Bad Submissive ¤ Cashton

one

Today was the day.

The day that everyone looked forward to, one that parents expect from the moment their child is born. Some kids dream about this day, fantasize about how wonderful and life-changing it will be. It comes in second to their wedding day.

Determination test day.

The test meant to determine whether you will be categorized by the government and essentially the rest of the world as either a Dominant or a Submissive. It was most common for the majority of men to be Dominants, and most women were Submissives. That was just how it worked. But Calum..he knew, you know? He'd always known he was not a Dominant, he didn't need some government test to tell him that. It got complicated for men who weren't heterosexual because male Submissive's were just so rare. Not to mention the completely separate Matching System. God, it was a nightmare. Cue the immensely invasive and intimate questions, just to find someone you might not even like.

The worst part had to be how Submissive's were treated. Because it is assumed that all males will be Dominants, boys are taught like them, trained to be them. If they show promise or are comfortable with the lessons, they stay in that specific program. If not - they are "reassigned", to the Submissive program. Calum was ashamed for a while, about being a Submissive, before he had the test. He'd tried to pretend, but in the end, it just felt unnatural, uncomfortable. They teach you how to punish your partner, discipline them. Many of Calum's teachers seemed to believe that just because you have a Submissive, doesn't mean you have to consider them to be your significant other. The consensus seemed to be that Submissive's were only good for housekeeping and sex.

Calum wasn't even going to get started on that.

He knew he wasn't typical of the ways other boys his age were. He had no interest in sex, ever. He passed it off as him having yet to realize he was gay. He figured he'd only really thought about it with women in mind. He gave it a few years, but when his first boyfriend made him stick a hand in his pants which resulted in Calum having a panic attack and crying while this fifteen-year-old was trying to guide him through a handjob, he figured it wasn't just women.

So forgive him for being in the minority of people who dread test day.

He knew it coming, everyone had to take the test, but he was in a sour mood the whole day. He was snippy and rude with the officials at the testing facility and getting on his mother's nerves. It was all over soon enough, and the entire thing left his mind until his results came in the mail. He was approaching graduation day when they finally came. His dad picked him up at school and didn't say a word. He seemed disappointed in Calum and at the time, he wasn't sure why. He simply retreated to his room once he was home, but eventually, his mother came up, shutting the door.

Calum looked up at her, giving a small smile. "Hey- have you seen Dad? Did something happen? He seems pretty upset."

His mother, sweet as she was, gave a pained smile, unable to tell her dear boy that he was the reason for his father's attitude. "Your results came in." She handed the already open envelope over and quietly left the room.

Calum hadn't really expected any other reaction. It was shameful for a boy to be a Submissive, especially since his sister, Mali, was a Dominant, they were hoping for two Dominants, but they got this instead. His dad didn't speak to him for at least a week or so. He got over it of course, but it still hurt.

Two years later, at twenty, all citizens take the matchmaking test. It was like deja vu for Calum, with this sense of dread leading up to the day. It was mainly about your sexual preferences, trying to to find someone that matches your answers. But Calum..he just didn't know what to do. It wasn't like there was an option for disgust or whatever was going on with him. So he may have..put random answers. Okay, yeah, so that was against the rules, but he didn't have any other choice.

Once again, the entire thing left his mind because how unlikely was it for them to get a match with his random answers?

Apparently, very easy.

He received a call only days later, stating they had found a match. He nearly dropped the phone, frozen in shock. His mother watched him before taking the phone from his hands. He barely registered the conversation, aside from "packing" and something about Monday morning.

This was it then - he was moving out. Moving into a strangers home, someone he didn't know, had never met, that some stupid system picked out for him. Yeah, no big deal or anything.

~

Anne Marie Irwin always boasted to everyone about her eldest son. He was the kindest soul she had ever met, and full of surprises. She always swore he'd be a Submissive. Raising Ashton and his two siblings by herself, she had learned to adapt early on. Adapting to the fact that her beautiful boy was actually a Dominant, no problem. Harry shaving his sister's hair in her sleep? She was..it was a process.

Ashton had always been so kind to everyone he met, no matter who they were. He had never really agreed with what they taught at his school, about how to punish Submissives, how to treat them. He came home crying when he was young because they had discussed various forms of punishments early on and his poor heart wasn't ready for that.

She was good with adapting to the fact that there was not a single match for her dear boy in all of Australia. He came home that day he got the apology letter in the mail, filled with only defeat. He smacked the letter on the table, brow furrowed. Ms. Irwin gave him a tight hug and reassured him it would be okay, it just meant that someone younger than him hadn't gone to the Matchmaking facility yet. He'd find someone.

She wasn't wrong.

Years later, when Ashton had moved out and had his own job, publishing his own books that he'd poured his heart and soul into, she got a call from him. His voice was high and excited, like when he was younger and she smiled, almost missing him shout, "they found him".

"Say again?"

"Mom, they found him. His name- it's Calum, the Match System, they paired us together. He's twenty, just took the test, that's- it's why I didn't have one. I- I'm picking him up next week."

She sat down as Harry noisily went through the cupboards and she smiled. "What did I tell you? I knew it would work out."

Who was she if she couldn't adapt to this too? Her baby found his perfect partner.

She knew firsthand that the System was not perfect, the father of her children was proof. They were perfect matches, but he didn't love any of them enough to be a father to his kids.But some small part of her hoped, prayed, this was the one for Ashton.

Lord, let her baby be happy.

~

A/N: I am so so grateful for the attention this has received since I began! However, I was proud of my writing and I did start this whole thing a few years ago. I have changed and so has my writing. I am officially re-writing this entire story. I hope you all like it as much as the original.