Over the next few weeks, Sam makes it his mission to be good for Spencer. Show the man he learned his lesson and wanted to be good, even with the reassurance from Spencer that he was forgiven and his punishment ended as soon as the rice was thrown away. They had sat on the couch, cuddling and eating the takeout the man ordered. Sam was given a chocolate cheesecake and hot cocoa, both of which cheered him up. Moreso was the praise and kisses from Spencer, the Youtuber soothing the small indents from the rice in Sam's knees with soft kisses and lotion to help the faint ache and redness. He allowed the baker to pick anything he wanted to do, from trying some of the man's video games to simply laying on his chest, listening to Spencer breathe and his heartbeat.

The punishment did its job, Sam pays much more attention to the rules and sticks closer to the man when they're out. Sam wants to avoid the rice again, it had been painful and the mental punishment of feeling as if he disappointed Spencer messed with his mind slightly. He never wants Spencer to be upset with him, doesn't want to disappoint the man with his actions, and promises with such seriousness in his voice that he wouldn't do it again. It made Spencer proud, knowing Sam is beginning to feel dependent on him, more so than he had already.

The boy loathes the mere thought of breaking a rule now, the knowledge that his punishments could, and would, increase cemented into his mind to obey. Going through his rules each morning before class, staring at the paper now on the fridge, put there during his punishment. He memorizes each one, knowing new rules can be added and wanting to make sure he doesn't forget the first ones.

Spencer watches as his boy does this, silently leaning against the counter or wall, arms crossed as he studies how Sam repeats the words on the paper to himself in a mumble. He doesn't stop the baker, instead praising his newfound need to listen and pay attention. Kissing his head once Sam moves away from the paper, giving a firm squeeze to his nape. However, this doesn't mean the consequences of Sam's action leave entirely. The boy is no longer permitted to walk home by himself, being ordered to wait at the bakery once again for Spencer to pick him up. Sam pouted at the news, sad he wasn't able to keep such trust to walk by himself. He hadn't argued though, simply nodding and apologizing for breaking the rule.

Sam wasn't certain what to do at work, he didn't want to agree to Robin following him back home accidentally and he didn't want to be rude to his friend. He apologized for rushing his co-worker to leave, but Robin laughed and explained it was okay, expected even when it began to get dark with guests visiting. To Sam's relief, they still got along and worked effectively. Chatting and laughing, on breaks, Robin shows videos of the progress his little girl dog is making in training. Sam gushes about her, loving the adorable puppy and seeing her progress to learn new things.

Remembering how accomplished he and his boys felt during training, especially afterward. It's amazing to watch such a hyperactive puppy learn to calm down enough to listen, learn new things, and have fun while doing it. Shockingly, as Sam watches these videos, he is reminded of himself. Learning to be comfortable around Spencer, to trust him. He had learned to obey him with a simple look, a slight hand gesture at times, and how his voice changes. Being taught to stay when told, sit on command and speak when spoken to. He is always praised, given treats, and shown love as he does.

This realization didn't bother him, having seen certain similarities between his commands to his dog's training. At this point, he knows if Spencer put him in a line with his dogs and gave the order to sit and stay, he'd drop to his knees to sit, just as the dogs would. He wouldn't move from that spot unless told, it's a mere fact that he finds odd, yet pleasing. Spencer loves him, it's obvious and Sam loves him, he'd do whatever he was asked to show Spencer that and how much trust he has in the man. Maybe I'd even try that cage he bought.

It's a stray thought, one he considers the more it floats in his mind. I trust him. I love him. He'd take care of me, I know it. Just like he does when we play with the leash and I go into the fuzzy, bliss space. He doesn't mention this thought to Spencer just yet, merely casting glances at the folded-up cage when he and his Master are in the playroom. He thinks he's sneaky, failing to see Spencer's eyes on him the entire time and reading he is slowly becoming interested in trying the cage. The man waits, doesn't bring attention to the growing interest; waits for his boy to come to him and ask.

It comes to a head at the bakery one rainy day, Sam is closing with Robin. Chatting happily about getting home to watch a movie or sit with a crackling fire channel on the tv with a book, gushing about the new fictional book Spencer gifted him. Robin grins, leaning against the checkout counter, and listens. It's when Sam jumps up on the counter next to the register, checking his phone that there's a comfortable lull to the conversation. Messaging Spencer that he just closed shop and smiling at the news that the man is on his way in the car. Robin hesitates, seeing his friend in such a good mood makes him rethink his decision to ask what he urgently wants to ask. He is aware he doesn't have time to wait, Sam's boyfriend will be here any minute by car and he can't have Sam leave without asking.

"Hey, Sammy?" The man steels himself for the worst-case scenario, hoping Sam doesn't see his questions as an attack on his relationship.

His friend turns to him, smiling. "Yeah? What's up?"

Swallowing his nerves, he slowly asks. "Can you tell me about your relationship? I'm not gonna say anything, I'm just curious."

Instantly, Sam's smile slowly vanishes into a small frown, head tilting. "Why? You don't seem to really like Spencer, considering that one time."

Robin winces, knowing he should've expected that. "I swear, I won't say anything bad. I'm just, I wanna know more about your relationship because you always seem so happy with him. Maybe if I learn, my opinion will change. You're my friend, Sam, I don't wanna have to avoid you talking about Spencer in fear of me mocking you or insulting him. You shouldn't need to block out your relationship."

Glancing down at his lap to the phone in his hands, Sam hesitates. "I don't know..."

Sliding closer to his friend, the man nudges the other baker's upper arm softly. "C'mon, you don't wanna tell me what Spencer does to make you so happy and trustful of him? Brag to me, Sammy."

The man is aware he is pushing, possibly in a manipulative way, but he wants to know if what he had read on the internet about power exchange relationships applies here or if this is a completely different situation. Even if Sam does mention some kind of sign he is in that kind of relationship, he could still be in danger of being abused. He had read that there were hundreds of ways such relationships could go wrong, people can take advantage and use the kinks or trust against the other person.

"I am happy, but.." Sam is struggling, he wants to be able to talk freely about his boyfriend to his friend, not wanting to avoid even mentioning Spencer in conversation. It's disheartening when he goes to tell Robin a kind thing the older man did for him, yet remember's his friend doesn't like Spencer.

However, no matter how much he wants to ramble about his partner, he remembers his rules. Spencer enjoys privacy, unless the man is here and is comfortable with Sam sharing details of their life, he doesn't think he should. Robin doesn't appear to want to let it go, though. "Sammy, I know you wanna tell me. It's okay, I won't tell your business to anyone else if you're worried about that. I just wanna get to know my friend better, especially when I stupidly ruined that for you."

Sam sighs, nibbling at his bottom lip, momentarily forgetting Spencer doesn't like him doing it. 'You'll ruin your pretty lips and then where will I kiss you?' Then he shrugs, taking a glimpse out the big window to see when Spencer would get here. This situation is vaguely uncomfortable and he isn't certain what to do. Spencer would guide him, take control of this or simply take him home away from it. "It isn't that. I- I trust you, but I don't know if I should. Spencer values our privacy and I think he'll be very upset if I told you about us without him here."

This doesn't necessarily mean anything, Robin reasons, a lot of people like their privacy. Yet he also knows this could be Spencer's way of preventing Sam from accidentally outing him as an abuser or people being suspicious of his actions. He wishes he could wholeheartedly believe the man wasn't a danger, but the first introduction to him doesn't settle the co-workers' worry. "How about you just tell me your favorite things about him, or what he does? Surely that won't be bad."

"My favorite things?" This is uncertain, and doubtful whether that would breach their privacy or not.

Grinning, Robins nods. "Yeah! Like, my favorite thing about Rose is that she'll take no shit from me if I have a bad day and be snappy with her. She'll tell me off. Remind me I shouldn't come home in such a mood then help me relax."

Slowly, Sam nods along. Thinks that doesn't sound too bad, certainly not breaching the privacy of his friend's relationship. "Oh. Okay, that doesn't seem too bad. That's nice of her, not getting upset with you."

"See? So, what about Spencer is your favorite? Or anything he does?" Headlights coming through the window make Robin tense slightly, watching from the corner of his eye as the lights cut through the thick rain and building fog. They slow down and he curses mentally as the car stops, sitting in a parked position in front of the bakery.

Sam doesn't notice just yet, thinking about everything he likes that Spencer does. "Well..I like that he takes care of me. He makes sure I eat and go to sleep at a good time. The dogs adore him! That's always good. Um... he doesn't want me to get hurt on walks and always walks closer to the road and holds my hand."

Robin listens attentively, letting Sam go through a list of what Spencer does. As he does, the man compares certain things to what he read online about Dominants, the one that apparently takes responsibility for most things in a relationship with power exchanges from what he gathered. Spencer doesn't let Sam slack off on things, and tries to protect him from even little things. It has similarities, but he can't understand if his friend is in a dynamic or not. Until Sam lowers his guard slightly to forget his words, accidentally saying more than he means to.

"Oh! I love when he plays with me, he always lets me pick what we do and it's so fun! I never thought I could do that! And it's never sexual or anything like the internet says. It still blows my mind a little bit." Sam's eyes are wide, awe in his voice as he stares at the opposite wall as if completely forgetting his surroundings. Yet Robin can see the joy and bliss the man brings his friend, it's painfully obvious he doesn't feel in danger.

Okay. So, definitely, something is happening and it isn't against Sam's will or hurting him. "What do you mean?"

"Huh? What? Sorry, I was thinking and got distracted, I guess I really did wanna talk about him with you." Sam giggles, having no clue what he had said other than it was something he loved.

"You said he played with you, I'm just wondering what that means. Like, with the dogs?" He knows it isn't with the animals, if so, Sam would've said that bluntly.

Suddenly, the baker blushes a deep red and he avoids all eye contact. Shaking his head quickly, sheepishly. "Uh... No- No I didn't. I never said that. But anyway, how is -"

The door opens before Robin can push for more, the man instantly sliding a safe distance away from his friend at the sight of Spencer stepping inside the building. He has an umbrella, although it appears he hadn't used it as his jacket is wet and his red hair is dripping. He doesn't seem to care, amber eyes zeroing in on Robin, Sam's flushed face, and witnessing the co-worker moving quickly away from his boy. He had caught the stuttered words Sam said as he opened the door and he had watched them interact from the car, the counter directly in front of the large window.

Seeing Sam so nervous and uncertain, both of which he has trained himself to spot, made him sure that Robin was yet again testing the Youtubers' patience. The co-worker notices the man's amber eyes darken, glaring at him with an intensity that could kill. He quickly looks away, to Sam who had grinned the moment he turned to the door.

"Spence!" Jumping off the counter, he runs over to hug the taller man around his slim waist, uncaring of the rain on him.

Averting his eyes from the man at the counter to his puppy, Spencer chuckles and curls his arms around Sam, lifting him off his feet for a moment to hear the shocked squeal and laughter. "Hey, Baby. How was your day?"

Back on his feet, Sam grins up at his boyfriend, forgetting the conversation he was having. "It was slow, but we got some orders done. It was good. How was yours? Did anything happen today?"

Spencer shakes his head, leaning his torso down slightly to kiss the boy's head. Pulling back to bring a hand to caress Sam's cheek, fingers hooked softly around his jaw and lightly swipe his thumb along the red tint of melting flush on the skin. "Nah, nothing exciting. Why are you so red, Pretty Boy? Did something happen here?"

At the action and question, the heat flares back to life on the student's cheeks, giggling shyly as he leans into the hand in an attempt to hide. "No, Robin and I were just talking as I waited for you."

He feels the hum this gets, the man's chest vaguely vibrating with the sound and traveling through to Sam being as close as they are. "That right? Wanna tell me what it was about, what got you so prettily red?"

The baker feels his skin heat up even more, the intense look in the man's eyes as he stares down at him telling him to answer. He is speaking before he fully thinks through a sentence. "I was telling him my favorite things about you."

The smirk he receives makes him smile, inching closer. His entire focus is on Spencer, his mind and eyes tunnel-visioned on the older man. Everything around them doesn't matter, it's irrelevant and bland. Spencer's warmth, his steady and sturdy body against his, those dark eyes. He doesn't care about anything else at the moment.

Spencer knows exactly how Sam is staring at him, wide gray eyes glazed over with something akin to worship. It makes his chest fill with pride, the thought that Sam now loves him enough to possibly obey anything he says or commands of him, filling him with a power he never had before. He won't take advantage of Sam, but he will use that to help further their relationship.

Unfortunately, the man at the counter decides to interrupt them. Robin had watched the interaction with the new knowledge that Spencer does indeed care much more than he thought, and he can see it. However, he is curious about what he does exactly to make Sam react in just an intense way. It doesn't seem healthy to look at another person like they're the ones that created land and sea, and that's exactly how Sam stares up at Spencer. His entire surroundings are gone from his vision, Robin doubts he even remembers he is at work.

"He just mentioned something about playing and I was curious, that's why he's red. I think I embarrassed him." As soon as he opens his mouth, Spencer glares at him again, and Sam jerks nearly violently, body jumping even closer to the man.

Sam quickly shakes his head, suddenly nervous Spencer will think he had purposely spoken about them playing during headspace sessions with the leash and stuffed toys. "I didn't mean to! I'm not even sure what I said!"

Robin raises an eyebrow at the abrupt blurt as if Sam needed Spencer to know he hadn't meant to say such a thing, nervous about the man's reaction. Spencer glances down at his boy, only seeing anxious wide eyes, and understands he may think this could earn a punishment. Sliding his hand up to the boy's nape, he squeezes firmly and feels Sam relax nearly instantly.

"I understand, Baby. Why don't you go get your jacket? We'll go home, and cook something for us to eat." Sam blinks, having not expected it, but it's said unarguably, sternly and he rushes to obey.

The moment Sam disappears behind the kitchen door, Robin jumps away from the counter when Spencer suddenly appears in front of him, eyes the darkest he had ever seen on someone. It's intimidating, terrifying. The man towered over him like a wrathful lion, amber eyes practically black. The man is tense, fists clenched and there are thick lines of veins along his hands that disappear into the dark, wet jacket he wears. He is scowling angrily, and when he slams his fist on the counter, Robin stumbles back into the glass display behind him.

"You fucking better stay out of our damn business before I do something we'd both regret. I'm sick of you getting into his fucking head, one more time, and I will deal with you myself." It's said in a growling, barbaric voice that sends shivers down the receiver's spine.

Then, all at once, he switches. Sam comes bouncing back out, none the wiser, and straight into the man's outstretched arm to be hugged into his chest. Sam waves at Robin, eyes focused on his boyfriend who guides him to the door. Before he steps out into the rain, Spencer opens the umbrella and holds it over Sam, looking back to send another strong glare at the co-worker.

Robin slowly lets himself slide to the floor, trying to calm his pounding heart.