14:44
john price knows you have some serious self-esteem issues, he could be a gentleman about it. he could be.
tw. dark, praise kink, manipulation, power imbalance, insecurity, age-gap (implied but like that’s obvious), grooming???
you were just finishing your report, gave him the file you had been working on for hours. standing next to him, you watched him closely, studying his features, mostly trying to read on his face what he was thinking. eyebrows crunched, lips forming a small line, your heart was about to explode. why isn’t he saying any-
“i think you got about everything, good job kid.”
he pats your shoulder, while walking away from you, eyes still on the paper you just handed to him.
you froze, stood there for a good minute trying to regain composure. you didn’t know how to feel about that. was that him calling you kid? did him calling you that make you pause? make you feel weird? you were so confused. yes, you have issues but kid? really? no.. no, must be the praise. he did not make a habit of handing that out so easy. hell, you may even have just done a good job. that must be it.
you’re not that fucked up, are you?
you try not to think too much about it anyway. you knew you had a thing for people acknowledging your worth. it started when your teachers in preschool praised you, you just loved to be seen.
except price understood that well enough, playing into it, saying stuff like it doesn’t— shouldn’t, matter as much in your eyes.
he loves the way it gets to your head, making you all fuzzy, small, shy smile tugging at your lips. he sees the way you straighten up your spine when he says those words, and that’s what he loved.
how could such simple words affect someone so badly?
it began small, of course. it was never obvious to any third party, no one noticed, really. and that’s the point. john is molding you, making you perfect to him, and him only.
he just had to get you used to the praise, to insert himself in your mind. he needed you to need him and his validation. that’s why once you started getting (too) comfortable with his words, he started to withdraw them. how cruel.
it became even worse when he’d change them up, just a bit, but surely just enough to make you spiral.
slowly, those “you did good.”— which were already more sparse, became “that’s good enough.”, turning into “thanks.”, just to end up with nothing, a hum maybe, if he felt generous, or just a nod, most of the time.
it was almost too easy for him. you noticed the change in his attitude immediately, felt him pulling back. he was so cold to you, no more warm praise for your heart to swell.
price was thrilled. he trained so you well, you now thrive on his words only. he could be making you do anything at this point. your eyes lighting up, solely on the hopes of hearing him say something, anything. you will do better, wanting— no, craving, to impress him.
“well, it’s time we have a talk, right kid?” price says as you close the door of his office.
you nod, lips pressing into each other. he stands up, getting to the front of his desk, leaning back with his arms crossed.
fuck they’re so big it’s almost scary—
“hey, look at me, i’m talkin’ to you.” yeah he definitely caught you staring. you lift your head up, eyes so round it was almost comical:
“um.. sorry captain, what were you saying?” you gulp, waiting for an answer.
his staring was making it so hard for you to breathe normally. it looked bad, really bad-
“i feel like you’re distracted these days, is there anything that needs to be brought up to my attention?”
what?
you reared back, brows furrowing from confusion, you were not distracted, if anything, you’ve never tried as much as you did these past few weeks, you were exhausted trying to do better.
“it’s just that—, i don’t know, kid. you could be doing more, your work has been sloppy, and if i’m being honest here, i don’t have time to always cover up for you. we’re all busy, and i’d like it if you’d pay more attention to the reports you give me.”
he’s such an asshole, talking with faux-concern, taking so much pleasure in seeing your face fall like your world just crashed down:
“sorry sir, i- i-“
gosh this is so embarrassing, you can’t even get the words out of your mouth, they’re just stuck.
“hey kid, it’s fine, i’m not— “
“no sir, i’m sorry, i’m- i didn’t realize that-“
your cheeks were so hot, you might be the cause of global warming right now. he walks up to you, slightly rounding up his back so he could stare at you, at eye level. price’s big, warm hands sliding on your shoulders. what the fuck.
“kid, i told you, it’s fine, no need to get so flustered. take a deep breath.”
and that you did, under his scrutinizing eyes.
“alright, perfect. that’s it kid, doing so good f’me, aren’t you?”
blinking a few times, you nod slowly, not even knowing what to say.
“okay, go back to your room now, spend some time for yourself, rest a bit, and we’ll get back to work tomorrow, yeah?” he squeezes your shoulders, smiling gently.
your heart is beating up so fast, you eagerly nod, and step back, just to put some distance between the two of you, you need space, you need—
you bolt out of the office, confused as ever.
shit, were you actually so bad at doing your job? why are you so disappointed in yourself? john was being kind to you, he’s not even putting any pressure on you, prioritizing your health above all.
tears welling up in your eyes, you try to gather your thoughts, you tell yourself it’s fine, it’s nothing, in fact it’s not even that deep if you try to rationalize a bit about what went on in his office.
no one sane would think twice about price’s deranged actions. in the end it might even just be a you problem. john knows that, well, that’s the whole point of manipulation isn’t it? he loves making everything seem normal and that all of it is in your fucked up head, and oh how easy it is to do it with someone like you.
a/n: this is so so bad sorry lmfao