Work Text:
"Couldn't you have practiced on Zak?" he asked, somewhat nervously, as she passed the rope between his legs, her hands brushing dangerously close.
"He's too big," she said dismissively. "I don't have enough rope."
"Allaka-" he started, but then she pulled the rope tight. "Shit."
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" she said, real concern in her voice. It was one of the things that never failed to get him- out of all the Gramaryes, Thalassa was the only one who really seemed to care.
"You just startled me," he reassured her, though the way the cord was rubbing against him through his suit was… perhaps a little more than startling.
Valant lifted up his arms, not resisting as she passed the rope between both his arms, knotting it against itself on his chest before passing it back again.
"Where did you learn this tie?" he asked her, trying to distract himself as she bent slightly over him to knot the cord again.
"Oh, I found it on the internet," she said, as if it was nothing, but he noticed the blush starting on her cheeks.
He nodded. "What's it called?"
"I'm not sure," she replied, and he knew she was lying. "The site was all in Japanese."
The whole thing was awfully exciting, which deeply bothered him. What good was a magician who got horny every time he got tied up? He'd be laughed off stage. Well, he thought, a conceited smug playing on his features, definitely not laughed off. But definitely not invited to perform again, either.
On the other hand, it might have more than a little to do with the fact that Thalassa was doing the tying, her deft fingers working the knots with professional precision, her hands inadvertently finding all sorts of ticklish spots.
It wasn't like being tied in a performance- he was very familiar with all the trick knots, all the little skipped steps to make it that much easier to wiggle out. Thalassa, on the other hand, didn't seem to be cutting any corners. But the overall purpose didn't seem to be restraint; Valant felt oddly like he was being decorated.
She passed the ropes across his hips, tying the ends off directly over his crotch. The way she brushed against him there had to be intentional. What in the hell was she playing at? It was wishful thinking that she'd ever even notice him, but she sure seemed comfortable with tying him up- not just tying him, which was fine, but in such an… unnecessarily artistic manner- and with the fact that he was perilously close to popping a button if he got any harder.
Thalassa pushed him back a few steps, pulling his arms back slightly. He felt himself being pushed up against one of the room's pillars, his wrists knotted together behind it. This was more familiar territory. Valant breathed a sigh of relief, testing the ropes for the loops he'd need to pull at to let himself free.
Which weren't there.
"Do you think you could escape from that?" she asked, tugging at the ropes to check her handiwork.
"I'm not sure I want to," he muttered, turning his face away.
"Good," she said cheerfully. Thalassa took his chin in her hand, tilting it up toward her. "Now, for my next trick," she said, grinning, before claiming his lips.