I never could keep my mouth shut for long

By the time the tub was full, Nick and Dawn had calmed down slightly. The golden tub in the Master’s Suite’s bathroom was big enough where they could both sit comfortably in it without being too cramped. It was no surprise that the tub had been designed in that way, given the supposed intended purpose. Nick was quite sure that the intention was for him to bring girls into the bathtub to have sex, like the time he’d had shower sex with Carly.

Well, right now he was in the bath with a naked woman, sure, but his intentions weren’t exactly aimed towards that. Not only had he gotten most of that out of his system in the hot spring earlier today, having grown accustomed to being naked in the tub with Dawn, but he also had other things on his mind.

And so did she.

“…I hope you’re not blaming yourself, Dawn,” Nick said quietly, looking into Dawn’s eyes. Or rather, the foggy glasses in front of her eyes.

Dawn removed her glasses and set them down on the shelf next to the tub. She lowered her head, and her ears drooped. “…I am,” she said quietly. “I know that it wasn’t my fault… but… I can’t help feeling like… if I had just gone after her, then maybe, maybe… maybe I could have done something, something to help…”

It was weighing heavily on her, and Nick couldn’t stand seeing her like that. He cared deeply about his friend and lover, and didn’t like seeing her in that state.

“I didn’t used to be like this, you know,” Dawn murmured. She raised her head and gazed at Nick again. Without her glasses, everything looked too blurry, so she couldn’t make out his face. But she could easily imagine the kind of expression he would be making.

It almost brought a smile to her lips, thinking about how worried for her he must be.

“Like what?” Nick asked quietly. He wasn’t used to such a pensive atmosphere from Dawn.

She gave him a sad smile. “…Before I came to this island, I would have convinced myself that I did nothing wrong. My rational side would have won out over my feelings. That’s how I’ve always been, you know?”

Dawn had always had a big heart, but she’d tempered it with logic and reason. It had led to her being friendly with lots of people during her school years, but never outright friends with them. There had always been that distance, that wall between herself and everybody else.

So, needless to say, once she finished her schooling and entered the workforce, her “friendships” had all withered away. She no longer had anyone in her life that she could truly consider a close friend, and that fact stung her deeply.

But, she’d managed to put all that behind her… at least, until she came to this island and began to make real connections with other people.

“…Nick…” Dawn reached for her glasses and put them back on. Even though she still couldn’t see through them very well, she wanted to wear them. She wanted… she wanted to look Nick in the eyes like this, and see his face.

She had to wipe them off on a hanging towel, but it was good enough.

“…I know I shouldn’t blame myself. But… I do. If I’d just gone after her, then…”

“Then Cinder probably would have snapped at you,” Nick pointed out. “Whatever happened with Sylvia, she might have lost her temper and lashed out at you, instead. And then you’d be blaming yourself even more than you are now for her getting a punishment transformation.”

Dawn grimaced. Hearing him say it like that…

“…You’re probably right,” she admitted. As much as she didn’t like it, she couldn’t come up with a counterargument for him. “But… but that’s why…!”

“Dawn,” Nick said sharply, looking at her. She jerked upright and her tail splashed behind her in the tub out of surprise.

“Y-yes?” Dawn squeaked out. She wasn’t used to him taking such a firm tone with her. She waited anxiously to hear what he had to say, but he wasn’t saying anything.

His hand came up from under the water and brought hers up with it. He gave her a tight squeeze to let her know that he was right here with her, that he was hearing her out about her problems and concerns and that he cared.

It made her feel all warm inside, even warmer than the hot water around them.

“Don’t blame yourself,” he said.

“Then… who should I blame?” She sank back down into the water. “Echo is an easy target. And I can’t blame Cinder… that… that’s victim-blaming!”

Nick could see how she came to that conclusion. Honestly, a part of him felt that it had been Cinder’s fault, or at least, that she’d brought this whole mess onto herself. If she’d been in more control of her emotions and hadn’t lost her temper, then nothing like this would have happened. But that didn’t seem fair. Cinder may have been lashing out, but was it really okay to punish her with that collar? Or did Echo go too far?

“…I honestly don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe you could blame Cinder or Echo… if you wanted to, but… the truth is, it’s this show. The show has rules, and we need to follow them.”

Echo had warned him. She’d told him directly that she wasn’t going to be like Dakota and coddle him so that he’d like her. She’d made it very clear that she would take steps to ensure that the show went how it was supposed to, whether he liked it or not.

He had taken her warning seriously. Cinder hadn’t. And, as a result, here they were, with Cinder under the influence of a punishment transformation.

“…Sometimes, I forget about my transformation,” Dawn admitted, looking down again. “I’ve had it for so long that I forget that at the beginning of the show, my ears and tail weren’t sensitive the way they are now. That- that was something extra that Sylvia did to me. And she’s changed, I know, but…”

“But it isn’t pleasant,” Nick finished for her.

She raised her head and a sly look crossed her lips. “Actually,” she murmured, “it is very pleasant. And that’s precisely the point!”

Nick tried to ignore the playful tone in her voice. He knew it was Dawn’s attempt to mask the pain she was feeling. And as much as he cared about her, he knew that he could only indulge her so much before they had to confront the situation directly.

“So… what do we do now?” He asked her.

Dawn blinked behind her glasses. “…What, you mean in the tub? Well-”

“No, Dawn, I’m talking about Cinder!” Nick tried not to get upset. He knew that Dawn was probably doing this for his sake, so he wouldn’t think too much about what was going on, and blame himself the way she was blaming herself. Because if this was Dawn’s fault, then it was Nick’s fault even more, for driving Cinder away like that.

But… Nick didn’t want to think in those terms. So, he forced himself not to.

“…I want to help Cinder somehow,” Nick said. “And I know you do, too.”

Even if neither of them were really responsible, they might be able to move past the feelings of guilt that they were experiencing if they helped Cinder overcome her punishment transformation.

It was worth a try, anyway.

Dawn nodded slowly. “You’re right,” she admitted. “I do want to help her. But I don’t really see how we can do that without, well… upsetting her again.”

Echo had devised a particularly clever little bit of punishment for the agitated latina. No matter what they tried to do to get the collar off, it all circled back to sexual pleasure for Cinder, which she was very sensitive to and hostile against.

Which put them in a very difficult position.

“We can think of something,” Nick assured Dawn. “I’m sure we can. We just have to remember to take her feelings into consideration, and try to make her happy.

“Aww, Daddy! That’s so sweet of you!”

Nick and Dawn both jumped in shock.

“Eh!?”

“What?!”

They turned their heads and saw Sylvia crouched by the bathtub, blue eyes open wide and with a mischievous grin on her lips.

“So sweet!” She cooed, standing upright and twirling across the golden tiles. “Both of you, trying so hard to comfort Cinder! I’m getting all gooey inside!”

“Sylvia,” Dawn said, calming down before Nick managed to, “can you please keep those thoughts and feelings to yourself?” She requested. “And, in the future, I don’t appreciate being walked in on in the middle of a bath.”

“I don’t, either!” Nick said. He would cover himself, but what would be the point? Sylvia had already seen everything plenty of times.

To be fair, she wasn’t even looking at him that way, either. Instead, her eyes were focused directly on their faces.

…Maybe that was even worse…

“I think I have the perfect plan to help you out!” Sylvia said, giggling. She turned on her heel and headed out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and leaving a very confused couple in her wake.

Nick and Dawn looked at each other, sharing a confused glance. Nick just shrugged, not sure what to say at this point.

“That girl…” Dawn rubbed her forehead in exasperation. “She can be quite a handful, huh?”

“No kidding,” Nick agreed. He shook his head and sighed. “Hopefully whatever she’s planning won’t end up making things worse.”

With Sylvia, there was a very real possibility of exactly that. Hence his concern.

The door creaked open a few seconds later. “Stupid Sylvia… why do I have to be the one to clean the bathroom?”

Cinder entered the golden bathroom, muttering to herself, eyes lowered towards the floor. Which was why she didn’t realize at first that she was not alone in the bathroom, and that Nick and Dawn had not already left like Sylvia had claimed.

Her ignorance lasted for only a handful of seconds before she heard faint splashing in the tub, and she raised her head to see Nick and Dawn, stark naked, and staring at her, mortified.

Cinder’s mouth flopped open and her eyes bulged out in shock.

“…WHAT THE FUCK!?” She exploded, swiftly covering her eyes. “Why are you two here, damn it!? SYLVIA! You lied to me, you bitch!”

Nick and Dawn saw a pale hand reach through the doorway and pull the door shut.

Upon hearing the door slam, Cinder spun around, enraged, and dashed to go open it. “What the fuck!?” She shouted again, trying the knob first before pounding angrily on the door. “Open up, you bitch! How the fuck did you even do this?!”

“All the doors in the Master’s Suite lock both ways,” Sylvia chirped from behind the door. “In case the master is being… stubborn, and needs to have some alone time with one of the girls in his harem. Or, in this case, the other way around.”

“I’M GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR THROAT, YOU CUNT!”

…

“…Cinder, that isn’t a very nice thing to say,” Sylvia warned her. “That’s the kind of talk that might trigger your-”

“Hyiiieeeaaaaaannnnnnnn!” Cinder rolled up her eyes in pleasure and her knees wobbled. Her legs began to shake and she let out a moan as she clung to the countertop to keep from collapsing to the floor entirely as she sank to the ground.

“Cinder!” Nick cried. He stood up to go to her, but Dawn grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back down into the water.

“Think for a second!” She hissed as him. “You’re naked! You think she’s going to want you to come to her aide like that!?”

Nick grimaced. He knew Dawn was right, but he couldn’t imagine just… not helping someone who clearly needed it!

“Sylvia, what are you doing?!” He turned his rage on his so-called “daughter” instead.

“Sorry, Daddy,” Sylvia apologized. “But this is the only way! She’s not going to play nice under normal circumstances, so I’ve got no choice but to have all three of you sit down and talk things out! See? …And, if she’s so embarrassed she starts cumming, well, bonus!”

“I think she’s trying to be the antagonist,” Dawn whispered to Nick. She gave him a pointed look. “She knows that Cinder already doesn’t like her. So, she’s playing the villain in the hope of turning that ire against herself, and in the process, helping you get closer with Cinder yourself by working against a mutual foe. See?”

Nick scowled. He could understand the logic in that idea, but he definitely didn’t like it. It wasn’t at all fair to Cinder (or Ella, for that matter) to have to go through something like that. He shook his head firmly.

“Sylvia, just let us out,” he said, trying not to sound as angry this time. “Please? This isn’t the right way to go about this. We can all just talk.”

“FUCK YOOOOUUUUUUU…!” Cinder screamed from the floor.

“Really, Daddy?” Sylvia asked in amusement.

…Okay, so maybe the time for talking had expired. Still, that didn’t make Sylvia’s actions here something that he could endorse!

“Oh, and I left your clothes inside, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Sylvia added. “Wasn’t that nice of me?”

Nick and Dawn exchanged tired looks. Apparently, bath time was over. And Dawn didn’t even get to fool around with him a little bit! What a ripoff. But there was no time for disappointment as the two of them got out of the tub and started drying themselves off.

Cinder was immediately hostile to them. Which was honestly not that much of a surprise for Nick, or for Dawn, for that matter. Even once they were completely dressed, they had no illusions that Cinder would magically be receptive to what they had to say.

Not with the way she was glaring at them, like somehow they were responsible for the situation she was in.

Which only increased their perceived guilt even more.

Nick and Dawn shared another look. Neither was sure which one of them should reach out to Cinder first.

But, eventually, Dawn decided that it was her responsibility to help her friend, and made the first move.

“Cinder,” she said, taking a hesitant step towards the other girl. She tried her best to give her friend a smile.

Cinder wasn’t biting.

“Just leave me alone!” She spat, crawling to her feet. She still had to lean against the sink to keep from falling over, though. “I just want to finish my FUCKING job and be DONE with this stupid fucking collar! Damn it!”

She knew that finishing her work wouldn’t remove the collar. But she didn’t know what would. So, she was just going through the motions at this point.

And it was pissing her off.

Seeing that Dawn wasn’t making any progress put Nick in a tough position. He had been hoping that Dawn would be able to get through to the angry woman, to spare him the difficult conversation, but he had to put those feelings aside right now.

He needed to reach out to her.

“Cinder,” he said, stepping forward without hesitation, unlike Dawn. The way she tensed up when she saw him approach hurt to see, but he had to move past that, too.

“I know you’re dealing with a difficult situation,” he said, looking into her eyes. She jerked her head away from him in response as her face turned crimson. “But Cinder, I just want to help you. I know… I know what you’re dealing with, and it’s not fair.”

“Don’t talk to me,” she muttered, glaring at him. “This whole thing… …It’s all YOUR fault, Nick! So shuck your fucking mouth!”

Dawn bit her lip. “Nick-”

“It’s alright,” Nick said, both to Dawn and to Cinder as well. “I understand, okay? So, if you want to lob abuse at me, and blame me, I can deal with that. I’m the one who made you so agitated before, so if you need to blame me-”

“JUST STOP IT ALREADY!” Cinder screamed at the top of her lungs.

Nick paused, stunned by the outburst.

And he was even more stunned by the tears he saw slowly roll down her cheeks. They practically seemed to steam against her flushed skin as she glared at him.

“Stop… just… stop…” she whimpered, shaking her head.

Nick’s heart melted on the spot. Seeing her tremble like that, he wanted nothing more than to lean over and hug her, but he had to stop himself.

Cinder wouldn’t accept it. Not right now.

“…I’m the one who did it,” she muttered, tugging on her collar. “I… I attacked Sylvia, and I got punished for it. I got Ella punished for it! Damn it, shit, fuck!” She cursed furiously. “So, when you act like that… when you blame yourself… what the fuck am I supposed to do, huh!?”

Nick didn’t know how to answer that. Neither did Dawn. They both just looked at Cinder with tense expressions.

She was breaking down, like she was about to cry even harder. And they didn’t have any way to comfort her.

“…Cinder.” Nick knelt down to where Cinder had collapsed on the floor. She raised her head, and their eyes met.

He saw, for just a moment, a flicker of hope in her eyes.

Nick took her hand in his. It felt so warm and soft, not at all like the hand of a girl who hated him.

She squeezed his hand tightly, like she was clinging to him for support.

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper,” Cinder whimpered out. “Ella… oh, Ella… I’m so sorry… Ella…”

Her sobs echoed through the bathroom. Nick wanted to hug her, but he still couldn’t. At least she was holding his hand, and that was good enough for now.

“It won’t be permanent,” he promised her. “We’ll get that collar off of you. Okay? And Ella won’t be upset. She’s a part of you. She knows what you’re going through. The only person upset about this is you, Cinder. We all just want to help.”

Cinder didn’t answer him with words. She just let out a sad whimper and bobbed her head up and down, and squeezed Nick’s hand even tighter.

Dawn knew that what she was seeing was a heartwrenching moment that must have hurt badly. But she still smiled when she saw the look of relief on Nick’s face.