{ #5 } Eclipse Of The Moon (MxM || 18+)

Chapter 50 - A Reward

Eclipse Of The Moon ~ Book 1 of Aaron
Chapter 50
A Reward

Saturday 6 December 2003

"A new relapse?" Ivan enquires from Marcus with a voice full of concern as Sam suddenly jumps to his feet and rushes toward the restrooms.

We are having dinner at the Primarosa, a nice Italian restaurant, before going to the Hell Fire, and it's the third time already that our friend excuses himself to use the toilets. I haven't heard about the stomach flu virus spreading in Los Angeles at the moment, but Sam could be an isolated case.

"Yeah," Marcus sighs with weariness.

"Have you been stressing him lately?" Ivan asks in a near-accusing tone.

"Of course, not," his friend snorts. "You know I get anything but strict when his fucking illness strikes."

"It doesn't mean you don't have to be strict, Marcus. Quite the opposite. Your strictness allows him to manage his anxieties, it helps him to handle the relapses better, you just have to deal with this carefully and make sure you don't add stress on him."

"Are you trying to teach me, Ivan?" Marcus deadpans, rubbing his goatee.

"Maybe," Ivan smirks.

"I've been in this for as long as you have, so spare me your lessons," Marcus grunts, peeking at me apologetically. "There are just moments when he really has a hard time dealing with his busy life, too much work. He gets too easily upset and needs to learn to put things into perspective, but it's close to impossible for him unfortunately."

"When did it start?"

"Just a couple of days ago, but he's already on corticosteroids, so hopefully he'll get better in a few days. Today wasn't that bad actually..."

"So his disease-modifying treatment doesn't work anymore?"

"Pffft... He stopped it and I didn't know," Marcus mutters angrily. "He was tired of catching all the germs with the immunosuppressant. I'll make him try Methotrexate, but I'll have to watch him closely for side effects."

"It's such a pain that there's no real cure for that fucking illness," Ivan grunts.

"Don't tell me... I have faith in science, though. There's more and more research as it seems to affect younger and younger kids when it used to develop in the twenties or thirties before. His last colonoscopy already showed a few bad sores and ulcers, and I hope he won't have to go through surgery with a bowel resection or worse, a proctocolectomy."

Jeez!! All these words are total Chinese to me and the men's worried tones make me curious about Sam's illness, but I don't have time to ask questions as the little man returns at this moment with a brighter smile, and we naturally resume our previous conversation where we left it. Dessert is served and the rest of our dinner goes uneventfully, even if Sam is a bit pale and often squirms on his seat, which doesn't go unnoticed to his Dominant.

In the last three weeks, I got to meet Sam twice over dinners, either at their place or Ivan's, and now that I have joined their lifestyle, he has obviously opened up a little more on his relationship with Marcus. These two are like a married couple, they deeply love each other. Marcus was already a Dominant when they met, and Sam dived into it. BDSM just tightens their bond, adding spice to their sexual life but above all, it allows them to respectively revel in their deep personalities as a Submissive and a Dominant.

Sam has also been very helpful by telling me a lot about the way he blooms in his submission to Marcus and giving me tips on how to deal with a Dominant's strictness. Clearly, we're very different because I don't feel like a Sub at heart, and I am in total awe toward the absolute respect he has for Marcus despite his occasional chirpiness – he said it's fun to sometimes defy his Dom and get a little punishment. Yet, I have appreciated his advice on how to lose oneself into meditation while kneeling for long hours or to deal with a painful backside after a punishment spanking. The last piece came in very handy after what happened last Saturday.