fic: another lesson to be learned (2/2)

[luninosity]

And here is part two!

Title: Another Lesson To Be Learned [2/2] [part one here]
Rating: NC-17 for D/s dynamics, spanking, and sex
Word Count: 8,788 total; 4,703 for this part
Disclaimers: characters’re not mine, only doing this out of affection; title and opening lines from Green Day’s “Blood, Sex, and Booze”
Summary: Charles overdoes things with

Comments

[luninosity]

Well, you did have an exhausting weekend! Plus work! Sleep is a good thing. :-)

I think the transition into the actual talking in this part works

Oh, good...I was worried about that, and also about the transition from talking to sex, there...but they did need to talk. And they're definitely both right to some extent, and wrong to some extent, which they both need to acknowledge. (Erik is totally right about Charles overdoing things, but equally totally wrong about his initial approach. Charles is being stubborn and reckless and completely correct when he admits that he was really only wanting to listen when Erik's saying things he wants to hear--but he's also right that they need to have those open discussions and trust each other.) And then the sex is...not, like, 'yay, healing sex!', but healing in the sense that they can still want these dynamics, and make this work, because they're both committed to making this work.

(It's one of those kinks that it took me a while to come around to, actually, and in general I'm still a bit wary about the over the knee positioning - that one can come close to humiliation, and also has a flavour of a parent/child relationship, which is not sexy!

In general sometimes I'm wary too--I think that's part of what we were saying, about humiliation and subservience and perspectives. (And the parent/child thing--not at all sexy! More...disturbing. At least for me. I'm sure someone out there loves it; not going to judge. But I'd rather not think of my father in that situation!) In this one I wanted something that would require a lot of trust, with Charles asking Erik to be completely in control, which that position offers, I think--and he is uncertain about it, about the associations and the helplessness, which is partly why that line is in there. But they needed something that'd really incontrovertibly assert their respective roles, and that seemed to fit. Or my brain just goes odd places...

Finally back to holiday fic, I think, next. April Fool's Day.

##

“The problem is,” Raven tells him, earnestly, “Charles is impossible to play April Fool’s Day pranks on.”

They’re sitting in the kitchen, sandwich detritus spread out between them, door open. Erik’d meant to make lunch for himself-and, all right, yes, Charles, who would forget to eat on a daily basis unless someone interrupts his research time for lunch, and it means nothing at all that it’s Erik who remembers to interrupt him every day, honestly-but Raven and Hank had already been down there, engaged in a spirited discussion of what’s evidently an imminent holiday tradition.

He looks at Charles’s sandwich, on the plate. After a second’s hesitation, taps it with a finger until the edges line up, neat and precise. Presentation’s important. Charles likes attractive things.

He wonders whether he should’ve taken more care with his outfit, post-shower. And then, disgusted with himself, reminds his brain that black goes with everything and turtlenecks are perfectly practical and he shouldn’t be even considering his own wardrobe and Charles’s reaction in the same sentence.

And then tugs on his left sleeve to straighten it anyway. Damn.

“Why…what are you…this is a tradition? Practical jokes?”

“Well, it would be,” Raven grumbles, “but it’s not exactly practical with a telepath who can see you coming. I know, I’ve tried.”