Chapter Text
"Keep quiet," Percival muttered harshly to Credence, the younger male beginning to shake, a natural reaction of his, as Graves pressed him into a wall, concealing him, head cocked to watch and listen to where light from a streetlamp bled into the darkened alleyway where they hid. There were voices; maybe just some drunks returning late from a pub. New York was always crawling with people, even at this ungodly hour.
"Who is it?" Credence whispered, voice barely above silent, a hint of a sheepish whimper tinting his prosody. Graves didn't respond, brow furrowed as he watched the end of the alley carefully. His wide chest was pressed against Credence's, pinning Barebone to the cold brick behind him. Graves' leg was pressed by the knee into the brick, between Credence's own shaking legs.
The position wasn't comfortable, Percival having suddenly jumped to it, needing to conceal any trace of the young Barebone's presence, withdrawing his wand and holding it lowly; all this happened in under a second, as soon as he had seen Credence flinch, his dark eyes flashing suddenly to the street where voices could be heard. Having a skiddish, timid victim as an apprentice had its perks; akin to having a personal alarm system when one wanted to talk in privacy.
Credence let out a slow, shaky breath, eyes suddenly dropping from wear they were fixed on the slight 5 o'clock shadow gracing Percival's face, still fixed keenly toward the street in wait, holding Credence prisoner. Graves finally pulled away slightly, giving space between their torsos, the feeling of Credence's heart pounding against Percival's chest suddenly departing. Barebone fixed his eyes on Graves' leg, situated right between his own thighs, wondering if Percival could feel how much he was shaking now. He felt on the verge of passing out, obviously overwhelmed.
"Credence," a hushed voice made the younger male quickly prostrate himself, eyes stealing a quick glance to the side of Percival's face again before returning to the ground, body heating abruptly. He felt sick. "I think they're gone," Graves muttered, putting his wand away and turning back to Credence without moving back so much as an inch. Their noses almost touched; the oppressive closeness made it almost hard to breathe, Barebone finding no other option but to look Graves in the eye. Credence was shaking like a wet cat, eyes wide and glossy, as if on the verge of tears.
"Are you alright?" Graves asked seriously, voice getting a bit louder from the hushed tone of before, wanting to get on with their conversation. He moved his leg, Credence almost crumpling to the ground with the sudden absence of that very slight support. His face heated as Graves glanced down, brow furrowed.
"Oh."
Barebone was quite literally on the verge of tears, pressing himself so far back against the wall he felt like he would melt into it. His erection was trapped uncomfortably against his lower abdomen, his trousers and tucked shirt bottom making it jut out obviously thanks to the uncontrollable sweating from stress of being cornered like this. Percival let out a short breath, holding back a laugh; he didn't want to mortify the already timid boy by mocking him.
"It's alright, Credence," Percival murmured, voice uncomfortably forced into a soft, mollifying tone. Credence gulped, feeling faint as Graves stepped back, face so red it was hot to the touch. "It's natural," Percival continued to assure, his hand snaking silently from the wall to Barebone's slight waist.
"I'm s-sorry, this is-" The younger male managed to choke out, voice stuttering.
"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it," Barebone didn't relax at those words at all, seeming irreversibly high-strung. Graves noted this, realising trying to reason with Credence in such a state of stress wouldn't be possible; he was still hard, anyway. There was no way he'd be able to carry a conversation with Credence now, his attention obviously diverted.
Credence flinched suddenly as Graves' hand moved from his hip to the buckle of that damned belt he had to wear. A cold chill ran through him, swallowing as his mouth felt terribly dry, pressing himself harder into the brick as Percival didn't even bother to look up as he began undoing Credence's belt quietly.
"No, no- I'm sorry, I really didn't mean-" Barebone began to stammer, voice quiet and scared. Of course, Graves had no way of knowing how stressed simply undoing Credence's belt would get him, he glanced up curiously, a bit taken aback by the desperation in the male's voice.
"Hush, Credence, you're fine. You've done nothing wrong," Percival mumbled, brow slightly furrowed. Credence relaxed a bit at that, trusting the calm, secure tone of Graves' voice. He gave a soft chirp suddenly as he felt a soft pressure over his clothes cock, Percival undoing his pants buttons. Credence couldn't do anything but stare, dumbfounded, up at Graves. He seemed absolutely floored by this gentleness, but extremely confused and distraught over this weird behaviour and situation. Graves' eyes flashed up to meet the dark, dilated pupils barely visible in Credence's own humble, puppy-dog eyes, watching for the reaction as he hooked his thumb over the band of Credence's underwear, gingerly tugging them down.
Barebone seemed dumbfounded, face a bright pink, mouth open as he stared at Percival, still not understanding the situation fully but too fascinated to protest. His hips twitched softly as Graves' warm, large hand wrapped around the width of his swollen cock. Credence's eyes widened even moreso, letting out a soft whine of confusion somewhere in the back of his throat.
"You don't touch yourself much, do you?" Percival asked thoughtfully, making sure his tone was even so there was no possibility for Credence to take offence. The younger male gave a shuddering, breathy whine as Graves began jerking him off with smooth, even strokes, watching his face carefully for any sign of objection. "Credence?"
"N-no," Credence stammered softly, his shoulders relaxing a bit to lean himself against the wall at a more relaxed angle, the rigidity of his posture before was just adding pain onto the overwhelming stress he was already dealing with. "I'm... Not allowed," he managed to mumble, breath picking up softly as Graves pressed into him a bit, hands continuing to work the younger wizards swollen, touch-starved cock. Barebone let out a choked moan, face burning red, doing all he could not to return the heavy gaze Graves had fixed on his face.
"No wonder you're so pent-up," Credence barely heard that, hips twitching cutely at the sound of Graves' voice, letting the auror jerk him off, honestly too stunned to have any sort of reluctance. Percival was someone he could trust after all, right? There was no harm in this... This was what friends did, right? Percival was his... Friend. Credence tried justifying this all in his mind, eyes closing as he let out a soft moan, cock twitching as Graves sped up with his strokes, looking to the end of the alley curiously.
Graves suddenly clapped a hand over Credence's mouth, attempting to muffle his moans as he heard voices from down the adjacent street. His eyes flickered to Credence, who was on the verge of climax already, the poor kid moaning and whimpering against the auror's hand as he continued to work his hand over the sensitive flesh, barely paying mind even as Barebone let out a squeak, a sharp breath through his nose, the first few drops of cum dribbling out of his cute prick.
"Hush," Graves hissed, shooting a warning glance to Credence as he watched the end of the alley, one hand over Barebone's mouth as the other continued to jerk him off. Credence's hips twitched, unable to help himself from bucking into Graves' touch, whining softly against his hand as he came. His eyes were shut tight, face a brilliant shade of red, legs shaking and body flushed- Percival only managed to catch a glimpse of this before Credence's legs gave out and he fell on his ass, making enough noise for Graves to scold him in whisper with a harsh, "Credence!"
The younger male was shaking still, trying to collect himself, panting as he tried to gather himself enough to respond. Percival elected not to bother with the sounds from the street, now more concerned with whether Credence was going to be able to walk himself home. Graves took a knee, levelling himself to catch the hazy, half-lidded gaze of the brunet. He'd made a mess all over the front of his meticulously ironed black slacks, the front still undone, but he seemed completely unbothered, too rattled to even speak to Percival now.
"Are you alright?" Graves asked for the second time that night, Credence appreciating the thoughtful tone and nodding slightly. His face was still bright red, absolutely mortified with this all, but he was certainly alright besides that.
"I, uh," Credence coughed slightly, looking down to the street, refusing eye contact, "thank you... Mr. Graves," he mumbled, pretty lips quivering around the words. Percival just gave a nod in return, taking Credence from under the arms and helping him up to stand again. He pulled out his wand, looking the brunet over before flourishing his wand with a soft murmur just quiet enough for Credence not to catch- with that, the stains on the front of his slacks that woul surely get him in trouble vanished and the buttons did themselves up again, that cursed belt clicking back into place as well. All the colour from Credence's face seemed to drain as he watched this, eyes widening. He had never had anyone do magic on him before... Would Mary Lou be able to tell when he got home? What if-
"Credence," Graves broke the brunet's anxious pondering quickly, "would you like me to walk you home? It's quite late," he offered, Credence hesitating before nodding softly. He appreciated any and all time he could spend with Graves, even if it was walking back to that dreaded household together. Credence knew Graves would stop about a block before the building, bid him farewell, and never come any closer. He'd still be alone in the end, but any and all time he could have in the presence of someone who accepted him was savoured.
"Yes, thank you," Barebone continued to stare at the ground, still too embarrassed to make eye contact, but he sounded genuine. Graves gave a nod, pocketing his wand and turning on his heels to walk out the alley, Credence stumbled behind him awkwardly on half-numb legs.
The street was not well-lit, Credence having a bit of trouble navigating, repeatedly bumping into Graves and offering sheepish, "excuse me, pardon-, sorry,"s over and over until Graves stopped in his tracks and arrested him by the wrist, taking Credence's hand with a somewhat tight grip and pulling him to walk at his side. Barebone's humbleness was endearing at times, but having the back of your shoes stepped on all the time because he refused to walk anywhere but behind with his head down got quite annoying. They walked in silence until they reached a street Credence was most familiar with, turning the corner and Percival stopping there was he always did.
"You can walk the rest of the way yourself," Credence nodded softly, Graves continuing, "go straight to your bed and don't touch anybody. The charm hasn't worn off, they won't hear you, but take care you don't wake anyone any other way. Get some sleep, it's late-" Percival began laying out instructions for Credence to sneak back in, having helped him out a bit beforehand. Mary Lou was a light sleeper, so Graves had taken the liberty to cast a harmless charm to temporarily deafen everyone as they slept to make Credence's escape (and return) easier. As little as he cared for the boy, Graves still didn't want him getting in any unnecessary trouble.
"Thank you again, Mr. Graves," Barebone murmured thoughtfully, chewing the inside of his lip. Percival nodded, offering a slight smile and letting go, finally, of Credence's hand. A moment of awkward silence fell over them, Graves pressing his lips into a pensive line for a moment.
"Tomorrow," he started, Credence looking up, "tomorrow night, would you like to come to my house instead? It's already Autumn and it's getting cold, I think it'd be much more comfortable and... Safer, if we were to convene at my house," Graves invited, tone baited, not knowing if the forward offer would intimidate Credence. The brunet gave a hesitant nod.
"But... I don't know where you live, sir," Credence pointed quietly, cocking his head a bit. Percival shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow night," Graves dismissed his concerns quickly, leaning in suddenly. Barebone flinched, reeling back from the older man, not expecting the soft peck on his lips. His face turned bright red, not having enough time to react before Graves had took two steps back, and with nothing more than a casual wave, vanished.
Credence managed to get back into his bed without issue, taking care to make sure every lock was in place, leaving no trace of his endeavour (though he didn't doubt Mary Lou would find out someway anyhow). That night he barely slept, his whole body feeling warm as if Percival was still pressed against him. He hadn't had such intense feelings since he was a pubescent, perpetually horny teen, completely overtaken with volatile hormones he tried to repress. Credence tried to forget his stress, especially when he found out the next morning three people had been found dead with unknown cause, the circumstances correlating once again with his own mental breakdowns. Of course, it was only coincidence, he thought, it couldn't be my fault, I'd never do such a thing. Despite this, he still hoped his next meeting with Percival wouldn't be so stressful... For the sake of others, at least.