Whiteout Ch. 05

"It's not that. It's like, no one else is gonna say anything against her, because they either don't want to or they can't remember. It's all on me."

"Yeah, I guess it is. But we're gonna help you through this, alright? We're all here for you. We just want to help."

"I know." Val fidgeted. "Um... this is kind of a weird request, but could I maybe get a hug?"

Yun-hee embraced her and patted her shoulder. "That better?"

"Yeah," Val sighed. "Thanks. I needed that."

"You're welcome." Yun-hee paused. "Hey, you know what might take your mind off stuff?"

* * *

"Can I get you ladies something to drink?"

The guy looked almost impossibly sleazy. Val didn't know what was the worst part: the goatee, the obvious dye job, or the eye-searing Hawaiian shirt. She rolled her eyes at him, but Yun-hee smiled. "Sure," she said. "Vodka shots? Val, you want one too?"

"I think I'll pass," Val muttered.

"Just two then!" said the sleazy guy. He walked to the bartender and put in the order. A few moments later, he handed Yun-hee her drink. When she touched the glass, the man yelped and dropped it on the floor. Most people wouldn't have heard it over the noise of the crowd and the pounding music, but Val recognized the electric twang immediately.

"Oh! Sorry!" exclaimed Yun-hee with mock concern. "My dress gets really static-y sometimes."

The man nodded, dazed, and muttered "'scuse me, ladies..." before he walked away from the two of them, leaving his drink on the table.

Yun-hee picked it up and downed it before slamming the glass on the table with a satisfied sigh. Val leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "Are you sure it's a good idea to use your powers out in the open like this?"

"As long as I'm not going all Palpatine on people, I think I'm good."

Behind Val, a gaggle of frat boys started shouting and laughing. Val winced. "Yun, I really don't see how this is supposed to help me relax."

"That's because you're not drunk yet."

"Yun, I don't drink. I thought I told you that."

"Aw, c'mon, Val, what's one beer gonna do?"

Val sighed. "Yun, seriously, I just want to go home."

"Just one more hour, alright?" Yun-hee pleaded. "Who knows, you might even go home with someone else!"

"I don't... wait, is that why we're here?"

"Hm?" Yun-hee pretended not to hear Val as she looked over Val's shoulder, waving and smiling. Val turned around and noticed one of the frat boys winking at the two of them.

"I knew it," Val groaned, "you just wanna get laid."

"Guilty as charged," Yun-hee giggled.

"Why couldn't you just go by yourself? Why'd you drag me along?"

"I'm gaming the pick-up artist routine. They always talk to the ugly friend to get to the hot chick, so I brought a hot chick to better the odds."

Val frowned. "What? Who said you were ugly? You're really cute, Yun."

Yun-hee looked down at the floor. She spoke as quietly as she could while still making sure Val could hear her. "Hard to think so when people call you a fatass every time your picture ends up online."

Val opened her mouth to say something, but a familiar voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Funny seeing you here."

Val turned towards the source of the voice. "Patti?"

Patti giggled and smiled dazzlingly at the two women. She was dressed up a bit compared to the munch, with a bright pink halter top and a black miniskirt and tights. "Val, right? Weiss' new girl?"

Val blushed hard. Oh, why now of all times? Not when I'm with-

"Oh, wow, Patti!" exclaimed Yun-hee. "It's been so long!"

Val blinked. "What?"

"Ohmygosh, Yun!" gasped Patti. She stretched out her arms and gave the other woman a warm hug, while Val looked on in astonishment. Yun-hee and Patti pulled apart and Patti pulled up a chair. "I didn't know you two knew each other," she said, "this is so cool!"

"I didn't know you knew Val, either," said Yun-hee. "How do you know each other?"

"How do you know each other?" Val asked.

"Oh, uh..." Yun-hee blushed and looked over at the wall.

"Local kink scene," Patti interjected. "Back when the Pink Mansion first opened."

"Really?" Val flicked her eyes back over to Yun-hee, who was trying to hide her face in her hands. "I didn't know you were into that, Yun."

"W-Well," Yun-hee stammered. "it's uh, not really something I do much these days. Work keeps me pretty busy, 'n all."

"What do you do?" asked Patti.

Val and Yun-hee looked at each other. "We... work at a gym," Val said. "Y'know, treadmills. And stuff."

"Oh, cool," said Patti. "Which one?"

"S-So how did you and Val meet?" asked Yun-hee.

"Hm? Oh, well, Val's seeing one of my old dommes, and she introduced us at a munch yesterday."

"Ooh!" Yun-hee cooed, her embarrassment seemingly gone. "Val, I didn't know you swung that way."

"I'm... flexible, I guess," Val replied. "Anyway, uh, Patti, we don't wanna hold you up-"

"So what's your kink?" Yun-hee interrupted.

"Th-That's not-"

"It's hypnosis," Patti said. "Val here is a big fan of getting her mind all twisted and played with. Ain't that right?"

Val felt her cheeks turn crimson. She tried not to look at Yun-hee, but heard her teammate say "Oh, really?"

"Mhm!" replied Patti. "Weiss and I used to do it all the time, back when she was more of a sub. You two had a session last night, right? How'd that go?"

Get me the fuck out of here. "It was... good."

"Aw, c'mon, Val!" Yun-hee shouted. "Dish!"

Get. Me. The. Fuck. Out. Of. Here. "C-Can we not talk about this right now?"

"Nah, tell me!" Yun-hee grabbed Val's hand. "I wanna know what it's like!"

"Want me to show you?" Patti interjected.

"Um!" Val squirmed in her seat. "Not really, I-"

"Yeah!" Yun-hee started getting really excited. "C'mon, Val, just this once, okay?"

"Can we even do it in a place this loud?" Val asked.

"Sure we can," Patti replied. "As long as you can still hear me, we should be in business."

Val gulped. Shit. Shit. Well, Yun knows now, that's just wonderful. And neither of them are gonna leave without me agreeing to this. Might as well let it happen and get the hell out of here. "...y-yeah. Let's do it."

"Great!" Patti held up a lighter and flicked it on. The flame danced slowly and illuminated their corner of the dimly-lit bar. Patti's other hand rested on the back of Val's neck, gently holding it upright. "So just focus on the flame, Val. That's all hypnosis is, really. Focusing your mind on something and letting everything else just slip away. You know exactly how that feels, don't you?"

Val nodded. She could already feel that sleepy, peaceful sensation descending on her mind. "That's right," Patti continued. "And as you continue to focus on the flame, you find that it's just so very, very bright. It's so hard to look at it, isn't it? So hard to keep your eyes open and focused on the flame. You want so badly to close them, Val. But you need to keep them open for me. Try as hard as you can."

Val felt her eyelids start to get heavier. She knew she had to keep them open, though. She had to focus. "And as you hold those heavy, heavy eyes open," Patti went on, "you find that the other parts of your body feel heavy too. So heavy, so tired. Because all your strength is being used to keep your heavy, tired eyes open. It's taking every ounce of strength to keep yourself from closing your eyes, isn't it?"

"Yes..." Val whispered.

Patti kept going, her voice getting softer. "All your energy is being spent on keeping your eyes open. You can just let everything else go, Val. You can let everyone else here fade away. All their voices fall silent. The music stops. The only things that matter right now are the flame, your eyes, and my voice."

And just like Patti said, Val felt the rest of the bar disappear into darkness. She forgot Yun-hee was watching her, she forgot the creepy guy who tried to buy them drinks earlier, she forgot the loud frat boys. Her entire world became reduced to focusing on keeping her eyes open so she could watch the flame and listen to Patti's voice.

Even through the haze in her mind, Val could pick up the arousal in Patti's voice. "Good. Very good, Val. And now, you find that you've used up all that strength of yours. There's nothing left now. So you can close those eyes now."

And Val's eyes slipped shut as she sank completely into darkness. She heard Patti's voice, but it was distant and foggy. "That's right, Val. And now I'm going to count up from one to five. When I reach the number five, you'll be wide awake, feeling refreshed and energized."

Val felt herself nodding.

"One."

Patti's voice became ever so slightly clearer.

"Two."

She could just about feel the hard, chipped wood of her chair.

"Three."

She started to pick up more and more of the bar's ambient noise.

"Four."

She felt Yun-hee clutching her hand like a vice.

"And five!"

Val opened her eyes. Yun-hee was staring in astonishment at her. Patti was over Val's shoulder, grinning victoriously. "So, Yun?" she said. "Suitably impressed?"

Yun-hee said nothing for a moment. Then she blinked and let go of Val's hand. "Wow..." she gasped.

Patti giggled and patted Val on the back. "Still got it! 'Course, it helps I've got such a lovely assistant."

Val let out a nervous laugh. "I-It's nothing, really!"

"Patti!" Yun-hee exclaimed. "You gotta try it on me!"

"Oh?" Patti leaned forward in her chair. "That performance stirred some emotions, I see. Y'know, if you're both up to it, why don't we head back to my place?"

Val gulped. "B-Both of us?"

"Sure!" Patti replied. "I think I can handle two at once. Especially since you're so easy to drop."

"Um," Val stammered, "well, y'see-"

"Yeah!" Yun-hee shouted. "Let's do it!"

Christ, she's loud when she's drunk. "Um... I guess that's okay..."

"Awesome!" Patti said. "Lemme go pay my tab, and then we'll head out, 'kay?"

"Can you pay mine too?" Yun-hee giggled.

"Don't push your luck, Yun." Patti walked away into the crowd.

Val watched her walk away, then turned to Yun-hee. "So, um... yeah."

Yun-hee smiled. "Let me guess. Madame Blanc made you realize you were into hypnosis?"

Val gulped. "Wh-What?"

Yun-hee shrugged. "I mean, that's how I got into bondage. Back before I joined Team Rainbow, I tried to stop a bank robbery. Got my ass handed to me, ended up tied to a chair and ditched in the vault."

"And that... awakened stuff in you?"

Yun-hee snorted. "God, it sounds so weird when you say it like that! But yeah, it did. Then I heard about this new dungeon opening in town, and I met Patti and a lot of other kinky folks. And then I joined you guys, and I had less time for that. But good on you for finding someone to work these feelings out with!"

"...thanks, Yun." You wouldn't be saying that if you met her...

A few moments later, Patti returned. "So, ready to go, ladies?"

"All set!" said Yun-hee.

Val looked at the floor. "Ready as I'll ever be..."