Daniel found unexplainable comfort in the daily routines his stay in Brennenburg provided him, the baron seeing that he was kept busy on their work from sunrise to sundown, giving him as little time to harbour dark thoughts as possible. More than that, he appreciated Alexander's company; his intellect, his guidance, his very presence that lulled Daniel into feeling safe and made his doubts seem utterly nonsensical.
And spend time together they did, even after the long daylight hours had passed and left behind nothing but the all-consuming darkness that Daniel had begun to associate with the castle. Especially during those moments he needed Alexander, needed him more than ever, and though it raised questions in the Englishman's mind, all this seemingly unconditional care and protection, he never questioned it when his hands fumbled blindly in the darkness and found the baron right by his bedside, ready to console him and drive out whatever nightmare that was plaguing him. And Daniel accepted it whole-heartedly, never sparing a thought to his doubts when Alexander's warmth engulfed him, the man's lips silencing all his frightened sobs and his hands turning them into such shameful begging that Daniel would never in his wildest dreams have believed himself capable of it. Yes, the baron certainly did his best to leave him little to no time at all to ponder on the threat of the Shadow all by himself, that much was certain, and as little as Daniel liked his newfound duties with the prisoners, he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.
However, what he did not appreciate was the elevator ride required to reach the dungeon.
As awed as he was with all the exquisite work Alexander had put into the machinery, he found the clanking, metallic closet absolutely terrifying. The entire thing shook as they descended floor by floor, the gears letting out unearthly bangs and clangs that caused Daniel to jump occasionally. He hated the feeling of being shut in such an enclosed space that, should something go wrong, could drop any minute and take them both to their deaths without providing any means of escape. He had not confined these thoughts to the baron, however, not wanting to appear childish. This was the sort of thing Alexander liked to call progress, and who was Daniel to question what method of transportation a man of such high-standing wanted to utilize in his home.
Still, it did not stop him from eyeing the doors of that hell carriage warily whenever given the chance.
Alexander pulled open the ornate metallic gates, the creaking sound they made sounding positively ominous to Daniel, and lit the lantern fastened to the ceiling of the elevator, making the small space appear somewhat more inviting. It was a small comfort, but made Daniel less reluctant to step in.
When they were both safely in, the baron closed the gates again and pulled the lever, the elevator beginning to move downwards almost immediately. Daniel closed his eyes and leaned back as far from the gates as possible, trying to distract himself with the even more distasteful things that awaited him several floors down. His eyes flew open when he felt thin fingers brush against his cheek and realized that Alexander was hovering over him, his expression that of concern.
"Are you feeling unwell, Daniel?" he asked, that mellow voice of his distracting the younger male from even the loud creaking of the machine. Daniel gave him a small, strained smile.
"Nothing to be worried about," he replied, but his voice was unconvincing even to his own ears. Alexander lifted his eyebrows, disbelief etched deeply in every line of his face, and the brunette sighed in defeat. Keeping things from the baron was as useless as ever.
"It's... It's just that I do not await setting foot into the ritual chambers again," he said. It wasn't really a lie, was it, switching his current cause of discomfort to another, less ridiculous one? Alexander's expression softened, and he cupped the Englishman's face between his hands, as warm and comforting as ever.
"It is a distasteful prospect I would not even think to ask of you unless it was absolutely necessary, Daniel," he said softly. "This is all just to ensure your safety."
Daniel nodded, looking grave. "I understand, and I'm grateful. I just sometimes find it a difficult feat to shake it off my mind," he said after a while, completely truthful.
Alexander ran his thumb over the man's lower lip thoughtfully.
"Perhaps we can arrange to distract you for the time being," he murmured, and without waiting for Daniel's answer pressed their lips together, wet and breathless and entirely reminiscent of the night before. The brunette was only glad to follow, turning his head to a better angle and allowing Alexander's tongue to slip into his waiting mouth, wrapping his hands around his waist and pulling him closer.
They could not have passed more than several floors when the elevator suddenly lurched with a loud clang, then came to a halt so violently that it felt as though the floor under their feet had vanished, taking them both off balance. The lantern swung widly from side to side and fell, shattering on the floor and snuffing out the one feeble source of light they had brought along. Daniel stiffened, pressing tightly against the older man and hardly daring to breathe, unable to see a thing.
"Alexander?" he called out uncertainly, his voice shaky and uneven. He heard Alexander curse quietly.
"Of all the possible times..." he grunted, sounding annoyed rather than frightened. "The elevator must have broken down again." In his mind he cursed the inadequate technology of this world, making it impossible for the engine to function without constant need for repairing.
Daniel inhaled sharply, the feeling of panic tightening in his chest. "Broken down? How are we to get out of here?"
"Don't worry. The servants will know how to repair it," the baron reassured him.
"Will it take long?"
"Perhaps," Alexander said, disapproval clear in his voice. "It could be anything from mere minutes to several hours."
The brunette's fingers dug into the velvet of Alexander's coat, his heartbeats feeling suddenly very loud in his chest. "Hours?"
"It depends on where the problem lies. If a part of the engine has broken, it either needs to be fixed or replaced by another... Daniel?" Alexander paused, feeling the young man's hands shaking and his hold on him tighten. "Is everything alright?"
Daniel's breathing was coming in shallow gasps, his head pounding unpleasantly. "No... no..." was all he managed to utter before burying his face against the baron's chest, forcing his eyes shut and trying to forget where he was. The ringing in his ears was starting to become painful.
"Daniel?" Alexander said sharply, grasping his shoulders and shaking him as gently as he could. "Daniel, listen to my voice. Everything is alright."
"Darkness... closing in," the young brunette wailed, shaking incontrollably, his voice muffled by the baron's coat.
Alexander's arms were around him in a matter of seconds, cradling him like a mother would her newborn. "Daniel, you need to listen to me," he said, his voice taking that commanding tone Daniel had heard him use only when talking to prisoners. "You will not come to harm. I am here with you."
The brunette tangled his arms around Alexander's neck, clinging to him as though afraid of falling down. "Don't leave me," he called hoarsely, grasping a fistful of silky white hair, not caring that the request made no sense when Alexander couldn't exit the elevator any more than he could. Strong arms squeezed him tightly and warm breath tickled at his ear.
"I won't leave you." The low murmur of Alexander's voice shut out everything else and Daniel instinctively leaned forwards, looking to drown his fear on the other man's lips once again. The baron didn't refuse him, permitting the younger male to suffocate him with heated kisses full of the same despair he generously demonstrated after a particularly terrifying dream.
Daniel pulled away, a thread of saliva trickling down from the corner of his mouth, his head spinning worse than ever. If only he could lay down, if only the lantern had not smashed...
Alexander caught him just when his legs were about to give in under his weight.
"Daniel!"
"It's no use," the young man muttered, his words slurring as though drunk. "My head hurts so..."
Alexander pushed him against the wall, supporting him with his own body. Daniel's breathing was erratic in his ears, his hands drenched in cold sweat, shaking from head to toe and the baron could do nothing more than hold him like he did every night, every time the nightmares came...
His grip on the brunette tightened.
"Daniel, keep your eyes closed and pretend that we are in your room." It wasn't a request, it was an order. Before Daniel could do more than stir feebly, the baron had opened the highest buttons of his shirt to reveal his neckline and bent down to nibble at his flesh, locating the bitemarks from the night before with ease. This drew another shudder from the brunette, this time of pleasure rather than fear.
"Ah! Alexander... What are you...?"
His answer was another nip at his sore neck and the rustle of clothing when Alexander's fingers worked fast on the buttons of his vest and shirt.
Daniel was flabbergasted. "In... in here?" He opened his eyes and made to push the elder away, but the darkness surrounding them was as complete and velvety as ever and Daniel felt his strength slipping away. Alexander tsk'd and pinned the Englishman against the wall from his wrists.
"Close your eyes, Daniel, and trust me," he said and Daniel obeyed, too terrified to think otherwise. The low rumble of Alexander's voice was just beside his ear, sending a violent shiver down his spine. He could almost feel how the elder grinned, teeth giving a small tug at his earlobe.
"Only concentrate on hearing and feeling," the baron instructed as he had so many times before when Daniel's cries had roused him and summoned him to his bedroom. Daniel flushed, the words causing an altogether different kind of tension in his stomach and shooting hot sparks down his groin. He nodded and felt how Alexander let go of his wrists, busying himself on opening the remaining buttons. Cool air pressed against the brunette's skin and he couldn't suppress the groan forming at his mouth when warm hands caressed his sides and dipped lower to fondle his bottom through his clothes.
Lips were soon on his chest, sucking and teasing his nipples with such ardour that it verged on painful, leaving trails of warm saliva that nearly burned on his cold skin. If it wasn't for the uncomfortably hard surface pressing against his shoulderblades, Daniel might have believed they were back in his bed chambers, reliving their endeavours from the night before... The memory encouraged an involuntary roll of the hips from the younger man and his growing arousal rubbed against Alexander's thigh, pushed firmly between his legs, nailing him to the spot. The moan that left his lips sounded indecently loud in the near absolute silence of the elevator.
Alexander's grin was feral and had Daniel been able to see it, it would have been enough to turn his legs into water. The elder ground his leg against the brunette again, rewarding him with a suffocating kiss when Daniel followed suit, rocking against Alexander and growing steadily more uncomfortable in his trousers.
"That's a good boy," a whisper of deep baritone praised, gusts of breath tickling his skin and making the hairs at the nape of his neck stand to an end. A hand quickly unfastened his trousers and Alexander moved just enough to let them fall to Daniel's knees, freeing his straining erection. Long, thin fingers wrapped around his length and grasped him firmly, a thumb tracing over the slit of his organ and rubbing just under the head in such an agonizingly slow pace that Daniel could do nothing more than dig his fingers into Alexander's coat, reduced into a panting mess of a person.
Every movement, every brush of lips teasing the marks on his neck, every affectionate squeeze of a buttock and hot breath ghosting over his ear seemed magnified in the darkness, overwhelming. The silence pressing against his eardrums made even the rustle of fabric and the wet sound of precome-slick fingers pumping his member seem almost painfully loud in his ears, only adding to the throbbing of his head.
Daniel's trembling fingers closed on the baron's collar, pulling him close enough for lips to brush against his cheek. "I want you," he gasped.
Soon a slick fingertip was pressing against him, teasing his entrance before slowly pushing all the way in. Daniel bit his lip, the feeling painful at first but the baron kept a firm grip on his cock, continuing to stroke him, averting his attention elsewhere while another digit forced its way in. With the hand pleasuring him and those fingers buried up to the hilt inside him, scissoring and stretching his hole to its limit, Daniel could do no more than give in, and when a third finger was added, he was ready for it. His hips rocked back and forth in time with each sharp thrust, trying to push those fingers deeper with a staggering moan and though he felt so full he thought he might pass out, it wasn't enough, he knew it would never be enough. With a small groan of desperation he clawed at Alexander's jacket, trying to signal what he wanted, and the elder laughed, a deep, rumbling sound.
"Please, Alexander... Please," Daniel croaked, his voice oddly strained, trying to buck into the baron's fist for even a little bit of friction but long fingers closed tightly around his shaft, drawing a gasp from the brunette.
Soft lips ghosted over his ear and the baron withdrew his fingers. "Please what, Daniel? Speak out."
The younger male swallowed, the sudden feeling of emptiness almost unbearable. "Please... I want you."
"And what exactly is it that you want? This?" Alexander asked, rubbing his thumb over the blunt head of the Englishman's member. Daniel stifled a cry, his entire body quaking with need.
"No! I... I n-need..."
The young man could almost hear the smirk in Alexander's voice. "Yes, Daniel?"
Daniel's fingers were in his hair, lips pressing against the baron's in a kiss that was nothing short of needy, rough, all heat, tongue and teeth. "I n-need you... Please, f-fulfill me," he stammered, his face burning in shame. "Oh God, Alexander, fuck me!"
Teeth nipped at his lower lip, pulling just hard enough to draw a whimper from the brunette. "Now that's a good boy."
There was a rustling sound as Daniel hastily kicked of his shoes and the trousers, and soon enough Alexander was pressing him against the wall, his own trousers pushed down to his knees. The elder male rolled his hips and Daniel moaned when their erections rubbed against one another, smearing precome on his stomach, his body yearning to be touched. The brunette clasped his arms around Alexander's neck, pulling him into another hungry kiss. Alexander slid his palm across the younger man's thigh in a lingering caress and crooked his fingers behind Daniel's knee, lifting his leg.
The baron pulled just beyond the reach of Daniel's lips to speak. "Wrap your legs around my waist."
The brunette heeded his command without a second thought, leaning his weight against the wall as Alexander helped lift him in a surprising show of strength for his frail figure. Lean legs wrapped obediently around his waist and the baron's hands were soon gripping at Daniel's thighs, providing him just enough support to allow him to relax. His shallow pants of exhaustion soon turned into an altogether different kind of gasping when he felt Alexander's cock pressing against his entrance, Daniel's moans being the only encouragement he needed to push all the way in. Alexander muffled a groan on the Englishman's neck, the tight, hot flesh surrounding his member so deliriously good that he barely even allowed Daniel to adjust to the feeling before ramming into him.
"A-ah!" Daniel cried, his voice broken when the baron thrusted again, making his back slap against the wall. The vulgar smack of hips colliding with his backside reverberated loudly in the enclosed space, buried under the brunette's erratic mewls of pleasure. It was so full, so good, Alexander's cock slamming against his inner wall with each slide and hitting his prostrate with such force that Daniel could feel it all the way in his toes.
Alexander panted, out of breath from the straining effort of supporting the brunette's weight, nails digging into his skin. He could feel how Daniel's legs gripped him tighter, trying to push him deeper yet, the back of his head occasionally hitting the wall with a dull thunk. With a slick, wet sound Alexander pulled out almost completely before pounding into him again, thrusting more slowly but each roll of his hips sharp enough to push his member in all the way to the hilt. Daniel's head rolled back, unable to form anything but incoherent, unconnected words, strands of dark hair clinging to the cold sweat on his face.
"Daniel...!"
The baron knew he was close, so close, and he let out an involuntary snarl when the younger man tightened around him just so, lasting only a couple of frenzied thrusts before spilling his seed deep inside him. Daniel gasped at the feeling of that hot liquid releasing into him accompanied with the elder's last rough thrusts, making him feel so unbearably full that it was only a matter of moments before he followed suit, clenching tightly around Alexander and staining his jacket with his come.
The brunette slowly disentangled his shaking legs and the baron pulled out his softening cock, leaving Daniel feeling utterly spent as warm come dripped out of his hole, running down his thigh. He knew he would ache all over afterwards, already feeling an unpleasant throbbing at his shoulderblades. His feet made contact with the floor again as his grip slipped but Alexander's arms were there to stop him from falling, helping him regain his footing.
Lips met again, a warm, lingering touch. Daniel jolted when something slid down his backside and spread his buttocks again, only to realize a moment later that Alexander was cleaning him up with a handkerchief. The brunette blushed, for once thankful for the darkness. What did he need to be so bashful for when they had already shared the bed so often?
Suddenly the elevator lurched again, emitting a blood-chilling creak, and with what seemed to take a tremendous effort from the machinery, the thing slowly started descending. Daniel inhaled sharply and the walls shook as their journey downstairs finally continued, the metallic bangs sounding even louder than before.
Alexander tucked the messy handkerchief inside his pocket and swiftly fastened his trousers again. Daniel clung to his arm for support, carefully reaching for his clothes and shoes, trying to avoid the glass from the broken lantern as he dressed. He kept his eyes firmly closed until he heard the unmistakable clank of the elevator arriving in their destination. He took a deep breath of relief when the soft gloom of candlelight greeted them and the baron pushed the gates open once more, Daniel hurrying to get out of the nightmarish cabinet.
"It appears you have made a mess of my jacket," Alexander pointed out, noticing the stains on his front as he made to close the gates after them.
Daniel turned around to face him and felt his cheeks burn again. "I-I'm sorry, Alexander! I couldn't... I'll make it up for you, I swear!"
The baron lifted his gaze, taking in the Englishman's flustered appearance with apparent enjoyment. "Yes, I do believe I shall require a just compensation from you later," he replied, a sly smile playing on his lips, his voice reduced into such a deep purr that Daniel felt his skin crawl.
He made towards the doorway leading to the dungeons and beckoned Daniel to follow.
"Come, this way. We have work to do."