The Linework
Chapter Three, Segment Four
previous - next (coming soon)
Restrain
Masterpost
Joey was confined to his room after that incident. It maddened him; especially with the studio so mouthwateringly, tauntingly, tantalizingly close, he could almost taste work.
There was so much to be done, and so little time to do it all.
Henry had confiscated his blueprint paper, only for Johan to summon forth more with the computer only he could touch, so Henry had shackled him to his bed after a minor scuffle, but Johan was so weak from overwork that Henry was easily able to subdue him. It was, was, was completely uncalled for! Frustrating! Annoying!
Tugging on the restraints, he attempted to get out of bed. At least Henry had put him on his back, or he would be wholly uncomfortable, because there was no way he was getting out of the bindings. He growled in the back of his throat. Dammit, he wanted to work!
But he could not, so he tried to steady his breathing. Tried to close his eyes. Tried to relax.
With a huff, Joey got up as much as he could, reaching over to the side table with his leg, shoving one onto the bed, making himself as comfortable as possible to read.
“Papi?” Charlie’s voice was soft, peeking in through the door. He made his way to the bed, knocking Johan over to cuddle into his chest. “Why’re you up here?”
“Henry banished me from work,” Johan grumbled, but wrapped his arms around Charlie, at least the best he could. “And why are you up here, little one?”
“Just wanted to check on you,” he smiled, showing off small teeth. Johan smiled back at his little boy, tucking the blanket around both of them. “Why’re you tied down?”
“Your dad thinks I work too much.”
“But you do,” Charlie sounded confused. “Everyone knows that.”
“Thanks, Ch-Charlie,” Johan wryly remarked. His arm was not only sore from the shot he had received that sunday, but also from the position of his body; all twisted out of shape. He was mighty uncomfortable, but ignored it for the sake of his son. “You doing alright?”
“Yeah, I guess,” the boy sighed, pouting over dramatically. “I was singin’ in the recording room but then I had to go ‘cause Miss Campbell was going to record with Miss Pendle. Hey, how come Alice sounds like ‘em put together?”
“Because Alice’s voice is an amalgamation, that is to say, a mixture of both of their voices. You know my synthesizer?”
At the mention of the device, the kleptomaniac child perked up. He had gotten his hands on it once before Johan had spotted him with it, but he let him play with the fun sounds before returning it to its place in the room beside the projector booth.
“Yep, I know it,” he smiled, his hands making little grabbing motions at the very thought of playing with it again. “What about it?”
“That’s h-how we mashed together their voices to make Alice’s,” Johan explained slowly. Charlie nodded, soaking up every word. “And that’s why we have them record together, so we can just mix it up right there instead of having to, to develop each audio fragment. Make sense?”
“Mhm,” Charlie hummed, patting Johan’s cheeks. “It does.”
Johan smiled, exhausted from merely talking. Goodness, Henry was right, he was overworked. Of course Henry was right. He always was, after all, he was a doctor. Johan felt his eyes grow heavy, but then Charlie spoke again, so he opened an eye to stay attentive.
“Your cheeks are squishier than they look,” he observed. Johan blinked, unsure of how to respond to such a comment. “Is it ‘cause you smile all the time? Dad says smiling makes people soft, on the inside. Does it also make you soft on the outside?”
“I guess for some people, it would,” Johan mused. “Depends if the smile is real or not, I think. Real smiles get deep inside and out, but fake ones… suppose they just stay on the surface.”
Johan’s eyes drifted shut. He felt Charlie give him a kiss on his cheek, and he smiled ever so slightly, so happy for his children. He would give up the world for them.
Joey woke to quiet creaking. He blurrily saw Henry carrying a sleeping Charlie to his room.
His eyes closed once more.
They opened when Henry returned to the room, and he got up from the bed, still half asleep as he slid over to the shorter man. Dropping to his knees, he put his head in the crook of the doctor’s neck, kissing where he could, small content noises escaping his throat.
“How did you get out of the bindings?” Henry asked him, amazement evident in his tone. Johan hummed in askance, trailing kisses up his jaw to Henry’s ear, inhaling his sweet strawberry and distinct aftershave scent. “You were in them when I took Charlie upstairs.”
“Thought you took ‘em off,” Johan murmured, smiling slightly, squinting as he could not see and because of his even small grin, though it was tinged with the slightest hint of worry. “You sound like you’re disappointed….”
“Only surprised, you were in them tight when I left, then when I came back you sort of… phased out of them,” Henry replied, lifting Johan from his knees and carrying him back to the bed. “And my disappointment would be for nothing, anyways, seeing as you’re all Mr. Nothing Sensual Before Marriage. Would’ve been nice to have… some fun.”
“You’re just a kinky bastard. Nosebema,” Johan mumbled, then giggled, and ran a scarred hand through Henry’s hair. It felt so soft, he could simply life evermore running his hands through his golden curls, trailing each of the strawberry pink strands that were entwined in the yellow locks. “And that’s not, uh, entirely true.”
“Do you wanna prove that?” Henry’s words were completely teasing, but they sent a flare of warning lashing through Johan’s mind. Henry saw his balking expression, and he backpedaled quickly. “Looks like you don’t, that’s ok.”
“Thank you,” Joey muttered. Henry rose Johan’s head to see him, saying, “You don’t need to thank me. If you say no, it means no.”
Johan could not figure out anything to respond to that, so settled on his love’s chest, returning to sleep once more.
