Bob listens to you like you're gods voice. not a metaphor— he genuinely believes that your words have weight, that they hold him together.

It started with small things.

"Breathe, bob"

He took the longest inhale.

"Sit down"

He was on the couch before you could blink.

"You’re okay"

He almost believed it.

Now, it's everything. if you tell him to eat, he eats. if you tell him to sleep, he's knocked out within minutes. if you tell him to ruin something...he does.

He doesn't argue or question. he trusts you too much. his moral compass, his control, his entire existence— they orbit around you. it's not submission for the sake of control— it's faith.

Bob doesn't think you could ever lead him wrong. The moment you give a command-there's a flicker in his eyes— like he's hearing something divine and from heaven on earth.

You could tell him to burn the world down, and he'd ask which part first. one night, while you sat on the edge of your bed, him on his knees before you, head leaning into your hands that were cupping his face and running through his hair while his held onto your sides, he looked up at you and whispered,

"I don't need control, I just need you to tell me what to do. Then nothing goes wrong."

Obedience is his love language. he listens so intensely it's almost frightening— head tilted, pupils dilated, body still like he can't move until you give him the go ahead.

If you tell him to come closer, he's already there. If you tell him to stay away, he'll step back. but his hands will shake like the restraint hurts him.

You once told him, "Bob, you don't have to do everything I say."

He responds, "But I do. you make sense of things. if i stop listening, I don't know who I am."

"What if i told you to stop breathing?"

"Then I’d stop."

"Why?"

"Because you wouldn't tell me to, unless it's right."

Deep down, it's not fear or control-it's devotion born out of control. Bob has seen the end of everything in his mind, and the only thing that cuts through the noise is you. You’re not just the one person he loves.

You’re his commandment.

He loves it.