Debts - 6. Chapter 6

- VI -

On Saturday morning, Raven woke up to the sound of the door opening. He blinked several times and sat up very carefully. He slept on the couch, since he never got up and made his way to the bed last night.

“How are you feeling?” the blond asked in his usual drawl.

“Better than last night,” Raven said honestly. “What time is it?”

“Eleven-thirty,” Julian replied and threw a carton of cigarettes on the table. Raven narrowed his eyes.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“I have noticed that you are almost out of smokes,” the blond said casually. “Therefore, I got you some.”

“I am not your whore,” Raven said quietly, feeling a weird mix of anger and gratitude.

Now the blond looked slightly amused.

“I know that,” he said with a nod. “This...” he nodded at the carton. “...is not a payment. This is a...” he paused. “...precaution,” he finished finally.

“Precaution,” Raven repeated, his eyes still narrow.

“Yes,” Julian nodded again. “I know that you are almost out of cigarettes, and that you might become desperate enough to go out and get some. If you do that, it might push the date of your recovery further than Monday, and I don’t want that.”

Raven let out a small sigh, and was relieved when it didn’t hurt as much as before.

“What brand is that?” he asked gloomily.

“Katoes,” Julian replied, and Raven blinked. That was the brand he smoked, all right, but he had no idea the blond would even notice that.

“I see,” he said finally, and carefully got off the couch, heading to the bathroom.

“Well,” Julian said. “I have plans until Monday; therefore, I will see you then.”

“Uh huh,” was all Raven said to that before disappearing in the bathroom.

When he came out of there, the apartment was empty. Raven let out another small sigh and went into the kitchen. He tutted with annoyance when he saw that his fridge was pretty much empty. He grabbed the last two slices of bologna and slammed the fridge’s door shut. Then he realized that he only had two slices of bread left as well.

“Goddammit,” he muttered gloomily while making a sandwich. “I guess I am on a diet today...”

He ate the sandwich, figuring that he would probably order some pizza later, went back to the living room, lay back on the couch, and closed his eyes. In fifteen minutes or so, he was asleep again. He woke up because of someone ringing his doorbell. He slightly frowned, and carefully got off the couch. The doorbell rang again.

“Hold on,” he called loudly. “On my way...!”

He glanced at the clock; it read 3:45. “Who the hell is that?” he thought while unlocking the door.

“Food delivery,” some guy said and handed Raven a rather large paper bag. Raven blinked at that.

“I didn’t order any food,” he said dumbfoundedly.

“Julian Salamander placed the order,” the guy said, and Raven blinked more rapidly.

“You gotta be kidding me,” he thought and took the bag. He looked at the logo and slightly frowned. The logo said, ‘Flair.’

“I didn’t know that you guys do home deliveries,” he said with the same small frown. “Otherwise, I would’ve taken advantage of that a long time ago. I love your place.”

“We don’t,” the guy sighed. “However, there are some occasions when we make...” he coughed. “...exceptions,” he nodded.

Raven looked at him thoughtfully. Yeah, when Julian placed an order, you didn’t want to be the one to tell him that you didn't do home deliveries, he thought.

“I see,” he said slowly. “Hold on, let me get my wallet...”

“It’s paid for,” the guy said, and Raven closed his eyes briefly.

“Let me give you a tip then,” he said evenly.

“No,” the guy said immediately and shook his head, as if confirming his ‘No.’ “I was told not to take any money from you.”

“Oh, for the love of...” Raven thought with frustration.

“I won’t tell anyone if you won’t,” he shrugged, feeling amused, irritated, and curious at the same time.

“No,” the guy shook his head again, as firmly as before. “Thanks though,” he added.

Raven sighed and nodded.

“Thank you,” he muttered.

“Take care,” the guy nodded and walked away.

Raven locked the door and looked in the bag. What he saw made him sigh again. There was enough food in there to last him until Monday. Maybe even longer.

****

On Monday morning, Raven felt as good as new. He silently thanked his ability, which granted him extremely rapid healing along with some other perks, lit a cigarette, and was about to go outside, when his front door opened. He sighed, knowing perfectly well that it was the blond; he didn’t even need to turn around to confirm that.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in one of your offices?” he asked, finally turning around. “It’s Monday morning.”

He wasn’t exactly sure what Salamander was doing; he only knew that the blond owned several big companies, and that he would spend four days a week (since his weekend started on Friday) in one of his offices, doing something Raven didn’t really care about, until seven in the evening. After that, he would inevitably head to Raven’s apartment. He would never bother ringing the bell; he would simply allow himself in. Of course, Raven never gave him the key, but it seemed like Julian had his own key ever since the first time he showed up at Raven’s place. Raven never even bothered asking him how he got the key – the question would be simply ridiculous.

Julian gave him his usual smile.

“I know that,” he nodded. “And no, I don’t have to be anywhere today. I took the day off.”

“Special occasion?” Raven raised his eyebrow, and Julian smiled again.

“You could say that,” he agreed in his purring manner. He would remind Raven of a very dangerous feline quite often. “Let’s go,” he said, and Raven blinked at that.

“Go where?” he asked.

“You’ll see,” was the answer he received.

He sighed, flicked his cigarette out of the open window, and followed the blond outside. They got into Julian’s car, and Raven rolled down the window, lighting another cigarette.

“Give me one as well,” Julian said, and Raven handed him the lit cigarette. The blond nodded at that with his usual smile, and Raven narrowed his eyes.

“You look content,” he said after a minute or two.

“I am content,” Julian agreed.

“Huh,” Raven said and looked out of the window, figuring that he would find out why soon enough.

He was right. Forty-five or so minutes later, Julian parked the car in front of some big, dark building.

“What is this place?” Raven asked after he climbed outside.

“I own this building,” the blond said.

“Looks like a warehouse,” Raven noted, following him into the building.

“It used to be,” Julian nodded and pushed the front door open. “Not anymore, however... I like the location,” he added.

“It’s in the middle of nowhere,” Raven frowned.

Julian looked at him.

“That is exactly why I like it,” he smiled again.

“Okay,” Raven thought, following the blond deeper into the building.

Finally, they got into one of the large rooms, and Raven stopped dead in his tracks. There were two men handcuffed to the old pipes. Both of them were stripped naked, and both of them were covered in blood. One of the men was clearly unconscious. Raven’s eyes widened when he immediately recognized two asswipes who assaulted him on Friday night. He felt a touch on his left hand, and turned his head. Julian slipped a black leather wristband onto his slender wrist, and gave Raven another small smile.

“And here is this,” he said and handed Raven the green medallion with a golden sun engraved on it.

Raven slowly took the medallion and shifted his gaze towards the asswipes. The conscious one stared at him with disbelief.

“Now,” Julian said. “This is your revenge; therefore, I will do whatever you want to them. If you think they received enough, I will let them go. If you feel otherwise, I will do that as well.”

“Oh, God...!” The conscious asswipe started to sob. “Oh, God...! Please...! I am sorry...! I am so sorry...! Please, don’t let him...” he choked on his own breath, horror in his eyes making him look almost demented. “Please...!” he managed again, looking at Raven with raw plea.

Raven looked at him thoughtfully for several minutes. Then he looked at Julian, whose expression was bored and somewhat disappointed, as if he already knew Raven’s decision, and regretted it.

“Finish them,” Raven said calmly, ignoring the sobs that emerged from the asswipe’s throat once he heard that. Julian’s expression changed immediately. Now it was curious, somewhat surprised, and quite thoughtful. Raven gave him a small, lazy smile. “Take your time if you feel like it,” he said and shifted his gaze towards the sobbing asswipe. “You’d better enjoy this, bitch,” he said darkly. “ 'Cause it’s gonna last a while...”

He looked at the sobbing man for another minute, and then turned around.

“I am going to wait outside,” he said and headed towards the door. Then he stopped and looked at the very content blond. “Give me your car keys,” he said. “I’m gonna go get coffee, because I have a feeling that it will last a while,” he nodded.

Julian smiled at that and handed him the keys.

“Enjoy,” Raven said and left the room, ignoring the sobs that started turning into screams by the time he made it to the exit.

...It was good three hours and seven cups of coffee later, when Julian finally emerged from the building. Raven looked at him, noting the fact that the blond looked as impeccable as ever – not a single hair was out of place, as if he didn’t spend the last several hours executing two men. Salamander sat down on the iron bench next to Raven, and Raven handed him the cigarette he was smoking. The blond smiled at that and took it from the smaller man’s fingers.

“Look at you,” Raven hemmed. “A double fix and it’s not even Saturday yet.”

Julian smiled again.

“It was a compensation for the last two days,” he said in his usual manner, and Raven blinked at that.

“What do you mean?” he asked, and Julian looked at him calmly.

“I was looking for them,” he said. “Didn’t have time for anything else.”

Raven looked at him very thoughtfully.

“You surprised me back there,” the blond said, and Raven raised an eyebrow. “I expected you to let them go,” Julian continued. “Since they didn’t do anything but beat you up...”

“I believe in paying back with interest,” Raven shrugged.

“Why didn’t you stay?” Julian sounded genuinely interested right now.

Raven shrugged again.

“Didn’t feel like it,” he said, and the blond slowly nodded.

“I see,” he muttered. He smoked silently for a couple of minutes. “You want to head back to your place?” he asked finally, and Raven looked at him, unable to stop a slow smile that started to stretch his mouth.

“Yeah,” he said in a low voice. “Yeah, let’s...”

...It was several hours later, and Raven was pinned to the wall, wearing nothing but the wristband, with his legs wrapped tightly around the moaning blond’s waist. Raven especially liked this particular position; he liked the feeling of being completely suspended.

“Oh, oh, oh...!” he repeated rather loudly and breathlessly while Salamander kept slamming into his sweet spot with envious precision. “Oh, God... Harder...! Oh, God, yes...!” he screamed out when the blond eagerly obliged. “Oh, fuck, Julian...!” he moaned and sank his teeth into the side of Salamander’s throat, causing the blond to shudder.

“Shit...” Julian hissed, his eyes half-closed. “Shit... Feels so good... Fucking you...” he muttered, and those words and shaky, almost desperate voice, which was nowhere near blond’s usual purring drawl, pushed Raven to the very edge. He locked his teeth harder on the side of Salamander’s throat, and when he finally tasted blood, he thought very hazily:

“Goddamn, I’m gonna come just like this...! Holy hell...!”

“Fuck, Julian...” he mumbled. “Julian... Oh, hell...!”

“Say my name,” the blond muttered in a demanding growl. “Say it...!”

“Julian... Julian... Julian...” Raven stuttered feverishly, and blond’s hips picked up speed. “Oh, God...” Raven moaned, feeling an enormous, tingling, tightening wave of blinding heat building up inside him with very dangerous speed. “Shit, Julian, I’m co... Aaah...!” was all he managed before exploding into white oblivion.

“Fucking hell...!” the blond breathed, caught completely by surprise, and then he mumbled something else and pushed Raven even harder into the wall when his entire body started to convulse violently. “Damn...!” he breathed several minutes later when he was able to speak somewhat coherently. “Goddamn...!”

“Mmm,” was Raven’s muffled reply, his face attached to Julian’s neck, his tongue frantically lapping at the bleeding rather heavily by now throat. His hips were still jerking slightly, chasing the shimmering, disappearing echoes of that glorious wave.

“Goddamn...” Julian muttered again, breathing very fast.

He never let go of Raven’s smaller frame, still pinning him to the wall. He stood there for several minutes, until he was sure he would be able to keep his balance, and then he grabbed Raven’s still shivering body somewhat harder, and walked towards the couch. He collapsed on it, and Raven let out a surprised moan when he ended up on top, his legs caught under Salamander’s weight, still wrapped around the blond’s waist. He pulled his legs free without letting go of Julian’s throat, getting drunk on his divine blood.

“We are not that much different after all...” he had a very hazy thought. “The only difference between us is that I don’t like to be hurt, that’s all...”

That revelation made his head spin even more than it already did. He kept lapping up the blood, and thought that soon enough, he would probably only have one day to himself; he had a suspicion that the blond would start coming to his apartment on Saturdays as well.

...He was right. By the end of November, Raven’s only day all to himself was Sunday.