In Venere Veritas

Chapter 4 - Wounds That Are Not Meant To Heal

Ville and Serena walked into the crowded bar and Ville placed his hand on Serena's back and pushed her towards an empty booth all the way in the back corner, where he felt they'd be less disturbed. They had a quiet walk to the bar, mulling over what they had just done, but now he wanted to talk.

The sex had just barely touched the thirst he still felt. It wasn't enough, he needed to get in her head.

"What? We're not sitting at the bar?" Serena asked confused.

Ville shook his head and nearly shoved her into one side of the booth. "We need to talk about it."

Serena raised an eyebrow, "What? Yeah, we had sex. And?" Ville stared at her, trying to figure out what he wanted to say "Oh god, you're not going to get all gooey on me right? Profess your love to me?" Serena furrowed her brow, cringing at the thought.

Ville rolled his eyes, "Can you be a decent human being for a second? Cut the shit and talk to me."

Serena smirked, "Fine. Ville Valo requires validation, I guess. Yes, you were good. More than good. I wish it had lasted a little longer, but..." she trailed off with a shrug.

Ville was shooting daggers at her, "I don't know why I even try." he grumbled.

"Hey, you want me to open up? Fine. Get me a bottle of liquor, my heart and legs will open like that." Serena snapped her fingers to emphasize.

Ville obliged, and he watched her down three back-to-back shots of top shelf whiskey and Serena opened up like she said she would. "Tell me about what happened with you and Juhani." Ville pressed, after listening to her bitch about working at the studio for the better part of a half hour.

"Oh god, where to start." Serena muttered, pouring herself whiskey over a glass of ice a server had brought over. "Well, he cheated on me, so there's that."

Ville raised his eyebrows in surprise, "That's really shitty, I'm sorry to hear that."

"I really fell hard for him. I pictured an actual life with him, you know? White picket fence, kids, the whole thing. When he proposed, I thought this was it, this is the start of the rest of my life. And you know what? He wanted that life too... just.. Not with me as it turns out. I drank and partied and lost sleep to make sure he didn't feel like he was pussy whipped. I wanted to be the 'cool' girlfriend. But any time I brought up actually getting married he would shut down or even laugh at me, Which in hindsight wasn't nerves, he was just a massive fucking asshole. So imagine my surprise when I find out the woman that he he keeps shoving in my face at our apartment that we're still sharing, is not only wearing my ring, but they're planning a wedding. MY wedding. And–" Serena trailed off and began to laugh, "And here I am. 30, starting over completely. No white picket fence for me."

Ville felt genuinely bad for her. He knew she was hurting, despite how well she was playing it off. She drank. A lot. She clearly was using alcohol to cope and he knew where that would ultimately lead. "So... you're still living together?"

Serena nodded, "Got six more months on the lease. We signed the lease and a week later I found him fucking her in our shower. I poured all of my fucking money into non-refundable deposits for the wedding he supposedly didn't want!" she laughed again. "So I can't afford to leave, but he can't make me leave because I'm on the lease too. But that certainly doesn't stop him from making my life a living hell, parading her around in front of me. Having obnoxiously loud sex in the bed we used to share together..." she sighed, "And thus, I spend a lot of nights at FinnVox."

Ville's stomach lurched. That morning at the studio... she was there so early because she never went home. She stayed there. That explains the blanket on the couch and the booze in her coffee. "Serena... Fuck. I'm so sorry."

Serena squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm gonna request a change in subject, because I'm not going to start crying in front of you." she sighed heavily, "Okay! So the sex? Amazing. Would definitely do that again. Actually, I would love to do it again."

Ville smiled, he wasn't going to continue to push the subject. He knew all he needed to know. He smiled at his friend across the table, "I would also love to do it again, but you're drinking and I'm not, and that would be wrong."

Serena rolled her eyes, "I'm telling you I'm fine with it. I'm asking, I don't feel taken advantage of."

Ville smirked, "And I'm telling you I'm not fine with it. I would fuck you any time, any place, but only when you're sober."

Serena sighed, "Ville... I wasn't sober when I came over today. I washed my mouth out before I came by, since clearly I wasn't as inconspicuous as I thought the other morning as you so kindly pointed out, but yeah... I- I really have a problem. Like I'm actually worried I'll end up losing my job. And then my choices will be sleeping in an apartment and listening to my ex have spite sex, or I dunno, on a park bench."

"So you're drinking all day, every day? Starting from the moment you wake up?" Ville asked to clarify.

Serena nodded slowly, not looking at him, "Pretty much. If not I get the shakes and a killer headache. So sometimes I'm not even drinking to stop myself from feeling, I'm just trying to avoid a soul crushing headache."

"I've been there." Ville nodded. "This time a year ago in fact. I can help you."

"Some of us can't afford a $50,000 stay in Malibu, bud." Serena retorted, taking another shot.

"I realize that, but I can help you. I'll keep you busy, help you stay sober, and I'll make sure you don't have to sleep on a park bench. If you can't handle being at home, my home is always open."

"Keep me busy?" she questioned.

Ville nodded, "Yeah, keep you busy. It's the best way to get through the temptation. I'll have you come with us to LA, be our roadie, and for some of the end of the year shows, I'll make sure you're on the tour.

Serena blinked at him, "Where's the catch? There's always a catch."

"Serena, you're my friend. There is no catch."

"What's the catch, Ville?" Serena deadpanned.

Ville paused and bit his lip, "I can keep you busy in other ways."

Serena raised her eyebrows, "Oh?" she was genuinely intrigued.

"I want a friend-with-benefits relationship with you, but, I have my conditions." Serena said nothing, just stared at him. "One, you being completely sober. I will not do anything with you if I know you've been drinking. Two, full transparency from you. If you're struggling, you call me. If you fuck up, you tell me. And three..." he paused and gathered his courage, "I want a Dominant/submissive dynamic between us."

Serena blinked and felt her body warm with arousal and the heartwarming kindness he was showing her, for the first time in a long time she found herself speechless. Not a sarcastic remark to be found in her brain. "Deal." she blurted out, barely feeling her own lips move.

"Deal?" Ville questioned.

"Deal." Serena confirmed. "Why the fuck not? What we did back there..." she trailed off with a chuckle. "It was the first time in about 6 months I wasn't thinking about my ex-fiance's dick inside another woman or the crippling debt I'm in from paying for a wedding that only I wanted... And yeah, I need to be sober if I'm going to keep my job, so yeah. Deal." she extended her hand out to him to seal the deal, and Ville accepted.

"We'll talk more tomorrow when you're sober. I'm taking you home and you're going to bed."

"Oh come on, let me at least just finish this bottle." Serena whined. "It's my last hoorah." she pouted.

Ville shook his head 'no' slowly, but Serena smirked and picked up the bottle and put it to her lips. "I told you I'd be submissive... what I neglected to tell you was I'm going to be a bratty one." she tipped the bottle closer to her lips.

"Serena... put it down." his voice stern.

"Make me." she raised her eyebrows and took a swig.

Ville grinned at her and chuckled almost sinisterly, "Oh you're gonna pay for that when you're sober tomorrow"