The next morning, Troye was almost afraid to leave his room. His mother would almost instantly be on his case again, he was sure of it.. He put it off as much as he could, cleaning his room, packing some stuff that he wanted to take to Jacob's in boxes, and checking his computer frequently to see if Jacob had emailed him. He couldn't help but feel disappointment when he saw that the Dom had not.
So finally, at nearly noon, he reluctantly crept out of his room and headed for the living room. He didn't see his mother or father anywhere, so he breathed out a sigh of relief and sank down onto the couch. His stomach growled, he wanted to go into the kitchen to eat, or needed too rather since Jacob had insisted to him that healthy diets were key, but he knew that if his parents weren't in the living room then they most certainly were in the kitchen. As he expected, his mother came out of the kitchen and into the living room. When her gaze fell on Troye, she sighed heavily.
"I still just can't believe your carelessness," she shook her head in disbelief. "I thought we'd raised you to understand your duties as a sub. I understand mine completely, so why can't you just be a good sub?" "Mum..." Troye mumbled, averting his gaze. "Jacob didn't-" "And you called him by his name after he specifically told you not to? He's going to be requesting a new sub in no time," his mother scoffed. At that moment, much to Troye's relief, Shaun emerged from the kitchen and sharply stopped the nagging woman. "Laurelle," he snapped. "Go elsewhere and let me speak to Troye alone, please." His mother was forced to leave the room, yet she did so reluctantly. Troye's father Shaun sat down beside Troye, pursing his lips.
"I figure she as a sub has no right to scold you in such a way even if she is your mother. Don't let anyone else but your Dom and the people your Dom gives permission to, scold you like that." "Are you going to scold me?" Troye asked miserably. "For what I did on national television?" "No," Shaun assured. "We're going to talk about coloring." "But I know how coloring works, we don't need to-" "Run it by me, just for fun," Shaun hummed, sitting back further against the couch and looking at Troye expectantly.
Troye sighed, but sat nodded, clasping his hands together nervously on his lap, "We use coloring to communicate with one another. Us subs mainly use it since our Doms are the ones in charge. If things are good, you don't have to color. Things would be classified as green. Yellow, yellow is like a slow down. It's a warning that things could be escalating to a stop. So like you would at a red light, a Dom stops what he's doing. Doms are sensitive in a way to colors, and they have to stop until they're given an okay again, a green from their sub or a sub in general. You wouldn't run a red stoplight, just like Doms don't keep going when their sub says red. If a sub says red and colors out, the Dom stops what he's doing all together until the sub says green again and then they can take note that whatever happened to make the sub color out is in the red category."
Shaun nodded in approval, "Good. But do you know what you forgot to do today when you nearly colored out, when you left the stage in such a hurry?" "I forgot to say green," Troye whispered. "I left Jacob stuck frozen with the word yellow and Nick fricking Grimshaw had to give him a green so that he could come get me." "Which was a very inconsiderate and careless thing to do," his father pointed out. "You must always remember to take care of your Dom, Troye. As a Dom myself I can assure you that a negative color from our sub is a very petrifying thing. We stop because we care, we don't want to hurt you in a way that is permanent or in a way that you don't want. It's the whole point of the coloring system. So in return of us stopping, all we ask is that you bring us back from it and let us know that we're okay again and aren't going to harm you."
"I'm sorry, dad," Troye responded. "And I apologised to my Dom as well, I was punished for my mistakes. I'm trying, I really want to be a good sub because Jacob seems like a great Dom. It's all so new and I'm scared. I'm afraid that Jacob isn't going to want me and that he's going to file for a new sub and kick me back out." "That's something to take up with your Dom," Shaun told Troye. "If he's a Dom that wants you to speak to him and tell him how things are going for you then tell him. Don't be shy. You can't know that something is going to be wrong if Jacob hasn't told you it's wrong yet. So tell Jacob how you feel about the whole situation and see how things go from there." Troye nodded, but he didn't plan on telling Jacob. That would be far too embarrassing, that and he was fearful of Jacob's answer. He didn't want to be told that all of his suspicions about being a terrible sub were right. He was sure that if Jacob told him such a thing he would no longer be able to function, he'd shut down. Being told that he was terrible seemed pretty red on the color scale for him.
Once his father finished their little chat, he went to find Laurelle again. Troye used it as his advantage to scurry into the kitchen to make himself a small lunch of cheese, crackers, some celery and orange juice, which he scoffed down at the kitchen table so he could hurry back to his room. Once he was in the security of his room, he shut the door and dug back out the folder full of the papers Jacob wanted him to fill out. He was supposed to have them completed by the time he moved in with Jacob, but he decided he'd fill them out and hand them in to Jacob early. He read through everything about Jacob again, finally reaching the paper of Jacob's reds and greens that were accompanied with blank lines so that Troye could add his colorings. Most of what Jacob had as a green Troye was perfectly fine with after meeting Jacob. He already felt like he could trust the Dom, and the day before with the paparazzi incident had only helped that case.
When he reached the blindfolds and gags, he gave the blindfolding a green because he knew he could handle that. Gags, however, he starred like Jacob had told him. He didn't know if he would like it or not. Once he heard more about it or actually tried it, they would write it down on the whiteboard in their room filled with the red and green list. He finished the list, tucking it back into the black folder and setting it atop his desk as he sat down and opened his laptop again. He went to his email again to find a message sent by Jacob from twenty minutes previous. His heart fluttered in anticipation, and he opened the message immediately. He greatly looked forward to seeing Jacob again.
To: Troye Mellet From: Jacob Bixenman
Subject: Lunch Tomorrow Hello, pet. As I told you in the car yesterday as we departed, I would like to meet up with you again before you move in with me. Does tomorrow for lunch seem like a time that would work out for you? I have business matters to attend to later that evening, and so it will have to take place before 4pm. Please message me back as soon as possible so I can start getting things in order. Sincerely, Jacob Bixenman (Dom)
Troye quickly hit the reply button to mail back the man, wishing he didn't have to wait until the next day to see Jacob. Although seeing him the next day was better than not seeing him at all. Troye felt at ease with Jacob now, felt good when he could please his Dom and make Jacob happy.
To: Jacob Bixenman From: Troye Mellet
Subject: Lunch Tomorrow (RE:) Tomorrow sounds perfect. I'm free all day so if you have a time in mind I will be dressed and ready for you exactly then. Is there anything specific you'd like me to wear, sir? I'd like to look good for you and I don't want something like the shoes incident to happen again. Sincerely, Troye Mellet (Sub)
Troye dawdled around while he waited, plugging in and unplugging headphones from his laptop. He didn't have to wait long, and he figured Jacob received email updates to his phone. The response had come in within five minutes.
To: Troye Mellet From: Jacob Bixenman
Subject: Lunch Tomorrow (RE:) (RE:) Very good. Tomorrow by noon then, I'll be waiting in my usual spot. I hope you've set your clock to the right time so that you can indeed be on time for me like the good boy I know you can be. As for clothes, just a sweater and a nice pair of trousers. Perhaps a grey sweater and burgundy jeans, just as long as they are fitting to your form, will work. Black boots if you have them. A darker grey scarf and your pressed wool coat will go nicely with it as well. It's supposed to be colder tomorrow, so you must be dressed warmly. We will speak again then. Sincerely, Jacob Bixenman (Dom)
To: Jacob Bixenman From: Troye Mellet
Subject: Lunch Tomorrow (RE:) (RE:) (RE:) I believe I have those to wear for you sir, I hope they meet your standards. I am excited to be getting to see you again. Until then. Sincerely, Troye Mellet (Sub)
Troye squirmed in anticipation, biting his lip as he waited to see if Jacob would message him back again. The Dom didn't, though, and after thirty minutes Troye shut his laptop and flopped onto his bed to stare at the ceiling. Once again, he felt lonely. He wished he could be with Jacob instead of laying in boredom on his bed, wished he lived in Jacob's house where even though he and Jacob would be apart sometimes, he'd be able to make Jacob happy and prove that he was a good sub. Yet, all he could do was get up and go dig in his closet to find the clothes to please his Dom the next day at lunch.
Jacob
"He left you completely floundering on the stage," Brandon said in disbelief, and Jacob looked up at the man after sending a final email to his sub regarding lunch the next day. "Yes, thank you for pointing that out," Jacob rolled his eyes. "I took care of it." "Probably not as well as you should have!" Jacob's eyebrows shot up, "Did you not see the spanking I gave him? That's the very reason I had it shown over national television. I wasn't fond of showing my subs rear end to the world, but I needed people to see that he had been punished so that they wouldn't get the idea that I was a weak Dom."
"Well I'm starting to get the idea that he's an inconsiderate sub," Brandon said in exasperation. "I'm saying this because I want you to be happy Jacob, and I don't think Troye is the best that you can get." "Well I'm perfectly happy with Troye so far, he's always very eager to please and I can see that he's trying. We're both new to this and we'll figure it out as we go," Jacob said firmly. "I'm taking him out to lunch tomorrow and I'm sure things will be fine. He's already asked me if I had a preference on what he wears because he wants to please me." Brandon looked up to the balcony, knowing his sub was down the hall up on the second floor and most likely in their room napping. He'd been feeling under the weather and Brandon had been making him stay in bed so that he could recover. Sick subs were bad news.
"Lunch?" Brandon rubbed his hands together, and Jacob scooted forward off of the couch like he was about to get up. "Did you discuss his weight with him and request a diet like I suggested?" Jacob gave Brandon a look of disdain, "No, and I won't be. He looks perfectly fine to me, and in all honesty I'm coaxing him to eat more because I think he looks like he doesn't eat enough already. I suppose I suggested a healthy diet, but I meant one where he eats something from each food group."
"But his thighs and hips-" "Are all muscle," Jacob replied instantly. "And they are perfectly fine. Lay off of my sub." Brandon sighed, "I'm just trying to help out, one Dom to another. I'm going to go check up on my sub, though." Brandon left the room, heading upstairs. Jacob frowned after him. Brandon had been a Dom much longer than Jacob had and did have a bit of experience, but Jacob didn't want to do everything that Brandon suggested. Yes, he planned on being a harsh dom, but he didn't need Troye thinking that he was unattractive or not good enough.
Instead of putting too much thought into it and stressing over whether or not he was doing the right thing, he pulled back out his phone and sent some business emails, thinking about where he would take Troye the next day for lunch instead.
Troye
The next day, Troye was ready nearly an hour in advance and was standing at the door, clutching the folder containing the paper he'd written his colors on, so he could keep watch for Jacob. His mother was completely ignoring him, but his father complimented his outfit and told him that if Jacob had requested it then he was sure to like the way it had come together on Troye. The moment Jacob's car pulled up at the end of the driveway, Troye was hurrying out the door and rushing to Jacob's car.
Jacob seemed pleased as Troye sank into the passenger seat and closed the door. "You're actually early this time, that's a very good boy," Jacob hummed, smiling at Troye. Troye slipped him the folder, and Jacob glanced inside only to smile wider. "Even better, pet. Thank you." Troye felt a warm flush at the praise, buckling his seatbelt, "I wanted to be sure to be on time for you, sir, so I got ready several hours before our designated time."
"You look very good as well, I'm glad you went with my request," Jacob told Troye reaching over to brush Troye's arm aside so he could get a better look at Troye' clothes. "Yes, very nice." "Thank you," Troye was quiet, as Jacob pulled away from the curb and onto the road. They didn't speak as Jacob drove, but Troye was just content with the fact that he'd gained Jacob's approval on his outfit and by being on time. When they arrived at the fancy looking restaurant, Troye pursed his lips at the name. It looked more like symbols rather than letters, and he looked to Jacob shyly.
"What language is that?" "It's Greek," Jacob responded. "It's very good, I think you'll like it." Troye nodded slowly, glancing around. He was pleasantly surprised to see that paps weren't swarming the car, and as Jacob climbed out he did as well. There were a few paparazzi that were keeping their distance, but Troye still slipped his two fingers into Jacob's belt loop. It made him feel safer that way and allowed Jacob to guide him. They were seated and given waters along with a bowl of fresh fruit, and Troye hummed as Jacob offered him a few grapes. They were small and almost looked like blueberries. "This looks nice," Troye said softly. "Careful with the grapes, they have seeds," Jacob responded simply as Troye moved to put one in his mouth. He bit into it and was surprised at the flavor. It tasted like actual grape juice, but a tad more sour. "Oh," Troye squeaked. "They're actually a bit tart." "They're wine grapes," Jacob responded.
"Do you like wine?" "I've only just recently became legal," Troye murmured. "But I've had it from time to time and it's not terrible." Jacob ordered some wine then, most likely expensive from the name he murmured to the waitress. She brought it to them and asked if they were ready to order, and Jacob responded with, "Yes. We'll take the Xifias Souvlaki." The waitress nodded and hurried off, leaving them with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. Jacob poured a bit into Troye's glass, nodding to him.
"Taste it and see if you like it." Troye sipped at it and nodded, "Yes, sir. It's very good, thank you. But um- what's..." He trailed off, not even willing to try and repeat what Jacob had ordered. Jacob understood though, and Troye noticed the corners of his lip twitch up in a smile that was nearly fond, "It's grilled swordfish that comes on something a bit like a kebab. Xifias Souvlaki."
"Oh," Troye lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "That sounds good..." Jacob leaned forward then, pursing his lips, "So... did your parents see the interview?" Troye winced, lowering his gaze onto the table as he nodded slowly, "Erm, Yeah, Yeah they did. My father made sure I understood the concept of coloring, and I do know it sir, I swear, and... my mother was just. She didn't approve."
"What did she say?" Jacob asked, his gaze not curious but insistent. Troye was confused as to why he cared. "Just some stuff-" "Do not avoid the question," Jacob's hand reached across the table to seize Troye' wrist, stopping him from picking at an orange peel. "What did she say?" "She said that I would never make a good sub," Troye croaked out hoarsely. He didn't want to continue, wanted to croak out a yellow or a red and stop it all, but it was exactly that, that had gotten him into the mess he'd been in. "And that you'd request for a new one in no time."
Jacob scoffed at that, releasing Troye's wrist and leaning back, "That was the only instant she'd seen of you misbehaving, how can she know what type of sub you are? I can assure you that if you are being a bad sub then I'll let you know. Until then, don't fret about it. Our family and friends are not the people we need to worry about. If people of my work start to believe that our relationship is not Dom and sub material we'll have to work something out whether it's going separate ways or just changing our behavior." "Oh," Troye's eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat. He felt like the restaurant walls were collapsing in on him, and his vision blurred out in a way that made things fuzzy. The thought of Jacob and him going their separate ways, it was far worse than the thought of him being a poor sub that no one would want. But suddenly Jacob was pushing his way out of his side of the booth, nearly knocking over the waitress who was bringing them their food. He seized Troye's face in his hands, "Troye!" he demanded.
"Troye breathe, deep breaths, Troye, what's happening?" Troye was vaguely aware that he was wheezing, but he followed his Doms orders and tried to suck in deeper gasps of air, "Sir- so sorry-" "Give me a color, Troye, I need your color right now," Jacob murmured urgently. "Green," Troye wheezed. He didn't want Jacob's hands to leave his face, didn't want Jacob to stop speaking to him. He could already feel himself calming at Jacob's touch. Jacob was right in front of him and he wasn't getting rid of Troye, he wasn't kicking Troye to the curb. "Stop speaking for now," Jacob commanded once he was sure Troye wasn't at a yellow or red state.
"Just look at me, listen, and breathe. Right at me, c'mon now, pet. Good boy." Troye met Jacob's gaze, nodding to the best of his ability with Jacob's hands on his cheeks. The Dom's thumbs ran gently over the cheekbones. Troye's breathing evened out, and once he had gathered his sanity once more he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He couldn't avert his gaze, though, Jacob had commanded that he keep looking at him, so he held Jacob's eye contact as he whispered, "I'm okay, I'm so sorry, sir, that won't happen again. I'm so sorry." "What did happen?" Jacob asked. "I need to know, did I do something? You didn't color, I-" "I didn't need to," Troye assured.
"It wasn't something you did sir, just the thought of. Of separating. I panicked, I'm so sorry, it won't happen again." "Good, don't let that bother you because we aren't separating at all with the way things have been going, I said not to worry, remember?" Jacob gently kissed the top of Troye's head much to Troye's surprise, but released the man and returned to his seat. His gaze hardened and his tone grew firmer. "If you are feeling fearful of something, Troye, you must speak to me about it. It's my job to take care of you just as it is your job to please me." "I'm so sorry," Troye squeaked. "Really sir, I am." Jacob sighed, "Try the Xifi- the swordfish." Troye forced a smile, "I do like hearing you say the real name, sir."
"Xifias Souvlaki," Jacob smiled a tad as well, Troye nervously picked up the kebab like stick in one hand. There were tomatoes, bay leaves, onions, and bell peppers on the stick marinated in some sort of seasoned olive oil. It was good, but his stomach was churning.. He of course had panicked and made his Dom have to calm him down. He'd messed up a date that had been going perfectly. "It's very good," Troye told Jacob, hoping to make the Dom speak.
"It's also healthy, lots of vegetables there," Jacob responded. He didn't pick up a kebab, he waited quietly while Troye finished an entire one before he grabbed one as well. "Today is going very well. You're behaving so properly and I'm having a very nice time." Troye tried to keep the surprise off of his face, but he was sure that he blushed, "I just want to be good for you, sir." Jacob reached out and placed his large hand over Troye' smaller one on the table, "I know, pet. I appreciate it very much." Jacob's hand remained covering Troye' for the entirety of the meal as he discussed how he'd been preparing their future room, and for the remainder of the meal Troye didn't feel worried.