28. Volt #3
“Yeah. But I got a report a few days ago that Ben and Oliver filed a patent together, so it sounds like he’s okay.”
“That’s great, babe!” He knew that the news wouldn’t fully alleviate Wallace’s guilt over his part in the matter, but at least he no longer worried that he was a murderer. “Alright, where’s this nickel?”
“I think it’s still in my pocket from the pants I wore to work today. So, hanging over the back of the chair? Or maybe on my dresser. With the Orbit logo.”
Volt gave him one last smooch and moved toward the bedroom, leaving Wallace to find his tablet and figure out dinner.
His mind was still going thirty different ways. Pride in everything that Wallace had done today. Delight that they were going to look at pretty clothing.
And then, the unexpected mention of marriage. Could Wallace really want that some day? With him?
But there were so many steps in between. Like next week. What would it be like when Wallace wasn’t working any more? When he wasn’t stressed out and tired? When he could sleep in all day, and then put his newfound energy into a project that he loved?
When he, maybe, wouldn’t need a Daddy any more to help him eat and sleep and befriend his colleagues.
Would it be enough for Volt to only be his Daddy in the bedroom?
Volt would make it work, of course. If that was what Wallace needed.
But Volt was already starting to mourn the loss of their rules. Not that they couldn’t keep them in place, but what would be the point? Wallace could take a walk any time. He was already eating more healthfully. Without a wake-up time, his bedtime would be immaterial.
What did Wallace really need from him now?
Volt knew that Wallace enjoyed submitting, but did he need it like Volt did? Through every part of his day, like he needed charge in his battery?
Volt was already feeling unmoored without meaningful work to fill his hours, and Wallace felt like his last tether.
If he wasn’t Wallace’s Daddy, who was he?
He forced the question away as he found the pair of slightly-creased pants hanging over the chair in the bedroom and went through the pockets, half distracted.
Would Wallace still wear clothes like this?
Maybe this was something Volt could give him a little nudge on. Maybe make a new rule about wearing pretty clothes every day, even if they were hidden under other layers.
Volt tried the next pocket, and the next. There were only four, two in front and two in back. And while Volt found Wallace’s wallet, key fob, and a stick of gum, there didn’t seem to be a nickel drive anywhere.
Volt scanned the dresser and the floor. Maybe Wallace had put it somewhere else, or maybe it had fallen out and rolled away.
Yes, maybe he could make some rules about Wallace’s clothes. He loved the idea of it. It felt intimate. Exciting.
Would Wallace let him choose his clothing every day?
Could that be their new rule?
The idea hit him with a bolt of lust, but also that thread of insecurity. Would Wallace accept the idea? Would it give them both enough structure?
Or would Wallace think it was too overbearing?
Volt bent and looked under the dresser and then the bed, a flash of red catching his eye. He flattened to the floor and fished out the tiny metal circle hidden behind the bedpost.
Had Wallace said that the nickel drive had the Orbit logo on it?
Volt was almost sure he had, but he didn’t bother reviewing his short-term memory banks.
Maybe the nickel was supposed to be in or on something with the Orbit logo, like Wallace’s ID in his wallet.
Or maybe Wallace had forgotten which nickel drive he used, and it wasn’t like there were any others in the room.
This drive was pink with a red heart on it, and that rang a bell somewhere. He was pretty certain Wallace had described it, though he couldn’t remember when or why.
Really, it reminded Volt of the pink heart locket on the slinky titanium chain that he kept taking out of his closet and putting back. The collar that he was going to put on his baby’s neck as soon as he knew that the time was right.
When Wallace was really his. Maybe in a few months, when his pansy had figured out his new life, and decided if he still wanted Volt to be his Daddy.
Maybe that would give Volt enough time to figure himself out, too.
He rubbed his thumb over the nickel drive, thinking about choosing Wallace’s clothes. About making sure his baby still had rules. Something to keep Wallace in his life, even as his creampuff’s world expanded and his, hopefully, found a new path.
He figured that Wallace just wanted him to bring the nickel to some device in the living room, but he could just as easily insert the nickel into his own port and then cast it. Plus, he wanted a head start looking at the outfits.
Maybe this app—and everything it represented—could be the next stage of their relationship. Their new rules. A sweet way he could support his pretty pansy, indulge his kinks, and keep them bound together even when everything was changing.
Maybe it would be enough.
Volt popped open a port in his arm and slid it in.