Fic - "Untrained" (1/1), complete
Title: Untrained
Word count: 3,500
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Azazel/Riptide
Summary: Riptide is new to the Hellfire Club and has made a lot of mistakes. Can Azazel help him and keep him from Shaw’s wrath?
Disclaimer: I don’t own X-men. If I did the world would be a more interesting place. And Jason Flemyng would be having a heated discussion with his agent, asking when he had agreed to do full frontal.
Untrained
***
Disaster. During his first mission as a member of the Hellfire Club, Riptide erred. The first tornado he summoned wasn’t anywhere near powerful enough, and the team lost precious time. His second tornado spun out of control, even by tornado standards, and it knocked over one of the other Hellfire Club members during the battle.
This was especially bad for Riptide given that he was new and that he hadn’t come to the Hellfire Club with much wealth. Sebastian Shaw preferred to recruit mutants who were both powerful and rich. Riptide hadn’t been struggling financially, but he hadn’t been nearly as moneyed as the other four members. On account of his lack of wealth and newness to the team, he had already been placed squarely on the bottom rung. This first mission’s mishaps would only cause him to fall further down.
“You’re in big trouble,” the member known as Dread said to Riptide as the defeated team was teleported back to the submarine, grateful to escape with their lives at this point.
Riptide’s face remained stony and calm. If he felt fear, he was not going to let the others see it. It was not as if his life had been free of turbulence before Shaw recruited him anyway.
The Hellfire Club currently consisted of Shaw, Emma Frost, Azazel, Riptide, and two other men whose tenure would not prove to last much longer: Dread and Pummel.
“They are not following us,” Azazel said, checking their sensors. “We are escaped.” If someone had looked closely, they would’ve seen Azazel blink several times and a certain restlessness in his limbs as he stood in front of the sensor display.
“Good,” Shaw said flatly. “Now gather around me, everyone. I need to review with you what just happened.”
The six members of the Hellfire Club stood on the sub’s bridge. Shaw looked at Riptide and said, “Stand next to me, Riptide.”
Azazel watched his new lover move a few paces to next to their leader. Azazel took a few breaths and tried to steady himself, but he knew what was going to happen next. He silently berated himself for not spending more time coaching Riptide before the battle. Azazel felt more even guilt upon reflecting that he had indeed been spending plenty of time with Riptide prior to this mission, but it was mostly time spent in one or the other man’s quarters. `If I could have calmed my lust and helped him to be a better fighter, then this would not have happened,’ he silently lashed at himself. He should have known better.
“The mission was an unmitigated disaster,” Shaw began again. He then recounted what had gone wrong. Every error was Riptide’s, and Shaw needlessly recounted them in detail. Shaw’s voice remained steady, devoid of apparent fury or passion. “You might be new to the team, Riptide, but you should know that we don’t tolerate failure,” he summarized.
Shaw then smiled and said, “Kneel before me.”
Riptide stood still for a second or two, perhaps not believing his ears. Pummel took the initiative and pushed Riptide down. Riptide then assumed a kneeling position, as if he were back in his home country and at church, kneeling on a pew.
“That’s better. I am going to let you off easy. I am not going to kill you or ‘disappear’ you from the Hellfire Club. You may thank me for that now.”
Shaw paused and there were awkward moments of silence. It was clear that Shaw expected to be thanked.
Azazel raged at the way his heart pounded. This should not be troubling him. Riptide was just a man who he enjoyed sexually, that’s all. He wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last. Definitely the best, but so what? Shaw had treated other members of the Hellfire Club like this in the past, and whatever he was about to dish out to Riptide couldn’t be worse than many things Azazel had seen over the years or even experienced himself. But Azazel’s heart continued to throb and his stomach churned.
“Thank you, Sir,” Riptide finally began, his head tilted up so he could look at his leader. His voice sounded stronger than Azazel would have predicted and his eyes displayed the smallest spark of fire. “If I can only explain---“
Shaw must have seen that spark too, Azazel realized.
“I am doing the talking here! Emma, please, help me shut him up,” Shaw called to Emma.
Emma handed Shaw a roll of duct tape which Shaw used deftly to silence any further comments from Riptide.
“Emma, start the timer. Riptide, you will stay here on the bridge, for two hours, kneeling. You will not change position or slump over in any way, unless you want further punishment. I will monitor the bridge from my office, but I have more important things to tend to now - such as trying to figure out where we go from here now that our plans were ruined, thanks to you.” He paused. “Remember, I will know if you move. Oh, and this is not some sort of test of your powers. You are not to use your powers to attack anyone or to get out of this punishment.” Shaw paused again, and then concluded with,” You truly do not want me thinking up additional and more creative punishments. I have much experience with this.”
Shaw addressed Azazel, Dread, and Pummel. “Stay at your stations for now. Make sure that we continue to be in the clear.”
With that, Shaw left the bridge, followed by Emma.
Dread and Pummel were in need of an outlet for their anger too. They had wanted the mission to succeed as much as Shaw had, losing was inherently humiliating, and they had no love lost for Riptide given his inferior status on the team.
“Nice job, pretty boy,” Dread began.
“Yeah, thanks for letting me get hit during the fight,” Pummel added. “You’re not gonna last long here.”
There was not much that Riptide could do. He continued to kneel on the metallic surface of the bridge’s floor, duct tape over his mouth. Dread and Pummel were currently behind him so he was unable to even look at them unless he wanted to turn his head at an awkward angle.
Azazel did notice, however, that Riptide’s posture was rigid, down to the tips of his fingers. He showed no signs of slacking and displayed no response to Dread and Pummel’s taunting. His eyes gazed straight ahead and again Azazel saw a hint of fire in them.
Dread and Pummel, it appeared, were not about to stop. As Azazel stood near the sensor display, he watched the two older mutants berate Riptide. They mocked him, calling him filthy names.
Dread grabbed Riptide’s hair, yanked it backwards, and spat in his face. Pummel chuckled and did the same. Dread then grabbed the duct tape that Emma had left in the room, and tied Riptide’s hands behind his back, rendering him unable to wipe his face or use his hands at all.
Azazel hadn’t realized it but he had been frozen like a statue. His limbs, he noticed, were starting to become slightly sore given the rigidity with which he held himself. The other two mutants began to take notice of Azazel.
“What’s wrong, Azazel?” Pummel looked at the fourth person on the bridge. “Are you upset with the way we’re treating your...friend?”
“Yeah, your ‘friend’,” Dread added. “We know what you two do in your bunk all night. Say, how does that work? Is Riptide your bitch, or do you take turns?”
Azazel was about to spring into action when suddenly everyone else on the bridge froze. Literally. Dread, Pummel, and Riptide were all completely immobilized. Not one of the three men blinked an eye; it was as if a replay of a movie had been paused.
Azazel himself, however, was not constrained. He almost gasped, very confused. A second or two later he heard Emma’s voice inside his mind.
`I froze them,’ Emma said.
‘Miss Frost, please get out of my mind!’ Azazel thought back at her. ‘Had I only known that I would surrender all privacy when I joined this group!’
‘You knew that periodic mental scans were part of the deal when you signed up,’ Emma responded coolly, from Shaw’s room. ‘I’m stepping in here because I like you, Azazel.’
‘If you like me, then get inside Shaw’s head and have him change his mind. Or at least let me teleport these two idiots to some obscure island.’
‘I don’t like you that much.’ Emma conveyed in a flat tone. She then added, ‘But I did know what you were about to do and I’m stopping things because you’re dead wrong, and I like you enough that I want to stop you from messing up your life.’
`And what exactly was I about to do?’ Azazel asked, but he knew the answer.
He had not been about to do the right thing. Filled with rage and embarrassment, Azazel had been about to disown his association with Riptide, to deny that there was anything between them, to disassociate from the humiliated man. He had been about to join in the taunting. Watching Riptide’s punishment was agonizing, hearing the gibes of the other two men equally so, and every mental fiber inside Azazel’s brain right now was working to convince himself that he didn’t care about this person and would be much better off without him. Only the weak allowed themselves to get attached to another person, and caring about Riptide certainly hadn’t been in the plans when Azazel had first asked him to his bed.
`Stop being so proud and stop pretending that you’re made of stone,’ Emma said crossly. ‘He needs you now. If you don’t go to him and defend him, you’ll be ending everything that’s between you.’
‘Maybe that is not bad thing,’ Azazel countered.
‘You’re lying to yourself if you tell yourself that’s not a terrible thing. Riptide doesn’t look so great now, but he’s not a doormat and you know that. If you join in the taunting, he might very well never take you back. He has his pride too. So swallow some of yours and do what you know is the right thing.’
He considered her words, knowing that he had time as the other three men on the bridge remained frozen. Emma had a good point. He realized he had another outlet for his impotent rage.
At times like this, Azazel almost loved Emma.
`You’re welcome,’ Emma responded to Azazel’s thoughts, and Azazel could practically feel her smile of self-satisfaction.
And then the action on the bridge resumed. Dread, Pummel, and Riptide were now unfrozen, and unaware of the previous, lost minute.
“Leave him alone,” Azazel growled, menacingly moving towards the other men. His fists were balled and his tail began to stiffen. “You don’t kick a man when he’s down.”
“Awww…Azazel loves his girlfriend! Look how upset he is,” Pummel taunted.
“Keep this up, and I will give you what is called ‘free sky-diving’, without parachute,” Azazel promised, his voice deep and his threat delivered slowly.
“It’s an empty threat,” Dread said, turning towards Pummel. “He’s not going to teleport us somewhere that will kill us. If Azazel kills us, then Shaw is really going to be furious.”
“Perhaps you are right,” Azazel allowed. “We have to follow our leader. But Mr. Shaw does like for us to train by fighting each other, no?”
With that, Azazel began the fight. Dread and Pummel’s cockiness soon disappeared; they knew they were no match for Azazel even if he were never to teleport and despite the mutant powers that the two men did posses. Using his sword, his tail, his speed, and his brute strength, Azazel made short work of his two teammates. He had expected the fight to last longer, but Dread and Pummel were down in a matter of minutes. Azazel hadn’t even broken a sweat.
During the chaos of the fight, Riptide had been knocked over. Given what Dread had done to bind his hands, he struggled to resume his kneeling position. His knees had already gone from discomfort to pain against the unforgiving floor.
Just then, Shaw entered the bridge. “A man can’t get a minute’s concentration on this ship, can he!?” he shouted, surveying the scene. Then, calming down he added, “But it’s good to see you training. We should have done more of this before the mission.”
It was the closest he would come to hearing, Azazel mused, Shaw take some accountability for the fact that he hadn’t sufficiently trained his new recruit.
Shaw turned to Dread and Pummel. “You two are dismissed. Back to your quarters or to the rec room. Or to sick bay, judging from the injuries on you. Azazel, come with me to my office.”
“Yes, Sir,” Azazel said, as Dread and Pummel limped out of the room. “But one moment please.”
Azazel reached into his pocket and procured a handkerchief. Walking up to his lover and then squatting down, he helped Riptide resume his kneeling position. Azazel then wiped the spittle off of his face. His touch was gentle.
“May I unbind his arms, Mr. Shaw?” he asked their leader. “You did not do that - the others did.”
“If you must,” Shaw allowed.
“I will try to do this quickly,” Azazel whispered to Riptide. He dreaded how it would be when it was time to remove the tape from Riptide’s mouth. Azazel deftly ripped the tape off of Riptide’s wrists.
Shaw turned to head for his office, expecting Azazel to follow. Azazel touched his fingertips to Riptide’s cheek and stroked the side of his face before leaving to follow Shaw. The two men met each other’s gazes for a moment and lingered there.
***
When Shaw and Azazel were alone inside his office, both men began to speak at once. Upon receiving Shaw’s affronted glare, Azazel silenced himself so his leader could speak.
“This relationship of yours had better not impair the workings of the Hellfire Club,” Shaw stated.
“It will not. I swear it. I have been dedicated soldier of yours for three years now, and you know that I am one of best fighters and most powerful mutants on this planet. You trust me.”
“You might be right. But try to not get too attached to Riptide. He has power but I’m not sure he’s enough of a fighter,” Shaw said casually, picking up a stack of papers on his desk.
“It is only because he is untrained. I am certain that if we spend more time training him, he will do better. I see great potential in him but we have to give him time he needs to learn how to use it.” Azazel kept his voice even and matter-of-fact rather than passionate. He held his arms at his sides, palms slightly open.
“Perhaps. So why don’t you take that on? Pry yourselves out of the bedroom once in a while, and work on training more.” Shaw didn’t look at Azazel, keeping his gaze on his papers. “Take him under your wing and make him your project.”
“I will. I have noticed, Mr. Shaw, that Riptide’s shifts in the control room are often long. If he had less bridge duty, we could do more training.”
Shaw sighed and looked at Azazel. “Alright. Have Emma change the schedule to free up a few of his hours every day. Is there anything else you need?” Shaw asked sarcastically.
“Yes. The punishment you gave him today - it is too cruel. Shorten it.”
Shaw snorted, “Out of the question. It would send the wrong message to the others. I don’t kid around when it comes to punishments,” he said, with a shake of his head,” - you know that.”
Azazel fought to contain his rage. This, after all he had done for Shaw over the years, his dedicated service and even his financial support of the Hellfire Club’s projects!
He considered doing some dropping to his knees of his own, of groveling and begging Shaw. But he knew the man well enough to know that this tactic would likely backfire and make Shaw re-think his consent to allow Azazel more time to train Riptide.
“Very well. But let me keep Dread and Pummel off of bridge.”
Shaw chuckled. “I think, given the fight you just had, they aren’t going to be moving far from sick bay or their quarters for a while. I commend you for your fighting skills.” He then resumed his stern stance and said, “Riptide stays kneeling on the bridge for the full two hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Dismissed,” Shaw concluding, gesturing to the door.
***
Azazel teleported out of Shaw’s office, into his own room, and then back to the bridge.
He startled for a moment at the sight of Riptide. The man hadn’t changed position since last time he saw him. He knelt on the floor, the duct tape over his mouth. His posture remained erect. The tape that Azazel had removed from his wrists was now on the floor, and Riptide’s arms were at their sides. He looked up when he sensed Azazel’s return.
Being reminded that he was starting to care for this person - this person who was now bearing a punishment - nearly made Azazel fly into a rage. But in a split second, Azazel replayed his conversation with Emma and even his words with Shaw. Riptide wasn’t a doormat and with a little training he would be formidable, maybe even close to being Azazel’s equal in battle someday. Tearing him down now wasn’t going to help get him there.
“Here,” Azazel said, holding the item he had brought from his room, which was a pillow. “Shaw won’t mind. I tried to get him to shorten your punishment, but he would not. However I do not think he would object to this.”
He grasped Riptide’s hands and helped ease him slightly up, and back down so that he could kneel on the pillow.
“That is better, yes? I try to think of some other thing I can do to help you with the rest of the time you need to stay like this,” Azazel said. “And with that damn tape over your mouth you can’t tell me what would help you most. But I got Shaw to agree to keep the others away. That is good; they will not be back on the bridge. Now then. Let me suggest some things and you nod yes or no to tell me if they would help make this better for you. Agreed?”
Riptide nodded. Looking down at his face, Azazel thought he saw some measure of hope or relief on Riptide’s handsome features. Earlier he had seen a measure of fear in Riptide’s eyes, but that was gone. Definitely there was gratitude there.
Azazel began his litany of ideas, pausing after each one to see Riptide’s reaction. “I could get my record player and play you some music. Though, as you know, music I have is all Russian… I could rub your shoulders….I could get book and read to you …I could kneel down across from you and you could lean against me.”
Riptide had nodded at all of Azazel’s suggestions, but his response to the last was puzzling. At first he had nodded, but then he vigorously shook his head.
“You change your mind? You first wanted me to kneel down with you, but then decided you did not?” After being confused for a second, Azazel suddenly knew with certainty the reasoning. “You do not want me down on floor suffering with you. You think that last one is bad for me. Is that it?”
Riptide nodded, again vigorously.
Azazel knew that he and Riptide would be alone on the bridge for the remainder of Riptide’s punishment. Dread and Pummel wouldn’t bother them. So what if Shaw saw this from his monitor?
Azazel lowered himself to the floor and knelt immediately opposite Riptide. He put his arms around him.
“This not so bad. Lean into me. Like that. My chest is strong. Two hours will pass more quickly this way. I will help you through this. Now I have good news for you. Shaw agreed to have Emma shorten your shifts on the bridge. You will spend more time training with me, and I will help you use powers better. You will become great fighter. We will still have time to spend in bedroom though, do not worry,” he added, chuckling. “But rest now. Just rest against me and I will help you get through this.”
One hour and thirty eight minutes later, the timer mercifully sounded. Azazel teleported Riptide to his room. Azazel swiftly peeled the tape off of his mouth, poured his lover some water, and gently laid him on the bed. Azazel sat on the bed next to him, and held his hand.
“Thank you,” Riptide said. His voice came through weary but resolute. He drank the rest of the water, taking his time and not gulping. “I will work hard. I would appreciate your tutoring.”
“I will gladly give it. You are strong, Janos. You and I will rule the world together someday.”
THE END
Thank you for your reviews and feedback.
Word count: 3,500
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Azazel/Riptide
Summary: Riptide is new to the Hellfire Club and has made a lot of mistakes. Can Azazel help him and keep him from Shaw’s wrath?
Disclaimer: I don’t own X-men. If I did the world would be a more interesting place. And Jason Flemyng would be having a heated discussion with his agent, asking when he had agreed to do full frontal.
Untrained
***
Disaster. During his first mission as a member of the Hellfire Club, Riptide erred. The first tornado he summoned wasn’t anywhere near powerful enough, and the team lost precious time. His second tornado spun out of control, even by tornado standards, and it knocked over one of the other Hellfire Club members during the battle.
This was especially bad for Riptide given that he was new and that he hadn’t come to the Hellfire Club with much wealth. Sebastian Shaw preferred to recruit mutants who were both powerful and rich. Riptide hadn’t been struggling financially, but he hadn’t been nearly as moneyed as the other four members. On account of his lack of wealth and newness to the team, he had already been placed squarely on the bottom rung. This first mission’s mishaps would only cause him to fall further down.
“You’re in big trouble,” the member known as Dread said to Riptide as the defeated team was teleported back to the submarine, grateful to escape with their lives at this point.
Riptide’s face remained stony and calm. If he felt fear, he was not going to let the others see it. It was not as if his life had been free of turbulence before Shaw recruited him anyway.
The Hellfire Club currently consisted of Shaw, Emma Frost, Azazel, Riptide, and two other men whose tenure would not prove to last much longer: Dread and Pummel.
“They are not following us,” Azazel said, checking their sensors. “We are escaped.” If someone had looked closely, they would’ve seen Azazel blink several times and a certain restlessness in his limbs as he stood in front of the sensor display.
“Good,” Shaw said flatly. “Now gather around me, everyone. I need to review with you what just happened.”
The six members of the Hellfire Club stood on the sub’s bridge. Shaw looked at Riptide and said, “Stand next to me, Riptide.”
Azazel watched his new lover move a few paces to next to their leader. Azazel took a few breaths and tried to steady himself, but he knew what was going to happen next. He silently berated himself for not spending more time coaching Riptide before the battle. Azazel felt more even guilt upon reflecting that he had indeed been spending plenty of time with Riptide prior to this mission, but it was mostly time spent in one or the other man’s quarters. `If I could have calmed my lust and helped him to be a better fighter, then this would not have happened,’ he silently lashed at himself. He should have known better.
“The mission was an unmitigated disaster,” Shaw began again. He then recounted what had gone wrong. Every error was Riptide’s, and Shaw needlessly recounted them in detail. Shaw’s voice remained steady, devoid of apparent fury or passion. “You might be new to the team, Riptide, but you should know that we don’t tolerate failure,” he summarized.
Shaw then smiled and said, “Kneel before me.”
Riptide stood still for a second or two, perhaps not believing his ears. Pummel took the initiative and pushed Riptide down. Riptide then assumed a kneeling position, as if he were back in his home country and at church, kneeling on a pew.
“That’s better. I am going to let you off easy. I am not going to kill you or ‘disappear’ you from the Hellfire Club. You may thank me for that now.”
Shaw paused and there were awkward moments of silence. It was clear that Shaw expected to be thanked.
Azazel raged at the way his heart pounded. This should not be troubling him. Riptide was just a man who he enjoyed sexually, that’s all. He wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last. Definitely the best, but so what? Shaw had treated other members of the Hellfire Club like this in the past, and whatever he was about to dish out to Riptide couldn’t be worse than many things Azazel had seen over the years or even experienced himself. But Azazel’s heart continued to throb and his stomach churned.
“Thank you, Sir,” Riptide finally began, his head tilted up so he could look at his leader. His voice sounded stronger than Azazel would have predicted and his eyes displayed the smallest spark of fire. “If I can only explain---“
Shaw must have seen that spark too, Azazel realized.
“I am doing the talking here! Emma, please, help me shut him up,” Shaw called to Emma.
Emma handed Shaw a roll of duct tape which Shaw used deftly to silence any further comments from Riptide.
“Emma, start the timer. Riptide, you will stay here on the bridge, for two hours, kneeling. You will not change position or slump over in any way, unless you want further punishment. I will monitor the bridge from my office, but I have more important things to tend to now - such as trying to figure out where we go from here now that our plans were ruined, thanks to you.” He paused. “Remember, I will know if you move. Oh, and this is not some sort of test of your powers. You are not to use your powers to attack anyone or to get out of this punishment.” Shaw paused again, and then concluded with,” You truly do not want me thinking up additional and more creative punishments. I have much experience with this.”
Shaw addressed Azazel, Dread, and Pummel. “Stay at your stations for now. Make sure that we continue to be in the clear.”
With that, Shaw left the bridge, followed by Emma.
Dread and Pummel were in need of an outlet for their anger too. They had wanted the mission to succeed as much as Shaw had, losing was inherently humiliating, and they had no love lost for Riptide given his inferior status on the team.
“Nice job, pretty boy,” Dread began.
“Yeah, thanks for letting me get hit during the fight,” Pummel added. “You’re not gonna last long here.”
There was not much that Riptide could do. He continued to kneel on the metallic surface of the bridge’s floor, duct tape over his mouth. Dread and Pummel were currently behind him so he was unable to even look at them unless he wanted to turn his head at an awkward angle.
Azazel did notice, however, that Riptide’s posture was rigid, down to the tips of his fingers. He showed no signs of slacking and displayed no response to Dread and Pummel’s taunting. His eyes gazed straight ahead and again Azazel saw a hint of fire in them.
Dread and Pummel, it appeared, were not about to stop. As Azazel stood near the sensor display, he watched the two older mutants berate Riptide. They mocked him, calling him filthy names.
Dread grabbed Riptide’s hair, yanked it backwards, and spat in his face. Pummel chuckled and did the same. Dread then grabbed the duct tape that Emma had left in the room, and tied Riptide’s hands behind his back, rendering him unable to wipe his face or use his hands at all.
Azazel hadn’t realized it but he had been frozen like a statue. His limbs, he noticed, were starting to become slightly sore given the rigidity with which he held himself. The other two mutants began to take notice of Azazel.
“What’s wrong, Azazel?” Pummel looked at the fourth person on the bridge. “Are you upset with the way we’re treating your...friend?”
“Yeah, your ‘friend’,” Dread added. “We know what you two do in your bunk all night. Say, how does that work? Is Riptide your bitch, or do you take turns?”
Azazel was about to spring into action when suddenly everyone else on the bridge froze. Literally. Dread, Pummel, and Riptide were all completely immobilized. Not one of the three men blinked an eye; it was as if a replay of a movie had been paused.
Azazel himself, however, was not constrained. He almost gasped, very confused. A second or two later he heard Emma’s voice inside his mind.
`I froze them,’ Emma said.
‘Miss Frost, please get out of my mind!’ Azazel thought back at her. ‘Had I only known that I would surrender all privacy when I joined this group!’
‘You knew that periodic mental scans were part of the deal when you signed up,’ Emma responded coolly, from Shaw’s room. ‘I’m stepping in here because I like you, Azazel.’
‘If you like me, then get inside Shaw’s head and have him change his mind. Or at least let me teleport these two idiots to some obscure island.’
‘I don’t like you that much.’ Emma conveyed in a flat tone. She then added, ‘But I did know what you were about to do and I’m stopping things because you’re dead wrong, and I like you enough that I want to stop you from messing up your life.’
`And what exactly was I about to do?’ Azazel asked, but he knew the answer.
He had not been about to do the right thing. Filled with rage and embarrassment, Azazel had been about to disown his association with Riptide, to deny that there was anything between them, to disassociate from the humiliated man. He had been about to join in the taunting. Watching Riptide’s punishment was agonizing, hearing the gibes of the other two men equally so, and every mental fiber inside Azazel’s brain right now was working to convince himself that he didn’t care about this person and would be much better off without him. Only the weak allowed themselves to get attached to another person, and caring about Riptide certainly hadn’t been in the plans when Azazel had first asked him to his bed.
`Stop being so proud and stop pretending that you’re made of stone,’ Emma said crossly. ‘He needs you now. If you don’t go to him and defend him, you’ll be ending everything that’s between you.’
‘Maybe that is not bad thing,’ Azazel countered.
‘You’re lying to yourself if you tell yourself that’s not a terrible thing. Riptide doesn’t look so great now, but he’s not a doormat and you know that. If you join in the taunting, he might very well never take you back. He has his pride too. So swallow some of yours and do what you know is the right thing.’
He considered her words, knowing that he had time as the other three men on the bridge remained frozen. Emma had a good point. He realized he had another outlet for his impotent rage.
At times like this, Azazel almost loved Emma.
`You’re welcome,’ Emma responded to Azazel’s thoughts, and Azazel could practically feel her smile of self-satisfaction.
And then the action on the bridge resumed. Dread, Pummel, and Riptide were now unfrozen, and unaware of the previous, lost minute.
“Leave him alone,” Azazel growled, menacingly moving towards the other men. His fists were balled and his tail began to stiffen. “You don’t kick a man when he’s down.”
“Awww…Azazel loves his girlfriend! Look how upset he is,” Pummel taunted.
“Keep this up, and I will give you what is called ‘free sky-diving’, without parachute,” Azazel promised, his voice deep and his threat delivered slowly.
“It’s an empty threat,” Dread said, turning towards Pummel. “He’s not going to teleport us somewhere that will kill us. If Azazel kills us, then Shaw is really going to be furious.”
“Perhaps you are right,” Azazel allowed. “We have to follow our leader. But Mr. Shaw does like for us to train by fighting each other, no?”
With that, Azazel began the fight. Dread and Pummel’s cockiness soon disappeared; they knew they were no match for Azazel even if he were never to teleport and despite the mutant powers that the two men did posses. Using his sword, his tail, his speed, and his brute strength, Azazel made short work of his two teammates. He had expected the fight to last longer, but Dread and Pummel were down in a matter of minutes. Azazel hadn’t even broken a sweat.
During the chaos of the fight, Riptide had been knocked over. Given what Dread had done to bind his hands, he struggled to resume his kneeling position. His knees had already gone from discomfort to pain against the unforgiving floor.
Just then, Shaw entered the bridge. “A man can’t get a minute’s concentration on this ship, can he!?” he shouted, surveying the scene. Then, calming down he added, “But it’s good to see you training. We should have done more of this before the mission.”
It was the closest he would come to hearing, Azazel mused, Shaw take some accountability for the fact that he hadn’t sufficiently trained his new recruit.
Shaw turned to Dread and Pummel. “You two are dismissed. Back to your quarters or to the rec room. Or to sick bay, judging from the injuries on you. Azazel, come with me to my office.”
“Yes, Sir,” Azazel said, as Dread and Pummel limped out of the room. “But one moment please.”
Azazel reached into his pocket and procured a handkerchief. Walking up to his lover and then squatting down, he helped Riptide resume his kneeling position. Azazel then wiped the spittle off of his face. His touch was gentle.
“May I unbind his arms, Mr. Shaw?” he asked their leader. “You did not do that - the others did.”
“If you must,” Shaw allowed.
“I will try to do this quickly,” Azazel whispered to Riptide. He dreaded how it would be when it was time to remove the tape from Riptide’s mouth. Azazel deftly ripped the tape off of Riptide’s wrists.
Shaw turned to head for his office, expecting Azazel to follow. Azazel touched his fingertips to Riptide’s cheek and stroked the side of his face before leaving to follow Shaw. The two men met each other’s gazes for a moment and lingered there.
***
When Shaw and Azazel were alone inside his office, both men began to speak at once. Upon receiving Shaw’s affronted glare, Azazel silenced himself so his leader could speak.
“This relationship of yours had better not impair the workings of the Hellfire Club,” Shaw stated.
“It will not. I swear it. I have been dedicated soldier of yours for three years now, and you know that I am one of best fighters and most powerful mutants on this planet. You trust me.”
“You might be right. But try to not get too attached to Riptide. He has power but I’m not sure he’s enough of a fighter,” Shaw said casually, picking up a stack of papers on his desk.
“It is only because he is untrained. I am certain that if we spend more time training him, he will do better. I see great potential in him but we have to give him time he needs to learn how to use it.” Azazel kept his voice even and matter-of-fact rather than passionate. He held his arms at his sides, palms slightly open.
“Perhaps. So why don’t you take that on? Pry yourselves out of the bedroom once in a while, and work on training more.” Shaw didn’t look at Azazel, keeping his gaze on his papers. “Take him under your wing and make him your project.”
“I will. I have noticed, Mr. Shaw, that Riptide’s shifts in the control room are often long. If he had less bridge duty, we could do more training.”
Shaw sighed and looked at Azazel. “Alright. Have Emma change the schedule to free up a few of his hours every day. Is there anything else you need?” Shaw asked sarcastically.
“Yes. The punishment you gave him today - it is too cruel. Shorten it.”
Shaw snorted, “Out of the question. It would send the wrong message to the others. I don’t kid around when it comes to punishments,” he said, with a shake of his head,” - you know that.”
Azazel fought to contain his rage. This, after all he had done for Shaw over the years, his dedicated service and even his financial support of the Hellfire Club’s projects!
He considered doing some dropping to his knees of his own, of groveling and begging Shaw. But he knew the man well enough to know that this tactic would likely backfire and make Shaw re-think his consent to allow Azazel more time to train Riptide.
“Very well. But let me keep Dread and Pummel off of bridge.”
Shaw chuckled. “I think, given the fight you just had, they aren’t going to be moving far from sick bay or their quarters for a while. I commend you for your fighting skills.” He then resumed his stern stance and said, “Riptide stays kneeling on the bridge for the full two hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Dismissed,” Shaw concluding, gesturing to the door.
***
Azazel teleported out of Shaw’s office, into his own room, and then back to the bridge.
He startled for a moment at the sight of Riptide. The man hadn’t changed position since last time he saw him. He knelt on the floor, the duct tape over his mouth. His posture remained erect. The tape that Azazel had removed from his wrists was now on the floor, and Riptide’s arms were at their sides. He looked up when he sensed Azazel’s return.
Being reminded that he was starting to care for this person - this person who was now bearing a punishment - nearly made Azazel fly into a rage. But in a split second, Azazel replayed his conversation with Emma and even his words with Shaw. Riptide wasn’t a doormat and with a little training he would be formidable, maybe even close to being Azazel’s equal in battle someday. Tearing him down now wasn’t going to help get him there.
“Here,” Azazel said, holding the item he had brought from his room, which was a pillow. “Shaw won’t mind. I tried to get him to shorten your punishment, but he would not. However I do not think he would object to this.”
He grasped Riptide’s hands and helped ease him slightly up, and back down so that he could kneel on the pillow.
“That is better, yes? I try to think of some other thing I can do to help you with the rest of the time you need to stay like this,” Azazel said. “And with that damn tape over your mouth you can’t tell me what would help you most. But I got Shaw to agree to keep the others away. That is good; they will not be back on the bridge. Now then. Let me suggest some things and you nod yes or no to tell me if they would help make this better for you. Agreed?”
Riptide nodded. Looking down at his face, Azazel thought he saw some measure of hope or relief on Riptide’s handsome features. Earlier he had seen a measure of fear in Riptide’s eyes, but that was gone. Definitely there was gratitude there.
Azazel began his litany of ideas, pausing after each one to see Riptide’s reaction. “I could get my record player and play you some music. Though, as you know, music I have is all Russian… I could rub your shoulders….I could get book and read to you …I could kneel down across from you and you could lean against me.”
Riptide had nodded at all of Azazel’s suggestions, but his response to the last was puzzling. At first he had nodded, but then he vigorously shook his head.
“You change your mind? You first wanted me to kneel down with you, but then decided you did not?” After being confused for a second, Azazel suddenly knew with certainty the reasoning. “You do not want me down on floor suffering with you. You think that last one is bad for me. Is that it?”
Riptide nodded, again vigorously.
Azazel knew that he and Riptide would be alone on the bridge for the remainder of Riptide’s punishment. Dread and Pummel wouldn’t bother them. So what if Shaw saw this from his monitor?
Azazel lowered himself to the floor and knelt immediately opposite Riptide. He put his arms around him.
“This not so bad. Lean into me. Like that. My chest is strong. Two hours will pass more quickly this way. I will help you through this. Now I have good news for you. Shaw agreed to have Emma shorten your shifts on the bridge. You will spend more time training with me, and I will help you use powers better. You will become great fighter. We will still have time to spend in bedroom though, do not worry,” he added, chuckling. “But rest now. Just rest against me and I will help you get through this.”
One hour and thirty eight minutes later, the timer mercifully sounded. Azazel teleported Riptide to his room. Azazel swiftly peeled the tape off of his mouth, poured his lover some water, and gently laid him on the bed. Azazel sat on the bed next to him, and held his hand.
“Thank you,” Riptide said. His voice came through weary but resolute. He drank the rest of the water, taking his time and not gulping. “I will work hard. I would appreciate your tutoring.”
“I will gladly give it. You are strong, Janos. You and I will rule the world together someday.”
THE END
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