Opening his front door,he was greeted by a far too chipper-looking Ed, who he’d brought over before last weekend had even finished. He’d known right away he wouldn’t be able to addswinging by to feed and walk Ed twice a dayinto his daily schedule while Landon and Verity were gone.
He leaned over and rubbed his palm lazily over Ed’s head and bid him goodnight, lumbering his way to his bedroom, a hesitant Landon hot on his heels. His boots felt like they weighed tons, and his tight black jeans chafed every bend and fold in his skin. He pulled his t-shirt over his head, tossing it into the hamper as he walked into his bedroom.
“Let me serve you, Sir,” Landon whispered, his chest hot against Gregory’s back. He must have taken his shirt off, Gregory’s tired mind observed.
“I’m tired, Landon. I’m glad you’ve come home, but I mentally just cannot do this with you right now.” Gregory found that even being at Rapture with Landon tonight, even after Landon’s apology, Gregory was still bone-tired and he lacked the mental fortitude to be the person Landon wanted him to be.
He sat down and loosened the laces on his boot, but much to his shock, Landon’s hand shot out and settled over his.
“May I?” he asked, lowering himself to his knees, flicking his eyes up again for the briefest moment. “Please, let me.”
Gregory sighed. “All right, Landon.”
Landon turned and set to work loosening and pulling the laces on Gregory’s boots until his feet came free. With deft fingers, he removed Gregory’s feet from his socks, then skated his palms flat up Gregory’s shins.
“I’m still upset about what you did,” Gregory reminded Landon as he moved from his position and knelt more directly between Gregory’s legs, hands on his knees. His fingertips danced across the bottom of Gregory’s thighs.
“I know. I deserve that. May I?” he asked again, inching his hands upward.
Gregory nodded, eyes falling closed, and Landon’s hands were at his fly, pulling and tugging, then pushing Gregory onto his back and peeling him out of his pants, discarding them onto the floor. Landon’s hands skirted along the edges of Gregory’s underwear, over his cock and balls with the quickest of motions before coming to rest in front of his stomach.
“I should punish you,” Gregory remarked with a sleepy yawn.
“I know. I deserve that, too. May I put you to bed, Sir?” Landon asked, voice still soft and low.
In response, Gregory slid up the bed and used his feet to push the blankets down. Landon fluffed the blankets in the air and they fluttered down onto Gregory’s body. Landon patted them softly and stood beside the bed.
“Would you like some water?”
What Gregory wanted, was sleep. What he wanted was for it to be a month ago so he could have thrown away that stupid collar the last time he’d seen it. What he wanted was to have lived a different life.
He shook his head and rolled onto his side, back to Landon.
“Go to sleep, Landon,” he said, eyes falling closed before he heard if Landon replied.
* * *
The soundof Ed’s nails scratching at his bedroom door woke him, and Gregory fumbled around the sheets to orient himself. He couldn’t check the time because he had no idea where his phone was. He was glad Landon was back in LA, if for no other reason than it meant Gregory’s schedule could go back to normal.
Gregory threw his legs to the side of the bed and quickly pulled them back when they landed on something besides the floor. The mass under his feet made an oomphing sound and scrambled backward.
It was Landon.
“Sorry,” Landon mumbled, wiping at his eyes.
“How did you like sleeping down there?”
Landon huffed out a noise that Gregory couldn’t entirely decipher before he answered.
“I didn’t like it as much as normal.”
“Good.”
Gregory planted his feet on the floor and flexed his toes against the wood, staring at them long enough to gather his thoughts before speaking. His fingers itched to reach for Landon and pull him close, but Ed’s scratching at the door grew insistent and pulled him out of his head.
“I need to let Ed out,” Gregory said in lieu of anything substantial, passing Landon and opening his bedroom door to follow Ed to the back yard. He rested his back against the slider while Ed pranced around the yard, nose down, searching for the perfect place to piss. He’d end up by the big oak tree in the far corner; it was where he’d gone every day since Gregory had brought him home. He waited and laughed to himself when Ed lifted his leg alongside the gnarled base of said oak tree and relieved himself, pearl necklace shining in the early morning light.
When he was finished, he shook his leg and swayed from side to side as he crossed the yard, moving very much like his owner. Gregory laughed to himself again, thinking it was very much like Verity to have a dog who wore pearls.
