7Author's Note: We've come to the end of our time with 'Miah and Charles. They still have other stories to tell us but for now, they've asked for a warm, fluffy ending - who am I to refuse such a thing? Hope you've enjoyed the story and I'm sure we'll see the boys again at some point.
Jeremiah looked up from the book he was reading when he heard rain hitting the window. He dropped the book on his lap and watched the water drip down the glass. Shifting slightly to get more comfortable, Jeremiah contemplated the last two weeks.
Jeremiah hadn't gotten a run in for two weeks and the workouts the trainer put him through were just not the same. The workouts weren't bad, in fact they'd probably improved Jeremiah's overall fitness since they forced him to work muscles not normally used by running. Working out with Charles as a partner was a new experience as well. Running was very much a solitary activity and Jeremiah found he missed that aspect even though he found working out with a partner more fun than he thought he would.
The martial arts training were interesting. It could be very physical at times with the instructor forcing Jeremiah and Charles to the limits of their endurance and often beyond it. The non-physical parts of the training were mentally exhausting but brought a sense of peace. The meditations, slow and deliberate movements and stance holding forced Jeremiah and Charles to use their minds to master their thoughts and focus inwards on themselves. This was fascinating to Jeremiah and seemed to fill a hole in his life he didn't know he had.
The variety of training and the nights spent in Charles' arms left Jeremiah sore and stiff. He found that it had quickly gotten easier to rise from bed in the morning no matter how bad the aching. It could've been the fact that, after the first couple of days, Charles let him sleep in longer but Jeremiah thought most of it came from the fact that getting up for morning Tai Chi and meditation was required of him. It was easier to get up and work out the aches than it was to skip the sessions and deal with Charles' disappointment and punishments that forced him to have longer, more demanding sessions.
In between the training sessions Charles and Jeremiah spent time together getting to know each other again. They watched television and movies, listened to music, read to each other or just spent time curled up together. After the first week, Charles lifted Jeremiah's silence and they spent time talking about anything that caught their interest. Mostly they talked about their relationship: what they were thinking, feeling, wanting; what they expected of each other; how they wanted the future to go. They both felt that they were starting to understand each other in ways they hadn't before.
Although there were times that Jeremiah chafed under the new rules and restrictions, he found that he actually liked the new austerity. Jeremiah liked knowing what was expected of him every moment of the day. He liked knowing that if he overstepped his boundaries, he would be reminded of it and punished in a manner reflective of the infraction. Charles had previously never stuck with the rules before nor punished Jeremiah for disobeying. Jeremiah liked the fact that Charles was standing firm now. The punishments never passed Jeremiah's pain or comfort thresholds but they certainly pushed the boundaries at times. Jeremiah figured that Charles was taking the time to find all of Jeremiah's boundaries while everything was still in transition. He also knew that if they decided to keep things as they were, the punishments would probably become harsher but again, Jeremiah found he was okay with that.
Charles read the paper one last time before signing his name at the bottom. Looking up from his work, he realized it had started to rain. Knowing that Jeremiah was probably curled up somewhere reading, Charles picked up a stack of folders and went to find Jeremiah.
Charles couldn't help but feel a deep pulse of happiness when Jeremiah looked up and smiled at Charles as he walked into the room. Charles sat down in the chair across from Jeremiah and returned the smile.
"You're very beautiful sitting there with that dreamy look on your face Poppet." Charles commented softly.
Jeremiah blushed and looked down at the book on his lap. Charles had been more open with his affections and Jeremiah's heart leapt every time Charles made a comment like that.
Charles leaned forward and gently lifted Jeremiah's chin, "It's true, you know. You took my breathe away when I first saw you from the doorway."
"Thank you Master." Jeremiah said feeling shy all of a sudden. He felt like he had been transported back to when they had first started dating, when he'd blush and get shy whenever Charles spoke to him so lovingly.
Charles smiled and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on Jeremiah's lips.
"I love you."
"I love you too Poppet, very much."
Charles sat back in his chair then passed Jeremiah one of the folders he had placed on the arm of his chair.
"What's this?" Jeremiah asked curiously opening the folder.
"Our future, if you're interested." Charles said.
Jeremiah read through the papers in his hand. A small frown appeared as he took in the information. Looking up at Charles, Jeremiah said, "I don't understand, this says that we're partners in a management company with Oscar and Kit. When did we start a management company?"
"Right now. Jeremiah, I won't make this decision for you, this is too important. Oscar and I have discussed this for a while now and we feel that now is the right time to do this. With Kit's accounting, Oscar's marketing, my management skills and your design work, we can do this. But, I don't want this to be something you're forced to do. If you don't want to do this, if you won't be happy doing this, then I don't want you to do this. For this to work we need you committed to the project all the way, not hating the work but doing it because I said so."
"You really think we can do this?" Jeremiah asked.
"Yes Poppet, I think we can." Jeremiah replied, "In fact we have a client already lined up. They're a couple gentlemen who have taken over an older inn and want us to come in and set it up for them. We'd be doing everything from setting up their accounting files to hiring their management and front of line staff. You would get to design a logo, all the business stationary, working with Oscar on the marketing plans and, if you would like to, working with the interior designer to create a new design concept for the entire inn."
"Um, wow. What happens if I decide I'm not interested?"
"If you don't want to do it, we'll find someone else. You're our first choice Poppet, not because of our relationship but because of your talent. There are other's out there that we'd consider but none have your skills and talent." Charles explained.
Jeremiah looked up at Charles and watched his eyes for a moment. Jeremiah saw the confidence, the trust that Charles had for him. Charles truly believed that they could do this and succeed. Jeremiah grinned at Charles, "Where do I sign?"
Charles grinned back at Jeremiah and flipped the papers to the partnership agreement, pointing out the line for Jeremiah's signature.
Taking the folder back from Jeremiah, Charles handed him another one.
"What's this one?" Jeremiah asked playfully, "A new identity for me to go with the new career?"
Charles just smiled and shook his head.
Jeremiah opened up the folder and started reading. Charles heard the quick gasp and smiled as he watched Jeremiah quickly scan the papers in his hand.
"Is this…" Jeremiah stuttered staring at Charles blankly, "Is this what I think it is?"
"Yes Poppet, it is."
"This is a wedding itinerary. It says we're getting married in Hawaii. Are we getting married in Hawaii Charles?"
"I hope so." Charles said fervently, "Every single part of me is hoping that you say we are."
"Are you sure?" Jeremiah said quietly, "I mean, this past month has been… You really want to marry me?"
"With my entire heart Jeremiah, I want nothing more than to be your husband. We've spent every minute of the past two weeks together. I've watched as you relaxed around me again, as you opened yourself, as the joy returned to your eyes when you look at me. I fall in love with you every time you turn and look at me with. We'll still have times when we'll fight or forget each other. There'll be times when we'll get so wrapped up in living our lives that we'll get distracted and not give each other enough time, energy, whatever. But these past two weeks have shown me that we'll get through it all as long as we're together."
Charles got up, knelt in front of Jeremiah and took his hands in his own. "Jeremiah, what happened, it showed up that I can't live without you. I need you in my life. When I first gave you that collar, I did it because you asked. I never really put my whole into being a Master. I treated the whole thing like it was a quirk of yours, like it was nothing more than fun play. Something happened over these past two weeks that I didn't expect. I learned what it means to be a Master to you. I learned that I need to be your Master as much as you need to be my Pet. I need you to be my Pet, now and forever. Will you marry me Poppet?"
Jeremiah looked down at Charles with tears in his eyes. "As you wish Master."
Charles grinned and pulled Jeremiah up as he stood. He grabbed Jeremiah and pulled him into a hug. "I have some thing for you." Charles whispered into Jeremiah's ear.
Jeremiah pulled back and looked up at Charles with a questioning smile. Charles pulled back and reached into his pocket. He took out a ring and placed it on Jeremiah's finger. "It looks good. It looks right…but something's missing." Charles said looking Jeremiah over critically, "I know what you need. You need a new collar - one that shows your status as a claimed and mated Pet. We'll take care of that in the morning."
Jeremiah grinned at the idea of a new collar and the way the ring looked on his finger.
"For now though," Charles said with a smirk, "You have work to do."
"I do?"
"Yes, Jeremiah, you do." Charles said his smirk turning into a devilish grin, "Pet, come with me. We're going to have a long night ahead of us. You've got lots of work to do to ensure you're at your absolute best on our wedding night. We better start practicing now."
AN: Coming soon! The most defining moment for Luke Skywalker was destroying the Deathstar, for Albert Einstein it was discovering the theory of relativity, for Christopher Columbus it was finding North America, for Rosie Parks it was refusing to move to the end of the bus. I'm bored with the way my life is going and have decided to go on an adventure. Hopefully I'll find my Deathstar...