The Weekend Arrangement

Extra Credit

"Martin- can we... talk?"

Jon has been pensive and quiet all evening; Martin assumed he was stressed from the week, and had let him brood a bit at the kitchen table with a kiss on the top of his head and a murmured "I'm here when you're ready".

Martin knew Jon wouldn't say anything about whatever it was that troubled him, not until he was ready to; he'd work through it on his own time. Dinner had been mostly silent, though not uncomfortably so as Jon teased apart whatever it was that was weighing on him.

Now, cosied on the sofa it seems he's ready to talk about it.

"Yes, of course we can. Are you all right? This sounds ominous- " Peering curiously at Jon, Martin sets his book aside, putting his focus on the conversation.

"No- not ominous. Embarrassing.... ah for me- but not bad ." Jon has coloured softly, a rosy glow infusing his cheeks and he's begun to pick at his cuticles, a nervous habit Martin hasn't seen him do in months.

"Jon, we live together. Went through the flu together. You've heard me sing in the shower. I've folded your boxers. At some point there's not a lot left to be embarrassed about... You can talk with me about anything."

"Do you remember our anniversary?"

The curiosity only intensifies for Martin. "Our... anniversary . The anniversary we had literally a week ago? That anniversary? Yes, love. I remember it pretty clearly."

"Do you remember what you said- ah... about boundaries? About trying things?"

"Oh- Oh!" Martin's eyes go wide. "Yes, I remember that being mentioned- were you. Uh. Were you wanting to try something then?"

"If I said yes- would. Would you be interested in something like that?"

"I...might be." Martin stops and thinks about what he wants to say. He didn't want to be discouraging, but was also lost on what exactly was the right thing to say. "It would really depend on what the something was I suppose. I love you and if there was anyone in the world I'd want to try anything with, it would be you. I- I won't hurt you though. That is going to be a hard limit for me; so if that's something you were looking fo-"

"No! No hurting. Light spanking-" Martin's brows fly up at the suggestion, but Jon keeps talking so he stays silent "-but no hurting. I don't really want to be tied up- and the more I think about it the more I am so glad you weren't willing to do that without a real conversation. No- nothing like that."

"Then like what, Jon? I haven't ever been with anyone I ever trusted enough to even think about anything like this with, so I need you to tell me what you're looking for. I want to try the things you want to try, but I would need to know what you're talking about." Martin takes a long drink of his tea, unsure exactly where Jon wants this conversation to go.

Furrowing his brow, Jon takes a deep breath, steeling himself. "What do you think about when you're alone? When you touch yourself?"

Even considering the conversation they are warily feeling out; a question that blunt is still a bit shocking and Martin very nearly chokes on the tea he was swallowing.

"W-What?!"

"Nothing. Nevermind."

Recovering from the initial shock, Martin reaches to take Jon's hands, stilling them from where they twitch and fidget.

"Hey, not 'nothing'- this is on your mind. We can talk about this- we're adults in a committed relationship, we should be able to talk about this with each other. That was not my finest reaction, but in my defence it was a pretty unexpected question. Um. What do I think about? You mostly, but sometimes not really anything. I mean sometimes you're just doing it to get it out of the way, aren't you?"