The Broom Closet (Aeluri/Ahote)

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With the doors closed and the building empty, Boomslang had finally closed after yet another night of drinking and dancing, people grinding up against each other in their insatiable appetite for lust and fun while some drank themselves drunk in order to drown away the misery that was their nine-to-five jobs. It was easy to say that being a man with a history like his own, a criminal underworld of ne'er-do-wells and formidable allies and traitors, that he had a pretty good judgment of character and could read people better than most. It was a byproduct of his cynical personality, after all. But after opening and running Boomslang for quite some time now, he's run into characters ransacked with depression and regret, masking their problems behind some of his inexpensive but quality liquors or the amazing atmosphere he had created for them. It felt easier to identify people who were struggling with some sort of inner-war now that he was the owner of a bar and club, and yet for as much as he could estimate correctly about complete strangers who entered Boomslang, he's been thinking more about the people who weren't strangers in his life.

Iris and Aeluri had been with him for a long time now—ever since he inherited his mother's guild, if he recalled correctly. They hadn't been with him forever, but they were there through important parts of his journey. They shared his first (and last) drink with him when his life was crumbling apart, and over time, they became more than subordinates or colleagues, and just became his friends. Even Baird, who was only a recent addition to their clique, became a companion after only a short period of time with the group. And then there was Icarus, who was... a whole other situation, really. In short, they were dumbasses, but they were his dumbasses, although he'd never inflate their ego so much and tell them that to their face. Or in writing. Ever.

In any case, when he decided to move past the burden of the baggage of his guild and family, he realized how little he knew about the people he cared most about. As sappy and cheesy as it was, he felt a little guilty and self-absorbed for never wondering about it until now. His mind was clear of the weight of his past, and he wanted to replace those thoughts with something more informative. In a way, he wanted to repay them in a weird way.


"Huh?" Ahote squinted, gathering a rag, latex gloves, and a bottle of disinfectant in order to wipe down a table, but was left surprised to find the bottle suspiciously light. It was empty, of course, but he could've sworn he replaced it just recently. Maybe he was distracted with Icarus lately, and his thoughts were more cluttered than he realized. Well, no matter. There was more in the broom closet. He at least was rather diligent and meticulous about his inventory.

He donned one of his various appearances, this time with short, wavy dark hair and smooth, sensitive white skin. Regardless of which form he took on, he was simply an attractive man and always remained stoic-looking despite the change in looks. He was wearing a traditional bartending uniform with a white apron wrapped around his waist as he walked over to the back of the building, where the broom closet was.

When Ahote opened it up, it was no surprise that the closet had brooms, disinfectant bottles, among other cleaning supplies or items stored away for future use. He didn't think too hard about it, grabbing the first one he saw in the several that lined up next to one another on the middle shelf in the back of the closet. Nothing special, except...


The disinfectant he was meaning to take didn't actually come off the shelf, sticking to it and instead triggering something. What it triggered was the opening of a secret door, where he could hear several small and complex mechanisms turning and clicking within the walls to reveal something quite... terrifying. Sex toys, handcuffs, ropes, questionably uncomfortable-looking chairs, a wall literally dedicated to whips and items that reminded him a lot of his own manhood, and a bed that easily looked like two king-sizes large. The room was candlelit and smelled like... he didn't know what it smelled like, but it looked a fucking sex dungeon.

Ahote's face was quite priceless, at this point. It wasn't anger or disgust, it was just wild disbelief and horror like he was still in the middle of processing the very existence of this room. He was so frozen with a shock that his hand hadn't even let go of the tactically placed disinfectant bottle as he stared into the candlelit room with a wide-eyed, scrunched-brow face. He was in such a horrifying limbo between shock and terror that he was trembling a little, but he finally managed to muster out a few words that accurately described his mental state at the moment.

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Since the era of Basilisk Fang had ended, Aeluri had found herself falling into a more structured lifestyle. After a while of wandering and scraping by with the Buzz Killers, they all had joined the same guild. Working for Hidden Blades gave her constant work and a place to live. With purpose and money, she felt stable for once in her adult life. It was odd, and at times she wished for a little more chaos.

When Basilisk Fang disbanded, she hadn’t expected to stick around the remaining members. For a few years before then, she’d always survived just fine alone. Looking out for herself, and only herself, was the life she knew. With her father dead and her mother reduced to a shaking shell of a human being, her teen years had been an experience that hardened her into a self-preserving adult. Unreliable neighbors and a family unwilling to help her mother had turned the girl to a cynic.

However, the explosion that rendered the castle on Mt. Hakobe to rubble had brought the team closer together. The three had stuck together like glue after then, not that she could have gotten rid of Iris if she tried. Now, for the first time, she found her hardened shell of self-reliance crumbling a bit. The Buzz Killers and Boomslang were something constant in her life. She could always count on the alcohol - it was a bar after all. It was a place she felt at home even more than her room in the Hidden Blades headquarters. But the team had provided her with things she didn’t know she needed: companionship, socialization, trust.

Oh, and sex. That was something she and Iris had started shortly after they met. It was nothing serious, no emotions or commitments. Neither seemed the type to be interested in each other that way. It was just a release, a way to have fun and satiate their needs. Of course, they needed a place to get into the really spicy stuff. It was mostly Iris’ idea, but Aeluri had been willing to help with it. He created a secret room behind a hidden door in the broom closet of Boomslang. The closet had been the bar’s hookup spot for a while, so it was the perfect place to hide a secret dungeon.

This very room was where Aeluri currently sat. Candles lit the space. Though she didn’t need light, as she had excellent night vision, the little flames provided a nice ambiance. The dim light gave shape to all the various tools and toys hung on the walls and the specialized furniture around the room. They had amassed quite the collection. She had discovered over time that she was a sadist, which worked perfectly with Iris’ masochism. Some of the whips and paddles looked more like torture weapons than anything. They were her favorites.

Occupying a stool at a little desk in the corner, she was cleaning off several items. She wasn’t the neatest person in the world, but she preferred keeping her things tidy in here. The whirring and clicking of the hidden door’s opening mechanism reached her ears. Perhaps Iris had come back. Keeping her eyes on her task, Aeluri called out towards the door.

“Iris~” she purred, thinking the ocular mage was in the doorway. “I just cleaned off the bullwhip if you’re ready for more.” There was no response, no footsteps to signal an approach. Tilting her head, Aeluri furrowed her brow. It couldn’t be Iris then, he probably would have been on the giant bed in the room in seconds. Was it Baird?

She turned just as a voice met her ears. The last person she expected to be here stood in the doorway, the bottle that acted as a switch for the door still in his hand. Ahote was still dressed in the waiter’s outfit as the bar had just closed recently. The sight of the room and all its amenities seemed to shock him. The expression on his face was one of horrified confusion that she had never seen before. Jumping to her feet, she dropped everything on the desk. What was Ahote doing in here? She thought he didn’t know about this place.

It wasn’t necessarily that the rest of the Buzz Killers had hid the dungeon-like room from him, its existence just never seemed to come up. Aeluri was certain that Iris had tried to get Ahote in the broom closet at least a few times, but based on her teammate’s expression as he stared into the secret room, it was clear the truth of what going in the closet meant was never explained or shown in full. Honestly, she was surprised he hadn’t discovered the entrance on his own before now. It had been there for quite a while and the disinfectant bottle trigger wasn’t hidden very well.

Aeluri walked to the corner of the massive bed and took a seat, the mattress compressing slightly beneath her. She crossed her ankles since her toes barely touched the floor. “Ahote.” A cool tone remained in her voice. Red tipped fingers beckoned him into the candlelit room. There was some serious explaining to do, and since Baird and Iris weren’t here, it fell on her to tell Ahote what really went on behind the broom closet of Boomslang.

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Post WC: 890 ✦ Thread WC: XXX ✦ Tagged: @Ahote ✦ Job Info: X ✦ Music: Link

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In the corner of a room, polishing an assortment of unfriendly looking items was none other than Aeluri. The other Buzz Killers weren't known for their neatness and organization, and yet she was treating those toys with the best care he had ever seen her give. She invited him inside under the presumption that he was Iris, an alluring cadence in her voice as she played with the idea of using the bullwhip again, but Ahote was still suffering from the astonishment of the room's very existence to correct her. However, judging by the long, awkward pause between them after Ahote's unsuppressed surprise, it was clear that it was neither Iris, Baird, or any other frequent visitor that she was expecting.

"What... is this? Since when was this even..." the dark-haired man began, his voice rising and falling from silence as he weaved in between thoughts, unable to complete one without finding something else to wonder about as he looked around. When Aeluri had beckoned him inside, Ahote was hesitant to step a foot inside what looked to be a sex dungeon. Part of him wanted to slowly back away from the broom closet, quietly close the door, and pretend that he hadn't seen a thing. But on the other hand, knowing that this room existed was enough to keep him up for days and he knew that he couldn't live with himself if he didn't listen to what Aeluri had to say right now. His eyes were wide still with lingering anxiety and surprise—he felt like he was about to have 'the talk'.

After a moment to collect himself, Ahote swallowed hard when he walked deeper into the room, sitting next to Aeluri with an arm's length between them. He didn't look at her eyes, and he ended up looking down at the ground. It didn't last long, though. Not even ten seconds of his wide-eyed staring had passed before his gaze started nervously wandering around the room again, looking at all of the toys and gadgets sprawled across walls and neatly put away in containers. Some of the items were obvious in what they were used for, but some looked so strange and foreign that Ahote couldn't even begin to wonder what could possibly be done with them. Everything seemed to be in pristine condition, and the room was warm and slightly aromatic with the candlelight. He felt uncomfortable with how appealing and clean this room looked.

"I don't even know where to begin..." Ahote droned on, unsure of whether he should've been curious or angry. He thought he had known this property like the back of his hand, but this was just the surprise he never asked for. Slowly, his eyes wandered from wall to wall until they landed onto Aeluri's, staring at her at a loss for words.

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Ahote seemed hesitant when she beckoned him to take a seat with her on the giant bed. The sight before him was probably still settling in. There certainly was a lot to see in this room, and not everything was easy to identify. Aeluri waited to see what he would do, her eyes showing a mild amusement at just how baffled he was.

When at last he crept into the room like a mouse that knew a cat was nearby, he took a seat a safe distance away from Aeluri. “I won’t bite,” she teased, but she absolutely would. Ahote wouldn’t meet her eyes at first, so she casually observed her fingernails as she waited for him to finish looking around.

Mismatching eyes flickered upward as she felt his gaze return to her. Silence fell between them for a moment longer after Ahote’s question. Where to begin? Straightening her back a bit, Aeluri gestured around the room. “This,” she said with a wry grin, “Is exactly what it looks like.” Though she found her own answer amusing, it didn’t lend the explanation he was seeking.

With a quiet sigh, she continued. “Iris and I built this room a while back. Room? Sex dungeon? Whatever you want to call it." She shrugged flippantly. "The broom closet wasn’t big enough for multiple people so we installed a bigger space. Besides, who wants to fuck with the smell of bleach in their nose? I think the candles are much nicer, don’t you?”

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Post WC: 1,139 ✦ Thread WC: 2,465 ✦ Tagged: @Ahote ✦ Job Info: X ✦ Music: Bad Behavior