Hey yall, unfortunately I need to rant a little about some comments because it's been bugging me for a while. Like. Ever since VC.

99.99999% of yall are great readers who comment funny stuff or good things related to the story, but every now and then there's some comments made that just make me go 😑

Firstly, I've literally updated this book once a day for like a week a straight. If I've been consistent with updates I really don't need or appreciate comments telling me to update, especially right at the end of a chapter I just posted. "UpDaTe!1"- what do u think I just did- ???

I have 2 jobs yall, I don't sit at home all day doing nothing, having 24 hours free to update. Sometimes I literally type a sentence in between helping customers and write a 3k word chapter that way. Updates come when I can get to them, so I really feel unappreciated when I'm lucky enough to publish and then ppl just comment "update update update" and don't even comment on what happened in the actual chapter

Again, most of u don't do this and I understand why ppl want an update, I'm honored yall like the story and want to read more just pls don't be pushy about it cuz it really dulls the enthusiasm for any writer (just ask any author lol)

Also, if it's clearly a serious, important scene, please don't comment something stupid. It really takes away from the emotions in the scene when someone comments something totally unrelated to what's happening or posts something they think is funny but really isn't. It takes a lot to set certain scenes up and to have someone make one little comment at the wrong time can honestly ruin it. So please have tastes during certain chapters. Funny comments at funny scenes and serious comments at serious ones uwu thank u ♡

Comments that are over dramatic really need to stop.

If the book made u feel really happy, sad or mad then that's good the book is doing its job but sometimes ppl go over board on their comments. If a character made a bad decision its cuz its for the plot of the book, it was supposed to happen, yet some people just freak out and get super dramatic and it's annoying.

U don't need to announce you're leaving the book just because one scene happened that u didn't like. Just go.

I'm only human, I make typos and mess up on grammar and continuity errors happen. There's a difference between pointing these out so I can fix them and just blowing something small out of proportion.

I feel like a bitch saying all this because 99% of yall are great readers and I don't want u to think I'm calling everyone out cuz it really is just a small amount and I truly value and appreciate yall taking the time to read my dumb stories 💓 💗 💖 💕 and I don't want to defer anyone from commenting cuz I love reading yalls theories and jokes and I love comment chains and seeing ur reactions to plot twists so please keep it up uwu

Sorry again yall I just had an emotional day and fuckin dbeidmwiduwjnswijw u know?

-

Terminology:

Rigger: someone who enjoys tying their partner up

Rope Bunny: someone who enjoys being tied up

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Baby is typing...

...

Baby is typing...

...

Namjoon sighed, deleting what he had written for the twentieth time in two minutes.

He wanted to talk to Yoongi, he had called him but the dom didn't pick up, the first time that had ever happened.

The student wanted to talk about what had happened, but everytime he tried to start, he found no words.

Baby is typing...

...

Groaning, he set the phone aside, trying to focus on his school work in front of him.

He had originally intended to stay over at Yoongi's house all weekend, but after Saturday, he felt like he shouldn't stay around, so he had left as soon as he woke up alone in Yoongi's bed and headed right to the library.

Last night when they got home Namjoon had changed into pajamas, ready to sleep the night away, but Yoongi had gone down to the couch to watch TV.

Assuming the dom would join him later, Namjoon had gone to bed, and when he woke up this morning, Yoongi was still asleep on the couch.

Taking that as a hint, Namjoon had stayed at the library all day.

He had never felt guilty before for being stubborn and wanting to know something, but now he did and he didn't know how to handle it. Force Yoongi to talk to him? Never talk to Yoongi again?

He picked up the phone again, staring at the texting screen.

Huffing, he tossed it aside again.

Just give him some space, what are you, clingy all of a sudden?

Namjoon scowled at his thoughts. "I'm not clingy, shut the fuck-"

His phone rang and Namjoon almost fell out of his chair to scoop it up.

Yoongi was calling, and Namjoon's heart skipped a beat.

He answered it, grabbing his things and hurrying out of the quiet library to talk.

"Hello?"

"Baby, where are you?"

Namjoon relaxed that Yoongi was still calling him baby.

"Library."

Yoongi sighed to himself. "Namjoon...come home."

And Namjoon took off running.

-

Yoongi was startled when the front door was thrown open, Namjoon rushing in to tackle him in a hug.

"I'm sorry!" He cried into the older man's chest. "I didn't mean- I just wanted- they were treating you so badly and only I can do that! I just wanted to know! I had to know!"

Yoongi smiled, guiding them to couch. "It's alright baby, I should have just told you from the beginning."

"No, I should have respected your privacy." Namjoon sighed, resting his cheek on Yoongi's shirt, holding it tightly in his hand.

"If we're going to be in a healthy partnership then there shouldn't be secrets." Yoongi said. "I promise if there's something bothering me I will tell you."

"I promise I won't be pushy." Namjoon looked up at him.

Yoongi raised an eyebrow.

"I won't be as pushy." Namjoon turned it more realistic.

Yoongi brushed the boys hair aside to kiss his forehead. "I'm sorry baby. I got caught up in my own emotions last night and pushed you aside."

"No, you needed time and space to think." Namjoon argued.

"Still, you're my baby and I didn't mean to make you feel like I didn't want to be by you. I always want to be by your side, Namjoon."

Namjoon smiled, happy. "Good, asshole. Because the month is only half over."

Yoongi chuckled. "Speaking of, I know it's Sunday so we don't legally have to have a session today, but can dom do something special for his cute baby?"

"What is it?" Namjoon was curious.

Yoongi patted the boys thigh gently, signaling him to get up.

Namjoon jumped to his feet, following Yoongi.

"You can wait here, baby." Yoongi stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Dom is just grabbing the rope."

"So it involves bondage." Namjoon noted. "I should have known, rigger."

"Rope bunny." Yoongi kissed the boys nose, standing on the step so he could reach.

Namjoon watched fondly as Yoongi left to grab whatever it was he needed, sitting down on the living room carpet to enjoy not being stressed anymore.

He was glad he and Yoongi had grown closer after what had happened, he knew it made them stronger, and neither of them were going to let anyone get in their way ever again.

After all, only Namjoon was allowed to pick on the little dom.

Just like only Yoongi was allowed to call Namjoon baby.

And this was the way Namjoon liked it.

He looked down at his bandaged wrists, and removed the bandages, ready to move forward.

-

"No peeking." Yoongi set the small case down on the coffee table.

Namjoon crawled over, peeking at the silver case as Yoongi popped the clasps open. "Why are they in there?"

"Because this kit came right from Japan." Yoongi opened the lid, standing back to let Namjoon see.

The baby looked in, frowning at how basic the black ropes looked.

"Why?"

"Because that's where shibari started." Yoongi explained. "And I wouldn't use just any old rope on my cute baby."

"You've used regular rope on me before." Namjoon reminded him, sitting back.

"For regular bondage. This is more like art." Yoongi picked out a coil of the black rope, handing it down to Namjoon.

Namjoon took it, studying the natural fibers.

"Shibari actually started in 1603 in Japan, where it was originally used to restrain and torture prisoners." Yoongi explained, sitting down in front of Namjoon. "Prisoners were tied up based on their crime. Now that that period has ended, shibari is used in a different way. Picked up by the BDSM community, it now is used more for art than sexual pleasure. Regular bondage's purpose is to restrain, while shibari is more focused on the actual process of tying up than the end result. Many find it a very therapeutic and relaxing way to calm down or destress."

It was a rare moment when someone taught him something Namjoon didn't already know, and he was interested to listen to Yoongi talking, so he didn't interrupt as he played with the rope in his hands.

"There's a special intimacy with shibari, as there's a lot of trust involved. You trust your partner will make the knots right so you don't fall, and your partner is trusting you to trust them. That's why I've never used this on anyone before. I don't have deep connections with my clients, so I didn't want to ruin the beautiful sanctity of shibari by using it on them."

Namjoon felt a smug smile worm its way across his mouth that he was the first one to do this with Yoongi.

"There's some main things you need to know if we're going to do this." Yoongi continued, watching Namjoon tie little bows in the ropes. "First, because it can be such a new experience for you, we'll need a sound to make sure you're doing okay, as well as a safe word if you're not, okay?"

"Okay." Namjoon agreed. "But why a sound instead of a word?"

"Sometimes people get so swept up in the moment that's it's easier and faster to just make a sound than to remember their special word to end a scene." Yoongi explained. "Even something as simple as a hum would be perfect."

"I'll hum then." Namjoon nodded. "A high one."

"Show dom." Yoongi instructed.

Namjoon sat up straight, humming as high as he could.

Yoongi smiled, leaning in to kiss the boys nose. "Good boy, just like that."

Namjoon couldn't help but compare Yoongi to Caine. Yoongi, who maybe didn't fit the typical dominant look since he had softer features and a shorter height than most, yet always asked for consent first, explained what he was going to do it before he did it, and always made sure his clients safety and comfort came first. Versus Caine, who Namjoon had no doubts wouldn't explain shit, would just do whatever he wanted and expect the sub to comply, would briefly go over safewords, if at all, and would probably scoff if the sub used one, because he believed tops were all superior. Yoongi believed they were equal, or even that the submissive was higher up than a dom, considering how well he treated Namjoon.

Namjoon felt a wave of pride for his dom, proud he had the best one.

He realized Yoongi was talking and quickly tuned back in.

"-might experience while tied up, including new mindfulness and awareness." The dom was saying.

Namjoon nodded, not really understanding.

"Okay, and what word do you want to use to be untied?" Yoongi asked.

Namjoon thought about it for a moment. "Renodo."

Yoongi smirked a little. "Bene, infantem."

He stood up, picking up the case. "Come on, sweetheart."

"Where are we going?" Namjoon got up too, following Yoongi upstairs.

Yoongi led him into his bedroom, looking up at the hooks in his ceiling, and Namjoon understood.

"I always wondered why you had those installed in here and not downstairs anywhere." Namjoon commented.

"Because a bedroom is the most intimate room, and shibari is an intimate artform. Anyone can have sex on a bed, but not everyone can have intimacy in the form of being domestic." Yoongi said. "Plus if something ever were to go wrong, you would fall onto the bed instead of a table or floor."

"Romantic and practical." Namjoon praised.

"Would you expect anything less from your dom?" Yoongi chuckled, grinning at the compliment.

He set the case at the foot of the bed and patted the blanketed mattress for Namjoon.

The boy walked over, climbing on the middle of the bed. He looked himself over, in his plain white shirt and shorts. "Do I need to get naked for this?"

"No, baby can stay clothed." Yoongi said, taking all his ropes out and looking them over.

Namjoon sat, leaning back on his hands as he stretched one leg out, the other one bent at the knee as he watched Yoongi finally decide on a coil. He didn't know what the difference was, but that didn't matter. As long as Yoongi knew, and the boy knew that he did.

Yoongi reached out, lightly grabbing the student's ankle, running his palm flat over Namjoon's smooth, tanned leg. "Can dom tie you up, baby?"

Namjoon nodded, watching.

"What's your confirmation sound?"

Namjoon hummed.

"And your stop word?"

"Renodo."

"My smart boy." Yoongi praised.

Finally ready, he got to work.

He wrapped the rope a few times around the boys ankle, tying the end into a short knot, so he had just one end of the rope to work with now.

Namjoon watched, a little fascinated as Yoongi worked.

"Black looks good on you baby." Yoongi murmured, pulling the rope up Namjoon's shin, wrapping it around his knee a few times above and below it. He leaned down, kissing the students knee, before slowly running his lips up Namjoon's thigh, one hand pulling the rope up with him, his other hand slowly rubbing up the boys inner thigh.

Namjoon shivered at the touches on such a sensitive part of him, and also because he had flashed back to Yoongi's black suit when the dom had said black looked good on the boy.

Yoongi saw the small crescents on Namjoon's inner thigh from when Caine had dug his fingernails in too hard.

Anger flashed through him, but he shoved it down, instead kissing the marks gently, letting his soft lips hover there for a moment.

"I'm sorry, baby." He murmured.

Namjoon shook his head. "You shouldn't be. You told me not to go to the red light district and I didn't listen."

He could see Yoongi still blamed himself, probably for letting Namjoon go off on his own, or even for taking him to the event in the first place.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked. "We talked about us but we never talked about what really happened. Between you and...him."

Yoongi focused on tying the rope around Namjoon's thigh, making it a secure diamond pattern. "Dom is fine, baby."

"I don't think you are. He really hurt you, abused the power and trust you gave him, really, and then you told no one about it for years. And then he hurt someone you care about, and now that person knows what happened to you too, when it was something you preferred to keep a secret."

Yoongi sighed, lowering the rope. "Sometimes you're too smart for your own good, baby."

"You can talk to me about it." Namjoon said. "If I was struggling with something you would want to help me."

"Because you're my cute baby." Yoongi smiled warmly at him.

"Well I want to help you too, asshole." Namjoon glared, though there was no anger behind it. "So talk to me. Tell me anything."

Yoongi focused on his work, slowly tying the rope up to Namjoon's hips, wrapping it around a few times before tying it off.

He was quiet, and Namjoon could see he was thinking.

"When I was crying, when you found me?" Namjoon said quietly. "I wasn't crying for myself. I was crying for you."

Yoongi stopped his work, not raising his head up.

"Crying for what he made you go through, for what you forced yourself to do, all in the name of putting your client first. And that was when I realized how great of a person you really are. You would go so far to make other people happy, committing to them so fully. I know most doms out there don't treat their subs as well as you treat me. If I had made this bet with anyone else, I would've been choked, slapped and punished for being a stubborn brat, yet you praise me for it. For being myself. You're a better person than he could ever hope to be. Remember when you said you were proud I was yours? Well, I'm proud you're mine."

"Namjoon..." Yoongi's voice was shaking, like he was on the verge.

"I don't think less of you, or think you're weak or can't be as dominant as anyone else out there." Namjoon ducked his head too, suddenly shy. "I prefer your way of doing things, because I can tell you care with every movement you do. I don't want a dom who wants me to live to serve them, I want someone to serve me. And you take care of me, make me feel safe and happy."

He risked a quick glance up, eyes catching with Yoongi's soft brown ones, lit up with his smile.

"Asshole!" Namjoon hastily added. "Don't look at me like that, pervert!"

Yoongi continued to smile, crawling forward on top of Namjoon, so the student had to lean back, head hitting the pillow as Yoongi hovered over him.

"Gratias ago tibi ubera mea." The dom whispered, his lips so close to Namjoon's.

Namjoon huffed, looking somewhere off to the side. "W-whatever, loser. Hurry up and finish your thing so I can..." He faltered, unable to come up with an excuse to leave.

Yoongi laughed, kissing the boys forehead as he sat back up. "Of course, baby."

Namjoon watched with pink cheeks as Yoongi pulled out another rope, mimicking the same design on the boys other leg, tying it off around the boys hips.

It was hard to bend his knees but Namjoon managed, sitting up to admire Yoongi's work. He flexed his foot out, looking the intricate rope pattern from all angles.

"Do you like it?" Yoongi murmured in the boys ear, snapping rope taut in both hands.

Namjoon did, for reasons he couldn't really explain. It was something Yoongi gave him, and only to him. It was like the design of the rope was Yoongi's design for them. Just them.

"Flip over sweetheart." Yoongi rubbed the boys shoulder. "On your front."

Namjoon did, looking behind him as best he could to see Yoongi pull out more rope.

"Before I go any further, can you confirm for dom that you're okay?" Yoongi asked, softly running his fingers through Namjoon's hair.

Namjoon hummed, relaxing his cheek on the pillow since it was more comfy.

Yoongi praised the boy, grabbing his wrists and laying them over the top of each other on the small of the boys back. He wound the rope around them, making them tight but not too much. He tied the ends off in a large bow, adding more rope to connect Namjoon's now bound hands to the rope around his hips.

Namjoon squirmed, not trying to get free (he knew there was no way out of a knot Yoongi did), but to test the rope and get used to the feeling of being restrained.

Yoongi let him take his time, focusing on winding more black rope up the boys chest and back, crisscrossing the lines so they would be able to hold him up evenly, as well as look pretty.

Namjoon found it a little harder to breathe when the ropes were pulled tight against him, but then they loosened a little and he exhaled.

"Still doing okay, baby?" Yoongi asked, running his hand over the boys back, hand bumping over the ropes.

"Yeah, pervert."

Yoongi moved to wrap the final ends around Namjoon's neck, but when the boy stiffened at the touch, he stopped and pulled back.

"Wait, want something else there." Namjoon said.

"Of course baby. Do you want one of your chokers?"

"I want my black collar. The long ribbon one."

Yoongi blinked, then slid off the bed, walking to the closet to fetch it.

He grabbed it out of the shopping bag and looked it over in his hands as he headed back.

"You sure baby?" He asked, sitting back down.

Namjoon nodded. "Gimme."

"Ask nicely."

"Gimme, asshole."

Yoongi held back a smile, clasping it around the boys neck. "There, baby. How does it feel?"

Namjoon tested it, tilting his head both ways, feeling the tightness of it. Not too tight that he couldn't breathe but not loose enough that he would forget it was there.

"'S fine." He tried to shrug, momentarily forgetting he was tied up, and couldn't do the action.

"You look very pretty in it." Yoongi admired, letting the silky ribbon slip through his fingers.

If anyone were to walk in on them, they would assume the two were in a relationship, would assume Namjoon was Yoongi's sub.

But unfortunately they would be wrong.

Yoongi could treat the boy like he was Yoongi's all he wanted, could call him sub a million times a day, collar him and tie him up just like this, could win all their little games, yet it still wouldn't be real.

Namjoon wasn't his.

Wasn't his sub.

Maybe after this bet, there would be a 50% chance he would become that, but Yoongi wasn't one to be arrogant or assume.

In the meantime, he admired the boy, imagining the beautiful, strong willed, smart little shit was all his.

-

Namjoon looked elegant, long legs tied up so beautifully in the black rope, with both legs bent at the knee, one pulled slightly father down than the other. His arms bound to his arched back. His head hanging low, looking at the upside down room.

Yoongi walked over, grabbing the hanging ribbon. He tugged, yanking the boys head back slightly. He released it to cup Namjoon's face, thumbs brushing softly over the boys dimple spots.

Namjoon blinked innocently at him, not knowing how beautiful and adorable he was to the dom, and Yoongi couldn't help but press their lips together.

The kiss was a little harder than the usual soft pecks Yoongi gave him, and Namjoon didn't know if it was because he was upside down or what, but he kept his teeth snapped shut all the same, not willing to give into Yoongi so easily.

Yoongi didn't seem to mind, smirking into the kiss as he tilted his head a little more, managing to force Namjoon's mouth open with his tongue.

His grip on the boy tightened slightly, pulling Namjoon closer.

Namjoon's fingers and toes curled at the way Yoongi was kissing him, like he was actually meaning it this time. Like there was something else...

His heart was pounding and he wasn't sure why. All that he knew was that he wanted to touch Yoongi, but he was tied up from the ceiling and couldn't move, no matter how much he arched and strained in the black ropes.

Yoongi pulled back for air, but before he could connect their lips again, Namjoon gasped out:

"Renodo!"