A familiar, mischievous impulse flickered through the haze of longing. He leaned closer to the camera, lowering his voice. “I heard there will be many pretty girls there, Shane. Very pretty. In very small dresses.”
On the screen, Shane didn’t even flinch. He took a slow sip of his tea, his eyes knowing over the rim of his mug. He set it down and pushed his glasses up. “Uh-huh. And I heard you have a game on Tuesday. Try to keep your hands to yourself, Rozanov. I don’t want you getting any mysterious ‘strains.’” His tone was dry, utterly secure, laced with the faintest warning that was really just a caress.
Ilya felt like he could explode. This was it. This was the perfect, unshakeable confidence. Shane wasn’t worried. He was just… managing him. The love was a solid, warm weight in Ilya’s gut, so heavy and good it was almost unbearable.
Source: ball and chain, by Anonymous – Heated Rivalry (TV) [Archive of Our Own]
Adult, soft D/s. “Shane walks Ilya like a dog” is one of my favourite AO3 tags, because as much as I adore the way Shane surrenders his iron control to Ilya when they have sex, there’s something beautiful in Ilya’s unabashed desire to please his love. This one takes the dog metaphor quite literally but isn’t dehumanising or degrading in the least – on the contrary.