Tina wakes up naked with Cooper kissing down her back. A sleepy smile tugs at her lips as she squirms happily. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing much, just worshiping the body of the most beautiful person ever." She can feel his smile against her shoulder blade and wiggles until he moves far enough back that she can turn over. Her hand comes up to cup the back of Cooper's neck as she whispered, "Please, Sir, may I have a kiss?"

Cooper hummed, his eyes falling to her lips as his hands trailed down her side. He didn't answer verbally, just dipped down to place a light kiss on her neck. Tina huffed in mock irritation, using her grip on his head to move him back up.

"Please?" She pouted prettily up at him, batting her eyelashes for extra effect, until he leaned down. Just before their lips touched, Cooper started shaking his head, making their noses brush against each other and causing Tina to dissolve into giggles. He dropped his weight more fully on her and she starts at the smooth feel of fabric against her bare skin. "What-"

"Oh, yeah, sorry, babe." Cooper sat up, licking his lips as he stared down at his naked sub. "It's getting late, we need to start getting ready for dinner." His hands ran up her legs, partially hitched around his waist.

Tina frowned. "Right." She sat up, dislodging his hands as she tugged the sheet over her. "So what can I expect today?"

Cooper frowned at the sheet, but replied, "Well, you already know my mom is strict. My family is really big on tradition, so that means they expect you to only speak when spoken to, do not look other Doms in the eye, stick with the subs, and I'll have to present you to the family before dinner. Do you know what that means? I know most people don't really bother with it anymore."

"Yeah, I do, but not talk to anyone? Seriously? Do they expect me to kneel at your feet and beg for scraps too?" Tina looked angrier and angrier with every word.

"I know, it's total bullshit, sorry, baby." She begrudgingly allowed Cooper to pull her closer as he continued. "I swear, it's only like that around the holidays, Mom's usually much more easy going the rest of the time. I mean, I only see them a few times a year anyway, since I live in California."

Tina nodded, not really relaxing in his embrace. "Sir? Do I really have to sit at your feet?"

Cooper barked out a laugh, squeezing her to him. "No, baby, you don't. Not unless you want to."

888

After a shower that was longer than it should have been, Cooper and Tina left the hotel room. A quick trip was in order to meet Tina's family, though they weren't able to stay long before having to rush over to the Anderson's house.

"I told you we shouldn't have had that quickie in the shower," Tina giggled.

Cooper squeezed her hand, smiling softly at her as he pulled into his parent's parking lot. "Thank you for doing this; I know it goes against a lot of what you stand for."

Tina leaned over the console and kissed his cheek as the car jolted lightly to a stop and Cooper threw it into park. "As long as it doesn't have to happen often, I suppose I can deal." Cooper nuzzled their noses together.

"I can promise you, I will not force you to do this more than twice a year and you won't have to deal with my parents more than five times in a year, including the two times you'll have to deal with my family. Sound good?"

"Sounds tolerable."

888

Blaine placed the box in his room before going back downstairs. To leave it on his mothers' desk was to risk her anger and he had tempted fate enough. Cooper was shaking hands and accepting accolades from the other Doms when Blaine stepped back into the den.

"Hey, Coop, where's Tina?" he asked as Cooper shook his hand vigorously, not really paying attention as he made his rounds.

"Hm? Oh, hey, Squirt! She's with the subs, getting introduced. I'll present her at dinner." They shared a quick look of disgust at the outdated ritual, but didn't say anything.

"Um, cool." Cooper stared at him a little too hard until he started to squirm. "What?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Blaine's eyes darted over to where their mother was involved with what looked like a very important conversation with Uncle Walter. They flicked away quickly when Bethany looked up. "I'll tell you later."

Cooper gave him a knowing look, but wisely just nodded and hooked his arm around Blaine's neck. "Come on, let's go figure out where Mom sat us this year. Maybe you finally made the height requirement to move to the big people's table!"

"Cooper, you're five inches taller than me!"

Every year, whenever their family gathered together, they partook in a tradition most considered long outdated. Whoever had 'acquired' a new sub, whether through their Soulmark or through Marking, presented them to the Doms. It was a long process, where the sub was first introduced to every single Dom individually and the Dom had the right to inspect them, to look them over and speak with them, test their durability, as it were. Most subs were simply introduced, exchanged a few words with each Dom, and then moved on to the next one, but there was always a few Doms that felt the need to flex their Dominating muscles and make the sub submit. Blaine knew that Bethany was going to test his friend when it was her time. To her, it was all or nothing.

As the family who was hosting the dinner, Cooper and Tina were given the option to go first, which Cooper gladly took, wanting to get everything done and over with. Those who weren't presenting gathered at the dinner table as the subs brought out dish after dish. Blaine could see his father talking to Tina, obviously teaching her the ins and outs of their traditional place setting. Once all of the Doms had been seated, he passed her off to Cooper, who stood with three other Doms. The presentation started at the head of the table, his mother's left side where Grandmother Annabel sat. She stood as Tina approached, Cooper by her side. Blaine knew the routine, having been taking part in it since he was twelve. Each Dom had their own script they followed with every sub that was presented, getting a feel for who they were. After they were done speaking, they formally introduced their sub, if they had one, and then they were shuffled off to the next Dom until they completed the circuit by finally being presented to the Doms parents. With only four subs being presented, Blaine was hoping it wouldn't take long. He had always hated how presenting took time away from the meal.

"Blaine, may I present my soulmate, Tina Cohen-Chang." Cooper's voice burst through his thoughts and he tore his eyes away from the turkey a few feet away from him.

Stumbling somewhat awkwardly to his feet, Blaine grasped Tina's hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Tina rolled her eyes. "You say that like we haven't gone to school together for months and sung a duet in the choir room."

"Okay, you caught me," Blaine chuckled sheepishly. "I always hate how long it takes before we can eat and may have been daydreaming. I just sort of went on autopilot."

Tina laughed, "The food is that good?" Her grin widened as both men nodded empathetically. "Fair enough, I'll hurry along."

Blaine pulled her hand up and brushed his lips over her knuckles before handing her back over to Cooper, who rolled his eyes. "I'll see you later, Tina." She waved as Cooper stiffened behind her and Blaine immediately knew why.

Their mother was the last Dom.

He watched the murmured conversation for a moment before his cousin Susan stepped up to introduce her sub, Alice. They spoke for a moment before-

"I said, kneel."

Blaine's head snapped around, despite knowing it was considered uncouth, and watched as Tina obediently knelt, her eyes downcast, though her jaw was tight.

"Now, bow your head." Tina did as she was told and Blaine forced himself to pay attention to Susan and Alice, though he caught a few of the commands his mother barked out to his friend. After getting through the remaining subs being presented, Blaine finally turned his attention back to Bethany, who was finally allowing Tina to stand again.

"You did better than I expected, but you still require some improvement," Bethany hummed as she held Tina's chin between her thumb and forefinger, tilting her face side to side as she examined her. "Next time, I expect no hesitation."

"Yes, ma'am," Tina replied, looking as though she'd rather smack her.

"You may return to your Dom." Bethany released her and fluttered her hand in dismissal, already turning to Susan as Tina leveled a glare at the back of her head and slipped her arm through Cooper's. Blaine watched as he whispered soothingly in her ear while leading her to the open seats next to him.

"...never have to do that again. I swear, I didn't know she was going to do that."

"It's fine, Sir," Tina finally said with a sigh, patting his arm as he pulled out her chair. She kissed his cheek before sitting down and flashing Blaine a small smile. He returned it but his mind drifted, thinking of how Kurt would have to endure such a thing come Christmas time. There was no way he would be able to get out of Marking him, not unless he stopped being friends with him, and that was just too painful to think about.

Was it normal to feel this way about friends? It hadn't been like this with anyone else, not ever, and sometimes Blaine wondered how it was going to feel when Kurt found his soulmate, if it would feel like his heart was breaking in two like it sometimes did when he imagined it. Friendships with claimed subs was greatly frowned upon and some Doms didn't even like their subs to hang around other subs.

Blaine sighed, wondering if this was love or just a product of becoming friends with a sub. He couldn't decide which scenario was worse as the lids were pulled off the dishes and everyone began grabbing food.

888

Blaine managed to pull Kurt out of his post Black Friday hangover by tempting him with coffee on Saturday afternoon. He picked Kurt up and drove them to the Lima Bean, steering him into a booth before going to place their order. When he came back to the table, Kurt was fiddling with some sugar packets. He smiled gratefully at Blaine and immediately latched on to his cup. The first hesitant sip was met with a hum of approval.

"Hard day yesterday?" Blaine asked sympathetically.

Kurt let out a groan. "You have no idea. I took Mercedes with me and there was this Dom who thought she could get away with snatching a sweater right out of Mercedes hands!" As he wove his tale of nearly smacking down people, Kurt kept remembering the last time he had been to the mall, when he and Tina had window shopped. Her words echoed around his head, a constant reminder of what he didn't have, what he had given up on happening the previous year. After he finished his story and Blaine had made another trip for more coffee, at his insistence, he told Kurt about his Black Friday, which consisted of watching Cooper and Tina act like love struck teenagers (never mind that Tina was one).

He was laughingly telling about how he had started spraying them with water when he noticed that Kurt wasn't laughing with him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Kurt blinked and let out a questioning hum around his sip of coffee. "What do you mean?" he asked after he swallowed.

"You just seem a little, I don't know, sad. Is everything okay?" He hesitated. "Is- did I- were you not finished? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"No, no, that's not it at all, I promise! I'm just kind of lost in my head right now, I'm sorry." He took another sip of coffee and gave Blaine a weak smile.

"Is it because of Tina and Cooper?" Kurt shrugged off the question but Blaine persisted. "I mean, you kind of looked odd when I said something-"

"Gee, thanks-"

"-earlier, but I didn't want to bring it to attention. Are you not happy for them? Or do you think they're moving too fast?" He reached across the table and grabbed Kurt's hands, nervously playing with the sugar packets again. "Please talk to me?"

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "The whole thing with Tina brings back bad memories from last year." He paused and Blaine squeezed his hand reassuringly, but he still couldn't look at him. "It all started when I was thirteen. There was this guy who started coming to the garage..."

le flashback

Kurt watched studiously as JR explained to him the problem with the classic car they were working on. He barely noticed the sound of someone entering the shop, nor when his dad went over to speak with them.

"-the best when it comes to engines. Well, besides me, but I'm going to be out of the shop for the next week. Hey, JR!"

Both of them looked up at Burt's call. Standing next to him was an older man, a few inches taller with a portly stomach and greedy eyes that made a shiver run down Kurt's spine, and not in the good way.

"JR, this is Brian Ashland, he's having some engine trouble and we need to be leaving soon. Brian, this is JR and my son Kurt."

Mr. Ashland shook hands with both of them, but he held Kurt's a little longer than considered polite, his Dom digging into Kurt's hand. He finally let go and Kurt discreetly wiped his hand on his coveralls, desperate to remove the feeling of the man's moist palm.

The three men talked for a few minutes, Mr. Ashland's eyes frequently darting over to where Kurt was hanging up his coveralls and grabbing his bag. They had made plans to go camping for the week and Kurt was anxious to get to the campsite and away from the creepy man.

Over the next two years, the man frequented the shop, becoming friends with everyone, but always getting too close to Kurt's personal space and staring at the boy whenever he thought no one was looking. He was too worried about his father losing business to tell him, since Brian referred all of his clients to Hummel Tire & Lube, but he couldn't seem to shake the feeling of the older man's gaze for days after a visit.

"So, Elizabeth, huh? That's a unique name for a boy," a voice piped up, three months before Kurt's fifteenth birthday.

He swore internally as he banged his hand against something and straightened up from where he was working on a car. "Hello, Mr. Ashland, how can I help you today?" He tried not to flinch when Brian stepped closer and it was with an impending sense of panic that Kurt realized they were alone in the garage. Several of the guys were out on their lunch break and it appeared that his dad and Mike were in the office, their backs to the glass window that allowed them to see into the shop.

"I need an oil change and," he stepped even closer, the strong, spicy scent overwhelming Kurt's senses and he shuddered as a too warm hand ran down his arm and cupped his elbow, "I wanted to see you, Kurt."

"Please stop." His voice trembled and he couldn't meet his eyes, his body too frozen in fear and overpowering Dominance pheromones to even take a step back. Tears clogged his throat as he took a stuttering breath. The panic welled over and his chest constricted as Mr. Ashland took another step closer, too close, too close, too much, please stop, but his feet were cemented to the ground.

"Tell me the initials on your foot." The command was heavy in Mr. Ashland's voice and Kurt's sub instincts took over.

"BD."

The hand on his a tightened almost painfully. "What's the last initial?"

"I don't know." Tears tracked freely down his cheeks as he trembled.

"You don't know?"

"There was an accident, my Soulmark was messed up. Please let me go, please-"

Mr. Ashland chuckled, pulling him closer. "You sound so pretty when you beg." His meaty hand reached up to wipe the tears from his cheek. "And you're beautiful when you cry." He finally released him and stepped back. "Don't forget to rotate and balance my tires."

Kurt nodded, unable to speak as Mr. Ashland strolled out of the garage. He quickly wrote up a ticket and placed it on the car before running to the bathroom and throwing up. He spent several minutes dry heaving into the bowl until his body protested and he forced himself to stand. Burt was already working on the car (the sight of which caused his stomach to roll unpleasantly), but one look at his son had him handing the job over to Mike and driving Kurt home. He played it off as the milk he had used with his cereal that morning turning bad and he was thankful his father accepted it without question.

After that, he avoided the shop as much as possible, begging off to do homework and extra credit assignments and house cleaning. Anything he could make as an excuse to not go up there, he did. It wasn't the best plan, but it worked, and he managed to avoid the garage until the Fourth of July weekend.

A few people had asked off and there was a sudden influx of cars that forced Kurt to join his dad to help out. The first two days went okay, though he tried to stay away from where it had happened, his stomach churning at the reminder.

Kurt was bent over a car, following JR's directions on a particular engine repair, when a cry rang throughout the shop. Every head turned to see Mr. Ashland on the ground, clutching his ankle. JR and another worker named Kyle rushed over to help him up, Kurt trailing behind reluctantly. Mr. Ashland had apparently slipped on a towel on the floor and twisted his ankle. He was promising he wasn't going to sue, but Burt still insisted that he should get it looked at. He waved Kurt over, since he had taken a first aid class before.

"But-" Kurt swallowed thickly, not really having a protest since his father didn't know about the incident months before. He washed the grease off his hands and knelt in front of the man, hating it more than anything. His sock and shoe had already been removed and Kurt carefully examined the bones of his ankle, hands quick but through. He didn't even notice his hand brush the bottom of Mr. Ashland's foot, thinking that he was just reacting to the ticklish nature of the touch as he let him go and began to stand. "I think it's fine, but it might be a little sore tomorrow, so put some ice on it and keep it ele- Mr. Ashland?" The man was looking at Kurt like he wanted to devour him.

"Brian?" Burt asked, laying his hand on his shoulder and causing him to jolt.

"He- Kurt touched my Soulmark and I felt the connection," Mr. Ashland breathed, turning his gaze to Burt, but not before wiping the creepy look off. "Burt, I found my soulmate in your son."

Kurt couldn't keep the horrified look off of his face. "What? No, I-"

"Well, aren't you going to let him touch yours?" Kyle asked, clueless as to why Kurt shot a glare at him.

"Yeah, Kurt, aren't you going to let me see if we have a connection?" Mr. Ashland asked, grinning lecherously at him now that Burt wasn't looking.

"Uh, well, I, um-" He looked desperately at his father, who just smiled encouragingly. "O-okay. Can we go to the office, though?" he asked, staring nervously at all of the people who had gathered.

"Sure, bud, let's go. How's your ankle, Brian?" Burt asked as he began pulling his sock back on.

"Good as new now that I've found my soulmate," Mr. Ashland said with a chuckle, though he still favored his right leg slightly.

Kurt sat as far away from Mr. Ashland as he could while still remaining on the bench and began pulling off his socks and shoes as soon as the office door snapped shut behind Burt, who then began tugging the blinds down. Mr. Ashland reached over almost the moment Kurt's foot was revealed, his fingers brushing over the letters and the raised skin of his scar.

A shudder passed through Kurt as he continued to feel creeped out, but nothing else. No warmth, no acceptance, no love, nothing.

"Well?" Burt asked anxiously, frowning when Kurt shook his head and tears began tracking down his face.

"I don't feel anything," Kurt answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh, bud," Burt sighed, squatting in front of him. "Well, the doctor did say it was a long shot, but Brian felt something, so that's good!"

Kurt felt as though his heart had dropped to his feet as he smiled weakly at his dad, trying to push back his tears. He didn't want to be with Brian. He still had the right to say no, didn't he? Not everyone stayed with their soulmate; he could, could-

"Would you accompany me to dinner, Kurt?" Mr. Ashland asked formally, standing next to his dad.

The words caught in his throat and his denial was squashed as Kurt noticed Burt beaming at him in pride, a huge smile on his face at the mere thought that Kurt had actually found his soulmate. "Um, sh-sure."

Kurt tried his best to avoid the courtship period for the most part, dodging out of dates as often as possible and insisting that his father be present for any that he couldn't get out of. He wanted so badly to tell Burt that he didn't want to be with Mr. Ashland, he hated him, but Burt always looked so happy when the other man was brought up that he felt as though he had no choice. Three months passed at a torturously slow rate while simultaneously happening all too quickly for Kurt's liking. That was the typical courtship length and by the time October came around, Kurt still hadn't figured out a way to get out of it without disappointing his dad.

One day in the middle of the month, a packet arrived in the mail, the formal paperwork for Burt to sign over his rights to Mr. Ashland since Kurt was under seventeen. Kurt couldn't stand to watch his life being given up by a simple swoop of a pen, choosing to hide in his room instead.

However, much to his surprise, he wasn't forced into a ring ceremony the next day like he had imagined he would. Instead, Burt stuck close to him over the next several days, his eyes watching everything with a hardness in them that Kurt had never seen before. He rarely left Kurt alone with Mr. Ashland and never for very long. It wasn't until a week later that he finally learned what was going on.

"Did he always stare at you like that?"

Kurt looked up from his dinner plate. "What?"

"Brian, Mr. Ashland. Does he always stare at you like that?"

Kurt hesitated, considering his words carefully. "Like what?"

"Like he's a greasy scumbag who trying to take you without you wanting it."

Tightness in his throat, his chest, his heart, washed over him like a tide and Kurt could not longer hold back his sobs as he nodded. Just as he had so many years ago, Burt dropped his cutlery and rushed to his son's side, holding him close as tears soaked the flannel of his shirt. He didn't try to stop his own tears as they sat on the floor of their dining room and let their emotions pour out of them.

"God, Kurt, why didn't you tell me?" Burt murmured into his hair as he rocked them back and forth.

"I-I d-don't know," he hiccupped. "I th-thought that you might get m-mad at me for l-losing business and he didn't re-really hurt me, he just scared me-" Kurt felt his dad tensing against him. "I'm sorry, I didn't- I shouldn't-"

"He hurt you?"

Kurt shook his head slowly, "N-no, Dad-"

"What did he do?" Burt pulled back to look him in the face.

"Noth-"

"Don't say nothing, you tell me what he did!"

The words poured out of him like endless rain into a paper cup, the Dominating pheromones from his dad forcing them out when he would normally hesitate. Burt was so rigid by the time Kurt was done that he honestly feared slightly for Mr. Ashland's life.

"Dad, please, don't-" he began.

"HE TOOK SOMETHING FROM YOU, KURT, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" Burt boomed, fury etched in every line of his face. "YOUR FIRST TIME BEING DOMINATED BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT FAMILY IS SUPPOSE TO BE SPECIAL! IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE TAKEN AGAINST YOUR WILL, DAMN IT!" Burt's face crumbled as he began crying in earnest and Kurt didn't hesitate to hug him hard, his own tears having never stopped.