You wanna kill me? You wanna hurt me?

[vacabdication]

[ It's all terribly fast, really. They're in the library - Pagan's favourite haunt, next to whichever room Ajay is in, and all the better when Ajay is is it too - just chatting and spending some quiet time together. There's some festival or other coming up, and Ajay will be heading out soon to help the villagers hunt for food and offerings, and while Pagan is finally convinced that the danger to Ajay is minimal he can never help but fret when he's away. It's a kindness he probably doesn't deserve that Ajay knows this and makes sure to spend time with him before and after, letting Pagan know he's cared for (and occasionally making a show of tending to his weapons while they chat as a little reassurance about how well-defended he is). That's what they're doing now; enjoying a quiet drink before retiring to bed, where Ajay will indulge him by watching an episode of the Great British Bake-off, they'll do a little tender lovemaking, and then spent the night curled close before Ajay leaves.

So it's... irritating, to say the least, when a member of the royal guard appears in the doorway and says sir, a message for you. Pagan can't help snapping at the man - something along the lines of alright, yes, what is it? - and as he comes closer Pagan notices several things. First is that the man is unfamiliar - not a dealbreaker on its own, there has been a recent batch of new promotions. Less comforting is that his uniform is wrong - his beret is tipped to the wrong side and his belt fastened incorrectly, which is not the sort of sloppiness you usually get from the fresh meat. He's also sweating bullets, and the room is not nearly hot enough to warrant that.

Ajay puts it together at the same time, apparently, rising from his overstuffed armchair and biting out Pagan, get down but Pagan is by the liquor cabinet and the stranger - the assassin - is already drawing his gun. Long-dormant instinct kicks in. Pagan grabs the man's gun hand at the wrist, jerks it forward as he turns, wrenching it until he hears the bones breaking. That's enough that the man loses his grip on the weapon, and Pagan seizes it. He levels it at the man's head, notes his eyes, wide with fear - and his gaze slips to Ajay.

He's not sure he has it in him to shoot a man in the face right in front of Ajay. Not when he's trying so hard to be better. So instead he fires the gun over the man's shoulder, so the bullet buries itself safely in the wall, and gives him a smile as cold and sharp as a shard of broken glass. ]

You may leave. You'll want to run. The actual Royal Guard will be here any moment now, and they simply cannot afford to be as merciful as I.

[ The man runs. There is the sound of boots on the floor, shouting, gunfire, and when a member of the guard appears in the doorway Pagan waves him away dismissively and turns to Ajay instead. ]

That was rude. Are you alright, darling?

Comments

[vaaris]

[ after all this time spent in the palace, his edges are definitely dulling.

and yeah, he knows pagan would probably see it as a good thing -- my boy, i'm glad you know you're safe here -- but kyrat has a way of punishing you for slipups. really, he should have known something was off about the guy from the jump; when's the last time a member of the royal army has interrupted them just to deliver a message, instead of having it passed through gary and buzzed to pagan's phone? besides that, the guy is acting just off enough to make ajay's skin prickle, and that's what finally makes him look up --

and then it happens so fucking fast. his mind flicks through his arsenal -- no guns on him, too far away to get at him with his khukri before the guy gets a shot off. throwing knife? reaching for them even as he starts to bark out a warning, knowing it's going to be too late too late too fucking late --

but pagan puts an end to it with a kind of easy, bored efficiency, like rogue assassins are less of a noteworthy event than the palace kitchens burning his toast. the sharp retort of gunfire is enough to make ajay flinch in such close quarters, but it isn't until pagan turns to address him that he manages to shake halfway out of the haze. ]

Uh. [ is he all right? what a good fucking question. he blinks, licks his lips, and then... his knees go out from under him all at once, and he ends up dropping right back down into that overstuffed armchair as suddenly as he'd jumped out of it. and fuck, that's embarrassing. for a second, he thinks he really has been out of the field for too long if something like that was enough to shake him, but.

... then he actually puts the pieces together. the liquid heat sliding down his spine and pooling into the pit of his belly, the way the room around him has gone slightly hazy at the edges, the buzz of every nerve ending starting to light up like a spiderweb of fireworks. and -- fuck, really? he's heard stories about bonded pairs being able to kick their partners into an early heat or rut, but it's supposed to be -- ... well, because of normal shit. fiery displays of passion, maybe, or tender acts of devotion, not... not breaking a guy's wrist and then not killing him just because pagan knows ajay wouldn't want him to.

fuck. fuck. ]

Yeah, I'm -- [ is there a chance he can slide out of here without pagan noticing? find some excuse to go take the coldest shower the pipes can muster, pretend like the heat creeps up on him later and for reasons that are less likely to give pagan more evidence of how absolutely fucked up ajay is. ] I'm cool. All good.

[ fuck, he can already feel it. the throb of need through every inch of him, enough to have him already half-hard in his jeans. ]