THREE: Vanilla Down Your Throat

4: Is This Now Your New Perch, Lovebird?

It was Saturday and Frank had woken up early as usual. He had trudged sleepily into the kitchen and switched the kettle on to make coffee before opening the fridge.

He took out the eggs and some different ingredients to use for making his Master a nice omelet. He yawned into the back of his hand and grimaced at the soft pound in his skull, knowing that he had definitely hit subdrop and was feeling under the weather. He tried to ignore how his muscles ached and how his skin felt too tight.

He made himself coffee with minimal effort and began to make breakfast. The thought of eating sounded disgusting but he knew Gerard would have a cow if he skipped breakfast. He would have toast.

Frank took out a bowl and cracked in four eggs before whisking them together. Once they had combined into a somewhat-cohesive mixture, he added the spices and herbs he had taken out. He set it aside and turned to heat up the pan that sat patiently on the stove plate. He stifled another yawn and took a small sip of his scalding coffee. A headache was definitely forming. He began to dice up some cherry tomatoes and two of Gerard's favorite kinds of cheese before he added everything to the eggs with a dash of milk.

He poured the egg mixture into the pan and broke the silence with a sudden sizzling. He leaned against the counter and nursed his coffee, twinging at the feeling of the hard surface against his tender ass skin. He hoped that whatever Gerard had in store for him today would be something easy and laid back. If Gerard made him exercise today, he was going to filibuster.

He turned and began to lift the edges of the omelet away from the pan, his other hand still holding his coffee close by. He thought back to the lesson he had been taught just a few hours prior when he was all curled up in his Master's sheets with his latest gift - a microwavable teddy bear with lavender-scented foot beans, resting on his thighs for the intense muscle ache. That very same bear was now warming up again, rotating for a minute or two so he could use it on his lower back.

Gerard was sitting facing him, a red leather notebook perched on his knee as he sipped a chamomile tea from a beautiful blue china cup. He looked up at his submissive, "I would like to discuss what happened at the party, if you're okay with that?" Frank sat up against the headboard and moved his teddy bear up onto his stomach, giving his Dominant a solemn nod to which Gerard continued to speak, "A subject of which I should have spoken to you about before the party. I didn't think I had to discuss the warning signs of a fake or toxic Dom, as I didn't think there would be any at that foreclosed event. Alas, I was sorely mistaken and for that, my sweet boy, I am so sorry."

Frank's lips pulled into a small smile and he dislodged his foot from the sheets to rub Gerard's thigh in a comforting gesture. Gerard patted his arch before he looked at the notebook.

"I just want to go over a few of these warning signs with you for the future so you can avoid any other incidents. First thing to look for are those, male or female or neither, that try to push their Dominant status into every conversation. Arrogance is always a sign of a toxic Dominant. If you have a true Dominant nature, most people will pick up on it unless you're hiding it. And if so, you wouldn't broadcast it, anyway. Another warning sign would be those who assume that a Dominant has to be bigger than everyone else to assert themselves. This is wholly untrue; I have seen people your size take down submissives that are taller than myself with just their voice. You don't have to, nor should you, throw your weight around to be dominant over others."

Frank nodded, internally agreeing with his Master, watching the way he ticked his marble fountain pen between his deft fingertips. Frank let out a small sigh that was more of a big breath, which had the latter look up curiously. The submissive smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, sir. I'm listening. I just forgot to breathe for a minute, I think."