"Yes, Master," Simon said quietly.<br/><br/>He resisted the urge to grin like an idiot. Once they were in a scene, and a scene began as soon as they were alone usually, he knew better than to display emotion without permission. He was not allowed to smile without permission, frown without permission, cum without permission or cry out in pain without permission. Of course, Sage delighted in making him break that requirement whether by teasing with pleasure or tormenting with pain. He'd never said it, but Simon suspected this was because Sage knew he needed to be challenged and to learn control. He was never humiliated for his failure, because the one time Sage had tried that it had damn near destroyed Simon. Yet it was always there, the knowledge that he had to do better, always better.<br/><br/>Secretly he delighted that he would be spending the night with Sage. He looked forward to serving him, no matter if that was sexually, literally or even just by being there. He'd heard this old song by a British singer called Toyah once... I'll Serve You Well, or something like that. He loved how it ended. After the whole song talking about the "Western girl" serving her master in any way, cruel or otherwise, that he wanted, the final verse ended with the couplet:<br/><br/><em>Then when you wash me, in your eyes I can tell<br/>The tables have turned and you've served me well.</em><br/><br/>And that was the truth of it. While outwardly he was the submissive who did whatever Sage demanded, it served such a deep need in him that he wasn't sure which of them gained more. He set the alarm on his watch quickly. It wasn't loud, but he slept lightly. He always had - that was another legacy of his childhood. The slightest alarm could wake him as, unfortunately, could external noises all too frequently. Still, it worked well for covering up their relationship from Nik. The poor girl would have her mind blown if she knew what they were really like when she was not around, he was sure of that.<br/><br/>