Don smiles when he feels Marvelous’s tension starting to ease out of him. He hadn’t been certain that it would work at all - since when has touch ever made Marvelous less excited? - so he’s very happy to see Marvelous relax, and to hear him say that what Don is doing feels good.
“There, that’s it,” he murmurs, continuing to massage Marvelous with slow, soothing motions. It’s so good to see Marvelous actually resting, for once, even if it’s only for a minute. “You work so hard,” he says. “You take such good care of all of us, and I know it’s not easy. It’s okay if you need to rest sometimes; it doesn’t make you weak. There’s no shame in resting when you’re tired.” He gives Marvelous a gentle squeeze. “Didn’t you once tell me, ‘Just do what you can’? It goes for you, too, you know.” Don leans down to kiss the top of Marvelous’s head before going back to the massaging motions he’d been doing before, and taking the quiet calmness as a moment to think.
It’s good that Marvelous is relaxing with him, but it doesn’t entirely solve the problem. Marvelous had said that he’s exhausted of having so many responsibilities, and having to decide things all the time. Don had understood perfectly well about that; the comparison to everything that goes into preparing a meal had been particularly apt. But it’s not about being captain of the Galleon, exactly. What was it he’d said? I just think it would be nice to get away from that and have someone else make all the decisions for a change. Hypothetically. In a scenario where things weren't really real, but I could still get what I need.
The word scenario pings something in Don’s brain. He and Marvelous have done quite a bit of fantasy play lately, acting out scenarios that neither of them wants to actually happen in real life, but that are exciting and fun to play in a safe, controlled context. And what Marvelous had described sounds exactly like that. What he needs is a fantasy scenario where someone else is in charge, making all the decisions, and he can completely relax and enjoy the ride. Don blushes a little just thinking about it; they’ve never done power play that way before, but it certainly has a lot of potential to be enjoyable for them both. He knows he'd probably enjoy pushing Marvelous around a bit, without getting any argument back about it!
“So,” he says, stroking his hand up and down Marvelous’s arm, “what would you think if I told you I’d thought of a way you might be able to get away from all those pesky responsibilities and decisions for a while?” He slips his other hand down to stroke the shell of Marvelous's ear with his fingertips. "Would you want to hear about that?"
no subject
“There, that’s it,” he murmurs, continuing to massage Marvelous with slow, soothing motions. It’s so good to see Marvelous actually resting, for once, even if it’s only for a minute. “You work so hard,” he says. “You take such good care of all of us, and I know it’s not easy. It’s okay if you need to rest sometimes; it doesn’t make you weak. There’s no shame in resting when you’re tired.” He gives Marvelous a gentle squeeze. “Didn’t you once tell me, ‘Just do what you can’? It goes for you, too, you know.” Don leans down to kiss the top of Marvelous’s head before going back to the massaging motions he’d been doing before, and taking the quiet calmness as a moment to think.
It’s good that Marvelous is relaxing with him, but it doesn’t entirely solve the problem. Marvelous had said that he’s exhausted of having so many responsibilities, and having to decide things all the time. Don had understood perfectly well about that; the comparison to everything that goes into preparing a meal had been particularly apt. But it’s not about being captain of the Galleon, exactly. What was it he’d said? I just think it would be nice to get away from that and have someone else make all the decisions for a change. Hypothetically. In a scenario where things weren't really real, but I could still get what I need.
The word scenario pings something in Don’s brain. He and Marvelous have done quite a bit of fantasy play lately, acting out scenarios that neither of them wants to actually happen in real life, but that are exciting and fun to play in a safe, controlled context. And what Marvelous had described sounds exactly like that. What he needs is a fantasy scenario where someone else is in charge, making all the decisions, and he can completely relax and enjoy the ride. Don blushes a little just thinking about it; they’ve never done power play that way before, but it certainly has a lot of potential to be enjoyable for them both. He knows he'd probably enjoy pushing Marvelous around a bit, without getting any argument back about it!
“So,” he says, stroking his hand up and down Marvelous’s arm, “what would you think if I told you I’d thought of a way you might be able to get away from all those pesky responsibilities and decisions for a while?” He slips his other hand down to stroke the shell of Marvelous's ear with his fingertips. "Would you want to hear about that?"