Chapter 6

Chapter Text

They spent much of the days that followed just learning how to live with each other. Brian was not used to having another person invading his space and Justin was getting used to living within the confines of a submissive role. Neither was an easy transition for the two men. Justin liked that Brian wanted to take care of him, to see to his needs, but at the same time, he was used to doing things for himself, making his own choices. Now, he had to defer to Brian. If he wanted to just veg out in front of the TV instead of doing his school assignments, Brian was there to remind him that he was not the one who decided those things.

"The rule is, schoolwork first," Brian reminded him for the third time on Friday. Justin glared. He grabbed his text books and stomped over to the desk with more attitude than a queen in high drama. Brian growled. "Justin, get your bubble butt over here. Now!"

Justin looked surprised, but obeyed without a word. He set his books down and went to where Brian was sitting on the sofa and reading through some files for work.

"Kneel," Brian commanded.

Justin dropped to his knees and assumed the position that Brian had taught him on their second night together. His arms were behind his back and his hands clasped the opposite wrist. His knees were hip width apart and his back was straight. He hung his head and kept his eyes diverted out of respect. Brian looked over his posture for a moment. When he was satisfied that Justin was properly positioned, he picked up the file he had been reading and went back to work.

For the next twenty minutes, the only sound or movement in the room was the turning of pages and the scratch of pen against paper. Brian didn't acknowledge or even look at Justin again.

Justin, on the other hand, was reeling. His mind was in over drive. He had displeased Brian. He had pouted and stomped around like a two-year-old having a tantrum just because Brian wanted him to do his work. It wasn't a great way to behave. At the same time, Justin was surprised that Brian hadn't punished him right away. Was he going to wait and do it later? Would it hurt? Justin had never been spanked or caned. His parents had never spanked him and he'd been a good student and had never earned a caning at school. He had imagined being punished in his fantasies, but how would the reality compare? If he had to be honest, he was scared. Scared of the pain, but even more than that he was scared that Brian would reject him again.

When Brian finally set his work aside and looked back at Justin, the sub was a wreck. He had tears running down his cheeks and his breathing was hitched and uneven. "Hey, Princess. What's all this about?" He ran his hand down Justin's cheek and lifted his chin so that the sub would be forced to look him in the eye.

Justin tried to pull himself together, but couldn't. "I-I'm s-sorry! I was being a twat. I promise, I'll try to do better. Please don't send me away!"

Brian frowned but stroked Justin's cheek and hair in a soothing manner. "I'm not going to send you away. We're stuck with each other, remember? Besides, you were being an annoying little shit, but that's not a capital offence. I'm not going to cane you or send you away for something like that."

Justin hiccoughed twice and tried to get his breathing back under control. Brian took pity on him and pulled him over to his feet. Soon Justin was situated on the floor at Brian's feet, his head resting against Brian's legs. Brian continued to card his fingers through Justin's hair until the younger man was calm and clear headed again.

Without moving from their comfortable positions, Brian began to speak in a clear and calm tone. "Justin, there will be times when you do something that blatantly defies the rules I have set for you. When that happens, I will punish you appropriately. By that I mean, I will either spank you or cane you. But it would have to be pretty bad for me to cane you. And when it is over, I will take care of you until you are feeling better. I do not expect that you be perfect. And I will not send you away for some minor irritation. Fuck, Justin. If I did that, I wouldn't have any friends left. Mikey's the most irritating man I know at times. When you do something like what you did today, something that isn't outright defiance, I will make you stop what you are doing and take a time out."

"Like a kid sitting in the corner," Justin muttered.

Brian chuckled. "Just like that. You needed to stop and think about what you were doing and adjust your attitude. That was why I had you kneel. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Justin sighed and nuzzled his face into Brian's thigh. This was good. Not just the reassuring words, but the feeling of safety and utter contentment that came from having Brian pet him.

Brian smirked and shoved Justin away. "Good. So go do your homework." Brian got up and headed towards the door, grabbing his jacket on the way.

Justin got to his feet and frowned. "Where are you going?"

"To the store," Brian said. "Unlike you, I've finished my homework. And we need more supplies. I'll only be an hour. If you are good and finish your work before I get back, I might just have to reward you."

Justin's face lit up. He liked Brian's rewards. "A reward? What kind?"

"Do your homework and you'll find out," Brian said as he opened the door. "Bye, Princess." Then the door was closing behind him and Brian was gone.

Justin felt his absence like a hole in his gut, but it wasn't as bad or as painful as it had been before. This was the first time Brian had left him since they had reconnected on Tuesday. Justin decided that he really didn't like it, but he could live with this feeling, as long as he knew that Brian would be back.

Justin looked at the desk and then at the TV. With a sigh, he went to the desk and opened his Calculus text to the right chapter.

BJBJBJBJBJ

"Finished!" Justin announced happily when Brian arrived back at the loft a little over an hour later.

"Do I need to check your work?" Brian asked smugly as he set the groceries on the counter and Justin began to help him put the food away.

"You can if you want," Just said with an innocent smile. "Do you know much about Calculus, Advanced Chemistry or Latin?"

Brian glared. "I'll have you know I did very well in Calculus and Chemistry when I was in school."

"I'm sure you were," Justin said. "How much of it do you actually remember?"

Brian scowled and left Justin to put the groceries away while he went over to the desk to look at Justin's homework. He would never admit it to the little twink, but he really didn't remember any of the shit on the papers there. What the hell was this shit? "What the hell is this shit?" Brian asked out loud.

Justin chuckled and walked over to the desk. He took the chemistry paper from Brian's hands and said, "This is Advanced Placement Chemistry. We cover everything that a college course would cover. At the end of the year, I'll take a test, and if I pass, whatever school I choose will take this as credit. Same with my Calculus BC, Latin, Art History, World History, Computer Science, English Literature, and Computer Science courses. I took the test for AP Biology, U.S. History, English Language, Physics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Government and Politics, Psychology and Studio Art either last year or the year before. That's 57 credits. Basically, when I start college, I'll have all of my general education requirements covered. It will take almost two years off of school."

Brian's brow furrowed. "So you've been taking college level courses since your sophomore year of high school?"

"Yep," Justin said as he put the paper back down with his other homework.

Brian stared at his little bubble-butted sub. "Just how smart are you?"

Justin shrugged. "It's not that big a deal. Other students were taking AP classes sophomore year. It's because I went to a private school. Money buys a lot."

"How many AP classes did those other students take their sophomore year?" Brian asked, then stuck his tongue in his cheek as he waited for an answer.

Justin fiddled with the stack of papers. "Um. I'm not sure."

"Justin…"

"Okay," Justin sighed. "One. There were one or two who took two."

"And you took five your sophomore and junior years, and eight in your senior year," Brian said.

"I told you I'm a good student," Justin said.

"I guess so," Brian said with a sigh. "Let's sit down. We need to talk about your future." They went to the sitting area and Brian pulled Justin onto the sofa beside him. He wanted this to be a face to face discussion, and that couldn't happen with Justin on the floor at his feet. "Have you thought about what you want to do about college?"

Justin shrugged. "It will have to be around here since this is where you are."

"That's not what I asked," Brian said.

"Yeah," Justin sighed. "Okay, yeah. I want to go to Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Art. But…but my grades won't count for much with them. I mean, they're important, but they also look at your art portfolio. They're one of the most prestigious art schools in the country."

Brian nodded. "Okay. What will it take to get you in? What do they need? Have you started putting together your portfolio?" Justin stared wide-eyed at Brian. "What?"

"You… I mean, you'd let me go there? You'd let me study to be an artist?" Justin asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Brian asked.

Justin shook his head. "I don't know. Um, it's just, my dad insisted that I go to Columbia or Dartmouth or Carnegie Melon to study business. Mom wanted me to become a doctor and go to an Ivy League school."

"Yeah, well, that explains the economics courses and all the science classes. Justin, I don't give a fuck what you do, or where you go to school," Brian said vehemently. "This is your decision and yours alone. What I do care about is that you do your best at whatever you decide. If you want to be an artist, be an artist. But be the best damned artist you can be."

"What about money?" Justin asked. "Most people are more concerned with making a decent salary."

Brian smirked. "If you are the best, you will make money no matter what career you choose. Look at me. I make a top salary, comparable to the New York ad execs, plus commission bonuses because I'm the best at what I do. Most people my age are just getting their feet wet in the baby pool. I've been swimming in the deep end for years."

Justin nodded and looked at Brian. "You should start your own company. From everything you've told me, your agency wouldn't have shit without you. And whatever they pay you, it can't be as much as you could make for yourself."

Brian's left brow rose and he smirked. "I'll keep that in mind. For now, however, we were discussing your college career. What do you need to do to get in?"

Justin got up from the sofa and went over to the desk to grab his laptop, and then returned to sit next to Brian. He pulled up a website that listed and rated all the colleges in the U.S. He signed into his account and pulled up his list of favorites. The first on that list was PIFA.

"Okay, only about 15% of the students who apply are accepted," Justin said. "With that in mind, they require a minimum of 600 on each of the three SAT tests: Math, Writing and Critical Reading. They also require the submission of an application essay and a portfolio. But those are the bare minimum requirements. This website suggests that in order to have a chance of being accepted, you need closer to 700 on each of the test, a minimum of 3.7 for your high school GPA, participation in extra curricular activities, preferably some sort of outreach or volunteering, and a flawless portfolio."

Brian whistled. "Wow. All that for an art school? I knew PIFA was good, but that sounds more like you are trying to get into that Ivy League."

"I know," Justin sighed. "I'll have to use Pitt, Duquesne, and Carnegie Mellon as my back up schools."

"Okay, let's look at this one item at a time," Brian said. "SAT's. Have you taken them yet?"

Justin shook his head. "Not yet. I'm signed up to take them in November."

"Okay," Brian nodded. "I don't think you should have a problem with them, but we'll sign you up for prep classes just to make sure you do your best. Those classes usually have good advice about how to make the most of your knowledge. Okay, next: your GPA."

"No problems there," Justin said. "AP courses are weighted higher than normal courses. My GPA is actually about a 4.5. Without the weighting, I've got 3.9."

"Good." Brian said with a nod. "What about extracurricular activities?"

"I've been taking art courses after school since I was five," Justin said. "On top of that, there have been dance classes, music lessons, and self-defense classes. On the more socially relevant side, I organized the annual fundraiser for homeless relief at school for the last three years. I'm also a member of National Honor Society."

"So all that's left is your portfolio and the application," Brian said. "But if you've been taking art lessons since you were a kid, you should have a decent portfolio built up."

Justin shrugged. "It's okay."

"Any awards in there?" Brian asked.

"One or two," Justin told him. "Nothing major."

"You are going to have to stop being modest and learn to sell yourself if you want to get into this school," Brian huffed. "I'll help you with the application essay, but you'll have to face the interview alone with your work. You need to make the interviewer believe that you are the best thing since sliced bread. Without sounding conceited. We'll practice that too."

"Why are you doing all this?" Justin asked suddenly.

Brian looked surprised by the question. "Because you are mine. I take care of what is mine."