Fake News (RPF) | The Way Things Need To Be | PG-13 | Brian/Jon (5/10)
Title: The Way Things Need To Be (5/10)
Fandom: Fake News (RPF)
Rating: PG-13 for this part.
Pairing: Brian/Jon and others.
Warning: AU; BDSM.
Summary: In a universe where people are primarily defined by position-whether they are dominant, a switch, or submissive-Jon and others struggle to deal with dating, prejudice, and the drama that comes from not fitting neatly inside society’s narrowly-defined idea of how things should be.
Word Count: 1,980 for this part.
Disclaimer: All copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. This work is not created for profit and constitutes fair use. References to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
A/N: See masterpost for full header, author’s notes, and thanks.
“Yeah, Stephen?”
Stephen frowned at the phone for a second. Jon’s tone was off-something was clearly wrong. “What’s up, Jon? You sound like you’re having a bad day.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.” Stephen did not like the sound of Jon’s explosive sigh. Something was definitely up. “What is it?”
“Brian wants to take me shopping.”
“So? Why-oh,” Stephen said, once he realized why that would upset Jon.
“Yeah. And I flipped out on him. So-”
“Wait, did you tell him about-”
“No.”
Stephen blinked. “Why not? He’ll understand. You know he will.”
“Maybe. I don’t know-“
“Jon. You have to tell him.”
“I have to? Trying to dom me, Stephen?”
Stephen rolled his eyes. “Is that what it’ll take? Come on, Jon. You can’t keep him in the dark. Why haven’t you told him?”
“I don’t know. I just haven’t yet.”
“I think you should.”
“Yeah, okay.” There was a pause. “Why’d you call?”
“I wanted to tell you something, but it can wait. Talk to Brian.”
“Bye, Stephen.”
Stephen shook his head after he hung up. Jon could be stubborn sometimes, especially when it came to sharing details about his past. He hoped that he would find a way to open up to Brian.
* * *
Jon didn’t want to be here. He hated clothing stores, and he hated shopping. The fact that he had no choice in the matter just made it worse. “Where do we start?” Jon asked tersely, crossing his arms.
Brian gave him a look. “If you think I won’t spank you right here in the store, you’re wrong. Stop acting like a petulant seven-year-old. You’ll try things on, and if you like them, we’ll get them. If you don’t, we won’t. You can still dress yourself-I just want to give you some better options. All right?”
Jon looked at Brian, holding his gaze for a few minutes before finally sighing heavily in resignation. “Fine,” he said. “I don’t really know what I’m doing, though.”
“That’s why I’m here. Anyway, it’s not hard, trust me.”
“So where do we go first?”
“The jeans section, I think. We can find you a couple nice pairs.”
“Denim and my ass don’t exactly get along, Brian,” Jon said, and Brian rolled his eyes.
“They will if we find you the right size and cut,” he replied. “This way.”
Jon shrugged as they went in the direction Brian indicated. “How long is this going to take, exactly?”
“That depends on how quickly we find things that work. It shouldn’t be too long.” They reached the jeans section, and Brian quickly found the row with the size range he wanted. After a few minutes spent looking through the rack, he found two pairs and handed them to Jon. “Let me find you a couple shirts to try on with them,” he added, heading across the aisle to where a display of polo shirts was sitting. He grabbed two-one in dark blue, one in green-before walking back over and handing them to Jon.
“Polo shirts. Do I look like Stephen?”
Brian swatted him on the ass. “Dressing room is over there.”
Jon shot him a look before leading them to the subs’ dressing room. After the woman watching the door accounted for everything Jon was trying on, he glanced back at Brian. “I’ll wait here. Come show me each outfit, though,” he said, and Jon nodded absently, heading inside.
He tried on the blue shirt and the first pair of jeans, stepping outside of the dressing room to look in the mirror before he headed out to show Brian. Admittedly, he thought he looked nice-if weird. Seeing himself in color was something he was going to have to get used to.
“Those jeans look good on you,” said a quiet voice, and Jon turned to see a petite, blond sub tottering uneasily in high heels. She smiled shyly at Jon, clutching her coat tightly around herself.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’m not used to it. Can you walk okay in those? I think I’m spraining my ankle in sympathy over here.”
She immediately looked panicked. “Oh god, do you think I’ll trip? I can’t trip! He won’t be happy with me if I fall-I’m supposed to be sexy. Sexy subs do not trip in high heels!”
Jon frowned. “Will your dom really get mad at you for tripping? If you’re not used to heels, it might not be avoidable. Do you have to wear them?”
“Yes,” she said. “They’re part of my new uniform.” She opened the coat, showing him a very skimpy piece of lingerie and stockings. “I have to be perfect. I have to please him.”
There was something about the tone of her voice that Jon didn’t like, and a general feeling of uneasiness washed over him. “I’m sure he’ll be happy as long as you try,” Jon said, hoping that was true.
She looked down, shaking her head. “No,” she said, voice even more quiet than usual, “he won’t.”
Jon was about to reply when a voice from outside the dressing room suddenly called out, “Susan! What the hell is taking so long? Get out here!”
She blanched, immediately heading out of the dressing room as fast as she could move in those impossible high heels. Jon followed; the first thing he noticed was that Brian was giving a very unpleasant look to the dom scrutinizing Susan. “I guess you’ll do,” the dom was saying, and Jon felt the urge to punch him, despite the fact that he had at least thirty pounds and five inches on him.
Either Brian was really good at reading his emotions, or he was being even more obvious than usual, because there was a reassuring arm wrapping around his waist before he’d even noticed that Brian had moved. “I know,” he said into his ear. “I don’t like it either.”
Brian’s presence had a calming effect, but Jon still didn’t want to be here. “Can we go?”
“Yeah,” Brian said. “Go change. We’ll get these four things and try again another day.”
“Thanks,” Jon replied, turning around and kissing him. “I’m sorry,” he added before heading back into the dressing room.
* * *
“Why does anyone think they can do that?” Jon asked once they were back at Brian’s. “She was so obviously eager-to-please and trying as hard as she could, and he still was treating her like shit! It’s not going to get better, either. Nothing she does will be good enough for him, and eventually he’ll just dump her. Of course, by then, her self-esteem will be so shot she’ll feel like she’s worthless and not good enough for any dom. It’s bullshit. He’s supposed to be taking care of her! What the fuck is wrong with him?”
“I wish I knew,” Brian said. “Why any dom would take advantage of that trust…I don’t know. I’ve never known. It’s never made any sense to me.” He looked at Jon then, saying, concerned, “When did it happen to you?”
Jon looked up sharply, relaxing a little when he only saw concern and sympathy in Brian’s eyes. He hated pity. “How’d you know?”
“You looked like you were about to take on that dom,” Brian said. “I figured for your reaction to be that intense, it had to be personal.”
Jon sighed. “It was awhile ago. Long before Tracey, even.” He shook his head. “It was like I said. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him. He treated me like a toddler. He made me feel like my opinions were worthless, like I was worthless.”
“Is that why you got so upset when I wanted to take you shopping?”
Jon looked down. “That was how it started. He began dictating what I could wear. It just went downhill from there.” He sighed again. “Things went back and forth a lot, actually. One day it’d be like I couldn’t breathe without his permission and the next he’d want nothing to do with me, like I wasn’t…his. I never knew where I stood, and he made me feel like I couldn’t survive without him.”
“Jon,” Brian said, wrapping his arms around him. “Why didn’t you tell me about this? I would’ve understood.”
“Because it’s irrational. I know you’re not going to be like that, and I was treating you like you would be. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry for anything,” Brian said, kissing him softly. “Just talk to me when you’re concerned, please? I want to know when something’s wrong.”
Jon looked him directly in the eyes for a couple moments. He nodded slowly. “Okay,” he said eventually. “I will.” He realized belatedly how much he wanted to mean that.
* * *
“Yeah. So today I told Allison what Evie said, which means we’re back to normal again,” Stephen was telling him. Jon shook his head in amusement, almost unable to believe it; catching up with him during the occasional lunch was never boring, that was for sure.
“Wow.”
“I know.” Stephen shook his head, before fixing Jon with a pointed, critical look. “Did you finally tell Brian?”
Jon rolled his eyes. “Yes, I did,” he said. “He understood completely, of course. He’s Brian Williams; I don’t know why I expected any less.”
“The Stepford Dom strikes again?” Stephen quipped, and Jon laughed.
“Something like that. It’s taking some getting used to.” Jon inspected his sandwich, making sure he had been given all proper vegetables and condiments. “I think I’m looking forward to whatever’s next, you know?”
Stephen smiled at him, and they lapsed into silence for a few minutes. The nice thing about their friendship, Jon felt, was that their silences were never awkward. Both of them could go a few minutes without talking, and nothing would seem at all wrong or weird about that.
“Oh,” Jon said, once he remembered what else he’d wanted to tell Stephen. “Kristen finally came out to her parents.”
Stephen winced in sympathy. “I take it that didn’t go well?”
“Does it ever go well when subs come out?” Jon asked, tone slightly bitter. “Of course, gay doms, who gives a shit, but a gay sub? Clearly they just need to grow up.”
Stephen sighed. “It’s gotten a little better, over the years.”
“Not much,” Jon said. “Not enough, for sure.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Stephen said. “How is Kristen doing? Does Demetri know she came out?”
“Yeah, I guess he was there with her, to meet them. She seems to be holding herself together-better than I would be, at any rate. I think she’s probably used to having to do so by now, unfortunately.”
Stephen nodded grimly. Jon knew that Stephen was just as aware as he about Kristen’s activism. People who advocated for the equality of subs with doms were treated to a level of derision and outright hatred that Jon was sure he would never have been able to deal with. The fact that Kristen had been doing so for years amazed him and impressed him more than a little.
“She shouldn’t have to be,” Stephen eventually said.
“Agreed,” said Jon. “But it’s not like it’s going to change any time soon. People are stubborn, and most still see what she’s fighting for as completely undermining the foundation of society.”
“That’s how it always is,” Stephen said, rolling his eyes. “The moment anything new or different comes along, it’s obviously undermining the foundation of society. That’s the gospel my character takes to heart, anyway.”
“I think it’s fucking sad that so many people agree with your character, Stephen.”
“Oh, believe me, it is.”
Jon shook his head. “Make that really fucking sad,” he amended. Stephen just nodded, and their conversation lapsed again-though this time the silence was just a little bit heavier.
Fandom: Fake News (RPF)
Rating: PG-13 for this part.
Pairing: Brian/Jon and others.
Warning: AU; BDSM.
Summary: In a universe where people are primarily defined by position-whether they are dominant, a switch, or submissive-Jon and others struggle to deal with dating, prejudice, and the drama that comes from not fitting neatly inside society’s narrowly-defined idea of how things should be.
Word Count: 1,980 for this part.
Disclaimer: All copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. This work is not created for profit and constitutes fair use. References to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
A/N: See masterpost for full header, author’s notes, and thanks.
“Yeah, Stephen?”
Stephen frowned at the phone for a second. Jon’s tone was off-something was clearly wrong. “What’s up, Jon? You sound like you’re having a bad day.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.” Stephen did not like the sound of Jon’s explosive sigh. Something was definitely up. “What is it?”
“Brian wants to take me shopping.”
“So? Why-oh,” Stephen said, once he realized why that would upset Jon.
“Yeah. And I flipped out on him. So-”
“Wait, did you tell him about-”
“No.”
Stephen blinked. “Why not? He’ll understand. You know he will.”
“Maybe. I don’t know-“
“Jon. You have to tell him.”
“I have to? Trying to dom me, Stephen?”
Stephen rolled his eyes. “Is that what it’ll take? Come on, Jon. You can’t keep him in the dark. Why haven’t you told him?”
“I don’t know. I just haven’t yet.”
“I think you should.”
“Yeah, okay.” There was a pause. “Why’d you call?”
“I wanted to tell you something, but it can wait. Talk to Brian.”
“Bye, Stephen.”
Stephen shook his head after he hung up. Jon could be stubborn sometimes, especially when it came to sharing details about his past. He hoped that he would find a way to open up to Brian.
* * *
Jon didn’t want to be here. He hated clothing stores, and he hated shopping. The fact that he had no choice in the matter just made it worse. “Where do we start?” Jon asked tersely, crossing his arms.
Brian gave him a look. “If you think I won’t spank you right here in the store, you’re wrong. Stop acting like a petulant seven-year-old. You’ll try things on, and if you like them, we’ll get them. If you don’t, we won’t. You can still dress yourself-I just want to give you some better options. All right?”
Jon looked at Brian, holding his gaze for a few minutes before finally sighing heavily in resignation. “Fine,” he said. “I don’t really know what I’m doing, though.”
“That’s why I’m here. Anyway, it’s not hard, trust me.”
“So where do we go first?”
“The jeans section, I think. We can find you a couple nice pairs.”
“Denim and my ass don’t exactly get along, Brian,” Jon said, and Brian rolled his eyes.
“They will if we find you the right size and cut,” he replied. “This way.”
Jon shrugged as they went in the direction Brian indicated. “How long is this going to take, exactly?”
“That depends on how quickly we find things that work. It shouldn’t be too long.” They reached the jeans section, and Brian quickly found the row with the size range he wanted. After a few minutes spent looking through the rack, he found two pairs and handed them to Jon. “Let me find you a couple shirts to try on with them,” he added, heading across the aisle to where a display of polo shirts was sitting. He grabbed two-one in dark blue, one in green-before walking back over and handing them to Jon.
“Polo shirts. Do I look like Stephen?”
Brian swatted him on the ass. “Dressing room is over there.”
Jon shot him a look before leading them to the subs’ dressing room. After the woman watching the door accounted for everything Jon was trying on, he glanced back at Brian. “I’ll wait here. Come show me each outfit, though,” he said, and Jon nodded absently, heading inside.
He tried on the blue shirt and the first pair of jeans, stepping outside of the dressing room to look in the mirror before he headed out to show Brian. Admittedly, he thought he looked nice-if weird. Seeing himself in color was something he was going to have to get used to.
“Those jeans look good on you,” said a quiet voice, and Jon turned to see a petite, blond sub tottering uneasily in high heels. She smiled shyly at Jon, clutching her coat tightly around herself.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’m not used to it. Can you walk okay in those? I think I’m spraining my ankle in sympathy over here.”
She immediately looked panicked. “Oh god, do you think I’ll trip? I can’t trip! He won’t be happy with me if I fall-I’m supposed to be sexy. Sexy subs do not trip in high heels!”
Jon frowned. “Will your dom really get mad at you for tripping? If you’re not used to heels, it might not be avoidable. Do you have to wear them?”
“Yes,” she said. “They’re part of my new uniform.” She opened the coat, showing him a very skimpy piece of lingerie and stockings. “I have to be perfect. I have to please him.”
There was something about the tone of her voice that Jon didn’t like, and a general feeling of uneasiness washed over him. “I’m sure he’ll be happy as long as you try,” Jon said, hoping that was true.
She looked down, shaking her head. “No,” she said, voice even more quiet than usual, “he won’t.”
Jon was about to reply when a voice from outside the dressing room suddenly called out, “Susan! What the hell is taking so long? Get out here!”
She blanched, immediately heading out of the dressing room as fast as she could move in those impossible high heels. Jon followed; the first thing he noticed was that Brian was giving a very unpleasant look to the dom scrutinizing Susan. “I guess you’ll do,” the dom was saying, and Jon felt the urge to punch him, despite the fact that he had at least thirty pounds and five inches on him.
Either Brian was really good at reading his emotions, or he was being even more obvious than usual, because there was a reassuring arm wrapping around his waist before he’d even noticed that Brian had moved. “I know,” he said into his ear. “I don’t like it either.”
Brian’s presence had a calming effect, but Jon still didn’t want to be here. “Can we go?”
“Yeah,” Brian said. “Go change. We’ll get these four things and try again another day.”
“Thanks,” Jon replied, turning around and kissing him. “I’m sorry,” he added before heading back into the dressing room.
* * *
“Why does anyone think they can do that?” Jon asked once they were back at Brian’s. “She was so obviously eager-to-please and trying as hard as she could, and he still was treating her like shit! It’s not going to get better, either. Nothing she does will be good enough for him, and eventually he’ll just dump her. Of course, by then, her self-esteem will be so shot she’ll feel like she’s worthless and not good enough for any dom. It’s bullshit. He’s supposed to be taking care of her! What the fuck is wrong with him?”
“I wish I knew,” Brian said. “Why any dom would take advantage of that trust…I don’t know. I’ve never known. It’s never made any sense to me.” He looked at Jon then, saying, concerned, “When did it happen to you?”
Jon looked up sharply, relaxing a little when he only saw concern and sympathy in Brian’s eyes. He hated pity. “How’d you know?”
“You looked like you were about to take on that dom,” Brian said. “I figured for your reaction to be that intense, it had to be personal.”
Jon sighed. “It was awhile ago. Long before Tracey, even.” He shook his head. “It was like I said. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him. He treated me like a toddler. He made me feel like my opinions were worthless, like I was worthless.”
“Is that why you got so upset when I wanted to take you shopping?”
Jon looked down. “That was how it started. He began dictating what I could wear. It just went downhill from there.” He sighed again. “Things went back and forth a lot, actually. One day it’d be like I couldn’t breathe without his permission and the next he’d want nothing to do with me, like I wasn’t…his. I never knew where I stood, and he made me feel like I couldn’t survive without him.”
“Jon,” Brian said, wrapping his arms around him. “Why didn’t you tell me about this? I would’ve understood.”
“Because it’s irrational. I know you’re not going to be like that, and I was treating you like you would be. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry for anything,” Brian said, kissing him softly. “Just talk to me when you’re concerned, please? I want to know when something’s wrong.”
Jon looked him directly in the eyes for a couple moments. He nodded slowly. “Okay,” he said eventually. “I will.” He realized belatedly how much he wanted to mean that.
* * *
“Yeah. So today I told Allison what Evie said, which means we’re back to normal again,” Stephen was telling him. Jon shook his head in amusement, almost unable to believe it; catching up with him during the occasional lunch was never boring, that was for sure.
“Wow.”
“I know.” Stephen shook his head, before fixing Jon with a pointed, critical look. “Did you finally tell Brian?”
Jon rolled his eyes. “Yes, I did,” he said. “He understood completely, of course. He’s Brian Williams; I don’t know why I expected any less.”
“The Stepford Dom strikes again?” Stephen quipped, and Jon laughed.
“Something like that. It’s taking some getting used to.” Jon inspected his sandwich, making sure he had been given all proper vegetables and condiments. “I think I’m looking forward to whatever’s next, you know?”
Stephen smiled at him, and they lapsed into silence for a few minutes. The nice thing about their friendship, Jon felt, was that their silences were never awkward. Both of them could go a few minutes without talking, and nothing would seem at all wrong or weird about that.
“Oh,” Jon said, once he remembered what else he’d wanted to tell Stephen. “Kristen finally came out to her parents.”
Stephen winced in sympathy. “I take it that didn’t go well?”
“Does it ever go well when subs come out?” Jon asked, tone slightly bitter. “Of course, gay doms, who gives a shit, but a gay sub? Clearly they just need to grow up.”
Stephen sighed. “It’s gotten a little better, over the years.”
“Not much,” Jon said. “Not enough, for sure.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Stephen said. “How is Kristen doing? Does Demetri know she came out?”
“Yeah, I guess he was there with her, to meet them. She seems to be holding herself together-better than I would be, at any rate. I think she’s probably used to having to do so by now, unfortunately.”
Stephen nodded grimly. Jon knew that Stephen was just as aware as he about Kristen’s activism. People who advocated for the equality of subs with doms were treated to a level of derision and outright hatred that Jon was sure he would never have been able to deal with. The fact that Kristen had been doing so for years amazed him and impressed him more than a little.
“She shouldn’t have to be,” Stephen eventually said.
“Agreed,” said Jon. “But it’s not like it’s going to change any time soon. People are stubborn, and most still see what she’s fighting for as completely undermining the foundation of society.”
“That’s how it always is,” Stephen said, rolling his eyes. “The moment anything new or different comes along, it’s obviously undermining the foundation of society. That’s the gospel my character takes to heart, anyway.”
“I think it’s fucking sad that so many people agree with your character, Stephen.”
“Oh, believe me, it is.”
Jon shook his head. “Make that really fucking sad,” he amended. Stephen just nodded, and their conversation lapsed again-though this time the silence was just a little bit heavier.