Chapter Text
It wasn’t a foreign thing for Till to be called to the lower levels of Urak’s compound.
The creature always seemed to need Till, but the reason always varied.
Rather it be for its own sick and sadistic pleasures, to natter on and on in an eristic manner about his business associates, or to shine an unneeded light on every minute mistake Till made during his recent performances.
.
This daily ‘ Reprimand and Demand ’ process (as Till has dubbed it) never failed to make the ashen wish he was being called upon just to be abused. At least the pain was bearable and consistent, but to have your work ostracized by a being that didn’t have the heart or the mindset of an intellectual capable of understanding it?
That was real misery.
Maybe it was the artist in him.., or maybe it was the smallest sliver of love he still held for singing that made him feel like this.
Regardless, it made him want to leap across the creature’s desk and commit a heinous act of violence.
Each and every time Till would just stand in front of Urak’s desk with his arms behind back and with tautened facial muscles that were begging to relax into an annoyed glare. It’s complaints made Till seethe, giving him an uncomfortable itch beneath his skin that never went away and a burning growl in his throat that would only be itched with yelling.
‘ How about you try doing what I do every day under my conditions, you prick. ‘ Till had always wanted to say, but he knew better than to lip off to his owner. . .
So.. yeah.
Till isn’t walking with much urgency.
Hell, why would he?
He keeps his head down and breathing regulated as he passes the other pet human’s of the upper levels. Some greet Till by name, the younger pets; he notes. Other’s give him nasty glares and whispers to the others around them, the older pets. A part of him wonders if they know what happens to him at the Rock-Bottom. Some did.
Those jealous glares were painfully obvious and the jabs he’d get during lunchtime never failed to make him want to send their teeth into their tonsils. He was far from lucky.
The elevator dings as it reaches the current floor, and Till cringes at the illusion of his guts dropping as the elevator jitters to start. Till taps out an arrhythmic melody on his slacks as the pulley machine takes him to the bedrock of the complex. He hated how he always got on the elevator, restless and nervous. Like a caged animal. It wasn’t so far from the truth though, was it?
.
He’d never liked how cold it was down here.
Till shudders as the freezing temperature bores down on him, and he can already feel the goosebumps prickling his skin as he steps out (or were these goosebumps caused by the reminder he was going to Urak .. he couldn’t tell) and into the antiseptic and metallic smelling space.
Today’s meeting was different apparently; Urak had informed Till to meet in its office-meeting place. Urak’s Business Room, as the others have called it. This was something that flew over his head at the time, but now it heightens the ashen’s nerves and alarms him.
‘What business does Urak have with me?’
It makes Till hesitate as he successfully crosses the west wing corridor, and he shows his branding to the scanner and traipses in before he can prolong this any longer.
Till is met with a sight that only deepens his confusion.
The first thing his eyes jump to is Urak of course, sitting on the left side of the table and manspreading (despite not being a man) with cross-armed. Highkey, it was looking like a beyond pissed praying mantis but Till was hardly in the mood to judge.
However, what Urak was looking at angrily shocked him.
A bigger and nasty looking alien with a sickly pale blue-grey hue for skin color with some even nastier looking goons on his left and right. Both naked, Till remarks but they have no uh… outer phalanges for him to acknowledge so he keeps quiet.
They were dressed in a suit, and Till finds himself shocked that segyein’s even know what heat looked like, let alone knew how to style it. They were wearing the biggest and dumbest hat Till has had the displeasure of seeing in his two decades and year’s worth of living, and when the creature notices the way Till was obviously staring, it’s eyes narrow back at him.
It gives him a once-over before making a twisted smile, turning to it's side to mutter something.
“ ___ ____ a ____ eye ____, ___ ___ easily dominate _________ __ small __ ____. “
*check end author’s note
Whatever was next to him didn’t respond however, and Till nearly undergoes heart palpitation when the suit-cladded creature shifts and allows the ashen a good look on the subject that was being so unresponsive.
“Ivan???”
The ravenet looked so small next to his owner.. Till hadn’t even noticed him!
The other man perks immediately, and a noticeable crimson seems to deepen in his milk-white cheeks at the sight of Till. Ivan’s expression jumps to shock before melting into worry, then settles to a closed-eyes crestfallen expression at his hands in his lap. Why was Ivan acting like this? The ashen mentally swears that that is the most emotion Ivan’s has ever expressed, and he would be proud if it didn’t leave a foreboding feeling in his belly.
Wait.. if he’s making an expression that upsetting sincerely, what the hell was about to happen to them?!?!?
“Hurry and sit, boy. You’ve kept us waiting long enough.”
‘ Maybe if you’d told me it was important I would’ve fuckin’ hurried.’
Till keeps his head down and composure tight as he hurries to settle into the big seat next to Urak. The creature looms over him, even from a side angle; and that does nothing to quell Till’s looming anxiety as he watches it review Ivan.
“Unsha, why is your pet being so quiet?” Urak questions, and the way Ivan bristles is evident. If Till wasn’t half awake he’d swear Ivan just scowled, but he decides it was a trick of the lighting. “I thought you said it lived up to its marketing.”
How did Ivan’s guardians market him again..?
A tenebrose and respectful pet. Though it hailed from the slums of Seoul, IVAN promises victory
and success to all his investors with his impressive vocals and charming appearance.
((Till remembers laughing himself sick when Ivan had been introduced like that for his sponsors. ‘ It’s so far from the truth it’s laughable! ‘ He’d howled, and the embarrassed look Ivan wore on his face throughout the endeavour confirmed Till’s suspicions.))
The two aliens exchange the bitterest of pleasantries Till has heard in some time, and he finds himself beyond bored as the two natter nearly endlessly about ‘pet expectations’ and ‘ their side of the offer ‘ or something like that before papers in a tan-coloured file slam against the faux wood table.
“It’d only be right for the small thing to see the deal, hm? Seeing as it can read and all..” Ivan’s owner, Unsha remarks; and the snarky breeze that statement is carried on makes Till find their similarity to Ivan uncanny. ‘ They’re both stuck up smart-asses. ‘
Till gives the file a look as if it was going to bite him, and he instinctually casts a wary glance to Urak, for permission to read. Urak only grunts in approval, and Till takes that as a big ol’ green light to pick-up the file and breeze through it.
The document is flimsy, it falls over in Till’s hands when he holds it like a book, and he finds it too awkward to hold it up on the table, so he only settles it on that table once Urak’s disappointed stare reaches him from his periphery.
[BLOCKQUOTE] ‘ Despite the council’s better beliefs and judgements; PRODUCT [1615] and PRODUCT [4133] seem to have the most compatible skill set than the other PETS they were produced with. Documentation of such information has been sent to GUARDIAN Urak and UNSHA to notify them of their great luck of having this opportunity befell on them, and of their task and instructions. The preservations of PRODUCT [1615] and PRODUCT [4133] genetics is crucial for future pet-human developments, and we, the council, strongly advise / demand a pedigree and immediate breeding between the two PRODUCT(s) to produce a suitable list of heirs to replace the two in the near future. If there is a problem with breeding, a solution is CRUCIAL to be founded. A result of a conclusion not being reached will result in hefty finement and accusation of INTERPLANETARY TREASON. ‘ [BLOCKQUOTE]
Till reads that paragraph once.
Then twice.
Then thrice.
Then, he blinks just the same amount. Then he looks down to the monochrome photographs of Ivan and himself when they were merely cresting into puberty.
“Genetic preservation.? Immediate breeding?? Whats..” Till starts to question, voice dying off as his throat dries and his amygdala starts sending a message to the rest of his body this was anything but good news.
.
His obliviousness seems to be amusing to Unsha; the creature roaring into hearty laughter, cradling it's stomach as if Till was doing a stand up routine written by a comedian back on the humans’ home planet. Ivan jumps at the noise, looking up from where he was sat solemnly to observe the creature’s behaviours before continuing to hang his head in defeat.
(( His silence was still unnerving. . ))
“It means you’ll have to be extracted from Alien Stage and placed into a pedigree with that other pet .” The way Urak grits out pet makes it’s acquieances to situation, but Unsha on the other hand, looks delighted.
“Come now, Urak!”
Unsha starts, not even holding enough respect to look the other Guardian in the eye as they speak. They reach into the suit jacket, producing a pen from the seemingly endless space before testing it on one of the many notepads Urak supplies to his associates during meetings (Till wouldn’t be a liar to say Urak looks beyond peeved that Unsha is actually using it).
“That’s no way to refer to your new product-by-law. It’s name is Ivan. ” Ivan finally looks up after he’s reffered to for the umpteenth time, and he offers his best snaggletoothed smile despite the clear distress still etched on his face.
“It is a pleasure to be doing business with you, Guardian Urak.” The tone is velvety soft, and the way Till squirms in his seat upon hearing it is not un-noticed by the segyien’s in the room.
Urak only stares at Ivan with vacuous, beady eye stare before returning it’s focus back to Unsha.
“Does your wife know of this affair between us.”
‘ Nice choice of word, dingus. ‘ Till mentally chuckles.
Unsha hums in acknowledgement, but doddles about answering. They take the paper located in the center of the table (when did that get there?) and dabs it on their tongue. They jot something on the first dotted line of the paper, seemingly their signature.
“My wife is well aware of this agreement and is beyond willing to pair Ivan off to your pet. She also sees as the perfect opporutnity for us to begin close collabortations.” Unsha answers before sliding the paper in front of Urak, the pen follows suit afterwards.
“We just need your willingness and signature.
Till doesn’t remember seeing anything about payment in the file, but then again it looked as if it was missing some context. .
A part of him feels like the “payment” Unsha is wishing for has nothing to do with physical coin, but instead something to do with him and Ivan.
Urak looks contemplative for a second.
Till has never seen it hesitate when making a business move that assured wealth in its pockets.
After a moment or so, Urak signs the loose-leaf deal (begrudgingly so), and the aliens begin to yap endlessly about something that Till genuinely can’t be bothered with anymore.
As their owners talk, Till’s eyes instinctually run back to Ivan.
He’s still looking downcasted, and he’s still as quiet as ever. It was unnatural.
Every muscle in Till’s body wanted to propel him to the seat beside the ravenet and prod at his quiet demeanor until he spilled whatever was bothering.
Yet before he would speak to beg permission, a more gravelly voice interrupts.
“Leave the room, Till. You have no business eavesdropping on an important conversation.”
With pleasure.
Being dismissed by Urak was the most cathartic feeling a pet-human could get on this planet. Though Till is sure that Urak would have worded the dismissal in a more cruel manner if they weren’t hosting guests at the moment.
Well if Urak’s going to act at least semi -decent, Till might as well make use of the situation.
Till throws out his most obedient “Yes, Sir” to his owner before standing, the ashen carefully stands and cares to scoot in his chair as he ambles towards the door; his eyes never leave Ivan throughout this endeavor.
Till acts nervouse for a moment, and he lingers with his hand on the doorknob long enough to really sell it. He can feel Urak boring holes into the back of his head, but he dimisses the tension it give in his body to turn and meet it’s stare.
“Urak.. may I bring the other pet with me? It would be only polite to better introduce myself to him before we paired together.”
Till may be a bumbling fool addressing other human’s but he always knew the right things to say to Urak (when he’d wanted to please the creature).
Ivan perks indefinitely at that, looking at Till with the biggest puppy-dog look known to man and an unsubtle dusting of pink on those chubby cheeks. Till walked over with a fond smile and pinched them if he didn't have half a mind, doting on Ivan and calling it cute if there weren’t two enigmatic beings in the room that might’ve profiled it as violence.
Maybe he could later? He and Ivan always seemed to have time to indulge eachother’s touch starved crazes.
The silence is nearly deafening. Urak is clearly contemplating this. This mothefucker as a whole finger pinching what is probably a chin and everything, and Till fends off from a viscous eye roll to remain stoic.
“I don’t see why not.” Unsha interjects, grabbing Ivan by his arm to a stand alongside itself. The commotion breaks Urak from whatever stupor Urak was in, and it makes a face at a decision being made for it. Unsha however, does not care in the slightest. It practically drags Ivan across the room with itself, and it hold Till’s shoulder firm before pushing them both out of the room.
“Don’t stray too far. Remember the length of your leashes.”
The message is cryptid, and neither boys are allowed a moment of consideration as the door slams shut and audibly locks.
Whatever they were about to discuss was gonna either result in a massacre or an all-out SHOOTOUT. And Till would rather eat a live rodent than stick around to hear it.
With them out of the room, Ivan is now looking a bit livelier, but still bleak in a way that Till could finally comment on. “What’s with you?” Till starts, standing and dusting off his bottom before looking down at the man below him.
Ivan is still silent, and based on the way those somewhat pointed ears perk at the statement he has definitely heard and acknowledged Till’s words. Just not verbally.
It was pissing Till off.
“Why are you so quiet? D’you finally get it for being a snarky bastard.” Till jabs.
The ravenet always responded to Till’s provocation; but instead, Ivan huffs like a sad dog before rising to his feet.
“I mean, I totally get it. I’d go quiet too if an alien that big hit me over my smart mouth.”
That statement is a lie and they both know it. Till would still continue to be a snarky brat with Urak up until his fifteenth birthday.
There's a tension-filled beat of silence once the scuffing of Ivan’s shoes on the polished floor ends, and Till can’t help but stare as Ivan looks distantly to the ground, fist balled tight and shoulders squared as he just.. Does nothing.
Okay this is REALLY freaking Till the hell out.
Till steps closer off of impulse, biting the inside of his lip as he waves a hand beneath the down-hooked brush of black hair that was hiding Ivan’s face. “Hey.. Ivan. Talk to me, this isn’t funny.” Till doesn’t mean to sound so worried, but his voice just naturally comes out worry-soaked and meaningful as he puts his hands on Ivan’s shoulders.
God, he’s so tense . It was like his body was physically fighting off any acknowledgment of Till; first his voice, and now his touch. Till can’t help but put Ivan into a soft quassation, grip hard but before as he attempts to place himself at an angle they could make eye-contact. Ivan braces at this, jutting his head away like a bratty child instead of allowing Till the sight of those pretty obsidian orbs.
“Dude! What is your issue??”
“Let me go.”
Ivan is struggling in Till’s hold, his shaking evident as he brings his hands to Till’s wrists. Ivan is bigger than Till in every shape and fathomable. He’s far stronger than Till, even if the ashen didn’t want to admit it for the sake of his already fragile masculinity. But in this struggle, Ivan was fighting him but was putting no umph behind it. All bark and no bite.
He didn’t want Till to let him go.
“As if!”
Till grips him tighter, gritting his teeth in the struggle as Ivan returns the favor. The ravenet was doing everything in his power to push from Till’s pull, like to magnets of the same force being forced together. It was aggravating, but Till wouldn’t go down without a fight.
He devotes the parts of himself not fighting Ivan to instead think about what would make Ivan want nothing to do with him.
Ivan was quiet and unresponsive when Till had first walked in, and he seemed as though even a moment of eye-contact with the other man would kill him.
It made no sense.. unless this was about those stupid files.
“Is this about that pedigree stuff, and the breeding or whatever.”
Ivan physically bristles at the words, tightening his hold on Till wrists as a final warning to something before he drops them at his sides.
It was after that that Ivan finally looked up at him, iridescent orbs reflecting in the sterile glow of the hallway a watery gleam and a crest-fallen expression.
Till had never seen Ivan so upset before. . Hell, just the CONCEPT of him looking anything but mischievous was the equivalent of hearing trumpets and thinking it’s the rapture.
Till was rendered speechless, mind jumping from worry-point to worry-point before his body acted before his mind could confirm if the action was a good or bad idea.
He hugs Ivan . Not too tight, but not too loose, but instead a secret third option that’s enough for the both of him. Ivan’s breathing in the crook of his neck, and tears are wetting spaces from his jawline to his neck, but Till couldn’t care too mind. If anything, he was just happy it was the tears and not drool . Ivan is just a sick bastard like that.
It's another minute or so until they break off, and when they part; another impulsive act hits Till like a down-town metro. Did Ivan always look like this?
Sure, he’d seen him all dolled up for interviews; adorned in subtle makeup and that natural bedroom. He’d always looked nice, but nothing that really caught Till’s attention.
Ivan in front of him now however.
The puffy eyes, the pouty lips, the redness at the tip of his nose, and the way those pretty lashes hid a world of red hot passion.
It makes Till shudder a bit, and he finds himself saying something stupid before he would stop himself.
“Have you always been this beautiful?”
_________
It was very soon after Till said those words, he found himself sucking face with Ivan in that hallway. He’s shocked he was even able to get any words out, seeing as he was being wrangled, groped, fondled, and carressed against an inner corridor wall (away from the camera) before he could register what was happening.
Till had been so quiet when he told Ivan to follow, never letting go of his hand as he led him to the elevator and indulged the light petting from the other on the ride up. The looks on the other human’s faces upon seeing Ivan was hilarious, he’s definitely sure someone in the kitchen passed out and took a rack of trays with them.
So that’s how they ended up in Till’s bedroom.
Ivan straddled Till’s lap, while hungrily kissing the man’s lips and neck. It was overwhelming, but Till never wanted it to stop.
The lush feeling of another human’s touch gives Till frisson in several areas more than one, and he shifts his hips a bit with a groan to handle the sensation.
“I-Ivan.. oh god - mhmf .”
The ravenet is so gentle it's scary.
His rough fingers trace every plump curvy and thick scar of Tilll’s, whispering senseless devotions into the skin before punctuating it with a kiss. Is this what marriage was?
To allow your body to become one with the person you love? To let your body relax into their hold as they avow loyalty to the supple skin of your body, sow religion into the texture of your painfully human skin until you're taken to seventh heaven?
“Till..”
“ Ivan..”
“ My god. You're perfect.”
His hands work slowly with removing his under-things, and it isn't until Ivan has his little man down stairs in his mouth like a suckable delicacy; and Till is biting his wrist to keep quiet that he learns the true human definition of love and marriage.
“ I-IVAN!”
“ Till??”
Till wakes in a cold sweat, rising with a gasp as he reviews the room he’s in. Metal walls, and a small window. The bed he’s sleeping on is firm, but comfortable enough; and his clothes have no alien associations in the slightest.
Right.. Right.
He was with the rebellion now. And that dream was really not real.
Till blinks the sleep from his crusty eyes before registering the overgrown lapdog laying next to him. Ivan looks so confused, poor thing being scared from his sleep by his partner’s strangely erotic “nightmare”
“God, I’m sorry. I am so sorry.”
Till groans. Putting the heel of his hand against his eye before stumbling out of bed, much to Ivan’s worry. “Are you alright??” Ivan calls, but Till already has the bathroom door clicked lock and shut after him.
Ivan himself may have been dreaming but was he…
‘ That’s hot. ‘