Halloween

[duke_devlin]

[OOC: It’s that time of year again; ghosts, spirits, all those festive flickers of orange and black, Halloween. duke_devlin and jai_bakura indulge in some of the general air of the holiday, both out in the city and in the familiar background of the Devlin apartment side residence.
Warnings for: m/m of the PG sort, roleplay of the adult theme, blood (nonviolent), uhmm…drinking warrants mentioning? Oh; Jai and Duke’s version of a relationship in general, which in this case equals social disorderly conduct. Backdated to Oct. 31st, 2007]

Just from one glance at Duke’s apartment, it would be easy for anyone to point out just what holiday he and Jai were celebrating today.

The apartment was filled with an overall festive theme; the newly-carved pumpkin was displayed for now on the table beside the couch, the lamp that was usually there moved to the floor for the time being. Various Halloween decorations littered the kitchen and the living room, Halloween candy of course had been purchased, and a scary movie sitting atop the television for he and Jai to watch later. Quinn and Zaphod were spared from being dolled up for the holiday, because Duke wasn’t so sure either of them would tolerate a costume, but Trillian was dressed in a pink tutu and had shimmery white wings clipped to her collar - a stark difference from last year when she’d been dressed like a witch.

It was comfortable this year, and Duke was certain nothing would go wrong like it had last year. All he wanted this year was to concentrate on enjoying the day with Jai, and to avoid any sort of drama that might prevent that from happening. And so far, he’d been quite successful with that.

More than anything right now though, Duke was excited to show Jai his first costume, which was carefully stored in a dark-colored bag on a shelf in his closet, kept out of site so that Jai couldn’t spy a glance at it before Halloween, because it would probably be quite recognizable to him and Duke didn’t want the surprise to be ruined. Jai had dyed his hair for this costume, brunet again just like it had been last year, though Duke hadn’t given any indication just why he wanted it brown save for the fact that it went along with his surprise-costume. Duke didn’t really think the brown color would give too much away beforehand; after all, a common hair color sported by so many people presented a lot of costume possibilities.

After taking a moment to retrieve that bag from his closet, Duke walked the remaining few steps to his bathroom so that he could change clothes. But before Duke closed the door, he poked his head out just once to offer his final words before changing. “Don’t peek, okay? Promise you won’t.” He grinned, lingering for that promise before making any attempt to close the door to change into that costume.

Jai rattled off yet another promise that, no, he was not going to peek or whatever; Duke had been on about the costume thing most of the day and he had finally just tuned most of it out because too much of anything from Duke could be a little exhausting. He liked the exuberant nature, but let’s face it; Jai was not much for Halloween himself. Or much of any holiday, but he knew Duke loved any chance to be as over the top with celebration that he could manage.

Just as well, he really was not going to try to figure out what Duke was doing; Jai was busy sitting in the middle of the floor trying to pry Trill away from rubbing on his arm long enough to continue what he had been doing for roughly fifteen minutes. His left hand held a black marker, his right arm was stretched out and upturned; a few dark lines already scrolled over his wrist.

Easier than real tattoos, and eventually the black would fade or wear off his skin; though it was going to take some effort as pale as he was. And he was expected to evidently make with the pirate idea this year so he had to do it well, would not really allow himself to half do anything of course.

Otherwise he had little idea what they were doing, only a vague idea of the plans but he really did not need all the details. He spent his days in command of every facet of life he could manage; every so often it was nice to not have to be the one to be in charge, though it was an idea he was slow in getting used to.

Though after about the third time Trill tried to bat at the marker he was a little tempted to give the kitty a nice eyeliner streak under those big, bright eyes. “Don’t tempt me, cat,” he muttered and waved the marker in mock warning.

Duke knew that Jai wasn't overly thrilled with the idea of Halloween, so he'd put together his first costume solely for Jai's enjoyment. He'd don his pirate outfit later for the nighttime costume ball, but for now all he wanted was to surprise Jai, to give something for Jai to enjoy just here at the apartment. Last year had been rocky at points, but Duke was intensely determined not to let that happen again this year. After a whole extra year spent together, Duke was more familiar with Jai's interests, which was why he was certain this particular outfit would go over well. Hopefully it would more than go over well.

The preparation for his costume took a little bit of time; his newly-brown hair had to be slicked back with gel, and while his skin was perhaps a bit too tan for this particular character... well, there was nothing much to be done about that. But he made up for it with the accuracy of his clothing. It was a relative simple costume to put together; brown leather jacket over a long-sleeved black shirt, black slacks and boots, black leather gloves - an outfit Jai would surely recognize as being the one Hannibal Lector sported in the latter half of Hannibal Rising.

But it was more than just the outfit - he'd watched the movie at least a dozen times before Halloween so he'd be able to get the accent down at well, paying close attention to all of the details because he wanted to make this really good for Jai.

After looking himself over in the mirror until he was absolutely satisfied with the end result, Duke finally allowed himself to reenter the living room, head held high and confident, but with an aura of calmness about him - Duke had been amazed just how Hannibal had been able to be so damn calm while, for instance, strangling someone to death, so Duke mirrored that attitude to the best of his ability. While he had no intentions of really harming Jai... he still wanted to have a little fun with him, to see if Jai would roleplay a little with him. He couldn't help but smirk when he neared Jai; that smirk was essential, a small way of portraying just a little hint of evilness to go along with his outfit. "Good afternoon, Herr Bakura. My, what do we have here...?" He glanced down at Trillian, then back at Jai, and smirked just a little wider, subtly licking the edge of his lips to emphasize his next words. "I've always loved a game of cat and mouse."

Having gone back to drawing, fending the cat off between strokes of inky black, his gaze stayed on his wrist when he first heard Duke walk back into the room; intent on finishing the skull part of his makeshift tattoo. He glanced up for a second though at the words, and promptly ended up with a thick black line where he had not meant for one to be in the first place. He blinked down at his arm for a split second with a muttered ‘awww…dammit…’ before he decided at the moment it hardly mattered. He could..fix it later, yeah, whatever.

Which left him just looking at Duke with a hint of surprise at first, and Trillian won the marker because he dropped it when she jumped that time to bat it; since he had half forgotten he was holding it in the first place.

Duke didn't really need to wait for a verbal response from Jai; already he was enjoying the role. And he knew if Trillian were ignored long enough that she'd wander off eventually, or she'd at least be preoccupied with that marker for a few minutes so he wasn't worried about her bothering the two of them too much at present. Duke knelt down on one knee in front of Jai, gave Jai's body a quick look over, claiming him with his gaze, before he finally spoke again.

"But first, I believe you have something of mine," Duke voiced, gaze intense and smirk still firmly in place - from the Hannibal movies Duke knew the character didn't blink much, so he tried as best he could to do that as well. Though he broke that eye contact for now, letting his gaze fall down to the pocket of Jai's pants instead to foreshadow just what object he planned on taking: the pocket knife that Jai always kept with him. Duke couldn't possibly let Jai be 'armed' when he wasn't, after all; in fact he refused to give Jai a fighting chance in this little roleplay, and without asking permission he edged closer and slid his hand into that pocket to try to grasp that knife, wondering in the back of his mind if Jai would try to stop him or not.

Jai could not exactly claim to everyone he knew that Duke was always the most normal person around, but then again he was a little strange himself at times; and he certainly did not mind it at the time. His thoughts scattered and hid themselves away under the scrutiny of Duke’s gaze and his pale eyebrows hitched higher in response to the initiated game, though it was more personal than most of the idle amusements Duke drug him through because he knew Duke was looking to push some very distinct buttons with this one.

And he knew Duke was going for that knife, he offered a sound of protest purposely but did not move to stop him; that would have stalled the fun just a bit too much. He stayed frozen in place, or tried to but it was made more difficult with someone’s hand in his pocket; just fixing a stubbornly definite look in Duke’s direction.

“It’s not very nice to go feeling up on people and stealing their toys, is it?” Jai chirped with a drawn challenging gleam across his eyes, it was not a game of calculation as much one of toying back and forth and he loved those.

Pleased that Jai had neglected to fight back, Duke freed that knife from the confine's of Jai's pocket, and toyed with it idly, opening it to expose the blade as he spoke. "I really can't say I feel too guilty about it since you don't seem to be attempting to stop me. And besides... it's mine now, anyway." Of course, not really; he'd never try to honestly steal off Jai's possessions, especially important ones like that knife, but it was merely part of the act he wanted to put up. He'd most certainly give it back after the game was over with. "You're not going to argue with me, are you?" Duke asked, even though he was certain Jai was going to anyway. But it was fun for him, their play arguments, and he relished spending time like this with Jai.

But Duke led the conversation in a different direction after that, to a bit of a gruesome topic, and while he wasn't serious about the conversation at all he attempted to at least sound as if he were in order to keep up the act. "You're remarkably pale, you know... I suspect the contrast I'd see if I were to indulge my desire to break your skin would be absolutely stunning." He smirked again, toying with that blade still; he'd never dreamed of cutting Jai for pleasure, but... he assumed Hannibal Lector might do something like that, so he had to pretend to be interested in something like that as well.

Duke was surprisingly believable in the act, but Jai did not expect much less since once Duke was determined to do something he usually did it to an extreme just to make certain he was the best possible at it. And any normal person probably would have shied away from the conversation the instant it took a darker turn, but normality was just a word; and Jai did not put much stock into it.

“Yeah, I bet; but that’s probably not a healthy fascination, is it?” Jai tipped his eyes only slightly higher; his gaze muddy crimson behind his clear contacts, and acted as though he were carefully thinking over his own words when he was really just watching the slide of Duke’s fingers across the blade and the handle. It was distracting, in the sort of way that maybe it should not have been but he was not exactly troubled over the fact; not in the least.

“Maybe you’re wrong though, I am awfully pale; maybe I don’t even bleed the right color.” He smirked, drawing one knee up as a barrier between himself and Duke as a sign of protest; because that was part of the game too.

"No? Well, that makes me all the more curious," Duke replied, inwardly quite amused that Jai wasn't backing down from this particular topic. Though he watched Jai closely anyway for any signs of discomfort; the last thing he wanted was to make his companion uncomfortable with something that was supposed to only be for fun. It was a bit of an odd idea, the thought of really doing something like that to Jai. Sure, Duke had cut his own fingertips before for ritual use, had done the same with Jai's fingers, and while he'd never really come to see that as anything more than a ritualistic sacrifice, it was a curious idea now to do the same thing but in play rather than in a more serious setting. Because they'd done it many times before, it was in his comfort zone by now because he knew it wouldn't cause any real harm to either of them.

Still holding that blade with one hand, Duke reached out with his other to snag one of Jai's own hands firmly, not backing off on the idea just yet because he was trying to stay in character. Though any hint of tension from Jai would make him stop immediately. "Tell me, Jai'son, how well do you tolerate pain?" His tone was curious, less about the question itself and more about whether or not Jai wanted him to stop. "Perhaps I'm feeling generous today; perhaps I'll be gentle with you if you behave."

Jai held the passive expression all the while Duke continued speaking, even as his hand was drawn up and grasped, nonchalant as he regarded the question with tempered humor. His comfort zones were different than Duke’s, by far; he disliked contact at all with people who did not have his strict permission to be around him, but the lines were thin with those who did. And even thinner by far with Duke, for the obvious reasons.

It was just a game, oh yes, it was. Jai lifted his other hand and caught the tip of the blade with his thumbnail; dragging it upward for an instant before he closed the top of his hand across it with a raise of his eyebrows just slightly at Duke and a freshly sparked smirk.

“Pain? Nah, I’m used to that in life.” Jai drew the words out with a heavy mutter to his voice, fingers stretched down over the blade’s edge and barely brushing across Duke’s as he closed his hand around the knife and let it dig into the palm of his hand enough to bring a shallow line of red across the surface and left it to run down between both their fingers.

It was just a game, but then again Jai always did have a habit of playing rough when the mood hit him.

For a moment Duke could only watch Jai's movements, trying not to look too fascinated or curious because he didn't want to weaken his characters' image any. But the very idea that Jai trusted him with his well-being this much absolutely exhilarated Duke, made him feel intensely important, because he knew Jai wouldn't let just anyone do this sort of thing with him. It was something he'd never had before, had never been able to trust someone so much with his own body or have someone trust him to this extent; it was somehow refreshing and at the same time deeply satisfying, made him feel all the more connected to Jai.

But... wait, didn't he have a role he was supposed to be playing? Right, Hannibal. Duke came to his senses again, dragged his gaze briefly away from their hands and quickly thought up a way to one-up Jai for that slice of a blade a few seconds before - because this was a game, and he was determined still to come out the victor. "Used to it? From the look of things, you don't seem to mind it much at all right now. But perhaps you will once I'm finished with you."

It was an idle threat and Duke knew Jai knew that, but to emphasize his words the younger man tugged Jai's palm closer, dropping his blade-wielding hand in favor of dragging the warm tip of his tongue along his companion's shallow wound, all the while narrowing his eyes at Jai in an utterly predatory fashion. He was playing a cannibal after all, and while he'd planned to indulge in his fair share of nips and bites at some point, this particular act was one he hadn't planned, hadn't foreseen. But he didn't mind it; more than anything he felt immensely trusted for being able to do something like this.

There was something twisted and primal about the spike of pleasure he felt watching the slow drag of slick heat; Duke’s mouth against that already hint of warmth from the weeping furrow in his pale skin only made firelight spark under the edge of his senses. Such a simple thing, such an unconventional thing; wrapped up in silent meanings and it broke a bare smile across Jai’s lips and a shiver deep inside that place in his stomach that liked to tighten and pitch at the most interesting moments.

“I don’t scare easy,” He muttered with a turn of his palm in Duke’s grasp to press his fingertips to the lower edge of his jaw instead; lifting it with the faintest of ushering touches. “So you might just be out of luck trying.”

Defiant to the end, in game or not; and the acceptance he received for that fault amid the intensity of Duke’s gaze was a welcome feeling and a different brand of warmth. He drew his hand away, brows lifted higher in silent study and a thin smirk in place; it was always a matter of just who would fold first.

"We'll see," Duke replied simply, licking the last lingering traces of Jai's blood from his own bottom lip, still utterly determined to give Jai a performance worthy of Hannibal Lector's character, only... without impending death, of course. And if Jai wasn't going to move his leg out of the way, Duke was just going to have to work around that. Rather like a predator slowly stalking its prey, Duke slid behind Jai instead, and after setting that knife aside for the moment he held onto Jai's shoulders snugly for a moment to silently let his companion know that no, he wasn't allowed to turn around to face him again.

Duke was well aware that no one else would be allowed to do this to Jai, and it was mutual, so situations like this always felt important because they were only for Jai and Duke together. The sum of it all only made Duke love Jai more, for so many reasons, though as determined as he was now, he wasn't thinking it all over too much at the moment. Instead, his thoughts were all on his act now, because he hadn't done an overly large amount of pre-planning; after all, this was a spontaneous sort of play, and while he knew beforehand that Jai would be defiant, he had no idea just what Jai would say or do, so his own actions were mostly impromptu.

"If you're so unafraid, then just stay still," Duke instructed, smiling genuinely now that he had the knowledge that Jai couldn't see him, or at least not very well if he tried to turn his head around. He was excited about this idea, proud to have thought it up. And to tie into the Hannibal movies a little bit more, Duke lifted his hands in front of Jai, carefully resting his fingertips against Jai's cheeks. "You know, they say the cheeks are the most delectable part of an animal, but..." He paused, moved his hands lower by gently dragging the tips of his fingers against Jai's face, and down the length of his neck. "...I think I'm going to start right here first." No secret that he liked marking Jai, and as a bit of a preview for what followed he leaned his head forward so that he could nip lightly against the side of Jai's neck.

Jai’s gaze tipped to the corner of his eye while he watched Duke until it was not possible anymore, but he had no plans to tip his head in that direction; especially once he had heard the challenging tone. Duke knew how to push the right buttons, yes, and knew how to use them to his advantage too. But it hardly mattered; Jai used every advantage he could in those games as well.

His eyebrows slipped up just barely inclined at the words at first, stoic still to the touch until it edged more intimate and then he swallowed a bit more thickly but masked it with a roll of his shoulders forward enough to distract from the fact that he was fighting the urge to turn his head but outright refusing to.

“You do realize that while it very well might-” Jai stalled with that nip, because it half proved the point he had begun to make even better than words would have managed, which was good because they failed him for a lingering few seconds. “-might make me a masochist it doesn’t do much for your image either.”

Character or otherwise, it was valid; Duke had a bit of a twisted streak, one of the more interesting things he had learned over time.

But, game; yes, he was still trying to keep up with it; Duke just had a tendency to play dirty. Or at least as dirty as he did too when the tables were turned, and Jai could appreciate that really.

“Why should I care about my image? I hardly think you’re going to be spreading this around…” Duke replied, shifting one of his hands to lightly grip Jai’s jaw, pushing up to force Jai’s head to tip back; it helped to assure that Jai wouldn’t try to turn his head around too much if it was dipped back. “I can only image the looks Ly and Kaiba would give you if you told that about these masochistic tendencies.” Another nip followed, sharper than the first but in the same spot; he wanted to mark Jai so everyone tonight would see

It was an utter rush for Duke to be able to give Jai this sort of attention; he’d never been in a relationship with anyone else so open, so eager to indulge fantasies - it was something he didn’t want to be without now. Being able to trust another person so much and having the knowledge that the trust was mutual was something Duke treasured. And it allowed him to have so much more fun, just as he was now; he loved being able to role play out something he knew Jai would enjoy.

“But Ly and Kaiba won’t matter after today,” Duke continued, lowering his voice and speaking close to Jai’s ear. “Because you’re never leaving this room again.” It was all play, but he wanted to be as realistic as he could. He continued the physical attention, dragging the tip of his tongue along the outside of Jai’s ear, as if slowly savoring his meal.

“Isn’t threatening to tell people who won’t matter things that would bother me a little contradictory? See, now you’re just not making any sense at all.” Jai smirked, he did just fine for a few moments, keeping his focus; and the thought did in fact cross his mind that bruises took a while to fade as fair skinned as he was. And Duke knew that, yes; he did not doubt for a second that was exactly why he took such demented pleasure in committing those marks to flesh.

Jai found little reason to mind it either, frankly; or any of the other odd quirks of Duke’s he endulged. It was a shared one though, Duke was usually more subtle about it then he bothered to be; Jai could recall a few mornings in the past listening to Duke lament about having to wear a higher collared shirt to work just on sheer principle.

That never ceased to amuse Jai, actually.

Harmless though, and a little indulgence of the less than typical sort kept their relationship interesting; they both liked to play far too much to let anything settle into mundane.

Duke was an ungodly tease though, an utter demon; and relentless when he was dedicated to the idea. A lesson Jai learned quickly but always enjoyed the refresher courses in; biting back a snicker at how intent Duke seemed to be at the time. He shifted some though; too distracting, he forgot he was supposed to be staying still at the time.

“I didn’t say you could move,” Duke informed, resting both of his palms to Jai’s shoulders, sliding down until he could firmly grip Jai’s wrists in his hands. His tone was calm still; Hannibal Lector’s voice didn’t seem to raise often so Duke kept his own quiet. “Don’t make me tie you down.” And he would, without hesitation, just as he’d done on various other occasions in the past. He fancied the idea that Jai liked it when they were together like this, and that made him want to do it even more.

“Threat or a promise?” Jai countered with a smirk; though he supposed it could be a little of both. He was also beginning to question the merits of Duke’s convictions towards going anywhere at all that night; because it was starting to get less and less likely the longer the game continued. Not for lack of time, more lack of Jai giving a damn about leaving the apartment at all when he had far better ideas to entertain.

“Both,” Duke answered predictably, having expected Jai to remain defiant. And he liked that; it wouldn’t be as much fun at all if Jai didn’t put up at least a little bit of a verbal fight. Instead of finding the means to bind Jai’s wrists in a usual fashion, Duke took up Jai’s knife again with the idea of trying something a little less typical.

With one hand holding onto that knife, Duke grasped the bottom edge of the back of Jai’s shirt with his opposite hand. “…I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Duke warned, before carefully slicing through fabric with that blade, splitting the back of Jai’s shirt open. After setting that knife down again, Duke took a moment to completely tug the remnants of that shirt off of Jai’s form, and used that ripped fabric in order to bind his lover’s hands behind his back. And all the while he leaned close, whispered in Jai’s ear more warnings. “Don’t try to fight; it’s useless…You’ll only make it worse if you cause trouble…” But some dark part of Duke almost wished for that; he couldn’t help but relish the playful torment.

Jai’s eyes inched a little wider at the sound of fabric ripping strand by strand; that was not entirely fair and he lifted his eyebrows too in amusement. Duke never played games half-hearted, and never played them without throwing something unexpected at him just to keep his guard up.

He was already testing the weight of the bonds by the time Duke was speaking again; gauging carefully just how tight they were. None too easy to shrug off, Jai chuckled under his breath and tipped his head towards Duke with a shrug of his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Isn’t there something about people who have control issues being uncertain of themselves?” Jai mused, playfully; and with his lips drawn back just at the edge of his teeth. Relent? Hardly, he did not play games that way and they both knew it.

"Not only do you move too much, you talk too much, too..." Duke replied, inwardly amused but trying to keep up that calm facade. Once he was certain that Jai wouldn't be able to free his hands, he took a moment to take off his own gloves along with his brown leather jacket and set them aside; it was too warm so close to Jai to keep the jacket on any longer, and he wanted to be able to feel Jai's skin without the fabric of those gloves in the way, so he had no choice but to part with them. "If I wasn't looking so forward to hearing you scream, I'd find a way to quiet you down now, too."

Of course Duke didn't really want Jai to stay silent; he loved hearing Jai's voice when they were together like this, however stubborn and defiant his companion was at first. But for a moment Duke refrained from talking himself, too busy smoothing the palms of his hands against Jai's back, beginning at his shoulders and dragging downward. His touch was light at first, but the pressure of fingertips gradually grew firmer, and by the time he'd reached Jai's lower back, just above those bound wrists, his fingernails were lightly digging into his lover's skin. It wasn't a sharp enough pressure to break skin, no, but firm enough to leave marks, and that was something Duke was fond of, being able to see physical reminders of the attention he'd given Jai.

But afterward Duke lifted his hands again, this time to grip hard against Jai's shoulders and all but tug him closer so that Jai's back would rest against his chest, a not-so-subtle demand for closer contact. What he spoke next was softer, and he leaned his head in nearer as if divulging some secret that only Jai should hear. "...Because you are going to scream for me, aren't you? You're stubborn now, but I know just how to make you lose control even more than you already have. Do you really think it does any good to be this difficult?" Duke was smirking again, honestly eager to feel more of Jai but he lingered for a moment, expecting another defiant response from his companion first.

“Oh, be my guest; more determined people than you have figured out I’m horrifically difficult to get to shut up if I’m not in the mood to.” He offered with a lazy roll of his muddy crimson eyes; flexing his wrists against the fabric again just on sheer principle alone. Then could not help but add; “Don’t make up your mind very well, do you? First you’re complaining about me talking and then you talking about wanting to hear me; you sound just a little conflicted.”

Jai grinned, hooked his thumb under the edge of the binding and tugged it up a few centimeters when he managed to find a weak point, because he certainly planned to make it as interesting a game as he could. “You’re not so great at trying to restrain people either.”

He slid the fabric up again, there was no real way he could get free of it but he could point out the flaws, and did with an amused snicker. Duke would forgive him, or maybe not; really either sounded like equal fun at the moment.

His jaw stiffened, tightly; against the distraction of those devilish hands but he was certainly only human and Duke was anything but when he had that certain gleam in his eyes. It would have been a lie to say Jai did not find it alluring in an odd sort of way, well; not so much odd for him.

His eyes had dropped heavy-lidded after a few seconds though and he was near to cursing the restraints with the slide of nails and the pressure; Jai was not an outright masochist perhaps but he had a healthy appreciation for rougher play at times. His bangs had fallen down near the edge of his eyes and left him half blinded, the other half blinded by sensation so he was sightless under the drag of touch and could feel distinctly the tense of muscle so delightfully respondent to Duke’s intentions.

Game, right; he recalled one in a vague sort of way.

“You’d be more convincing if you weren’t usually like this.” Jai grinned again from under the edge of his bangs as his head tipped towards Duke with a quick swipe of his tongue across lips drawn back with a sly smile.

Okay, so Duke wasn't exactly trained in restraining methods, but he had given it his best shot. ...Was that sort of thing actually taught, anyway? He was briefly distracted with the thought, because that would be a very entertaining class to take. And a useful one, too.

But his thoughts of bondage classes were brought to a sudden halt as he watched Jai lick his lips like that, so utterly evil and distracting and just... not fair. "Mmf... Bastard, what did I tell you about that?" Duke had told him outright several times in the past just how unfair it was to have to watch that, deeply distracting as the small flick of Jai's tongue was. He was speaking more Devlin than Lector now, thrown from the act for the moment because he was too busy watching Jai.

Though in all honestly Duke did want to watch Jai, and he knew it would be so much easier if he weren't behind Jai any longer. He took a moment to shift around to kneel in front of Jai instead, all but straddling his companion's lap for the moment just to be closer, so he could mimic the same drag of his fingertips down the front of Jai's chest that he'd done to Jai's back a moment before. Duke never grew tired of touching Jai; it was deeply satisfying to be able to be so intimate with another person.

Duke knew he had to offer some sort of warning in response to that action of Jai's from a moment before, if only in an attempt to keep up the act. "...try it again and you'll be sorry." He narrowed his eyes slightly at Jai, expression without any real malice.

“How am I supposed to remember with everything you’re always telling me; have you ever listened to yourself? You never stop talking.” Jai snickered, “It’s always something, and you expect me to remember every little thing?”

Well, it was exaggerated; but that was half the point, and most of the entertainment factor because what fun was it messing with Duke if he had to shy back from the snide remarks. It took a degree of built tolerance to deal with his sense of humor, yes, but Duke had learned to counter it perfectly well over time.

“Do what? I’m totally innocent.” The mock protest was offered up with a far too sweet smile, which should have been the best indication that he was still amused. Even though Jai’s eyebrows did hitch barely higher and he shifted a little, ineffective as it was at the time.

Dammit, Duke never played fair; though he was very good at it.

After he listened to Jai’s continued and expected defiance, Duke didn’t quite answer with words this time around, wanting not only to surprise Jai but also to make him want this more; perhaps it was a little off but Duke always was satisfied with being able to finally break Jai’s stubbornness when they were together like this. It wasn’t a contest and no one was keeping score, but Duke couldn’t help but enjoy the knowledge that he’d weakened Jai’s desire to remain stubborn, because it was a difficult thing to do.

But without wasting a word, Duke, eyes still narrowed, ducked his head in quick to bite the juncture between Jai’s neck and shoulder, harder than any of his previous nips had been, and he followed that with an equally swift press of his lips hard against Jai’s in a fierce kiss to muffle any further defiant complaint that might follow. He lifted both hands to rest against the nape of Jai’s neck, not allowing him to move until Duke was well-satisfied with his effort of silencing Jai’s smart retorts with a more intimate means than his previous threats.

Stubborn will was what Jai did best, and he hardly ever faltered; except around Duke. Which he had come to accept as just one of those facts of life, one he did not find much room to argue with himself over anymore; one of those weird, emotional things he was still stumbling over more often than not.

He expected retaliation, just not so swift and sharp; or so numbing that made him yelp in surprise at the grace of ivory edges scraped across his skin. The sound broke in the lack of space between their lips and was joined by a drawn murmur with the narrowing of his eyes; protests dead in the water for that lingering second.

He had to breathe eventually, one of the downsides of living; and it was too awkward trying to during the kiss so Jai was left appeasing the burn of his lungs after Duke had drew back with those intense starfire emerald eyes eating at his resolve with the flickers of that game foggy in the cobweb corners of Jai’s mind.

Duke broke that kiss only after a final nip of Jai’s lower lip, finding it harder to breathe too than it had been a few moments before. Jai always made his heartbeat quicken, even with something as simple as a kiss, and by now even he was wondering whether or not going to the ball later was such a good idea anymore. It was impossible for him not to want to give Jai more now, as much as he wanted to hear Jai’s voice and the sound of his labored breath, so Duke dropped both of his hands again, this time to rest against Jai’s belt, fingers taking a moment to unclasp it.

“Ready to give up yet?” Duke asked as he tugged that belt completely off, voice a little softer than before, his own desire evident even in his tone of voice. “Or do you need more convincing?”

“Oh, feel free to convince me;” Jai murmured; eyes still narrowed but not in malice, though most people would have had a difficult time telling the difference.

No need to pay much attention to what Duke was doing, the subtle shifts of movement told him every drop of fingertips over leather and metal clasp; his gaze was busy elsewhere in the area of Duke’s expression as he took in the expression and the faint hints of stormy weather in his eyes.

Transfixed, it would have been easier to stress his point if he had been able to free his wrists; easier to speak in some facets without words but the mildly lopsided smile edged at the corner of his lips would do for the moment even if it did little to fully grasp the heavy gleam in the depths of crimson set to catch Duke’s mirrored gaze.

As much as he had been tempted to remain at home, and as much as he’d enjoyed playing up a fantasy of Jai’s, Duke knew Halloween wouldn’t come around again for another whole year after this, so he didn’t want to waste the opportunity to go to the ball. Besides, there were very few days of the year when walking around dressed like a pirate was acceptable, and Duke had gone all out this year.

After washing his hair to remove the gel from earlier, he’d dried it, but left it tousled and unbrushed, because he didn’t figure pirates were quite as apt to groom as he was on a normal basis. The colors of his costume were more subdued, browns and tans and blacks, and his clothing was distressed to give it a more realistic appearance. Duke didn’t have a hat; the captain’s hat belonged to Jai after all, and Duke was dressed merely as an underling pirate. To bring home the fact that he was the lesser pirate, Duke wore a brown leather collar with a triangle-shaped metal clasp, along with brown leather wrist cuffs to match it.

While dressing, Duke’s excitement for the event grew, because he wanted Jai to watch him dance, wanted Jai to stare at him - it was always a rush when Jai did. Not that Duke wouldn’t be doing his own fair share of staring as well; it wasn’t everyday that he had the privilege of seeing Jai in a pirate costume as well, after all.

Speaking of which, seeing Jai in his costume was Duke’s absolute first thought after he’d finished dressing himself up. After a final look in the bathroom mirror, Duke exited so that he’d be able to take a look at his companion’s costume.

Jai was more or less under the mindset that he was good doing nothing the rest of the night, but of course Duke had other plans. Duke always had other plans.

Jai tried not to mind it much, Halloween was, thankfully, one of those once a year issues and it was comical watching Duke turn into a ten year old wanting to play with everything shiny.

Speaking of shiny, it was the annoying gleam off the; well actually Jai had no idea what the thing was called, part of the belt he was trying to latch with about as much luck as trying to work out one of those five thousand piece puzzles in a few minutes.

He was starting to sound just a bit like Duke when he was on a kick about the Rubix cube, rolled his eyes at the thought and finally managed to dress himself; amazing how much time it could take a grown man to do that.

But most of the time getting dressed did not involve so much effort either; he could do the worn dress-style shirt, even weird black and dead-crimson hued tunic, because even if had to play pirate he could still do it his way, it was just the small details that took forever.

Plus it was a total pain to make his boots work with the look but Jai outright refused anything else; he already had to deal with a hat falling over his face every few seconds until it occurred to him to try the headband first then it fixed the problem.

Though frankly he was starting to think pirate attire must have been the first attempt at Drag, hard to imagine being scruffy and dirty when you were dressed like you were having some gender issues.

He managed it just fine though, since he already had the scruff down, and the messy look; thanks to not too long prior, an entirely other sense of amusement for him at the time.

He was still having a silent argument with the brunt-red dyed tips of his bangs by the time he heard motion from the bathroom of the Devlin sort.

Hands lifted to his hair, fussing over it for a moment, Duke reentered the living room, and he couldn’t help with grin the moment he saw Jai. His own hair forgotten for the moment, his full attention was placed on his companion, and he had to admit to himself that Jai really was a good-looking captain. Duke was obviously intrigued, only he wasn’t quite as patient as Jai had been earlier with the Hannibal costume. No, Duke wanted to walk up and touch immediately.

“Nice hat, captain,” Duke commented, still grinning brightly as he drew his fingers lightly across its brim. “Okay, so maybe you look the part,” he teased, dropping his hand to rest against the metal of that belt. “But until you act like a pirate in that outfit I’m not going to believe it.” It was a not-so-subtle request for Jai to talk like a pirate again, but then again Duke was usually not very good at being subtle when he was with Jai.

“Yeah, I’m sure there were plenty of pirates totally lacking a tan and the ability to-,” cut short for a second when that hat slipped down yet again when Duke started to mess with, “-yeah, that.”

“Remind me again why I agreed to this?” Jai questioned with a bemused expression edged at his lips, lifting his hand to push the brim back up; rolling his eyes ever so slightly ceiling-ward in the process.

“Because you want to make me happy,” Duke stated matter-of-factly. “Though it’d make me really happy to hear you say something pirate-ish.” He grinned again, eyebrows lifted expectantly. He wanted to attempt to get as much out of tonight as he could, because it wasn’t every day that he was able to see Jai dressed like this, after all.

“Oh, yeah, that.” Jai mused; chuckling softly before he grabbed Duke’s shoulders lightly and turned him around towards the front of the apartment. “Argh. There, that counts,” he snickered and nudged not so subtly in the walking sort of way.

“Door, you’ve got all night to make me wonder if I’m crazy for all of this.”

He went to nudge Duke forward again managed to catch the edge of the hat against Duke’s shoulder and sighed in mock exasperation; yeah, it was going to be one of those ‘interesting’ nights.

After a few short moments of dragging feet with feigned annoyance, followed by stubborn promises that he would be able to get Jai to talk like a pirate at some point tonight, Duke began the trek out to his car alongside his companion, a fifteen-minute car ride ahead of them before they’d reach the masquerade ball.

The 6th Annual Halloween Ball at Capitale was a party that spanned two floors; the main floor of the building held the majority of the dance, and the upstairs VIP room hosted the rest, though Duke and Jai didn’t have admission to the upstairs room. But it didn’t faze Duke in the slightest; this was one of the best of the many costume dances being held this evening, and because he didn’t attend it last year, he was eager to experience it again this year. After presenting both his own and Jai’s tickets at the door, Duke took a gentle hold of Jai’s wrist to lead him inside the building.

The main ballroom was over ten-thousand square feet, the outer walls of the room lined with tall, elegant rows of columns. The golden chandeliers which normally hung from the ceilings were replaced with multi-colored spotlights, and there were no tacky Halloween decorations, but the Halloween-themed music paired with the array of costumed partygoers made decorations unnecessary.

Duke was utterly curious to look around more, to see the various costumes that people wore, and to have the chance to dance himself. A techno remix of the Outer Limits theme song was blaring, and to compete with the music, Duke raised his own voice so that Jai would be able to hear him. “Dance with me?” He asked with a grin, completely expecting a ‘no’ in response, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask anyway.

It was all a little odd to Jai, the setting; not something he was used to because he had never been much for the social scene that went that far. He was the kid in high school that avoided his prom and ignored the idea of school dances; just not his thing, no real want or interest.

But it was interesting, the mood and the setting; Jai found himself looking over the details and the people in spite of his outward disinterest in the entire situation. It was only gaze-deep though, and he knew Duke could read perfectly well the curiosity in his body language and studying glances around the place.

“What?” Jai blinked at the request, then frowned in that ‘you had better be kidding’ sort of way; he tried to avoid the social burden of dancing if at all possible. Avoid it all night? He knew he had little chance of that, but at least for the moment he knew he could duck around the idea because Duke’s mood was wrapped up in the excitement still.

“Later,” Jai muttered, though he knew he might regret the words later.

Duke could hardly believe that Jai had agreed, and the shock was obvious in his expression. But it melted away quickly into excitement again, and he gave Jai a quick kiss to physically show his gratitude. Though not without accidentally nudging Jai’s hat off-balance with his forehead, which he quickly fixed with a sheepish grin after he broke off that kiss.

“Going to watch me in the meantime?” Duke asked with a grin, taking a light hold of Jai’s wrist again, not really meaning to lead this time but just wanting to keep some sort of contact for the moment.

“Assuming I can,” Jai mock-cursed at his hat, again, and finally got the object in vaguely the right place to keep it from moving again. Small victories; he planned to take all of those he could get over the course of the night, better for his sanity that way.

That reply was satisfying enough for Duke, and after a nod of acknowledgement he let go of Jai’s wrist to go off on his own for a while. And though he didn’t stray too far from Jai’s sight after that, he did move deeper into the crowd to be closer to the main group of people dancing, rather than near those who were talking closer to the walls of the huge ballroom.

The song had shifted by now to a song Duke didn’t recognize, but it didn’t really matter; he easily shifted his movements to accommodate any beat, and easily fit in with the group around him. He loved to dance, and had for years; it was something that made him feel so very alive and connected with the music and the movement of the people around him. And it made him feel all the more attractive too, especially because he knew Jai would be watching, and Duke relished every opportunity where Jai could watch him like this.

Duke didn’t have any plans of straying from the dance floor yet, content to remain until the desire to speak with Jai nagged again, or until he grew tired. But he was full of energy at the moment, and was open to dancing with anyone who expressed interest.

Jai was fine just people watching, really; and if the flat expression on his face did not stress that point enough the rough arch to his shoulders gave most everybody in his near area the right idea, go away.

He could be social for Duke, but if he just did not have to be he hardly planned to try the butterflies and rainbows approach to the situation because it was very unfamiliar territory. Better to get his footing before he tripped over himself trying to make sense of it all too fast, people made him tense and uncomfortable in large groups; it was usually just that simple.

But distraction was always a plus; especially when it was distraction of the Devlin sort. Because there were few things that were nearly as captivating to him anymore, even if he was often a little hard pressed to fall over the words to express it.

Well, he would get it eventually; maybe.

Watchful eye trained to that slink of motion; some people had a rhythm in their blood that wrapped itself around music with the ease of breathing and Duke was a fair testament to that fact, Jai would have argued that stare was an exaggerated word for it but then again he would have argued most anything.

He was watching with serious intent, there was a world of difference; of course.

And hardly the only one either, never mattered where they went it was a constant competition; people watched Duke with lovesick hope or reckless lust, depending, in their eyes. Jai found it amusing for the most part, some twisted part of him entertained the disappointment that broke their gazes was almost...justified for their tactless daring in the first place.

Duke relished those stares, loved the attention, but if anyone ever wanted more than a dance or to watch him, then disappointment was really the only end result possible. As fun as it was for him to socialize and to dance, he had absolutely no desire for anything beyond that.

But being a willing dancing partner was what he could offer, and when the song switched again and another man offered, Duke had no plans to say ‘no.’ Besides, this newcomer was dressed like a pirate too, albeit a store-bought Jack Sparrow costume, but pirate nevertheless. Duke really couldn’t tell just exactly what the other man looked like underneath the dreadlock wig and false black facial hair, but it didn’t really matter; their costumes meshed together well so they looked like they belonged together.

Duke’s thoughts shifted to Jai during that dance, though; when the unnamed pirate lightly took hold of Duke’s hand during the dance, Duke recalled Jai’s earlier effort with drawing mock-tattoos on his arm. He decided too just how much better Jai’s hair looked because it was dyed and more creative instead of a wig, and Jai looked so much better in his costume than this man did.

Not that Duke said as much, of course; outwardly admitting how utterly superior his boyfriend was probably wouldn’t have earned him too many brownie points with his current dance partner.

Jai noted, seemingly out of the corner of his eye but that was never really the case, that Duke had found someone to play with. He chuckled under his breath, leaned as he was against one of the walls nearby because he preferred to have his back to a solid wall than turned to people, it never took Duke very long to find a willing participant.

The coarse side of his brain was quick to coin the phrase ‘fucking hot’ in regards to the reasoning Duke snared people, but he filed the thought neatly away under the ‘overstatement of the obvious’ side of his thoughts.

It was always fifty-fifty really, the outcome; and half the entertainment came in seeing the reactions play out. Duke was a serpent, needing only that metaphorical apple to complete the image; at least when he was prowling.

And changing the nature of a person was a failed cause at best, giving Duke room to stalk was much the same as Duke’s willingness to give some of his oddities of personality room to be what they were; acceptance was a binding idea.

Acceptance was not, however, the same as being blind. Just as often as Duke’s new acquaintances were likely to walk away disappointed or even humored over the shared moment they could be just as nasty about it. Came with the territory, but it was the part Jai held less tolerance for; Duke was entirely able on his own but he certainly did not take the sort of morbid pleasure Jai did in standing toe to toe with those less than convinced few.

It was all morally questionable, maybe; teasing, certainly, maybe even indulging trouble, but offhand Jai hardly cared.

Before he’d met Jai, Duke would have never been able to admit to himself that some part of him liked toying with others’ desires like this, but now that he was more comfortable with his own flaws, he could see just how twisted this was. But that fact didn’t deter him; on the contrary it made him feel utterly bold and deviant and he enjoyed the playful teasing. Half of the thrill was the sheer pleasure of showing Jai that no one else deserved Duke except Jai, and the rest was the mildly sadistic rush that came from being able to elicit those feelings from others.

When the song was over, Duke’s dance partner drew nearer to whisper a request for another dance near Duke’s ear, in a forced rough, pirate-like tone of voice. And why not, Duke decided; after all, the longer he spent with someone this close the harder it was for them to let go in the end, and Duke liked fueling that desire as much as he could until then. The beat of the next song was only mildly slower, but Duke adjusted his body’s rhythm accordingly, allowing just a touch more contact: a light grasp of his hand again, a brush of fingertips against his arm, but nothing so intimate that he had to tell the other man to stop.

Jai was half wondering if Duke was looking for trouble, he was surprised initially to learn that there was that sort of spark buried; half bred from arrogance he assumed, because he did little to deny to himself the fact that Duke had that flaw to a heavy point at times. It was a trained flaw, took years to mature and like anything else, there was some good in it given the right situation.

Or it might just have been that Jai was jaded with life enough to take it all as one messy, intriguing twisted up web; people.

Nothing else quite like them, even if they made him want to strangle a few every now and then when they stared at him or scoffed at his ideals; they were still hilarious as a race, himself included.

Case in point how amused he was watching the guy doing the best impression of a bad movie pirate he had seen all night trying to be about as subtle as a teenager five days into puberty trying to; well, Jai assumed it was some try at flirting.

Maybe the ‘pirate’ stayed at the ship more than he got to port; but he had a pretty good idea that the guy was a few seconds away from a strategically placed knee at the rate he was going.

Jai rolled his eyes just a little; some people tried too hard; but Duke was having fun so, eh, whatever. Besides, he could ignore the idiot; it was still a very nice view from where he stood with all the general Devlin Deviance in full flare and slink with the music.

Duke enjoyed flirting, though he wasn’t quite used to pirate flirting and it amused him more than anything. But by time the song ended he really wanted to see Jai again; dancing with this pirate reminded him how little time he’d spent looking over Jai’s costume. A few minutes before they left home and fifteen minutes in the car was hardly enough to satisfy Duke’s want to stare. So after managing to sweet talk his way away from his dance partner he walked away from the main group of dancers in order to seek Jai out.

“Miss me?” Duke asked with a grin as soon as he’d managed to find his companion, and even though he’d been dancing for a while now he still felt invigorated; the energy of the ball was addictive and he was glad he’d drug Jai out of the apartment so that they could go to it. To prove just how playful he was feeling, he reached out to take hold of Jai’s belt in a similar manner that Jai usually did to him instead, and gave it a gentle tug to encourage Jai closer.

“The right answer to that question is ‘yes’, right?” Jai smirked, eyes tipped towards Duke with that same measured stoic look as the entire place had been granted ever since he had walked through the door. His version of fifty-fifty, affection or lack of it; a less amusing flaw than most of those Duke possessed.

Halloween was a holiday written up in complicated masks though; Jai enjoyed toying with his own even if they were buried past the surface of his skin. He waited it out until Duke demanded his attention more then eased his shoulders away from the wall with nothing of hurry in the motion.

“Looks like you’re having fun,” he offered with a drop of his forehead in the empty space at the edge of Duke’s temple, then lower for an instant while the smirk in his tone was still lingering with the brash nip to that pulse point soft just beneath the curve of Duke’s ear; “…deviant.”

It was affectionate, the stereotypical usually just failed to work for Jai; he preferred his own version.

That nip was unexpected and it startled a quick intake of breath out of Duke, followed by another grin. Duke loved when Jai was able to show affection like this in public, especially because he knew it had been something Jai had been completely uncomfortable with last year. But he returned that affection in his own way, by lifting his hands from Jai’s belt to rest his palms against Jai’s torso instead, physical contact he never offered any of the random people he met dancing. “You know you like it,” Duke replied, amused, and remained close for now, not as eager to go dance again just yet.

“It has its redeeming points at times.” Jai replied; tuned out the rest of the world for the time being and focused on the conversation. He could split his focus easily; but usually Duke demanded all of it so it was hardly worth the effort trying.

He would have argued that nothing had changed, that he certainly had not; and it was true, Jai had not changed in the least over time; just settled more with himself and the parts that were awkward or almost lost too soon.

Was he ever going to be sappy and perfect? Well, no; that would have been a marked change.

“Ready to talk like a pirate yet?” Duke continued, his mood positively bright. “I’m still waiting, you know. Or should I find yet another person to talk pirate to me instead?” It was a playful challenge, and while he was still determined to hear Jai talk like a pirate at some point tonight, it wasn’t altogether vital it happen right now. But he still wanted to remind Jai of it anyway.

“Still on about that, huh?” It was more amusing to tease and make Duke twitch than just give him what he wanted easy; kept them both on their toes and things interesting. Jai liked to play mental chess with people; Duke was shaping up to be a fair opponent and one he did not mind losing to every now and then.

“Hey, I think I deserve it after what I did earlier. I talked serial killer to you. Can’t you talk pirate to me?” Just thinking back to earlier today made Duke’s insides twitch; it wasn’t only the thrill of playing out a fantasy of Jai’s, but also seeing the amount of trust Jai had put in him made it all more than worth it. “I think you’re not being fair.” He attempted to keep a straight face through his words, failed, and broke out into another grin; he was too excited and in too much of a good mood to be able to even fake being serious.

“Pirates aren’t supposed to play fair,” Jai pointed out with a slink back and an even shrug of his shoulders; bemused as he took a few steps out past the wall where he had been lingering. He was hardly much for the social life scene; but holding up the plaster and glass really failed to do much for him at the time either.

His fingers dropped, easily brushing across Duke’s when he stepped away; nothing need be too flashy for him and the small instances were privacy amid the middle of a crowd. Something secret and hazy to counter the at times bold, no thrill in showing off brought the satisfaction that it was enough to stand important subtle when the mood swayed him that way.

That brush of contact drew a smile out of Duke, and he knew the longer he remained with Jai now the harder it would be to go dance alone again; he just enjoyed Jai’s company so much. “You better talk pirate for me later, or you’re so sleeping on the couch tonight,” Duke replied with a grin, and, well, if threats didn’t work he’d try a new tactic later. “Going to dance with me yet? Or are you going to make me wait for that too?” Not that he really minded; the fact that Jai had agreed to it was more than good enough for him.

“Patience is a virtue.” The grin was partly amusement and part teasing with a glance back towards Duke; he was out, on Halloween and dressed like…well, thankfully it was Halloween, did Duke expect anything to be all that easy?

Would have taken most of the challenge out of it, and half the fun.

“So, what do people do at things like…this?” Jai questioned with a curious frown; it was somewhere between comical and sad that he actually was not so very certain. Still learning the social game, as it were; but at least he knew from experience how to at least look as though he did not care or fit in just fine, depending on the type of look people shot him.

Bordered more on the ‘couldn’t bring himself to care’ in most cases, there really was little in the way of trouble to stir in the place and he was trying to play by Duke’s rules since it was his night.

“Lots of dancing. And drinking. And talking, I suppose,” Duke replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “I know, I know, not really your thing.” Duke knew it certainly wasn’t an event Jai would attend normally, so he was grateful for Jai’s openness for the idea tonight. “But you have to look on the bright side - there’s so much to see tonight. You never know; there might be some really hot girl dressed as Shakira. How are you gonna know until you walk around and see?” He grinned and crossed his arms idly, amused.

“Like I wouldn’t get glared at for looking?” Jai countered, he really did not mind so much; he had agreed because Duke wanted to go so he planned to make the most of the situation. That hardly meant he had to forgo having a little fun messing with Duke though.

“You never know, this could be the start of my social life taking a resounding turn for the better, I could end up one of those socially focused, weird…people who do this sort of thing every night and prowl the clubs when they should be sleeping.” He smirked at Duke, could not resist; it was an exaggerated version of the lifestyle he knew Duke liked to indulge. Or, used to; anymore it seemed like Duke had tamed down some of that; he was just a little…domestic now.

Amused, Jai snickered; though he knew in his own way he likely was not much better.

Edging closer again, unable to still the desire to be near Jai again, Duke reached out to take a gentle hold of Jai’s belt again. “Babe, you can look at whoever you want. So long as mine is the only bed you share.” Besides, Jai had to deal with him staring at the television screen at various actors and actresses, so it was only fair. “But somehow… I can’t ever see you being really social.” He grinned again, amused at the very thought of Jai being more like him.