La Maison 5: Darkness (Complete: mxm BDSM)

Epilogue

A/N: there's always something bittersweet about the final chapter. And here's something spicy, too

I wrote a scene in another story that had my readers giggling, and I couldn't resist bringing it back here. Gabe does like pain, after all

Gabe waved goodbye, Kaiya next to him on the couch, matching the movement with an equally joyous grin on his face.

They'd been in London for two months and Gabe loved it. When they arrived, Laurent had taken him to impressive sky-high apartments with amazing views, but Gabe had shown him the pictures for a two-bedroom duplex in a converted Victorian townhouse, with a tiny square of vivid-green garden, and Laurent had been signing the lease an hour later. Loki and Kaiya had the same idea, and now lived a few streets over.

They spoke to the guys back in New York at least twice a week by video call, and had just finished one.

"I should let you practice," Kaiya said, hugging Gabe before he grabbed his jacket and shrugged it on.

When Kaiya had gone, Gabe spent a few minutes tidying before he went upstairs. Their bedroom was perfectly made up and had been since early that morning when he'd gone to the Southbank Centre for the daily orchestral practice session. He had something else in mind than practice for now.

He went into the smaller, second bedroom and checked the time on his phone before putting it to one side, face up so he could see if a message came in – one of Laurent's requirements for him. There weren't many. Their kinks didn't necessarily roll the way of control over day-to-day things, though Laurent did have a number of protective instincts that Gabe was happy to work with.

He thought about that with a flush while he stripped and neatly folded his clothes. Most of the control rules were to give each of them excuses to enter into harsher, more masochistic play. And 'play' was the operative word.

One thing they had discovered was that Gabe didn't like being genuinely punished with pain. For all the sharp stings and brutal thuds – and shivering humiliation – he needed an undercurrent of praise, which Laurent was more than happy to provide and to make fun.

Today, Gabe didn't even have pretend punishment in mind, though. He took a firm cushion, placing it on the floor and kneeling, facing the door but with his head down and his hands behind his back. Although he didn't like kneeling when Laurent was in the room – or in front of anyone at the new club they found, Sanctuary – Gabe had discovered that kneeling in waiting position grounded his mind and allowed him to easily get into a pleasant, malleable, mindset.

He didn't have long to wait, hearing the slam of the front door only ten minutes later.

"Bambi," Laurent called, "I have something for you."

Gabe shivered at the promise in his tone but stayed silent, listening as kitchen drawers rattled and bags rustled. A few minutes later, he heard a heavy tread on the stairs and then the atmosphere in the room changed, becoming heavier, and he knew Laurent was standing in the doorway, watching him.

"Look at you. So patient." Laurent's voice was husky, already turned on. "Look at me, Bambi."

Gabe slowly lifted his gaze, travelling from Laurent's bare feet, up his denim-clad legs, over his white linen shirt. He must have showered and changed at the hospital, which usually meant a tough shift in one way or another. Gabe trembled, because that meant he would have some things to work through, which was exactly what he was looking for right now.

His eyes went to Laurent's hands, held in front of him.

"Is that-?" His eyes flicked back to Laurent's smirking face.