Bought and Paid For

Davey strode assertively into the midst of a large crowd of animatedly-talking Bios products, wrapping one in a huge hug. They greeted each other joyfully and launched into conversation. Within minutes, Davey had dominated the talk and gathered a crowd of people content to stand and listen to his tales of riches and wonder. Jade shook his head slightly; he could barely imagine having that kind of confidence and charisma. Everybody wanted to be close to him and hear what he had to say. If only they knew the darker side to him.

He jumped as a hand touched his elbow, spinning round. A pale, willowy girl smiled shyly at him. “You look as lost as we are.”

Her voice was gentle and a step behind her was an equally pale, dark-haired boy, staring nervously around him; next to a tall, well-muscled man with scruffy light-brown hair. They gave Jade uncertain smiles. Jade immediately warmed to them, nodding his head fervently in agreement. “Completely, I had no idea this was happening until about ten minutes ago. I’m a bit overawed.”

She grinned and held out her hand. “Maria. This is Noah.” She shook hands with Jade and pulled the pale boy forwards. Jade grasped his hand warmly, trying to reassure him through the touch. “Jade.”

The tall man extended a hand as well. “Michael. Is this your first Bios event?”

“Jade,” he said again, his hand encased in a firm shake. “And yeah, I’ve only been out a few months. You?”

“A couple of years. This is my second Bios Formal. But Maria’s been to loads, haven’t you honey?”

He nodded at Maria as she stepped aside to let someone past her, gesturing the others to follow her out of the main stream of people. They retreated to a spot near the wall. “Oh yeah, I’ve been out for eight, nine years. Noah’s sorta new though.” She gave his arm a comforting squeeze. “I still hate these things, even now. Too many people for me.”

Jade blinked: he’d have guessed her at early twenties; but to have been out for that long she must be a few years older than she looked, even if she’d entered Bios at the minimum age of 18. “It is a bit crowded,” he agreed. “Um. Who… who are you with? Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, I don’t know what the etiquette is. Sorry.”

She laughed. “It’s fine. That’s what this is all about.” She pointed across the hall, towards the far corner. “See the tall blonde man, in the blue suit? Red tie, glasses?” Jade craned his head, unsure of where he was looking. A waiter stepped aside and he spotted the blonde man, talking animatedly with what looked like a journalist. He nodded and she smiled happily. “Martin Patterson.” She gave a little wave and the man grinned back at her, raising his hand in acknowledgement.

Jade felt a wave of love radiate out from her. He frowned enviously at her contented smile and turned to the boy, who cleared his throat timidly. Over there.” He nodded towards the back wall. “Big guy, shaved head. Earring.” Jade located the man easily; he was ominously big, with powerful muscles barely contained in his well-tailored suit. He looked like he could easily rip this slender, fragile boy in two. “Henry Rafel. He picked me nine months ago.”

“I’ve got Harriet Archer. The bottle-blonde, over in the corner there. With the blue dress.” Jade followed his pointing arm and saw an average-looking, middle-aged woman clutching a wine glass and talking comfortably to one of the Bios managers. He was mildly amused with himself that he had spent so long being exclusively homosexual that he found the heterosexual couples more surprising. And a female purchaser was still rather rare.

“What’re they like? Y’know, as a…” He trailed off, realising it might be impolite to say ‘owner’.

Maria shrugged with a low laugh. “Oh Martin’s wonderful. He’s everything they told me he would be. Someone to give me everything I ever wanted and love me with everything he has. You know what it’s like.”

“Uh huh,” Michael cut in, a smile on his face, “Harriet and I really hit it off. I was a bit nervous at first but we get along great, the sex is amazing – always a bonus – and I’m doing stuff that I never thought I’d be able to before, we’re going to Europe next week.”

Noah nodded earnestly. “Yeah, Hen’s the same. He looks scary but he’s just perfect to be with. But then, I guess that’s what Bios is all about: matching up perfect partners.” Maria chuckled and the there of them started talking amongst themselves, sharing similar stories. Jade’s smile became frozen: he didn’t relate to their experiences at all. He had hoped to find a kindred spirit to share war-stories with, but he looked unlikely to find one in these blissfully happy people. They didn’t notice his withdrawal, continuing to talk enthusiastically about their partners’ numerous virtues.

He soon stopped listening, finding himself scanning the crowd again. Every Bios face was happy, contented. Their owners were slightly more tense: with business and power games taking place even here, but the overall vibe was of pleasure and love. The men and women still with their purchasers stood close to them, seeking the physical contact in a natural way that went beyond the duties of training. Those couples who had separated glanced continually over at each other, sending reassuring smiles and little waves of affection.

Jade wrenched his attention back to the people he was with, turmoil twisting inside of him. He spoke quickly, digging deeper at the wound growing within him. “How was your… your preparation, and training?”

They glanced at each other and he realised he’d interrupted something, and was probably sounding more than a little weird. Maria cleared her throat. “Uh, normal I guess. I’m not sure what you mean.”

Jade struggled to find a way to find out what he wanted to know without letting on why he wanted to know it. “I mean… uh, what changes did they make? What did you have to learn? Sorry, I don’t mean to pry; I just haven’t met many other Bios people.”

She smiled, relaxing again. “Oh, well… It’s the same story as everyone else I guess. I had some surgery, of course. They fixed my nose, reshaped my eyes. Boob job, ass implants.” A giggle. “And then they educated me in all the usual things, plus some stuff related to Martin’s work. And uh, some of the uh… things he, y’know… ‘likes’.” She blushed. “I was pretty naïve when I came to Bios. So it was a steep learning curve.”

“Yeah. I got some lipo, a lot of muscle build-up, full education, and whatever. Same as most people.” Michael flexed under his thin white shirt, showing off his toned body.

Noah nodded. “Yeah, same for me: I had a nose job, my teeth fixed. And I had my ribcage tightened up, y’know, made smaller. That fucking hurt.” He bit his tongue at the profanity, glancing anxiously around. Jade dismissed it with a wave. Noah continued. “And yeah, general learning, some specific stuff that Hen’s into, and all the sex talks.”

Maria laughed. “Oh god, those talks were so embarrassing! Hours of being lectured about all these dirty dirty things!” Noah and Michael grinned, nodding with her and they started to chat again, bonding over their shared experiences.

Jade thought back to the hours he’d spent on his knees being forced to service man after anonymous man while his Instructors eyed him intently, yelling at him for every slight mistake, filling is ears with directions on how to improve his technique; the hours on his back while all those men forced themselves into him, one after another; the days he’d been strapped, naked and blindfold to a table and alternately fucked and flogged by unseen people. There had been little talking involved in his training. He felt cold, wondering just how different his Bios experience was from everyone else’s.

He already knew about Davey’s treatment: the man had been doted on from the second he’d signed the papers, been told he was superior at every opportunity and given virtually anything he wished for, within reason. His Preparation had been light: just a build-up of muscle mass, and the extensive tattoos; and his education had been extensive and detailed in management and business. The sexual side had involved Davey being instructed in various aspects of the BDSM role he was to play and consisted mostly of Davey having his way with a series of practice subs. But Jade had always attributed their different training experiences to the different end-results that had been wanted. Now he found out that everyone had had good training years, and most people had had no practical sex instruction at all. It was just him who had been broken and abused.

He leaned heavily on the wall behind him, feeling dizzy with the revelation. Maria smiled at him, not noticing his discomfort. “Who are you with Jade?” She tried to include him in the conversation.

He shut his eyes for a second, and looked round for Hunter, finding him near the middle of the room, talking with a couple of other men, Davey’s arm wrapped possessively round his waist. “Over there. The guy with the real short hair. Dark suit.” He pointed and they looked, eyes scanning faces.

“Brown hair, blue tie?” Noah offered, craning his neck to see over the people.

“No, more to the left. Grey tie.”

“Oh, the guy in the black? With the pink shirt?” Maria stretched up onto tiptoe.

"No, behind him. Talking to the Asian guy.”

Michael shook his head. “I can only see a man with a dark-haired Bios-boy with him.”

Jade nodded tiredly. “That’s him.”

They stared at him. “But… he’s with that other guy.” Maria looked genuinely baffled.

Jade nodded again. “Yeah. Hunter bought us both.”

A pause. “Oh!” Noah smiled. “You’re a couple? He took you guys on as a couple? I heard they sometimes did that for people; if, y’know, everyone’s okay with it.”

Jade shook his head. “No. He’s had Davey for years. But he wanted another.”

There was a shocked silence. Maria shifted uncomfortably. “But… why?”

Jade shrugged. “I don’t know.”

The three of them exchanged confused looks. Michael smirked. “Maybe his original isn’t ‘up’ to the job any more.” He raised an eyebrow lewdly, looking over at Davey again and Maria snorted with laughter.

Jade shook his head again, feeling the irrational urge to defend Davey’s reputation. “No, Davey’s more than capable in that respect. Hunter just… wanted another. I dunno. No one told me about it until it was too late.”

A low whistle from Noah. “Wow. If Hen ever brought anyone else home I’d be so fucking pissed off…” Maria nodded emphatically. Jade shrugged again, more miserable than ever.

“Wait, wait.” Maria held up her hands. “Did you say ‘Hunter’? As in: Burgan?” Jade nodded, earning himself another low whistle. “Holy shit! No wonder he has two, he can fucking afford it!” There were impressed smiles from both of them. Jade felt sick.

Before they could bombard him with more questions, a bell rang out and a woman took to the stage to invite the amassed guests to the formal meal. There was a flurry of activity as Bios products sought out their respective partners again. Jade hurried over to Hunter who wound an arm around his waist, holding Davey close to him on his other side. People stared and the whispers were barely kept low as they made their way to the dining hall.

Jade had expected the venom to be directed at him, the usurper, and so was a little jolted to hear the comments about Davey’s apparent lack of prowess: so inept at his profession that his owner had been forced to purchase a second to satisfy him. Jade’s heart bled for the turmoil Davey must be in, though his pity was rather swamped by the increasing sensation of fear of the revenge Davey would wreak on him when all this was over.

Hunter strode arrogantly, a small smile curving his proud lips as he showed off his double purchases. Davey smiled lovingly at him, though his eyes were flashing murderous glares at Jade behind Hunter’s head. Jade stared straight ahead, wishing he could run. They were seated at the head table, Davey on Hunter’s left, Jade on his right, next to the Bios-girl of a small, tubby Japanese business man, ruining the owner-whore-owner-whore set up of the entire room. He kept his head bowed before the surreptitious glances of virtually the entire room and tried to ignore the sweeps of whispers and chatter about the three of them, concentrating instead on keeping his food down, and not spilling any on his new clothes.

He shouldn’t be here. While he had known it was unusual for someone to purchase more than one Bios product, he hadn’t realised just how big a deal it was. He could tell Davey was livid under a veneer of cheerfulness and smiles for the onlookers; and Jade could hardly blame him: his precarious place with Hunter was being paraded out for all to comment on. Hunter seemed to be loving the attention though, arrogantly throwing his weight around with petty requests to the table staff and loud comments across the room to acquaintances.

Hunter gripped Davey’s thigh under the table, sliding his hand up between his legs to press against his crotch. Davey shifted discreetly against him, a flash of triumph sent in Jade’s direction; Hunter was choosing him over Jade in this public place. Jade turned away and tried to disappear, once again being ignored by the man who was supposed to adore him. A wave of despair washed over him as he sat – surrounded by a sea of people – and yet utterly alone.