Madeline didn’t know why the school insisted she stay in class when there was an emergency going on. She couldn’t concentrate and knew she wasn’t going to remember anything they covered for the rest of the day. The only thing that kept her in the classroom was the thought of a punishment potentially being their downfall in their exit interview next month.
As soon as her final class of the day was dismissed, she got her phone out and requested an uber. Her driver was waiting at the gate to the school when she got there, and the drive to the hospital seemed even longer than her class had. The hospital’s hallways were long and more numerous than she’d have liked, but she finally made her way back to the room with her family. “How is he?” she asked, sliding an arm around Dexter’s waist as soon as she was through the door.
PM: Hey, Professor! I'm in New York with Miss Grace and they have some amazing bookshops here. Let me know if there are any titles you'd like me to have a look for and I'll bring them back for you.
[PM] That’s so sweet of you, but no, no. I can’t have you spending any money on me, my dear.
Jonah stood around, holding two coffee cups and feeling like an idiot standing out there. His logic was that the weather was finally getting better and it might be nice to talk and walk around. Actually, that was a bold faced lie even to himself. In truth he just didn’t trust himself alone with Elliot right now. He didn’t know if he’d be angry or sad or just jump his bones from being so happy to see him. But he needed a clear head if they were going to figure this out together, yet mostly he still felt like he just needed Elliot. Maybe that feeling never really went away after he left.
TAGGING → Jonah Ellis and Elliot Rose [ peglegelliot ]
LOCATION → Jonah’s Room
TIME FRAME → March...? (>_>)
GENERAL NOTES → None
Elliot flipped through the pages of his text book with just a hint of anxiety. Jonah and him were good, they really were, but having to have this inevitable talk about the ~future and all that bullshit still made him nervous. He jumped suddenly as the dorm door jostled open. Elliot had let himself in earlier, it was likely just his boyfriend returning after classes. Keeping a thumb on his page, El craned up from the couch to holler, "Hey, Jo!"
Jonah made a beeline for Elliot the second he heard him call out. He tossed his stuff onto the couch as he passed by. Then he bent down to plant a kiss on his boyfriend's lips. "Hey yourself." He grinned, taking a seat next to him and looking over his shoulder at what he was doing. More schoolwork, nothing exciting. Surely not as exciting as what was weighing on both their minds as of late. "So do you still want to talk about it?"
Elliot smiled at the kiss, moving over on the couch to make room for the two of them. He quirked an eyebrow at that wording and made fun of his boyfriend. "Do you not want to talk about this now? I think, I think it would be good to figure out, for both of us." God was he awkward. Elliot shrugged, he wouldn't force it.
Jonah pulled his leg up onto the couch so he could face his boyfriend. "Yeah, I do." El had a point, it would be good for them to figure it out. The year was winding down fast and before they knew it they'd be graduating. It was just a bit nerve wracking to get started, but might as well jump into it. "I know I'm being a spaz about this, it's just a lot to consider. Do you know where you're going for college?"
Elliot "It's okay," he replied automatically. He was nervous about this, too. Claim deadlines and confirmations were coming up and he knew it would just be better to get this sorted out. "Uh, yeah I do, only 'cause they're giving me a good deal. But why don't you say where you want to go first.. I don't want to be like, going somewhere all the way across the country.." Elliot held a couch cushion across his chest and gave an awkward nod.
Jonah nodded. Right, the other unsaid part of that was claiming Elliot, which was really the only way he could go to college at all. They'd get to that next, for now it was easier to focus on something more normal. "Well, I was thinking California. I got into a bunch of schools, and UCLA offered me a bitching scholarship." Considering his lack of funds, it was hard to turn that down. "What about you? I bet you got into some kick ass schools, didn't you?" He teased, lightly nudging the other's side.
Elliot grinned a little easier this time, nudging the other back. "Fuck, me too." He laughed with relief at how easy that had been. "I got into some other places too, but UCLA's my best option. They're basically paying me to play soccer for them." This could be good, he thought to himself. Going to the same college, maybe as a claim or whatever, that could be good.
Jonah breathed a little easier at that, managing a laugh as well. "That's a relief." He'd been worried about that, especially since his second choice was Florida. "I think I just wanted to get the hell out of this cold." He smiled at his boyfriend though. "That's fucking amazing though. I'm happy for you, and for us." Because as selfish as it was he still really just wanted to be near Elliot, even after they graduated. "This is good for us then, like a good sign." That they could actually work out well and everything.
Elliot "We're so fucking smart, both going to UCLA. They have some killer aquariums over there, right? That should be good." He smiled back. He couldn't wait to get out of this awful weather either and spend all his time with Jonah in the sun. "Yeah, yeah, it's very good." Elliot moved over and leaned against his boyfriend's arm. It did seem like a good sign that they'd both chosen the same college, and hopefully they'd be able to stay together there as well.
Jonah laughed at Elliot's comment. "Hell yeah, of course we are. We're getting out of this place and moving onto bigger and better things." He declared, smiling all the while. It was exciting to think about, like a weight off his shoulders knowing that the two of them were headed towards the same place. That was a start and hopefully their paths could keep twining together, though that did beg the question of the other thing on his mind. He wrapped his arm around Elliot to pull him close. "So to go to UCLA, you kind of need to be claimed..."
Elliot knew that was going to come back, obviously. It seemed that they had more or less been skirting around that issue for the last month. "I do kind of need to be claimed, yeah." He reiterated, looking up at his boyfriend. Elliot reached around and entwined his fingers with Jonah's and just sat there for a moment. "I don't.. I don't want you to claim me just so I don't go to the markets, though. I dunno, I know our relationship isn't really traditional, but.." He shrugged, unable to further convey what he was feeling.
Jonah felt awkward. He knew he needed to bring it up, but they were so not into the whole D/s thing and this was kind of weird to talk about. Important and necessary though, so he barreled through. Feeling Elliot's fingers curl around his own was comforting though, and he gave the hand a gentle squeeze as he looked at his boyfriend. "I know. It's..." He didn't have word for it either, it seemed. "Do you want me to claim you?" He thought he'd ask instead, seeing where El stood on the whole matter.
Elliot sighed, knowing that this conversation was likely making them both a bit uncomfortable. What he really wanted to know was if Jonah wanted to claim him. "I do, but, like I said, not just to save me from the markets. I can get a claim from my brother or a friend for that. " He didn't want to be claimed just because it was the natural progression of their relationship, either. Like a check list for them. "I think a claim should be like, much more important and more of a commitment and yeah.. not just that I have to wear a collar or whatever.."
Jonah nodded. "Yeah, I get it. I know I'm not the most Dommy Dom or whatever, but I get what a big deal claiming is. I mean, if I claim you, then you'd be mine." Which sounded pretty obvious, but the legal standing of someone belonging to him was weird. While he'd doubt he'd ever treat Elliot as a submissive, especially the way they're taught to here, the whole thing still meant a lot. It was serious and a huge decision to make, and he had to trust that they'd still be good together in the future for pretty much ever. "But yeah, I do want to claim you."
Elliot: ran a hand through his hear again. It was good that Jonah felt the same way, but he still wanted the specifics of the guy's opinions. They might very well be in this for the long hall, and he needed to make sure that this was all for the right reasons. "Okay but really, aside from you just wanting to claim me, like, what does a claim mean to you? What do you think would be different between us if we were in a claim?"
Jonah took a moment to think on that. He wasn't at his brightest when he was on the spot, and he really wanted to give thoughtful answers to these really big questions. "Well, for one, the commitment. It's a long term kind of deal, which is huge. I don't really know how knowing that would affect our relationship until we see it happen. I'm hoping that it's a good thing and that you really want this future with me. I know we talk about it but now we've really got to commit to it. I don't think I could treat you like a submissive, but I do know that I'd be responsible for you and that the things we do reflect on each other. "
Elliot "I know, I do really want it. But at the same time, it's like, we've honestly only been dating for four months and now we have to plan for the rest of our lives, y'know. What do you want to do after college, do you want ever have children? Questions like that that we need to figure out now." Maybe he was taking this a little too far, but they were all things he needed to know when being claimed for the rest of his life. "Well, yeah, that whole life isn't really for us. But, I hate to think that I'd end up reflecting badly on you.."
Jonah "I know, it's a lot more to think about. Hell, it's everything to think about. After college, the plan is to find work, isn't it always? I'd kill to work in one of the big zoos, San Diego or something, but I'll probably work my way up form something small. It'll be time consuming. I don't have a lot of money saved, so I'll probably try finding a job the second we land in LA." That was another thing to think about, the different schedules, especially if he worked and El was training most of the time. "Long term goals, yeah I want it all. A house, kids, a white picket fence. All the shit I never had." He looked at his boyfriend now, a bit more concerned. "What do you want?" Because if their future goals didn't line up, well shit. He wrapped his arm around Elliot, kissing the side of his face. "You're too fucking cool, you'd never reflect badly on me."
Elliot "Yeah exactly, a job, having a few kids, buying some stuff, retiring to Florida, and dying. Good, I can work with that." He nodded, having much the same plans himself. El raised his eyebrow for a moment when Jonah mentioned his childhood- they had to turn over that stone. "Yeah.. we'll definitely need jobs. I think I'll have to spend most of the time in practice though, and find a major and that stuff." He had primarily been focused on the soccer and financial aid aspect of the college, just hoping the academic part would reveal itself. "Mmph," He mumbled, being pulled against Jonah's side and smiling at him. Although it did little to ease his worries, it was a nice gesture.
Jonah almost breathed out a sigh of relief to hear that the both of them were working towards the same things. It was simple but it wasn't too much to dream for a happy life, was it? "You've got four years, isn't that the whole point of college? To find yourself and figure out what you're going to do. As long as we're there for each other through it all." Elliot didn't seem entirely placated, but the smile was nice to see.
Jonah was pretty stoked to be going to Paris. He'd never left the country before, and he'd certainly never been on a transatlantic flight before. His only experience on a plane was the one he took up to Ohio. He had thought it'd been the coolest thing in the world at the time, and this plane was even better considering it was taking him to Europe. When he was done looking around the terminal like an excited four year old he turned back to his boyfriend who didn't look at keen. "Try breathing, El." He told his boyfriend, slipping his hand over the other's to give him something to hold onto. "We're not even in the air yet."
TAGGING → Jonah Ellis and Elliot Rose [ peglegelliot ]
LOCATION → Main Hall
TIME FRAME → October 4th
WARNINGS → Needle play
Elliot was just a little bit too nervous to inform Jonah that he was a nerd. Then the door opened and he quickly followed a few paces behind the man. Maybe then the other wouldn't be able to hear the way his heart thundered through his rib cage."Good morning, headmistress." Elliot echoed, keeping his head down and staying to the side of Jonah. It occurred to him that it might have been helpful to brief the dominant on how exams work- lest he awkwardly stand here for the next fifteen minutes.
Jonah waited for Elliot to give his greeting to the headmistress before addressing him, and when he did he got straight to the point. "Remind me again of your safeword." He instructed, wanting to be clear with that first. "Then I want you to strip off your clothes." He walked over to a metal table with wrist cuffs attached. "Once you do you're going to come over here and bend over this table with your arms extended out in front of you." He stopped there for now and waited for Elliot to comply.
Elliot nodded, following the familiar exam guidelines. "Red, sir." He went through the same motions as he had for the past eleven months, automatically folding the blazer and unbuttoning his shirt despite any mental hesitations. Elliot just had to remind himself that Jonah had seen all this before. Same scars, same cuts. The dom liked him to some extent even with these marks, he kept repeating. His clothes in a neat pile, Elliot stretched over the cold table, slightly uncomfortable against the cool surface, and let his wrists call into the cuffs.
It felt inexplicably weird to hear Elliot call him sir. Jonah was still getting used to anyone calling him sir, but hearing it out of Elliot's mouth was definitely one of the stranger occurrences. However, he kept any discomfort he may have felt about that clear off his face, he wouldn't dare show that sort of thing in front of the headmistress. Instead he watched as the submissive followed his orders, then secured the cuffs around his wrist. He moved to the other end and did the same with his ankles, securing them to the table legs. This way Elliot was stretched out with his back flat. He ran his hand over the other's shoulder now, feeling the edges of scars underneath his fingertips. "Today I'm going to be making you a fallen angel." That sounded peculiar coming out of his mouth, but it'd make sense by the end of the exam. "I'm going to be sticking needles into your back, so I need you to stay perfectly still. Because every action has a consequence, if you do move while I'm working you'll be hit with a wooden switch. Everything clear so far?"
Small clicks filled the room as the cuffs were secured around his wrists and ankles. Elliot subconsciously slid his arms forward just a bit to test his new range. Which was basically nothing. A small frown crossed his face at the words 'fallen angel'- was that supposed to elude to the cliche pick up line? He knew it didn't, of course, but analyzing all these little movements was the only way to keep his mind occupied. Jonah's next sentences escaped him, though he nodded anyway. "Yes, sir." The words sounded odd and ill fitting in his mouth, leaving a metallic taste with each 'sir'. He hated these exams and the way they hollowed him out into small, robotic movements. A shiver passed over his body at the dom's touch. His fingers tracing over all those scars. El was glad he was facing away from Roselle a bit, he'd hate to have his own shame and embarrassment hurt their grade.
Jonah nodded, "Okay, then we'll get started." He took a box of sterile needles and placed them on the table, then began to clean Elliot's back with alcohol on the areas he would be working on. Satisfied that it was safe, or as safe as sticking needles into someone could get, he opened up the box and steeled himself for what he was going to do. Slowly he started to pierce Elliot's skin with the needles, over his shoulder blades and the faded scars of tic tac toe games and carved slurs. He just prayed that Elliot wouldn't move and he'd have to punish him. If he could stomach punishing Aerolyn he knew he could do this, but that didn't make it any easier.
Elliot nodded anyway, even if his movements couldn't really be seen. He kept a focused gaze on a certain spot on the table and only shivered slightly at the sudden coolness of the alcohol wipe on his back. Was that supposed to count? The needles hadn't even left their containers yet.. El continued on, staying as still as he could. Needles were nothing new to him by this point in his Roselle career. It was just a matter of forgetting who the man behind him was and what rough, cracked up canvas he was working with. He focused on time each exhale with the new needles piercing through his skin, maybe that would help.
Jonah worked his way over Elliot's shoulder blades and down his upper back, leaving about a dozen needles per side. It pinched and raised the skin angrily, and now he was going to aggravate it more. He got a bundle of large, black feathers and placed those on the table as well. The stem of the feathers were large enough to fit snugly into the hub of the needles, which would effectively make the wings of his angel. "I'm going to attach feathers to the needles, I still need you to stay still." He explained, hoping this part would go as smoothly. He picked up the first feather and attached it to the needle, applying pressure to the area and causing the surrounding skin to move and stretch as he manipulated the needles so he could fit the feathers carefully.
Elliot held himself rigid, his body and muscles becoming tight as a vast multitude of needles darted across his shoulders. He could feel his skin already growing a dark pink with the irritation he was feeling, and he was certain that would only worsen with the black feathers he saw out of his peripheral. Elliot bit down on his lip as, sure enough, this new addition stretched his skin around further. His shoulders pulled up towards his neck in tension as the feather finally fit into the needle's hub. One down. His teeth dug further into his upper lip as the next needle was pushed against him.
Jonah could tell that Elliot was tensing up, he could feel it in his muscles even as he breathed and he knew that would just make it more painful. Though, as he finished with the first feather he caught movement from Elliot, the rise in his shoulders giving him away. "That's one lash with the switch." He told him, his hand running over his lower side gently before pulling away to grab the switch. He moved behind Elliot, standing slightly to the side, then raised the switch and brought it down the center of his ass leaving a thin, red mark behind. That was one thing about the switch, it was quick, it stung, and it didn't take much to make it efficient. He walked around again, carefully looking over Elliot to see how he'd react.
Elliot could tell that he had messed up before Jonah said anything. He was rarely one to be punished during exams, always following the orders with a blank face and a slight ache as his jaw clenched down. Now, though, he only felt a rush of disappointment in himself as Jonah's hand slid down his side. "Yes, sir." Elliot said, feeling like he was supposed to say something here. The familiar thwack of the switch hit him across the ass, but he was prepared this time. His body moved forward slightly with the force of the switch and he took a sharp intake of breath. It was only a moment, and then he was back to playing the passive submissive.
Aside from the reaction to the hit, Elliot didn't appear to be reacting much more. He was back to being quiet and passive, such a change of pace from how he was used to seeing his friend. This would all be over soon, though. They only had a few more minutes and all he needed to do was finish with the feathers. "I'm going to continue with the feathers, remember to stay still." The last thing Jonah wanted was for Elliot to move again, but he could only hope the submissive would bear it a little longer. He picked up the next feather and continued onwards with attaching feathers to the needles.
Elliot knew their time must be past the half mark by now, at least. But maybe not, he was continually surprised at just how long fifteen minutes could feel during an exam. He remained still as the number feathers beside the table diminished one by one. His back began to burn more intensely as the needles pulled and tugged his skin, but he worked to keep his shoulders down and still. The dominant's hands glided across his back gently, careful on across his scarred back and in stark contrast to the pain reverberating from the needles.
Jonah soon finished with the feathers, the end result actually being quite interesting to him. It looked a bit strange in this position, Elliot's flat back with large, black overlapping feathers sticking out the side, but he knew it'd look better from the front. "Here, I'm going to let you out of your bondage now." He said, beginning to undo the cuffs around Elliot's ankles before moving to the one binding his wrist. He took a step back and looked over the sub again. "Okay, now I want you to come here and face the front of the room." He said, motioning to the spot in front of him. "Typically, angels fly. But you're a fallen angel, so you'll be on your knees. Then you'll flex your shoulders to flap your wings."
Elliot flexed his wrists and ankle a bit as they were released from the cuffs again. A wave of self consciousness suddenly fell over him again as he heard Jonah step back, practically feeling his gaze scrape over the sub's damaged body. Rubbing his wrist a little bit, Elliot nodded and followed the next set of orders. He carefully knelt at where Jonah had pointed. This whole concept was still a bit hazy in his mind. Fallen angels and goth feathers and what not. But he tried to do his best for the both of them anyway and began flexing his shoulders, hoping that somehow cause the wings to flap satisfactorily.
Jonah watched as Elliot got up, eyes watching him carefully, especially his back. He was pleased when Elliot did what he was told, making the wings move. It looked nice, he hoped, even if in the end all of it was uncomfortable and pointless. He nodded and walked around front to face Elliot. "That's good enough." He grabbed a red bucket and walked behind Elliot again. "I'm going to remove your wings now." Then he knelt down and carefully he began to pull out the needles, dumping them in the bucket when he was done. When Elliot's back was finally free and clean, he stood up again. Thankfully, that was it. "Go thank the Headmistress for her time."
Elliot breathed a sigh of relief as it became apparent that that was the definite, final end to the exam. Good enough. Okay, he could live with that. The muscles in his back relaxed and eventually loosened as each needle slid out and plunked into the bucket. Elliot flexed his back again once the needles were all out, just to return some feeling of normality to his body. He kept his head bowed as he bid farewell to Miss Roselle and thanked her for her time and then shakily rose to his feet, drifting towards his pile of clothes.
Jonah waited for Elliot to thank the Headmistress, then followed suit and did the same. Then he told Elliot to get dressed, waiting for him patiently and keeping a careful eye on him noticing how shaky he was, in case he got a little off balance. When Elliot was done he led him out of the main hall.
Elliot pulled his clothes back, fumbling a little as his muscles were still shaky from being tense for the past quarter of an hour. Once clothed again, El followed the other out of the hall and into the main lobby. The next group was entering for their turn, and Elliot was only slightly leaning on Jonah as they continued back to their rooms.
