Do you remember?

Hey there, everybody. Barrie18, oh, yes, honey, luckily RL is kinder to me this days, so here\'s another chapter. :) A little jolt, you say? I was preparing this for Iason for a long time. Yet, maybe it is not what anyone would have expected. It seems I\'m pretty dense of planting hints. But I hope it makes sense in the end. A little more on Jupiter\'s plans, but the mystery will continue (hey, she\'s always the ace up my sleeve), don\'t blame me too much for that.



Jishe, you are so right to be suspicious. I\'m working hard on Jupiter\'s part in all this, I only promise that will be complicated and mind blowing. Ha, ha, I\'m laughing at my own craziness here!



DTE, yes, Raoul gets to see more, especially in a mongrel pet. :)



I hope I didn\'t forget anyone. I hope you will enjoy this new chapter.





- What are you going to do about Iason, Raoul? Riki’s voice was filled with unspoken worries.

- I really don’t know.

It was unusual to see Raoul with a cigarette dangling between his long, elegant fingers. He blew smoke out, and let his head cool on the window glass. With his eyes closed, he tried to make sense of the things that happened between him and his best friend. And there another matter, of this strange pet, whose presence, so warm, so real, had started to change him in ways he had not believed to exist for an individual like him.

- Do you know, Riki, why I really kept you here, with me?

- You told me. You wanted me to act as a sensual catalyst between you and Iason.

- It was not that. Not at first, at least.

- What … do you mean, Raoul?

Riki felt a chill down his spine. He didn’t like the cold undertone in Raoul’s voice.

- It was actually Jupiter’s idea.

- What?!

- Me, to seduce Iason, so he can have someone to bed and get rid of this strange obsession. Caused by you. Riki, Jupiter thinks that Iason just needs the sexual release, no matter who is on the other end of the deal.

- But … me, what is it, about me?

- She didn’t make much sense. She said it would be too troublesome for Iason to not see you at all. That the missing factor will cause him to try to find out what is really amiss. Some sort of phantom sensation, eased by a real life surrogate. You.

- That’s nonsense. What do you think, Raoul?

- I think, Riki, … that Jupiter is a bad liar and she is hiding something.

- Why are you telling me all this?

- Because I feel I can trust you.

Riki came next to his Master and circled his waist with his arms, letting his head to rest between Raoul’s shoulder blades.

- Why?

- You are a good …

- Pet?

- No. Friend.

A moment of silence fell to let new realities sink in. Riki embraced Raoul.

- You know, Raoul, we are supposed to be rivals.

- Because we supposedly have to fight over Iason’s heart?

Raoul snorted after the question. Riki frowned a little.

- Aren’t we?

- I would have thought it rather obvious.

- What?

- Even mind-wiped, Iason still prefers you.

- I’m afraid it’s just sex for him.

Raoul turned to keep Riki in his arms, too.

- I was so imposing ever since you came here. I have never asked you how you feel.

- Pretty much terrible. I miss Iason.

- It figures. He loves you.

- He’s not himself anymore.

- I didn’t want to do it.

- Jupiter …

- I must admit my responsibility. It was not only her fault. I was blind.

Another moment of silence followed. Raoul caressed Riki’s hair absently. Riki dared:

- Raoul, do you really love Iason?

- I do. But I’m not sure I want him. I guess I wanted you more than I ever wanted him. Maybe it’s just friendship I have for him. I’m not sure anymore.

Confusion and tiredness were written all over Raoul’s graceful features.

- When did you want me the first time?

Raoul smiled.

- Do you want the truth?

- Yes.

- The first day I brought you here. You were like a wild cat, so I was afraid to touch you, but I wanted to know what it is about you that makes Iason so head over heels.

Riki blushed.

- Do you really think he loves me that much?

- Yes, Riki, I do not humour you. I took you out of his mind because I was afraid that such an obsession was dangerous and it would bring him to perdition.

- What about now?

- Now, I’m not afraid anymore. He was better when he was with you. Softer. Now he’s a cruel bastard.

- Raoul … what are you going to do about Iason?

- You have asked me this already.

- I still want to know.

- I still don’t have an answer.

Raoul’s jaw was so tight, Riki could almost hear teeth grinding sounds.

- Do you hate him?

- At this moment, I think I do. I don’t want him near me. Nor you.

Riki tensed.

- Why?

- He wants to take you away from me.

- And you?

- I don’t want to … lose you.

The mongrel felt his heart beating faster and faster. What was happening to Raoul? He had just told him they were friends. Raoul’s grip tighten around him, panicking him furthermore.

- Raoul … what’s wrong?

- There’s nothing wrong. Is not a Master allowed to feel for his pet?

- Raoul!

- You belong to me now. I don’t care what they say. I don’t care about Iason Mink.

- You’re confused! Iason just raped you! I befriended you, for cryin’ out loud! Why are you doing this to me?

Raoul bent and kissed Riki against his will. The boy squirmed, trying to release himself. Much to his surprise, Raoul let him. The look of betrayal in Riki’s eyes spoke volumes.

- Am I your friend or your pet?

- Both, Raoul answered, dragging again from his forgotten cigarette.

- I’m in love with Iason!

- Would you go back to him, if I let you? Forget about Jupiter, just hypothetically.

- Of course I would!

- He treated you so badly. I would never do that.

- But you do. Maybe you think you’re different, Raoul, but you and Iason, are so much alike. You just enter Master mode and want everything to happen your way. You don’t care about my feelings!

- I would never chain you, or force you to perform, or collar you to show you in public like an animal! How can you love this bastard?

Riki laughed bitterly.

- So much for your love for Iason, Raoul!

Something in Riki’s words hit home. He laughed, too, sadly.

- I guess I am a bastard, too. But I don’t know what to do, Riki, about him, about you. I’m starting to think this is Jupiter’s punishment for me, because right now, I feel so twisted I can hardly think.

Riki turned his back.

- Please, stay with me!

The pleas sounded so true, that the dark haired youth stopped dead in his tracks. Raoul continued in the same tone.

- What am I to do, Riki? I thought Iason was living perfection, and now I see him as he is: selfish and mean. On the other hand, you were so kind to me. I used to think that you were nothing but a strange creature, with no brain and no looks. Now I see you how you truly are. Iason doesn’t deserve you.

- And you do?

- I want to try. It costs you nothing. What if Iason never remembers? Jupiter won’t let you go back to him. Let me at least be the next best thing. You’re here, anyway.

- This is totally fucked up, Raoul, and you know it.

- I know. And I want to offer you something back.

- What?

- I will let Iason be with you as many times as he asks.

- But you will not give me back to him.

- No. It is the best I can do for you to be with him.

- Will you try to fuck him, too?

- I don’t want him to touch me. It makes me sick.

Riki thought for a dear moment that it was maybe the best arrangement for the given moment. But he didn’t want illusions.

- You will pass over it. You will want him again.

Raoul looked at him pensively.

- You think?

- Yes. Iason is a seducer. He will have you, if that is what he wants. Will you tell him the truth about the fact that you and him have never been together? Because, otherwise, he will not give up on you.

- Come here. I want you in my arms.

The mongrel just sighed and went into Raoul’s open arms. Why were these Blondies so complicated?



Iason was talking to Katze in front of his henchman’s office in Ceres, when something weird caught his eye. Annoyed, he tried to identify the source of his sudden discomfort as he sensed someone watching him. He looked around until his eyes reached a grey-eyed mongrel fixing him with a murderous gaze. He silenced Katze with a brisk gesture and he went directly at the strange man.

- How do you dare, mongrel?

The man grinned and then, Iason noticed he was not alone. His arm was hanging loose over a lithe male’s shoulders. Cute specimen, Iason thought, letting a short appreciative look pass over him. The little mongrel tried to flash a seductive smile at him. He was interrupted by a loud smack over his head.

- Get lost, Kiri. If I don’t find you home when I get back, your ass is fried.

The boy scurried away, sensing that the menace was the real deal. Iason looked down on the grey-eyed man.

- What? The man asked. You want him, too? At least return the other one.

- What on Amoi are you talking about, mongrel?

The mongrel laughed hoarsely.

- Are you knocked in the head or what, Blondie? I’m talking about your fucking habit of stealing my boyfriends.

Iason felt a punch in his gut, upon hearing these words. His head was about to burst from the velocity of tying up missing links. A dark mongrel, his smile, the lithe body in chains, Iason over him, asking him to provide better stimulation, the first kiss, the first night of mindless sex, the pain, the hatred, the wanting, the longing, those grey eyes fixing him, filled with jealousy, the come back, … , the love, sweet whispers, his own soul falling, feeling, …. Riki! Iason’s eyes flew open so wildly that they made the man in front of him jump and assume a fighting stance. He did not care about him anymore. He turned on his heels, entered the car, ignoring Katze’s frightened look.

- Iason, what are you going to do? Katze tried to ask, holding Iason’s car door, more like trying to keep him, rather than as a sign of respect.

- I’m going to kill him. And, Katze, consider it a death wish if you try to warn him. I will know it was you. And if you pass it to somebody else, you’re still dead.

The tone of his voice made Katze tremble. The door slam shut.