A couple hours later I woke up. There was something different I noticed, first of all, I didn’t feel any pain, instead I felt a pleasurable feeling floating through my whole body, my limbs lazy and relaxed. Second, I was laying in a comfortable big bed, and NOT in the tiny guest room. Which led me to the third point of the list; Frank was sleeping right next to me! I turned my head in the direction of the low and steady breathing that tickled my neck, and came face to face with Frank. His slightly purple eyelids were closed, so I could’ve counted every of his beautiful dark eyelashes if I wanted to, his pink smooth lips parted a little, one of his arms placed on my chest, directly above my heart.

A huge smile spread across my face for as we hadn’t been that close for months. We were actually cuddling and sharing a bed again, not to speak of the amazing sex we had had just hours ago. This was a heavy contrast to when we had sex in the last few days, when it was rather forced and one-sided on the pleasure receiving end… But I didn’t want to cloud my excellent mood with the past, and I decided to surprise Frank with something nice when he’d wake up, so I carefully rolled to my side to not wake him and out of the bed. I wanted to pull the sheets over his sleeping body again, but noticed, that there was a lot of dried cum splattered all over his belly and chest. I tiptoed into the bathroom to get a wet towel and started to rub the remainings of our love-making off very gently.
Frank seemed to be pretty wasted, except for some almost inaudible whining sounds each time the wet and warm towel touched him, he didn’t react or wake up. When I finished I tucked him in again and pecked his cheek, cleaned myself quickly with the last clean parts of the towel and got myself dressed in sweatpants and a comfy hoodie.
When my still naked feet touched something cold and hard on the wooden floorboards in front of the bed I looked down and saw the bone of contention. It was the black key again. The key to my „slave-collar“, as I like to call it, which as I thought about it immediately felt heavy around my neck. Frank must have dropped it when I surprisingly pounced on him and pinned him to the bed. I kept a straight face as I looked down on the sought-after object, and started to move it a bit with the tip of my toe. There was a long silence as I stared.
With a swift move I bent down and picked the key up, shooting a glance to the body on the bed. Frank’s eyes were still closed, his breathing still steady and calm, would he be all over me if he saw me holding the item?
What would it feel like to be freed from this thing, just for a minute?

No! I shook my head rapidly and gripped the key tight in my fist, I have to resist, I thought. With two steps I was back at Frank’s side of the bed again. The key was warm from my palm as I placed it in Frank’s. In his sleeping state he didn’t take notice of the action, but unconsciously wrapped his fingers around the small object.
I let out a shaky breath and left the bedroom as silent as possible.
Wow, I hadn’t thought that I would be this strong and control myself to not do the next stupid thing, I was really proud of myself.
I hoped that Frank would not only understand but value this subtle gesture. After all it wasn’t just the key I put into his hands, but myself.

Frank awoke to a delicious smell that had even sneaked through closed doors and filled the whole house and a low upbeat tune from the radio down in the kitchen.
Those were nice things to wake up to. He blinked a few times, the sun was standing low so it must be around the early evening or something. He yawned and stretched and jerked a bit as he felt his lower body throbbing at the movement. His body wasn’t as used to be the bottom as in the past he had to admit. Even though he felt a smile creep over his face. The big and insurmountable wall that had been standing tall between Gerard and him for months had suffered some huge cracks he thought. It almost felt like back to normal.
Suddenly he got conscious of his right hand, which was clenched into a fist, something inside his fist poking his flesh. His palm was sweaty and the cool metal had adopted his body temperature as he opened it and slowly understood that it was the key that had triggered the latest events.
He couldn’t remember picking it up when he had dropped it earlier, and he surly couldn’t have reached it with a sleeping and heavy Gerard plastered on his chest. So the only remaining option was that Gerard must have put it into his palm, into his hand…
Frank sat upright and noticed that he was still naked, but cleaned up, he didn’t question it, for a hundred other questions were invading his brain at once.
What if Gerard had used the key and unlocked the collar and was already gone, and the key in his hand was something like a meaningful goodbye? Telling Frank he could fuck off and do his „shit“ alone? Did he lost his respect for Frank when they had switched the roles for once? He knew that it hadn’t been a good idea, but he had trusted Gerard!

Frank got uneasy and nervous, he didn’t want Gerard to be gone, even if he had offered him exactly this as they sealed the deal and talked about the rules. As he quickly opened the bedroom door the smell of dinner came back to his nose, and he could clearly hear the clatter of plates and Gerard humming along to the music. Relief washed over him and he descended the stairs now without any hurry.

„Hi“ Frank offered with a smile in his voice as he stopped and leaned in the kitchen’s doorframe, watching a busy Gerard portioning a delicious looking stout in two bowls, sprinkling each bowl with fresh herbs and setting a large slice of bread aside.

„Oh, hi! You’re awake.“ Gerard looked up surprised but happy, flipping his dark hair out of his face, while drying his hands on the front of his apron, watching Frank expectantly.

„Yeah, the smell was good enough to wake me“ Frank chuckled and slowly walked over to put his arms around Gerard’s waist, while still leaving enough space between them to watch his boyfriend intently.

„That’s good to hear“ Gerard gazed back as intently, but lowered his voice, for Frank was near enough to hear every whisper.

„You’re still wearing it“ Frank said softly and brushed with his fingers across the dark fabric of the collar he loved so much to see on his boyfriend, rubbing it lightly between his index finger and thumb.

„Yeah, I guess“ Gerard answered but lowered his stare while the colour of his cheeks turned into a slight hue of red.
Until now he hadn’t put up with the collar, or rather, it’s meaning and usage. If it would’ve just been for the looks he hadn’t cared that much, but it wasn’t a fashion item. It was like an electronic tag, except it was on a very visible place and could be also used to track him, hold him or tie him to something. No, he didn’t like that so much.

„At first I thought you were gone when I found the key in my hand, you know, that you said goodbye through it.“ Frank moved a bit forward so his forehead was touching Gerard’s lowered head.

„Well, I’m still here, I hope you know what I wanted to tell you with this.“

„I guess that you’re asking me to get your pretty neck rid of this thing“ Frank smirked and tugged lightly on the silver ring attached to the collar.

„No, I… Well, yeah, you know I would want that, but actually I wanted to show you that you can trust me, and that it is in your hands, I won’t try anything funny anymore.“ Gerard quickly looked up into Frank’s eyes and darted his eyes away again, like he had said something forbidden or wrong, slightly scared of his boyfriend’s reaction.

Frank couldn’t resist but grip Gerard’s chin softly and press a long and sweet kiss to his lover’s lips. Gerard’s unsureness of how he would react mixed with a tiny little bit of fear was just too sweet. What a shame things could never stay this way…

„I got a present for you my love, close your eyes“ Frank whispered a bit above Gerard’s ear, and the other male obeyed immediately, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth.
Frank smirked as he almost felt Gerard’s body radiating joy and expectation, he reached into his jean’s pockets and in the next second the collar was unlocked and in his other hand.

„There you go, love. I forgive you.“ Frank spoke with warmth in his voice as Gerard’s hands snapped up to touch his now uncovered neck, taking a deep breath. It had to be more of a mental thing, than a real issue, because the collar had left more than enough space for him to breathe properly.

„Thank you, Frankie, I’m so happy right now.“ There were tears of joy forming in Gerard’s eyes as he hugged his boyfriend tightly, burrowing his face in the other male’s neck.
„Shhh, it’s okey honey, let’s eat, it’s getting all cold“ Frank said teasingly and nudged his boyfriend in the ribs. He would definitely miss the collar...

„Sure“ Gerard answered still smiling from side to side and wiped a few tears away with the back of his hand.

Both of them sat down with their food in front of them, digging in, smiling at each other from time to time, while holding hands beneath the table.

Notes