Tyed - Chapter 31: Chapter 31

The next morning, Lachlen agrees to meet Tyler later in the week, but mysteriously disappears again halfway through Tyler messaging him. Not that Tyler minds a whole awful lot, because he's prone to doing that too, and there are plenty of reasons. He dated Lachlen and knows he can get anxious.
Tyler understands his pain when he gets a message notification from Scarlett Marie Jackson and doesn't want to open it.
He stares at the message notification over breakfast. He doesn't know where Nancy is, and Shouto's at work, but last Tyler checked Tee was standing in the kitchen, until he hears a voice over his shoulder. "Who's that?"
Tyler jumps. "Uh- who's who?"
Tee points at his screen. "You're been staring at the message notification for way too long. I don't recognise the name. You're not doing anything with anyone else, are you?"
"What? No." Tyler hates accusations of that sort, because if they're wrong, then it usually requires the truth to correct them, and Tyler doesn't always want to tell the truth. So he tells a half truth. "She said she wanted to talk to me, and I don't know what exactly to expect."
The piece of the message that can be read from the notification says, I'm sorry I was so abrupt when we spoke in person. I hope you don't mind me aski...
"You don't want to give her the read notification and take forever to respond. Noble," Tee nods. "Although how strongly do you care what she thinks? I've never heard of this chick, you're taken now- unless you're not doing that whole monogamy thing anymore?"
"Stop insinuating I'm gonna cheat on Colby," Tyler snaps, even to his own surprise. He winces, now aware that that's a sore spot he has. "I just- uh- sorry. It's, um."
Tee whistles lowly. "Alright, damn. So who is she, then?"
Tyler feels bad for snapping. "Uh. His ex-wife."  He then feels a twinge of annoyance again, wondering if he's just been manipulated.
Tee leans down then, looking over Tyler's shoulder, close and excited. "Well then, read her message! It could be juicy!"
Tyler squints at him. "It could also be private."
Tee stares at him, raising an eyebrow. He's very close, and he doesn't back off.
Tyler rolls his eyes, holding his phone down and under the table. Tee moves then, sitting across from him at the table and waiting for Tyler to read the message on his own.
I'm sorry I was so abrupt when we spoke in person. I hope you don't mind me asking you a few questions as well? There's no easy or simple way to express my concerns, so I'm just going to do the best I can.
I'm not sure how you met Colby, or what you know about him. So I have to ask you first how you met him, before I explain that part of it?
What it would be worth telling you no matter what, however, is that everything he does wrong will be your fault, and you'll be to blame. That is what he'll say. If he makes a mistake, either it's a mistake and should be forgiven or it's your fault, but if you make a mistake you did it on purpose. That is how he acts. Even though he can't take blame, what you'll find much worse is that he won't accept that your mistakes are mistakes, or that some things are out of your control.
And I hope you know about our son.
Tyler reads through the message, scoffs, and shows it to Tee, figuring he can know. His initial confidence that it's just the ramblings of a jealous ex is shaken slightly when he remembers how short of a time he's known Colby for. He can think of times Colby apologised, or times Colby respected that Tyler's made mistakes or that things are out of his control, so it does indeed seem untrue. But some people don't show their true selves straight away, do they?
Tee reads through it with great interest, but the biggest eyebrow raise comes at the final line. "Colby's got a kid? Did you know that?"
"He did," Tyler corrects, and Tee winces a little at the unexpected downturn. "I expect that's what she means."
"Um, actually, I'm not so sure," Tee counters. "I know it's cringe to keep your kids from a partner, but I'm not sure dead kids count."
Tyler raised an eyebrow at 'cringe' and the casualness of 'dead kids', but he has to consider the point being made. "I'll ask," Tyler mutters. "Do you think there's another, living kid? If so, why would he mention the dead one only?"
Tee shrugs, and Tyler types up a response. This time, he lets Tee come back to stand behind him and read over his shoulder.
Hi, it's fine. For what it's worth we met at Pandora, I was there with a friend. I don't know if you know what that is but that's where we met.
Frankly, that doesn't sound true to me. I know you knew him for much longer than I have, but he's shown plenty of willingness to admit he's wrong or to accept when I make mistakes. Could you explain more?
And lastly, yes, I know you had a son. Altan.
Tee's the one to push Tyler to ask for more explanation on the second point. Tyler puts his phone down after sending that, rubbing his eyes.
"You think your sugar daddy's keeping some big secret from you?" Tee asks, a little grin on his face.
"Don't call him that," Tyler snaps. He just doesn't ever want to associate certain words with certain things, like that. "But honestly, no. Again, why mention Altan at all if there was something shady going on?"
"So if there's no secret," Tee tilts his head, "what's she on about?"
"She probably just wanted to know if I knew he existed. Like I thought. I doubt there's any shady business going on."
"Your life's so dramatic, Tyler," Tee says, leaning on his elbow on the table. "It's got to be exciting. You going to see Colby later?"
"A dramatic life isn't fun." It's miserable, and fearful, and anxiety-inducing, and what the hell is Scarlett trying to warn him of? Tyler's so afraid it's not as simple as it seems. "Yes, I am."
Tyler recalls that he's going to see Colby later because he broke a rule and he's going to be 'punished' for it. He doesn't know exactly what that entails, although a small, irrational part of him fears that there's at least some truth in Scarlett's statements and that somehow what Tyler agreed to was unfair. He doesn't feel like it is or was, and he feels safe enough to object to anything he doesn't want to do, but that seed of doubt is planted.
Tee's eyes are hooded, and he hmms lowly. "Maybe I should get myself a sugar daddy. You make it seem so easy and fun."
"I got hella lucky," Tyler mutters. Tee's leaning, honestly, a little too close. "But I can take you to the place I met him, if you want. That's where my friend Lachlen found his, too."
Tee takes a long sip of his coffee. "I'll consider your offer. Although I might also wonder."
He doesn't finish the sentence, leaning across the table even more. He's got eyeshadow on, and Tyler can see all the individual sparkles in it. "What?" Tyler asks, a familiar itch spreading. He feels it in his wrists, his stomach, the back of his neck, his lips.
"Would Colby want a threesome?"
That itch has a voice, and Tyler used to hear it all the time.
He'd be out somewhere and he'd meet someone new. Cute enough, cool, being nice to him. They'd lean close like this and say something, and Tyler would get that itch. It would whisper, do it. It would whisper, may as well. It'll be over before tomorrow. It might feel good, it might not, but you're good at it and they want it so give it. Who cares that you're out of their league? You're not, really, not if they knew what a monster you really are.
It would whisper, kiss them. Do it. It's what you do.
He looks at Tee's eyeshadow and the way his eyes are slowly blinking, and he looks at Tee's grin, and that voice whispers. It whispers, do it. Tank it. Colby's going to leave you anyway when he finds out what you are. May as well ruin it now. Leave before it gets complicated. Leave before things change. Tee's cute enough. He wants it, you're good at it, do it.
Tyler reaches up and grips the metal around his neck, looking away. "No idea," Tyler says, "but it'd be something I'd have to ask first."
Tee doesn't look that disappointed, and Tyler wonders if he imagined it. Tee leans back and downs the rest of his coffee. "You mean I can't steal your hot rich sugar daddy from you?"
That itch disappears and is replaced with a twinge of annoyed jealousy. Tyler says his true feelings and plays it off as a joke, grinning. "Fuck off. Never. He's mine."
Tee stands up, grinning. "Jealous ex replied yet?"
Tyler stares at his phone. She's typing. As Tee goes to the kitchen to rinse out his mug, the message pops up and Tyler can't even pretend he hasn't read it immediately.
I do know what that is. I suppose if you met there there's little I have to warn you about. Just know that you should very much consider what you truly want. Don't do anything you don't want to do, however much you feel you should.
In our case, he took an incident that was out of my control as evidence of infidelity, as one big example. Things in general got out of hand, but he didn't seem to understand that I was doing my absolute best. Even looking back now, there's nothing I could have done better, and yet he blames me for why our marriage broke down. I know this isn't a great explanation, but a lot of what happened is personal to me, some things even Colby didn't know. I've tried to speak to him about it recently, but he doesn't want to talk to me, even now. I'd rather speak to him before telling you everything, if that's okay.
I'm frankly surprised he told you about Altan. It doesn't sound like he told you everything, however. His death was an accident, but Colby could've prevented it and didn't.
Tyler stares at the message, reads it twice, and locks his phone.
Tee comes back in. "You didn't answer me. Did she respond?"
Tyler bites the inside of his lip. "No."
He did break an established rule. Colby's not blaming him for anything he didn't do. Scarlett's implication that Tyler might be being pressured or blamed or whatever isn't really true. And as far as Tyler's seen, Colby has accepted when things are out of his control. He's been good with Tyler's PTSD so far, and accepted it when Tyler couldn't do things or when he messed up.
But Colby even admits that there are points in which he was wrong, and Tyler knows that writing Scarlett off as wrong and insane could be a mistake on his part if she turns out to be right. Tyler really should investigate Colby's side before making any decisions. He really should.
But what the fuck did Scarlett mean that Colby could've prevented his son's death?
That, Tyler decides in the moment, he's going to write off as a lie. He's going to assume Scarlett made up some bullshit and none of it is true, and she's just covering for her own mistakes. He can only hope that what he's stubbornly choosing to believe is right.
He leaves Scarlett on read. Mainly because he has no idea how he's supposed to respond.
Tyler heads over to Colby's house in the afternoon. He changes his clothes, but he still wears the jacket Colby bought him, mainly because it's kinda his new favourite jacket. The gentle gold colour suits him. He holds the metal around his throat and wonders if he recognises himself anymore.
He's nervous to some degree showing up at Colby's house. He doesn't know what to expect. The nerves don't translate to fear; he's certain that it won't go too far, no matter Scarlett's warnings. It won't be anything he truly doesn't want to do. But he doesn't know what to expect, and the unknown can be unnerving.
Colby looks as casual as ever letting him in. "It's a nice day," Colby remarks; his sleeves are rolled up, and his gaze is unreadable. Tyler goes to head up the stairs, but Colby stops him with a word. "No."
Tyler turns to Colby then, and his mind empties. Colby's gaze is good at doing that. The steady yellow stare shoots down Scarlett's words running through Tyler's mind, shoots down the uneasiness he feels at just how close he got to kissing Tee today, shoots down the worry of telling Lachlen the truth (even though it's just a test for the real thing, which is telling Colby within the month), shoots down the worry about his father. All of it's gone under Colby's steady gaze, and with him, Tyler steadies too.
There's a conversation they need to have, but not now. Tyler would rather put it off, anyway. "Okay," he says, following Colby down the hall and into the room they first had sex in. It's not a sex dungeon per se, but it does appear to be, in a way, a sex room. Colby would bring one-night stands here instead of to his own bed.
Which makes it a privilege, Tyler thinks, to sleep in Colby's bed. It makes him a boyfriend, not just a fling. He knew that already, but it feels nice to be able to point to something that proves it.
The room looks smaller than Tyler remembered it being. On the bed sits a single black box, and Tyler stares at it pointedly before looking back at Colby.
Colby walks over to the box before he meets Tyler's gaze. He raises a single eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
Tyler looks down at himself, decidedly doing nothing. "Nothing?"
Colby looks unimpressed, although a glimmer in his eye says he knows what he's doing. "Close the door and get on your knees, doll."
"Oh." Colby didn't tell him to do that. Memories of Scarlett's messages run through Tyler's head- was he being manipulated?- before Colby frowns slightly, like he's confused, and Tyler remembers that he's being stupid and this is part of the game.
And he's as much in charge as he wants to be. And he doesn't want to be much in charge, really.
He closes the door and gets on his knees.
That small frown becomes a small smirk, which Tyler doesn't react to. Colby opens the box. "Take off your collar," he says, and there's a clinking of metal in the box.
It suddenly occurs to Tyler what might be in that box, and he swallows and does as he's told.
Colby's pleased to look over and see Tyler followed his instructions. "Good," he says. "Come here."
Tyler goes to stand, before thinking perhaps he shouldn't, before realising the only other possibility is crawling and he feels kind of humiliated doing that, but-
"Come here, doll. Now."
Tyler rises and walks over.
Colby slowly raises a hand and for a moment Tyler thinks he's going to get slapped, which he doesn't want, but Colby grips his chin, making him look up. "I'll go easy on you, since we just started, and this is new," Colby says lowly, his voice plucking at something deep in Tyler's chest. "...but in this room, and when you are wearing this collar, which you are about to be, we are in the scene. That means you listen to me, and do as I say. And did I tell you to get up and walk, or did I tell you to get on your knees, and then come here?"
Tyler takes Scarlett's advice and takes a moment to consider whether or not he actually wants this.
He's used to getting yelled at or getting told off. Usually there's a lot more actual anger, and in many cases those people held no power over him. His mother had no importance in the household, no more than he did. Between friends, or from teachers who didn't know him and couldn't control him. Partners, as brief as they all were. Tyler never felt like he had to listen to anyone, really, except his dad, and his dad never explained anything. If Tyler had made a mistake like that with him, he would've just hit Tyler. Unless they were in the bedroom, where he was too nice, sickeningly nice, patient and admiring Tyler's beauty.
Tyler didn't feel like he had to listen to Colby. There was a pull to do as Colby said, but if he wanted to turn around and walk out the door, he could. He didn't feel like he couldn't. That pull he felt was a simple desire to please Colby, to do as he wanted.
Colby didn't get mad, either, but when Tyler made a mistake- a minor one, yes, but one he would've got hit for as a child- Colby just explained it, in that even tone. Maybe, if Colby were being a little stricter, he would've gotten hit for that too, but Colby seemed to know just when to do and say everything. When it felt right, and when it felt wrong.
Pride, though, is the barrier. "You said..." Tyler begins, but although his worries are breaking down they're still there.
Colby raises an eyebrow and stares. When Tyler tries to look away, the grip on his chin tightens until he meets Colby's eyes again.
"You didn't say to stand," Tyler finally manages. It's hard to get out, but it feels like a relief when it falls from his lips. Colby lets go of him and Tyler drops like a stone to the floor, before organising himself and kneeling properly, ready.
It's the new collar, exactly as Tyler thought. Colby leans down and clicks it around his neck. It's soft, comfortable, sitting nicely against Tyler's throat. He reaches up to touch it, running his fingers over it. It's much bigger and more obvious than the metal one; every time Tyler moves his head or neck, he feels it.
Colby's thumb runs over Tyler's cheek, and Tyler meets Colby's eyes. He's smiling so softly and Tyler's almost taken by surprise. "There, my doll."
My doll.
Tyler's stomach does several flips at the thought of officially being Colby's. He reaches up to touch the collar again as it takes on new meaning.
Colby begins unbuttoning his shirt, ever so slowly. Tyler recalls the first time when Colby didn't undress at all. "As good as those clothes look on you, I need them off," Colby says while Tyler's busy swimming is his eyes. "And then get on the bed."