There Are Mistakes

(So I play a game online called Final Fantasy, and I made Jana lol I also tend to pronounce it as John-uh, does anyone do that? My friends say Jann-uh. Yes, he does have cat ears and a tail >...>' just ignore those parts.)

A.J.-

The smell of something cooking roused Jake from his light sleep. He had a habit of never truly falling into a deep sleep anymore, as he would always get woken up by his parents at the most unnecessary times to do chores or simply because they wanted to bother him.

"Jacob?"

Hearing Jade's voice immediately brought Jake to his feet. The room spun for a moment as he opened his eyes, but he quickly managed to get himself balanced, then hurried to the kitchen. His bare feet brought him to a stop right in front of Jade's black sock-covered ones. Jake's eyes were on the floor and his back was straight, even though he was still very tired.

"We're going to have an early dinner, as I have to be up early for work." Jade said. Jake nodded as he replied with a quiet "Yes sir." at the same time his stomach growled loudly.

The sound got a chuckle from the taller man. "There is a cushion on the floor beside one of the chairs at the table, please go sit."

"Yes sir," Jake said as he turned on his heels and went toward the dining room. The deep red cushion sat next to one of the chairs placed at the end of the table. It was a slightly different style, and also a little bigger than the other chairs.

Walking over to the cushion, Jake carefully got himself situated on it, crossing his legs in front of himself. While Jade was busy in the kitchen, Jake silently wondered if he should have offered to help or at least set the table, but Jade had already given him the order to go sit down...

Looking down at his new pair of comfortable grey sweatpants, Jake began picking at a small loose thread as he sat nervously contemplating whether he should offer his assistance or not. It didn't make much sense to, since he wasn't a good cook, but he could at least set the table.

"Do you not appreciate your new clothing?"

Jake jumped when Jade spoke behind him. His shoulders hunched as he mumbled a response. "I appreciate them, sir."

Jade dropped down into the seat beside Jake, making him hunch a little further. "Sit up straight." There was a quiet at the end of the order that made Jake's hungry stomach twist into worried knots as he did his best to straighten his spine.

When he heard one plate being set down on the table, he couldn't help but glance up at it for just a brief moment before returning his eyes to his hands on his knees.

"One of my big rules, that you will be required to never bend or break, is that I always eat first unless you're given permission to do so. You will always get as much food as necessary, as you need to gain a good amount of weight, but you will wait until I have finished. Is that clear?"

Any normal person would have been upset about such a strict rule, especially when they were starving, but the promise of food, even if he had to wait a bit longer for it, was no issue to Jake. He even smiled at his hands as he responded with an appreciative voice. "Yes sir. I appreciate your kindness and will wait for my turn to eat."

He truly had no issue with the rule, but as the smell of sauteed vegetables, chicken and mashed potatoes took over his nose, his stomach refused to stop grumbling as loud as it could. Jake fought himself to keep from hunching again, but he knew that his ears were getting red from embarrassment.

"Jacob." Jade said as the sound of his fork being set down made Jake's stomach sink.

Jake's eyes rose to meet Jade's chest. "Yes sir?" He was ready to apologize for ruining the man's meal with his stomach's noises when he saw Jade shift a little, then lean over and reach for him. His large hands grasped gently beneath Jake's arms and began lifting. "Up," he said calmly, a hint of comfort in his words instead of frustration.

Jake was hesitant to believe that Jade wasn't upset with him, but when he was situated in the man's lap and a napkin was tucked into the collar of his new shirt, he decided to push back his worry. He couldn't stop his stomach from growling when there was such delicious-smelling food present. He didn't mean to sound rude, but he was hungry.

"Normally my subs eat where you were, but I want to make sure that you're getting enough, but not eating too fast." Jade said as he picked up a new fork as Rose, his maid, set down a fresh plate of food and the utensil. She returned a moment later with an extra water, then excused herself.

Looking at the fresh plate of food seemed too good to be true. It almost felt like one the dreams he'd had when his parents started rationing his food. He'd wake up right before he got a chance to eat a big meal, only to get a few crackers or leftover, week old, mystery meat.

When the first bite of food, which happened to be the sauteed zucchini and carrots, met his tongue, Jake couldn't help but lean back against Jade and moan. His stomach growled at the same volume as he began to chew, savoring the flavor. Even though they were just simple vegetables sauteed in a few spices and butter, he couldn't get over how good they tasted. He forced himself to swallow after a minute, though, but only because he knew that there would be more.

When Jade cut a small piece of chicken for him easily with the fork, then brought it to his lips with the utensil, he eagerly opened his mouth to accept the food. It, too, was delicious. The meat was tender and juicy, and the light flavor it added to the dish couldn't have been better. Jake chewed and swallowed the piece faster than his first bite, then leaned forward a small amount, ready for more of his meal. His stomach growled in agreement against the arm Jade was using to hold him in his lap, drawing a deep chuckle from behind him that made his lips quirk up slightly.

The next forkful of food was loaded with vegetables and mashed potatoes. Jake reached up with his left hand and gently set it atop Jade's as he happily took the big bite of food. He expected Jade to move the fork back to get more food for the next bite, but when he suddenly set it down on the plate, then removed Jake from his lap, setting him down on the chair as he stood up, Jake realized he must have done something wrong.

"Finish your meal, then put away your things that we bought earlier. After that, you may do as you wish until it is time to sleep at 9."

Jake didn't try to argue. He knew better. So, when he heard Jade's footsteps disappear up the stairs, he slowly began picking at the plate of food in front of him. He didn't feel like he deserved it anymore, but he knew that he couldn't just not eat. He was extremely hungry and it would be very rude to waste it.

When he'd finally finished eating it was already close to eight, so he hurried to do the dishes, then clean up the kitchen as best he could. When the clock on the stove flashed 8:30, he ran upstairs and began putting away what he was bought earlier. He hadn't been able to stay awake all that well, so they hadn't gotten a whole lot, but to him, it really was. It took him nearly until 9 to get everything put away in the dresser. He hung up a few of the shirts, too, because they were a little nicer and had cost more than the others.

"All done." Jake said, finally feeling a little bit better about his previous mistake.

"Jake."

Spinning around, Jake dropped his eyes to the carpet and greeted Jade. "Good evening, Master. I finished doing what you asked."

His heartbeat sped up at the chance of hearing praise, but when Jade completely ignored him and moved onto another topic, Jake knew that he had made a big mistake. I touched him without permission. He knew that that had likely been the cause, but after thinking about it for awhile, he was now certain.

"Grab your blanket and head downstairs. You will be sleeping on the sofa tonight." Jade replied before turning and starting to walk out.

"Yes sir. I apologize for my mistake earlier, Master." Jake said, his words stumbling over each other as he tried to get them out before Jade disappeared into his adjoining room.

He saw the man's feet stop by the door, but he didn't say anything more before returning to his own room and shutting the door.

Without much else to do, Jake trudged over to his bed and pulled off the smaller blanket. He had a larger one, but it was nice and he didn't want to risk getting it dirty or dragging it. With the small blanket in his arms, he headed downstairs. They had yet to get him actual pajamas, so he decided to just sleep in his T-shirt and sweatpants.

After moving the nice throw pillows to the recliner, he climbed onto the sofa and curled up as best he could under the blanket. After an hour or so, he realized that Rose likely had already gone to bed, so Jake got up and turned off all the lights. When he returned to his blanket, he just couldn't seem to find sleep, though. Every time he closed his eyes, his old life flashed before them and his lids would snap open abruptly. His mistake also haunted him, eventually making his stomach roil uncomfortably.

The next few hours passed in partial silence. His stomach began to growl, but there was little he could do about it. He didn't feel sick enough to throw up, so he didn't want to get out from under the small blanket. It was surprising how cold a house so big could get, even though it seemed like the heater was on, because every few minutes he would feel warm gusts of air against his cheek. It was always pretty warm upstairs, though, but probably because all of the heat rises to the second floor.

He was finally close to drifting off, some time around one in the morning, when he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Jake quickly closed his eyes as the steps approached where he was curled up on the sofa. It was clear that it was Jade, as his steps were louder than Rose's could ever be, even though he was probably trying his best to be quiet. Jake tried his best to remain still except for one involuntary shiver from the cold of the room. He was hoping that Jade just came downstairs to get a drink or maybe a snack, but when he just remained where he was, Jake found himself trying to slowly bury himself further beneath the small blanket.

A decent weight drifted over him after a moment, followed by the feeling of being carefully moved closer into the sofa. Jade? They barely fit on the couch together, but Jade somehow made it work by pulling him against him tightly. Jake had absolutely no complaints as the heavy comforter from his bed settled over them, bringing a comforting wave of warmth along with it. Add in Jade's body heat and the strength of his arms tightly wrapped around his back, and Jake was practically out cold in seconds.