behavioural | duplicitymods

( two years would put oli at around twenty years old.

there is a three year gap between them. so the question now is whether to tell him the truth or lie. )

All of us? The last time we were all together was graduation. We haven't been in the same place together since. ( he doesn't want to lie, especially not to oli; but he isn't ready to divulge everything either. not when the guilt is still eating away at him from the inside out. ) I'm 23 now though.

( he can at least tell him that much. )

How long have you been here?

A couple months. Not long. Kennedy got here a month after I did. Nick's been here for over a year.

( this couch is nice though. why do all the fucking dominants get great furniture and his default housing was full of ratty sheets and mattresses with springs coming out of them? it's unfair. fucking pierce and his stupid dom privilege. )

I've got a contract right now, but soon as it expires I'll switch over to you. It's been five years since you and I've seen each other?

( don't u mean fucking pierce and his stupid privileges in gen?

although, if you ask him, he totally got downgraded here. )

Wait. Wait wait wait— ( he holds up his hand. ) Nick and Kennedy are here too? ( what the fuck. ) Are they your age?

( please don't tell him that he is not only the latest one to arrive here but also the oldest one out of the group chronologically speaking. )

And who the fuck did you get contracted with, mate? ( his brows snap into a disapproving frown. ) Is it Nick? Kennedy?

Edited 2022-03-22 04:03 (UTC)

Timeline seems to match up, yeah. Nick hasn't said anything to make me think otherwise, nor has Ken.

( his head tips back against the arm of the couch, fingers raising to tug at the collar around his neck. finds the buckle and undoes it entirely to throw it across the room. william isn't his favorite person right now, which is why he's quick to. well. offer him over. )

Some asshole. I was in the middle of planning my big fuck you party for him when you showed up, so. Great timing.

( well, that's just great. everyone's three years behind. lucky him. guess he won't have to catch them up with recent events. )

Some asshole? ( he arches his brow at him before his gaze follows the trajectory of the discarded collar. extending his left hand out towards it, he summons the accessory over to him, his fingers curling around its band. he doesn't look over at oli as he asks the next question, a steel-like tone to his voice. ) His name?

If I give you a name, you're going to make a mess. And I'm already in the process of cleaning it up.

( or at least getting himself out of it. and nick. hell, if nick wasn't in the line of fire this would be a hell of a lot easier. just tell william to fuck off and be done with it. but he has to be careful now. )

I'll tell you once I've gotten Nick out of the way. Okay?

Nick? ( he shoves the collar into his pants' pocket. ) Is Nick contracted with that asshole too?

( are you saying that two of his best friends are currently submissives and contractually bound to some fucking collar-hankerin' perv? )

No. Nick's contracted to a guy named Kyle Valenti. Apparently a vampire. Really hot though. I've already terrorized him plenty, he's not a creep or a jackass or anything. Checked through his network history, too. Nothing bad enough to raise any red flags.

( kyle's a sweetheart and oliver didn't waste time adding him to his list of favorites. )

Kyle's also his boyfriend. Him, Ragnor Fell, and Nate Hawthorne. The three of them are great. His fourth boyfriend's a piece of shit but more in the self destructive to the point of hurting everyone around him way, less the spousal abuse towards Nick way.

( that's a pile of shit you're dumping on him all at once, oli.

he needs to fucking sit down. rather than join oliver on the couch though, pierce settles for the arm of it. )

Four boyfriends. One's a bloodsucking fiend, the other's a jackass. Got it. ( what the hell, nicholas? he totally drank the fucking koolaid here, didn't he? ) But what's that got to do with the asshole? ( one problem at a time, oli. he lit just got here. )

One's a warlock--half demon, half human. The other's a witch. Also prefers the term warlock. They're both cute too.

( just an fyi. in case pierce gets curious later. oliver made an effort to vet them already, pierce doesn't have to start fights with them to make sure they're fine or whatever. not that oliver saying they're fine will stop him from being a dick anyway.

he does twist himself around enough to wrap an arm around pierce's waist. tries to drag him down onto the couch. pierce makes a good pillow, he intends to take advantage of it. )

Nothing. Nick's not in the asshole's direct line of sight, but he's close enough that I'm not going to start shit without making sure he's out of range.

( he wasn't curious, but now with oli's appraisal, it's probably safe to assume that he's only guaranteed to pick a fight with one of them. )

Uh... ( sorry, oli. he's still, well—... he's still processing that you're actually alive and not dead while simultaneously battling the insurmountable guilt he feels for what happened to you very recently in his timeline because of him. physicality from you is a bit too much for him right now.

he maneuvers away from both oli's hold and the couch, thinking it might be best if he just went back to standing. nothing strange about this whatsoever. ) So, how is Nick within his range? Will he go after him if you throw that big fuck you party for him too soon?

( fucking rude. how's he supposed to coddle up to pierce, steal his wallet and his things, and leech off of his body heat if he's apparently refusing to touch him. it. completely throws him off and turns oliver's attention away from the whole william bullshit (understandably and also: great. he doesn't want to get into that just yet) as he pulls himself up to a sitting position and tips his head back enough to look up to pierce. )

What's going on with you?

( fuck

and he was doing so well up to this point too. time to recalibrate— )

Nothing. ( he shrugs his shoulders. ) Besides the fact that I'm trapped in sex city and expected to play out a citywide master-slave kink like I'm some fucking puppet that they think they have any right to control. And maybe I'm still trying to wrap my fuckin' mind around the fact that I'm somehow three years older than you guys! ( he throws up his arms emphatically. )

I want to fucking bash in a guard's face right now, Oli, so can we get back to Nick and the asshole you decided to sign a contract with?

( it's an overreaction. not the kind he would generally expect from pierce. pierce is clever, too smart for his own good, the stupid fights he picks is less about the reason behind the fights and more because he likes to curl his hands into fists and hit. oliver probably could have gotten pierce's opinion on city-wide bdsm play sometime before but it didn't really come up so he can't gauge if he's really that bothered by it or just being dramatic to throw him off, but

well. his arrival had been a little nicer. stealing one of nick's jackets and having an intense makeout session did help oliver adjust to the idea of duplicity. )

It doesn't matter. He was nice at first anyway. He's still been--nice. To me. Mostly? He'll be gone soon anyway.

It seems to fucking matter a lot here if you're so concerned that the fallout will impact Nick too.

( it's starting to feel like he isn't getting the whole story here with the way oliver keeps beating around the bush and his patience is wearing thin. )

What has he done to you, Oli? What's his goddamn deal with Nick?

He doesn't respect boundaries. Or the word no. ( from what he's learned from jessica, at least. oliver does--pull himself up. rests his elbows on his knees, and his chin against the palm of one hand. ) He's--been relatively fine with me, because for whatever reason he wants me to stick around. But when I said his name to Nick, Nick asked me if I thought he was a good person or not. I don't know what he's done to Nick. But I know he did enough to make Nick wary about him.

( so. enough to be concerned. but nothing with concrete proof, aside from what jessica spilled. )

( unfortunately, he is familiar with that type. they're dotted throughout high society. he was related to some of them and he has seen firsthand what they're capable of doing. it doesn't surprise him that duplicity would have similar pests, especially when the class system does little to discourage that type of behavior from manifesting.

he grows quiet for a moment and then with eerie ease— ) We can solve this problem right now. Take me to him and I'll kill him.

People don't stay dead here. You kill them, they come back a few weeks later, and this place will give you really fucked up punishments for bending the rules. I'm pretty sure murdering a Dominant falls somewhere in there.

( a raise of his hand, waving pierce off. )

I'm handling it. If you get into shit now, it'll reflect badly on me later.

T'ch.

( yeah, he just t'ch-ed at u 💁‍♂️ )

What's your plan then? Share with the class.

He's cursed to reincarnate. Something witches blah blah blah, vague and unhelpful. But I'm guessing it's that same curse that gives him as much strength as he has. He heals fast, hits hard. What if we broke that curse? It won't stop him from coming back here, but it might depower him enough that basic charms can keep him away.

( he's experimented a bit with that. threw a charm at william, once. )

But anti-curse crap is a little out of my wheelhouse. I've been working on something, but he is strong, and old. I need to make sure it's strong enough before I even get close to him with it.

Let me help you with it.

( reversing a curse doesn't fall under his realm of expertise either, but he has consumed enough books throughout his life that at least one or two of them is bound to offer something useful. besides, two minds are better than one. )

For now, just stay here with me. I don't want you going back to him.

I'll stay with you for now. But it's literally illegal to sleep over at another person's place more than just a couple nights in a month. I can go back to an apartment in the Down if I wanted, but those are shit. Might just set my door to fry anyone who tries to get in that isn't me from now on.

( and stay inside or pretend to stay inside and actually hang out here with pierce during the day, and return back there in time not to get caught. that sounds ideal. )

Who gives a fuck if it's illegal? As long as they don't find out, then they can't do shit to us.

( he can ward the apartment if oli is worried about the authorities monitoring them. all he knows is that breaking a couple of rules is better than oli returning to his asshole dominant. he might not have done anything to him yet, but it doesn't mean that he won't eventually. )

They'll catch us. And when they do, they'll punish me and only me. Probably. With shit like making me sit outside nude waiting for people to fuck me, or drugging me with weird aphros, or like. Make me obey any Dom that stops by.

( since pierce won't let oliver just touch him like it's nothing, he extends a hand out towards him instead. waits to see if pierce will accept the offering. )

I'll take a stay in my nice room with all my shit in it over public humiliation any day. Even if he's on the other side of the wall. If he starts pulling shit, I'll just ring you to come save me or whatever.

( maybe he should murder all the authorities in this fucking city.

but since people apparently can't die here (like what the fuck is that even about?), then that... presents a problem, doesn't it? he gathered enough information about how duplicity is governed, but the reality of its inequity hadn't exactly sunk in until now — when its laws actually impedes upon the safety and liberties of his friends. as much as he hates the idea of oli going back to no boundaries ben, he has already fucked up with him enough not to add onto that bleak record.

god, he fucking hates being backed into a corner.

hazel eyes lower to the hand extended to him, but he doesn't move to take it in his. the corner of his lips curl in displeasure, almost sulkish. )

If you can't stay here with me, then can I at least stay there with you?

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cw: implied rape

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