ONE: Vanilla on My Hands

37: I've Never Known That One's Blush Could Match Their Knees

"It did, yeah," Frank blushed profusely, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," She smiled at him before looking at him seriously, "But you do realize what I meant now when I said Gerard was a Dominant? Or has he not told you yet?"

"Oh, no, I know now," Frank chuckled, wondering if Lindsey had seen the state of his back when she had walked in on him, "I know all about him and the kinky fuckery it entails."

"Lovely," Lindsey sighed, shaking her head, "As long as I don't hear anything of said 'fuckery', then we're all good."

"Okay," Frank breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she had calmed down. She looked happy now, or at least calm enough not to throttle him, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lindsey smiled at him, "So, I assume you two are..."

"Something," Frank finished off her sentence for her, not entirely sure if he could say to her that he was in fact Gerard's submissive. She must have known what was going on but Frank didn't know if it was his place to say anything or not. He rolled on his heels lightly, "I just didn't realize something like this would involve so much paperwork."

"Gerard is thorough," Lindsey chuckled softly, leaning against the wall near the door, "You've got to know what you're getting yourself into. I take it you do? It's not just about him scratching your back you know?"

Frank went bright red when Lindsey said that; the look on her face only added to the realization for Frank that she knew exactly what had happened to him. She had seen the state of his skin when she walked into the bathroom. Frank asked nervously, "Does it look bad?"

"It looks like you two know what you're doing," Lindsey waved a hand at him, "I mean, he does. He's known from day one of meeting you."

"Oh, I know," Frank snorted before realizing that he had been standing around talking for far too long. He should have just gone straight downstairs to find Gerard, but instead, he had hung around and now he realized that he was really running late, "Shit- Lindsey, I need to go downstairs. He's waiting for me."

"Go," She told him, watching Frank leave the bathroom quickly, "Don't keep him waiting. God forbid."

Frank rushed down the hall, practically running down the stairs when he got to them. When he got downstairs, he saw Gerard standing and leaning against the island counter, arms folded and an unimpressed eyebrow raised. He looked down at his watch, "You're late, boy. Nine minutes, in fact. What were you doing up there?"

"I ran into Lindsey, sir." Frank answered quickly, his head instinctively bowing down as h scurried closer, "I apologize, I-I didn't mean to be late."

"I noticed the Psycho-esque scream a moment ago," Gerard mentioned nonchalantly, "I do hope you were dressed when she found you, Norman Bates?"

"Yes, sir," Frank nodded, avoiding the minor detail that had made Lindsey shriek, "Dressed as I am now. We were just talking- I lost track of time."

"Well, make a note for next time, boy," Gerard spoke, straightening himself up as he slid sinuously into one of the barstools, "If I tell you to do something in an allotted time scale, then you do it. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." Frank nodded, his head still bowed down to a degree, avoiding the burning stare that he was so sure was being directed right at him, "I promise it won't happen again, sir."

"Good boy," Gerard sounded pleased, "Now, come sit next to me. We have a lot to get through this morning."

"What time is it?" Frank asked as he made his way over to Gerard, pulling out the stool to the right of him, sitting down on gingerly on the cold chair.

"Three minutes past eight."

"Really?" Frank whined softly, wishing that he was still in bed; it was Saturday. That was a time for lying around in bed and not having to worry about getting up to alarms or having to be anywhere. Frank knew he was the kind of person who would tumble out of bed past ten on the weekends. He pouted, "It's so early."

"You don't know the meaning of the word early," Gerard chuckled, sliding a piece of paper over to Frank, "Today, we need to go through your rituals."

"Kinky," Frank smiled playfully. He straightened his expression when he saw the serious demeanor to Gerard's face. He reeled it in and cleared his throat before trying to get a look at the piece of paper that Gerard had given him, "So, what are these rituals?"

"These will be the things that you do every day. Orders that you have to follow; a planned out timetable that you will follow. Do you understand, boy?" Gerard asked, watching Frank nod, "No hanging around having chats. If you run late then there will be repercussions."

"Okay," Frank nodded again, his voice shaky over the idea of there being consequences if he ran late. Luckily, Gerard had let him off this morning, but the idea of Gerard doing something to him if he ran late made him giddy and nervous all at once. He looked at his Master, "So, what do I have to do?"

"Well, first on the list, even if we are running a little behind schedule with a few things," Gerard said, checking over the list quickly, "Is breakfast."

"Is this your way of making sure I don't skip meals?"

"I mean you making me breakfast," Gerard corrected and Frank stalled, letting out a small 'oh' when he realized. Gerard continued explaining, "Be this what it is, every morning you will cook and serve me breakfast. Being a submissive isn't just about pleasing me whenever I desire, there is also domestic discipline. Breakfast is one of those things that will be part of your daily rituals."

"So I just make you breakfast?" Frank smiled at the idea of that. It had been so long since he had properly cooked, and the idea of being able to do it for Gerard was something that he knew he would enjoy. Seeing himself as an alright cook, Frank was more than happy about this part of his new day to day life, "I am so down for doing that. What am I making you? I take it, you decide that for me, too?"

"Eggs in the fridge," Gerard answered. Frank got up from the chair and made his way around the counter when Gerard spoke again, "Did I say you could move, boy?"

Frank froze barely a meter away from the fridge, mentally cursing himself, "...no, sir."

"Running late and not asking permission," Gerard looked over his submissive, rubbing his finger over his bottom lip, "Am I going to have to do something to make you conform, boy?"

"N-No, sir," Frank stammered, feeling like his stomach had dropped down to his feet when Gerard had his eyes wandering over him like he was seeing him naked. He felt so exposed suddenly and it made him blush as he tried to speak, his voice barely above a whisper, "C-Can I make you breakfast now, sir?"

Gerard waved a hand and Frank hoped that it meant that he could carry on. When he moved, Gerard didn't berate him for disobeying, and a small relief washed over him. He opened the fridge, feeling a little excited about his current task. He may not have done it properly for a long time and he was worried that he was going to mess up, but it was all being ignored because all he wanted to do was make his Master happy.

"You seem rather keen on the idea of making me breakfast," Gerard commented casually as he watched the submissive over the top of his steepled fingers.

"I do?" Frank responded, hoping to come off as nonchalant as possible when he set the carton of milk down beside the eggs.