fourstrings | never been a better time than this

never been a better time than this

[ Pagan Min has mellowed considerably since Ajay has become a more solid fixture in his life. There was a time when he thought the damage done by his past was irreparable, and perhaps that’s still true, but it’s far easier now to remind himself of the good things he has and focus on that. He doesn’t go off the deep end without good reason.

This, he thinks, is a very good reason.

Ajay still spends a lot of time out and about with the villagers, and to a lesser degree the Golden Path. Their relationship isn’t a secret from anyone in the palace, but it seemed... prudent, not to make it public knowledge, and Ajay can’t be disabused of the notion that literally everyone in Kyrat needs his help. So he’ll spend evenings in the palace – sometimes days at a stretch, when Pagan is very lucky – and then head back out to cookfires and safehouses and people who are apparently too worn-down by the Golden Path’s stories of how terrible everything is to hunt their own food. So it’s something of a surprise when Ajay shows up very early one morning looking... tired, more than anything else, tells Pagan I’m gonna stay here for while, if that’s okay and heads off to take such a long shower Pagan feels the need to call out to him and check he hasn’t passed out in there. But it’s a pleasant surprise, to have Ajay close for more than a couple of days, so he doesn’t overthink it.

He does start thinking when he wakes in the middle of the night and slides a hand down the taut plane of Ajay’s stomach only to have the boy jolt awake, giving a half-shouted stop!. He draws his hand back immediately, of course, and blinks as Ajay’s eyes focus on him and he lowers a fist it seems he didn’t even think he was making, mumbles shit, sorry and wraps his arms around Pagan, lowering them back to the mattress in a sleepy tangle of limbs. In the morning Ajay kisses him awake and curls into him like nothing ever happened, but the memory of it sticks. And then by afternoon word gets back to him from one of the people he’s placed in the Golden Path – not spies, heavens no, just helpful eyes and ears – that someone had seen Ajay leaving one of the safehouses in the middle of the night in the kind of hurry that usually means the outpost is being retaken, not a soldier to be seen, but with Sabal shouting at him out of the doorway.

What was he saying, Pagan asks, already forming an idea, and when the answer comes - whoring only for the king doesn’t make you any less of a whore - well, something has to be done, obviously. Which is why dear Sabal now finds himself bound and gagged in one of the lower rooms of the palace, where Paul used to the occasional spot of dirty work when called for, while Pagan decide what to do with him. In hindsight, that’s a mistake, because Pagan catches Ajay in the room right next door looking through a box of documents for god-knows-what, and now it’s up to Pagan to distract him.

Which... oh. Now that he thinks about it, could be a very fitting punishment all of its own. ]

Look at you, [ he says, his voice giving ample warning before he moves up behind Ajay to curl arms about his waist and bury a kiss behind his ear. ] You’re very attractive when you’re doing all your intelligence gathering. Like a sexy spy.

[ The fact that he may have a devious little plot in mind makes it no less true. ]

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Reckless. I outlawed religion, of course, but eagles are a little-know exception. Standard military procedure is to duck, cover, and pray.

[ But that little noise Ajay made is charmingly nerdy, so there's a thread of laughter in Pagan's voice when he says it - and a pleased little hum when Ajay twists to give him that kiss, and he leans into it until h can land one smack on Ajay's lips. ]

Just think, all that time you spent running around distracting my pet monkeys out of whatever they were currently doing to kill or maim each other when you could have been here. Lounging under the mango trees, eating the finest my kitchens have to offer, draining my wine cellar. Fuck, I should put in a pool. Did you pack a bathing suit? Not that answering in the negative will be in any way a deterrent.

[ listen, he's needed the space for the past few days -- but that doesn't mean he hasn't missed pagan. like hell. and even that silly smack of a kiss is enough to give him hunger pangs for more, which is why he wriggles until he's able to turn in the other man's embrace. and then he uses that little monologue to walk them both backwards just a little, until he's able to perch himself on the edge of the conference table in the room, wrapping his arms around pagan's shoulders and tugging him forward until pagan is standing between his legs.

a good position to be able to kiss him again, fingertips trailing up the nape of his neck. ]

Sure, yeah. I heard I was headed for the Himalayas and packed like it was a beach vacation. Half my luggage is just skimpy swimsuits.

[ Well, that provides a plausible excuse for why Ajay insisted on going up into the mountains in jeans and sneakers, at least. Unfortunately, the way Ajay guides them over to the table and then slots Pagan neatly between his thighs is far too pleasant for Pagan to make this wonderful point. Instead, he tugs Ajay down into another kiss, soft and lingering. ]

Well banana hammock or no, I'm glad to have you here. You're the best thing in my life, Ajay Ghale. And though I would trade all of this for you in a heartbeat - current dismally uninspiring surrounds notwithstanding - I'm delighted to be able to share it with you instead.

[ It's... not quite the seduction he'd been planning, but it feels very important to say it at least once before things progress. Even if Pagan's totally wrong in his assumptions, it's always a good time to let Ajay know that he is loved. ]

[ and that's good. no matter how often pagan reminds him, sometimes it's still hard for ajay to believe that he can be loved like this -- that needing a day or two of space won't make pagan lash out at him, won't sour him on ajay. instead, he takes his space while pagan waits adoringly and patiently in the wings, and once he's ready to close the distance again? they come back together as sweetly and as easily as ever.

god, but it's more than he ever would have thought to ask for. ]

And you make this whole fucked up place worth it. [ there isn't even a hint of teasing in his voice when he says it, and the next kiss he presses to pagan's mouth is hopefully enough to capture some of how much he means it. ] I love you. You know that, right?

I do. I know. And of course, my boy, I love you.

[ Normally, he'd be tempted to add something like "with all of my back little hearts", but... not today. Not now. Instead he threads his fingers into Ajay's hair, still savoring the traces of that wonderful kiss on his lips as he leans in to take another, lingering, until he opens his motuh over the swell of Ajay's plump lower lip and runs his tongue there. ]

[ he knows he's loved. pagan makes no secret of it -- even in a kiss, all of that devotion and adoration always seems to come pouring through. but ajay is more than happy to soak it up; he tightens his arms around the other man to pull him that much closer, sighing out a little sound into the kiss as pagan deepens it.

if this is pagan's clever way of trying to get him to read more kingly reports, it's working. ]

[ Perhaps Kyrat would be in a better state if Pagan Min read kingly reports, but as far as he's concerned that's Gary's job. What they're doing right now is certainly the best use of this room he's ever experienced. Pressed as close as Ajay pulls him, it feels like a better idea than ever to let one hand drop to Ajay's hip, his thumb stroking up under the fabric of his jacket and shirt until it meets bare skin, and he sighs with the feel of it. ]

You're always so warm. And how the bloody hell is your skin so soft after all that time you spent scrubbing off in streams, hmm?

[ he huffs a laugh at that one, trailing a line of kisses down along pagan's jaw until he can nuzzle into the side of his throat. the man always smells fantastic -- some sort of cologne or aftershave that manages to be luxe but not cloying, and the association between that smell and being spoiled and safe has probably been burned into ajay's brain. ]

It's all that fresh mountain air. Great for your complexion. [ and he's more than happy to mimic pagan's touch, untucking his shirt just so that he can skim his fingers up along the other man's abdomen. ] We could be raking in the skincare dollars.

[ Pagan hums at that touch, trying to encourage the hand under his shirt, tipping his head to better allow Ajay access to his throat. It should be a surprise that Ajay seems to come into this knowing precisely how to touch him, but instead it just feels right. Why shouldn't the man who managed to flip Pagan's ideas about his own sexuality on their head also know exactly how to make that pay off? ]

Only if we can bottle it somehow and ship it out. I'm not bringing clientele out ere. Not if it means taking my attention away from you.

[ And he unzips Ajay's jacket, slips it off his shoulders so that he can better slide his hands up under Ajay's clothes. Beautiful, he's beautiful. ]

[ okay, if this was supposed to be an actual conversation about how to improve on kyrat's revenue streams, ajay would probably have something to say about that. but! it's not, which means he can just delight in being the absolute center of pagan min's universe. it's a thought that lingers as sweetly as a piece of chocolate, melting richly on his tongue. ]

You might end up getting bored. [ and it's something he can say because he's so damn confident it isn't true; he just likes to hear pagan tell him that it's impossible. ] Variety is supposed to be the spice of life.

[ it's also very unfair that pagan has such easy access to ajay's skin while the buttons of his dress shirt insist on being in ajay's way, so. he works them open impatiently, then pushes the older man's shirt back off his shoulders and hums an appreciative sound at all the skin that bares to him. ]

[ Ajay Ghale is in a better position than most to understand that when Pagan Min loves he does it wholeheartedly, long-term, and damn near unconditionally. But as distracting as the look Ajay gives him after getting his shirt off is, as clear as the joking tone of his voice is, Pagan cannot let that slide. ]

Bored with you? Never.

[ Still. There's enough room to play, and he tugs Ajay's tshirt off and runs an admiring hand over his abdominals, which somehow still look amazing while he's sitting on a table. Ridiculous. ]

I may be getting a little bored of the luxury of my big bed. And the bath. And the library. Perhaps what I'm craving is doing it in a nasty little office.

[ For a given value of "nasty" and "little" - even the table Ajay's perched on is heavy, polished wood with elaborately decorated legs and an inlay of little tiles of turquoise and coral running around the edge. But that would ruin the joke. ]

[ it's nice to get exactly what he wants as far as that's concerned -- he purrs a little noise at the sound of pagan telling him that getting bored with him is impossible, the words spreading warmth through the pit of his stomach like a sip of a particularly fine whiskey.

but the list of all the places in the palace they've defiled makes him snort, and he leans forward to press a biting little kiss to the crook of pagan's throat. it leaves a satisfying little mark once he's finished -- flushed and sure to bruise, as bold as a signature on pagan's skin. ]

Not sure that's such a good idea. [ teasing, his thumbs rubbing little circles in the divots of pagan's hips. ] Just think about it. You'd never be able to work in here again without thinking of the way you had me bent over this table, begging you to let me come.

[ At this point Pagan has actually forgotten that the purpose of seducing Ajay down here was to make Sabal suffer - partly the way Ajay responded so instantly that it almost became Ajay seducing him instead, and partly (let's be honest) probably long-term drug use - which is the only explanation for the way he moans when Ajay uses his beautiful, talented mouth to bring a mark to the surface of his skin. His clever hands, too, make Pagan press into those circling thumbs. He leans in, licks a hot stripe up the side of Ajay's neck until he's high enough to bite at his earlobe. ]

It's adorable that you think I'm ever concentrating when I'm down here. I pay people to do that for me. But I've certainly never had such a tempting distraction before.

[ Easy, this close, to trail a hand down Ajay's chest, rubbing until he feels a nipple pebble up under his touch, slipping it down further until he can settle it over Ajay's dick and give him a gentle squeeze. ]

Come on, darling. Make a terrible decision with me.

[ pagan bites at his earlobe, and ajay sucks in a sharp little breath in return. the sting of it is enough to make his blood run hotter -- there's always been something about the idea of having pagan mark him that drives him crazy, and that little pinch of pain always gets his adrenaline to tick up in response.

still, it's hard to compete with a hand on your dick. especially when he's hard already, almost like his body is starved and eager for this sort of contact. so when pagan gives him a little squeeze through his jeans, it drags a low groan out of ajay in return -- he rocks his hips upwards just a little into that touch, trying to encourage more. ]

A terrible decision, huh? [ with a little breathless huff of laughter. ] You know that's my favorite kind.

Evidently.

[ And yes, Pagan is most certainly grinning and gesturing to his own damn self as he says it. But he's not smug enough or cruel enough to ignore the way Ajay presses into that touch - he squeezes again, firmer now, before deciding to hell with it and just moving to unfasten Ajay's jeans so he can draw him out and touch him properly. ]

Hips up, there's a good lad. Don't want to risk any mishaps with your zipper.

[ And once he's done, Ajay's jeans shoved down, dick freed from his underwear - oh, that's much better. He's hard and hot in Pagan's hand, his skin velvet-soft as Pagan gives him an appreciative stroke. He's probably going to have to admit sooner or later that maybe - just maybe - he wasn't always as straight as he assumed, because it's unlikely that someone could go from zero to thinking a hard cock, of all things, is gorgeous. But it is. ]

Pagan --

[ but he doesn't even have to finish the thought.

before he can get out much more than the other man's name, pagan already has his jeans open and is tugging them briskly down his hips almost faster than ajay can blink. for a man that prefers to spend the majority of his time barking orders to other people, never let it be said that pagan min won't throw himself into a task with gusto when it's something that aligns with his interests. (and ajay is both flattered and occasionally alarmed to find that he's crested the top of that particular list.)

and then pagan has a hand around him, skin against skin, and the little noise it gets out of ajay is absolutely sinful. ajay still can't quite get over the effect that pagan has on him; sometimes all the man has to do is talk to get ajay's body responding like he's a horny teenager. at first, he'd tried to blame it on the thrill and the risk of doing something that's most definitely taboo, and then he'd thought maybe it was just because he was touch-starved and desperate for someone to be kind to him -- but now? he doesn't know what the fuck it is, other than some natural sort of chemistry that he's helpless to fight, and... the why doesn't matter nearly as much when the what is something this good.

it seems more than a little rude not to show his appreciation, which he does by reaching out to hook his fingers in the waistband of the other man's slacks and drag him close all over again for a kiss. hot and greedy, the type that ends up with his teeth caught on pagan's lower lip. ]

[ That sound Ajay makes, god. If he's entirely honest - which he rarely is - Pagan would have to confess that his drug use has taken a very sharp decline since Ajay turned up to the palace of his own accord the first time, and there's no real mystery in why. Ajay is now the solution to all the little issues Pagan had been trying to fix - wanting to feel something, needing to feel less, boredom. It's... unhealthy, to lay all of that on one man twenty-odd years his junior, but just as irresistible.

The kiss is just as magical. Hot and heated and with just that hint of a bite that seems to put an electrical charge through the both of them, and he moans into it. Breaks the kiss only to press another to the side of Ajay's neck, harsh enough to raise a mark to match the one Ajay gave him before he brushes his lips against Ajay's ear. ]

Just listen to you. How could I ever get enough of this? The sounds you make, the way you feel. No, there'll never be quite enough of you to slake my thirst, my boy. I will always crave more.

[ ajay can feel the way pagan marks him with that kiss pressed to the side of his throat, and it sparks an answering flare of fire at the pit of his belly. it's a filthy thing -- but he loves every instance of pagan being possessive of him, from the little bruises he leaves on ajay's skin to the way he says my ajay.

and god, there might be a time when pagan saying that sort of thing would embarrass him, but right now? he's already so worked up that it just makes him shudder as another flush of heat thrills down his spine, making a low sound of frustration as he tries to work his hips up into pagan's hand and encourage the other man to stroke him properly. ]

Pagan -- [ it's stupid that his fingers are clever enough to pluck the pins from grenades still hanging on an enemy's belt, but they fumble and fail him now when he's trying to get pagan's belt off. he's so amped up already that it's almost ridiculous; fingers trembling like an addict desperate for a fix. ] I want --

Anything.

[ Really, it's charming. Pagan's lost outposts to Ajay where the failure of any alarms or radio contact indicate that nobody knew what was going on until it was done, and he's heard about that trick with the grenades from soldiers clever enough to hightail it, but now his hands are shaky? What a treat for an egomaniac's soul. So he kisses Ajay once more, gently shifts his hands to skin beneath his shirt, and takes care of his own belt and fastenings, shoving the whole affair down enough to free himself. ]

Anything, Ajay. Whatever you desire.

[ anything, pagan tells him, and there's something more than a little intoxicating in just how much ajay knows he means it. any ridiculous request, any outlandish desire, and ajay is pretty sure pagan would delight in having it done for him.

but right now? there's only one thing on his mind.

and he doesn't hesitate once pagan gets his clothing out of the way; he reaches to get a hand around the other man's cock, shifting himself forward until he's able to press their hips together and get his hand around them both. and then he buries his face in the other man's shoulder to stifle the way he groans at that friction, rutting his hips forward almost helplessly just to have more of the feeling of pagan's cock sliding against his own. ]

You.

[ There's a thrill in hearing that answer, no matter just how much he already knew what it was going to be. Pagan is a king, obscenely wealthy, can offer Ajay just about anything his heart desires - and Ajay wants Pagan. Oh, but he's positively drunk on it, sighs when Ajay gets a hand around his aching cock and hears it turn into a strangled sort of moan when he clutches them together. Ajay's strong hand is almost cool against the wanting heat of his dick, and the contrast of being pressed between the softer flesh of Ajay's hand and the insistent heat of his dick is bliss. ]

You have me, dear boy. I am hopelessly and irrevocably yours.

[ He can't help tugging Ajay's face up for another kiss, hot and hungry as he wraps his own hand around Ajay's like closing a circuit and fucks up into the warm grip of heir hands. He hums just for the feel of it, wonderfully good -

but not quite enough. The fire in him is raging now, won't stop until it burns out. ]

I don't suppose you have lube in one of those hundreds of pockets?

[ he sighs into that kiss at the feeling of both their hands together, thrilling at the way pagan rocks forward against him. it's good -- not because pagan wanting him is ever much of a secret, but because ajay likes being reminded anyway. over and over and over again, until the fact of it is as true as the blue of the sky or the chill of the snow.

but --

... that makes him pause, drawing back from that kiss with a Look. ]

You're the one who came in here and called me a sexy spy.

[ As a general rule, Pagan Min doesn't ever really look sheepish. There may be a trace of it now in the way he smiles, one eye scrunching shut as he wrinkles his nose. ]

I didn't know you were down here. I refuse tobe held accountable for being unprepared when you insist on being so attractive I can't keep a level head.

[ True. ]

I barely even remember what I was looking for.

[ Also true. He's not exaggerating how hot he finds Ajay, and presses up into their hands one more time, to illustrate. ]

[ listen,

he is not letting pagan off the hook for putting in all this work to get him hot and bothered when he knew he couldn't actually do anything about it! they have an awesome (and well-stocked) bedroom, but nooo, let's fuck on the table darling it'll be exciting darling oh goodness i forgot the lube darling. ]

Sometimes you make the heterosexual thing believable. [ and he damn well deserves the little nip he gets to the side of his neck. ]

[ Pagan hisses at that nip, the flare of pain doing absolutely nothing to solve his predicament - in fact, the little flare of arousal it sends through him makes him squirm, though he still manages a laugh at heterosexual. ]

My boy, I think that ship has sailed, wrecked, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean by now.

[ And yes, he uses the hand he has wrapped around Ajay's to give them both a squeeze, because even this little scolding isn't diminishing his want. It rather adds to it. ]

... I'll call Gary. He won't mind.

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