[TW: Coercing someone into sex. Details in A/N for those concerned.]
Jade's Halo penthouse was nice, very nice, spacious and modern, with way too much room for one person. It was obviously designed to make the occupant feel spoiled by the company, a gift for being born with superpowers and choosing to use them to make Halo money. But even that has nothing on Jade's personal apartment.
"You're the only person living here?" Noel demands, spinning in a circle in the center of the endless living area. A wall of windows looks out over the entire city, offering stunning views of the wide, sunset-streaked sky.
"Yeah," Jade says, like it's a dumb question, already climbing the floating staircase with one of Noel's bags in each hand.
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why buy such an enormous place for just you?"
Jade shoots him a look from halfway up. "What else am I going to spend my money on?" he asks, and Noel would think he was joking if it wasn't for the disdain in Jade's voice. "And I'm not living alone anymore, am I?"
Blowing out a disgusted sigh, Noel hefts the cat carrier higher in his arms and trudges up the stairs behind him.
The lower level is mostly open concept, a massive sunken living area with a couch larger than Noel's first apartment and an entertainment system to rival a cinema bleeds into a dining area that could easily seat twenty people, which flows into an enormous, gleaming, updated kitchen with more counter space than anyone could possibly use at once. There are doors leading off that Jade tells him lead to his private office, a gym, and an indoor pool. Noel nearly bangs his head into the wall.
The upper level is sectioned into six bedrooms spanning two hallways, as well as a recording studio and a media room. Jade points out his own room at the end of one hall before finally leading Noel to a room a few doors down.
It's not the largest private residence Noel has ever seen (several of the Arden properties still beat it out by a considerable margin), but it is by far the biggest apartment he's ever seen, and he struggles to wrap his head around one person living in so much empty space.
"Your cats are free to roam around wherever," Jade says, glancing at the covered basket as Noel sets it on the bed. "The doors to the pool and balcony are biometrically locked, so they shouldn't be able to get through. I'll get you into the system."
Noel nods absently, scanning the ridiculous bedroom. "Anywhere I'm not supposed to go?"
"Just my office."
A raspy meow joins the conversation and Jade stares at the carrier.
"Would you like to meet them?" Noel asks, reaching for the latch. "You'll be living with them, after all."
Before Jade can respond, Noel swings the door open. Instantly, Coppelia's patchwork face pokes out. She gives another rattling meow and creeps onto the bedspread, wide amber eyes trained on Jade.
"This is Coppelia," Noel introduces. "And this one—" he lifts the carrier and angles it to show the angry black lump still curled up at the back, "—is Poe."
Jade doesn't seem to know how to react, watching Coppelia sniff around the bed with a vaguely perturbed look on his face.
"You said you didn't mind cats," Noel reminds him.
"I don't," he insists. "I've just never had one."
"Have you ever had any pets at all?"
"No."
Noel sighs again. "This will be fun, then."
He did end up keeping the lease on his own apartment. It felt unwise to make himself fully dependent on Jade, and he thought it would be best to at least have somewhere else to go in case something happens.
Jade informs him that he has a housekeeping service come in once a week, and a personal chef, because of course he does. Noel shouldn't have to worry about chores or food while he's staying here. Admittedly, it's not a bad deal, but Noel can't allow himself to relax. This is just temporary, after all. Plus, it's not like he's living here because he and Jade like each other.
Once Jade leaves him alone to get settled, Noel gives the room and ensuite a thorough scan. If Jade planned to surveil him, he would probably tell Noel outright to add a little psychological torment to the regular torment, but Noel figures he should look around anyway. Just in case.
Everything seems normal enough. The fancy TV and smart lights could potentially be bugged, but that would be a lot of effort just to listen to Noel talk to his cats.
When he opens the large walk-in closet, it's completely empty, aside from something sitting on the shoe rack. Looking closer, Noel realizes it's a pair of shoes identical to the ones Jade melted in Dr. Summers's lab. They're even the right size. Incredulous, he carries them out to show Coppelia and Poe.
"Should I thank him?" he asks.
Poe is now lurking under the desk and doesn't have an opinion and Coppelia just rubs her face on the boxy platform bedframe, purring loudly.
"You're right. He's the one who destroyed my shoes in the first place." Mind made up, he returns the shoes to their spot and starts unpacking.
----------
After a delicious dinner at a thankfully less ostentatious dining table than the main one, the two of them sit down on the absurd couch, one on either side of the U, with the coffee table between them. Noel struggles not to get distracted by the large music collection in the corner while Jade flips his laptop open.
"I've typed up a draft of our agreement," he says, getting straight to the point. "We should establish a guiding schedule."
"I didn't expect you to be so organized." Noel doesn't see much reason to watch his words around this man. It's not like Jade can do anything to him.
"I'm not interested in getting scammed," Jade deadpans, glancing up from his screen. In the golden glow of the few lamps around the sofa, his light eyes shine like honey. A black curl dips down toward his brow and he brushes it back with a careless sweep of his hand. Noel curses him loudly in his head. "Dr. Summers told me our sessions have to be spaced out," Jade goes on, sounding peeved. "Something about class difference shock."
"Yeah," Noel hurries to agree. "Even though I'm not actually D-class, you're such a powerful S-class that it's overwhelming for my—body. We can't…do it too often."
Jade purses his lips, clearly displeased. "Not once a week, then."
Noel shakes his head adamantly.
"Every two weeks?"
Noel bites his lip. "At first," he says hesitantly. "Your corruption is still really high. I'm…willing to do more frequent sessions for a while to get it down to a negligible level." It will be hard on him, but he knows a little better what to expect now, and if he's smart he won't have to miss too much work. "After that, though, it'll have to be more like once a month."
Jade narrows his eyes. "What is a negligible level?"
"Oh, uh—" Noel considers. "Most high-level espers keep their corruption below twenty percent through regular guiding, and it only spikes up during busy times. Somewhere around there, then?"
Jade stares at him.
"What?"
"You think you can get me to twenty percent?"
The back of Noel's neck prickles. "I mean, probably? I don't see why not, as long as nothing catastrophic happens. It might take a while, because I obviously can't do it all at once, but—"
Jade clears his throat, dropping his gaze back to his laptop screen. "That's—yeah, that's…fine. Okay. Twenty." The sound of keys clacking nearly covers the hitch in his voice. "Once I hit—twenty, we'll move to monthly sessions."
Noel frowns thoughtfully. "When was the last time you were that low?"
"I don't remember," Jade says briskly.
"Oh."
"Moving on." Jade seems to collect himself, his words dispassionate once again. "In exchange, I agree to continue testing with new guides and keep our arrangement a secret."
"From everyone."
"Yeah, yeah, from everyone. Though I still don't get why you wouldn't want to be known as Jade Ransom's guide. That's a huge promotion."
Noel rolls his eyes. "I have my reasons."
"Whatever, I guess." Jade types something. "And for the duration of our arrangement, you will reside in my apartment."
"Right."
"Also, I don't want you guiding anyone other than me."
Noel frowns. "What?"
"Don't take requests from anyone else, and don't do shifts in the Sanctuary."
"That's not exactly up to me," Noel points out. "All guides do those things, it's part of my job."
"Not anymore," Jade says nonchalantly.
"It'll be suspicious if I—"
"Dr. Summers will find some way to fake it. The employee schedules are mostly automated anyway; no one would notice, and if they do they'll just think it's a computer error."
"This is—that's—" Noel flounders. "Why?"
Jade purses his lips, still looking down at his laptop. "Because you need to save all of your guiding energy for me," he says simply. "This way, you won't be able to claim you're too fatigued to do our sessions."
Noel bristles, barely restraining himself from kicking the coffee table. "I wouldn't do that," he insists heatedly. "I think you just don't want other people touching your things."
Hitting a key with a decisive click, Jade looks up. "Maybe you're right."
Gritting his teeth in irritation, Noel crosses his arms. "Childish," he mutters. "Fine. But if this starts to affect my daily life, I'm going back to my normal duties and you'll just have to suck it up."
"Sure." Jade sounds so smug, Noel briefly fantasizes about vaulting the table and punching him.
"Anything else?" Noel asks waspishly over the renewed clicking of keys.
Fingers pausing, Jade regards Noel over his screen. "There is one thing."
Noel waits.
Jade shifts his laptop to the cushion beside him and braces his elbows on his knees. "I want to do coital guiding during our sessions."
Noel's brain screeches to a halt. He feels his jaw drop. "What?"
"We don't have to go all the way at first," Jade continues blithely, like he didn't just say the most batshit thing Noel has ever heard. "But I want to fuck you within the next two months at most."
Heat floods Noel's head so quickly his vision wavers. He uncrosses his arms and fists his hands in the downy couch cushion to anchor himself. "You can't be serious," he strains out through his teeth.
"But I am." Leaning back, Jade swings one long leg over the other, ankle on knee. "Even if two weeks is frequent for you, it's still a long time between guiding. I want to get as much out of our sessions as possible, and coital guiding is the most efficient method."
Noel's mouth hangs open but nothing comes out because, horrifically, Jade kind of has a point, at least as far as normal guiding is concerned. There's a pretty concrete amount of corruption Noel can transfer at once without putting himself into a coma, and that won't change no matter how they do their guiding, but regular guiding is all about efficiency. A normal guide won't feel much difference between an inefficient guiding session and efficient guiding session if they take the same amount of time, but an esper will certainly notice how much they've been purified. In daily life, it's not necessary to prioritize efficiency like that, and usually the difference isn't enough to be important, but in this situation, from Jade's perspective….
Pressing his lips together, Noel swallows hard. His mind churns fruitlessly, trying to come up with some sort of justification, maybe some science bullshit he can make Dr. Summers back him up on, but nothing presents itself, and Jade's eyes are burning into him. "You…you wouldn't force me if I said no, would you?" Noel asks haltingly.
For a beat, Jade doesn't react. Then he clicks his tongue. "No, I wouldn't force you," he says begrudgingly. "But I definitely wouldn't stop asking you."
Noel lets out a single hysterical laugh. "You are such a pest."
Jade shrugs.
Slumping forward, Noel rests his aching head in his hands, staring despondently down at the plush rug between his socked feet. "We barely know each other," he says weakly.
"It's not like we're dating." Noel can hear the sneer in Jade's voice. "It's just business. Espers and guides fuck each other all the time for work. Stop overthinking it."
"Easy for you to say," Noel snaps.
"Yeah, because it's true. I've screwed plenty of guides, and none of us are still hung up on it."
Maybe you're not, but I bet at least some of them are! Frustration swells inside him, battling with the anxiety and fear curling around his lungs. Noel clutches at his hair. Around him, the room spins. "Fine," he says, sitting up to glare directly at Jade. In for a penny, in for a pound. "I'll do it. But don't expect it to be any good."
Jade smirks. "You don't have to be good," he says. "I'm good enough for both of us."
Noel scowls and hopes his cheeks aren't as red as they feel. "Just print the damn contract."