FIC: Little Fantasies: Renaissance Men

I'm going to take a bit of a break from writing for awhile. Alex and Julien wanted their next little fantasy told before I do.  **Someone emailed and asked for a picture of Julien's collar.  I added it towards the end of the story.


Title: Renaissance Men
Characters: Alex/Julien
Series: Little Fantasies



“What are you doing?”

Julien jumped and turned at the same time. He simultaneously almost fell off the chair and barely stopped himself from clinging to the ceiling like a cartoon cat. The voice may have been quiet, but when you thought you were alone, any voice startled you. “Shit, Alex! You scared me!”

Alex quirked an eyebrow up. “You should be scared.”

Julien’s stomach tingled at the growl of dominance in his lover’s voice. Damn, he thought. Alex knew exactly what that did to him. Ever since Alex had found the discipline stories and pictures that Julien had “accidentally” left up on his computer, he’d become more and more toppish. Julien knew some of it was in play just to get a reaction from him. But some of it, Julien suspected, was Alex’s natural dominance coming through.

“Are you going to answer me? Or just stare at me?” Alex asked quietly. “It’s three in the morning. I thought we were going to get up early and go to the renaissance fair.”

“Um. Yeah.” Such an intellectual answer, Julien thought sarcastically. But he wasn’t yet ready to let Alex know. Slowly, as to not draw attention, he reached out to shut the laptop down. As he tried to grab the top of the laptop, he hit it at the wrong angle. The laptop teeter on the edge of the desk. Before it could fall to the floor, Alex threw out his hand and caught it.

Why does the floor never actually open up and swallow someone? Julien thought as he watched Alex look at the image that was displayed on the screen.

The other man didn’t say anything. He just shut the computer off and held his hand out to Julien. “Come on, babe. If we still plan to get up early, we really need to get some sleep.”

Julien just nodded and took his hand. He gave a silent sigh of relief that Alex didn’t mention the picture. They walked down the dark hall to their bedroom. Julien slipped into the bathroom and quickly completed his bedtime ritual of brushing his teeth, relieving his bladder, and ran a wet washcloth over his face. By the time he got into bed, Alex was tucked in.

Crawling in beside his husband, Julien closed his eyes.

“Interesting picture,” Alex said softly. “Quite a get-up he was wearing.”

Julien groaned and pulled the pillow over his face. He wasn’t embarrassed….much. The pillow was lifted from his face and even in the darkness he could see Alex’s eyes as they looked into his.

“Sorry,” Julien mumbled.

“For what?” Alex asked truly baffled.

“You didn’t sign up for this. You thought I was normal.” Julien huffed. “Hell, I thought I was frickin normal.”

Alex leaned down and kissed him. “Jul, I hate to burst your little bubble, but you are normal.”

“Normal? It’s normal to be into spankings, and submission, and…” Julien paused and then continued. “Collars?”

“Ahhh, it was the collar that was fascinating you, eh? And yeah, it’s normal. Julien, you know as well as anyone that normal is this great myth. Something that doesn’t truly exist.”

“Yeah, I know. But you didn’t know I was into all this when we first got together,” Julien whispered.

“No. But did you know? Or have you just been learning what excites you?”

Julien thought about that for a moment. He remembered moments of parts of books and movies that he’d found particularly interesting. It wasn’t until he was much older and he started looking through the internet that he even knew about dominance and submission. About spankings as an adult. About men and woman wearing strips of leather around their necks.

“I think it was always in me, but I just didn’t know about it,” Julien carefully admitted.

“Yeah, I get that,” Alex said thoughtfully. “Julien, nothing stays the same. We’ll each grow and find new hobbies. New quirks. New….fetishes.”

“You don’t mind?” Julien asked.

Alex covered Julien’s body with his own. Then he took Julien’s mouth in a lovingly punishing kiss. Once he felt Julien had received his message loud and clear, he broke off the kiss and said, “Don’t be an idiot. I don’t mind a bit. Well, not about the leather and spankings and such. I will mind if you are a grumpy brat tomorrow at the fair.”

With that statement, Julien felt Alex roll off him. Then he was wrapped in Alex’s arms with a growling voice in his ear telling him to go to sleep. They’d talk about it more but maybe at a more decent time of the day.

———

A slap on his backside was Julien’s alarm clock. Turning over with a groan, he squinted to see Alex standing beside the bed.

“Come on, whelp! I’m ready to hit the road!” Alex said jovially.

“Merfphm,” Julien mumbled. Then when he saw Alex reach for his blanket, he said a little more clearly, “I’m up! I’m up!”

“I’ve laid some clothes out for you. It’s gonna be a hot one today. I thought we could run through a drive-thru for breakfast.”

When it became clear, Alex wasn’t going to leave the room, but stay to make sure he got up, Julien rolled out of bed. He grabbed the clothes that Alex held out for him and went into the bathroom. Quickly he relieved himself and then put on the clothes his dom had chosen for him. He shaved and washed his face in what he thought was record time for a Saturday morning. Throwing the towel he’d used in the laundry basket, Julien walked out.

“Let me get my shoes on and then I’m ready,” he said when he saw Alex waiting for him.

In no time at all, they were on their way. Once they had driven through the McDonald’s and had their biscuits, Julien pulled the website for the fair up on his phone. He was looking at the schedule and the list of vendors that were to be there.

“Oh! They have a jousting tournament! It doesn’t start until one though,” Julien told Alex.

Looking over his shoulder to change lanes, Alex said, “I’m sure we’ll still be there.”

The hour long ride went by fast as Julien described all the events and vendors. Soon they were turning into a large field that was packed with cars and trucks.

“I didn’t realize it would be so crowded!” Julien exclaimed as they parked in the back.

“I can’t believe we’ve not heard of it before,” Alex chimed back to him.

They could hear the musicians and minstrels as they walked up to the entrance. Julien could feel the excitement build inside him. After they paid, he felt like he’d entered a strange new world.

A tall pole stood just inside with arrows pointing to Fairy Land, High Court, Jesters, Troll Crossing, and several various areas.

“Which way should we go?” He asked Alex.

Looking around, Alex shrugged. “I’ve no idea! This is bigger than I thought it would be!”

“Let’s just start walking down there,” Julien pointed to the right. “Then we should be able to loop around. The jousting arena is on the other side.”

At Alex’s nod, they started walking. Julien was amazed at the costumes many people wore. Not cheap material, but beautiful velvet and lace. Men in kilts with high leather boots walking around. Women with low-cut bodices. So low that Julien swore he saw more nipples in the first ten minutes than he had his entire life.

The booths were decorated as well. The stall that sold chain-mail had swords and maces nailed to the walls. The wooden hut that had homespun yarn, had a spinning wheel proudly displayed. And the stall that held beautiful leather works had old tools on display as well.

They’d walked by all the stalls, pausing for a quick look, but when they neared the leather working stall, Alex pulled Julien closer.

A large man who was wearing a kilt was sewing some leather strips. When Julien and Alex stopped to see his wares, he stood up. Julien stomach dropped at the look the man gave them. His eyebrows had come together in concentration. Julien felt that the man was sizing them up.

“You looking for something in particular?” The man’s voice boomed out.

Julien lowered his eyes and feigned interest in the leather on the table as Alex answered, “No, just looking. Beautiful work you do.”

Nodding the large man said, “Thank you. Been doing it a few years. Started setting up at local fairs and now, me and the missus follow them across the states.”

Looking at the prices, Julien had no doubt this man made his living off of selling what he made. The prices were high, but so was the quality. He picked up a small coin pouch and examined it closely. The leather was of fine material and the stitching was exceptional.

“I think you might find these more to your liking.” The big man reached under the table and brought out an ornate box. Opening it up, the man continued in a quieter voice, “It’s not unusual for a man to want to collar his possession.”

“Ahhh, but who possesses who?” A woman in a long skirt slipped in from the back of the stall.

The man laughed and said, “Same old argument, wench! You belong to me!”

Julien jumped at the smack he gave the woman. It was loud, but Julien knew that it probably didn’t hurt that much. Alex often did the same thing to him. Some men knew how to cup their hands to make a loud slapping sound, but the actual swat didn’t hurt.

“Humph!” The woman said with a toss of her head. Her long hair swung over her shoulder giving Julien full view of a collar around her neck. It was made of dark leather with a jeweled cross hanging from the front. The contrast of the dark leather and the woman’s tan skin was an erotic sight.

Julien gulped. The pictures on the internet didn’t do justice to what a collar looked like in person. His hands felt sweaty and his heart started beating fast.

The woman must have heard his heart beating as she gave Julien a saucy wink. “It doesn’t truly matter who possesses who. It's a symbol of belonging.”

Julien nodded. Yes. That’s exactly what fascinated him-the symbolism. He startled as Alex reached around him. A thin strip of leather hanging in front of his eyes.

“You like?” Alex asked.

Julien turned his head and saw the flash of uncertainty in Alex’s eyes. He looked at the strip dangling in front of him. The collar was a lighter shade than the woman’s but had an inset darker leather. The darker leather was braided and circled around the collar. The craftsmanship was beyond excellent. Julien swore he could see the love the artist had sewn in every stitch.

With a smile to the man who knew him so well, Julien nodded. He turned around and stood still as Alex buckled the collar on him.

“This means we belong together for eternity,” Alex whispered hoarsely in his ear.

Swallowing the lump that had grown in his own throat, Julien nodded his consent. He stood in front of the booth as Alex paid the man. He thought he’d be more self-conscious. But as they turned to go to the next booth, Julien felt oddly proud. Proud to be with Alex. Proud to be with a man who understood him so well. Taking Alex’s hand, Julien knew they’d have a lot to talk about as they explored a new type of submission, but for now the sun was shining and there was a jousting tournament to watch.

The End.

If you'd like to read more of Alex & Julien you can here: Little Fantasies