"But..." I protested as I slid down the side of the couch to sit in a heap on the carpet.

"No buts Lukas. If I do not punish you, then you will not learn what is acceptable behaviour." He growled as he ignored me and watched the television.

"Dogs do sit on the couch." I mumbled in frustration. He gave me a look that spoke a little of derision.

"Bad dogs don't. You have been disobedient, and you stink from running around all evening." He raised a brow at me and I dropped my head to stare at the floor. I sighed. I had hoped that just cleaning up quickly would be good enough to put me back in his good graces.

We sat in silence as I thought about his words from earlier. He said he didn't just want the place spotless, he needed it. Thinking about the way he worked and his routines, maybe he had OCD or something? I guess I could kind of understand that.

It was originally his space. I had invited myself into it when I left my home and followed him here. He didn't have to have me stay. He could have said I was on my own and left me to figure it out. He didn't. He took me in and just set me some rules for living here. Rules I broke.

"I really am sorry Sasha Sir." I said painfully choked up. I didn't want him to kick me out. I didn't mean to upset him. I really did plan to clean everything up earlier. I felt his hand on my head, gently threading his fingers in my hair and felt the sob strangle out of my throat.

"I know you are Lukas. Just bear with your punishment like a good boy. Come here." He pulled my hair with his fingers to set my head on his thigh and stroked my head softly as I wept on it.

I let the tears fall onto his warm flannel pajama pants and sniffled until they subsided. Then I left my head there on his leg with my eyes closed, enjoying being petted. I was desperate for his warmth. I needed his touch. However I could get it was fine with me.

"Come on Lukas, time for bed." His deep voice roused me out of the almost trance-like state I had fallen into with his petting.

"Yes Sir." I yawned and got up to follow him as he shut off the lights and climbed the stairs. When we reached the bedroom, I frowned at the sight of a sleeping bag and roll away mat on the floor at the end of the bed.

He climbed into the wide expanse of comfort as I dropped on the unzipped makeshift bed. A feeling in my gut made me a little sick to my stomach. I hadn't slept anywhere but in his arms at night. Actually I was pretty sure I had never slept anywhere but on a bed before.

This was not going to be fun. Even when I went away to camp they had cabins with rooms and beds inside. I didn't do the outdoors, and I definitely didn't do sleeping on the ground.

I climbed inside the bag and laid out on the mat. It was thin and had little cushion. The comfortable wrap was at least warm and soft. When I shifted slightly though, it made a little shuffling noise. I tried to lay still on my back as I stared at the ceiling.

"Goodnight Lukas." The words floated through the dark room as the side lamp clicked off. I wasn't used to not having him press against me so I could hear his breathing slow.

"Goodnight Sir." I whispered, alone in the dark.

Maybe if there had been a clock ticking then I could have been lulled to sleep. Or if he had continued to stroke my head then I might have drifted back to slumbering. There was nothing but darkness and silence.

Nothing but my mind thinking over my stupidity at falling asleep on the couch instead of just doing what I needed to get done. If only I had gotten up and cleaned for an hour or so, then I'd be a few feet away wrapped in his arms.

I could see the night play out differently in my head. It would be like any other night, when he came home and gave me a hug. He would smile at me. We would cuddle on the couch.

My stomach grumbled with the long stretch between when I ate last and that moment. I knew I shouldn't eat this late at night. I got up and tip toed to the washroom. The glass next to the sink was filled with water from the tap slowly to keep quiet.

I drank it down greedily. Then I rinsed the cup and put it back where it belonged. I didn't want to go back to sleep on the floor, but I made my feet take me there and looked over at the sleeping form in the bed.

He was shifted over to the middle of the bed with his arm out, as though to hug me. I bit my lip and dropped back to my mat. I laid on the hard floor again. I pulled the cover up to my chin and sighed.

I counted sheep. I counted llamas. I counted elephants. I wasn't sure when I drifted off to sleep, but it didn't feel like enough rest when his alarm went off in the morning. My back was stiff. My arm was asleep. My butt hurt, and not the way I was hoping it would staying here.

"Take your shower while I make breakfast." Sasha said with a nudge to my side. I groaned and rolled over to look up at him.

"I can't move." I said groggily. He smirked.

"Think of that the next time you make a mess." He quipped before leaving the room. I sighed and yawned without moving from my sprawl on the floor. It was too hard to go back to sleep on the floor. The tingles in my arm subsided.

I got to my feet and traipsed into the washroom. I ran the hot water and scrubbed myself clean. I felt a little better after having the steaming massage on my back. I stretched and turned off the spray.

I put on some simple comfortable clothes and ran down the stairs. When I walked in the kitchen, I stopped short. My eyes bugged out as I saw one place at the table set. I looked at Sasha in confusion. He glanced at me and then plated the bacon and eggs.

There were two plates to my relief. I looked back at the table in a muddle. If there were two plates, but one place setting...? Sasha answered the question as he brought the plates to the table. One sat on the top, and he bent over to put one on the floor.

Oh. Really though? I raised a brow at him and he crossed his arms unmovable. I looked at the plate on the floor with some amount of embarrassment. He expected me to eat on the floor? He didn't even give me a fork!

"Eat." He said sternly. He sat at the table and began to eat his breakfast. I sidled over and looked down at my food grumpily. I flopped on the floor, my body still stiff from the uncomfortable bed I had slept on.

"How? You didn't give me a fork." I grouched. He gave me a look.

"You have hands. Figure it out." He snarked back. I huffed and picked up the plate to set on my lap. "Leave it on the floor."

"But...!" I looked up at his angry face and set it back on the floor. Now I was getting angry. How the hell did he expect me to eat?

"Like a dog, Lukas." He answered my unspoken question and I blushed with shame. I stared at the food with hatred. I was starving though. I hadn't eaten in so long that my stomach was doing flips. I growled to myself and got down on my stomach, laying next to the plate.

It smelled so good. I inhaled the sweet fragrance of the food and then tentatively worked a bite of it into my mouth with my fingers and lips. It was heavenly. I moaned a little while I chewed it.

Then I just about 'inhaled' the rest. It was gone so quickly that I wondered if I had imagined it. I am ashamed to admit I licked the plate clean. When I looked up again, Sasha was finished and watching me with an unreadable look.

I moved to get up, but he put his foot up and pushed me back down with it. Stepping on me. I frowned and stared up at him. He reached down and grabbed my plate, holding it in front of my face.

"Did you enjoy it?" He asked seriously. I gulped.

"The food was good. Thank you Sir. I didn't like how you made me eat it." I said with a pout.

"Oh? You don't like eating on the floor?" He asked me without inflection.

"No. I don't like sleeping on the floor either." I told him, glaring at him slightly. I hated his foot on my back even more than both of those. I tried to push it off, but it pressed me down.

"Why don't you like it?" He asked me, watching my face. I was getting frustrated.

"I don't know, because I'm not a dog?" I growled testily. He frowned and ignored my attempts to push up.

"And? What does that matter? Why don't you like it?" He insisted. I finally rolled to the side, and he pushed me onto my back straddling me. I looked up at him and he patiently looked down at me. My back hurt with him pressing me into the hard kitchen tiles.

"It's uncomfortable! I hate it and it makes me feel bad." I yelled at him. He looked down at me in triumph. The twinkle in his eye caught me off guard. He bent over and pressed his forehead to mine, staring into my eyes.

"Exactly. Remember this feeling Lukas. This is how you made me feel. When I came home last night and my home was... a disaster." I gulped. He sighed and pulled away. I watched him get up off me and hold out his hand to me.

I took it and he pulled me to my feet. His dismissive stance as he moved to put the dishes in the sink hurt my heart a little. Had I really made him feel that bad? I didn't think it was a big deal... but if it really meant that much to him.

"Ah, I'll do the dishes. You can go ahead." I reached out a hand to stop him. He looked over at me with a tired face and nodded without saying anything. I watched him leave the room with a pain in my chest.

I scrubbed the dishes and put them in the drainer to dry. As I was leaving after I finished, Sasha came downstairs in his work suit. I looked up at him hesitantly and then directed my eyes to the floor.

To my relief, he kissed my forehead before he went out the door.

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