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

LX

The alarm on Aspen's phone tore him from sleep the next morning, and Aspen reached out, blindly, feeling around for his phone.
Behind him, someone groaned. "Turn it off."
Aspen hit the bedside table with the side of his hand before finally getting ahold of his phone and turning the alarm off. "You're still here—"
Leo responded by losing his almost iron-grip hold on Aspen's waste. "Yes," he responded, smacking his lips together. "Where else would I be?"
Fabric rustled as Leo tried to kick away the blanket.
Silence.
Then—
"It's 6 AM?!"
The bed dipped as Leo got up and then unceremoniously pushed the curtains to the side. "It's dark outside, Aspen! What do you possibly have to do at this ungodly hour?!"
Aspen blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Dropped his phone on the mattress and pushed the hair from his face. "Stuff," he muttered.
Leo was standing in front of the window, arms crossed. "Like what?"
It was too early to have Leo yell at him over... anything.
"A workout?" he suggested, hoping his expression conveyed his annoyance. "A nice hot shower? Making breakfast for Thea? I'm their submissive, in case you forgot."
Finally, Aspen got out of bed too and joined Leo at the window, only to open it, letting cold air into the room.
"I didn't."
"I'm surprised you don't have a—"
"A?" Leo echoed, chuckling at the blush that had crept on Aspen's cheeks. "A domestic slave?"
"I didn't say slave," Aspen sputtered.
"But you were thinking it. Suits me, hm? A gay guy with a nice body who happens to have a furniture kink so I can use him as a footrest."
Aspen inhaled sharply.
Leo jabbed a finger at his chest. "That is not the kind of man I am, Aspen."
"Got it, Sir."
Leo shut the window, and it thudded as it met with the frame. "So," he said, casually, completely ignoring the fact that Aspen was cowering. "What kind of workout are we thinking? And don't you dare say sex—"
"First you cuddle me and now you want to work out with me? What kind of agenda is that?"
"Answer the question, Aspen."
"I was just gonna go on a run. Maybe 15 minutes or so—"
"How about," Leo interrupted him, "we go to the gym down the street? I have a membership and you can be my plus one."
"Stop flirting with me," Aspen objected meekly, but Leo had already opened the doors to his closet and was rummaging around for gym clothes.
"How about," he said, his voice muffled by the wall of clothes in front of him, "you stop wishing I was flirting with you? Because I'm not."
He shoved Aspen's workout clothes at him. "The bags under your eyes just trigger the same part of me that Alan's behavior triggered way back when and my only motivation behind cuddling you to sleep was you sleeping. And yes, I slept well too, thank you for asking." A millisecond of silence. "The fuck are you waiting for? Grab your shoes and let's go."

Aspen didn't know if he should have expected something else from Leo, and the reminder that just a few weeks ago, he'd thought Alan had been putting him through his paces, made Aspen feel like he severely misjudged people's character these days.
"Do you torture yourself like this every time you go to the gym?" he asked Leo as they ran a mock race against each other on the treadmill.
Leo hadn't even broken a sweat. "No. Because it's not torture to me."
"Okay," Aspen huffed. "Then why is physical fitness just a big thing for you? Alan inherited that."
Leo snorted. "Unsurprising. I did put Alan through as much as I could to..." He trailed off. "Stop him from getting into trouble. He needed it. And besides that, I honestly don't think there's any harm done in exercising regularly, especially for people like you," he lowered his voice, "who have a lot of sex."
"And what's your reason?"
A grin spread on Leo's face. "People reacting the way you do: Witnessing people who think I'm torturing myself is hilarious."
"Have you ever asked your clients in an anonymous questionnaire about whether they think you're a psychopath or something?"
In response, Leo winked and then glanced over at the monitor on Aspen's treadmill. "You're slacking off."
"If I have to increase the incline one more time I will collapse."
"Boo hoo. Come on. One more."
"Don't make me," Aspen moaned. "I have your sibling to take care of and a job to go after today."
Leo didn't say anything. The corners of his mouth twitched.
"Please," Aspen added.
Silence.
"Sir."
Leo reached over and turned the treadmill down in intervals before it finally turned off. "It's fun watching you fight with yourself," he noted, thrusting Aspen's water bottle at him.
"I might be a little competitive," Aspen admitted.
"I hadn't noticed," Leo joked. "You did well, though, I'm impressed."
"I wish Thea was."
"Thea told me you're doing great at everything. Even the cake-delivering."
"That's because they threaten me with you."
"Still?"
Aspen shrugged. "Occassionally."
Leo nodded. "I don't think it's very healthy for us to constantly strive for other people's visible approval."
"Just like we are the only ones judging ourselves for the things that happen in bedrooms behind closed doors, yeah?"
"I see someone's already started preaching the Silva gospel to you."
"It wasn't called that when someone else preached it to you."
"Doesn't matter," Leo said, shrugging his shoulders. "We should get back home before my poor sibling wakes up to an empty apartment and starts missing her domestic slave."
"It's not an insult if it's true."
Leo put his hand on the small of Aspen's back, began steering him towards the locker rooms, and then leaned in. "By the way your face just got two shades more red, I'd say it's an insult because it's true. But again, you're the one judging yourself. You're wishing Thea would praise you more for it because that would turn it from something ordinary into something extraordinary. You want people to recognize the sacrifices you're making. Your time, your dignity, your commitment to other things that you no longer have time for."
They had made it to the showers and Leo leaned in even closer. Aspen could feel Leo's breath tickle the little hairs on his neck.
"That's okay, puppy," Leo almost purred. "I see you."