Silky gold slipped through long fingers, a curtain quickly disappearing. The staccato clip of scissors shearing hair was as loud as a heartbeat in the small bedroom. The gilded strands fell like rain to the floor, pooling around the intricately carved legs of a wooden vanity stool and a pair of dainty, marble white feet.The face of a young man scrutinized his haircut in the vanity mirror, turning his head to either side. It wasn’t perfect, but it did appear even and thankfully much shorter than it had been. Before the cut, his hair had gotten a little past mid-back. That was just too much hair for him; it kept him hot and weighed him down. He felt both lighter and a lot cooler without all the now discarded blonde locks.
“Alex?” A masculine voice called from another room, making the young man turn his head sharply, his heart jumping into his throat. Julious had returned home.
Quickly, Alex threw the scissors back into the side drawer of the vanity, dropping to the floor, gathering the hair scattered all over. Most of it had been cleared away when the door to the bedroom opened. When Julious hadn’t spoken, Alex inhaled deeply, stopping himself, and lifted his eyes.
Julious’ ruby eyes were fixed on Alex kneeling on the floor. The taller blonde man was still a good ten feet away, but Alex could see the fury in those red orbs.
“Julious,” Alex began, moving to his feet, clutching onto the vanity for support. The glare in his lover’s eyes was enough to turn his legs stiff and unresponsive. His fingers flew immediately to his shorn hair, knowing what was making Julious appear so angry.
“What the fuck did you do to yourself?” Julious growled, stalking towards Alex. Alex took one step backwards so he was partially obstructed by the vanity table.
“I just cut my hair, Julious. It was getting too long.” Alex stated, trying to keep his voice calm. Julious flinched, his upper lip curling into a sneer. Alex took a deep breath, shaking his head, deviant strands falling down his bare back. “It’s only hair, Julious, it’ll grow back.” Alex said quickly. Julious scowled.
Before allowing Alex any more time to retreat further, Julious lunged forward, grabbing Alex by the throat, taking the shorter blonde completely by surprise. Julious practically threw Alex against the wall behind him, pinning him with his own body.
“I never said you could cut your hair. If it was becoming a problem, you should have tied it up,” Julious said darkly, ignoring Alex’s choked gasps, paying no attention to Alex’s fingernails digging into his hand. Julious raised his other hand, sifting the remainder of Alex’s now shoulder length hair through his fingers. “You took liberties with my property, Alex. That’s a crime most anywhere you’d go, you know.” Julious’ tone was no longer threatening, but the calmer sound wasn’t comforting. Alex did ease up a little when Julious loosened his grip a bit, allowing Alex to breath.
“But…it’ll…grow back…” Alex choked out, swallowing. Julious smirked. He released Alex’s throat, quickly grabbing him by his arms, pitching him to the floor. Before Alex could turn over to see what Julious might do, he felt the wind knocked out of him as the older blonde’s knee dug into his lower back.
“I really must come up with a suitable punishment for your crime, Alex.” Julious said pleasantly. Alex coughed, turning his head, trying to breath against the plush furred carpet of their bedroom. Julious smiled down at the struggling Alex, tilting his head. “Oh, I think I know.” He said, standing from his position on Alex.
It took a lot from Alex to turn over onto his back, and he was pretty sure he’d be sorry later when he looked up at an annoyed Julious. The taller blonde was holding a short whip in his hand, his brow furrowed, a frown caressing his lips.
“You’re supposed to gracefully accept your punishment, pet. Turn over.” Julious instructed patiently. Alex’s heart sped up, all of his senses screaming at him that this was not going to end well for him. However, weighing whether he wanted to take this ridiculous punishment or refuse and be promised much worse later, he silently obeyed, turning back over onto his stomach. “Good boy.” Julious grinned.
The first lash across his back stole his breath away, making the scream that would have formed stick in his throat. Every lash after just added to the pain, and Alex could feel hot blood seep through the wounds he knew were there. He lost count after twelve, which almost seemed like forever ago. When the beating ended, he inhaled sharply, breathing a little too painful. Julious kneeled at his side, discarding the bloodied whip to gently tuck a strand of hair behind Alex’s ear.
“Twenty four lashes for twenty four inches. I’m not sure how much hair you’d discarded, so I guessed at two feet.” Julious said softly, gingerly stroking Alex’s cheek. Alex glared up at Julious soundlessly, his fingers curling into fists. Julious smiled gently, standing. “Oh, don’t worry so much. It’s only skin, Alex, it’ll grow back.” Julious chuckled. Alex kept his line of sight stationed on a piece of wall directly in front of him, listening as Julious removed his shirt, laying it across the vanity stool and leaving for his scheduled bath. When he was sure his lover had left, Alex strained to lift himself up from the floor.
End
