Eric was resting his chin against his right palm while his left hand still carded through the boy's hair when a snort from Ben made the dom jump.
He looked down and realized with some humor that Ben had managed to fall asleep in the most uncomfortable position that Eric could think of and was now snoring lightly.
The poor boy must be truly exhausted. Eric bent down and scooped up Ben into his arms and walked over to the couch. He placed the limp form on it and held his head so he could place one of the pillows under it.
The sub let out a grumble and cracked his sleepy eyes open and eyed Eric.
The dom smiled and brushed some of the hair that was in the boy's face behind his ear, and went to step back.
Ben latched his hand around Eric's wrist.
"Don't go." The boy murmured.
"Ok, baby. I'll stay."
Eric situated himself and Ben on the couch so that the sub's head lay in the dom's lap. He also grabbed a blanket out of the one of the aftercare kits that was carefully hidden around the room. He draped the blanket over Ben's form and heard the sub sigh in contentment as he shifted himself so he was more comfortable.
Laying an arm across the sub, Eric kicked his feet up and let them rest on top of the coffee table while he laid his head back against the top of the couch.
Neither of them heard the door being opened thirty minutes later by Darryl who peaked his head in and smiled at the sleeping figures on the couch. Darryl carefully closed the door and left the two in peace.
*******
Ben was the first to stir. He blinked his eyes open and looked around his surroundings confused at first. This wasn't his room, and his head was definitely not on any pillow he had experienced using before.
The boy shifted his head up to see Eric conked out on the couch. Ben carefully sat up so as not to disturb the Dom. The blanket fell down to his lap. It was a soft flannel thing. Perfect for curling up under.
How long had they been sleeping? Probably not long . Ben stood and walked over to the one way mirror but both rooms were dark and empty of people.
What time did the club close? 1, 2? They couldn't have been asleep that long...could they?
Ben dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, checking the time. It read 3:47 am. Shit he needed to get home. Not that there was anything waiting there for him. But still it was the principle of the thing.
Turning the sub planned on waking the sleeping dom. But stopped when he saw the peaceful expression on Eric's face. He couldn't disturb the sleeping giant, not when he looked like that, all soft and cuddly.
The boy just wanted to climb into the Dom's lap, curl up and go back to sleep, but no. That was a stupid urge that needed to be squashed. Ben was perfectly capable of taking care of himself; he didn't need to lean on Eric for anything, (even if he really really wanted to).
So instead of waking Eric up or curling back on the sofa, Ben decided to do a little exploring. He left the sleeping form and made his way out of the VIP room and down the stairs to the dance floor.
It was a little eerie to walk around a dark and deserted night club, but it was also kinda fun. Now if only Ben could stop jumping at every shadow.
He approached the bar and examined the other side, then followed his curiosity to the DJ's stage. It was raised up on a platform, allowing for the DJ to see over the crowd and judge the mood of the room.
Ben continued to let his curiosity rule as he meandered his way toward the door that led to the dungeons side of the building. On the way he passed the non VIP bathrooms, making a mental note of their location (just in case).
The dungeon side was even more creepy than the dark dance floor. There were five stages spaced out around the room with some seating and tables in front of each. The room appeared to be set up so you could flow through it with relative ease, stop at a stage that interested you or sit down and enjoy the show. There was also a set of stairs that led down with a sign above it that read in neon lights "private dungeons". That sent a chill down Ben's spine.
Turning away from that sign, Ben focused his attention on examining each stage. One had ropes suspended from the ceiling, another had a black wooden X in the center, the third had a medical looking chair with straps, the fourth contained a hanging swing, and the fifth was empty.
Unwillingly, the boy's imagination started to run wild with ideas and thoughts of what each of those stages could be used for. Like most people when they first discovered porn, Ben had been curious and delved into the darker side of things, just to see what people were talking about. It had been...an experience. One that scared the shit out of Ben, not because it was repugnant, but because it made him want things he didn't understand, nor wanted to understand.
After that, when Ben watched porn, which was rarely, he stuck to strictly vanilla gay porn. But now being confronted with all those emotions again, plus the experiences he had had with Eric, it was hard to ignore the ache in his heart.
Ben was interrupted from his thoughts by the lights being turned on. The boy whirled, blinking, trying to adjust his eyes to the brightness.
Eric stood in the doorway leaning against the wall, watching him.
"Find anything interesting?"
Ben emphatically shook his head no. He did NOT want Eric to know the thoughts that had been racing through his head. It would be far too embarrassing.
The dom Shoved his shoulder off the wall and walked towards Ben with lithe grace. The boy took a hasty step back, but forgot that the empty stage was directly behind him. He tripped over the edge which caught him in the back of his knees and fell back onto the stage hard.
"Ow." Ben moaned.
Eric raced forward to check and see if Ben was ok.
"Would you stop falling into things, or at least wait to do it when I'm there and can catch you?" The dom said looking one part exasperated, and the other like he's suppressing laughter.
"It was your fault I fell in the first place. Both times."
"I didn't even do anything either time."
"Yea, you did." Ben muttered as he checked his elbows and hissed as he poked at the scrapes, and watched with irritation as blood began to ooze from both.
Eric sighed and shook his head. "Come on, can't have you bleeding over everything. Let's get you bandaged up."
Ben allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and shepherded away, until he realized they were heading towards the private dungeons.
"Oh hell no. I am not going to some private dungeon so you can tie me up and torture me!"
Ben moved too quickly and tripped over his feet as he raced backwards. The boy would have fallen on the floor and done more damage to himself if Eric hadn't reacted so quickly and wrapped an arm around Ben's waist to keep him upright.
"Why do you always think the worst of me? Am I really that scary?"
Before the boy could stop himself he nodded his head yes. Eric's face fell as he let go of Ben and backed away, giving him a respectful distance of space.
"I'll just...call you a cab or Uber or something to take you home. There are paper towels at the bar and a sink you can clean up in." The dom mumbled looking small and defeated.
It was an expression that Ben never expected to see on the man's face. How could such a large, confidant, and strong man look so...miserable.
A wave of guilt swamped the boy, he couldn't handle being responsible for that level of pain on Eric's face.
"I'm sorry." He croaked out.
