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Ian and Anthony had a far from conventional relationship, that much was clear as soon as they’d started fucking as teenagers and Ian groaned for Anthony to smack his ass, but Ian fidgeted awkwardly in his seat, wondering if this was going too far.
They’d talked about a thing called ‘petplay’, where one of them would assume the role of, well, a ‘pet’ for a while. Maybe a couple of hours, maybe longer, and while Anthony had seemed to be keen on the idea and fully endorsed Ian wearing a collar under most circumstances, Ian was still nervous about it.
They’d set a date and Anthony had left the house like he’d been asked to. Ian had a collar already, but they’d only really used it for the look of the thing, never taking into account any further significance than the fact that it looked pretty and Anthony liked tugging on it occasionally when they had sex. But this was different, this gave that collar some meaning, and that was what was turning Ian’s stomach a little.
When Anthony had left the house, Ian had showered and got dressed in an oversized sweatshirt that had sleeves that swamped him, and a pair of boxers. That brought him to where he was then, sitting on the sofa turning his collar over and over in his hands and waiting for Anthony to come home.
As soon as the door opened, Ian got up only to kneel down on the floor with his collar in his hands. His mouth ran dry and he took in a hiccough of breath when Anthony’s legs approached him and then stopped right in front of him.
“Aw, you’re such a pretty little kitty,” Anthony said softly, and Ian felt the worry bleed out from his body in an instant. He looked up and smiled nervously, holding his collar up to Anthony so the other man could fasten it around his neck. Anthony was careful and slow, making sure that there was two finger widths between Ian’s neck and the dark leather.
“Thank you,” Ian finally breathed, adding a, “Sir,” as an afterthought. They hadn’t talked about that, how Ian should address Anthony, and he just hoped that ‘Sir’ wasn’t too much or too little. He’d never liked the word ‘Master’ anyway.
“Just call me Anthony, okay?” His voice was soft as he knelt down in front of Ian and cupped the other man’s face in his hands. “You’re so very pretty, my favourite kitten.”
Ian basked in the praise and the feeling of Anthony’s hands warm on his face, and the strangely comforting weight of the collar around his neck. Anthony had put a little bell on the ring at the front, so every time Ian moved, he made a soft jingling sound.
“Can I have a kiss?” Ian asked, and Anthony obliged, kissing him soft and slow.
“Of course you can,” Anthony said once he pulled away. “Hey, I’m gonna get some editing done, you wanna come and sit with me?”
Ian nodded a yes, waiting until Anthony had got up and moved into the other room to crawl after him. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the crawling, but he liked it. Liked being lower than eye level, for some reason.
“Come and get up on the chair next to me,” Anthony said, patting the cushion of said chair a couple of times before turning his attention to his computer, shaking the mouse to wake the screen up before going back to editing.
Ian thought for a moment about whether or not he wanted to sit on the chair and decided he probably should, if Anthony had asked him to. He took another moment to think about how to sit on the chair in a catlike way and settled for curling his legs up underneath him and leaning forwards on the desk, idly watching Anthony’s hands working on the mouse and keyboard.
It must have been nearly half an hour before Ian grew bored with just sitting around, so he decided to have some fun and start batting at Anthony’s hands whenever they moved.
“Hey! Quit it!” Anthony said, but it was fond and not angry. He reached over and fluffed Ian’s hair, running his fingers through the long strands slowly and carefully, smoothing them out. He went back to editing one handed and Ian eventually found himself yawning and falling asleep at the constant petting, his mind clouding over until he was actually asleep, slumped over in the chair with his head hanging low.
When Anthony woke Ian up an hour later, Ian’s leg was cramping and his head hurt a little as well, but he felt… Good. At peace, almost.
“I was thinking of watching a movie now I’m done with that, you wanna come and watch it with me? We can get snacks.” Anthony was standing over Ian, holding a hand out for him to take. Ian looked questioningly at the hand and climbed down off the chair, assuming his position on his hands and knees before shaking his head and grinning impishly. Anthony chuckled and shrugged. “Go and get comfortable, I’ll bring some food.”
Ian did as he was told, lazily making his way into the living room. He was glad to be able to stretch out on the sofa instead of having his legs cooped up underneath him, that was for sure, but he was hungry and a little tired still, and thus a tiny bit cranky.
When Anthony reappeared from the kitchen he was carrying a bowl of popcorn and a couple of cans of soda. He grinned at the sight of Ian languidly stretched out and, after he’d put their food on the coffee table and set up a movie for them to watch, motioned for Ian to sit up.
“Sit up for me, kitty,” Anthony murmured. He got himself comfortable where Ian’s head had been, and Ian obediently stayed half sat up until Anthony placed his hand atop Ian’s head and pulled him back down so he was resting on Anthony’s lap. Ian made a soft noise that he thought maybe sounded like a purr somehow, letting out a small giggle at his poor attempt.
“You’re just so cute, I can’t take it.” Anthony knotted his fingers in Ian’s hair and started to pet the strands again. “You hungry, kitty?” He asked, and Ian heard his stomach rumble before he had a chance to nod silently.
Anthony reached for the popcorn, grabbing a handful and quietly holding a piece out in front of Ian’s mouth. Ian happily ate it, his eyes fixed on the TV in front of them as he made his way through a couple of handfuls and promptly fell asleep again. All the stress of worrying that Anthony would bolt at one of his stranger kinks had worn Ian out, and it was getting late anyway. He slept through two films with Anthony’s hand petting his hair, then his side when Ian curled up against Anthony’s side properly.
It wasn’t until they were climbing into bed for the night that Ian spoke again.
“Could you take my collar off, please?” He asked quietly. He still felt calm and pure, at ease with the world and content with everything. Ian stood in their bedroom naked, save for the black collar around his neck.
“Of course, pretty kitty.” Anthony grinned at Ian’s blush and easily unfastened Ian’s collar, gently taking it off. He went to put it back into its box when Ian spoke up again.
“I really liked tonight,” Ian blurted out. Once he started, he couldn’t seem to stop. “I know it’s weird but… It’s so nice when you just pet my hair and tell me I belong to you, and it makes me feel like everything’s okay, and it’s nice.” Ian took a deep breath and laughed, another, deeper, blush rising on his cheeks.
Anthony took a few steps forwards after putting Ian’s collar away, closing the gap between them. He kissed Ian’s forehead, then his cheek, then his lips, letting the last one linger for a long moment.
“I did too,” Anthony said simply. “It’s nice to see you so relaxed, and you are the worlds cutest kitty, too.” He grinned and wrapped his arms around Ian, pulling him backwards towards the bed. “Wanna do it again tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Ian said with a fervent nod, grinning and letting out a peal of laughter when Anthony pulled him down onto the bed.