Page 51 of Designation: Null

It’s all just weird. And wrong. Logan’s pulse is steady and strong. Why isn’t he awake?

“Logan!” he shouts and Logan opens his eyes. His pupils are blown and he’s oddly lax. Acting on a hunch, Robert takes out his phone and flashes a light in his eyes. His pupils respond sluggishly. “What did you take?”

“It’s fine,” he says, and tries to sit up. He cries out and collapses down, hand between his legs. Robert catches a glint of metal and lifts Logan’s hand away, revealing metal clips biting deep into the skin of his taint.

“Sweetheart,” he hisses and takes them off one by one. Logan flinches and groans at each one, curling closer, instinctively wanting to be close to Robert as the pain washes over him. “It’s alright. I know it hurts, baby. You’ll feel better soon.”

“You’re here,” Logan says, clutching at him, blood smearing on Robert’s pants.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he says hoarsely. “Sweetheart, what did you take?”

“Muscle relaxers… Viagra. I don’t know.”

He touches Logan’s hair and Logan moans happily. “How much of each drug did you take?”

“Umm, some.”

“When?” he growls.

“I don’t know. A bit. Usually wears off in an hour or two.”

“That isn’t very long. Did you come?”

“No. Wasn’t hard for long enough.”

Then why did you do it?He wants to yell the question at Logan, pick him up and take him away from this place and never let him return.

Robert takes off his jacket and puts it under Logan’s head while he goes to find the pill bottles. Does he need to call an ambulance? He knows how quickly drugs work through a submissive’s system.

He finds the bottles of pills and looks up the drug warnings of each for overdose. He calls Jim, his coworker in Designation Resources who sounds miserable after the day they had losing those men, but he needs to make sure not calling an ambulance is the right thing to do. He goes through the dosages with Jim, and he agrees that they don’t need to call medical.

Logan will be fine. He gets a big bowl of warm water, wets a washcloth, and starts cleaning blood off of Logan, wanting to make sure he’s okay, that all the wounds are as shallow as he suspects they are.

He hopes he’s not making the wrong decision by not calling for help. Because of Logan’s designation, if he calls the ambulance there will be repercussions. No null would behave like this. And the truth of the matter is that there are plenty of masochistic submissives who would call this a pretty fun night. Just letting off some steam and nothing to worry about.

It’s just that Logan claims he isn’t a submissive.

What if it’s just Robert who has a problem with this? Robert’s hands are shaking, and he bites his lips between his teeth so he doesn’t say something he’ll regret.

Robert shouldn’t have a problem with this.

Masochists hurt themselves all the time.

This is nothing. Not really.

But it’s Logan.

HisLogan.

And it breaks his fucking heart because this isn’t what’s right for Logan, he’s sure of it. The blood is dried and doesn’t come off easily. When it does come off, his skin is perfect underneath, healed, which is such a fucking relief he has to wipe away tears.

If this is what Logan likes, then why isn’t he hard? Why doesn’t Robert have the vaguest sense that this is what Logan likes? Is Robert just wrong?

Robert has to wipe more tears off of his own face. He didn’t know Logan was struggling this badly. This is a cry for help.

Unless he’s a masochist and this is what Logan likes. Robert just doesn’t know! And he should fucking know! But if this is what Logan likes then it’s hopeless for them because this is Robert’s idea of hell. He can’t hurt his submissive like this. Even if it’s what Logan needs.

“Robert?” Logan asks as Robert cleans his chest gently.

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