I wanna come with your hand in me.”
“Good boy,” she praised, leaning in to kiss his temple. “I can do that. I’m so proud of you.”
The skin on the underside of his balls, what she could now see, was fresh and tender, so tempting to leave her mark on. She proceeded to do so, whipping Vax until he edged again and then untying him, turning the chair around so he could be bent over it on his knees and have the seat supporting him. She took the belt off, releasing his cock and smiling as it bounced free, still hard through all the pain he’d taken. His hands got bound to the chair again and a small pillow put under his head, so he could rest comfortably. Then, Pike went to retrieve the oil.
Two fingers were easy, and three not much harder — they were small fingers, after all, and Vax’s hole was well-trained. Four was where she started to actually slow down, easing it in slow and adding more oil.
“Good?” Pike asked.
Vax nodded. “Good.”
When they were doing something simpler like this, something pleasure-focused, the system could be a little simpler: Pike would ask if Vax was good, and he’d answer good, okay, or bad. Bad merited stopping, okay meant a pause and adjustment to get back to good. It was rare that he actually said anything other than good. Pike figured it meant she handled him well, and was proud of it.
The thumb slipped in easy, four fingers making a space for it, and and she started to push a little harder, encouraging Vax’s body to accept the wide part. He whimpered and shifted his knees apart, opening himself up, asking for more.
“Good?”
“Good.”
With every thrust, she’d press against the resistance gently for a beat, then pull back and repeat. She got a tiny bit farther with every press, his body opened up for it a little more.
“You’re so pretty like this, Vax,” Pike sighed. “Giving me your ass to play with, begging me to spread you open.”
“Please,” he whimpered, unable to say anything else.
“Patience, sweet boy.” She pressed for a second longer this time, feeling that they were almost there. “Patience.”
Vax cried out when his hole finally accepted her, swallowing it all at once. Pike made a pleased sound and carefully curled her hand into a fist, protecting him from nails or jabby fingers.
“Such a good boy,” she murmured, stroking his back with her free hand and then pressing it between her legs over her nightgown, biting her lip as she stole a little pleasure. “Such a good boy.” She started to move her fist inside him, reveling in it as he moaned and cried out. He wanted to rock back on it, fuck himself, but his hands were tied low on the legs, giving him little slack to do it with. All he could do was take it.
“Good?” Pike asked, breathless.
“Good!” Vax cried. “Fuck, good! Pike!”
“Shhh,” Pike admonished, trying not to laugh through it. “You’ll wake the family!”
Vax buried his face in the pillow in response, where he could cry out and moan as he liked and have no risk of being heard. Pike felt she could do this for hours, fuck Vax with her hand and listen to him moan and beg, but eventually she took pity, reaching forward with her other hand to stroke Vax’s cock firmly, giving him what he needed to finally get over the edge.
It didn’t take too much, and soon Pike was working on taking her hand back, gently easing it out as Vax twitched with aftershocks. “You’ve been such a good boy,” she told him, rubbing the edges of his stretched hole to hear him whimper. “Do you want something in this so you don’t feel empty, until bedtime? You’ve still got a few minutes of work to do.”
Seemingly knowing what she meant, Vax licked his lips and nodded, so Pike retrieved a small plug, just enough so that it would feel like something. Vax moaned in gratitude when she pressed it in, making her soaked cunt feel even hotter.
“Oh, you’re making me regret tying you up so well,” she murmured, hurriedly trying to get his hands undone. “You’re getting another reward, sweet boy, are you excited?”
Vax was too wiped out for pretense. “It’s been so long since I tasted you,” he said, shutting his eyes dreamily. “I wanna lick you so bad, Pike.”
Pike giggled, a sound of exhilaration and nerves, and went to get his other hand. Seeing little need for ceremony, Vax just let himself melt and flop back off the chair, onto his back, face to the sky. Pike appeared in his vision, nightgown hiked up to her waist, and Vax reached up, guiding with his hands as she lowered herself to his face.
At first she just stayed there, letting Vax play, but soon Pike was grabbing his hair as reins and grinding down on his face, rubbing herself mercilessly against his mouth. Vax just kept his mouth open, his tongue available, and did his best to lick her in the rhythm she demanded. It didn’t take her very long to ride his face to a first climax, then a second, then a third a minute later. She finally began to slow down, then, but Vax didn’t, licking and sucking her until she shuddered over him for a fourth time.
“Good boy,” Pike murmured, hips slowing against his mouth as she rode out the aftershocks. Vax kept licking eagerly, wringing every drop of pleasure out of her that he could get. “Good boy.”
Finally, she pulled away, dropping her nightgown and going on wobbly legs to get a rag. She cleaned herself up, then returned to take care of Vax. Somehow, their combined effort got him into the bed, and Pike nudged him over onto his stomach so she could take the plug out. Tossing it aside, she climbed up into the bed next to Vax, softly calling one of the servants to turn down the fire and put out the lights.
“So like, human tongue. Basically the same size as a gnome cock, yeah?”
Pike shook her head, and gathered Vax’s to her chest. “Goodnight, Vax.”
Vax relaxed in her arms, content and happy. “‘Night, Pickle.”