“Here you are, Sir. Your afternoon tea…if I may?”

Kurt doesn’t look up from his paperwork as his sub stands by, waiting for permission to serve. Though it might seem like it, Kurt isn’t ignoring him. Blaine’s presence hasn’t gone unnoticed. Kurt knows Blaine is there. But this is an exercise. Blaine is not allowed to make assumptions. Blaine defers to Kurt. He can’t presume a pattern of behavior just because they’ve done this before. He needs to wait for his Dom to tell him what to do. He has been told to serve, but Kurt decides on when. And while Kurt decides, Blaine needs to wait, and do so graciously.

Though grace is not a problem for Blaine. It’s in his nature.

Kurt takes a breath, holds it for three, then says, “You may, pet.”

Blaine sets a tray down in front of his Master, careful to line up the straight edge of it with the edge of the table, approximately nine-and-a-half inches away. It might sound insane to some; the term anally retentive could actually be a more suitable term. When Kurt first told Blaine this was how he expected to be served, Blaine is ashamed to admit that he thought so, too. But it has a purpose. Everything has a purpose. Kurt is not a frivolous man. There is a meaning behind everything in his life, and that includes his rules.

Kurt looks at Blaine’s neatly appointed tray, and smiles fondly at it. Kurt had only required that he be served tea at this time on the days when he would be home. It was Blaine who decided to take the extra step and purchase the accoutrement, each piece of the tea service chosen from various thrift shops in Chelsea – a silver-plated tray with matching teapot and sugar bowl; a vintage Royal Albert Polka Rose teacup and saucer, plus a complimentary plate for cookies (maple and brown sugar cookies that Blaine bakes specially for Kurt); and a Le Creuset stoneware honey pot with wooden dipper, filled with pomegranate clover honey.

Kurt takes a moment away from his work and watches Blaine set out the saucer and teacup. With the use of miniature silver tongs, perfectly sized for the purpose, he delicately places two lumps of sugar at the bottom of the cup. He measures out a teaspoon of Kurt’s favorite black tea into a diffuser and sets that in between the sugar cubes. Observing this ritual of Blaine serving tea is soothing for Kurt, a private dance Blaine performs just for him. It’s a joy for Kurt to see Blaine toil so meticulously over his drink, and not because Kurt commands Blaine to. Yes, it’s one of Blaine’s expectations, but Blaine wants to do it. He wants to serve Kurt. If not, there would be no specially thought out tea service, no one-of-a-kind cookies, and no content little smile tipping up the corners of Blaine’s mouth.

As Blaine reaches for the teapot to pour the hot water, Kurt puts a hand on Blaine’s arm.

“Pet” - Kurt points to a sheet of paper on the table. It’s one out of a number of papers that Kurt has been reading, and since the paperwork on the table is exclusively Kurt’s business, Blaine had made a point of ignoring them - “do you know what this is?”

Blaine only has to glance at the page to know what it is. When he sees it, his smile subconsciously fades. “That is my…progress sheet, Sir.”

When Blaine first moved in with Kurt, they spent days going over the rules, and Blaine’s chores and responsibilities, until Blaine could recite them in his sleep. But stress and anxiety from work made it difficult for Blaine to keep on top of things, even with the notebook Kurt gave him to write everything down in. Blaine had started falling behind, not because he was purposefully being disobedient, and not because he didn’t care, but because he had a difficult time thinking past the stress. Kurt didn’t like disciplining Blaine for something that Blaine didn’t have complete conscious control of.

Kurt’s first instinct was to tell Blaine to eliminate the source of his stress, ergo quit his job, but Blaine was reluctant to do that for reasons that Kurt understood. For weeks, Kurt would gently remind Blaine when something went overlooked, then give him a spanking as a form of correction, but Blaine took punishing himself a step further when he still couldn’t remember. Kurt caught Blaine in the bathroom on several occasions, standing in front of the sink, staring at his face in the mirror, and repeatedly spitting at himself, “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” until he began to cry.

Kurt had to find a way to put an end to that behavior. Commanding Blaine to stop wouldn’t work. What Blaine was doing was an emotion-based, stress-fueled response. Blaine couldn’t simply turn it off. Kurt would be setting Blaine up to fail by telling him to do so. It broke Kurt’s heart thinking that Blaine was so overloaded that he was bowing under the strain, and that Kurt’s rules might be contributing to that, but Kurt knew that lightening Blaine’s load by eliminating one or two of his chores around the loft wasn’t the answer. Blaine showed love and loyalty through service. To have one of his responsibilities lifted would be like outright telling him he was a failure, even if Kurt explained that it was for his own good. The only thing Kurt could think to do then was to figure out a way to help Blaine succeed, using a method he would be comfortable with, a more visible daily reminder than writing things down in a notebook.

The idea came to Kurt one evening as he watched Blaine get his lesson plan together. He was creating a chart of class chores for the week, with every student assigned to a specific task. When Kurt asked Blaine about it, he explained that the pupils rotated assignments each week, and that they received a star for each one completed. If a reasonable amount of the tasks were done by the end of the week (more than, say, 70% or so), they would earn five extra credit points toward their grade. Or alternately, for students already achieving As and Bs, they could earn a privilege – permission to listen to their iPods during free reading time, or to play games on their phones quietly if they finish their work before everyone, even opt out of an assignment if it won’t increase their grade (optimal for kids in multiple AP classes who may need the extra time for catching up in a different subject). It seemed so simple, but it was positively brilliant. Kurt felt foolish that he’d never thought of it, but then again, he knows he still has things he needs to learn.

Things that his clever sub could teach him.

The simple chart that Kurt had made and printed off his computer, saving the template to a special flash drive entirely devoted to Blaine, had the name of the month displayed at the top, Blaine’s chores listed on the vertical edge, and the days of the week written along the horizontal. This sheet was crowded with every square filled – a gold adhesive star for each task completed properly.

“That’s correct,” Kurt says, tapping it once. “And do you know what I see when I look at this progress sheet?”

Blaine fidgets, glad he’s no longer holding the tray since his hands have started shaking. He locks them together tight, trying his hardest to be still, but even with his hands immobile, he can’t seem to settle his body on one foot or the other, shifting his weight nervously between the two. His last progress sheet was the reason why he got caned, but that time, Blaine knew before Kurt said anything that he was going to receive punishment. He knew the things he had done wrong, even while he did a few of them. He had felt overwhelmed then, but his fault wasn’t in disobeying.

It was in not coming to his Dom for help in the first place.

This time, he’s not sure. He’s been careful, conscientious. He thinks he’s done everything the way he’s supposed to, but he’s been so busy lately, distracted by rehearsals and the never-ending issues at work. He doesn’t think he’s being blindsided, he just doesn’t know for sure. He knows he can talk to Kurt about anything, but he doesn’t know yet where he went wrong.

“What do you see, Sir?” Blaine asks, trepidation sneaking into his voice though he tries to shove it out.

“I see…” Kurt pauses. He recognizes Blaine’s confusion, his fear, and smiles warmly to alleviate both – “that you’ve been eating when you’re supposed to. I see that you’ve gone to bed on time, and that you haven’t been using your electronics without permission. I see that you’re doing your chores. I see that you have done everything that you are supposed to. So today, you get to choose a reward.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Blaine breathes out, relieved. “Thank you very much.”

“You’re very welcome. So, what would you like, pet?” Kurt pulls out another list, one that he and Blaine had constructed together, decorated with stickers and pieces of flair – Blaine’s reward list. “You choose. Anything you want.”

“Anything, Sir?” Blaine asks, more lively than before. “Like…maybe even something that’s not on the list?”

Kurt doesn’t have to give it a thought. “Sure,” he says. “Tell me.” And why not? After all, Blaine has earned it. They haven’t revised Blaine’s reward list in a while, but Blaine knows his parameters. He understands the guidelines of what he’s allowed to choose. Though, to be frank, the list they have now is pretty comprehensive. Kurt can’t imagine what Blaine might want that’s not already on there.

He’s curious what his little pet has in mind.

Blaine pinches his bottom lip beneath his top teeth, and Kurt can tell that his precious sub has come up with something. From the way he’s blushing, Kurt is dying to know what it is.

“I want…you, Master.”

Kurt raises a brow. “Really?” They had decided to make sexual favors a grey area on the reward list, so they weren’t explicitly included. Blaine would be required to ask, and Kurt had the power to agree or decline, and possibly punish if Kurt felt Blaine’s request was a bit too far reaching. “And how do you want me, pet?”

“I want my mouth on you, Master.” It’s stated simply and with confidence, the actor in Blaine covering up the part that’s less sure.

“Are you certain that’s what you want?” Kurt asks, testing his pet’s courage to see if he’ll fold.

To see if Blaine wants this bad enough to risk what it might cost him if Kurt decides against it.

“Yes, Master. I’m sure.” Blaine licks his lips, and Kurt wonders if he even realizes he did.

There’s a power exchange involved here. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Blaine has made his request succinctly, in a way that’s not too insecure or too demanding. He’s surpassed every hurdle that Kurt has used to test him. And besides, this reward in particular isn’t only a reward for Blaine. It’s been a long day for Kurt. Kurt deserves a little extra worship.

Wordlessly, Kurt sets the lists aside. He looks at Blaine watching him respectfully through lowered lashes, just the faintest hint of a smile dimpling his cheeks.

“Well, pet” - Kurt makes himself comfortable in his chair and opens his legs - “come get me then.”