Take Me Down The Rabbit Hole (BDSM | 18+)

XXXI

Aspen sat at the bar next to Thea, nervously waiting as she twirled spaghetti onto her fork. What if she didn't like his food?!
But, a second later, he found out he was worrying for nothing.
"It's good pasta, Aspen," she complimented, and her words finally prompted him to pick up his cutlery and start eating.
"I don't know," he started unprompted, "how I feel about the fact that I am expected to run a household as submissive. I have a job, too... outside of these responsibilities."
Thea hummed. "Yes, so do I."
Duh.
Aspen glanced at her, and Thea chuckled. "It's based on the fact that a lot of dominants see themselves as the provider in the dynamic, so they do the nine to five, and expect their submissives to run the household in return. But that's obviously not something that applies to all dynamics."
"Then why-?"
"I like it," Thea said sharply, "because I don't work a nine to five. I work on my cake business during the day, and at night, too, when I don't have clients scheduled, and when I do have clients scheduled, I have to drive to the club and see them, so, even though you might not like it, your presence here is very much appreciated when it comes to who runs the household. And your Master..."
"Is very conservative?"
Thea laughed again. "He wouldn't like to hear that," she said, and Aspen knew that she was agreeing with him.
"A person can be progressive in one area and conservative in another," he said between bites, "and I don't think the fact that he is gay means that he has to be progressive, just because his identity strays away from being a heterosexual white cis-man."
"Alan is quite progressive in some areas, but I think he got a lot of his identity as a dominant from his mentor."
"So Leopold corrupts people-?" Aspen asked, half-joking.
"Yes," Thea said without missing a beat. "He always has, and he always will... But he means well, and he really isn't as horrible as people say."
"Alan only talked about him once or twice, I think. The last time was the night we first met, and I asked him if it was true that he was a sex worker."
Thea nodded again. "I think if Leo hadn't tinkered with Alan's moral compass so much, he would have made a wonderful switch, and he might still be a sex worker. But it's all the better that he isn't."
Aspen didn't say anything to that for a while and busied himself with his plate of pasta. It was ... weirdly comforting that he could have a conversation with Thea without having sexual energy crackle in the air like static between the two of them - the way it was when he was together with Alan.
For the first time in months, it felt like he could think clearly again, even though his conversation with her about his feelings for Alan still spooked through his mind like a poltergeist - a very unwelcome, nagging presence.
As if on cue, his mind spiraled again, going through fifty possible outcomes for his conversation with Alan - he knew he couldn't avoid talking about it, now.
Thea glanced at him. "Another reason dominants like their submissives to run the household is that we aim to provide security in their life," she said gently, pulling him from his thoughts. "A routine and expectations as to what needs to be done can help with that, which is also why dynamics of our kind tend to be based on rules. Of course, you could have a kinky dynamic without rules, but chances are that that will backfire faster than you can say 'cupcake'."
Aspen raised a brow, and gently put his fork down against the rim of his empty plate.
Thea took his plate and wordlessly served him a second helping.
Aspen looked down at the plate and picked his fork back up. "Isn't the rule thing much more useful to you as a ... professional?" he asked, shoving another bite of pasta into his mouth.
"Yes," Thea agreed. "They serve to protect me and the other party involved in the relationship, but they do the same for non-professional relationships. And to come back to the whole deal about submissives running the household, no rule says a submissive can't have a job. Neither is there a rule that says the dominant has to be the provider. Many submissives enjoy their independence and freedom until it's time for them to receive a good spanking."
Aspen flushed. He knew the reason for that - after all, he had asked Thea for a spanking for the same reason not too many hours ago.
Thea had a twinkle in her eyes when he turned to look at her properly, and then she reached out and put her hand on his chest.
"Inside you, there are two wolves," she said, in a solemn voice. "One is conservative... and the other is also conservative."
Aspen's brows furrowed in confusion, but before he could open his mouth for clarification, Thea started laughing, almost doubling over. Her green hair fell into her face like a fuzzy curtain and she exhaled sharply as she straightened and pushed it from her face. "What-?" Aspen asked.
"It's a meme," Thea said. Again, the tone of her voice made it sound like that was the most obvious thing ever. "Look it up."
"I'm not conservative," Aspen whispered, but he didn't quite believe himself. Thea didn't either.
"Not to step on your toes, darling, but you are a white cis-male who runs his own law firm, and if I didn't wish I knew better, I would say Alan is counting on the fact that you will leave your arrangement with him as a dominant so that he can carry on his mentor-legacy."
She slid off her stool and brought their plates to the sink, giving Aspen time to reach for his phone and look up the meme. Very funny.
"Oh yes, I crack myself up," Thea returned lightly before she turned the tab on.
"Did I say that out loud?" Aspen asked, scratching a particularly itchy spot right on the back of his head right where a hair tie held together his glorious man bun before he placed his phone aside and slid off his stool, too. "I'll do the dishes... Ma'am."
Thea grinned at him. "Of course, you are, good boy," she said, again as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and then she left him in front of the sink, the door to a different room falling shut behind her.
Aspen sighed, and turned the tab off.