Title: Their Give and Take

Author: tarotgal

Rating: NC-17

Kinks: BDSM
Summary: When Parker's sub comes down with a cold, he'd better get used to being the center of attention.

Author Notes: Written for my 2016 comment fic meme

Their Give and Take

Parker Landon loved a good shower first thing in the morning. If Jason had been in there with him, it would have been hotter; Jase liked it hot enough to practically hurt. But Jason was back in bed where he belonged, so Parker got to enjoy having the whole thing to himself that morning. He hummed to himself as he lathered up and ran his hands up and down his slick body. Briefly, he considered taking himself in hand, but he'd had quite the time the night before and was still riding strong from that pleasure. There was nothing so good in all the world as the feel of Jason's mouth around his cock and that look of admiration and satisfaction in Jason's big brown eyes as he swallowed every last drop like a good little sub.

Though he could have stayed in the shower all morning, savoring that memory, he would be late to work if he didn't hurry this along. So Parker turned in place, letting the warm water rush down his body, sending every last soap bubble down the drain. He finished his shower, dried off, and dressed, humming all the while. He hummed as he ran the bathroom fan to clear off the steamy mirror and put on his black-rimmed glasses. He hummed as he brushed his teeth and ran a comb through his hair a few times. He hummed as he worked a glob of hair gel into his hair, following it through with his hand so that the salt and pepper side part style lay the right way and stuck up just as it was supposed to. But as he reached for the shaving cream, the door to the bathroom opened and Jason stumbled in.

Jason went straight for the toilet, leaning against the wall and coughing lightly. Then he shuffled over to the sink, washed his hands, and reached for the same shaving cream. As he spread the lather across his chin, Parker stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Jase looked tired, first and foremost. Not surprising, really. They'd had a late night at the club. But he didn't look so great now on top of being tired. And last night he hadn't sounded too great either. In fact, Parker had thought about cutting their scene short about a hundred times. But in the end, they'd played it out because that was what they had both wanted. Parker had known that without even asking, just from the look on Jason's face as he dropped to his knees to service his Dom, the way he'd stretched out so obligingly to let his Dom color his asscheeks that warm shade of red before his Dom took him, the way he'd been so ready to come from the moment they had walked in the club doors but hadn't let out a single drop until his Dom had ordered him to.

They'd been together for years, with dynamics that complemented each other's so well, but Jason's submission still thrilled Parker like nothing else could. It was amazing and almost unreal how the man could so willingly give of himself like that without even being asked. It was just the sort of man he was. And Parker never wanted to take that for granted.

But he should have known better. It had been a rough few weeks for them both. Projects and obligations had kept them from fun at the club for far too long. So they had both wanted to enjoy their time there. But Parker should have seen the warning signs, should have called it a night early and taken his sub home to cuddle in bed. Because poor Jase was definitely starting to come down with something.

So now was Parker's chance to jump in as he was supposed to. He worked as a tax preparer, yes, but he also had a job as a Dom to the man he loved. So he had to ask, “What are you doing?”

Instead of turning his head, Jason looked back at him through the mirror. His eyes narrowed with confusion. “Uh, shaving?” There was a hint of a laugh in his voice. There was also a roughness that might have come from fatigue... but probably came from something else.

Parker grabbed the straight razor out of Jason's hand. “Don't use that smart alecky tone with me.” Though he secretly loved it when Jason used that smart alecky tone with him. “I mean what are you doing shaving?”

Jason stared at Parker's reflection in the mirror, eyes full of confusion. “I know we got in pretty late from the club, but are you sure you got enough sleep? Why're you asking that? You know I always shave before going into work. It's sort of frowned upon for a museum director to show up with a five o'clock shadow. Is the coffee on yet?” He made a grab for the razor, but Parker swung his arm out to the side just in time.

He dropped the razor into the bathtub, which clanged as plastic and metal and porcelain all met. Then he grabbed a spare towel from the rack and used it to wipe shaving cream from his husband's face. “No, the coffee is not on yet. The coffee is not going on at all this morning.”

“Why's that?”

“Because you're sick and not going to work.” He found a new corner of the towel and wiped the last bits of shaving cream from Jason's stubble-covered jaw.

“Sick? You think I'm sick?”

“Yes, sick. You're coming down with a cold, baby. I could tell last night, when you were face-down on that bench, sniffling, or cuddled in my arms trying to hold in coughs. I should have said something then, but I didn't. So I'm saying it now: you are sick.”

Jason shook his head. “Parker, I love you. You know that. But you're way off on this one.”

Parker crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, am I? You're fighting off a sneeze right this very second.”

“...am not...”

“I can see it in your face.” He could, in fact. The little twitches Jason's face kept making. Lines appearing on his brow as his eyebrows knit together. Nostrils in that perfect, round nose of his widening. The corners of his delicious mouth turning down. There was no question he was about to sneeze and trying his best not to.

“I'm fine!” He turned and fled from the bathroom, not making it any further than halfway across the master bedroom. There he pressed several fingers to the bottom of his nose in a futile attempt to prove he was fine.

“Don't you sneeze,” Parker commanded, using his best Dom tone. Instead of going to Jason, he went straight to the nightstand. In the bottom drawer was a box of tissues. “I mean it,” he said, taking out the box. “No sneezing until I tell you.”

Jason was gasping with the need to sneeze. “P-Park... c-c-c-can't hold it—”

“I know you can. Just another second.” He pulled two tissues out of the box and positioned himself in front of Jason. He held the tissues up. “Okay, now you may.”

Without a moment's hesitation, “Th-th-thanks-hahhh-CHIXxxphh!”

Parker rubbed the tissues at Jase's nose, wiping it dry. “Still think you're fine?”

Jason shrugged. “It's just a cold. Sniff!” At the sniffle, as if on cue, Parker wiped his nose again for him. Jason made no move to push him away or even pull away from the touch; he knew better. “I've gone to work with a little cold lots of times.”

“Ah. And how did that work out for you?”

Jason hesitated a moment before answering. “All right.”

“Huh.” Parker crossed his arms over his chest again. “So... the last time it happened, as I recall, you went to work because there was a big exhibit coming in and you were the only person in the entire museum of more than two hundred staff members who was qualified to oversee its setup. Do you remember that?”

Jason nodded. “And that exhibit was a complete success. Do you recall that?”

“I do. It was wonderful. You, on the other hand, were not. You were stressed out and overworked and ignored being sick. And what happened to your cold?”

Reluctantly, Jason supplied the answer. “It progressed to bronchitis.”

“Right. And what happened at the end of the opening night gala?”

“I had to be taken to the emergency room.”

“Right again. And where did you spend the next two days?”

“In a hospital bed. Alone.”

“You're on a roll here. Do you remember where I had to spend those days?”

“In the uncomfortable chair by my... bedside.” He stifled a snort.s

Parker bristled. “Are you laughing at that? Is that funny to you?”

Jason didn't hesitate this time. “Well, yeah. If you'd seen yourself trying to squeeze into that little chair and completely overflowing, you'd laugh too. You're a tall guy; your limbs were everywhere! Oh, and you walked around with your head tilted at a weird angle for half the morning because you strained your neck sleeping in a weird position. And your glasses kept slipping off your face and hitting the floor and waking us both up. Oh, and remember when the nurses came in every hour to check on me and you snapped at one of them when she suggested you go sleep out in the waiting area instead? Hilar... ri... Parker? Do you still have ti-tissues?”

Parker tore another tissue from the box. “Hold it...” he coaxed until he had the tissue in place. “Okay. Let 'er rip.”

The sneeze tipped his head back, then shot him forward again. “hah... hahhhhh... hahCHXxxxttumphhh! Ah...”

“Good man.” Parker wiped. “Gotta blow?”

Jason nodded and took a deep breath. Then he blew his nose into the tissue. When he was done, he kept his head down but lifted his gaze. “Thank you, Sir.”

Parker's kiss immediately found his sub's forehead, unable to resist. “Now,” he said, tossing the tissue into the wastebasket. “I'm giving you a choice. You can go to work and make yourself sick to the point where you have to spend the night in the hospital, or you can stay here in our warm, comfortable bed.”

It wasn't really a choice at all, but Parker wouldn't allow him to make the wrong decision. He stared at the man with his most serious, commanding Dom glare until the man answered, “I'll stay here in our bed.”

Jason's face lit up with a smile when Parker nodded approvingly. “Good man.” He took hold of Jason's hands in his and squeezed. “Now, let me tell you what's going to happen. We're going to go downstairs and call in sick to work. Then get undressed. Then back into pajamas and into bed. Got it?”

“Yes, Sir—wait. Did you just say 'we'?”

“Of course. I would never leave my man alone when he's not feeling so good. Even if it means trying to squeeze myself into a ridiculously tiny and painfully hard chair to sleep. You know that.”

Gratitude flooded Jason's expression, filling his beautiful brown eyes with tears. It made Parker wrap his arms around his sub and pull him in close. Jason huddled against his chest, sniffling and nuzzling to rub wet tears into Parker's button down shirt, as though it were an added guarantee that Parker couldn't possibly now wear it to work. “Come on.” His hand stroked up and down Jason's back. “Let's go get our phones.”

Glowing screens of any type, including cellular phones, were not allowed in the bedroom; that was one of Parker's rules. Their phones lived together at the base of the stairs on a little shelf charging station. Downstairs, Parker took his and then saw to it that Jason sat down comfortably on the nearby couch to make his call while Parker paced up and down the hallway as he called into his own office.

It rang once. Twice. Three times. Just as he was preparing to leave a message, his boss finally picked up. “'Lo? Landon, you'd better be calling to tell me you finished the Green Grocer's account.” There was a sternness in her voice he didn't like. Usually they butted heads more than any other two people in their office, but deep down they both believed in the company's success as common ground. 

“Not why I'm calling, but I sent you the last form for signature yesterday before COB.”

“Excellent. So why are you calling me?”

“Need to take a personal day.”

Silence followed this statement, during which Parker paced the hallway, formulating three separate, impassioned arguments to persuade her. In the end, however, he didn't need any of them.

“Fine. You've got the hours. You're allowed to use 'em. Just don't let any of your accounts fall behind.”

“I won't. Thanks, Elise.”

“Take care, Parker.”

He planned to do just that. Parker returned to the living room to find his husband's cell phone on the couch, but no Jason. Before he could call out, he heard a series of coughs from upstairs. He must already be back in their bedroom, changing for bed. Good man. But when Parker got there, he discovered Jason still in a suit and tie, sitting on the edge of his bed. He looked up and sniffled. “Wanted you to...” he gestured at his body. Of course he did.

“It would be my pleasure, baby. That's why I'm here.” Undressing each other was usually the way they started any scene. It was the quickest way to shed the complications of life—careers, chores, bills, obligations—and step into a fantasy of their own making. So Parker took great care to not only undress his sub, but make sure Jason understand there wasn't any ulterior motive here on his part. Even though it would be nice to get some time to play with his sub in the ways he most liked, Parker didn't want Jason doing anything today except for resting and getting better.

But it sure was hard to keep to that plan as he unbuttoned every button of the dress shirt, exposing his husband's wonderfully toned chest. Or sliding the black slacks down to reveal a perfect V formation of muscles pointing straight for what was under those gray Y-fronts. Parker tried to control his breathing. He tried to keep from covering his husband's body in soft, affectionate kisses. And the best way to do that was to get him into his pajamas as quickly as possible. So on went a soft, heather gray, cotton t-shirt and a pair of red and gray plaid patterned flannel pants. Off came the tight black socks he wore with his dress shoes and on went a pair of comfy, fuzzy socks.

Parker flipped down the covers and ushered Jason under at once, tucking the blankets tightly around him. “Check?” he asked, more out of instinct than anything else. It was what he asked when they were setting a bondage scene and he wanted to make sure the straps or ropes were secure but were not too tight—they never were too tight or uncomfortable, because he knew how to restrain someone safely, but he still checked with his sub every single time.

“Perfect, Sir,” Jason responded this time with that submissive smile of his again, a little timid, a little bashful, and overwhelmingly pleased.

Nothing made Parker's heart skip a beat like that smile from his sub, feeling good because of something Parker had done. Much as he liked being serviced, his sub's satisfaction was truly everything to him. There were some Doms who cared only for their own pleasures, using their subs however they wished, getting off on inflicting pain and making unreasonable demands just so they could punish their subs. And there were some subs who genuinely seemed to like it that way. Parker could never understand what subs got out of that sort of play.

“Except...” Jason's nostrils flared, and he wriggled, trying to pull an arm and hand free. “I think I n-n-nee-need to sn... sneh...”

“Hold it.” Parker knew that would be difficult to do, without the use of his hand, still trapped under the tightly tucked covers. So he pressed two fingers under Jason's nose for him and rubbed hard against the man's nostrils until they stopped flaring. “Hold it,” he repeated with his Dom tone of voice. “Don't sneeze until I get the tissues.”

Jason nodded obediently, probably acting on instinct as well, because he trusted Parker to take command of him.

So Parker recovered the tissue box and pulled out a tissue, folding it in half for extra strength before climbing onto the bed and cupping it over Jason's nose and mouth. “Now you may sneeze.”

But now, it seemed, Jason didn't need to any more. His sweet, round nose twitched beneath the tissue and stilled. His chest rose and fell with regular breaths. And his body lay relaxed against the pillows and mattress. Yet Parker kept the tissue in place. Jason's colds always started slow, light sniffles and coughs for a day or so, then a couple strong sneezes here or there. But, almost out of nowhere, Jason's colds developed into sneeze-filled monstrosities where he'd have fit after fit of strong, wet sneezes and so much terrible congestion they might as well have moved their king-sized bed into the master bathroom and run steamy showers nonstop. If left unchecked, the cold would settle down in his chest and turn into something much worse. So, sure, Jase felt fine now. He felt good enough to go to work. But before long he would be so miserable and sneezy and regret ever stepping foot outside their house. Parker couldn't allow that to happen.

Not again.

Not while there was something he could do about it. So he kept the tissue clamped to his husband's face, knowing without a doubt that the sneeze would soon return.

And it did. “ih hih hih hihhhhhhh-HAHKJxxxxshhhhhh! HuhKXXTTphhh!”

“There we go. Any more tickles at the moment, baby?”

Jason's “no” was soft and unsure. But Parker wiped the tissue at his nose for him anyway. He got a fresh tissue ready in his other hand, though, just in case he needed to make a switch. There would be no sneezing freely in their bed. Jason had learned that lesson all too well years ago, so that went without saying this time. Every sneeze must be covered and contained and tended to properly.  

“I'm going to go get you a few things before we settle in here for the day, all right? You give me a good, loud call if you need me.” Jason didn't call as Parker rooted through the medicine cabinet for the box of Mucinex DM. Nor did he call as Parker grabbed a few bottles of spring water from the fridge and the bag of bagels from the kitchen counter. 

By the time his Dom got back to the bedroom, though, Jason's breath was already hitching again. The sneezes were really starting to set in, poor baby, and it was only going to get worse. “huh hih ihh huhh Park? Huhhh! Sir? Hah! Nnngh! Heh! Gihh!”

“Right here. I've got it!” Parker got another tissue to his husband's face, just in time.

“H'GIDTChhhhhhhh!”

“Bless you, baby.” He wiped the man's nose. “Want to blow your nose?”

Jason shook his head, sniffling.

“You'll feel better if you do. I can tell you're getting sniffly already.”

Resignedly, Jason agreed and blew his nose a half dozen times into a series of tissues. He didn't sound all that better when he was done, but at least he was still listening to his Dom's advice. “Let's get some medicine in you right away. Maybe we can head off the worst of it this time.”

A twelve hour release pill and several gulps of cool, crisp water later, with Park's hand on the back of his head to help him sit up enough to swallow, and things were coming right along with Jason. This wasn't Parker's first time playing caregiver, but Jason rarely gave in this easily. That scare in the hospital last time must have done more damage than Parker had thought. Or maybe... maybe he was enjoying giving in and being babied a little. Who'd have thought his strong-willed museum director had that in him?

“Parker?”

“Yeah, baby?” Parker touched his temple and brushed a few strands of hair back with a tender touch. “Feel like you need to sneeze again?”

“Y-you know me so well.”

“Well, we have been together six years. I've learned a thing or two about you in that time. Including noticing the way your face screws up when you feel a sneeze coming on.” It was kind of adorable, that faraway look in his husband's eyes, the wrinkle in the bridge of his nose. Parker rubbed the soft pad of his index finger against the wrinkle now, smoothing it out, relaxing it. “Still need to sneeze?”

Jason whimpered, which meant that he did but didn't want to admit that Parker's technique hadn't worked. Parker laughed. “It's all right. You've got a sneezy little cold in your nose. I don't blame you. Luckily... I've got tissues right here. Plenty of tissues.” Or, well, some tissues at least. Probably not enough to last the day, let alone his whole cold, but enough for now. He snagged two from the box and pressed them to Jason's nose for him.

“huh thah ih thanks huuh hahhhhhh HAH HUH HUPTChxxxffhhh!” It didn't stop at just one. The second the sneeze was done, he wound up for another. Then another And another. “huh HAHHKDxxxphhh! HuhhhGDChxxxxphhh! Uhhh... Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!” He blew his nose and cleared his throat as Parker rubbed tissues at his dripping nose.

“There we go,” Parker said with a final wipe, balling the latest tissue up and tossing it toward the wastebasket. “Now I'm going to put my PJs on as well. You let me know if you think you might sneeze again.”

“Yes, Sir. Sniff!”

“Good man.”

Jason beamed, proud to receive more praise. Parker wouldn't have given it if it hadn't been deserved, though Parker tended to give it a little more freely when he sensed his sub wasn't doing well and needed more reassurance. Having a head cold definitely counted as one of those times.

Parker's wardrobe selection changed from a black business suit to black satin boxers and nothing else, his most comfortable attire. And he started to get into bed on his side, covers held up and one leg beneath, before he stopped himself.

He was staring at Jason, lying there in bed so sweet and vulnerable. And he was thinking about that last sneeze, where Jason had kept his arms under the covers, even though he must have wanted to rub at his nose. Instead, he'd trusted his Dom entirely and let Parker do it for him. That had been so beautiful. Surely it couldn't hurt to see that again? Just a little play to cheer them both up in the face of what would probably soon develop into a miserable little cold? “Jase? Baby?” he began.

“Yes,” Jason replied without hesitation. “Anything you want, Sir.”

A shiver of excitement rushed through Parker. He would never, ever take for granted this handsome, willing, trusting man in his life. Submission was a gift generously given, and Jason's drive to make his Dom happy, even now when he didn't feel so good, was strong. It filled Parker with love and admiration.

But he knew he couldn't take advantage of it. He had to set limits for himself, for this. He had to keep Jason's health and safety in mind, as he always did. He climbed on top of the bed and crawled over to his sub. Straddling Jason's body, he leaned forward, weighing the man down. He laid his arms on either side of him, trapping him under the covers. Then he met Jason's eyes with his own. Understanding flowed between them, unspoken. Jason could pull free if he needed to. He could safeword out of this if he needed to. But Parker would do everything he could to make sure he didn't need to and didn't want to.

“You should have told me last night you were coming down with a cold, you know.”

“I know. But our schedules have been crazy. Sniff! It'd been weeks since we'd last made it to the club. I'd missed that part of us.”

“Oh, baby, I missed it too.” They played at home, of course, but the club offered so much more in the way of equipment. And it was so much easier to slip into a scene there rather than in their comfortable, familiar, normal bedroom. He had missed paddling Jason's sweet, round ass so hard he would feel it in the morning. He had missed laying his sub on a bench and circling around him with a riding crop, contemplating what to do next, what to touch next, what to taste next. He had missed working Jason up to a frenzy of desire but telling him to wait until the perfect moment, until Parker told him it was time. Well, some of that they could do right now. “Jase, I don't want you to sneeze until I tell you that you may. And I don't want you touching or pinching or holding your nose either.”

“But... I can't always help it. When the tickle in my nose is so strong... sometimes I've just got to sneeze!” He wriggled a little, uncertainly, beneath the blankets. Parker held him down.

“I believe you can. I want you to try, for me. Will you?”

As if his sub could possibly deny his request, it came as no surprise when Jason nodded in agreement with his promise to try. 

“Good man,” Parker repeated, then placed a light kiss on his forehead. “Because I'm staying right here on top of you. And if you do sneeze, you'd be sneezing right in my face.”

“I don't want to do that to you,” Jason whispered.

“I know you don't.”

“I want to only sneeze into your tissues like I'm supposed to, Sir.”

Parker's heart melted a little at those words. At that moment, he considered calling this whole thing off and just taking the man in his arms, holding him, and never letting go.

But Jason wanted this. He wanted to play. He wanted to obey his Dom, to do right by him. He wanted this as much as he'd wanted what they'd done last night in the club. What an amazing submissive he was. Parker had to be the luckiest Dom in the world.

“Um, Sir?”

“What is it, baby? Need to sneeze again already?”

“No.” He blushed a little. “It's a little embarrassing to have you lying here watching me like this. May we... talk or something?”

“Aw, of course.” In accordance with the no screen policy, they didn't have a television in their bedroom and no tablets by the bedside. A book or two were tucked inside the nightstand drawers for nights when one of them had particular difficulty trying to fall asleep, but that was as close as they got. No magazines, no newspapers, not even a crossword puzzle was allowed in the bedroom. But conversation was certainly something within the realm of possibility. He checked his wristwatch. “If I were at work right now, I'd be just now getting in and settling down at my desk. I'd be sorting through my emails and checking my task assignments for the day. Instead I'm here with you.” He moved in close, placing a gentle and unexpected kiss upon Jason's lips. “Your turn.”

“Oh, right. Well, I guess I'd be on the Metro still, jonesing for my second cup of coffee of the morning and reading...” He wrinkled up his nose and face so cutely.

“Reading what, baby?” prompted Parker.

“I'm in the mih middle of this mur... murder meh mys-hnng mystery right now. It's set in... in... oh... can't... can't help it. Gonna sneeze...”

“No you're not.”

His eyes fluttered closed. His breath caught. He wiggled his nose and tried to rub his nose, but Parker held his arms down through the blankets. “I'm heh not?”

“You're going to hold that sneeze back for me, aren't you?”

Jason worried his lower lip between his teeth and nodded resolutely. “Y-y-yeh-yes, Sir. Hnn! Hngh!”

He was so deliciously helpless like this. And so determined to keep this sneeze back until his Dom told him he could sneeze. Honestly, Parker wasn't sure how long he could do this; he had much more experience determining when Jason was about to reach orgasm. So he got tissues ready, quietly and quickly. He held them up in place, just in case he was wrong.

But he didn't plan on being wrong. “You're doing so well. But I still don't know where your book is set.”

“In... eh hehhhhh in HEH! Cah-HEH!” His breath caught, high-pitched and fast. His mouth turned down at the sides. His brow furrowed and nostrils flared wide. He was going to sneeze. And he was going to be disappointed.

“It's okay, baby. You can sneeze now.” He moved the tissues into place. “Sneeze, and then you can tell me whatever you want.”

“EHHHH-HNGGGGChhphhhhh!” His nose planted perfectly into the wad of tissues. He snuffled wetly  a few times then another sneeze struck, this one smaller and sweeter. “heh k'tchphhh!” He rubbed his nose into the tissues and pulled his head back. “California.”

Delighted, Parker kissed his husband again. “Sounds like a good book.”

“It isn't, actually. Sniff! Sniff! But it passes the time.”

Every sniffle seemed to make his nose twitch more. It was hard for Parker to keep his mind on anything else. “So... do you get a lot of reading done on the Metro?”

“Not much. Sniff! Usually I just try to stay awake. Then I get to the museum and dow coffee for an hour while going over memos and files and emails.”

“Sounds like our mornings are surprisingly similar in that regard. This morning though I would have been starting a new account, which means reviewing any documents they sent me and trying to get a feel for the organization or company. Sometimes I set up a meeting with the CEOs or directors as soon as possible, other times I do an initial assessment so I know what I'm getting into. Sounds boring, right?”

“A little. But you like it?”

“Love it. I love being in control of all those little numbers. I love making sense of them all.”

Jason smiled back. “I love when you're in control.”

“Mmm, I know you do.” Parker's touch was a gentle caress, the back of his fingers tenderly grazing Jason's cheek. He loved having a sub who trusted him enough to always be in control, who obeyed all his commands, and who played along with all his strange little games. “Don't sneeze, baby.”

Jason's nose twitched. “No, Sir.”

“I know it's tickling. But don't sneeze.”

“I won't, Sir.”

“I know your cold is getting worse. And you're feeling sneezier. But don't sneeze until I tell you it's okay.”

“Not uhh not until y-you tell huh me, Sir.”

Parker's heart soared. Those words were beautiful. Those words were like sex themselves. It was incredible how Jason knew just what to say to get to him. “Good man,” he whispered. “Just hold that sneeze back no matter what happens.”

A moment of concern crossed Jason's face. It was quickly replaced by a second of curiosity. And that was all overwritten by stalwart determination. It almost seemed unfair to break that.

Almost.

Because Parker loved being the one in control.

And so Parker waited for his moment, watching as the urge to sneeze grew bigger and stronger. “ehhh hnng! Eh heh! Geh eh eh ehhh!” He waited until the moment of greatest desperation, when Jason's eyelids had slammed closed and mouth dropped wide open. “hehh hehhh-enghh! Kehh!” He waited until Jason's breath hitched uncontrollably. “eh ehhh ihhhh ehhhhhhh!” He waited until it seemed impossible that Jason keep from sneezing. “EHH! IHH!” And then Parker made his move, teasing the tip of his nose against the end of Jason's.

And that was the end of the sub's concentration.

He let loose with a vicious sneeze, sudden and strong, right into Parker's face.  “Hey-ehTTTCHHuhhhhh! H'UHTShhhehhhhhh!”

Parker's eyes closed involuntarily as the spray misted his face like a second morning shower.  But when he'd wiped his face with the back of his hand and wrist and finally opened his eyes, he saw his submissive wearing an expression of horror.

“I'm sorry, Sir. I'm so sorry. So sorry.” He knew enough not to make excuses or try to explain what he'd done wrong. But he seemed otherwise at a loss for words and just kept repeating his apology in the simplest terms. “I'm sorry. I am sorry.”

“Hush, baby.” Parker gave him a kiss to still his lips, then pulled back. “Hush now. That wasn't your fault. That sneeze was my doing. I needed to find out how far I could push.” And he'd wanted to have a little fun, too, but Jason didn't need to know that part of it. It had been a rush, making him hold back his sneezes. But it had been even more exciting to actually make him sneeze, to watch that vulnerability show through and his defenses to break down all the way because of something he'd done. God, he wanted to take Jason so much right now. Too bad for him that he'd never do such a thing while Jason was sick and not feeling good. “Let me make it up to you?”

Jason nodded and suddenly found himself being pulled and nudged and scooted. Soon he was swaddled in a blanket, warm and comforting, and lying curled and cuddled in Parker's arms. There was a tissue box beside them, and Parker clutched several tissues in his hand to have them at the ready. The goofy smile on his sub's face let him know that Jason had forgiven him for the sneeze and that Jason was happy and content now.

Every time his nose twitched or ran, out came a tissue immediately to wipe it. Every time he coughed, over came a bottle of water so he could take a sip to sooth the scratch trying to form in his throat. Parker paid attention to every single movement, every single need, and he did what he could to care for his sub.

After a particularly wet triple sneeze right into the tissues, “heyyy-YIHTChphhh! UhhhCHIFffff! HehhhShihhhph!” Jason looked up at him, sniffling a little. “I don't know how you do it,” he said. “Sniff! How do you give of yourself so much without even being asked? It's unreal.”

The rush of emotions hit Parker all at once. He was pleased to be able to help his sub but really a little embarrassed to find that was how Jason thought of him and his care-giving skills. But mostly he was startled to hear Jason say things about him he'd been thinking about Jason all last night. Suddenly what it meant to be a Dom or a sub didn't seem so different. So he answered the only way he could think to. “It's because I have such an amazing man I love so much. I never want you to suffer, Jase. I'll always protect you, always look after you.”

“We look after each other,” Jason replied. “Which is a good thing, because after all that sneezing, I think I might have given you my cold.”

“Just another reason to stay home from work,” Parker chuckled. “But don't worry about me unless it happens. I'm fine!”

“Mmm.” Jason closed his eyes again, not to sneeze, but because all the warm cuddles in the blanket and pets and caresses were making him so relaxed he felt sleepy now. “Sounds like something I said this very morning, sniff, sniff, doesn't it now?”

With a laugh, Parker held his curled, snuggling sub to his chest. “You must be feverish. You don't know what you're saying.”

Jason laughed back, nuzzling his face against Parker's warm chest. Parker hummed as he pet Jason softly, sweetly. It didn't take long for Jason to drift off to sleep.