Archive of Our Own ^beta

“—and then I told him that if he tried to scam me again I’d toss him right into the water,” Chip made a wide gesture with his mug of alcohol, leaning back in the chair that he was perched on precariously enough that he almost toppled the entire object. He wrinkled his nose and barked a laugh, taking another drink while Jay rolled her eyes at his story.

“You just made that entire thing up,” Jay exhaled sharply through her nose and elbowed Gillion who had been staring at Chip intently, hanging onto his every word as Chip talked. Chip’s face split into an even wider grin and he leaned forward, placing both elbows on the table and pointing his tankard in Jay’s direction.

“Did not, it really happened,” Chip raised an eyebrow as if he were wanting to challenge Jay on that fact. He looked over at Gillion, “Gill, I wouldn’t lie to you guys, right?”

“It seems quite believable,” Gillion muttered thoughtfully, chewing up the words as he said them and thinking carefully, “We get haggled by lots of people on the street.”

“Yeah and I don’t think Chip has a single mean bone in his body to threaten someone like that,” Jay pointed an accusatory finger at Chip and also leaned back in her chair.  

But instead of just reclining casually, she reached out underneath the table and kicked Chip in the shin with the heel of her boot, placing her foot on his knee.  

Chip gasped incredulously and scooted back, forcing Jay’s foot to fall and for her to lurch forward at the sudden shift. He nearly spilled his drink as he did so, having to move it to the side to avoid setting it down on any of the many things that they had precariously spread across the table.

Chip retaliated by hooking his foot around Jay’s ankle and tugging hard, nearly pulling her off her chair as she yelped and grabbed onto Gillion for support. Gillion grabbed her arm and kept her on the chair while Chip slipped his foot away from her ankle before she could stomp on his toes.

“Prick!” Jay yelled, but there was a small smile spreading across her face, and she couldn’t help but laugh when she looked back over at Chip. Chip too was grinning as he just looked away innocently and brought his legs back to his side of the table, taking a drink.

“Chip!” Gillion scolded disapprovingly as he sat Jay back on her chair normally, one hand protectively around her arm.  

“Oh, now I’m a prick?” Chip drew out his words teasingly, poking a finger in Jay’s direction. There was no bite to his tone, but his actions could possibly be seen as aggressive. “I thought you said I didn’t have a mean bone in my body.”

“You wouldn’t threaten just some random person on the street,” Jay leaned against Gillion’s side and let out a sigh as she lifted her tankard of whatever it was that she was drinking and swirled it lightly, “That’s not something you would do.”

“I did!” Chip insisted, with a firm nod, trying to hide his smile behind his cup, “scared him so good that he just left me alone.”

“Mhm, sure.”

“I don’t know why you never believe me when I tell you these stories, Jay,” Chip shook his head sadly as if her refusal to believe one of his outlandish stories was a great disappointment to him. He sighed and took another drink, tilting his head back dramatically as if he were trying to chug the rest of his drink.  

He just ended up spilling a little bit of it down the front of his shirt, droplets rolling down his chin as he got too much in his mouth and nearly choked. Jay laughed at him.

“Shut up!” Chip felt his face flush and he pulled his drink away to wipe his face on the back of his hand. He tried to avoid making eye contact with Jay after he had just flubbed up like that.

Jay just rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time tonight with a light smile spreading across her lips. She began to raise her tankard to her lips to take a disapproving sip; However, as she did so, her eyes caught on something else in the crowd just behind Chip.  

She grinned mischievously and spoke behind the cup, “Looks like you’ve got a bit of an admirer on his way over.”

“Wha—” Chip didn’t even get the chance to look over his shoulder at who Jay was talking about before a taller, very familiar figure was putting their hand on his back, sliding a tender, calloused palm across his shoulders before clamping down on Chip’s upper arm. Chip shivered at the sudden sensation, automatically flinching away from the unknown contact as he turned to see who had just approached.

“Oh, Chip, long time no see.” 

Chip froze, the smile immediately falling from his face as he recognized the cool, silky voice. He would know that voice from anywhere, despite any amount of noise in the crowd, any amount of distance, it wouldn’t matter. Chip was sure that he would be able to accurately identify the voice that often appeared in his nightmares.

As he turned, heart already beginning to pound in his chest, Chip found himself staring right into the half-lidded eye of none other than Ruben Price. 

He felt his stomach drop and Chip set his tankard of alcohol down on the table before he could drop it, hands shaking. He practically gaped at Price, face paling and mind immediately going blank as he struggled to figure out if he was dreaming or not. Maybe he had too much to drink and he was hallucinating. Or maybe this just happened to be a really similar-looking man that also just happened to know Chip’s name. Maybe this was all just another one of his brain’s more elaborate nightmares.

Price smiled warmly, sharp teeth poking out from behind his lips like a dog waiting to pounce on an easy meal. The scar across his face rippled when he shifted his expression, droopy eye rolling across the table to take in the current situation. When he leaned forward, arm still wrapped protectively, almost possessively, around Chip’s shoulder, his long black braid fell across his shoulders and in front of his chest.  

His jacket was buttoned apart for the top few which were popped open to expose the scarred skin of his chest, dragon tattoo coiling ominously around his shoulders and the front of his collar. The feathered hood brushed against Chip’s skin when he pressed himself as close as physically possible, black downy fluff tickling his neck and making Chip flinch. He could smell whatever lavender-scented soap that Price used as it practically burned in his throat and nearly made him gag.

Chip watched him with pure fear on his face, but then Price squeezed Chip’s shoulder, digging his nails into his skin. The other man leaned in close to Chip, mouth practically touching Chip’s ear as he nuzzled against Chip’s side and spoke low enough so that only Chip could hear, “You know what to do.”

Chip’s heart practically leaped to his throat as he looked back over across the table at Jay and Gillion who were looking at them confused. Jay had that suspicious look on her face as if she were searching for any sort of red flag or mistake that she could latch onto and use as leverage for something. And the last thing Chip needed was for her to catch onto a red flag and start a scene. That would be the worst possible outcome.

And he saw the way that Price was eyeing them up, his gaze flicking back and forth between Jay and Gillion, sizing up Gillion with a judgemental sneer, and then glancing at Jay with that disgusting cocky look on his face. He was getting a good, clear look at both of them, committing them to memory. He was learning about them.

That was never a good thing. Chip couldn’t possibly let his crew get hurt because of Price. He couldn’t let him get a good read on them, he couldn’t let Price get any of the information that he clearly wanted.

“You know what to do.”

Chip knew. He was supposed to play along with the act. He was supposed to act friendly and pretend to be happy. He was supposed to go along with whatever Price said in order to avoid punishment. Chip knew what his punishment would be if he disobeyed.

He would be good. He couldn’t disobey Price.

“Price!” Chip forced out through a tight throat. He plastered on the most convincing smile that he possibly could and responded to Price’s possessive side hug with a hesitant pat on the back, pretending like they had been good friends for years. This was just a casual, friendly reunion between two friends separated by time. It wasn’t anything dangerous. It wasn’t like it was the most terrifying situation that Chip had been seeing in his nightmares for months. It wasn’t like he had been dreading the inevitability of this moment for months.

It was just a friendly reunion between old friends. 

Chip’s head was throbbing. He could feel the ghost of hands that he  knew  weren’t there skittering all across his skin, digging into his stomach, his mouth, his hair. Hands grabbing at his legs and arms and waist and chest. Smooth words whispered sharply in his ear, gentle commands with the undertones of an easily acted upon threat. Words in a silky tone that made Chip have to hold back a gag just thinking about it.

Chip was going to be sick.

“How have you been?” Price moved one hand to pull out the empty chair that had been sitting next to Chip. He pulled Chip forward and sat down, pressing himself as close as possible to Chip.  

Price even went so far as to wrap his hand around Chip’s thigh, pulling him closer so that Chip was halfway sitting on his lap. Chip had no choice but to allow himself to be moved without complaint and without risk of causing a scene. Price’s skin was warm when he touched Chip, hot enough that it burned wherever he made contact.  

“I’ve been good… great… really good… I’ve been great,” Chip could feel himself stumbling as he struggled to get into the proper rhythm. Price squeezed his shoulder tighter, nails digging so hard into his skin that Chip squirmed from the sharp piercing pain. When he looked over at Price, he saw the way that the man’s lip twitched into the ghost of a frown, a look of disappointment crossing his face. Chip froze, knowing that he had done something wrong.

Chip swallowed thickly and cleared his throat. He looked away from Price and smiled reassuringly at Jay and Gillion, the sound of his blood rushing in his ears making it hard for him to hear the rest of the tavern scene around him.

“Oh, you got some new friends,” Price looked over at Chip with a fake giddy smile and then looked back at Jay and Gillion, shaking Chip’s shoulders, “How come you never told me about them?”

“Guess it never came up,” Chip laughed awkwardly, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and then he realized he had been laughing too long. He stopped and took a deep, shaky breath, trying to keep his mind from slipping into that soft hazy spot deep in the back of his head. He had to stay present. If he spaced out, Jay would notice and would catch on too quickly. He couldn’t let her notice. He had to act like everything was fine and normal.

So Chip tried to pick up the situation where he failed. But when he tried to lean forward to extend his hand out to gesture to Jay, Price stopped him from getting closer, keeping him rooted in place against Price’s side. He made a disapproving noise from the back of his throat that was quiet enough that only Chip could hear and Chip shrunk in on himself, pulling his hand back towards his chest while Price ran his palm up and down Chip’s arm.

“Why don’t you introduce me?” Price was practically teasing him, taunting him, forcing him to relinquish information that he would rather die than admit. He couldn’t bear to stand giving Price any knowledge of his friends. Information was power in Price’s world, and he clearly decided to choose the most agonizing way to get it.

Chip swallowed thickly and nodded slowly at first. It was hard not to focus on the way that Price was touching him, how close he had pulled Chip into his lap, wrapping his arms protectively (possessively) around Chip. How he was running his hand up and down Chip’s arm in a way that looked to be reassuring, comforting, maybe even friendly. But Chip could barely focus on that part of it. He just focused on the fact that it felt like there was fire licking against his skin, pulling him apart from the inside and making him shrivel up.

It made his skin crawl, like tiny insects all over his skin. As if Price himself were made of bugs as they nipped and tingled and scuttled all the way across Chip’s skin, forcing their way deep into his body and nesting there like a parasite. Price was like a parasite. And he easily was digging his way underneath Chip’s skin where it was warm and cozy and he would have the most control.

He could feel the parasite taking root inside his chest, spreading throughout his limbs and making it hard for him to move without feeling the agonizing pain of Price’s nails raking across his skin. Or the fact that he could scarcely breathe without feeling his throat constricting or his lungs collapsing. His organs were shutting down as his stomach churned with growing nausea. At least the pain in his stomach distracted him from the rest of the outside world.

Chip just wanted to crawl inside somewhere hollow and hide for the rest of his life, never having to come out and deal with any of this situation. He wanted to run, he wanted to hide, he wanted some sort of out so badly that it hurt his brain trying to think of a way to escape. Chip barely remembered the layout of the tavern they were in, let alone how to find the exit.

Chip was just starting to look around the room for an exit opportunity when Price cleared his throat and Chip flinched.  

He had spaced out. Price had noticed. He was sure that Jay might’ve noticed too.

“Be a good boy and I’ll leave your friends alone,” Price hissed in Chip’s ear, reaching up to smooth Chip’s bangs away from his face, rubbing the side of his head. He smiled at the way that Chip squirmed, shaking the sense back into himself as he forcefully was brought back to his senses by the pure discomfort of the entire situation. Chip’s nose and mouth were full of the lavender-scented soap that Price used, it tried to sink him deeper and deeper into that terrifyingly hazy space in his mind. Chip couldn’t escape it.

Price’s other hand had lowered to Chip’s leg where he could stealthily pinch or drag his nails down Chip’s skin without the others noticing. A subtle way to get Chip right back under his control, pick back up where they left off, and see how good his training had been all those years ago.  

Chip was practically an open machine underneath Price’s hands, forcing himself to still as he picked at his gears and his machinery and all the inner workings that made him move or speak or whimper or shut up and stop moving.

“Right! This is uh… this is Jay… and…” Chip couldn’t think. His thoughts were both moving a million miles a minute and not at all as he tried to remember what the situation was around him, “and uh… and that’s Gillion.”

“Oh, you two seem like such lovely people,” Price smiled and clicked his tongue approvingly, conveying that he was so far satisfied with Chip’s performance. Price halfway tilted his head to the side as he scrunched up his face to examine the other two with what wouldn’t have been seen any more suspiciously as just taking in the two other members.  

His hand stopped moving on Chip’s arm and for a moment he could try and pretend that it wasn’t there and that Chip wasn’t half sitting on the lap of the one man that he feared the most. The man that Chip still sometimes couldn’t get out of his nightmares, waiting for his command, waiting for a hopefully swift punishment. Chip waited, and waited, and waited. And he waited for Price to make the next move, he was too terrified to do something first.

Price moved now, he reached out with his right hand to extend to Jay, inviting her into the conversation casually, “Jay…” he prompted, raising one eyebrow and waiting for her to give more information, opening up the discussion for her to talk about herself.

“Ferin,” Jay responded a bit cautiously as she took his hand, her eyes darting back and forth between Chip and Price as she tried to take in the situation. Chip’s eyes widened minutely, lips parting as he tried not to freak out at how easily she gave her last name. Chip felt Price squeeze his arm again as he shook Jay’s hand politely as if he were just coming by on a friendly visit, meeting Chip’s new friends and making himself known.

Well, he was definitely making himself known.

Jay was looking at Chip curiously, waiting for some sort of signal or tip-off from the other man that Price was up to no good. But Chip just looked away and focused on a grain spot on the wooden table between them, feeling like the few-foot gap was larger than several oceans. Jay and Gillion were all the way over there across the entire world while Chip was huddled in Price’s arms trying not to panic.

“Oh, a Ferin,” Price whistled appreciatively and clapped Chip hard on the shoulder, jostling him and making him flinch, “How’d you get riled in with a bunch of pirates, aren’t you Ferin’s all Navy?”

He was digging deeper for information, prodding Jay in hopes that she would spill some of her secrets that she had been hiding even from Chip and Gillion for months. Jay just looked uncomfortable as she pulled her shoulders back and averted her eyes.

“It’s kind of a long story…” Jay shook her head and waved her hand dismissively, plastering on that same polite smile she always used when she didn’t want to talk about something. Chip let out a breath that he didn’t even know he had been holding. He curled his hands tightly into fists around the hem of his shirt, forcing himself not to fidget. Price hated when he fidgeted.

“Oh, for another time then,” Price nodded in agreement and slid his tongue over his lips, his braid fell back in front of his chest and he made no move to push it back as he sized up Gillion like a hungry dog. “And you’re Gillion?”

Gillion perked up upon being talked to, eyes widening as he examined Price carefully, “I am Gillion Tide—”

“And this is Price,” Chip blurted out, cutting Gillion off before he could give out any more information about himself, even his last name or lists of titles was already too much. If Price had their first and last names, that meant he could dig deeper into them and get more information. And the more information he had, the more dangerous he became. “Reuben Price!”  

Price’s grip tightened significantly around Chip’s shoulder and he tried not to yelp at the stings of pain from his nails. He practically growled under his breath from deep within his throat and Chip’s stomach dropped. That was a mistake. He had done something wrong. Broken a rule. He had spoken out of turn and he was sure to be punished.

But Price didn’t show his annoyance on his face as he just smiled softly at Jay and Gillion, shaking Chip’s shoulder a little bit, mostly ignoring the other man as he just moved on casually like Chip was never there, “Captain Price. What a pleasure to get to meet you two.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Price glared at Chip with a disapproving stare. He tsked and Chip shrunk in on himself, biting down hard on the inside of his mouth as he tried not to let out a whimper. Price wouldn’t punish him here. Not in front of Jay and Gillion. And yet Chip couldn’t underestimate the things that Price had up his sleeve. 

He felt Price relax his hand at Chip’s sudden forced ease as he tried to curl up in as small of a ball as possible, once again beginning to rub up and down Chip’s arm in a calming gesture, soothing him, treating him kindly.  

Like a pet that had misbehaved and needed to be scolded. But the scolding didn’t mean that the owner didn’t love it. Just that it was out of line, and needed to be redirected. He was just trying to keep Chip in line, keep him from acting out, and keep him polite, obedient, and well-trained.

Chip bit down hard on the inside of his mouth and fought back the tears that he could feel in the back of his throat. He couldn’t cry. Not here. Not in front of Price.

“Did you and Chip sail together in the past?” Jay asked with what almost seemed like an awkward laugh as she looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Well, we certainly worked together for a while,” Price looked down at Chip and reached up to pet his head, smoothing his fingers through the greasy brown strands and tutting disapprovingly as he felt the ratty state of Chip’s hair. He was in a sorry state, too dirty to make a good show, but not dirty enough to warrant a bath. But Price didn’t stop petting him, forcing Chip further against his side. “Isn’t that right, Chip?”

“Right,” Chip practically squeaked out, hating the way that his voice didn’t sound like his own. It sounded wrong, too high pitched, too shaky, too unconfident. He had a hard time getting each breath in his lungs and it made his voice sound winded and wheezy. As if he were congested. Price hummed and petted his hair.

“So you two have known each other for a while?” Jay looked back and forth between them, she raised one eyebrow and Chip refused to meet her eyes. He couldn’t stand the shame of having to face them like this when he was sitting in Price’s lap with his hand through his hair. He didn’t want them to see him like this. Not now, not in this state.

Chip’s heart pounded so loud in his chest that it felt like it was going to burst. He was going to be sick. Price pulled his bangs away from his forehead and rubbed his scalp gently before placing it on the back of his neck. He rubbed the side of Chip’s head right behind his ears and dragged his fingers slowly across his skin, scratching his nails light enough that Chip could feel it but not enough that it would hurt. 

Price hummed again from deep in his chest and leaned back some in the chair, stretching his legs out in front of himself and placing his other hand right on Chip’s thigh. Chip wanted to gag at the sensation, too scared to move his thigh away, too scared to try and sit back in his own chair, too scared to do anything that might get him out of this situation. He couldn’t even look over to Jay for help because if she saw, she would cause a scene. And if she caused a scene, they might get hurt.

Chip couldn’t let them get hurt. He had to be good. He had to be a good, obedient boy and then Price would leave them alone. Chip knew how often Price would lie about those things, he would tell Chip one thing to get him to obey and then turn around in the same sentence and punish him. But he had to grasp onto the chance that if he was a good boy, then he could keep Jay and Gillion safe.

He would be good. Chip could do that. He had to.

“Well, we go way back,” Price sucked in a deep breath and Chip instinctively flinched, “Helped each other out when times were rough. I kept him safe, gave him shelter and food, and we worked together and made ends meet.” Price tugged on the hair at the back of Chip’s neck, pulling his head back and forcing him to look up from where Chip had been ducking his head. He was trying to guilt Chip. Remind him of all the things that Price did for him that he threw away. And it was working.

“We weren’t really… pirates,” Chip blinked a few times, trying to clear his head as he practically sounded out the words like he had forgotten how to speak. He could feel himself slipping. Chip dug his nails into his palms and looked up to glance over at Jay and Gillion with a forced smile, blinking, blinking, blinking to get his thoughts under control.

“It was more of a private business,” Price quickly added, pulling on Chip’s hair again and forcing him to stifle a yelp, “but what do you two do? How do you know Chip?”

“Well we—” Jay started to answer the question and Chip found himself panicking, mind working a mile a minute as he tried to predict what she was going to say. He needed to deflect the conversation.

“We’re just doing business together,” Chip blurted, cutting Jay off as she started to speak, mouth working faster than his brain as he rapidly looked back and forth between Price and his co-captains, “some pirate stuff going on, really nothing too important. Making sure to get where all of us need to be.”

“We’re pirates,” Gillion tried to add with that same air of confidence that he always held when talking about the things that they did, “co-captains—”

“I’ve been mostly the one sailing around the oceans to find what we’re all looking for,” Chip interrupted again, squeezing his hands into fists around the hem of his shirt as he leaned forward only to be immediately pulled back with a sharp-clawed hand. “That’s why I wasn’t able to keep in touch, I’ve been all over the place so it’s been really hard to keep up relationships with anyone that isn't on the ship. We’ve kind of just been sailing around—”

“Shut up,” Price hissed in Chip’s ear, leaning in so close that Chip could feel the breath on his ear. Close enough that he could smell the lavender perfume in his hair, “quiet when the  people  are trying to talk. Mutts don’t speak.”

Chip shut his mouth with an audible click of his teeth together. He shrunk in on himself and tried to shy away, but Price just sighed and petted his hair. He bit his tongue and kept himself quiet, not making a single peep. Not even a whimper or a whine or a hum. He kept his hands still around his shirt, holding himself tense and rigid as he forced himself not to fidget. He was still, silent, obedient. Price smiled softly with satisfaction, a confident, proud grin spreading across his face as he looked down at Chip.

“Why don’t you tell me a bit more about what you three do?” Price prompted, raising one eyebrow at Jay and Gillion. Chip felt like he was going to be sick. His eyes widened and he looked over at the two of them, fearing for his and their life as he realized they had the opportunity to give Price all the information that he needed.

Chip could scarcely breathe, he sucked each gulp of air in and out of his lungs as quietly as possible, vision fading in and out of blur as he tried to remain present. Price’s hands were warm. He petted his hair. He rubbed Chip’s thigh. He soothed him with gentle touches in an attempt to massage the tension out of his muscles. He was trying to get Chip to relax so the next time he dug his nails into his flesh would be all the more painful.

Jay and Gillion looked at each other. Jay started talking. Her voice was just garbled static to Chip who was trying really hard to pay attention. He needed to know how much Price would find out about them. He needed to stop Jay from talking in any way possible. He needed to figure out some way to extract himself from the situation without getting them all hurt.

He had gotten out before, why did he ever think that it was going to last? Chip scolded himself for being so stupid. Price had clearly been playing with him before, allowing Chip to escape to taste what it would be like to be free. Then he was going to drag him all the way back now that it seemed like Chip had healed to the point that his training started to become void.  

But now everything that Price had beat into him reared its ugly head right to the forefront of Chip’s mind. He was going to drag Chip back. He was just toying with Chip before so that when he was forced back into that god-awful place, he would be much more broken.  

It was so that Chip would know how powerful Price was, how easily he could give and relinquish control.

It was to show how much power Price truly had. And now Chip’s time with freedom was up. He was going to get dragged back there. 

He didn’t want to go back with Price. He didn’t want to go back there. He couldn’t stand it. Chip would die if he went back there.

And he knew that his time was up. Price was tugging on the leash again, petting his hair and soothing kind motions into his tense muscles.

Chip’s entire body tingled with pins and needles and it felt like he couldn’t move his body. His body wasn’t his own anymore, he was waiting for a command, waiting to be told what to do, waiting to be given permission to do even the most basic things like move his own limbs.

Chip blinked and any time he felt his eyes slipping shut for too long, unable to keep himself from shutting down, Price would pinch his leg hard enough that he almost drew blood. And then Chip would flinch and look around as if he didn’t know where he was as if he couldn’t tell what was going on. As if all the words around him weren’t just washing over him like a cold, sharp wave.

Price hummed with interest every time Jay said something that seemed to be important, he smoothed some of Chip’s hair away from his face and rubbed the underside of his jaw. Chip could feel his chest vibrate, the way that he kept making quiet noises that wouldn’t be picked up by Jay or Gillion. But they were enough to alert Chip.  

Chip remained quiet in Price’s lap.  

He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t speak.

He couldn’t speak unless spoken to, and Price had distinctly told him to shut up. So Chip would listen. He didn’t want to get punished. Not when he knew that Price had the easiest way to punish Chip right in the palm of his hands. Just a few feet away across the table. Price could dig his claws in so deep that he would have Chip running back just to keep his crew out of danger. He could. Chip knew he could.

But he couldn’t do anything about it. He just had to cower and hope that his obedience would be enough to keep Price from doing anything drastic.

“I think I’m gonna go get us some more drinks,” Jay said suddenly, loud enough that it startled Chip out of his thoughts and the slightly hazy, fuzzy feeling that had overtaken his entire body, “Chip could you help?”

Jay was giving him an opportunity to get out of the situation. A very, very obvious way out. A chance to talk to him in private. A chance for Chip to tell her what was going on with Price and then this entire thing would be a waste. All of Chip’s efforts to keep them safe would be thrown down the drain.

Could she tell that he was uncomfortable? Was she beginning to catch onto Price’s antics? Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. 

She knew. She had to have found out. She was always so observant. She could tell that there was something wrong. Chip hadn’t done a good enough job at masking it so as to not tip off Jay or Gillion.

Chip looked up at Price with terrified eyes, his heart pounding so hard that he felt like he was going to throw up. He expected Price to be angry, to have that same disappointed expression he always wore when he knew Chip was up to something.

But he was just smiling kindly at Jay as if it were the most casual request in the world. As if whatever response he would come up with would be the most reasonable request. As if he didn’t want to have at least one moment with Chip alone so he could dig his claws so deep into Chip’s chest and make sure that Chip knew who he belonged to. Because Chip had gotten too attached. He had gotten too comfortable with his new life. He should’ve known that he would get pulled back eventually.

“Actually I think I’d like to try and catch up with Chip for a little bit while you two go get more drinks,” Price said, pulling Chip closer to his chest as he petted his hair, “we have a lot of time to catch up on, right Chip?”

That wasn’t an invitation to speak, so Chip just clamped his mouth shut tighter and nodded.

“The next round will be on me,” Price reached deep into his jacket pockets and pulled out a few gold coins. He tossed them down on the table as if they were the least important thing in the world as if they didn’t even matter. Jay seemed shocked at his sudden offer, but she was raised polite enough not to decline when someone offered to pay. She took the coins. They were indebted to Price now.

“Okay then… uh… Gillion?” Jay didn’t even give Gillion the chance to accept or deny. She grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his feet while Gillion struggled to grab his balance on his wobbly legs.  

Chip watched them disappear towards the bar counter with pure fear in his eyes as he realized that it meant he was alone with Price. They were alone now.

Price was free to do anything he wanted.

“You know, Chip,” Price leaned back in the chair and tilted Chip’s face up to look at him as he delicately smoothed his thumb over Chip’s cheekbone, “I didn’t think you’d be such a good boy today. I must have trained you so well that you still remember how to be obedient.”

Chip swallowed thickly and bit down on the inside of his mouth, trying to look away from Price even though the other man kept his chin held firmly in place. Price’s smile was almost cocky, self-satisfied as he saw how he was able to reduce Chip to a silent, obedient pet. Just like how Chip had been trained before.

“Look at you, listening to what you’re told, sitting all pretty in my lap like a good boy,” Price pressed his thumb to the corner of Chip’s eye where he could feel tears starting to well up. Price didn’t comment, instead, he just sat there gloating while he took in Chip’s panicked but mute expression. “Quiet and obedient, just like how a pet should be.”

Chip whimpered and Price clicked his tongue disapprovingly, “What did I just say? You aren’t allowed to speak unless I tell you to.”

Chip hunched his shoulders and bit down on his lower lip hard enough that he could taste blood. His heart felt like it was going to burst and he couldn’t help the tears from welling up in the corners of his eyes. He had gone so long without being forced not to cry, he had cried so much in Jay and Gillion’s arms that now he felt himself unraveling. Everything that he had built up was crumbling and refortifying at the same time.

Price frowned and brought his thumb up to Chip’s eye, dragging his nail across Chip’s lower lid and making him flinch. “Oh Chip,” he tsked and shook his head, “what have we talked about with crying?”

Chip bit back another whine as he just nodded in understanding and tried to blink away the tears while Price watched him disapprovingly. He let out a hum of what almost sounded like annoyance at the way Chip had to sniffle and shift to stop himself from breaking down. He had to get himself under control because otherwise,  he  would cause a scene. And then it was all downhill from there.

“See, good boy,” Price pulled his hand back to smooth Chip’s bangs out of his face, petting his head and running his fingers through his hair, “You really let yourself go outside of my care. I took such good care of you, I couldn’t bear having you as my pet when you’re looking like this in rags and greasy hair. But I’m putting up with you.”

Chip was hyper-aware of the way that his bangs fell wrong against his forehead when Price removed his hand, reaching down to once again rub Chip’s face. Chip couldn’t even move his hands back up to adjust his hair in a way that wouldn’t bother him. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t fidget or adjust himself or shift without permission. He couldn’t try and fix his hair without Price telling him it was okay. Because then he would be breaking the rules.

Good dogs had to do what they were told when they were told. And that meant doing nothing when given no command.

“If you keep being good and obedient, I’ll get the information that I want and I’ll leave you three alone, alright?” Price phrased it like a question, but it wasn’t an invitation to speak, “I’ll leave your little friends alone and I’ll let you go about your business. And then we won’t see each other again. At least not for a while.”

Chip hunched his shoulders and tried to curl in on himself, holding back the whimpers that he so desperately wanted to let spill out. He wanted to curl up in as small of a ball as physically possible and hide from the rest of the world. But as long as Price was here, he was stuck in the other man’s lap.  

Trapped.  

He was trapped. 

Chained up and back on his leash, and Price knew just where to pull to get Chip to slip right back into that obedient, perfect pet mindset.

“There were too many people over there,” Jay suddenly declared as she rounded the table to sit back in her previous spot. Chip nearly jumped out of his skin as he hadn’t been expecting them to come back so soon. Gillion followed but didn’t sit just yet as he looked across the room somewhere just behind Chip’s head.

“Oh?” Price slid his tongue over his lips and leaned back, uncurling his arms as much from around Chip, but still keeping a possessive hold.

“Didn’t think it was worth shoving in,” Jay shook her head and deposited Price’s money back on the table. Chip felt a small wave of relief. “Besides, I’m thinking it’s getting kind of late, I’m sure the rest of the crew will be wondering where we are.”

“Oh, your crew?” Price raised an eyebrow, his interest suddenly piqued at the new information that Jay offered. Chip looked up with wide eyes, staring at Jay with mouth agape until he felt Price pinch him. He quickly shut his mouth with an audible click and clenched his jaw.

“Yeah, we should be getting back to the ship,” Jay began to stand up, placing an extra coin on the table for a tip, “right, Chip?”

Chip tried to look towards Price to tell if that was permission enough to speak. But Price looked frustrated, annoyed even. Enough that while it was hidden behind a forced neutral expression, Chip could see the undertones of his emotions boiling up to the surface. He felt the way that Price tightened his grip around Chip’s shoulders, digging his nails into his skin and keeping him clawed in place.

Chip wanted to shake his head no to Jay’s request. He wanted to keep Price from getting angry because now that he had more information about their crew, he could much more easily hurt them. He wanted to shake his head to appease Price so that they wouldn’t get hurt. That was what an obedient dog would do.

But instead, his terrified body nodded. Sealing his fate. Sealing his crew's fate. And getting himself out of this situation.

Price’s grip lessened around Chip’s body and he let out a huff of annoyance, steadily hidden by a mask of a polite smile.

He leaned in close and Chip could only smell lavender as he practically growled, “You be good. I’ll see you soon.”

And then he had pushed Chip off of him enough that Chip was forced to move before he fell to the ground. Chip scrambled to get away, hands curling around the edge of the table as his knees trembled so hard he could barely get himself up to his feet.  

He gasped and let out a whine, flinching when he realized that he had broken another rule. But Price did nothing. He didn’t try to get closer or dig his claws into Chip’s flesh.  

He just stood from his chair and watched.

Jay rounded the other side of the table and put her hand on the center of Chip’s back, causing him to flinch but startling him out of the stupor he had fallen into. “Come on, let’s get going. It was nice to meet you, Captain Price.”

“Pleasure is mine,” Price slid his tongue over his lips and smiled, his one half-lidded eye practically piercing into Chip’s skull as both Jay and Gillion flanked him on either side like bodyguards. “Bye, Chip.”

Chip shrunk in on himself impossibly further and bit the inside of his mouth. Gillion put a hand around Chip’s arm and helped him stand when he felt like he was going to collapse from how badly his entire body was shaking. He didn’t realize how much Price had been supporting him until now he had to stand on his own two legs and found it an impossible task.

He wanted to flinch away from Gillion’s touch. He didn’t want to be touched by anyone ever again. Chip didn’t want to have to feel the sensation of skin on his skin for the rest of his life. He just wanted to curl up and hide where no one would find him and waste away.

But he didn’t pull away. He let Gillion hold him upright as they walked out of the tavern with Price’s eyes burning holes into his back. He resisted every single urge in his body to jerk away and flee because he knew that would just cause more conflict. It would cause more trouble. Chip just swallowed down his rising panic and discomfort and just let Gillion and Jay guide him without a care or thought of where they were going.

It didn’t matter. He didn’t care. His body was heavy and his brain was full of fog. He was out of Price’s arms and that was the only thing that mattered right now.

Chip was away from Price for the time being. He hadn’t been a good boy, leaving like that when he wasn’t told to. But at least it didn’t feel like his chest was going to collapse with how hard it had been to breathe.

Chip shook and trembled so hard that it was nearly impossible to keep himself standing on his own without Gillion’s support. It was pathetic, needy, and weak. And Price would tell him as such. But Chip had to use the others to rely on because otherwise he would’ve just collapsed into a heap and allowed himself to rot into the floor.

He had escaped. For now. Escaped for the second time from Price’s warm claw-infested grasp.

Chip, obedient as he was, had disobeyed twice now, twice with the severity that got him his freedom. Surely his punishment would be soon. 

 Price wouldn’t just let him go free without some sort of punishment. He had never done that before.  

Chip was always punished somehow.

Chip felt wobbly as if he had never learned how to walk or how to breathe or how to speak on his own. As if his entire being that he had built up for himself was unraveling at the seams and he was left as a shivering, obedient dog. But he kept moving. Gillion kept dragging him forward. And Chip kept getting farther and farther away from where Price had tried to make his claim over him again.

The fact that he had escaped should have been a relief. But Chip didn’t have the energy to indulge in that feeling yet. He was just focused on survival. Surviving while the others dragged him along like a lost mutt, trying to get him somewhere safer.  

It was all Chip could do just to keep himself conscious while the feeling of Price’s hands across his skin still tingled and burned like simmering embers.