Still Dark and Stormy
Another of those stories in the Wrong Answers Universe

by Eavesdropper

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Necessary Disclaimer: As if CC really cares for these characters! Still, he created them: we improve them.

Oh! Includes an educational note at the end.

Eavesdropper, under the stern eye of the Wicked Beta of the West, is pleased to present:

* * * * * * * * * *


Still Dark and Stormy



Renee snorted loudly. Derisively.

Jas looked up from the settee where she was lounging, trying hard to find some comfortable spot, not an easy task with two broken legs. "Fucking asshole driver," she muttered.

Renee snorted again. "I can't believe this!"

"What?" Eleri removed the pillow from behind Jas, plumped it up before settling Jas against it. "Better now?"

"No, it is *not* better now!" snapped Renee.

Eleri sighed, shaking her head. "I wasn't talking to you, Renee. I was talking to Jas."

Renee looked up from the papers she had in her hand. "What? Oh! That's okay. You can talk to Jas any time you like." And she went back to her reading, not catching the questioning looks exchanged between Eleri and Jas.

"Sheesh," Gaby gracefully dropped into a cross-legged sitting position on the floor by the settee, "what's with her?"

"No idea, love," Eleri smiled, pulled up her favourite chair and made herself comfortable. "She's been like that since she started reading whatever it is she's reading."

Diana dropped into her chair, also muttering. She stopped when she realized the three facing her were all watching her with raised eyebrows. "So, let me guess, you also want the next chapter of 'Slave of My Heart'. Hey! I'm only human. I only have two hands. I have a life, you know. I have to work, take care of my children..."

"Play Sims," snickered Gaby.

Diana glared the glare she had developed after her second child was born: the you-are-pushing-your-luck-so-prepare-to-die glare that so many yuppie mothers never tried to develop, fearing it would traumatize their child's delicate psyche and then wondering why they suddenly had an out-of-control demon in their possession.

Gaby was suddenly very interested in the carpeting.

A shriek from Renee had them all looking at her.

Renee stood up, threw the papers she had been reading towards her audience. "I cannot believe this of her. I just cannot believe she would do this to us!"

Gaby and Diana picked up the sheets of printed matter, putting them together. The others in the room all turned from whatever activity they were engaged in to see what all the fuss was about.

"Oh," said Gaby.

"What is it? What's got her all in a snit?" gail ambled up to the group.

"It's this story by Josan."

"By who?" Ciejye came to join them.

"Josan. That's one of Eavesdropper's nom de plume. Out there," Vic waved her hand in an unspecific direction.

Teresa and Virt dragged over the large ottoman and settled on one end. Loonywoif and her Woif (of the nice shiny coat, the nice teeth, the fluffy tail fame) claimed the other half.

"I've read her," said Steve. "She's okay."

Melanie wandered over, looked over Diana's shoulder to catch the title. "I've read that one. It was cute."

"Cute?! CUTE!" Renee stood, fists on hips. "There is nothing *cute* about it."

Lots of looks were exchanged this time round. Eyes asked questions, shoulders shrugged in reply.

"Renee, dear." Everyone turned to the door way and the soothing tones of Rachelle. "Perhaps you would like to explain to us just what the problem is with Josan's story. I read it and I found nothing to get this bothered in it."

Rachelle smiled at one of her lurker-fans who shyly offered her a chair. "Thank you, dear."

Renee looked around the room. She sighed loudly, stomped over to Diana and took the recovered sheets out of her hands. "There, on page...When Skinner gives his boys a five minute head start to get home...Well," she scowled at the quizzical expressions her fellow Persuaders wore, "there's a scene missing. A disss-ceee- pline scene."

"Ahhhhh!" The Persuaders all nodded their heads. Now they got it.

"Yes, dear, I see what you mean," agreed Rachelle. "But it's not as though she posted this story to a discipline list."

Steve nodded wisely. "And we all know better than to post discipline stories to the main lists. Don't we?" She sent a stern look over to the table where Lorelei was flexing her hand. "How are those lines coming, Lorelei?"

Lorelei grimaced. "They're coming, they're coming." And muttered something else that Steve thankfully did not catch.

"What are you making her write?" asked Jas.

"Lorelei, tell Jas what you're writing."

Lorelei sighed dramatically, made a show of wiping her brow. "'I will listen to my beta because betas are always right.' One thousand times."

"Yipes!" Loonywoif and Teresa sent Lorelei very sympathetic glances.

"Boy, remind me never to have you beta any of my stuff!" muttered Gaby.

"Well, she should have listened," Steve defended herself.

"Isn't that a bit severe?" Rachelle wondered. And found herself the focus of everyone's attention. "Well! It is."

Steve clutched at her heart. "The woman who writes some of the toughest disciplinary stories finds *this* to be a bit severe?"

"Maybe I'm mellowing," said Rachelle.

Teresa and Loonywoif snickered loudly.

"Yeah!" said Teresa to Virt.

"Right!" Loonywoif told her Woif.

"It's that new job of hers," explained Eleri. "Since she landed it, she's been on Cloud Nine."

Vic giggled. "Well, who wouldn't be, with a boss who looks like MP?"

Rachelle smiled dreamily. "You know," she confided, "there was a time when the fact he was bald would have turned me off. But since MP...well, I've learnt to look past the head."

"Yeah," gail nudged Gaby, "past the head to the shoulders and down to the bulge."

Rachelle looked askance at the two of them. "To the bulge! Really."

"You mean to tell us you didn't check him out? At all?" Joey raised a disbelieving eyebrow as she claimed the chair next to Diana.

"Well......"

Everyone nodded, knowingly.

"All right. Yes, I did."

"'Course you did," Ursula nudged Joey over and claimed half the chair.

"Anyway," said Rachelle at her most dignified, "what has any of this to do with Eavesdropper's story?" And sighed in relief when everyone's attention shifted from her back to Renee.

"It's a cop out. That's all. I mean," continued Renee, pacing the floor, "we haven't heard from her in months..."

"Isn't she still working that fool job?" asked Eleri.

"And her hard drive crashed," added Lorelei, wondering if lines would be easier to get done if she taped several pens together.

"I don't care. Minor details. This story calls for...needs...has the perfect set-up for a discipline segment..."

"Renee, we can hear you ranting from outside," said Karen, coming in with Ruth and Phoebe. The three of them hurriedly took off their coats, gloves and came to warm themselves by the fireplace.

"Fireplace?" Gaby looked around, confused. "Since when do we have a fireplace?"

"Since the author put one in," explained gail. "It's freezing cold in her part of Canada, so she wants a fireplace. And what she wants..."

"Good heavens," said a new sleepy voice. "Hush, hush." Xanthe stretched, only her arms visible over the back of the couch she had crashed on, after posting the fourth and final part of THE ADVERSARY. "What's all the fuss?"

She got up, stretched again, strolled over to the group, one or two of whom suddenly pulled back.

"What?" She realized many of them were watching her with wary eyes.

Gaby scoffed, almost cackling. "You should never have admitted having such fun writing Laurence. Makes people wonder, you know, just what else you might be capable of."

Xanthe raised a very haughty eyebrow, scrutinized the group. "Darlings, I can't believe..."

"Oh, are we late?"

Eleri breathed a sigh of relief at the interruption. Since she'd written Laurence, Xanthe's temper was a little uncertain.

"Late for what?" Rachelle jumped in.

"Eavesdropper's story. Isn't she here yet?" Blue Moon, Dark Cherry and Texxas Rose tossed their coats onto the pile and came to warm themselves up by the blazing fire.

"Damn," muttered Texxas Rose. "Just because it's cold in Canada, doesn't mean that it has to be so cold here."

"Well," Dragonwyck strolled up, a Sentinel zine in her hand, "it's her story, so if she wants cold..."

"Better than rain," agreed MACSTP, carrying a bootlegged script for the season's finale of 'Queer as Folks' -- American psuedo- version.

"Where is she?" Blue Moon and Dark Cherry went and turned Xanthe's couch around so that they could sit in the heat of the fire.

"Hey!" Ruth poked Mel. "Isn't that Laurence's couch?"

Phoebe looked at it, consideringly.

The door burst open and two more Persuaders entered.

"God! This weather is shitty. Can't you do something about it?" RJ unwrapped her long scarf, pulled off her tuque (a gift from Josan for betaing, in her guise as WBotW, the story that had so upset Renee) and wheeled herself close to the fire.

"No. It's only for a while. You'll just have to bear with it until the story is done."

"Eavesdropper!"

"Hello, Xanthe. Loved your Krycek."

Xanthe accepted the hug and the praise. "Thought he would go over well with you."

"God! Your hands are colder than mine," commented Eavesdropper, holding hers out to the firey warmth. She missed the startled reactions of some. Phoebe and Gaby exchanged uneasy glances.

As hellos and seasonal greetings filled the room, a side door opened and one of the dutymen from THE ADVERSARY entered, placed an urn of mulled wine on one of the small tables, added a tray of mugs to another and pushed in a small trolley filled with Christmas nibbles and treats.

Xanthe glared at him and he quickly disappeared out the door.

While Diana played "Mother" and filled the mugs, BonnieMay (who had snuck in as the dutyman had gone out), pushed the trolley so that everyone got something to eat.

"All right already," Renee spoke loudly to get everyone's attention. "Eavesdropper, what's this about a story and while you're here, maybe you would like to explain why there's a scene missing in your latest Josan story?"

RJ nodded, "I told you so." She turned to the others in the room. "I told her so. But would she listen to me? Hell, I'm *only* a beta!"

Lorelei looked very chipper all of a sudden. "Are you going to make her write lines, too?"

RJ made a rude noise. "Like that would work! Hard enough getting her to re-write!"

Eavesdropper settled back in her chair and grinned unrepentantly at the assembled Persuaders.

"Well, yes, there is a scene missing in the STORMY NIGHT story, but it's a scene I thought only a special group would appreciate. So, I've kept it just for Persuaders. I was wondering, would you like to hear what happened when Alex and Mulder got home? And how Skinner felt about what they were up to in his absence?"

"A special group, eh?" Renee was not easily appeased.

"A group with discerning tastes," added Eavesdropper, taking a sip of her mulled wine.

Renee thought about it, frowned, then sighed. "Okay. I'll fall for that."

As Renee dragged her chair up to the group, Eavesdropper looked around. "Is everyone here?"

"If they're not," grouched gail, "they can dig this out of the archives like I have to do whenever anyone posts a story. Fucking e-groups!" she muttered.

"Or," said Xanthe, fingering the scarf she wore around her neck, "they can sneak in during intermission ...intermission*s*?"

"Will there be any HSS-SOs this time?" Blue Moon whispered *loudly* to Karen. "We didn't get any last time if you remember."

"There'd better be," said Karen in a threatening voice, "or the Spanking Menace will want to know why."

Eavesdropper cleared her throat, smiled happily. Finally, a group of people who would actually pay attention when she said something, not ignore her warningsaboutdownloadingaproblem programwithoutfollowingproperinstructionsthatwouldwipeoutalltheir dataandthencomecryingtoher!

Whoa! she thought. Calm down. Think nice thoughts. Think...think lovely red bottoms.

And she did.

"Now then," said Eavesdropper, "I hope you've all read the story before I got here. If you haven't, you can find it at RatB, at http://www.squidge.org/terma/josan/josan.index. But I'll just assume that you have and take it from there, shall I?"

* * * * * * * * * *

THE MISSING SCENE


The Boss man...

(There were a few giggles at that. Eavesdropper smiled. Nice when people got the inside joke.)

The Boss man rested his fists on his hips. "I'm giving you a five minute head start to get back before I do. When I get there, we will discuss the kinds of things you two get up to when I'm out of town."

Armani...

(A couple of snickers.)

...looked up, his hair dripping with the dirty water if had soaked up. "But, Master..."

"This is coming out of your five minutes. Are you sure you want to use up your time here?"

Vodka was out the door first, followed closely by Armani.

The Boss man took a deep breath, shook his head. He came up to the bar where my partner and I were staring, mouths open.

("Hold it," said Ciejye. "I may be new, but isn't this one of those Mary Jane things that people are supposed to avoid writing?"

"Mary Sue," corrected Eleri, who was busy sketching Mulder in a soggy Armani, rushing out on Krycek's heels.

"Tell them," groused RJ.

Eavesdropper smiled. "I'm thinking of posting it for the Mary Sue challenge on the Challenge list. So, of course, I have to be in it."

"And is RJ your partner?"

"My sister in crime," agreed Eavesdropper.

"But why a leather bar?...."

The room groaned.

"What?" Ciejye looked around, not understanding the reaction.

"Archives," said Texxas Rose.

"At," said Dark Cherry.

And, rolling their eyes -- at the sneaky way Eavesdropper had gotten in yet another plug for Eleri's Persuaders Archive -- everyone chanted:

"http://www.oocities.org/Area51/Aurora/8903/index.html"

"Sheesh," muttered Gaby, elbowing Ciejye rather sharply. "There's already been a bar in HOW COME THEY DON'T COME?"

"Cum," muttered RJ. "That should be c-u-m, not c-o-m-e."

Eleri pretended to be busy.

Gaby ignored both of them "Okay, you've had your fun," she scowled at Eavesdropper, "now get on with the good stuff.")

We'll leave Dom Skinner at the bar, sharing a thoughtful moment with one of its regulars, and follow our intrepid pair on their journey home.

Vodka...er, Alex jumped into his car and drove off, being very careful not to exceed the speed limit. His ass cheeks still twitched at the memory of Dom Skinner's reaction to his last speeding ticket.

Mulder, in his now dripping Armani, muttered implications about what he would like to do to Alex when he got his hands on him. This had been his idea, though he knew better than to mention that to Dom Skinner. Not unless he wanted to endure a lengthy lecture about free will and how intelligent people looked before they leaped and if Alex jumped into a raging river, would Mulder also jump in?

Probably, thought Mulder, knowing that if Alex did jump into a raging river, he had a bloody good reason for doing so and that anyone with a minimum of intelligence would follow him, ask questions later.

But could he say that to Skinner?

NO!

Well, he could, but his ass wouldn't thank him for it.

His car pulled in behind Alex's as they both parked in the lane way of their still new home.

("New home? What new home?" Renee looked confused.

"That was in the story I missed putting you in," explained Eavesdropper.

"Darling, haven't *you* been reading the archives?" asked Xanthe.

Renee managed to look not embarrassed. "Well, I've had lots to do. And there's so much reading to catch up on. I mean, I'm only human. I do have a life, you know. And only two hands..."

"Exactly my point," jumped in Diana. "I mean, there are only so many hours in a day."

"I thought," pondered Karen, "that one of the things Skinner had lost in the *house fire*," she looked especially at Renee who raised her eyebrows, mouthed Fire? "was a *completed* SLAVE OF MY HEART?"

"Yes, well," Diana looked to Eavesdropper for an explanation.

"That's still in the future. This story definitely takes place long after Diana will have finished with SLAVE."

"Well, if she hurried up with it, it wouldn't have to be that far in the future," muttered Gaby to RJ. The two of them smirked.

Diana pointedly ignored them.)

They both rushed into the house, up the stairs to their bedrooms and hurried to prepare themselves for their Dom's arrival.

Alex dropped his clothes in the hamper, removed his prosthesis, turned on the shower. Mulder stripped off his suit, bunched it up, tossed it under his bed and hurried into his shower.

They were both still rather damp when they met at the door to the playroom.

(Eavesdropper took a sip of mulled wine, just to wet her throat.

"Ahem," Steve cleared hers. "So, out of curiosity, what were they wearing?"

"That is so shallow," RJ rolled her eyes. "I mean, what do you think they would be wearing to go into the playroom?"

"That's their new playroom," Vic leaned over to explain to Ciejye. "It's in a circular stone tower in the new house."

Damn, thought Renee, I really have to get to the Archive during the next intermission.)

Alex was wearing his new collar, black with his name in red lettering. Mulder was wearing his, except that the lettering was gold.

("Anything else?" asked Xanthe, innocently -- though her grin was a little too reminiscent of the one she described on Laurence.

Eleri and Rachelle exchanged worried glances. What had happened to their dear, sweet Xanthe?)

Nothing else.

(There were one or two giggles from the group. Even a couple from the shadows where the Lurkers were lurking.)

Mulder took the big key from its hook by the door and unlocked the door. He handed the key to Alex who put it back where it belonged.

They had learnt that lesson the hard way.

The door was thick oak, but hung on well-oiled hinges.

Mulder turned on the soft overhead lights while Alex went to light the wood in the fireplace. The stone tower was heated, but it always seemed cold unless there was a fire blazing, Then, after lighting some tapers, they went around the room, putting the flames to the wicks of the large, thick candles that were scattered about.

Through the open door, they could hear footsteps in the hallway leading to Skinner's bedroom. They looked at each other, hurried to finish their chores.

Mulder filled the carafe with cold water from the small fridge that had been built into a wall. Discipline was thirsty work for a dom.

Alex went to get the lube from the toy cabinet, leaving the doors wide open so that Dom Skinner could see the selection. He placed it on the small table by their Dom's chair.

Then they knelt, side by side, in the proper sub position, in front of the Dom's leather wing chair that sat to one side of the fireplace. They had a feeling, both of them, that they would not be allowed to sit on the two low footstools that were reserved for them.

Heads bowed, eyes lowered to the floor, they waited.

Dom Skinner paused in the door to appreciate the lovely picture he had in front of him.

The room was heating up with the smelling of burning apple wood. The candles added a warming golden light to the grey stone. And then there was the lovely sight of his two subs, in proper position, waiting for him.

Like the dom in the bar had said: they were a handful. And yes, they were well worth the effort.

But, he thought, they also had to be kept on a tight rein.

He entered the room, went to sit in his chair.

Mulder grimaced at the sight of the leather boots. It crossed his mind to wish he had never found those thigh-high boots and given them to their Dom as a birthday gift.

(Xanthe gasped, eyes sparkling with delight. "Thigh-high boots! God! I *love* him in those things!"

Eavesdropper grinned. "Well, I'll grant you the boots, but I like them better on Alex."

Before Xanthe could plunge into argument, Diana interjected, voice slightly wondering, "You know, I don't think anyone has ever written a story with Mulder in a pair of those."

There was a moment's quiet while people thought.

"Well," offered Teresa, "isn't there a story where he's in some sorta gladiator hi-tech battle gear?")

First of all, because Dom Skinner wore them with those tight black moleskin pants that cupped his genitals. Which always made Mulder hard, just thinking of it.

("Eleri?" Xanthe asked in a deceptively innocent tone. "You haven't...by any chance...been lately painting Dom Skinner in those boots?" Her voice hardened, "Have you, darling girl?"

Eleri's look of innocence was really quite polished by now. "No, Xanthe, I haven't. I can say without a shadow of contraction that I have not been doing a portrait of Dom Skinner in those boots and pants. You forget, I've already done that. If I remember well, that portrait and the others I've done of our favourite Dom and his subs are hanging on the walls of the playroom. And we've all seen them."

And she went back to her sketching, all the while laughing to herself about the lovely nude portrait of the Dom she had just finished. Still, a little frisson of unease swept through her. She hoped that Xanthe would be through with her Laurence-phase before she found out.)

Then, because it meant that Dom Skinner was seriously into his role as their keeper-on-the-straight-and-narrow. Mulder sighed. Why was it that all the interesting stuff in life was off that path?

(There were one or two sympathetic sighs in the room.)

Alex shivered in spite of being closer to the heat of the fireplace. Those boots did not bode well. Still, he felt himself getting hard at the mere sight of them. He peeked over to his fellow sub and saw that his was not the only pecker with that reaction.

("Pecker?" Gaby looked askance at Eavesdropper. "Since when does Krycek use terms like 'pecker'?" She said that last with more than a hint of disdain.

RJ leaned over. "She's been reading that thesaurus of hers again. I tell her, there's nothing wrong with the word 'cock', but will she listen?"

Lorelei was paying just a little too much attention to this exchange, thought Steve. Here she was, training...er...mentoring a new writer along and she certainly did not want her picking up bad habits. She turned to glare sternly at Lorelei who quickly picked up her pen and began writing.)

Dom Skinner shook his head. "Just because I'm out of town does not mean that the rules go out the window. Would one of you please explain whatever possessed you to play games like that in a leather bar? Rather like teasing a bull. You were only lucky that someone didn't take offense. You both could have been hurt."

Mulder and Alex exchanged looks. Alex sighed. "It was my idea, Master."

Dom Skinner removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Alex hung his head lower.

Inside, Dom Skinner was pleased to see that some of the old Alex was back. Since they had forgotten him the night of the fire...

("Forgotten him!" Renee burst out, then quickly covered her mouth.

Eavesdropper raised a stern teacher eyebrow, then continued.)

...Alex had been a model sub. Dom Skinner knew that it was because, even though Alex now knew he had his own place in his Dom's heart, he had been too unsure to test it. The fact that not only had he started this little game, but was openly confessing to it warmed Dom Skinner's heart. Alex as a model sub was a good thing, but Alex with some of his mischievousness back was a delight.

"I went along with it," confessed Mulder, not wanting his fellow sub to get all the blame. After all, he had joined Alex voluntarily.

Dom Skinner sat forward in his chair, resting his bare arms on his knees.

("Bare arms?" whimpered Xanthe. "What's he wearing on top? Eavesdropper, you told us what he was wearing on the bottom, but never what he was wearing on top?" Her voice now bore a slightly threatening tone.

Eavesdropper exchanged a slightly worried glance with some of the elder members of Persuaders, who looked as worried as she did. This Laurence thing was beginning to wear thin. They might have to do something about that.

"The usual, Xanthe. He's wearing his leather vest. That's all."

"Nothing else?"

"No, Xanthe, nothing else. Why? Do you want him to wear something else?"

Xanthe's small smile as she sat back in her corner of the couch was not one that relieved her friends' worries. "No, that's fine," she said, fingers worrying the scarf at her throat. "I like him just like that.")

"You both know," said Dom Skinner in his dommest voice, "that even when I'm not here, the rules do not change."

"Yes, Master," two voices spoke as one.

"But," added Alex, looking up through his eyelashes, a sight that Dom Skinner found enchanting though he would, of course, never mention that to his sub, "I did research the bar. It has a very good reputation. Not like some of the other leather bars in town."

"It's a safe place to go," Mulder looked up, eyes intense as they were when he wanted to convince someone of some alien activity.

His two subs nodded.

Dom Skinner sighed loudly. "Then, it's up to me to approve of such a place *before* you go to it. That is one infraction of the rules. The next is that you knew that or you would have told me about it. Then there is the fact that you two were playing a game that, had it been a different place than what it is, could have had serious consequences. You could have been hurt.

"You were very lucky that the regulars, as well as the two bartenders, have a sense of humour and thought what you were doing was amusing. And I don't think the fact that you walked out of there at a reasonable hour, sober, together makes up for the fact that others in the place might have had different expectations.

"Mulder, bring me your cock rings."

Both of his subs grimaced at that. It was going to be a long night.

(Eavesdropper went to take a sip of mulled wine only to find her mug empty. She stood up to go serve herself at the urn. Several of the others got up, stretched. Several headed for the bathroom.

"What?" Ciejye looked around, confused. "She's stopping here?"

Karen stretched some kinks out of her spine. "Yep. She always does that."

"Does she come back?" Ciejye watched as Renee made a beeline for the computer in the corner that was always set up at the Persuaders Archive.

"Oh, yes. Don't worry. Besides, Xanthe won't let her out of the place, not now. Want a shortbread? These are really delicious."

Ciejye turned to Steve. "You people let her get away with this...this teasing?"

Steve looked over her shoulder at Lorelei who was chatting with Ranger and Arsenic. When had those two snuck in? "As RJ says, what choice do we have? Eavesdropper tends to make her own rules. Karen's right, this shortbread is scrumptious.")

Second Intermission


Eavesdropper was in a corner of the room, having an intense conversation with Rachelle and Eleri. Now and then, one of them would glance over to where Xanthe sat ensconced at one end of the couch, sipping from a cup of hot water rather than mulled wine. Gaby stood behind her, arms crossed over her chest, looking very uncomfortable.

"How long has she been like this?" Eavesdropper looked worried.

"Since she started posting THE ADVERSARY," Eleri sighed sadly.

"Has it affected Gaby or Phoebe? I mean," said Rachelle, "they did beta the damn thing."

Eleri shook her head. "Nope. Only Xanthe. I think she got too involved with this first person POV and now can't drop it."

"Maybe," offered Eavesdropper, "something to shock her out of it?"

And the three heads moved closer together.

RJ was in another corner, bringing the latest group of arrivals up to date.

"So we haven't missed the good part," Poly grinned at Denice. Anne and Sue snickered.

"Shallow. We are all so shallow," said Molly to Susan.

"Yeah," agreed Susan with a delighted grin.

Everyone laughed.

"Okay!" Renee claimed her place. "Let's get on with this."

With excited giggles, smirks, people rushed to their places, settled and waited for Eavesdropper to finish her conversation with Eleri and Rachelle.

"AHEM!" Renee cleared her throat loudly.

All three women nodded. Eavesdropper picked up her mug of mulled wine from a Diana who had also been keeping a concerned eye on Xanthe. She answered Diana's unasked question with a small nod and a smile.

No one noticed that Eleri and Rachelle had not returned to their places, but that they took positions near the back door to the room. Once Eavesdropper had picked up her story, they snuck out.

"Now where was I?" teased Eavesdropper. "Oh yes..."



Mulder went and got the leather cock rings from the cabinet. His had his name tooled on it in gold; Alex's in red.

He came to stand in front of Dom Skinner and waited as the Dom took his genitals in his hands, played with them, rolling the testes in his large warm hands until his cock responded. Then, when the Dom was satisfied, he took the cock ring from Mulder's hand, wrapped the thin leather belt around his balls, snapping it shut over the base of his partial erection.

With a finger, he flipped the tip of his sub's penis, making it bounce.

(There were several snickers in the room.)

"Alex."

With a resigned sigh, Alex came to stand next to his fellow sub. Dom Skinner played with his balls, stroked his cock until he had the effect he desired then confined his sub's cock. And he gave this one a little flip as well, watching it bob like one of those doggies in the back window of a car.

"Mulder," he said, "go get your paddle."

After a look of shared trepidation with Alex, Mulder went over to the cabinet, came back with the paddle that had his name emblazoned over one side.

"Alex. Now yours. All right, boys. I want both of you on your knees, paddle handle in your mouths. Remember, no teeth. I don't want to see teeth marks on the leather.

"And I want you to think about why I have to do this tonight. Why it is necessary for me to punish the two of you."

And the Dom got up, walked around his subs who were now on their knees, hands (or, as the case may be, hand) behind their backs, heads bowed, mouths tightly clasping the leather handles to their paddles.

Dom Skinner sighed. They did make a lovely picture. Lovelier yet when those lovely asses were finely coloured.

He gave them ten minutes, knowing that their jaws would be aching with their attempts to hold the paddles in their mouths without using their teeth. He spent the time choosing a few additional toys to decorate his lads, placing his final choices on the table by his chair, then pulling the table slightly so it would not be in sight of his worried subs.

"Mulder," he said, seating himself so that his sub could assume the proper position over his knees.

Mulder sent a wide-eyed glance at Alex. It had been his idea, surely he would go first.

"Mulder," Dom Skinner repeated firmly.

With a sigh at the unfairness of it all, Mulder knee-walked to in front of his Dom.

"Thank you, Mulder," said Dom Skinner knowing full well what was going through his sub's mind. That, he thought, was one of the prices Mulder had to pay for being primary sub: he got his arm when it was still fresh.

("And a fine arm it is," chortled Xanthe.

As one, Dark Cherry and Blue Moon slid off the couch to go sit near Diana. This was getting definitely creepy. Texxas Rose took up the vacated corner, but instead of watching Eavesdropper, she kept her eyes on Xanthe who seemed blithefully unaware that she was responsible for more and more goosebumps and worried looks.)

Dom Skinner smiled at his sub. Unfortunately, it did not ease the tension in Mulder's stomach. "You know what to do."

Mulder slowly placed himself so that he lay, stomach on his Dom's lap, legs stretched out behind him, leaving his ass an open target.

Dom Skinner's hand slipped under his thigh to see that Mulder's cock wouldn't rub against anything, spent a moment fondling it, feeling it grow harder, lengthen. He smiled at Mulder who wriggled. He took hold of the paddle with one hand, grabbed Mulder's hand with the other so that he could hold him steady and, with no warning, brought down the paddle with all his might against those lovely white, now turning pink, globes.

Mulder yowled. He wrapped his free arm around Dom Skinner's leg and held on for dear life.

("Yes, indeedy, there's nothing like a Mulder ass all coloured and striped," chuckled Xanthe.

There were many in the room who shared Xanthe's feelings about a Mulder ass, but the way she said it had a few more people pulling closer to the elder members of the group.

gail suddenly found that she was very popular with a few of the newer members, and not just because they all shared a mutual dislike and mistrust of e-groups communications.

Teresa and Virt (whose nostrils flared more than normal, hinting at a possible fire-storm) cuddled up to Loonywoif and her Woif (whose teeth appeared to be slightly more bared, the coat more on end, the tail more rigid) who was casting worried glances at Karen who tried to look calm and reassuring, nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders.)

And he was right. It didn't take long for his cries to fill the room, his legs to kick, his butt to wriggle, trying to escape the punishment deemed right and proper by his Dom.

Dom Skinner held back his hand to examine his work. Mulder was a very satisfactory shade of red from the top of the fleshy part of his lovely ass, around the tight now trembling globes, down to the delightfully sensitive undercurve. Yes, that would do.

He released Mulder, allowed him to slip to his knees, bent over and consoled him until his sobs were soft hiccups.

"Back to your place now, dearling. Alex."

And Alex, mouth aching from the weight of the paddle, gave it up with mixed feelings. Yes, his jaw would stop aching soon, but as for his ass?

He too placed himself on top of his Dom's knees. He too had his cock fondled, felt himself -- in spite of knowing what was coming -- harden.

He raised his head and looked into Mulder's beautiful, tear-laden eyes. If Mulder could endure this, so could he. And he trusted his Dom not to punish him harder than Mulder because, though he was more used to pain than Mulder, Dom Skinner had promised in an earlier story that his punishments would be no easier, no harder than Mulder's. And the Dom was a fair man.

("Balderdash!" snorted Xanthe. "If Alex can take more, he should be given more. A good Dom wouldn't make a silly promise like that, or keep it if he did."

It was beginning to be hard to hide everyone's worried looks. Xanthe finally caught a few of them. "What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

Eavesdropper coughed loudly, getting everyone's attention.

As she continued her story, several more of the Persuaders, even some of the elders, left more room between Xanthe and themselves.)

And he was right. By the time Dom Skinner allowed him off his knees, his face was tear-streaked, his face red from sobbing, a red that was almost a match for his achingly painful butt.

(Xanthe snickered.

A couple of Persuaders began eyeing the door.)

"You did well, sweetling," the Dom hugged his weeping sub. And sent him to kneel beside Mulder.

Dom Skinner smiled at his lads. They were both so beautiful this way. But, this time, he wanted them to be just a bit more beautiful. He reached for something on the table.

Mulder gasped when Dom Skinner clamped his nipples with small bells. Alex couldn't believe that Dom Skinner would do that to him as well. But he did.

With a flick of his finger, Dom Skinner made all four of the little bells ring. "There, I'll be able to hear if either of you does something I wouldn't want you to do. Now, off to your places at the wall, and remember, I can hear those bells."

And he sat back to enjoy the sight of two wriggling, red asses crawl to their designated places at the wall.

("Okay," snapped Karen, completely out of patience. "This doesn't sound like a set-up for a HSS-SO."

"A what?" Ciejye looked confused. Renee had hogged the Archive computer during the whole intermission and she hadn't had a chance to catch up.

RJ leaned over. "A humongous, soul-shattering, simultaneous orgasm."

"They don't exist," said Ciejye.

BonnieMay and MACSTP giggled.

RJ gave them her patented frosty-beta look. It might not work well with Josan, but it was very effective here.

"Believe, it does in the Wrong Answers Universe," she told Ciejye. "Though not lately," she muttered under her breath.

"Not necessary," scoffed Xanthe.

"NOT...." Molly began, only to have Sue -- or was it Susan? -- clamp a hand over her mouth.

"Shhhh."

RJ looked ready to take Xanthe and her new behaviour on. Eavesdropper reached over to pat her on the arm. There was a silent message exchanged as only can be between a writer and her beta. Steve caught the look and sighed, a little enviously, wondering if she would ever have that with Lorelei.)

And then Dom Skinner left his lads alone in the playroom while he went to set up something that had been delivered only that day, thankfully while his lads had been out of the house.

Mulder kept his nose against the stone that bore his name in gold, sniffed. The heat from the fire wasn't helping the temperature on his ass.

Alex, who could never resist a weepy Mulder, turned his head just enough to see how his fellow sub was doing.

Mulder turned his head at the same time. His beautiful hazel- green eyes filled with tears. A little sob escaped, knowing that he would not be getting any of his usual consolation from Alex this time.

Alex's heart broke at the sound. Mulder looked so pathetic with his eyelashes glued together with tears, one lonely one making its way down his cheek to nestle on his lower lip. He had no idea of how the sight of his tears, his incredible cat-green eyes, his brave, but trembling lower lip moved Mulder.

Alex took a deep breath, heard the bells hanging from his nipples give a tiny little tinkle. He knew he would be punished for doing this, for disobeying his Master...

But wait a minute!

Their Master had not *directly* forbidden any consolation. He had merely said that he would be able to hear the bells. Not that he didn't want to hear them. And he had admitted, in a few stories ago, that one of the reasons Alex was part of this threesome was to provide comfort to Mulder.

("Technicalities," snapped Xanthe. "I see where this is going and..."

Eavesdropper gave Xanthe her sternest teacher look, the one she had developed trying to drum MAC...Opps, THE SCOTTISH PLAY...into the heads of Grade 12 general level males whose idea of fun was joy-riding their parents' vehicles into the local swamp, playing mail-box baseball, stripping a hunting rifle and putting it back together to a stop-watch, guzzling down a case of 2/4* by themselves in as little time as possible.

It wasn't a complete success, but it did cause Xanthe to hesitate a bit, looked around her in a befuddled way.)

Trying not to make his bells ring any more than necessary, Alex made his way over to a Mulder who was amazed at the risk his fellow sub was taking. And all for him.

With a firm resolve, he too made his way towards his fellow sub, realizing that Alex was as much in need of consolation as he was. And that it was time that Alex's needs were taken care of as much as his own.

("Poppycock," said Xanthe, but in a slightly less firm manner.

Eavesdropper, Jas, Gaby, Phoebe, Diana and Karen all sent stern looks at their list-mom. Teresa and Virt, Loonywoif and Woif glared at her.

Xanthe wriggled a little uncomfortably in her corner of the couch.)

From the doorway, Dom Skinner watched, smile of pleasure on his face as Mulder put his arms around Alex, slowly licked the tears off his face. Alex was taken aback: that was his job, to lick Mulder's tears off.

Mulder's hands stroked down Alex's back, stopped just over his heated ass, skimmed back up his ribs. Alex's bells made the loveliest shimmering sound, thought Dom Skinner. His cock thought so too. And grew more enthusiastic when Mulder's bells chimed in.

As Dom Skinner unbuttoned his fly, his hand slowly stroked the bulge he found there to even thicker hardness.

Mulder slipped his mouth down to Alex's erection, sucking hard so that his cheeks rubbed against the bludgeoning cock. Alex whimpered, pushed against Mulder, pulling his cock out of Mulder hot wet mouth.

Mulder moaned in protest. To the sound of bells, Alex pushed him to the floor, turned so that while Mulder went back to work in his cock, he could work on Mulder's.

Dom Skinner came to crouch by his pre-occupied subs. He reached over and stroked both their heads. Two sets of heavily aroused eyes looked up, startled. With a smile, Dom Skinner reached down to their cocks, released first one then the other cock ring, and sat back to watch as Mulder and Alex sucked, licked, slurped, tasted, stroked with their tongues...

("Shit! Enough already!" moaned gail.)

and brought each other to...

(Eavesdropper raised an eyebrow, looked around at the faces of the people who were focused on her...

It started low then it grew and grew...

"A hu-mon-gous..."

"Soul-sha-ter-ing..."

"Si-mul-ta-ne-ous..."

"ORGASM!" shouted everyone, with huge delighted grins.

And Eavesdropper smiled at how intelligent a group of people she had around her.)

Dom Skinner looked at the enchanting picture his lads made as they lay there and wondered how he could have been blessed to have not one but two such beautiful, intelligent, entertaining subs.

Mulder still recovered faster, being more used to pleasure than Alex, but Dom Skinner was very pleased to see that Alex wasn't far behind. Under his dominion and with both their love, Alex was improving by leaps and bonds.

Not necessarily good for his peace of mind, thought Dom Skinner, but hell, if he had wanted peace, he would have taken on that whiny Jeffrey Spender as a sub. God knows the wimp had begged him often enough.

("What!" Anne and Poly exchanged stunned looks. "Why, that...*he* thought that he was good enough for our Dom to take on as a sub?"

"What universe did he think he was dealing with, eh?" RJ was livid. Bad enough that Jeffrey Spender was thinking of muscling in on their territory, but Eavesdropper had never mentioned this to her. Damn, maybe Steve had the right idea. Lines. She would have to think about that.)

As they recovered, his subs grew aware of their Dom's rampant erection. With a grin, they both threw themselves onto him, toppling him over onto his back. As Mulder worked on their Dom's cock, Alex concentrated on his balls.

In no time at all, Dom Skinner was ready to come. Mulder patted his "partner in crime" on the shoulder. He pulled back as Dom Skinner came, shooting his cum in both his subs' faces. With a laugh, they proceeded to lick each other clean.

Dom Skinner sat up, wrapped an arm around each of his subs. "God! I love the two of you." And he kissed them both on the nose.

("That is sooo sickening," muttered Xanthe.

"Perhaps," said Rachelle, "you would like a look at what Dom Skinner was putting up in his bedroom while he was waiting for his lads to console each other?"

Xanthe made a very unpleasant sound with her mouth. "What? Let me guess, pictures of little fluffy lambs, gambolling around a pasture?"

The other Persuaders looked at the door behind Xanthe and one, by one, their jaws dropped open. Diana sat upright. Teresa and Loonywoif gasped. Several of them stood up for a better look.

"Oh, Eleri!" whispered Eavesdropper, in awed respect. "You've outdone yourself."

"What on earth?" Xanthe stood up, turned around ready to make some cold Laurence-like comment.

And froze.

Eleri and Rachelle were each holding up an end of Eleri's newest portrait of Dom Skinner and his two subs.

Dom Skinner was naked. Almost. He was wearing a leather jacket. Open, to the point that hinted at his nipples.

And nothing else.

The cock and balls that had been so elegantly hinted at in other Eleri portraits were now revealed in their splendour and glory.

"Oh...My...God!" whispered Texxas Rose, putting an arm around Molly and Ranger.

Arsenic fanned herself. "Why is it so hot in here all of a sudden?"

At his feet...his bare feet...feet with those lovely arches, the long toes, the delicate boney structure...

Xanthe felt her tongue hang out, a very un-Laurence-like reaction...

At those beautiful feet were two naked subs, shoulders on the floor, red-tinged asses high, beautiful teary eyes turned to the watcher.

"Makes you understand why Alex wants to console Mulder, doesn't it?" Karen whispered, reverently. Ruth nodded.

Gaby just stood there, biting her lip.

gail sat next to Jas, placed her head against Jas's, neither of them capable of speech.

Dom Skinner had a hand on each of those lovely asses, holding a paddle in the hand against Mulder's, a strap against Alex's.

Vic and Ciejye wore sappy grins on their faces. Lorelei came to stand next to Steve, leaned against her and sighed deeply.

Poly silently sat on the floor, just gazing at the picture. Anne and Ruth joined her. Denice, Sue and Susan settled at Diana's feet. Blue Moon rummaged around in her pockets, found some tissues and handed one over to Dark Cherry.

"Fu-kin shit," said RJ.

Xanthe shook herself, like a dog getting rid of water. "You're darn right, fucking shit! Eleri! You said that you hadn't done a portrait of them lately!" She stood akimbo, eyes blazing.

"No, Xanthe dear, I never said I hadn't done a new portrait. I merely agreed that I hadn't done another of him in boots and vest. And as you can see, not a boot, not a vest in sight."

Xanthe went for Eleri. Diana threw herself between the two. Rachelle signalled for Sue to come hold her end of the portrait and went to help Diana with Xanthe who was yelling and screaming at Eleri -- who was certainly not helping matters with that smug smile she was wearing.

The other Persuaders gathered in front of the portrait to examine it carefully, ohhing and ahhing, complimenting Eleri on yet another masterpiece.

Gaby went to add her bit to the general noise by loudly chastising Xanthe for scaring them all with her recent behaviour. Xanthe took even louder exception to that. Renee tried to calm them all down, which had the exact opposite effect.

gail looked up at Eavesdropper, grinned happily.

"I think things are back on line," she laughed.

THE END (for now!)


Note: * In Canada beer is mainly sold in cases of either 12 or 24 bottles. In some circles, it is considered to be a male rite of pride (?) to be able to guzzle a case of 2/4 (or 24 bottles) in a reasonable amount of time, say one afternoon or one evening. Beer in Canada is about 5.7% alcohol on average.

And, no, most of them never really got a handle on THE SCOTTISH PLAY until one of them clued in. "Oh," he announced to the class, "I get it. He's a wimp and she's a ballbreaker."

See, Shakespeare really did write for all people.

* * * * * * * * * *