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The Entity really doesn’t tire of finding new ways to torture them. New faces to haunt them, new settings to offer some variety to their suffering. Barely any of it neither worries nor excites Ace much these days. After all this time spent in this hell, he’s gotten pretty much used to all of it.
And yet, he must admit… The Sleepless District is a stunning place. An urban landscape, pervaded by narrow winding streets and diverse shops, illuminated by vibrant neon lights. It’s an overwhelming mess. A labyrinth just waiting to be explored. Regrettably, the time in trials is awfully restricted, so Ace has no other choice but to venture out when he’s not right in the process of getting chased by some bloodthirsty sociopath or straight-up monster.
It’s a shame most of the others are too scared to leave the campfire, especially to places that aren’t certain to be safe. Most of them are easily convinced to some stargazing on Glenvale, because they know Slinger doesn’t really care for them outside of trials. Occasionally, he can coax Renato and Thalita to accompany him to Ormond, and as much as they generally dislike the cold, who could say no to a snowball fight, especially when some of the more sociable Legion members join them now and again?
But just like the Trickster, this place is a little too off-putting for most of them. So Ace goes out on his own. What’s the worst that could happen? Dying? Well.
So after some hours of checking out the market and the shops in the high streets, he’s now unwinding at the nightclub. A bottle of vodka dangling between his fingers, he sinks deeper into the plushy leather of the VIP booth, closing his eyes for a moment while the basses of the music boom in his ears.
He can’t believe he’s actually found something digestible - and then alcohol, of all things! The rest of the bottles, just like the stuff on the market, were all fake, so he’s wondering whether this little thing has been an oversight or rather intentional; just another thing to remind Ace of the world out there, and of what he’s missing. It’s depressing, and yet he pours the stuff down his throat without a second thought.
The buzz is really starting to kick in, and he’s sure the others would regret they didn’t come along if only they knew what he’d found, but that thought vanishes as soon as he opens his eyes and is suddenly face to face with Tae-young. And the boy is seething.
“You’re a goddamn rat, and I’m going to tell the whole camp about it!” Tae-young hisses, towering above him. He’s tall, sure, but his lanky build isn’t exactly intimidating, no matter how much he appears to shake with anger. So Ace doesn’t bother to sit up. Instead, he tilts his head and watches the boy curiously.
“Hello to you too, little prince,” Ace says smoothly. Mildly surprised about the boy’s presence - so far from the campfire, and especially right here, in the lion’s den, considering how much Trickster seems to detest the newcomer - he carefully hides his curious interest behind the bottle as he takes another swig.
Tae-young isn’t all too satisfied with that reply. He huffs, the delicate lines of his face pulled into an irritated frown.
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”
Ace snorts and shrugs his shoulders.
“I’m not deaf yet, so yeah. Loud and clear. So what?” Despite acting so casual, his eyes flash with a challenge, and thankfully, Tae-young is so easily baited into accepting it.
“What do you mean ‘so what’? Tae-young sounds genuinely baffled.
“Go. Tell them. Want me to come with you? Would love to watch.” Ace’s eyes widen in feigned interest while the boy watches him like he’s losing his mind, bafflement morphing into genuine distaste.
“Are you insane? Or actually just really daft?” Tae-young asks. His lips are pressed into a thin line and he’s blinking a little too fast. Ace wonders how far he can push him.
“No, but I’m starting to think you are,” Ace answers swiftly, deciding it’s time to finally sit up. He sighs, taking some time to stretch before he actually does so. When he meets Tae-young’s stare again, it’s not any less intense than before, though. “I mean, just go for it. Why even tell me about it? I don’t care. You think they have any reason to believe you - the arrogant fucking newcomer?”
And before his eyes, the boy starts to shrink. Just a little, trying so hard to make it unnoticeable, but Ace notices all the same. He sees his wavering gaze, the way his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. As unimpressive as Ace has always considered him to be. But at least he manages to get himself together again. Maybe he’s got backbone, after all.
“You call me arrogant? You? Of all people? And after you fed me to the killer? Are you serious? You’re willing to sell out your own team, and yet you talk like that to me?”
Ace rolls his eyes at the theatrical tone of his voice, can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of his accusation.
“You think you’re part of the team? How hilarious.”
Tae-young scowls at that, but for a moment he really doesn’t know how to respond. Next to his sides, his fingers twitch, ball into fists. Interesting. Ace basks in the sight, lets that violent energy hang in the air between them before he goes for the killing blow.
“You're so scared no one will ever truly understand you, huh?” Ace asks, fake-pouting, and watches as Tae-young’s eyes grow wide with horror. ”That’s why you want to tell them, right? Not out of some urge for justice. No, you think they’re gonna accept you then. Can’t earn that by yourself, so you gotta use someone else, huh?” And Ace laughs quietly, shaking his head. “But you think you're so special, mh? So complex? I think you’re pretty shallow, actually.”
Tae-young gasps, mouth opening and closing, like a fish out of water.
“I told Miss Lee about that in confidence.”
“Well, Yun-jin gets pretty talkative, especially with a head buried between her legs,” Ace explains casually, flashing the boy a smirk.
And now, Tae-young looks completely aghast. Like he can’t believe Ace would share something so intimate out of nowhere. Just like he can't grasp that Ace is seemingly fucking his former boss slash only confidant. It doesn’t mean anything, and Ace won't start treating it like it does, especially not for that prudish prince. They're all fucking lonely, all the time, so of course they've begun to seek solace in each other. Soon enough, Tae-young will learn that himself, and he'll beg for the slightest touch in no time.
“No surprise you can’t survive here. Never had to really work a day in your life, didn’t you?” Ace tilts his head, raises one eyebrow, waiting for the boy to disagree, to justify himself with some cheap excuse. He doesn’t need to wait long, even though his response is different than expected.
Maybe he should’ve gone easy on the vodka. Otherwise, he would’ve been easily able to dodge the fist that now hits him straight in the eye. The pain is a surprise, but hardly anything he couldn’t take. He blinks for a few seconds, perplexed, before realization kicks in and he laughs. His whole body shakes with it.
Tae-young ignores his outburst, just continues to shout, “That’s… that’s simply not true!” And how his voice shakes with anger, just like his face gets bright red. So entertaining.
“No? I’m not talking about you studying. I’m sure you buried your nose in your books night after night, comfortably sitting on your parent’s money. And after that, your brother was there to give you a job, and your degree didn’t even really matter, mh? Just got it all handed to you on a silver platter.” The horror on the boy’s face - the complete disbelief about the amount of info Ace has on him - slowly morphs into ferocious rage with every word Ace speaks.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I worked my ass off for that deal with Mightee One Entertainment. I put sweat and tears into that project! That technology is revolutionary!” Tae-young’s voice cracks with anger.
Ace chuckles again, but the sound is more unamused, slightly bitter.
“Pffft. You exploit real art to invent something that does nothing but poor imitations. What’s that worth? Nothing.”
“I… I don’t exploit them. I’m just… We need them to… We’re creating art! We just need to feed it first. And then, it’s programmed to grow, to learn, to think for itself!”
“God, you really believe that boludez, huh? Your creation’s first own thought was to slaughter people, mh? You must be so proud.”
At first, it seems like Tae-young is about to retort something, but in the end he keeps his mouth shut, gritting his teeth. Ace lets his words hang in the air, to fill the silence between them, hoping they will eat at the boy until he can think about nothing else. Somehow, he’s sure he can push him just a little further, and he can’t waste an opportunity for so much fun.
“Just keep going like this. I’m sure dying on hook every single time is entertaining enough.” That gets a wince out of the boy and Ace can’t help himself but laugh quietly.
“But that’s extremely disadvantageous! I could help you!” Tae-young protests. If it wasn’t for the petulant tone, he would sound more like his usual arrogant self, irritated by Ace’s lack of understanding such simple logic. Like this, he sounds only pitiful.
“You think we need your help?” Ace rubs his temples, exasperated. “You’re really a comedic genius. We survived for ages without you.”
“But a trial with only three survivors is not productive!”
“Every trial with you is like that anyway. Do you think I don’t know you tried to sell us out before? How you’ve been hiding in basement? You’re more useful on a hook than anywhere else.”
Ace’s tone is too biting, a little too breathless to pretend he’s not as furious as Tae-young must feel. He wants to pretend this whole thing is beneath him, and it’s not even the provocations which are getting to him, but the boy’s behaviour. If he was acting like that because he was scared, Ace would have some sympathy for him. But there is calculation to his caution. It’s not only self-serving, but a danger to the others and Ace won’t have that.
Tae-young shakes his head, jittery small motions. He reminds Ace of a man possessed, when he replies, voice choked, “You don’t know me. You don’t have any right to talk about me like that. Weren’t you just a gambler out there? A nobody?”
Ace is surprised the boy knows about that. It’s really no secret, with the basic introduction Dwight forces them through every time someone new joins their ranks, but he hadn’t expected Tae-young to have really listened to any of it, with the way his eyes have wandered elsewhere, sighing like all of it was just so awfully boring to him, just to ask as soon as the last person was done where the way out was. As if any of them would still be here if they fucking knew!
“What about it? Just because you’re some kind of tech genius, you think you’re any better than me?” Ace asks, tilting his head lazily, not too interested in Tae-young’s answer, especially because it’s so predictable to begin with.
“I know I’m better than you. You’re just a sleazy old man that has a high opinion of himself just because he's been in this hell for such a long time already. What an accomplishment!” Tae-young throws his hands in the air, trying so hard to match Ace's sarcastic tone, but his upset and anger are much too pronounced for that.
“I’ve died for these people more times than you could count, and they would do the same for me in a heartbeat. But people like you could never understand that, because for that level of devotion, you’d have to earn your place.”
Surprisingly enough, this seems to hit him harder than anything Ace has said before. For a moment, Tae-young freezes, looks genuinely wounded, only to adapt a more thoughtful expression; he seems to consider his words, even though his expression tells Ace that he doesn’t like the possibility that anyone else but himself could be right about anything. In the end, he seems to come to the conclusion that it can’t be true, because he shakes his head, dismissing Ace’s statement. He doesn’t say anything else though, so Ace has an idea.
“With your skills, you will hardly impress anyone. That’s been obvious enough already. But the good thing is: You don’t need to convince everyone. Get one well-liked guy to put in a good word for you, and you’re good.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want a little protection in trials, no? Some support? Well, after this, you won’t get it from anyone.” And for emphasis he points towards his eye, which has already begun to swell. By the time they’re going to be back, it’s going to be a lovely shade of blue. “Not a good look for the newcomer.”
Tae-young hasn’t considered that before, or so it seems, because he pauses. Struggles for a comeback, but he simply can't come up with one. He looks lost, almost scared. Ace wonders if he feels like that all the time, behind that know-it-all facade? Probably not. He's not that complex, after all. But he does look pretty in his vulnerable state. It makes his brain come up with dangerous ideas.
“You know the only way for someone like you to earn his place?” Tae-young’s eyes swim with distrust and tentative but genuine hope. An intriguing mix of emotions. “On your knees.”
“...What?”
“I think you heard me right.”
“You… You’re not serious.” The sheer disbelief in Tae-young’s voice is surprisingly alluring. Enough so that Ace at least doesn’t grow bored of the conversation before it has the chance to fully unfold.
“On. Your. Knees.”
Tae-young grits his teeth, but he doesn’t avoid Ace’s gaze. Seconds begin to feel like minutes as they stare at each other. Waiting for the other to break. In his peripheral vision, Ace thinks he can see Tae-young’s hands shake. And finally, the boy sinks down to his knees in front of him.
“Clever boy.” Ace winks at him, a razor-sharp grin on his lips, and he’s delighted when Tae-young bites down on his lip, probably trying so damn hard not to spit another spiteful remark back at him.
Nonetheless, the boy is still awfully stiff and Ace isn’t patient enough for that. Not when the vodka still makes his brain all fuzzy and the image of the arrogant prince kneeling in front of him lets most of his blood rush to his groin. So he holds out the half-empty bottle to Tae-young, who takes it without any comment. While he gulps down some greedy sips, Ace takes it upon himself to open his fly and free his erection.
Tae-young eyes it disdainfully for a moment, before he leads the bottle back to his lips once more. It's almost comical, and before he can drink the rest in one go, Ace pries the bottle out of his fingers.
Not even that persuades Tae-young to start moving, though. Seems like he needs another small push.
“Never sucked a cock before, mh?”
“Why should I? I’m not a faggot,” Tae-young snaps.
“Oh, such foul words from our prince.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Then stop acting like one. Always keeping everyone at arms length. Mister Know-It-All, always demeaning everyone’s efforts. And still demanding praise.” And Tae-young squirms under his words. His stare is dripping with hate, but his gaze wavers, and Ace knows he’s found a sore spot. “An arrogant little prince that needs to be pushed off his high horse. Or needs to get his mouth stuffed, at least.”
“You’re a fucking asshole.”
And Ace snorts at that, smirking down at the boy.
“Still talking? Scared, mh?” Ace muses, humming in amusement. “Stop looking at it like it might bite you any second.”
“I’m not.”
And Ace doesn’t even dignify that with an answer. Instead, he leans back and watches the boy intently, daring him to make the next move. Go on or back away with his tail between his legs. The choice lies in his hands. Tae-young seems to think about it for a considerable amount of time. The variety of complex emotions flickering over his face is a quite beautiful spectacle. Ace keeps his own face carefully neutral when Tae-young eventually leans forward, slowly, full of caution, but his hand clenches into a fist in anticipation.
Tae-young starts by taking hold of his cock; he doesn’t even wrap his hand around it, just keeps it upright by holding it between thumb, index and middle finger. It takes him even more time to convince himself to let his tongue peek out and to press it against Ace’s erection, but Ace doesn’t mind that too much. He’s got all the time in the world. The little kitten licks covering his cock don’t feel like much at all, merely a teasing sensation, but it’s a nice start. The barely concealed disgust on Tae-young’s face definitely takes the experience to a new level.
Ace feels himself throb, just as he sees a glistening pearl of precum squeeze from his cockhead. Slightly raising his hips, Tae-young understands what he’s asking for, judging by the way he wrinkles his nose, but he still leans in to lick the drop away.
“Good boy,” Ace murmurs.
“Shut up,” Tae-young hisses, and Ace groans when his expelled breath hits his sensitive cock.
When the boy tries to get back to his tentative ministrations, Ace sighs, tilting his head in a display of boredom. “Is that all? You don’t need to have done this before, you know. You’ve got a cock, don’t you? Just do whatever makes you feel good.”
“God, you never shut up, do you?!” Tae-young retorts, but there’s barely any heat in his words. Ace realizes it’s only to buy himself some time, a desperate attempt at distraction.
“I would if you’d finally get to work,” Ace muses smoothly, and that’s enough for Tae-young to snap. The boy wraps his hand around Ace’s cock and swallows down over half of his length in one go. Either underestimating Ace’s size, or overestimating himself, Tae-young soon enough seems to realize his own mistake, because his eyes widen and he gasps wetly. Even as he coughs a little and his eyes turn red and bleary, he doesn’t back down fully, keeps most of Ace’s cock in his mouth. Ace is thrilled to find out the boy’s stubbornness and his childish need to prove himself don’t end here.
Despite that he would like to tell him he shouldn’t overwork himself right away, he keeps his promise and consequently his lips sealed shut. Instead, he leans back into the cushions and watches as Tae-young makes himself familiar with this new task.
His arrogant prince lacks any finesse, which was to be expected, but at least he seems hell-bent on taking Ace’s full size, which is however a surprise. Ace keeps himself still, fights against the urge to push his hips up, even though the wet heat engulfing him is awfully tempting. At least Tae-young is mindful enough to keep his teeth away, although now and again Ace can almost feel their sharp edges, every time the boy struggles when it gets too much and he needs to pause, breathing through the discomfort of his jaw staying open so wide.
“Use your hand, prince,” Ace reminds him, only for Tae-young to shoot him a glare, dark eyes filled with tears. The sight is undeniably erotic, and Ace bites back a groan when the boy actually does what he’s told, pumping his hand, taking care of everything he can’t quite swallow down yet. Not that he has stopped from trying to get there, eventually.
When his cockhead hits the back of Tae-young’s throat, the undignified sounds that fill the air are like music to Ace’s ears. Tae-young gags, and the spasms of his throat grip Ace’s cock just right. This time, he can’t hold back a moan, it’s punched right out of his chest, drawn-out by Tae-young’s struggle to fight the resistance of his own body, swallowing around the intrusion to get it deeper down his throat.
Ace wonders what kinds of porn the boy used to watch to get the impression that every blowjob needs to be a deepthroating mess, but Ace can’t really complain. Not when it feels this fucking good.
Just when he actually starts to worry the boy might hurt himself, the tip of his cock finally slips past that last obstruction, nestles into Tae-young’s throat. Tight like a glove, Ace’s thighs start to shake under the onslaught of pleasure and he feels Tae-young’s hands hold onto them, fingers clawing into his pants. Just as he tries to pull back, Ace’s hand shoots out to grip the back of his head, fingers twisted in the short black strands.
“No no no, take it,” Ace groans, and despite that the palms of Tae-young’s hands push against his thighs, he keeps his head in place, goes as far as pushing further down on Ace’s cock. He holds Ace’s gaze, even as his face turns a lovely shade of red. A vein pulses on his forehead, and the tears clinging to his long eyelashes finally fall down on his cheeks.
After a few seconds, Ace lets go of his head and Tae-young tears himself away. He coughs, greedily sucks air into his lungs, while Ace’s eyes are glued to the long string of spit still connecting his cock and the boy’s swollen lips.
“Fucking asshole,” Tae-young splutters, letting go of Ace’s cock for a moment to wipe the spit off his mouth. His erection stands proudly on its own, bobs against his stomach as it twitches, impatient to sink back into the boy's mouth.
“You want my help, no? Gotta make you work for it, then.” Ace shrugs, taking it upon himself to pump his hand around his shaft lazily, eyes fixed on Tae-young’s wet cheeks.
“I'm going to sell you out to every killer if you screw me over after this,” Tae-young threatens, looking oh so serious. The effect is ridiculously invalidated by Ace rubbing his cockhead against the boy's cheek.
“I would like to see you try,” Ace sighs softly, leading his cock back between Tae-young’s lips.
Again, Tae-young wastes no time at all to work Ace down as far as he can take him, and after that to push the limits of his gag reflex. Ace helps him along by pushing his hips up once in a while, nudging against the spongy roof of Tae-young’s mouth, which earns him either another one of his death glares, the slightest grazing of teeth against his shaft as a silent warning or the most pitiful sounds when it catches Tae-young truly by surprise. Either way, the result is always a win on Ace's part, always so incredibly delicious.
After a while, Tae-young lets his cock slip out once more, breathing hard.
“Fucking cum already,” Tae-young snaps. Somehow, he doesn’t even sound too impatient, not like he wants to finally get this over with. No, Ace gets the feeling it’s much more personal, like he's appalled, positively offended, by Ace's lack of appreciation for his efforts.
“Can't wait for your pretty throat to get all filled up, mh?” Ace asks with a smirk and lets his fingers dance over Tae-young’s jaw, down his beautiful neck. Their position makes it not impossible but a tad too awkward to wrap his hand around it, and yet he aches to do just that.
“Can't wait to find out whether a fossil like you's still able to cum,” Tae-young hisses back and Ace barks a laugh, caught off-guard by that level of spice. His hand wanders back upwards to cup the boy’s cheek and his thumb reaches out to leisurely trace Tae-young’s lips, shining with spit and precum. As much as he hates the guy, he is handsome and Ace can’t wait to paint his abused lips white with cum.
“Get back to work and you'll see,” Ace murmurs, placing his hand once more at the back of Tae-young’s head. That’s all the encouragement the boy needs to wrap his lips around Ace’s cockhead.
Now, he allows himself a little more time to get back into it, suckling on the tip, and Ace’s fingers twist in his hair, breath caught in his throat. Slowly, Tae-young swirls his tongue around it, pushes against the slit, coaxing more and more drops of precum out.
Somehow, the stimulation gets to Ace’s head way quicker than he’s expected and in no time he’s panting, throbbing on Tae-young’s tongue. But the boy doesn’t let himself be rushed, barely starts to take a little more of Ace’s length into his mouth, and it’s maddening, infuriating, and Ace doesn’t have the patience to deal with this now, so his grip on Tae-young’s hair tightens as he pushes the boy down.
Tae-young shoots him a glare once more, but through half-lidded eyes, Ace thinks he sees the corners of his lips twitch and he realizes this time the boy has played him like a fiddle. Ace hopes Tae-young’s satisfied with that small win, especially when it comes at the cost of Ace pushing his cock down his throat in no time at all, holding him in place as Tae-young struggles to relax.
It’s futile, as inexperienced as he is, and eventually he starts to gag once more, but Ace doesn’t allow him to draw back, closes his eyes instead to really relish the wild spasms, even rolls his hips to sink down into that tight heat just a little deeper. When he looks down again, Tae-young meets his gaze, eyes wide and yet still flashing with defiance, desperately fighting against the panic that surely must start to set in.
Much to his surprise, that’s what Ace pushes over the edge. He pushes down Tae-young’s head as far as it can go, crushing his nose against his abdomen, and lets the boy’s fluttering throat work him through his high. Just when Tae-young really starts to struggle, choking on his cock, Ace allows him to pull back enough for his cock to slip out. Nevertheless, his fingers stay firmly in Tae-young’s hair as his other hand strokes himself, milking his body for all it’s got and covering the boy’s tear-streaked face with his cum.
“Curiosity sated?” Ace asks, cringing internally when he realizes how fucked his voice sounds. Well, maybe he’s not the only one left in shambles after all of this.
Tae-young’s body is shaken by his coughs, even while Ace is slowly coming down, taking in his state. His dazed eyes, the drool on the corner of his lips, snot and cum alike dripping from his nose. When their gazes meet, Tae-young’s eyes darken once more.
“You should’ve warned me,” he snarls, and when he tries to close his mouth, Ace tugs sharply on his hair, shaking his head.
“Ah ah, keep it open,” Ace orders, and when he reluctantly does just that, Ace pushes the tip of his cock back between his lips, just to enjoy their softness a little longer, maybe even allow his still weakly twitching cock to let some last stray droplets of cum to coat Tae-young’s tongue. His prince stays obediently still, and even with that angry grimace on his face, Ace must admit he looks gorgeous. Maybe even more so because of it.
“I think I understand now why Yun-jin likes you so much,” he muses, only for Tae-young to finally tear his head away fully, and this time Ace lets go of him.
“What do you mean by that?!” Tae-young asks, appalled, but Ace just smiles, not meeting his gaze, too busy putting himself away.
“Don’t worry your pretty head about it.” And even when the boy tries to argue, Ace doesn’t give him the satisfaction of dignifying that with any answer. Eventually, once he’s made himself presentable enough yet again, he reaches for the almost empty bottle of vodka once more and takes a final swig. When Tae-young reaches out for it, Ace shakes his head.
“You’ve had enough.” What he doesn’t say is that he doesn’t want Tae-young to rinse his mouth from the taste of Ace’s cum, wants it to linger as long as possible. Just as a small reminder.
“Well, you did good, prince. Now, the others are gonna know what a nice guy you are. Even helped me fight off some killer that forgot the Entity doesn’t like bloodshed outside of trials, mh?” He points to his black eye and laughs quietly when Tae-young averts his gaze.
Face covered in cum, eyes flooded with shame, cowering on his knees - Ace can see himself warming up to this version of Tae-young much more easily than his usual vain egoistical self. Well, maybe he should be grateful they’ve got all the time in the world to make Tae-young realize as well that this may be the ideal version of himself.