NOLAN • POV
Maseo knew Reuben inside out and while I never once underestimated his deep understanding of his boy's needs, I was astonished at how well his suggestion to take Reuben to the trampoline park had played out. Reuben needed this. He needed to be able to let go, to just release all the pent up energy he had inside him, to lose himself to the excitement and fun of it all so that he could drop his defences at the end of the night and talk to me without being constantly on edge.
It was perfect.
The warehouse wasn't busy, it was late enough that we almost had the entire place to ourselves two hours before it was supposed to close. Aside from a sparse few teens, Reuben and I had free reign over the entire space, which was perfect because the only way I could describe Reuben was like a rocket. An extremely noisy, extremely giggly, extremely hyper rocket.
He was bouncing off the walls, literally.
The prehistoric dinosaur noises of absolute elation while he sprinted up and down, bounced as hard and high as he could, flipped into the foam pits and swung from the ceiling ropes, filled the entire warehouse and he wasn't even self conscious or embarrassed about it, which I absolutely adored. It was so darn entertaining to watch him let loose.
I chased him up and down while he screamed. He was fast, entirely too fast when he really got going and the springs didn't help, so I was only able to catch him when I successfully baited him close enough. I'd throw him in the foam pit, tackle him to the ground or let him simply ride around on my back before he got another burst of energy and bounced off again.
After an hour I was knackered, taking to sitting against a padded wall so that I could watch him blow off the rest of his steam. He was young and athletic and practically vibrating. He was also beautiful. There was just something about watching him, his slim, yet strong, leanly muscled body flexing and moving. His blue hair flopping up and down, giving him a whimsical, carefree appearance. His bright smile, his colourful tattoos warping with each jump.
Eventually he tired out too, and I had an armful of sweaty Reuben gushing in my lap. I held him tightly. He was panting, his face was red, but his eyes were so dreamy as he smiled. I wondered if he was in subspace, or a similar state of relaxation after the intense workout. I wouldn't be surprised that the same effects were being shown after a scene, as he was about to have an intense adrenaline drop.
Luckily for my boy, I came prepared with water, juice and some chocolate.
"I'm better than Indiana Jones. And also, I'm better than James Bond. And also, Spiderman can suck my dick, cause I can flip more than he can," Reuben sighed happily, slumped over in my arms. I laughed, kissing his sweaty pink face, then using a towel to wipe his damp forehead and brow bone.
"Let's get you cleaned up and ready to go. You must be hungry, Little One."
"Starved. I could eat a cow. An elephant. A dinosaur. You."
"I'm bigger than a dinosaur?
"Are you? Take off your pants."
"No."
"I call red, emotional damage."
"That's not how this works. Don't misuse your safety colours."
"Yes sir!" He saluted with a cheeky grin.
I nipped at his jaw and then stood, my arms full of Reuben who flopped against my shoulder, content to be carried around like a prince in his human carriage. Ignoring the confused stares we got from staff and the still playing teens, I carried Reuben into the changing rooms and set about cleaning us both to prepare for the rest of our evening.
Usually, this would be Maseo's domain, carefully tending to Reuben's needs with care and dedication, running a damp cloth over his chest and down his long arms, scrubbing at his tattoos, then carefully dressing him back into his clothes. I didn't have the same feelings of elation doing this for our boy, it was something I had to do and didn't mind doing, but service wasn't part of my dominant proclivities.
Any other day I would've made Reuben clean and dress himself with Maseo not around to do it for him, but this wasn't just any other day and doing so would've pulled Reuben out of his temporary sub-space, definitely affecting his mood and the stability I'd built between us going forward, which wasn't what I wanted or he needed.
So, I quickly got us both presentable, propping Reuben up on the bench as I bent to tie his shoelaces. I felt his fingers sift gently through my hair and paused, closing my eyes and smiling as the enjoyable, ticklish sensation overwhelmed me.
"When you first came to us and you made Daddy take away all my money and you brought me my favourite sandwich, I asked you if you were lovely, like Daddy, and you said no. Why did you say that?" Reuben asked gently.
I looked up and he was staring down at me with those troubled brown eyes I was learning to love, his fingers still buried in my hair.
"Because it's the truth. I'm a hard man. Hard to please, hard to get on with sometimes. I can be possessive and selfish, over my belongings mostly, but also over the people I care about. I like order, I like things to be done a certain way, I like my boys to respect me in a certain way. I'm not lovely or forgiving, not like Maseo. I'm stubborn and hard-headed and I can be a grump when I want to be."
Reuben considered that, chewing on his bottom lip. He slid off the bench and into my lap where I kneeled before him, straddling my thighs. "But you care about me and Daddy. You take care of us and you take us out on dates and Daddy is happier with you around, that means you must be lovely? Deep down?"
"I guess the two of you bring out the best in me," I grinned, taking his hands away from my hair and holding them instead. "Are you happier with me around Reuben?"
He nodded, nibbling on his bottom lip again.
"Tell me why."
Reuben's cheeks flushed pink. "I get to brag that my doms are the sexiest around."
I laughed, squeezing his hands. "While I appreciate you saying so, I want a real answer, Little One."
Reuben turned serious, averting his gaze. "Don't tell Daddy..."
"Anything you want to stay between us will, unless I believe it is imperative Daddy be informed. You can trust me."
"Daddy gives me everything. He loves me to bits, I know that, and I appreciate him and everything he does for me, but I needed something more. I like how rough you are with me. I like that you challenge me and call me out on my shit. Daddy does too, but not as much as you. In a weird way, you give me the structure Daddy was never able to. I don't fault him for it, I need his kind of gentle, especially when I'm sad or scared, but the pain you give me sometimes, with your hands..." He trailed off, body shivering as he turned my hands over and ran his fingers over my palms.
"I really like it. I really need it... I ache for it," he whispered. "Maybe that makes me fucked up... Daddy seemed to think that because my Mama used to abuse me that way, I wasn't able to make that decision for myself. He thought it would harm me, not bring me pleasure or transport me to a safe space where the physical pain overrode everything that was going on up here," he tapped his temple and swallowed thickly.
"But you don't underestimate me. You give me what you know I need and you don't hold back. With you and Daddy combined, I feel like all parts of me get attention and get to be happy," he shrugged sheepishly.
My heart swelled with happiness and pride at his words, both thoroughly shocked and entirely proud of the way he was able to articulate his feelings. I gripped his face and kissed his lips softly, his happy sigh stirring feelings of love and longing deep in my gut. He was such a perfect boy, such a perfect submissive, and the more time I spent getting to know the real, intelligent, thoughtful Reuben, the harder I fell for him.
"Thank you for sharing that with me, Little One. It means a lot to me, that I'm able to soothe that ache you have for discipline. I appreciate the dynamic we've built between us. It works, and more importantly, it satisfies your needs and makes you happy."
"Does it... make you happy?"
"Extremely. You're fun, Reuben. You have a smart mouth, you're cheeky and you know how to push my buttons," I said and he smiled, that goofy, mischievous smile of his. "But that just makes punishing you sweeter. As a dominant, my safe space, my happy place, is being able to control and discipline you. It keeps my own anxieties at bay."
Reuben's eyes widened. He stared at me like I was a foreign object. "You... have anxieties?"
"All the time," I nodded. "Want to know one I have?"
He nodded, bringing my hand up to his chest with adorable determination. "Bee scout's honour. You can trust me."
I chuckled, but leaned in to kiss him again before admitting, "Change. Change is one of my anxieties. It's hard to control and it has uncertain outcomes. It makes me feel like I can't breathe sometimes. Moving in with you and Maseo was the best thing I've ever done, but moving all my belongings into a new space, trying to find a new job, having to make new friends and colleagues, that causes my chest to pound."
"I never knew..."
"I'm good at dealing with it," I explained gently. "I'm a lot older than you, I have a lot more experience with my body and with the way my surroundings make me feel. I know how to cope. One of the ways I cope is by allowing myself complete control whenever I do a scene with you. That's one of the ways our relationship manages to heal me. So yes, Reuben, you make me happy, you are able to soothe me, and you are extremely important to me. You pull your weight, just like Maseo and I do. You hold us all together."
Reuben gleamed, his eyes going misty. "I'm so scared I'm going to mess everything up. I always mess everything up. Daddy was going to leave me, before you came to us. I just... I don't want to hurt you both, I don't want to force you away, not anymore. Sometimes my brain starts beeping and telling me that you'll realise that I'm not worth it."
I frowned, shaking my head. "Why wouldn't you be worth it, Reuben? I wouldn't have chosen to be with you if I didn't believe we could make this work, if I didn't believe I could love you."
"My Mama, she was supposed to love me. She was supposed to care about me, but she didn't and it felt like everyone who came after her couldn't either. I just..." he shrugged, lowering his gaze, bottom lip trembling. I immediately wanted to replace his frown with a smile, missing his grinning lips. "Did Daddy tell you about my first dominant? My first... Daddy?"
"No, he didn't. Let's get out of here and get you fed. Then I want you to tell me what you can about him, okay?" I murmured, kissing him and running my thumbs beneath his eyes. "Cheer up for me, Little One. It's going to be okay. Stop thinking about the future and think about the now, about being here, with me."
"Okay," he blew out a breath and climbed off my lap, allowing me to rise to my feet. I grabbed our duffel of gym clothes, throwing it over my shoulder and grabbing his hand with my other. We exited the locker room, heading through the warehouse and out into the parking lot.
"Where are we going?"
"Fancy some street food and a walk down by the pier?"
"FUCK YEAH! Oops, I mean, yes Master Nolan!"
~•~
A/N: Their date is going so well! 💚 We find out about Reu's first daddy next chapter 👀! I can't wait to explore more hands on BDSM in the later chapters. Though Wattpad is cracking down on censorship so I need to figure out how I'm going to incorporate whipping scenes with Reu and Nolan... I guess that's a worry for another day! 😫