Note: I'm writing this after episode 5, so this may quickly become retconned. Just a warning for future readers.

Slow Torture

By: Nanaki BH

"Revenge is sweet, is it not?"

In retrospect, this wasn't a very good idea. It was a bad idea that led him to having his bending stolen in the first place. No matter what he was told, even if he could never reclaim his bending, he wanted to get revenge. He was his own ruler. He was the king of this city. He was humiliated enough before this happened.

What kind of torture was this anyway...

Amon dug the back of his heel harder into his back as he crossed his legs. Tahno looked behind himself and caught an infuriating glimpse of that mask on the one sitting above him.

"I want to know how you got in here, actually. I had guards outside."

"I had the advantage of being underestimated," he spat around gritted teeth. "Bending and being handsome aren't all I'm good at." Picking his head up, he looked for the dagger he brought with himself and spotted it halfway across the room. That was too far for him to get now and there wasn't much he could do with his hands tied behind his back anyway.

"Hm. I see." That was all Amon had to say. He sat slouched in his chair, making this break-in look like nothing more than an everyday occurrence to him. The more his heel wedged itself into the sensitive part of his shoulder blades, the more Tahno wondered where he went wrong. He wanted to kill him – that's why he brought the knife – but at the same time, he hoped that he wasn't around. Then maybe he would have found a clue to getting his bending back without having to confront him.

So much for that.

"Well? What do you plan to do with me now? Kill me?" He may as well. Especially now. Why give him a second chance?

Amon just laughed, that despicable, aggravatingly arousing low rumble of his. "You would like that. No, no, I'm afraid I can't do that. That would just be rude. It's not every day I have a guest, you know – especially none like yourself."

The way he said that worried Tahno greatly. He watched Amon's shadow as he stood and began walking around him slowly, moving in front of him, bending down, picking up the dagger. Well shit. What was he planning to do with that?

"You have a way to give people back their bending, right? What if I stay with you as, like, one of your guards or something? I'm a fucking awesome bender, you know that. I'll even join you and help you take care of Korra. How about that? I'll do whatever you want – just give me back my bending!"

Amon held up the dagger to the light, inspecting it silently before bringing his arm back down with a frighteningly fast swing that made the blade audibly cut the air.

"That sounds like a lot of wishful thinking," he said, gesturing to him with the knife. "Just because I can undo your bending doesn't mean I can give it back. It's not like it's something I pick up and keep. Once it's gone, it's just gone; obliterated. And why would I want to give it back to you anyway? What kind of follower would you be, completely missing the point of what we do?"

Obliterated... Completely gone... That couldn't be true. Tahno didn't want to imagine a world so cruel where he could never bend again. Shoulders tensing, he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cold floor. Whatever happened now, he was just going to let it happen. At least now, he knew that having hope was meaningless.

Amon wouldn't let him have even that much peace, though. He kicked him over until he was on his back and angled the lamp on the table onto his face. Tahno squinted, groaning as the brightness forced his pupils into tiny dots.

"Since you clearly went through a lot of trouble just to get here, I'll let you stay for a while. If nothing else, I can keep you around just to look at you. You're very easy on the eyes."

Now wasn't the time to indulge in compliments, especially from someone like this man. Tahno's mind was still reeling too hard from the information he just received. If Amon wanted to keep him or kill him, he would let him do whatever he wanted. Without his bending, he had no place in the pro bending world anymore. Without that, he didn't even have his reputation. Without all of that, was he even still the same person?

"Won't kill me, huh..." he muttered sadly, looking toward the dark shadows under the table to avoid having his eyes come in contact with the lamp.

Amon knelt down next to him and Tahno winced reflexively when he reached out to take his chin in his hand. Blinded, he couldn't look anywhere but Amon's mask to avoid looking directly into the light.

"Eyes here," he directed.

But when he was holding the dagger like that, Tahno couldn't help but watch what he was doing with it. It was getting dangerously close and he felt his heart speeding up a thousand times its normal speed as it was lowered to his chest. Amon slid the edge underneath the lapel on the front of his coat and with one swift swipe, cleared the buttons that held it together. Each one clattered loudly as they dispersed around the room.

His hands were beginning to feel numb behind his back, sandwiched against the floor. He shifted and struggled against his bonds as Amon pulled his jacket open and slid it over his shoulders. All that was left underneath was his shirt, which Amon had the courtesy to unzip instead. That too was pushed open to the side until he had his chest bared in the lamplight.

Ah. Was this what he meant about his looks? Tahno was sure he could do better than this with the looks he had if 'sex slave' was to be his option right now. Was he going to try to fight this? Could he? It was worth it just to say that he tried. If not then... then he probably really deserved to die if he gave himself willingly to the man who took his bending and humiliated him.

He strained his wrists and found the ropes holding him to be no looser than before.

"What do you plan to do-" His words were cut when Amon boldly placed a hand over his crotch, giving him a nice, firm squeeze. Tahno yelped in surprise and twisted to the side to hide his embarrassed expression. "W-what do you think you're doing?"

"Whatever I want. That was what you said, wasn't it? You would let me do whatever I want."

"I wanted you to kill me, not fondle me, you bastard! This is... I can't even..."

Amon chuckled in that way of his and moved his hand, slowly rubbing in a circle. "I wonder what people would think if they saw you writhing around like a whore like this. You were pretty important. They would be stunned."

'Were'... That word made Tahno feel like crying. "You think I'm enjoying this?" he said. Damn his body for doing this to him. Somehow things just kept getting worse. It was like this body of his was even out to betray him, surrendering anxiously to the touch of this madman.

"Despite what you say, it sure looks like you are." His hand continued to rub in slow circles for a moment and then it was gone. For a few blessed seconds, Tahno thought he might have gotten bored with him until that hand returned, popping the buttons on his pants.

Maybe it was better like this. If even Amon got bored with him, how sad would that be? Tahno lay there silently contemplating what his life had come to as Amon's hand slid beneath the waistband of his pants, his clever fingers wrapping around him when they found his cock. Tahno breathed slowly through his nose and he tried to think about other things.

What was he going to do now that he knew that his bending was irretrievable? Model? Nobody would want him. His face was too recognizable and nobody would want such a sad sight advertising for them.

"I think I'm going to have to go for that Stockholm syndrome thing. You know, where you start liking your captor. Because I can't think of anything else to do and you aren't going to kill me."

It was a miracle (or a curse, really) that he managed to stay so aroused when he felt this damn depressed. It looked like his depression was even starting to rub off on Amon whose hand slowed when he heard what he had to say.

"You're pitiful," he said, at last removing his hand.

"I know," Tahno said. "I don't have anything now."

At a speed that stole his breath away, Amon clutched his hand around his throat and squeezed. "You think that your bending was all you had? You let that define you? Tell me you're kidding."

It was, though. He was an athlete. To him, being unable to bend was the same as if an artist went blind. It was about more than just his reputation to him after all. It was his pastime, his livelihood.

"My bending was everything!"

Amon huffed, his eyes narrowing into cat-like slits. Tahno could feel his fingernails digging into his skin as he tried to breathe. "No," Amon said. "You have more than that. If it means I have to take everything else away from you to prove it, then I will."

Tahno laughed bitterly, letting his hair fall in his face as he tipped his head to the side. "I'd like to see you try that."

He was rewarded for his stubbornness. Amon removed the sash from around his waist and when he folded it in half, Tahno knew what to expect. The next second, it was being shoved in his mouth and the ends were tied behind his head.

"Despite whatever you say, I can tell that you still have your pride. Why else would you come back? That's something you have even without your bending."

You're wrong, he wanted to say. He tried, but the makeshift gag in his mouth muffled any words he would've tried to speak. Amon wasn't saying anything else; seeming to retreat into his own headspace as he moved down his body until he reached his boots, which he pulled off effortlessly and tossed under the table.

Maybe he was lying after all. Maybe he really did care what he was going to do with him because all of a sudden, this was making him very nervous. And why was he still aroused? What the hell was wrong with him? His heart was still pounding with what he was sure was fear, but could fear have that kind of effect?

Tahno shifted his legs uncomfortably. He tried to bring his knees together, but Amon just forced them back apart when he tried.

"I'll get more ropes if I have to," he said. "In fact, I might like that."

Tahno looked toward the door and was glad that there was no window, thankful in a small way that no one else could watch this. Next, as he expected, Amon curled his fingers in the waist of his pants and pulled them all the way off. Tahno couldn't resist the hiss that escaped from between his clenched teeth as his ass met the cold floor. He twisted as if trying to get away from it, but there was no escape and he felt his face flaring up when he realized that it hadn't even done anything to abate his arousal.

He let his head fall back against the floor as he felt Amon's large hand wrap around him again. The whimper that left him this time couldn't be helped. He just tried to take slow, calm breaths around the sash in his mouth. If he didn't think too much about what Amon was doing, then it would go by faster. If he cleared his head of all other thoughts, that would be nice too. He would let himself figure out what to do later.

It was... really hard to ignore the things he was doing, though.

His slow, calm breaths weren't feeling very calm anymore. He had been expecting Amon to be vicious, threatening, but his touch was a lot softer and gentler than he expected. It threw him off so badly that he didn't even know what to think. All he knew was that he didn't want to think and he especially didn't want to start enjoying that hand of his.

Amon laughed, pressing his thumb down into the head to spread around his precum.

His thighs were shaking, a sign that there was still a part in him somewhere that knew this was wrong, even if other parts of him didn't know how to react. It seemed that Amon enjoyed having benders under his hand in more ways than one. He was probably being quiet because he liked watching him react too much.

Tahno was really trying not to react but... Without even realizing what he was doing, he was moaning lasciviously, letting his legs fall open in a more relaxed manner to accommodate his intruding fingers as his other hand joined the first.

"You won't have any pride once I get done with you," Amon said, so low that it almost sounded like a pur to Tahno's ears.

Whatever. This was almost over anyway. If he indulged that sick part of himself that enjoyed it then it would be over even sooner. He bent his knees and pressed himself up into Amon's hands, daringly rolling his hips to receive more friction.

With a smirk in his laugh, Amon pulled his hand away, much to Tahno's surprise. Tahno lifted his chin to look at him where he sat on his knees between his legs. He looked... Well, about as smug or whatever he usually looked with that mask obscuring his face. His eyes were the only hint Tahno ever had to what he was thinking but they were just looking down at him in an unreadable way.

He raised an eyebrow at him and made a confused sound around the sash in his mouth.

Amon's hand returned – briefly. Then again, just to leave him with the briefest of touches once more. Tahno gasped, those stray strands of hair now sticking to his forehead as he perspired, fear and arousal mingling into one very confusing emotion. He wasn't prepared to beg for anything but his bending but begging was the game now, it seemed.

His jaw tightened around the fabric and his fingers twitched. Watching Amon toy with him wasn't helping either for some reason. He was either very skilled or his hands were just made for this. Either way, it was getting hard for Tahno to think. He reminded himself that that was a good thing. He didn't want to think, but if all of his thoughts revolved around how good Amon's hands felt on his cock, then he really would rather be dead.

That was what Amon meant, he realized. He intended to crush whatever dignity he had left. His pride and dignity were what got him there and if he didn't even have that left...

He let his head fall back to the floor – a little too quickly, which made his head swim dizzily for a moment in a painful fog. Part of him reveled in the pain, realizing that he could give himself a concussion if he wanted a drastic way to escape this.

Amon tightened his hand around him in a serious grip, sending pain and pleasure shooting through every corner of Tahno's senses. By now, it felt like he could come at any second, but it was obvious that Amon had no intention to allow that. Tahno's hands unclenched, fingers trembling. Now, he didn't care what he was doing. He cared if he was going to let him come or not.

His lips quivered as he waited for Amon to make his next move.

Instead, Amon stood, dusting off the back of his pants when he was up. He looked down at him, letting his eyes crawl slowly over every inch of him in a way that made Tahno's skin tingle. The room was cold but his skin felt like it was on fire, sweat rolling down his chest when he took in a deep, ragged breath.

"I think I've found a use for you after all," Amon said, sounding very pleased. He leaned down to generously remove the sash from his mouth. Tahno coughed when it was removed and tried to roll back onto his side to relieve his tired hands and shoulders. Amon wouldn't allow that, though. He pressed his foot against his chest and tipped him back over onto his back.

"What do you plan to do now?" Tahno groaned. "Leave me here like this?"

Amon leered and rubbed the toe of his shoe around the center of his chest, letting it graze over his nipples teasingly.

"I told you already. I like looking at you. You don't have to like me, but I think I'm starting to like you a lot," he said, punctuating each word with a tap of his foot. Tahno whimpered pitifully as he moved his foot lower, rubbing the back of his heel back and forth over the head of his cock.

Almost–

But Amon pulled away once again, leaving him frustrated and unfulfilled, sweating, and red with shame. He began walking toward the door and Tahno had to bite his cheek to stop himself from telling him to stay.

He didn't dare ask him where he was going or for how long.

He knew that he would be back.