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[greatdealofbravery]

It isn't until a few days later that Arthur comes and finds Jack, knocking on the door and leaning against the frame.

He spends most of his time avoiding the other man, which why it's unusual for him to materialize at this time of day, even more unusual for him to initiate an encounter. But he explains quickly;

"Eames is here. We'll be in our room, come when you're ready."

As short and to the point as ever.

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[forever_jack]

He looks up in surprise from the paperwork he was pretending to attend to. In the past few days, things have gone back to almost exactly how they were before. It's hard, at times, to believe that afternoon even happened.

Not that that's stopped Jack thinking, a lot, about the things Arthur showed him about himself, and looking forward to Eames' visit with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The way they've stopped communicating again, he hasn't even been sure Arthur will still want to let him even meet Eames, let alone...

He gulps a little, and nods. "Give me a minute. I just need to—" He gestures at the papers before him on the desk, though since he hasn't actually touched them in the last half-hour, it's only a pretence that there's something there he needs to finish. What he actually needs is a moment to pluck up his courage.

This is all, still, incredibly new to him.

[greatdealofbravery]

"Whenever you're ready," he agrees, seriously, then after a moment of thought he adds with a brilliant smile, "but wait too long and you'll be interrupting us. Not that that should stop you coming in."

And with that, he slips away, off to go complete some of the reunion he and Eames have been putting off for a while.

[forever_jack]

That grin is gorgeous and it makes him think of how Arthur looked after Jack sucked his brains out of him through his cock. He smiles back, even though he knows it's not him Arthur's really smiling for, and watches him go.

He takes a few minutes and some deep breaths, splashes some water on his face and gathers himself together, then heads upstairs. He pauses outside the door, considering whether he should knock, but it's his own damn house and Arthur did say to interrupt them, so he just taps on the door, calls "It's me!" and walks right on in. Pulse a little fast, eyes a little glittery, but game face on, which in this case means the slight leer he knows will be expected from him walking in on a lovers' reunion.

[greatdealofbravery]

The scene is surprisingly tame. Everyone has their clothes on, Eames has one hand resting on Arthur's shoulder, the other hand through his hair. Arthur's hands are in his lap.

Only, Arthur is on his knees, on the ground at Eames' feet, is what saves the moment from being utterly PG. His eyes are closed, his expression is peaceful, he barely seems to sense Jack's arrival.

Eames is the one who smirks up at him.

[forever_jack]

Jack checks slightly at the sight – it's so very much not what he expected – but he covers it fairly well, making it into a proper pause so he can give his husband's friend a once over. He lets his leer grow into a proper smirk at what he sees, though his smirk is purely about how pretty Eames is rather than a comment on the scene before him.

He's not quite sure what to think about the sight of Arthur on his knees.

So he leaves that aside for now and just focuses on Eames, striding forward with a smile and a hand for shaking, the master of the house at his most genial. "Glad you could make it. Welcome to our humble home!"

[greatdealofbravery]

"I'm glad to be here." Eames murmurs, holding Arthur still now, a firm hand in his hair to keep him from glancing up. It isn't needed, his expression doesn't even flicker. "When I heard you intended to be so accommodating, I came right away."

Smoothing Arthur's hair down, while he appraises Jack openly, and shakes his hand.

"Now I hear that 'accommodating' might be an understatement."

[forever_jack]

The innuendo, at least, is nice and familiar and he responds automatically. "Oh, I'm a very accommodating guy!" he says expansively, with a wide grin.

He takes Eames' appraisal easily, with the confidence of one who knows how good he looks. And then glances down at Arthur, finally acknowledging his own curiosity about that. There might be a touch of envy there. Arthur looks utterly serene.

"So – uh – he said you'd be all right about letting me watch?" he asks awkwardly. It feels very odd standing here talking about his husband to a stranger, with Arthur right there, but not participating.

[greatdealofbravery]

"That's where we'll start. Sit."

Eames orders Jack, though it's just mild enough that it could pass for a request if Jack needed it to.

"Arthur here has requested a beating, and I think that's a fine place to start."

It makes Arthur's eyes open, finally. He slips languidly to his feet, a little bit trancelike, as easily under Eames' power as Jack was under his just a few days ago, except they know each other well enough that all it takes is a few words, rather than a hand about the throat. Unbidden, he begins to undress. They're very familiar to one another, he knows just what comes next.

[forever_jack]

Jack's eyebrows go up a fraction at the way the 'request' is phrased, but he's eager enough not to argue, especially when sitting and watching is what he expected anyway. He nods and chooses an armchair not far away but not too close to be in their way (he hopes), and sprawls into it cornerwise, posture open, one arm along the back of it, to show he's not intimidated. (Mostly because he is, or at least on very unfamiliar ground.)

And by the time he's settled, Eames has said 'beating' in the same tone he might have said 'fucking' or 'blow-job' and he has to breathe very deliberately to get past the jolt of that. Arthur had told him he asked for it, but even so... Seeing him here, quietly rising and shedding his clothes like that – it's a bit mind-blowing. And it's yet another side to Arthur he's seeing here: not quite the quiet, self-contained man the rest of the world sees, and definitely not the rather magnificent, controlled, almost dangerous man he'd seen revealed the other day. He's hooked.

[greatdealofbravery]

Eames, fully dressed, drags Arthur back in. Arthur drops his forehead against his partner's shoulder, and stands for a second like that, breathing deeply, centering himself while Eames just rests hands on his hips, letting him come down to neutral.

"Why don't you tell me about what you've done so far, Jack? And maybe a bit about what you're curious about?"

Eames suggests, hand sliding at last through Arthur's hair again, pulling just to the point of discomfort, keeping him good and steady.

[forever_jack]

He wasn’t quite expecting the questions. The most he was hoping for was to be allowed to watch, on the sidelines, as long as he was quiet, and this throws him a little. It takes him a moment to find the words to answer, and when he does, he’s still staring at Arthur, standing there all sweet and compliant. He can’t seem to take his eyes off the sight.

“Uh, just what we did the other day – uh – breathplay, and spanking.” A faint flush colours his cheeks as he actually says the words, out loud, to a stranger. “Oh, and bondage. With my belt.”

He draws a breath, and lifts his eyes finally to Eames’ face, the blush intensifying. “Arthur said you use a whip on him?”

Because he hasn’t been able to get that image out of his head.

[greatdealofbravery]

"I do. A few kinds of whips, actually, but what I bet you're imagining is a singletail."

Arthur makes his first contribution to the discussion here; a piteous little sound, like he's asking for mercy. Eames grins, clearly not quite buying it.

"He pretends it isn't one of his favourites, but we both know better, don't we, darling?"

And there is something just faintly smug about Arthur's expression. There isn't a lot of loathing there at all, for all that he's making a very good show of it. In retaliation, Eames gives him a good slap on the rear.

"Go brace up. I'm going to answer Jack's questions about whips."

[forever_jack]

Jack hasn’t even thought about what type of whip – just the mere fact of it is enough. He watches Arthur’s reaction and the interplay between the two of them with fascination and a tinge of envy. It’s like when he and John tease each other by promising or withholding sex, except this isn’t really about sex at all.

He jerks at the slap, almost as if it were administered to him, not Arthur, and swallows, making the effort to meet Eames’ eyes again. His open, confident posture has shifted and he’s leaning forward slightly in his seat now, intent.

“I just don’t understand how that could possibly be pleasurable,” he says. “I mean, the spanking – yeah – that was fantastic, but it didn’t really hurt. It felt good! But a whip – I really don’t see how that can be a ‘good’ pain!”

At this point he’s wishing he’d talked to Arthur about this more afterwards instead of the awkward parting that happened that day, because asking a stranger about it is – well. Fucking hard.

Possibly what’s making it even harder is the fact that Eames is sparking off a lot of interesting reactions inside him. He wants to earn this man’s respect. He wants to feel like Arthur looks right now.

[greatdealofbravery]

"For some people it is pleasurable, for some people it isn't but they do it anyway. Our Arthur here is right between those two groups. He likes it up to a point, and then past that point he likes that I like doing it to him. He stays good and still for the lash, for me."

This is mostly to Arthur, who does seem to be sinking into Eames' authority, fit to purr. He gives him another good natured slap, this time on the shoulder, hands roaming over him to warm his skin up.

"Besides, there are different ways to hit with a whip. One doesn't begin by just cracking it against the skin."

[forever_jack]

Those words have an obvious effect on Jack too – not as much as on Arthur, of course, but his eyes go a shade darker and he gives a little shiver at the thought of letting someone beat you even though it hurts, just because they like it. It's not an easy concept to get his head around. He's a fairly generous man, himself, up to a point, but giving someone that much...

"He must really love you," he realises, a little shaky, his eyes on Eames' hands travelling over Arthur's skin.

And then, completely out of his depth here, "What do you do with it, then?"


((OOC: Damn, I didn't realise this hadn't posted! Thank god I found my draft!))

[greatdealofbravery]

"I don't know that we love one another."

He admits, and Arthur makes a noise of agreement. Eames gives him another firm slap, partially for the warmup, partially for the cheek.

"Sometimes it gets in the way of what this is. Power and devotion."

Another few slaps, heating Arthur's skin up to a warm, even red, everywhere he's about to throw the lash.

[forever_jack]

"Devotion, then," he shrugs. It seems close enough to what he meant that it doesn't seem worth risking upsetting the mood Eames is setting by quibbling over which words describe it best. Whatever it is that makes Arthur want to give that to Eames, it's clearly very powerful. He's felt a touch of it himself, with Arthur, and it fascinates him even while it scares him. The idea of going to the extremes Arthur seems about to go to is absolutely terrifying.

He watches breathlessly as Arthur's skin turns redder and redder, his own skin tingling in sympathy. It seems a lot of slaps for a simple chiding, and he suddenly gets that there's more to it than that. "So, this – this slapping. That's like... foreplay?" he realises, going with the sex analogy because it's what he knows best.

[greatdealofbravery]

"In every sense. Foreplay, and fingering." Eames agrees. "Because it gets dear Arthur not only in the mood, but also primes him on a physical level to receive what he's about to get."

Bending to press a kiss to his shoulderblade. Arthur looks up at Jack, disoriented, like he wants to say something but words are failing him. Eames takes this opportunity to go get the whip.

"Jack-" Arthur does manage to try, "-things will be graphic from here on in. Please say something if you're not all right."

[forever_jack]

Okay, that he can get. "Like the difference between being stretched and slicked before penetration and – well – not," he nods. "The build-up, both mental and physical."

And then he looks curiously at Arthur as he tries to speak, but it's still mostly confusion after he's spoken too. He has no idea what this is going to be like. He's scared and wired and out of his depth and curious as hell and he wouldn't miss this for the world.

"...Sure," he agrees after a moment, even though he has no real intention of speaking up. Mainly because he's too proud to admit it might get too much for him.

[greatdealofbravery]

Arthur was going to try to say something else, but quickly goes silent. Eames is spinning the whip gently, warming the leather up and as it twirls it makes soft rushing noises that just do Pavlovian things to Arthur.

The first crack of the whip is sharp. Eames pops it, but in the air over Arthur's head, not striking him at all, but he jumps all the same with a small cry of anticipation.

Things are about to get good.

[forever_jack]

Jack's not sure where to look: at the twirling whip, deceptively innocuous and yet just boding danger too, or at Arthur, whose reactions to the sound of it are incredibly compelling. He jumps just like Arthur does when the whip cracks, his breath catching, his heart hammering.

He's leaning forward in his seat now, intent on Eames, the controlled power in his body as he wields the whip.

[greatdealofbravery]

There's very little power in the first few blows. You really need less, rather than more, with a whip like this. He really just twitches his wrist, just so, and lets it whisper across Arthur's skin. It isn't even a real hit, just a soft graze, but it's enough to make him keen quietly.

[forever_jack]

Once again, even though he's watching Eames, it's Arthur's reaction to the whip's contact that gets to him the most. Whether it's because he knows Arthur better and thus feels like he's on Arthur's 'side' or whether it's just because Arthur's position is the only one of the two he can visualise himself in, but he can hardly breathe as he watches the whip caress Arthur's skin, his own skin prickling as if it can feel it too.

[greatdealofbravery]

It takes about ten little flicks with the tip of the cracker before Eames actually lays enough of the whip down against Arthur's skin for him to really feel it, and when he does it's very obvious. Arthur's eyes roll back, and his expression changes to something rapturous for a split second. There's already a fresh red line coming up on his skin.

He actually couldn't look more pleased if his cock were being sucked, though he doesn't seem to be getting physically aroused.

[forever_jack]

An expression of rapture is not what Jack expected, even with the memory of that spanking to go on. He still can't imagine something as full-on as this to be anything like that.

And yet, as he watches that red line streak across otherwise pale skin, he realises that it must be something like it, at least at this stage. He leans forward a little more, completely absorbed, and then has to reach down to adjust himself. Arthur may not be hard, but Jack's well on his way there.

Of course, it shouldn't really be a surprise. Arousal is his number one to response to an awful lot of different stimuli!