deercountry | A Simple "I'm Sorry" is Enough

After spending two weeks shuffling around the place that Maul had acquired for them - and also putting up with Maul's cooking - Reaper had began to venture out into the world little-by-little. He still suffered from some effects of his corruption, and he tried not to use his powers much to avoid any fall back on the old hunger. That meant walking places (gross), using entrances and exits like a normal person (double gross), and taking frequent breaks (how humiliating).

He was returning to the Disaster House more and more without moving back in fully. With Varian and Fern unexpectedly leaving, he felt more of an obligation to be back with the kids there. Rapunzel was no where to be seen either. He thought she had gone back too. So he was between places, but he was also making efforts with Maul after their big fight turning into a corruption event.

He hadn't forgiven the Zabrak, but he made a point to make time every day or second day for them to have some time. With Maul back home, that meant visiting the place. It would be his first time actually going back there since the fight months ago, and he managed to get over his apprehension when he realized the kid was still there.

Good, a distraction from any awkwardness.

He pounded on the door, noting the changes to the outside of the place and the fence. Huh, kid could be useful. A second pounding at the door and Reaper was leaning casually against the door frame when it swung open, and his coat flared as if catching the air from the house escaping. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he turned his fully masked face to stare at the brunette who answered.

Door closed. Reaper rolled his eyes, and this right here deserved his powers. He vaporized to black smoke and pushed under and around the door, swirling around the floor and heading away to consolidate near the table. He turned his head to look at Luke and growled.

"Maul, your new guard dog is ineffective," he said brusquely. "Adorable puppy though. Maybe you should fit him with a collar." Trolls were going to troll.

Luke had been about ready to call for Maul -- because it was clearly for him -- when the Force decided to warn him a little sooner this time. Not that he could do much against smoke and vapor, and not for the first time did he wish his new blood hadn't diminished his telekinesis so much. His hand reached down as soon as Reaper reformed... only to find himself grabbing air. Right, he had left his lightsaber in his room while he was packing, and certainly hadn't thought trying to answer the door would require it.

Of course, he still had his father's on him, but he knew from the last time he encountered Reaper that he wasn't going to have time to pull it from its hiding place.

He opened his mouth to retort, to tell him Maul didn't need a guard dog, only to snap it shut, his face steadily reddening. Oh no he was not going to start this here! Not where Maul could hear it! Instead, he gave him the most indignant look he could muster, before turning on his heel and moving to march back off to his room.

Oh, Reaper dared this upstart to go for a weapon; it would end poorly for all involved he expected. Of course, he didn't blame Luke for the reaction given their recent history and especially their first meeting. He just wouldn't tolerate a weapon being pulled on him without responding in kind, and he still was bothered by the edges of corruption that he wasn't in the mood to risk too far too fast.

The flush was enough to defuse his side of the situation, and he turned more to face Luke now that it seemed that Maul was currently occupied for one hot second. When the boy walked away, he followed at a casual pace. Doors weren't effective, but he might just use the handle for a bedroom door.

"You can't be that anemic with the blood rushing to your face," he growled in his version of a teasing manner. Probably sounded like a threat to some. "Don't march away, cariño."

"I'm busy," Luke said stiffly, not recognizing the word that Reaper called him, but suspected it was something either belittling or perverted -- 50-50 chance between the two, given their interactions thus far. To his credit, he at least tried to slam the door to the room he used in Reaper's face again, but in his haste to keep away from the man, his gloved hand slipped in the effort, barely managing to move the door much.

He let out an annoyed huff, opting to ignore the man instead and hoping he'd get the hint, leading to him bending over to scoop up his belongings from the door.

"Busy running away perhaps," Reaper trolled as he followed along in Luke's wake. He wasn't in any hurry, and he expected that, at some point, Maul would realize he was there and come save the boy. Maul was a good man to this one like that, though perhaps the Zabrak would just join him in tormenting the young man too.

A curl of smoke shot out from his foot so that he could nudge the door open further as if the slam attempt at gone completely wrong. Then he occupied the doorway and even leaned on the frame with his arms crossed. He was big enough to fill the doorway almost completely.

"Come now, cariño, there's no need to rush out the door. Maul won't even let me live with him as long as he's tolerated you." He smirked behind his mask and the expression came through in his voice. "You must be something special."

"I'm just a Jedi," Luke replied shortly, doing his best to let his irritation out through the Force and failing at it miserably. It didn't help the man was clearly doing everything he could to make him feel like he was trapped, and he found himself absently itching at the puncture scars on his neck -- but he totally wasn't nervous or anything!

He shook his head at himself, finding his lightsaber and clipping it pointedly to his belt, before busily folding up one of his cloaks. It was getting warmer, and he always wore clothes that kept him more or less completely covered, so walking around in a cloak wouldn't be necessary for awhile.

"Nothing special about me other than that," he added, as if Jedi were totally a dime a dozen at his point in time.

"Yes, yes, I know what you are. You're one of those white knight space wizards compared to Maul's little black baron space wizard choices." He liked calling these types space wizards since it usually annoyed many of them, but it especially annoyed Maul when he did it. If Maul was annoyed, then he was doing his job making the Zabrak suffer for the shit pulled over the last few months.

Reaper also wasn't afraid of this turning into a little scuffle honestly. He would probably enjoy it, and the kid might learn something about him too. He made a soft humming noise as if he were seriously considering the limited information that he had been given about Luke. 'Nothing special', huh?

"Maul dotes on you a little too much for you to be plain and boring. I've watched you, and you seem very uncomfortable around me compared to all the others." Luke had plenty of reasons for that of course. Reaper wouldn't deny it. "Self discovery with an older man will do that I suppose...."

Reaper barely got a reaction from Luke at the space wizard comment -- it wasn't the first time he heard Jedi referred to as wizards, and it probably wasn't going to be the last -- but the last part made his anger suddenly shoot up so hard the entirely room rattled, hard enough to knock over the bedside stand. Luke forced out a breath, forced he rage to go out with it, before going over to pick up the stand, trying to think.

There was no way he was going to get rid of Reaper easily, that much had been made clear. The only thing he could really do was weather his rude behavior until he got bored and left on his own, and... well, the only way he could think to do that was to take a page out of Leia's book.

He focused on righting the stand back up for a moment, giving himself time to think.

"I don't know which is more sad," he finally began, his tone calm and even, "the fact that you think you accomplished something, or the fact that you didn't follow through with what you did. I thought that wouldn't be so hard for an older man to do."

He paused, glancing at him, his eyes momentarily flicking downward as if to emphasize what he was going to say next.

"...or perhaps that's part of the problem."

Fighting fire with fire was a bad idea, but Force help him, if this helped get rid of him faster, he'd go through with it.

Behind his mask, Reaper was smirking. He could tell the comments that seemed to get Luke all twisted up, and he was definitely going for gold when it came to seeing how far he could push this kid. Was Luke armed? Yeah. Did he care? Nope. He had all manner of abilities to get himself out of trouble if it came his way, though no doubt he would get a nagging from Maul for upsetting the guest or something.

When Luke actually decided to fight back, he was even more intrigued and definitely was enjoying himself more. It showed in that he seemed to relax with the verbal punch back, though of course, he could pretend his temper would flip like a switch when it suited him to. Not now, this was too much fun.

"I might have given you a taste of foreplay out there, enough to get your trousers stirring, but I don't cheat. So if you want to learn a thing or two, Maul would have to agree." They were back together, shaky ground or not, and Reaper had learned that loyalty was how he kept himself out of trouble.

"Maul doesn't have a lower half, and you suggest erectile dysfunction is an issue I have? Oh you have so much to learn. I bet you'd mewl. I bet I wouldn't even have to get your pants down, just a rough shove against a wall and a nice sharp nip." Reaper liked to win, especially in the trolling game. He was willing to go the distance.

Oh, he was heading right toward dangerous ground here; somehow this calm Reaper was a more frightening opponent than when he was a multi-limbed menace. Still, Luke kept his expression calm, his voice even; he knew he had to be careful where he stepped with this verbal sparring match, least he step right on a landmine.

He approached him then, for a moment feeling like he was back confronting Jabba in his own palace; despite the lack of plan, despite how much he felt like he was heading into trouble, he still felt the same calm confidence now as he did back then. He stopped within arms length before Reaper, folding his hands before him, left over right, clutching the leather of the single glove he wore.

"Amazing how despite his disability, he commits better than you do," he replied evenly. "So far, all I've seen of you is half attempts and talking a big game, but not committing to anything."

He paused at that, tilting his head as a vaguely amused smile came to his face.

"I wasn't always a Jedi, for the record," he added. "The only advantage you had before was catching me off guard; you'll have to try harder next time."

Finally, the kid was settling into the game. He expected that someone who Maul took any kind of liking to had to be strong, had to have a good fight to them. It might not have showed during their confrontation, but it had been a very different situation where he had specifically tried to keep their interaction quick and brutal. No long-winded conversation there.

Reaper could appreciate closing the distance to physically challenge him as well as putting up a verbal fight. It was dangerous coming in so close though, even if he remained casually leaning against the door frame.

That was until Luke jabbed right at the single known sore spot that Reaper currently nursed. Without warning, he went from casual to dominant as he shot a hand out in an attempt to seize Luke by the throat and no longer leaned but stood firm and no-nonsense. Maul more loyal than him? Maul betrayed him. He had given his lover the world, the long leash of trust, and everything that came with Reaper's extreme version of loyalty. He had re-committed to them, but it came at a cost he was still paying.

"You haven't experienced my commitment yet, Luke, but if you want to see how far I'm willing to go, just keep pulling that thread. There isn't anything I'm not willing to do if I commit full measure." That was true, even if it was hard to get him to commit full measure. "Do you want to see what I'm capable of, Luke the Jedi?" Smoke curled from his shoulders, questing forward as if to caress any of Luke's bare skin.

"I'll show you all my hard edges."

Luke saw the hand coming toward him before it actually happened, giving him the time to debate what he wanted to do. He could easily let it happen, let Reaper think he could easily get the upper hand on him, but... no, now wasn't the time for that. Instead, faster than should have been possible, Luke's prosthetic hand came up, catching that hand just before it could close around his throat.

Of course, he couldn't do anything against the smoke, and he let out an even breath as he felt it caress a cheek -- he didn't have much of him that wasn't covered by clothing, but that didn't mean there wasn't intimate places to touch -- suppressing the shudder that threatened to run down his spine.

"If you're that determined to prove me wrong, then I suggest you at least make a better attempt," he replied evenly, shoving his hand away.

Reaper also had the option to let his arm melt to smoke when it was caught, but he made the decision to leave it in Luke's hold. He felt the difference, of course. He knew the feel of prosthetics compared to flesh very easily, and that was a curious story worth telling wasn't it? He made a mental note to dig for the answer when he wasn't on the verge and punching the kid through the wall into Maul's lap.

He felt the reflexive subtleties of motion as his hand was about to be shoved away, and he was already on the move exploding forward with motion. One foot in front of the other, he was in Luke's face to attempt to slam the kid against the wall hard enough to dent the drywall, but he went right along with it to pin.

"You're just a puppy making noise. I don't think you know what you're asking, but if you ever call into question my loyalty to a cause..." he growled, trailing off. He meant Maul but wasn't about to name drop where he knew the Zabrak was basically mouth breathing on the other side of the wall. "You might be a sassy little thing, but your thirst to be shown the ropes is palpable."

Much like Reaper did when Luke grabbed him, he felt the other man was going to charge, and was already prepared to step back as he was shoved, bracing himself with the Force so he didn't hit the wall as hard as Reaper likely hoped. He just fixed the drywall in another room because of one of Maul's tantrums -- he wasn't going to be stuck fixing another wall! Still, the impact and position did things to him that he wasn't expecting; his gaze remained calm and even, but the sudden sharp intake of breath and slight tremor in his body that Reaper definitely wasn't going to miss gave him away.

Still, he wasn't about to back down, pausing only to take a breath, before he decided to continue pushing buttons. Hey, he had dug himself a hole this far down; he may as well go all the way at this point, right?

"Careful, Reaper," he replied, his tone calmer than he felt at the moment, "I'm getting the impression we're talking about two different things now, considering any Force user listening could tell what you really wanted to say..."

He trailed off... before he let the calmness of his expression break into a smug little smirk, raising his voice as he continued:

"Especially the one listening in that constantly pretends not to yearn to hear such things directed at himself."

People really needed to stop underestimating him; just because he still had a bit of a naive streak to him, didn't mean he was stupid or ignorant. He knew not all of the mother henning Maul had foisted on him was because of his own injuries; he knew it had to be run off from something else, but it wasn't until Reaper had called him, clearly showing he knew who he was and who he frequently stayed with, that he had been able to put two and two together.

Really, the two of them had played themselves like teenagers.

Luke leaned back against the wall, his eyes focused up on Reaper, the casual little smirk still on his face as he waited for the chaos from calling them both out to erupt.

Alright, so Maul had been aware for quite some time that Reaper had entered the house and that he was messing with Luke. Really, he'd been just nosy enough to basically be listening right down the hall to what was going on. Apparently, he hadn't been nearly as subtle about it as he would have liked to think given both of them were aware he was there.

Since he'd been called out, Maul decided to own it. This was his house after all, so he strolled right into the room, glancing between where Luke was shoved up against the wall and where Reaper had his hands on him. There was a smirk on his face. "So have I been summoned to mop up the mess here between you two?"

Reaper issued a dark chuckle. From what he understood about this Force, it wasn't so easy to read much on his mind. His condition might have stabilized here in Trench, but his body was still in a state of flux which meant that parts of his brain were constantly regenerating and decaying. Sometimes even he found it amazing he could hold only thoughts that he had at any given moment.

"I bet you'd love some gun play," he remarked as Luke decided to prod at him further. He could tell that getting up close and physical with the kid always seemed to bring out an obvious reaction, and he was more than willing to tease that without going too far. Well, too far sexually, but hey, he knew Luke was all fine for being pushed around and bitten. "A little physical dominance and I can feel your knees grow weak...."

He turned his head from where he had Luke against a wall when Maul appeared, and he made a noise in his throat like he had been caught doing something he probably shouldn't have. "It's only the kid who is turning into a mess or making a mess of things," he remarked. Blame successfully shifted. "I only arrived to see you, but the kid makes it easy to get him hot and bothered. Only now is he bothered to show some teeth."

Luke swallowed as Reaper continued to push him, feeling a sharper shudder run down his spine. He had no idea what gun play was supposed to be, but his brain was being "helpful" in that regard, the mental image of Reaper's hand closing around his throat, squeezing in time to the rapid thumping of his heart as the cold steel of his weapon trailed down along bare skin. His cocky expression faltered, and he really felt his knees buckle slightly as he shifted uncomfortably against the wall and--

--Maul finally showed up.

He let out a breath in relief as Reaper was distracted, trying to take a moment to calm his heart, only to be distracted himself as the other man shifted the blame onto him.

"Please, you've been a problem since you smoked your way into the house," he grumbled, reaching out to try and shove Reaper away from him. "Maul, can you take him and do... whatever it is you two do so I can finish packing up?"

The faster he got out of here, the better right now.

Maul watched as Luke tried to shove Reaper away and 'helped' the process by leaning in, draping himself all over his lover from the back, looking at Luke over Reaper's shoulder. "Have I become so boring you're willing to mess around with some youngster?" Maul tutted and shook his head. "For shame." But then Luke got his attention again.

He turned towards the Jedi with a positively evil smirk on his face. "At this rate, I'm just going to let do what he wants with you, including possibly taking you down to the dungeon." Y'know, that sex dungeon Maul had in his basement and wasn't subtle about keeping the door to locked. It was a bit of the elephant in the house, not that it had gotten much use in the past few months with he and Reaper broken up. "You're positively adorable all confused as you are."

For how light and airy as he could be when he wanted to, Reaper was also extremely solid and barely shifted his weight when Luke shoved him. It helped that Maul had come over and began to drape on him. "You know me. I can't help push buttons when I see them flashing at me, and when the kid shows teeth, well, I've never been one to resist."

He smirked behind his mask and turned his head to look at Maul. "He has a developing bite fetish. He likes 'em dominant too," he remarked as if telling the Zabrak a secret. "I was just voicing to him that I thought a some gun play would make him weak at the knees, but now that I'm thinking about it, knife play is far more personal."

He bumped his mask 'nose' against Maul's cheek, even as he tilted his head to be able to keep Luke in his sights. "You ever been to Maul's sex dungeon?"

Luke gave Maul a look like he had just been betrayed. Oh, he knew what the dungeon was, not that he would ever admit that out loud. He had found it one day when he was poking around, looking for things to fix -- a locked door in the basement was more than enough to pique his curiosity, though he had initially left it alone. Eventually his curiosity had gotten too much, and he picked the lock when Maul wasn't home... and immediately regretted it. He was hoping for maybe some private reminders of a time past, something that maybe he could snoop around and get a better insight as to what the Zabraki was like, not a place that had clearly been used for torture at some point. Even if there had been some things in there he didn't understand the use of, he had gotten out of there as fast as he could after, locking the door behind him and deigning never to speak of it.

His hot reply of informing Maul that he had gotten quite good at escaping from holding facilities during his time in the Rebellion was cut short by Reaper opening his big, fat mouth again. He almost got in a snipe that he was right there and he didn't need to talk about him like he wasn't, but that was quickly cut short by the mention of knife play, his face turning an extra deep shade of red as his imagination ran off on him again.

And then he clarified what the dungeon was for.

Luke stared for a long moment, his brain struggling to process "sex" and "dungeon" in the same sentence. That... would explain some things... actually, that would explain a lot of things, and he was starting to feel a little dizzy from how much blood was rushing to his face in his deep, deep embarrassment.

"...you can't be serious," he managed to get out weakly, pushing his back against the wall like he could disappear into it.

Maul tapped Reaper's shoulder with a claw. "You are a holy terror and need to be kept in check." But it didn't sound like he was going to be reining in his lover anytime soon. Really, this was a positively delightful situation as far as Maul was concerned. It wasn't often he got the chance to team up with Reaper and tease someone like this, so he was more than willing to take the opportunity.

He was going to turn to Luke again when he suddenly sensed some thoughts radiating off the Jedi. Then he very nearly started cackling with delight as some of the mental images he could sense going on started to bleed through into his own mind. Oh, this was just too delicious for words. "You really need to work on your mental defenses, young Jedi. Otherwise someone might see something they really shouldn't." He whispered conspiratorially to Reaper as if Luke wasn't right there in front of him. "I'll show you what's going on in his head later on."

His fingers traced idle patterns on Reaper's armor and clothes as he continued to tease Luke. "Now, now, if you're interested in experiencing kinks like that, it should be done with someone experienced with them already and able to keep you in check. No need for this to get out of hand. What do you say, Jedi? Want us to drag you down there and show you a good time?"

This might have been the first carefree and relaxed bantering and play that he had had with Maul since their big blow out. There was no tension as the Zabrak leaned on him, and it felt better than it had any right to. He let his guard down further once he realized they both needed this if they had any hope of getting over the hurdle of the last month or two.

And Luke made it so very easy with going so red. Pale skin was the best for a flushed face that was for certain; Jack had been the same way on the rare occasions that the other soldier could be teased enough to blushing hard. "Are you space wizards have a mental commune with your wizard mind powers?" He smirked behind his mask. "Aww you always are so good at show and tell, Maul. Bet this kid could learn a thing or two...."

He made an amused noise, tilting his head as he regarded Luke. It didn't seem like the kid was going anywhere fast, but how far could they push before someone reached a line in the sand? Reaper was all about pushing limits when he could. "An experienced hand to show you the ropes is necessary. Fumbling around with a noob only gets people hurt. I think you should consider your safe word right about now..."

Luke didn't know it was possible for a person to blush so hard they'd turn purple, but he was pretty sure he was there at this point. He was better than this, he knew it, but between Reaper pushing every button he had and Maul calling him out on what his mind was running through, he also knew that he was crumbling fast. Still, Skywalker stubbornness was winning over Jedi serenity -- one of them was going to blink, one of them was going to back down, and he was determined not to be that one.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he let it out slowly, letting his unease and uncertainty go out with it and leaving his determination behind. With a faint noise, he pushed himself back up straight, still against the wall but standing his ground as he turned his gaze up to Reaper and Maul. He probably looked ridiculous, being so small and fighty in the faces of two older men, but he didn't care. Right now, nothing was going to make him back down.

"How about 'troll'?" he quipped, almost looking like he could stare right into Reaper's eyes through that mask of his.

"I think the poor boy is going to pass out if we keep this up much longer," Maul said, sounding pleased as punch with how Luke looked right now. This really was just the sort of bonding he and Reaper had needed to get back on track. Instead of tormenting each other, doing so to Luke was a good alternative. "Maybe we should let him leave to get some air." They were at a bit of a stalemate unless one of them wanted to grab Luke and physically drag him away for a good time. Best to let him run along and recover from his mortification so that they could keep bringing it up in the future at opportune moments.

Maul nipped at the clothed portion of Reaper's neck with his sharp teeth, his hands running over the armor on his mate's chest. "Unless he'd like to follow us down to the dungeon and take some notes."

Every instinct he had was to keep pushing the kid. One of the few things in his life that was fully intact since he was a young man was his willingness to troll people to submission, and Luke just made it so easy. Tough and sassy at first, but he clearly had the kid on the ropes given that Luke's face was as red as Maul's natural skin tone.

"As long as troll isn't a word that you use commonly in daily language speaking to people," he remarked silkily. At least the kid would learn a thing or two. "It has to be unique so that when spoken it will have immediate effect. That's what trust in such scenarios is all about. Words have power," he added just as silkily even if he was slowly loosening his grip.

Maul's urging to let Luke go was an excuse he could use that he didn't lose so much as he wasn't willing to risk the Zabrak. He hummed throatily then made a point of snapping his teeth together audibly behind his mask as Luke. "Hmm, Maul likes you a lot if he's sparing you from what I could show you. I've already opened the door, and you do seem shyly keen to walk through it."

He eased one arm back so he could set a hand on the back of Maul's head, careful of the horn back there. "He doesn't seem the follow-the-leader type."

Luke wanted to be a little bit smug, not expecting Maul to be the first one to bow out. He was definitely going to have to rub this in the Zabrak's face later; oh, it would probably lead to him getting his butt kicked the next time they sparred, but it would absolutely be worth it every time he could say, "Hey, remember that time you backed down when..."

Again, he wanted to be smug... but then Reaper had to open his big, fat mouth. Only instead of just the usual sarcasm, he... was talking about the seriousness of the situation and the trust involved in it. Even if he didn't have the Force telling him that it was something he was actually very serious about, then the way he treated Maul did. The way he held him, almost tenderly, and the fact that he was so familiar with him he didn't even need to look to know where his horns were...

Luke blew out a breath; oh no, he had definitely lost this one, even if there was no backing down involved.

He pushed himself away from the wall now that Reaper gave him the room to do so, letting his arms fall to his sides, deliberately keeping his posture open.

"I don't recall anywhere where I said I wasn't interested," he found himself saying, internally wanting to crawl into a hole and die over what he was about to get himself into. No one was ever going to find out about this. Ever.

Maul rested his chin on Reaper's shoulder, completely relaxed into the touch of his lover. This was Reaper's way, to mix in teasing with serious talk. Maul had more than gotten used to it by now. Pinning his mate down for a conversation where the two of them could talk about important subjects was difficult but it also meant the two of them found other ways to communicate besides just mere words.

Luke had been given an out and Maul fully expected him to take it. What he wasn't expecting is the words that came out of the young Jedi's mouth. The deep, throaty laugh that came out of Maul's mouth was positively devilish, especially combined with the smirk on his face.

"He certainly is eager, isn't he?" Maul said to Reaper. "Just like a little puppy dog." Then he directed his words back towards Luke. "You're digging yourself in deep here, young Jedi. Perhaps a little too deep."

There was a lesson to be learned even in biting sarcasm, not that he expected Luke to understand that. The kid did seem to listen a little, but there was something more to the way that Luke's attention seemed to shift from his words to his actions. Was that a little loneliness flitting across the kid's face at how close he and Maul were with each other? He knew similar looks, having them himself after decades not forming a romantic attachment to anyone before Maul.

His head tilted in curiosity at the challenge, and his hood touched Maul's skin as he made a soft growl of amusement. This one really didn't know when to stop walking into the lion's den, didn't he? "Like a puppy, indeed. I see a collar and leash in his very near future," he remarked casually before adding a nudge to Maul's side affectionately at the deep comment. "Soon to be balls deep if he keeps this up."

He reached out to draw his clawed gloved fingers lightly down the length of Luke's face. "Bark once for yes, twice for no, puppy."

Luke felt the humiliation creep up under his collar again at their words, not sure if he should be offended or not. Puppy? Really? Sure, he had been called worse in the last few years, but he wasn't sure if he was supposed to be insulted by it or not, not to mention that he was apparently expected to bark? How was he supposed to just bark? It's not like anyone had ever asked him to do that before!

He shifted uneasily on his feet, looking between the two of them, just knowing that he was opening himself up to be utterly and throughly humiliated. He wasn't sure if he was into that part of... well, all this or not, but there was no going back now.

"U-uhm... woof?"

Listening to Luke bark was one step too far for Maul and he just collapsed into helpless laughter at that reaction, counting on Reaper to help prop him up. Oh, if only he'd thought to record this situation on his Omni so he could look back at it later whenever he needed something to cheer him up with.

"That's it, we need to get him a nice little leather collar with spikes on it for the future," he barely managed to wheeze out before falling into cackles of laughter yet again. Luke had been given the opportunity to have a way out of this but nope. He seemed determined to let himself get humiliated by the pair instead.

Reaper snorted in amusement at Luke's admittance to wanting to be drawn into the fold of the world that generally just resolved itself around himself and Maul. They had not discussed a third, and he was a possessive being by nature. Luke was also more than half his age, and he struggled at times with the age difference between himself and Maul. He doubted that Luke had any idea how old he actually was.

Poor puppy.

His arm reached out to slip around Maul's waist to hold his lover up as the Zabrak came apart with laughter. It was good to see Maul laugh; things hadn't been particularly easy for them the last few months with the whole 'bond' thing going down. Even now, he was a touch on the suspicious side of Luke's motivations, but that too was his nature when someone was tiptoeing close to what was his.

"So desperate for affection you come barking to the absolute worst place to achieve it. You are a glutton for punishment, boy."

All right. Luke had enough.

His face steadily had gone from faintly pink to bright red all over again, his humiliation not helped in the slightest by the fact that neither one of them had bothered to try and touch him. And of course, that was made worse by the fact he wasn't sure he wanted them to actually do something or if he just wanted relief from this stupid game of chicken he got drawn into.

Or maybe both. He wasn't sure what he wanted at this point.

"Considering you're going so slow, I guess the only thing either of you are up for are just empty promises," he finally remarked in a huff, moving to slip around Reaper and go grab his pack.

Maul wondered how Luke had managed to stay conscious for so long when it appeared 95% of his blood had rushed straight to his head at this point. The other 5% he figured was rushing lower below the waist. Maul grinned. This had been a very entertaining time for him. "Aw, he's cute when he's an angry puppy," Maul said, still having to get that one last needling in as Luke went on full retreat.

He turned to look at Reaper. "Fun as this appetizer was, I think you and I should move on to the main course." He hadn't forgotten just why Reaper had initially stopped by.

Reaper let Luke go, watching the kid from where he was still holding Maul up. Then he was shaking his head as if disappointed. That's right: not mad, just disappointed. He issued a low growling disapproving sound soon after. Such an eager little puppy. "This puppy has a lot to learn." He pulled Maul hard against him. "So I'm going to give you a basic education right now. Listen up."

A smoky tendril curled off of his shoulder to nudge at Luke to make certain the kid was paying attention. "We all can toe a line, but Maul and I haven't discussed whether one or both of us is comfortable including a third in the mix. If you're serious about playing our games, you need to let us talk about it privately. That's what being in a relationship of this caliber requires." And he already was harboring bruised feelings that he would no longer talk about when it came to Maul's bond with that Kenobi man. "So, are you serious or are you playing?"

He still had a solid hold on Maul, even as he tipped his head to look at his lover. At least Maul was already riled up and looking to get some teeth on him. "Hungry, are you? Nothing keeps your libido down for long."

Luke didn't turn around, too preoccupied with trying to not be annoyed and have it leak out to every Force sensitive in Trench. He didn't want to deal with the hundreds of questions about why he was annoyed, and what was that frustration happening underneath that annoyance, because it was a challenge to hide that too.

"A speech like that is funny, coming from someone who started this nonsense in the first place," he bit back bitterly, finishing stuffing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder as he turned around... only to stop dead at the sight of him and Maul, and the very, very clear emotions bouncing between the two of them. He stared for an overly long moment, eyes slowly widening, a hand absently coming up to his neck...

He let out a shuddering breath, storming out of the room before things got worse, and trying not to think about how awkward it was to walk at the moment.

Maul tutted, half in real and half in faux disappointment. Really, this had been really fun for him, teasing the young Jedi in tandem with his mate. He spoke loud enough for Luke to be able to hear them on full retreat. "Aw, look at the poor little confused puppy. He'll have to figure things out on his own because I am not about to give him an education right now."

Then he hoisted Reaper easily over one shoulder, ready to take him on down to the dungeon and have his wicked way with him.

A Simple "I'm Sorry" is Enough

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