Black Valentine 5/? (Jensen/Jared, NC-17)
Masterpost (soon)
Back to Part 4
Jensen left Jared alone in the obs bay with a copy of the Black Valentine’s passenger guide. A collection of holographic recordings played, one after the other with a computer-generated voice that rushed through information about tour highlights, dining rooms, special diets, hygiene and events. All the data was aimed at the Master of the relationship, whose slaves and submissives were an extension of them and entirely their responsibility. Jensen's honeymoon master suite included secure chain rings, shackles and cages. Designer corrective equipment was available for Master to take home at a reasonable additional cost and, Jared particularly shuddered at this part- bespoke dungeons could be hired with an assortment of torture devices and medical equipment as standard. He didn’t complete all of it because their ship banked to starboard and, in the black, a floodlit dock the size of an asteroid came into view. Service craft and pods bustled around it and at the center of all the attention was the hugest, sleekest space craft he could ever imagine. The smooth black and streamlined cruiser seemed to absorb the light so completely that it might not be there at all if it weren’t for hazy red light which bathed it’s outline and faint golden dots which he thought might be the obs domes described in the brochure. There was nothing in any news program or documentary he’d seen that had ever come close to the aesthetic of it. He stared as a bullet shaped tug-craft in shiny silver slipped alongside their ship and locked on. Their engine drive ceased and a magnetic stream effortlessly pulled them towards the gaping maw of a deck. A few miles away, parallel to them, another bullet accompanied another ship on it’s course into the belly of the Black Valentine.
Blinking lights guided them through a dark tunnel which opened out into a brightly lit parking lot with space ships of all sizes and designations neatly lined up. A swoosh of coolant fogged their ship and a gated runway extended up to their main airlock. Jared roused himself and pressed the crystal button to exit the obs room. Of course it was locked. He had made a bargain with Jensen but he couldn’t expect him to trust his prisoner. He shouldn’t. Until the secure runway had slipped into place he had still wondered if there was a way to escape, or somebody to hear his story, but there were security gates and armed crew everywhere he looked. It seemed that The Black Valentine catered to powerful people and they prided themselves on keeping their slaves safe, whether their slaves were willing or not.
Jared picked up the clothes that Jensen had given him to wear. He bit his lip, let a shudder work down his spine and changed into them. It could be worse, he supposed, he could be naked like many of the slaves in the holographs. There were no undergarments, he laced up snugly fitting hot pants at the front, careful not to catch anything delicate, and slipped a tight black vee-necked tee over his chest which rode up to show a scandalous sliver of his stomach. His mother would cry if she could see him right now. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, he had to concentrate on something else or break down entirely. He looked down at his bare toes, he hated them, they were too long, like an ape, and the nails were yellow and torn from walking so far in his ill-fitting sneakers. It reminded him that he hadn’t showered since leaving home almost three days ago. His nose wrinkled, he must smell terrible.
“Jared, it’s almost time. Air pressure will be equalized in a few minutes.”
He hadn’t noticed the door open, but there was Jensen, standing tall and impressive in some sort of dress pants, shined boots and a crisp white shirt casually unbuttoned at the neck. He extended his hands to Jared, proffering jewelry in each.
“You have to wear my tag at all times,” he said, and now Jared could see that he held a selection of leather collars in his left hand and a chain collar in his right hand. “You can choose which you would prefer but you have to wear one.”
Jared knew, it had been mentioned in the guide - slaves and subs must wear a collar with a tag identifying their Master and they were not permitted to roam outside their suite without their Master or a nominated proxy. His stomach churned but he took a moment to consider the choices. The chain looked more like jewelry but the collars looked more comfortable. It would be obvious what he was to everybody, whichever he wore. He chose a dark pink collar with a mother of pearl inset because the inside was lightly padded and fur-soft.
Jensen’s fingers were warm against his skin as he slipped it around his neck. He brushed Jared’s hair to one side as he wrestled with the small lock. It clicked shut around him and it felt like he was being choked, he wheezed and put out a hand to steady himself. Jensen caught his elbow and supported him, “It’s not too tight. You can breathe, Jared. Just breathe. As long as you’re with me and you’re wearing this, nobody can touch you. You’re mine, y’hear me? Look…” Jensen slid two fingers easily under the collar so the pads of them smoothed the skin of his neck. Jared felt it squeeze and then the give of it as he slid them out again.
“See, there is room to breathe,” Jensen reassured him.
“I know, I’m okay. I’m okay,” he repeated. He had to believe it.
“It suits you, Jared. Look up. You look very pleasing.”
“I smell,” Jared couldn’t help commenting as his gaze left his toes. “I didn’t wash today.”
“Don’t fret, we can fix it. I’m told the suites on board have awesome bathrooms. Until then, you are mine. You walk by my side, you look straight ahead and you don’t talk to anyone. It is what is expected. Tour crew are obliged to deal with me alone. They will assume it is my choice that you remain unwashed. Your job is to be obedient by my side and I am sure you will achieve it admirably.”
There was activity outside their ship and somebody in uniform and cap unlocked the gateway ramp and started up it, to greet them.
“We’re ready,” said Jensen but the comment didn’t seem to be directed at him. He held out his hand and Jared took his cue and held on to it as he was led to the freshly pressurized main airlock.
He panicked. This wasn’t how the holograph had been.“Shouldn’t I be carrying our bags?” he asked.
Jensen glanced at the person coming up the ramp and back at Jared. He leaned close and kissed him softly on his cheek, just at the edge of his lip. “Sweetheart, we just got married. I love you. Of course not.”
It was a surprisingly tender act. Jared touched a finger to his face, where Jensen’s lips had been. In three months of being betrothed, Tahmoh had never kissed him like that.
***
The person who greeted Jensen turned out to be an A.I. but in all ways they appeared a perfect humanoid in a slightly mauve hue with neat shoulder length pink hair, and purple eyes. They claimed that research had shown such a combination to be pleasing to their customer demographic. They turned on their heel without acknowledging Jared and bade Jensen to follow them. Jared was frozen to the spot, staring at the A.I. so Jensen nudged him, hissing in his ear, “Get it together, Jared, you can’t be rude. A step behind, don’t stare, do not react, do not speak, WHATEVER is said, seen or done, do you understand me?”
Jared’s eyes went wide and he looked terrified.
Kane’s voice cut into Jensen’s thoughts, “Jensen, you can’t say not to speak and then ask him a question. You have to give him permission to answer you.”
Fair point, he realized.
“Jared, you can answer me if I ask a direct question. You’re not long out of school, right? Pretend I’m your strictest schoolteacher.”
Jared breathed out, “Yessir.”
Jensen turned to nod his approval, “There. You’re perfect. I’ll keep holding your hand so you know where to be.”
Jared grasped his hand tightly in his own sweat sticky fingers. Jensen put the sheen of perspiration on him down to nerves but if the kid continued to perspire like this, Jensen would have to carry a towel everywhere with them.
As they neared the check-in lounge, the corridor was lined with subtly armed A.I.s. There was a series of scanners overhead, tracking significant body features, temperature anomalies and stress, and he noted at least two automatic gates that could no doubt shut down in seconds to trap them if preliminary scans detected anything suspicious. Jensen heard a series of beeps, he looked around before realizing they were in his head, “Kane?”
“Okay, we’ve got some smart tech. They're sweeping for neural chips. I’m going offline awhile. Don’t panic, there’s fixes. Catch you later.” The link went silent.
Crap! Jensen thought, even as he continued on, heartbeat steady, like nothing had happened. This is what he was paid for and he would cope. He always did.
The A.I. left them in the reception lounge to book in, “Security reasons,” they said, and Jensen cooled his heels and tried not to think the worst. He shot a look at Jared who stood wide eyed and pale, looking about in obvious terror, his chest heaving with worryingly fast breaths.
"Hey!" Jensen said, "It's just a vacation, right? I have our papers, don't concern yourself with how. We'll be through and in our cabin in no time." He put a hand on the back of Jared's neck, above the collar and stroked gently through silky hair. "I'm here. Breathe." Jared flinched, took a gasping breath and blew it out slowly. He was still tense under Jensen's fingertips but he leaned into the touch and and his breath steadied.
tbc
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