A/N: Oh, god, he's at it again.

Under negotiated (read: not at all) punishment, Sawyer's usual awful BDSM practices, Gabriel being way too innocent for this shit and convincing himself of all the wrong stuff.

Look after yourselves.

Gabriel didn't have anything to do, and Sawyer was at work. The apartment was spotless, and he'd prepped dinner by nine am. He could play – practice – but he wasn't entirely in the mood. He had to kill some time though because, for some reason, he was feeling like he was bursting out of his skin.

He found his wallet in the pocket of his cello case, and a spare key in a porcelain bowl next to the door, and headed downstairs to find something to occupy himself with.

He didn't feel up to the subway, but there was a short strip of shops only a block away from Sawyer's apartment. It felt good to be outside. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it, by hiding away in Sawyer's apartment the last few weeks. Even before, he wouldn't have claimed he was someone who wanted to be out all the time, spending most of his free time practicing, but now he could see he'd used the ability to be out of the apartment more than he'd known. And this time with Sawyer had let him easily forget that. He'd been using it to hide, no doubt. But maybe this was a first step in getting back to normal.

He wished he had his phone. Ellis or River were probably the only two people he might tentatively call friends and they might be free, but he had no way of getting in touch with them. It was okay though. Just being outside, in the chilled bright mid-morning, where other people were, was enough for now.

It was a wealthy area, so there were the usual type of store in the little row: a tiny art gallery, a boutique women's clothing store, an independent bookstore, an Italian delicatessen, and an artisan coffee shop. It was perfect for Gabriel's needs. He wasted some time in the gallery, imagining what he'd buy if he suddenly because a world-famous musician, but left when the assistant looked as though they were going to have an aneurism if he took up any more of the oxygen. The bookstore was more of a success, and he found a biography of Luigi Boccherini, the famous cellist, and took it to the coffee shop, where he ordered a huge mug of hot chocolate and settled down to read.

He didn't know how long he'd been there, but at one point he looked up and realized it was quiet – the busy midday chatter that had subconsciously soothed him had stopped. He gathered his wallet and book and left, walking quicker than he had on the way there, telling himself it was only the lunch rush that had finished, he wasn't actually late, so he still had time to get the dinner finished before Sawyer got home.

He couldn't have explained why he felt a sense of dread, not until he entered the apartment and saw Sawyer standing by the couch – his arms folded across his chest and a furious scowl on his face.

"Where have you been?"

"J-just to the stores down there. I went to a coffee shop."

"I was worried." But he didn't sound worried. He sounded coldly furious.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you home."

"That certainly isn't an excuse. You must ask permission before you go anywhere that I'm not already aware of."

Gabriel blinked. It reminded him that Sawyer hadn't given his phone back, so he didn't know how he was supposed to ask, but it didn't seem like the time to mention that, while Sawyer's fists were tightening and his mouth was a thin line.

"Uh, yes Master."

"I think it would be appropriate to punish you for this."

Gabriel flinched reflexively. "But...I didn't know."

"Hmm, perhaps, but ignorance of the rules is not an excuse for breaking them."

That sounded all kinds of wrong. Surely not being aware of the rules was a perfect reason for breaking them. It wasn't as though he'd accidentally gone out and robbed a bank. He was a grown man. Why would he have been aware he wasn't meant to leave the house? But if Sawyer was really worried...he could see how he'd panic. And, so far, one thing that was clear was that Sawyer wasn't great at showing emotion. Gabriel had seen flashes where Sawyer had seemed to be really trying, but they were incidental bursts, not the norm.

Gabriel liked them, though, and didn't want to be the reason Sawyer was upset, especially not over something so small.

"Did you speak to anyone while you were out?"

"Um, the bookshop clerk. And a barista. Master."

"You didn't happen to run into anyone from school?"

"No, Master?"

Sawyer's face lost some of the angry grimace, but he still pulled his belt free from the loops in his pants before pointing at the couch.

"Get undressed, and bend over here."

Gabriel took his shirt off with trembling fingers. He hadn't hated being spanked the other day. But that had been Sawyer's hand, and, even if he'd been using a lot of force, he imagined that was nothing on a leather belt. He put his folded clothes on the coffee table and bent over the arm of the couch. Luckily it was high, so he could rest his hips against it.

"Put your hands by your face and stay completely still. While you're being punished, I expect no noise, except for you counting the strikes, and thanking me for each one. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master." He scrunched his fists by his chin, trying to relax the rest of his body, because he knew it would hurt less, but not succeeding much.

The first strike came without any further notice, and he shouted out.

"This is your only warning. Any more noise, other than counting, and I add a strike each time."

Gabriel was momentarily thankful, because he'd forgotten about the counting.

"One, thank you. Uh, Master."

"That's better."

He was more prepared for the next one, and managed to swallow down everything but a huff of air.

"Two, thank you, Master."

"Good boy."

Sawyer kept hitting, sometimes directly over the same spot as the one before, sometimes somewhere new. There were a couple to his upper thighs that made Gabriel see colors behind his closed eyelids, but throughout he managed to say his line, and he didn't shout out again. After fifteen he was having a different kind of problem. Each burning flow of the leather against his tender skin was making him want to moan. He couldn't help the slight tilt of his hips, his skin demanding more. Sawyer didn't say anything, but the next strike was definitely harder than the ones before, and he rubbed the leather over the building heat after it, Gabriel able to feel even the stitches of the belt as if each one was thick rope.

"Twenty, thank you, Master." Gabriel pressed his forehead into the couch cushion, hoping that was the last. Not for the pain. He could take more of that. But he wasn't going to be able to stay quiet any longer.

"Well," Sawyer said, resting his palm on the hot flesh he'd created, "I think it's apparent I'm going to have to do something much more than this if I want to have any hope of you considering being belted a punishment."

Gabriel stood, and he saw Sawyer's eyes travel down his body, his smirk getting wider. He glanced down and flushed at the sight of his achingly hard cock, the tip glistening.

"Well, that isn't the point of a punishment, is it?"

"No, Master. Sorry."

"No need to be sorry, but we do have to do something about it."

Gabriel waited, watching Sawyer move around – to the bureau drawer, then to the freezer.

"We need to get rid of this."

Without any further warning, he clamped his hand around Gabriel's cock, several ice cubes held in his palm. He hadn't said anything about noise, so Gabriel let himself shout out. It hurt, and not the good kind, but at least he went soft quickly.

He wasn't expecting the cage on top of everything else. It was black, and looked like it was made of a flexible plastic or something. It had lube in it, but it was small for him, and Sawyer struggled, but he didn't stop until it had clicked shut. There was something about it that made Gabriel's stomach clench pleasurably – being locked away. Not in control of his body. Even the thought threatened to make him hard again, but the cage prevented it. It didn't hurt, but it felt strange, pressing against the immovable material until the pressure forced his erection to dwindle.

"You'll wear it for an hour, and remember that your pleasure belongs to me now."

Gabriel shuddered. "Yes, Master."

"You're a good boy. You did well, darling."

Gabriel beamed, his eyes closing for a moment as a tightness he didn't know he'd been holding in his chest lightened. 

A/N: soooo, do you think Sawyer's gonna have a change of heart and improve his Domination method? (wheeze)

I am wondering what you think Sawyer might do next. Does Gabe have a line that Sawyer can cross, I wonder?

BTW I am doing 2 x ONC novellas for the ONC 2021 challenge. They aren't the same style as La Maison (at all), but I hope they're going to be lovely - add them to your libraries if they intrigue you at all (at today, the first chapter of The Patience of Ashes is live (kind of mystery/thriller, but pretty soft, if you ignore all the dead people), and the other will be added probably at the weekend)