Being In Control

Summary: Lucille comes close to letting his temper get the better of him. Kohaku steps in to help him control his temper
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the manga series Grand Guignol Orchestra; references to violence and zombie-like creatures; AU
Author's Note: This is a tag to a scene at the beginning of volume one, where Lucille loses his temper and snaps at one of the townsfolk while Kohaku is physically holding him back. It sort of started out as a spanking given for cathartic/helping to release stres purposes, but as you'll see, it kind of evolves from its initial purpose.

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Lucille looked around the room he'd been given, wondering if he should correct the Lord's assumption that he was a woman. It wasn't that it bothered him to be mistaken for another gender. After all, he could easily make himself look more masculine if he chose to. And it was true that he, Kohaku and Gwindel often had very little privacy when they were travelling through the country, fighting back the plague turning people into the guignol.

Besides, it would probably be rude to refuse the Lord's hospitality in offering him a separate room, even if he was wrong about the reason why.

The sound of movement from outside the room drew Lucille's attention to the door. He glanced towards it as it opened and Kohaku stepped inside, glancing around before he closed the door behind him. "I thought you might be in here."

"Because I'm the only one the Lord might mistake for a woman and therefore give his wife's old room to?" Lucille put down the small mirror he'd been looking into and turned fully to face Kohaku. "What can I do for you?"

"We need to talk about your reaction to the townsfolk. About how you nearly lost your temper, how you nearly lost control, and I had to hold you back." Kohaku focused his attention fully on Lucille. "We talked about this before."

Lucille sighed and glanced away, looking towards the bed. "Do you think she was kept here when she got sick? The Lord's wife?" he asked. "People treat the guignol like they're still the people they lost. We might be able to bring them back to their senses, but it will only ever be a temporary freedom, followed by death. Perhaps that's the truest freedom of all." He moved over to the bed, pushing aside the images of the blood that stained his hands; the bodies he'd laid at his own feet. He'd done what was necessary, that was all.

Kohaku followed him over to the bed, glancing towards it before focusing on Lucille's face. "Does it matter? Even if she was kept here, there wouldn't be any traces left behind." He sat down on the bed and looked up at Lucille. "Do we need to talk any more about this? I mean, I'm used to being the hot-headed one. I'm used to you having to hold me back."

"You knew I had a temper. That's why we made this arrangement." Sighing quietly, almost to himself, Lucille moved over to Kohaku's side. After what had happened before, after having to reform the orchestra, he'd promised he wouldn't follow the same path he'd taken in the past. And part of that was keeping a tight, iron control over his own temper and reactions. And when he couldn't do that? Well, that was why he and Kohaku had this arrangement. It wasn't pleasant, but then again, it wasn't supposed to be pleasant.

Lucille moved forward, stepping round to Kohaku's side. He was tempted to put a stop to this arrangement...to tell Kohaku he'd changed his mind. But that thought was only in his head for a second or two before he pushed it away. After all, he wasn't a stranger to pain or discomfort. And even if a spanking was as much about embarrassment as it was about discomfort and pain, it was preferable to what had happened before. What he'd had to do before, to keep himself alive.

There was a line that he couldn't afford to let himself cross again. And this was one of the ways in which he made sure that line wasn't crossed again.

Breathing in slowly, Lucille leaned forward, positioning himself across Kohaku's knees. He cast a brief glance towards the door, wondering how well the sound would carry outside the room, but found himself focusing on his own position when Kohaku began preparing him for the spanking...removing the layers of clothing that covered his backside, making it bare and vulnerable.

Lucille's breath escaped in a short, sharp gasp when Kohaku's hand landed on his bare right cheek. He gripped the bedsheets tightly in both hands as the sting blossomed. Right when it reached a crescendo, a matching swat was delivered to his left buttock, causing him to hiss softly.

The spanking continued in that vein, with Kohaku delivering a new swat right when the previous had reached the highest level of sting. For all that he was hot-headed and impulsive, when it came to delivering a spanking, Kohaku was slow and methodical, making sure every inch of Lucille's bottom stung before he started over from the top, swatting at the same methodical pace as he'd completed the first circuit.

Lucille breathed in deeply, focusing on the smacks; on the steady pattern that Kohaku used to punish him. He'd been on edge since before they arrived here...and now that they were here, he hadn't been able to relax. The townspeople were hiding something; he was almost sure of it. And he was fairly certain he knew what they were hiding.

If he was right...and he still needed to find the proof of that...then he'd be put in a difficult position of having to lie to the Queen, or sending her the full and true report, knowing what her response would be and knowing what her 'mercy' would entail.

Another circuit of smacks had Lucille shifting, tears filling his eyes and beginning to roll down his cheeks. It was rapidly getting to the point where the spanking would push him over the edge, to a point where his emotions would overwhelm him. If it continued, he would become weak, even if it was only for a short time.

Lucille released the bed sheets with one hand and threw his hand back, covering his backside. "That's enough."

Kohaku's hand came to a stop, resting on one thigh. "Are you going to keep a better control over your temper in the future?" he asked, a serious, nearly stern note creeping into his voice.

Lucille blinked, taken aback by the question. He shifted, as a strange feeling caused his stomach to drop slightly. Since the first time he'd asked Kohaku to do this...from the first time he'd submitted to Kohaku in this way...he'd always been the one in control of the spanking: when it started and when it stopped. This was the first time Kohaku had ever asked him something like this during a spanking. It was changing the dynamic of their relationship...and Lucille wasn't sure he liked that.

"Lucille. Did you hear me?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Lucille shifted slightly, the feel of Kohaku's hand on his thigh causing his stomach to dip slightly more. "That's not the way this goes. That's not what I asked you to do."

"I know." Kohaku dropped his voice slightly as he said, softly, "But maybe it's worth thinking about, huh? Like you said. You have a temper. So maybe this needs to be something I'm in control of. Not you."

"What does that mean?" Lucille shifted again. He could have easily broken Kohaku's hold and pulled away. He could have easily used any number of skils to break free. He didn't even need to hurt Kohaku that much to do so. But there was still that strange dip in his stomach; something that felt very much like a need.

"It means that maybe you need someone to actually punish you when you lose your temper. Starting now." Kohaku grasped Lucille's hand, pulling it away from his bottom and holding it against the small of his back. "You aren't in control of this. Of course, we both know you can physically stop me, but I don't believe you will. You asked me to do this for a reason. So I'm going to finish when I feel it's the right time. And not a moment before."

Lucille gave an experimental tug on his hand, but when he couldn't pull it free, he found himself relaxing...slumping slightly. His bottom ached from the swats he'd already been given, and he knew it would only hurt more before Kohaku was through. But now that he'd given up and decided to accept the punishment, he felt somehow lighter...almost freer.

Kohaku resumed the swatting, which somehow hurt even worse after the short break. Lucille shifted slightly, transferring his grip from the bedsheets down to Kohaku's ankle...gripping it tightly as the hard smacks moved a bit lower, focusing more on his sit spots and the tops of his thighs. Despite his best efforts to stay still, it didn't take much for him to begin shifting and squirming...his legs jerking in response to the sharp, stinging pain from the spanking.

By the time Kohaku paused the spanking again, Lucille was breathing hard and his eyes were wet. Resting his hand low down on Lucille's bare thigh, Kohaku asked, "Are you going to keep a better control over your temper?"

Lucille drew in a deep breath, preparing to retort that he wasn't the only one who needed to control his temper. Comparing him to Kohaku, it was Kohaku who needed to have a better control over his own temper and reactions. But even though the spanking had stopped, the sting remained behind...making him keep more control over his sharp tongue. "Yes." He took another deep breath and let it out slowly, allowing himself to slump over Kohaku's lap. "You're right. I will try to keep a better control of my temper." And deep inside, where he was affected the most by the consequences of his actions, he came to a decision.

Even if the townsfolk were keeping their guignols alive...or what semblance of life those creatures could still cling to...he wouldn't reveal it to Cordie. They'd do what they came here for: they'd restore the guignols to their former selves, for as long as it was possible to do so, and then they'd pass away peacefully.

And Cordie wouldn't have any idea, because Lucille would make sure nothing could get in or out of the town.

"Good." Kohaku lightly squeezed the fleshy part of Lucille's thigh, then tugged his clothing back into place. He then helped him to stand up and rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "What's the plan for dealing with the guignols here?"

Pushing away the discomfort from the spanking, Lucille cast a quick glance towards the door, then began to explain his plan for dealing with the epidemic in the town.

The End