Chapter Text
Mark was laughing as he tossed away sex toy packaging, cleaning up his kitchen from the absolute disaster of a video they'd just filmed. "Talk about an interesting start to the year." Beside him Ethan gave something akin to a snort and a chuckle while he washed the dishes. Mark felt a fondness in his chest watching the younger man move, this kid became someone so important so quickly and easily it sometimes scares him. There's no other YouTuber he'd want to do this journey with more, Ethan gets him and his comedy in ways other friends of his just haven't.
"Who doesn't start their year long project with softcore BDSM feeding porn?" Ethan chuckled, drying the pan he'd just finished cleaning. Mark cocked his head, curiosity overtaking him as he spoke up.
"Wait is that something someone would actually get off to?" Chuckling giggles peppering his sentence between words. To his surprise, Ethan wasn't laughing and simply shrugged.
"I mean, it's not my thing and we were definitely being more funny than anything but yeah I'm sure someone will get off to it." Towards the end, Ethan's sentence fell off into a laugh shrugging his slender shoulders.
Raising his eyebrows incredulously, Mark laughed. "And you know lots about BDSM feeding porn?"
"I mean, like I said feeding really isn't my thing " Brown eyes went wide and burned into Ethan's tense back as he realized what he said.
"Iiiiim, sorry?? Are you implying you know a thing or two about BDSM porn?" Mark was amused as hell, chuckling nervously and doing his best to ignore the prickling sensation creeping up the back of his neck.
Shrugging nervously, Ethan's voice shook a bit as he spoke. "I mean we all have our things.." the older man's eyebrows knit together realizing the discomfort he was causing Ethan. Slowly, he walked up behind him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, sad seeing him tense even more under his touch.
"Hey" Mark's voice was low and soft in a hopefully soothing register. "No judgement, you're right we all have our things ." Ethan smiled a bit, weakly as he gave Mark a nervous side glance. "As long as everyone involved is legal and human I don't care what you do." The younger mans giggle was a massive relief to Mark.
"I have bad news about Clyde the rubber chicken."
"I always knew he was a slut."
Both men devolved into giggles, Ethan pressed warmly into Mark's Sid ad they just stood there in the kitchen, bodies tittering with their laughter.
"Also like, goes without saying but be safe. Don't let some person smack you around too hard."
Ethan pulled from the hug, giving Mark an arched eyebrow and a bit of a grin. "Excuse me did you just assume I was a sub?"
There's that prickling feeling up the back of his neck again as the Korean American swallowed nervously, giggling. "You aren't? How can you Dom anyone no offense."
Ethan pinched Mark's side, the older YouTuber squealing and slapping his hands away. "I mean if your submissive ass is asking id be happy to demonstrate." Ethan teased, and wow that prickling feeling is turning into a steady flush, scoffing Mark smacked Ethan on the arm.
"First of all, sexual harassment!!" Smiling when Ethan burst into another giggle fit. "Second of all did you just assume I was a sub!!?" Mocking his tone from before. Cringing, Ethan nervously smiled tossing the drying rag onto the counter and walking towards the living room with mark close at his heels.
"Sorry, i know you're joking but that was still weird of me to say." Pursing his lips, Mark nudged Ethan with his hip, crossing his arms.
"Wait no, for real do I seem like I'd be a submissive?" Ethan at least had the decency to get flushed in the cheeks at the question, a very charming look. Mark couldn't help but be curious though, especially if Ethan had actual experience.
"I mean, " scratching the back of his neck nervously. " There's no one way submissives and dominants act in public "
"But if you HAD to say."
Ethan gave a nod, flopping onto the couch. "Yeah, sorry I can absolutely see you being submissive." Mark flopped onto the couch next to the gymnast, taking in his smaller stature and wondering how he could Dom anyone.
"My stature has nothing to do with it." Ethan suddenly said, picking up on the unspoken question in Mark's dark eyes as they scanned over his body, now leaned back into the couch legs spread. "I get with someone willing and I show them what they want."
Swallowing the knot in his throat mark scratched nervously at his own prickly stubble, needing some kind of grounding stimulation to keep his mind from drifting way off out of the realm of acceptability. "So you've ACTUALLY, in person, -" he trailed off, awkwardly waving his hand.
"Dommed someone?" Ethan offered, with an amused chuckle at Mark's obvious nerves. "Yeah."
"Bull." Mark teased, trying to take the weird tension out of the situation. If he was honest he was like, half hard talking about this in such intimate closeness. Ethan just laughed before settling a smouldering smirk on Mark and oh, the air definitely got thicker just now.
"I mean I can always show you like I said."
Suddenly, mark felt challenged and shot back "go ahead, dom me. If you can get me to actually do something I'll not only admit you're a Dom but I'll even admit I might be submissive." His grin was toothy as he watched his younger friend take him in with a curious eye.
"How long do I have?"
Oh, so this is actually gonna happen.
Swallowing, the confidence suddenly drained from Mark as he fidgeted on the couch. "I'll be fair, we'll watch a movie and you have until it's over!" Ethan simply nodded and looked towards the screen waiting for Mark to turn on the movie, despite the remote being closer to him.
Rolling his eyes Mark picked up the remote, not at all picking up Ethan's toothy grin, and clicked on a movie.
A mouse trap would probably tell Mark to relax at this point he was so wound as the movie started. This was so weird, and he didn't know why, it's not like they were gonna have sex or anything and oh okay there's that neck flush again FUCK.
Things were, fairly normal for a bit until Mark felt Ethan gesture towards him. "Come cuddle." He said simply, his voice firm but warm at the same time like a Stern but loving parent. "I won't count this, but you seriously need to relax you're so tense." his amusement was soft and colored his voice in a way that was genuinely soothing.
Shrugging it off, Mark decided why not and snuggled against Ethan's side. It was, odd what should have felt very awkward and uncomfortable... didn't. The second Ethan's arm snaked around his waist holding him tight Mark's brain kinda turned to mush a little bit. His lanky firm body felt soft and inviting, the rise and fall of his chest in tempo with his heartbeat steady and soothing. Laying there cuddling up against Ethan just watching a movie Mark wondered when the younger man would actually do something.
Completely unaware the fuzzy feeling in his brain was what Ethan was doing, quite successfully. After about an hour of cuddling, Ethan's thumb gently stroking his waist and Ethan speaking to Mark in that low register right next to his ear, asking questions and murmuring praise for Mark's intelligence Ethan finally spoke again about twenty minutes before the movies end. "Go turn off the TV."
It wasn't a request, it was a flat demand that normally would have Mark smacking Ethan and calling him a lazy ass but something happened. If you asked Mark later he couldn't tell you what it was, the firm and respectable tone Ethan had used, his fuzzy mind somehow blissed out from cuddles or the little part in the back of his now fuzzy brain hoping doing as he was told would earn Mark some more of that murmured praise.
Whatever it was, he stood up and walked towards the tv, turning it off manually before turning back around to face Ethan, who was sunk back into the couch, legs spread and hand against the side of his head grinning toothily and slowly arching an eyebrow.
Oh fuck.
"Oh fuck" Mark squeaked, his head suddenly snapping out of it's foggy stated, disorienting him just a bit. Ethan's demeanor softened instantly, sitting more upright with a softer smile.
"Come sit back down? You're gonna need a minute." Nodding, Mark silently sat down next to Ethan on the couch who took his hand and simply held it. "told you." He teased making mark roll his eyes and forget about the hand holding.
"You call that domming? You never even called me a slut or hit me." Mark laughed nervously, trying to deflect how he was kinda freaked the fuck out, he'd never been in such a foggy state before without some kind of substance. It was weird and fuzzy and the control freak I him felt uncomfortable. He also kinda wanted more.
"First of all, hot." The younger man deadpanned, smiling when it got him the laugh he wanted to see. "Second off that's not all this kinda stuff is. I put you into a really really mild form of subspace. So your brain was a lot more susceptible to command and stuff. You wanted to make me happy so you turned off the TV like I said." Mark nodded along as Ethan spoke, it made sense even if it petrified him.
It was then the hand holding got significance to him. "Motherfucking are you aftercare ing me?'' mark teased, squeezing Ethan's hand. He was only playing, it actually felt very nice from how disoriented he felt earlier. Ethan at least looked a little sheepish as he smiled.
"Yeah, I'm fairly certain that is the first time someone ever put you in that headspace before. It can throw you off your game." Thinking about their earlier conversation, mark pouted and dropped his head against Ethan's shoulder.
"Shit, I'm a sub huh?''
Snorting, Ethan stroked his thumb across Marks hand. "There's a lot that can contribute to someone being submissive it's not just something you're born as and - "
"Ethan."
"But yeah you're submissive, hard."
Mark groaned into Ethan's neck pouting indignantly. "Fuckin, bullshit." Ethan's giggles only got worse as he pulled Mark into a hug patting his hair. After the laughter died down a little, they stayed in the embrace for a few moments before Mark meekly spoke up.
"I .. kinda liked it. Where my head went." Ethan nodded, not an ounce of judgement as he hugged Mark closer.
"Understandable, I wasn't joking before. You have a lot of stress in your life and are always expected to be in control. Giving it up for a minute can be, really fucking nice in your situation.''
Again, it made perfect sense honestly. Mark was a little bothered his brain seemed to be more geared towards submission but Ethan wasn't making him feel bad for it so maybe it wasn't all that bad. Plus Ethan is not your usual image of a Dom so maybe it really is a lot more nuanced than Mark realized. "Just bummed kinda, I wouldn't be opposed to occasionally doing that in like, a non sexual way but I don't think that's a thing."
"Well....."
Mark sat up from the embrace to stare at a quite red and jittery Ethan, eyebrow raising as the younger man beneath him stuttered. "I mean, it's a kink and all kink is inherently sexual but if you m-mean like, not having sex during .. that's a t-thing and like. ... I could, like -"
Smiling, his chest swooping with some kind of adrenaline, his own tan cheeks flushing darker Mark decided to save Ethan from his work vomit. "Are you offering to be my Dom Ethan Nestor?" A chuckle wrapping around his words as Ethan groaned covering his face with his hands.
"Aughhh nevermind"
Laughing, low and soft and so full of an affection that frankly scared him, Mark took Ethan's wrists in his hands and pulled the younger mans hands away from his face. "no, I'm serious, what do you mean?"
Exhaling nervously, Ethan avoided looking Mark in the eye by fixating on chicas dog bed. "Just, occasionally putting - putting you in subspace and -, and like - telling you stuff to do. Making you stop working if you're working too much, like, make you eat and take care of yourself and stuff just , like shut off your brain for a little bit."
Mark had no earthly idea why, but something in what Ethan was describing made him flush deep and warm through his body and something flip and tighten in his chest. "That... actually sounds .. really, nice."
Ethan's now wide eyes shot to Mark's, and the very nervous older man felt a bit more at ease watching the blotchy red color rush to Ethan's own cheeks. "Seriously?"
"I mean, yeah." Mark fidgeted, sitting back against the couch away from Ethan's embrace suddenly really warm. "Awkward question, but like would that be - sexual for you? Or what, would to get out of it?"
Ethan shrugged, his hand moving to scratch the back of his neck anxiety clear as day and somehow relaxing Mark, nice to know he wasn't the only one in uncharted territory. "I mean yeah? Not in the way you think though. You know that full body tingle you get when something sexy happens?"
Mark gave a silent nod as confirmation. "It'd kinda be like that for me. I wouldn't pop a rager or anything, and even if I did I'd go deal with it myself, I'd just be like tingly and warm."
Mark did his best to deflect the situation into something comedic cause this was all a lot and that's what he did in serious moments. "all cause I'm doing what I'm told?" Nervously laughing around his words but stopping when Ethan didn't laugh.
Ethan shrugged and nodded, yes.
Swallowing, Mark took Ethan's hand in his own and looked him in the eyes. "Let's, do it."
"Holyshit, okay!"