The day Kurt buys Blaine lingerie and orders him to wear it underneath his clothes pretty much 24/7, Blaine doesn't question it. Not that Blaine's in the habit of questioning any of his Dom's commands, but it also doesn't seem like that unusual a request. He might be fairly new to the whole Dom/sub lifestyle, but being forced to wear lingerie seems on par with what he knows some of their other Dom/sub friends do, though he's not entirely clear on why. But Blaine actually likes the idea, and the reality turns out to be even better. He enjoys the silky feel, the way the deep ruby satin Kurt chose looks against his skin. The black lace trim is a bit stiff, and sometimes gets a little itchy, but Blaine thinks that might be intentional, so he can't forget he's wearing it. Like the ring he wears on his left index finger and the collar Kurt gave him, it's another sign of ownership. It reminds Blaine that he belongs to someone.

Blaine's sure Kurt has his reasons for making him wear it, but his Dom hasn't really explained them. Kurt doesn't always outline point for point why he does what he does, and that's fine. Blaine trusts Kurt. He assumes it's another way Kurt's designed to make Blaine prove his loyalty, his devotion. Blaine decides to leave it at that and go on with his life.

A few weeks later, Kurt gives Blaine an assignment, an opportunity to research an aspect of D/s and BDSM that interests him, and tells him to write a report on it. This will be the third of such reports that Kurt has assigned so far, but the first two times, Kurt gave Blaine a specific topic to research. Wax play was number one, and impact play was the second. Having this freedom to pick and choose is a little stressful at first. There are so many topics to choose from, and scrolling through the list of websites Kurt keeps in his bookmarks, Blaine becomes a bit unfocused.

A pop-up ad sneaks through as Blaine bounces between tabs – a flashing image of a man dressed in a royal blue teddy, trimmed with black lace. Blaine doesn't get the chance to see the image too clearly before the ad disappears, but there are three things about it that seemed to stand out, and some of those things really bother Blaine.

One, the man is definitely wearing a chastity device. (That doesn't bother Blaine since his own adventures in chastity have been varied and incredible – a hidden kink Kurt unearthed that Blaine's become intensely passionate about.)

Two, the man looked ridiculous. Blaine can't put his finger on exactly how, but he did.

Three, right above his head, in blinking pink letters dripping with sparkles, was the word ‘sissy'.

Blaine had heard the word ‘sissy' before. Back when he went to school at Dalton, one of the swim coaches was fired for constantly debasing the boys on the team. He'd insult them, make fun of the way they looked, call them cruel names as a means to motivate them. Blaine remembers the man calling them sissies once when he walked through the locker room on his way to boxing practice. It was horrible hearing it. It made Blaine physically sick. Of the students who complained about the man's actions, Blaine was one of them, and he had never even been on the swim team.

Blaine doesn't understand why he would see that word pop up over a picture like that. He can't recall ever seeing an image like that on the websites Kurt usually lets him look at, so he moves his cursor to the Google search bar and types in the terms BDSM and sissy. A host of websites come up, and images, too, similar to the one he saw. He clicks on a site with the word sissification in the title. The words Sissy Training come up along with a brief summary that Blaine skims through, his eyes catching on terms like forced feminization and transgendered sluts, all above pictures of men in chastity, dressed in lingerie similar to the one Blaine's wearing underneath his clothes right now.

From what he can guess, sissification seems aimed at making straight men feel inferior by treating them like women, making them dress in skimpy outfits, and calling them sluts and whores.

There's apparently more to it, but Blaine doesn't care. He stops reading after the first paragraph.

Blaine is horrified by this, but also confused by how horrified he is. He believes to each his own (a mantra that he's had to sort of relearn and come to new terms with ever since he's joined the D/s community), and that consenting adults should be allowed to do what they want behind closed doors as long as they're not hurting anyone else. But there's so much wrong with this in his mind that he doesn't even know where to begin. First of all, making a man dress and act like a woman as a way to demean them disgusts Blaine beyond belief; being forced to become a ‘weak but sexy woman' as a form of humiliation flies in the face of everything he knows about the strength of women and of submissives. But what's worse is that this might have been Kurt's objective all along, but he kept that a secret from Blaine. Blaine doesn't mind humiliation – in fact, he thrives on it – when he knows he's being humiliated. He'd do anything for his Dom, for his Kurt, the man he loves, but he doesn't like the idea that Kurt was doing this behind his back for a laugh, especially after Blaine gushed about how beautiful the lingerie Kurt bought him was, how thankful he was to wear it and be this for Kurt.

Kurt had petted his hair and called him a good boy, all with a straight face.

It hurts Blaine to think hes been the butt of a joke. It cuts him too deep, reminds him too much of a few past relationships. Kurt knows about those things, those triggers, and that makes this hurt even more.

“God,” Kurt groans, walking up behind Blaine, sitting stupefied in front of his computer, “what in the hell are you looking at?”

“I…” Blaine glances at Kurt, then at the screen, then at his hands, not sure where he wants to look – at the vile images on the website; at the man he loves who might secretly be preparing to degrade him in a way he doesn't agree with; or at his own hands, fidgeting in his lap. He chooses his hands.

“Blaine” – Kurt crouches to find Blaine's eyes when he doesn't answer. “Blaine, what's wrong?”

If Blaine lies and says, “Nothing,” Kurt will know. He'll know, and he'll punish him, and he'll still expect Blaine to tell him, which Blaine will eventually, so there's no reason to hide it.

“Is this what you think of me, Sir?” Blaine asks, gaze lifting, eyes grazing across the screen before searching out Kurt's.

Kurt's forehead wrinkles, his brow dipping in the middle. “What do you mean, pet?”

“I mean, do you put me in lingerie because you enjoy treating me like them? You think I'm…a slut? A sissy?”

“Don't use that word, Blaine,” Kurt commands, “and no, that's not why I have you wear it. Blaine, as socially conscious as you are, I would think that you would find those websites and the information on them insulting – to men, to women, to everyone.”

“I do, Sir,” Blaine says firmly, but his voice starts to waver under the stern gaze of his Dom, even with Kurt on his knees.

“And do you really believe that I am the kind of man who subscribes to these types of insults and behavior?”

“No, Sir,” Blaine says, softly and with a bit of shame. “I don't. I mean, I didn't want to think so.”

“Good,” Kurt says. “Because I would never do that. I would never treat you that way, and I would never call you that name…ever.”

“So, why do you have me wear it, Sir?”

Kurt's gaze shifts from Blaine's eyes to his shirt, pinching his lower lip between his teeth as he starts to grin.

“Because I think it's beautiful,” Kurt says, running a finger underneath Blaine's shirt collar, catching a touch of satin on his fingertip. “I happen to think you look damn sexy in it, and I want that sexiness to empower you.” Kurt removes his hand from Blaine's shirt, a shiver along Blaine's collarbone chasing Kurt's touch. “But also to push your boundaries, have you do something that's uncomfortable for you, something you have to think about.” Kurt's hand hovers above Blaine's shirt, where a simple touch of his palm against Blaine's breast would press the silky material against his skin, teasing his already effected nipples, a feeling that would make Kurt need to have him now. But this discussion is too important to put off. “But if this is a hard limit for you, we can absolutely discuss it.”

“No, Sir,” Blaine says. “The lingerie isn't. Not having your respect” – Blaine side-eyes the image on the screen, then returns to his Dom – “that would be a hard limit for me.”

“Well, you don't have to worry then,” Kurt says, resting his forehead against Blaine's and kissing him gently, “because you'll always have it.”