fic: asylum (I will not take these things for granted, anymore) (part four of probably five)

[luninosity]

Part four, in which there is comforting and cuddling and also quite a lot of sex. Michael's good at making James feel better, in many ways.

Title: Asylum (I Will Not Take These Things For Granted, Anymore) (part four of probably five) (part three here) (part two here) (part one here)
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: explicit sex, D/s dynamics, mention of

Comments

[shayzgirl]

I think I like this part the best so far, because it has so many things referencing other things and remembering and tying it all together. Continuity. (Something I've always loved in stories. And notice when it's off in others. Like a story I read when I was 12 where a character ran upstairs and three pages later was suddenly running in the front door. And it was an award winning book, too. Overall a good book, but that bit always tainted it for me, I think.)

And James wanting Michael, still wanting him, always. Beautifully poetic. Especially for the last story in this verse. :D

[luninosity]

It's the last story; the references, the sense of continuity, the sense of it all being a coherent whole--that's got to be strongest here, doesn't it? Now I kind of want to go through and count, to see how many familiar themes/things I've fit in here! (And that sounds like a dreadful continuity error. Someone doesn't have a very good editor, either, for not catching that. And you can never unsee it, once you've spotted it...)

James will always want Michael. Because they have that kind of trust, unbounded and absolute. Michael will of course also always ask--consent needing to be explicit--but he also trusts James to be honest about the yes or now. The mutuality is lovely, I think. And thank you for wonderful compliments--poetic? Goodness. :D :D

[shayzgirl]

It's definitely good to have it be the strongest here, I'd enjoy it all the same I think, if it were only a few things, but the amount of things references to or familiar makes it all the better, at least I think. (And yeah,as I said I read that book at 12. I'm 23 now and still haven't forgotten it. Which is good, because it's why I check what I've written previously. If I even for a minute think "Did the character do this?" I make sure they did, so I don't mess up the continuity.)

I do like the trust being unbounded absolute. Makes it all the sweet. And you are welcome for the compliments. :D :D

[luninosity]

I've been going back and making edits, because evidently I use certain words too much, on a re-read... *sigh* Nothing major, but annoying. Still, it'll be better in the end! But anyway now I'm noticing things that I'd not even meant to be references, but which are, like the raspberry lube, which of course they also had the first time they tried to have sex again in the Continuation... :-)

Trust is so important, not just in this dynamic--which is all about trust--but because they both know what it means for James to ask for this, and how easily those panic attacks could happen. Extra layers--but all the more meaningful, I think. :-)

[telperion_15]

James' dream about the gloves was rather lovely. Symbolic, but also just very sweet!

And oh, the moment with the reappearance of the collar. One of those moments you wish you could be there for, if only to really see the look on Michael's face... *g*

And the spanking was spectacular. And alliterative, apparently... ;)

[luninosity]

That's one of my absolute favorite moments, in this one. :-) It's the combination of the ordinariness, the symbolism, and the adorableness, I think!

James is good at surprising Michael. Who really truly was never expecting that again, not because James is broken or anything, just that he'd been assuming--with good reason!--that James wouldn't want to. I imagine it was a very entertaining expression. (I almost didn't have them quite go there, because of those very good reasons, and then I thought: it's the last one. What the hell. They should have everything they've ever wanted, and more.)

Awesome alliteration asserts approval! Or something. *grin* The boys definitely enjoyed the spanking also, there. And in an odd way it's healing for them both, as a response to what Michael was thinking about in an earlier section, the things he'd not expected to have again in hotel rooms...

[telperion_15]

They should absolutely have everything they've ever wanted! After everything, no ending is too happy... :)

Or something.

*snicker*

I kind of like the whole hotel room thing - normally they'd be impersonal, and not especially welcoming, but as they haven't been home in so long, I can see how hotel rooms would kind of feel like home - some place familiar, even if it's new - where they can be themselves.

[luninosity]

After everything, no ending is too happy... :)

That's what I thought! If there's ever a time for over-the-top fairy-tale happy endings, surely it's now. Though with a tiny touch of realistic bittersweetness with things like the small panic attacks and James acknowledging the tiny steps in his acting career--but that makes the happiness all the better, perhaps, because it's hard-won, and not uncomplicated, and true.

I can see how hotel rooms would kind of feel like home - some place familiar, even if it's new - where they can be themselves.

Mm-hmm...and it's a nod to the first few stories, of course, and where it all got started! Them getting their life back. :-)