August

April 28

At nine o'clock in the morning, Sheridan Soyinka stood naked at his mirror, brushing his hair. Behind him, James sat on the edge of his and Aaron's bed, a damp towel slipping off of his hips, his legs swinging beneath it.
"I just think he's been acting weird. That's all."
Sheridan nodded dumbly and continued to drag the brush through his hair.
James idly drew a circle around his own belly with one finger.
"Maybe it's just nerves." he muttered. "He'll be better once I start to show."
Sheridan nodded again, his brow creasing. The change in his expression didn't escape James' notice.
"What's wrong?"
Sheridan just blinked at the mirror.
"Nothing."
"Oh, come on. I can tell you've - "
"Nothing."
James rolled his eyes.
"Sheridan."
"I'm not pregnant."
James quieted.
"Oh."
"More than a month. Nothing. Do you think they'll start asking questions?"
James looked uneasy.
"Are you sure you're doing everything you can?"
Sheridan shrugged. The brush caught on a tangle in his hair, but he dragged it through, catching his hair out by the root.
"No drugs. Yet. But everything else."
James sat forward.
"The Centre said you're OK?"
"They said I'm fine."
There was a pause.
"Then maybe it's him."
Sheridan caught the brush on another tangle and pulled this one out more furiously.
"Maybe it is."

~:~

Sean smoothed the hair away from Adrian's forehead and kissed it.
"Wake up, sweetheart."
Adrian stirred, opened his eyes, and lifted his head.
"Shit. What time is it?"
Amiably, Sean answered as he straightened up.
"Nine."
Adrian snapped upright in bed to look at his husband, his heart pounding. Sean was standing at the foot of the bed, half-dressed in his uniform. In his right hand, he held a welting lash.
"I'm sorry, Sean!" Adrian blurted, fear waking him quickly. Sean calmly continued buttoning his shirt. "Sean, I didn't mean to oversleep! I was just really tired. I'm sorry. Don't be mad." Sean watched him impassively, then spoke.
"What time did you go to bed last night?"
"Eleven." Adrian answered immediately, even though they both knew that it was a lie. Sean gracefully ignored that fact.
"And did you set the alarm last night?"
Adrian hesitated.
"I thought I would remember to, I just - "
"Yes or no, Adrian."
Adrian ground his teeth for a second.
"No."
"So what are you late for?"
"Work."
"And?"
"...and my chores."
Sean nodded.
"So who had to do your chores, Adrian?"
Adrian closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again.
"Everyone else."
Sean nodded.
"So what will you have to do?"
Adrian looked around for a second, but there was no point in delaying the inevitable.
"Be punished."
"Very good."
Sean reached for his jacket, laid out on one corner of the bed, and shrugged into it. In his right hand, he still held the lash, and with that hand, he pointed to the floor in front of him.
"Here. Now."
Adrian blinked at his husband for a few seconds, trying to process the command he'd been given. Sean cocked his head to the side, just slightly.
"Adrian, when I give you a command, I expect it to be obeyed immediately." he pointed again to the floor. "Don't make me repeat myself."
Face burning, Adrian cautiously began to move towards the edge of the bed; Sean just watched him. Once Adrian had reached the end of the bed, he folded his legs under himself, sitting on the edge. He kept his eyes on the floor.
"I won't kneel."
he said it quietly, but firmly. Sean didn't react.
"This is Dothan. You will kneel."
Adrian shook his head. Sean tilted his head in the opposite direction.
"Adrian. We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. You can come and kneel before your husband, as is proper. Or you can choose behavior which defiles the sanctity of the relationship between us. You can do what you know is right, or you can turn away from Dothan. And I will have to bring you back."
Adrian's chest was heaving, Sean noted, by the time he finished speaking. His words were having an impact, then. He watched closely, but the harsh breathing didn't appear to increase or become erratic - Adrian was in no danger of hysteria or hyperventilation. So Sean waited, as his father had taught him to do, and watched. Long moments passed, and just when he felt sure that Adrian would force his hand, there was movement from the bed. Adrian unfolded his long, elegant legs from beneath himself, and, as gracefully as any Dothan wife, knelt on the floor before Sean. The rush of emotion that Sean felt was overwhelming; for a few seconds, it was he who lost his breath. But to finally have Adrian, the one he had wanted, had loved for so long, doing this for him, kneeling before him willing and waiting...it was indescribable. Unable to resist, he reached out gently and stroked Adrian's hair.
"Very good." he murmured. "Very good."
Adrian, beautifully trained as he was, did not look up. Then he remembered who he was, and the state they were both in and why they were there and he became all business again.
"You'll go to bed at eight tonight."
Adrian tensed, but knew better than to speak at this time.
"You will set your alarm for seven before you do."
No reaction from Adrian.
"And you will not speak for the rest of the day, except in a case of severe emergency. If you absolutely must communicate something, I expect you to come up with a creative solution." Sean could practically feel the heat of anger rising from Adrian in response to this last command, but he ignored it. "Maybe a day of silence will help you remember to think twice before you speak out against the rules of Dothan."
Adrian did not answer, just held his position in silence. Suddenly, he glanced up at the welting lash. Sean read this, and reached out to touch his head again.
"I've told you your punishment, Sean. Your obedience in kneeling has spared you the lash." Adrian exhaled his relief as quietly as he could. Sean straightened his shoulders. "Get up."
Adrian stood, and Sean pulled him close to kiss his cheek. Adrian's face was still set in an incensed expression, and Sean imagined that keeping silent might be more of a challenge for Adrian than he'd anticipated. But his wife looked so beautiful, so enthralling when he knelt on the floor like that - so traditional, so trusting. Sean pulled him closer again to kiss Adrian's forehead.
"Thank you for obeying me, Adrian."
Adrian felt his anger melt away a little at Sean's words, and for a moment he reveled in the praise, in the feeling of being wanted, and in the warmth of Sean's touch. Sean smiled at him.
"Bye, you." he reached down and put one hand on Adrian's belly.
"And bye you, too, Kiddo."
Sean looked back up at Adrian.
"I'll be home by seven. Help your stepmom make dinner, OK?"
Adrian nodded, but didn't look at him.
"Hey." Sean pulled his chin upwards to draw Adrian's gaze to him. "Hey. I love you."
Adrian smiled wanly at Sean.
"I love you, too."

~:~

"Anders?" Caddy tiptoed barefoot down the stairs, calling his soon-to-be-stepbrother's name quietly. "Anders. Andy?"
"Yeah?"
Anders appeared in the hallway from his father's study, dressed in sweatpants and a white t-shirt that stretched nicely over his chest. Caddy resolutely did not look more than twice at him. He had things to do this morning. He had to be good.
"I was wondering something."
Anders nodded.
"OK. What's up, Cad?"
Caddy shrugged and toyed with the fringe of his natori.
"Nothing. Just....wondering. Tomorrow is picture day at the Centre."
Anders nodded.
"OK. Cool. You going to get your picture taken?"
Caddy nodded.
"Yeah. I'm supposed to." he picked idly at his natori, then glanced up at Anders. "And I got invited to get a look book done! And it's so awesome because it means I get pre-listed, which almost no one ever does, but this year twenty-three people got asked and I'm one of them! So I really want to do it, but I dunno." Caddy blinked up at Anders from under long lashes. "Look books are kind of expensive." Caddy conspicuously studied the wall. Anders raised an eyebrow.
"You're not subtle, you know. If you want something, why don't you just ask your dad?"
Caddy shrugged and frowned a little.
"Um..."
Anders made a gesture with his hand to indicate that he wanted something more substantial than that as an explanation. Caddy bit his lip, then exhaled.
"Fine. It's just that...I don't think my dad has that much money left." Caddy crossed his ankles, then uncrossed them, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I don't want to bother him."
Anders processed this.
"Oh. Alright." he thought for a minute. "Caddy, you know you can always ask my dad for stuff, too, right? I mean, they are getting married. He's practically your dad, too."
Caddy looked even more uncomfortable.
"I know, I just...I don't know. I mean, the wedding's like, two days away, and they're both really busy with that, and getting the house ready, and... I just don't want your dad to think I'm some kind of burden or a bother or something."
Anders gave a wry grin.
"But it's fine for me to think that, huh?"
Caddy's eyes widened.
"I didn't mean to - "
"I'm kidding, Caddy."
"Oh."
Anders shifted his duffel bag to his opposite shoulder and rolled his neck to stretch it. Caddy's pupils dilated a little. Anders exhaled.
"OK. Fine. How much is a...what was the thing again?"
Caddy rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"A look book. And it's 30 dollars."
"Thirty dollars?! Union or Northern??"
Caddy looked sheepish.
"Northern."
That settled Anders some, but not much.
"Well. Still. Thirty dollars for pictures?!"
Caddy looked indignant.
"They're nice pictures."
Anders nodded.
"I bet. When do you need the money by?"
Caddy looked to the side and kicked at the ground.
"Today?" he asked, hopefully.
"Today?!" Caddy's eyes widened again and he blinked up at Anders from beneath lowered lashes.
"Sorry."
"No, it's fine, just - here." Anders unzipped the duffel and began to dig around for his wallet. He opened it and handed three blue bills to Cadmus. Caddy practically squealed with joy and hugged his brother.
"Thank you! Thank you soo much!"
"Yeah, yeah. They just better be some damn good pictures."
"Oh, don't worry." Caddy assured him. "They will be."
Anders nodded and began to head down the hall.
"Wait, so why did you have to get selected to take pictures? What is this, some kind of competition?"
Caddy shook his head.
"No, it's not, but it's just like - carriers who show they have potential in the next couple of years, they get to be in it. And Adrian - that's my peer group leader - he said I have really great potential, and so he nominated me for it, and I got it! So did Ashby."
Anders frowned.
"Well, congratulations. But this thing...it's for carriers who have great potential for...what?"
Caddy shrugged.
"To be good carriers."
Anders frowned, and turned back in the hall to face Caddy completely.
"Wait. What?"
"Like, for officers who are looking for wives and stuff."
Anders' eyebrows shot up.
"So why do you need to be in it? You're not even 15!"
Caddy exhaled and began to shift his weight from foot to foot.
"I know, that's what I'm saying - I got pre-listed."
Anders frowned.
"Wait, so you go in this look book before you're even - Caddy, what kind of pictures are these??"
Caddy tilted his head to the side.
"They're just pictures, Andy."
Anders shook his head.
"That is not an answer."
Caddy bit his lip.
"They're like, normal...pictures. Just of me."
Anders nodded.
"Right. Give the cash back. This sounds sketchy and you're being sketchy about it."
"No! Andy! Please, I - "
"Cadmus."
Caddy stopped for a second, because Anders sounded and looked so much like his father in that moment that it caught him off-guard. Anders stepped forward. "Give me the cash back. Now."
Reluctantly, Caddy stepped forward and handed the money back to Anders.
"This isn't fair."
"I bet."
Caddy didn't say anything else, but he looked so forlorn that Anders felt a little tug on his heart. He sighed.
"I tell you what. You go to the Centre, get some legitimate information about what you want, bring it back to me, and if I think it's OK, I'll give you the money. No questions asked."
Caddy brightened a little, but still looked down.
"OK." he glanced up at Anders through lowered lashes. "Thanks, Anders."
Anders grinned and stepped forward to envelop him in a hug. He ruffled Cadmus' hair with one hand.
"Hey. It's fine. I just want to be sure you're safe, OK, kiddo? So...no sketchy pictures for use in the public domain." Anders grinned. "At least not without parental approval."
Caddy grinned up at him, suddenly feeling really warm and very, very appreciative. He squeezed Anders tighter.
"What's going on here?"
Anders shoved Caddy away guiltily and turned to stand at attention in front of his father.
"Just talking to Cadmus, Dad."
Caddy stepped up, twisting the edge of his natori nervously.
"Henrik? I was - I was bummed about something that happened at school, that's all. Anders was just helping me."
he glanced up at Anders, but the young man kept his eyes straight ahead, trained on his father. Henrik looked Cadmus over, then turned his attention to Anders.
"Cadmus, the car is waiting. Go, or you're going to be late for school."
Caddy hesitated, and Henrik turned his gaze back to him. "Cadmus." he said, simply, and Caddy glanced one last time at Anders, then walked past him and left. When they were alone, Henrik addressed Anders.
"Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Anders reddened, but shook his head.
"No, sir. It was just a hug."
"Cadmus is not of age - you're aware of that, I'm sure."
Anders reddened even more, the flush beginning to darken his pretty brown skin.
"Yes, sir. I'm aware."
"And as long as he is in this house, he is under our care. You're aware, of that, as well, I'm sure."
Anders nodded.
"I am, sir. But Dad, I wasn't - " Henrik tilted his head in interest. Anders took a breath and spoke evenly. "It was just a hug, sir." he finished, firmly. Henrik looked his son squarely in the eye.
"Let's be sure it stays that way."