The All-Judging Butterfly (poisontaster) wrote in whatwekeep, @ 2008-11-17 10:21:00 |
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Title: Every Certainty I Had
Author: daughterofelros
Pairing: Connor Paolo/ Joshua Jackson; Also includes to varying degrees the Fllowing Cast: Summer Glau, Thomas Dekker, Rob Lowe, Penn Badgley, Blake Lively, and Dominic Monaghan, plus various and sundry others
Rating: Very Innocent progressing in later chapters to smuttiness
Disclaimer: It's not real. If you think it is, Good God, you're crazier than I am!!
Summary: Connor has been purchased, but isn't sure what to make of his new life and master.
AN: The title comes from Aida, specifically the line " But time enough to lay to waste/
Every certainty I Had"
Previous Parts: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Who' s Who located here
The ringing phone did not go well with the aria that was playing over the top-quality speakers. Thomas grabbed the handset quickly to answer it and end the offending racket, grudgingly reaching for the remote and lowering the volume of the sound system as he did so. A second later, he was glad he did, because he wasn’t sure he would have believed what he was hearing otherwise.
“You what!? When?” He listened for awhile, then, “Not surprising…Sure- anything I can do. No it’s not a problem. Summer is leaving for a performance in a few minutes. I’ll be right over.” He hung up the phone, shaking his head in disbelief and headed up the stairs to the bedroom, where Summer was fastening her earrings with the aid of the mirror over the dresser. He grinned, moving to stand behind her and press a kiss to the shoulder that was left bare by her cocktail dress.
“You look stunning.” He whispered, tracing his lips across her skin, sweeping her hair aside to kiss along her neck. She smiled, allowing him to slide an arm across her abdomen and pull her back against his chest, laying a hand over his. She smiled one of her characteristically mysterious smiles at him in the mirror.
“Who was on the phone?”
“Josh, actually.”
“He and Rob were supposed to go today to see about buying that boy. Did he say anything about how it went?”
“Some. It would appear that the boy had actually been tracked as a body slave.” Summer sighed, knowing what her brother would think of that. “And despite that fact, Josh actually bought him.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“You’re not serious.”
“I am. He wants me to come over and talk to the kid, help him get settled, fill him in on…what the family is like. He thinks Connor- the boy- might find it easier to trust coming from me.” Summer nodded.
“That makes sense. Are you leaving soon?”
He kissed her shoulder again, inhaling the scent of her perfume.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Summer shot him a confused look.
“Do you not want to go?”
“It’s not that. I just would much, much rather stay here, in this room with you.” She inhaled softly, leaning her head back against his shoulder.
“I promise, when we come back tonight, there will be time for that.” She pulled away from him. “But right now, we both need to get going.” She leaned in to kiss him quickly, but he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close again, kissing her deeply so that when he released her, her cheeks were flushed enough that she didn’t need the blush she had so carefully applied.
“As long as you promise.”
“I do promise.” She lifted her purse and wrap from the foot of the bed. “Why don’t you take the car? I can call a car service.”
“Sure. Sound like a plan.” He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and headed down the stairs and out the door, stopping only to toss a couple things into a bag, throw on a coat and grab the car keys.
: : :
The towels in the bathroom were softer than any Connor had ever touched before. Longer too- enough so that even after he stepped out of the bath and pulled the drain plug, he sat wrapped up in one, allowing it to wick the moisture from his skin. He had no clothing other than the loose-fitting regulation uniform from Commerce, so he simply put it on again and, lacking a comb, worked his fingers through his hair to make it something closer to presentable. After folding the towel neatly and placing it on the counter, he headed downstairs again, fingers of tension digging their way back into his shoulders and spine.
“Hello, Connor.” Mr. Rob greeted him as he stepped into the kitchen. He nodded politely.
“The Food should be here any minute.” Mr. Josh informed them, stepping into the kitchen from the opposite door. He turned his attention to Connor and addressed him. “Enjoy you bath?”
“Yes, Mr. Josh. Thank you for the kindness.”
His owner frowned slightly, looking at him in such a way that he seemed to be peering over a pair of invisible glasses.
“Mr. Josh?”
“Yes, s-. I mean,” He hastily amended, “You stated that ‘Master’ and ‘Sir’ were unacceptable titles, and so I thought that perhaps ‘Mr. Josh’ would be suitably respectful. I didn’t mean to presume. If the form of address is too informal, I will of course amend it immediately.” Mr. Josh sighed.
“Too informal is not the problem, Connor. We’ll discuss it later, I suppose.” At that point, the doorbell rang. Mr. Rob looked up from the newspaper he had begun to read.
“It’s your house, Mr. Josh, you get to answer the door.”
It took Connor’s brain a second to engage.
“No please, allow me.” He started to step toward the doorway to the foyer, but was stopped with a shake of Mr. Josh’s head. Instead of permitting Connor to complete the task, he instead went to the door himself. He returned a moment later with a couple boxes of Pizza and a bottle of Coke. Hardly the type of cuisine Connor had been anticipating. Never presume to make assumptions. You will frequently wrong, and that is not something a body slave can afford to be; a body slave who misjudges a situation or fails to use the proper conduct will swiftly be sold. The ghost of a training lecture echoed in his head, and he bit his lip. Fortunately, neither man seemed to have noticed his surprise, as the doorbell rang again. Mr. Josh was reaching up into a cupboard for plates and so Rob slid off his stool and offered to get the door. Once again, Connor watched guiltily as a duty he had been trained to perform was done by his master’s brother. When Mr. Rob came back, he was followed by a young brunette man who, Connor had to admit, had an unmistakably beautiful face.
“Thomas, meet Connor.” Mr. Rob began the introductions. “Connor, this is Thomas.” The young man stuck out his hand for a handshake. Tentatively, Connor did the same, not sure what the proper protocol for the situation was supposed to be.
“Hi.” The young man said affably.
“Hello, Mr. Thomas.” A grin twitched at the corners of Thomas’s mouth and he met Rob’s eyes, then followed the direction of his gaze to Josh, who nodded wearily. Thomas smiled brightly and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Any chance of me grabbing some of that pizza?”
“Possibly, if you make a really, really convincing case for it” Rob answered.
“Hey, you’re the lawyer—you’re the one trained to make a case. I get by on my good looks and adorable puppy dog eyes.” He demonstrated.
“Fine, fine, we cave. Take your Pizza.” Josh grinned and handed Thomas a plate already laden with two slices. Thomas snagged a second plate and nodded to Connor.
“Come on, Kid—let’s go eat.” Connor snuck a glance over to Mr. Josh, wondering whether he was supposed to follow this man’s orders. Mr. Josh nodded, and so Connor had no choice other than to follow. Mr. Thomas led him through the hallway and into the TV room Connor had seen when he had come through the front door. There was no table, or anything, so Mr. Thomas just set their plates down on the floor. He plopped down on the carpet, wrapping his arms around his knees and indicating for Connor to sit as well.
“Thank you, Mr. Thomas.” He murmured, kneeling gracefully. That lesson, at least, he had mastered. To his surprise, Mr. Thomas gave a sharp laugh.
“Okay, that’s going to have to stop.” He answered Connor’s unspoken question. The “Mr. Thomas” thing. I’d imagine that Josh isn’t too thrilled with it either, but you literally can’t call me by a title like that.”
“Why not?” He queried before he could stop himself.
“Because I’m a body slave too.”
That answer slammed into him with all the impact of a semi-truck. Mind reeling, he sank completely to the floor, forgetting to maintain proper posture.
“But you’re so…familiar with Mr. Rob and Mr. Josh.” He couldn’t comprehend it.
“And during your training they told you that that’s not alright, not the way things are done. So you’re understandably confused.” Connor nodded. Thomas sighed. “That’s the way things are done here though. Connor, I’m not going to lie to you. From now on, Your life is likely to be…complicated. No small part of that being because this family… at least, the three of them- Josh and Rob, and my mistress Summer, they’re…different. Not at all like what your training will have prepared you for. They don’t go for the traditional model of living. As a mater of fact, Josh will probably do his best to give you as much freedom, as much autonomy as he can, within the confines of the law. And in private, when there’s no one but family around? I can tell you that it’s sometimes just like being free. I mean, it’s not—but it’s close. When other people are around, you will have to play the game a little more, fall back into the role you were trained for. And that can be the cruelest thing, standing so close to the bars of the cage. It’s a gilded cage, no doubt about it.
I can tell you this though; Josh, Rob, Summer, they are good people. Really good. They’ll make a real effort to give you as much happiness as they can. I know right now it’s hard, but try to trust them. In all the time I’ve been with Summer, they’ve never lied to me, or caused me deliberate pain. I don’t think I know any other slave that can say the same of their masters.” He shifted, reaching for one of the slices of pizza. “You may not realize it yet, but all things considered, you’re a really lucky kid.” He chewed for a minute, and Connor followed his lead, reaching for a slice of pizza of his own, suddenly aware of the fact that he was hungry.
“The other thing you should know,” Thomas began a few bites later, “Is that Josh is…a bit out of practice, if you will. We were all shocked by the fact that he actually bought you, because it’s been about 10 years since he last had a body slave. Ever since about the time his Father disowned him he’s been really firm about his determination not to have a body slave. And then today he just suddenly…changed his mind.”
“Why?”
“Honestly? I have no clue.”
Connor put his pizza down delicately and fiddled with a piece of lint lying on the carpet.
“Don’t you think it’s because…he…wants me? For…sex, I mean. That’s why people buy body slaves, isn’t it?” Thomas laughed gently.
“Is that what you want?”
“I’m a slave. I don’t get a choice. Just like I didn’t get a choice about whether I wanted to become a body slave. It’s just what’s expected, right?”
“I don’t really know what you can expect from Josh in that regard. He’s has had a handful of… casual liaisons with prominent society women over the years, certainly. One or two men as well, if I remember correctly. But nothing long-term, and never body slaves. What I do know though is that if you want to know what he’s thinking, you’ll have to ask him.” Connor nodded, knowing that he’d never do something so stupid as to question his master about something like that.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, Kid. That’s why I’m here- if you ever have any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to ask. What do you want to know?”
“Is he really serious that he wants me to call him just by his first name?”
A wide grin spread over Thomas’s face as he nodded.
“Yeah, he’s serious, all right. They hate the deferential forms of address- all three of them- and just barely tolerate them in public. It’s not a trick. I promise you- you won’t be punished for it.”
“It’s just… they drilled into our heads at Commerce that do to that was to show the ultimate form of disrespect, short of refusal to perform a task. And they…enforced that lesson pretty well. I don’t…want to make a mistake.”
“You’ll do okay.”
Connor nodded quietly, looking thoroughly unsure of that fact. Looking at him, Thomas felt a pang for the lost-looking, tow-headed boy. At least I hope you will.