The Noction Auction part 1
Title : The Noction auction
Author : siriala
Rating : NC-17
Word count : 11,500
Fandom : J2
Genre : RPS, AU, futuristic fantasy
Characters : Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Mark Pellegrino, Curtis Armstrong, Alaina Huffman
Pairings : Jensen/Jared
Disclaimer : balivernes et billevesées, hokum and twaddle. This is all fantasy, there's not a leak of truth in this story !
Beta : the wonderful honscot who went once again above and beyond to help me, although she was going through a difficult time, and I can't thank her enough.
Warnings/enticements : I tried to keep it pretty light and fun but still, there's reference to human trafficking on a planet that is all about auctions, virgin bottom!Jared forced into marriage, a particular form of addiction (of which the fic doesn't pretend to offer a real depiction at all), and a weird justice system.
Summary : Noction was supposed to be a simple trip for Jared, not a place to be sold and married to a dashing but shifty stranger.
Notes : written for the 2015 spn_meanttobe challenge - thanks to tebtosca for organizing it all, and especially for the one-week extension ! Original prompt : #56 When Mary Smith’s corrupt, debt-ridden brother drags her to a seedy pub to sell her virtue to the highest bidder, Alasdair Thornham leaps to the rescue. Of course the marquess is far from perfect husband material. Although he is exceedingly handsome, with a perfect, strong body, chiseled jaw, and piercing green eyes, Alasdair is also too fond of opium, preferring delirium to reality. Still, he has come to Mary’s aid, and now she intends to return the favor. She will show him that he is not evil, just troubled.
Mary was a damsel in need of a hero, but Alasdair’s plan is shortsighted. He never foresaw her desire to save him from himself. Alasdair is quite at home in his private torment, until this angel proves that a heart still beats in his broken soul. The devil may have kept her from hell, but will Mary’s good intentions lead them back to the brink-or to heaven in each other’s arms?
The word songe, borrowed from French, means dream. Playful references to Star Wars's Obi-Wan Kenobi and my first slash OTP, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan from The Phantom Menace, and to Brian O'Conner and Dom Toretto of the Fast and the Furious movies.
Read on AO3
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"To dream is to walk back towards childhood."
("Rêver, c'est proprement rebrousser chemin vers l'enfance." Ménage, Dictionnaire étymologique, 1750, II : 400 (1694) in Rêver. Le mot, la chose, l'histoire, by Daniel Fabre)
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If the perpetual auction on Noction is famous all over the galaxy, it's of course because it's free. As long as you're able to somehow make your way to the planet, you're sure to find a great place to put your merchandise on display and wait for the opportunity to make a good deal, while top-notch and just as free advertising never fails to bring the best buyers directly to you.
If you do strike a deal, the planet's commission is a bit on the high end of the usual trade scale but it's worth it as every other planet known to sentient life in the whole quadrant acknowledges the deals and respects them.
What Jared didn't know before he visited the auction is that there's a second market on Noction ; one that no self-respecting young virgin will approach for fear of finding themselves on the bad side of a sale.
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It's clear he shouldn't have trusted his stepbrother. But here's the rub : Mark is his brother. A drunkard, a fool, untrustworthy with money in his hands, and they're only related by the fact that Mark's father married Jared's mother. But still, his brother.
Whatever new low he's reached, never could Jared have imagined the kind of appalling plan he had come up with.
Of course, he'd been surprised by the offer to travel along - given that Mark is hardly a good sibling, and he doesn't exactly spend a lot of time with his pain-in-the-ass little brother - but Jared was tired of being cooped up all alone in their house on their backwater planet, where nothing happens on a daily basis, and he reasoned that no one had ever gone far that looked a gift horse in the mouth, not too closely anyway.
Yeah, well, that particular horse was not even a donkey with a bad kicking habit.
So here is Jared today, waiting for his virginity to be sold to the highest bidder.
This is how it happened, and how Jared is saved from a terrible fate.
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The noise brings him back to consciousness, the brouhaha of a room full of people out to have a good time, share bad, offensive jokes and get drunk together.
He wakes up feeling slightly nauseous, but it's not nearly as disconcerting as finding his arms tied in a complicated, almost artistic way, behind his back. Instead of his usual trousers and shirt, he wears a simple white tunic, toga-like, that covers Jared down to his naked feet in an elegant fold of fabric when he feels steady enough to stand up.
Until it goes down all the way.
In one click, Mark has a clip released and Jared's tunic falling to the floor, leaving him naked as the day he was born in front of this roomful of half-drunken men outbidding each other for the right to take him home and own him. Jared tries to struggle, to unbind his arms once again, to protect himself, to hide, to flee. But it's still impossible, the knots too tight, Mark's hold too strong.
"Hey guys," Mark bellows over the shouts, "say hello to Jared !"
As hellos and laughter crank up the decibel level, Jared feels each whistle like a blow to his face, each stare like a dagger. Each of his brother's words praising his beauty and assets is like poison to his soul. He's always known Mark was not a good man, but still he can't understand how they've come to this violation of their brotherly bond.
The men in the room come pretty much from the same ilk. Most of them don't bother hiding their boner at the view of his nakedness as much as his helplessness. Many are currently stroking themselves, some have even taken their dick out to show Jared what he'll be dealing with in case they manage to buy him.
Mark turns him around to show off his butt. Jared shivers with fright when he hears a man yell that he will keep him bound that way for the rest of his life, fucking him all the time.
"Show us his asshole !" another one demands.
"Sorry, guys," Mark answers. "There's got to be something left to discover for the boy's future owner."
Jared isn't sure if it makes him feel really better but still, it's one boundary Mark isn't willing to cross. Not yet at least. Jared doesn't try to fool himself that Mark won't do it in a heartbeat if he comes to think it will serve his purpose.
"Look at this virgin ass," Mark entices his prospective buyers by forcing Jared to bend in half, his butt on full display. "Think how delightful it would be to slide into this for the first time, to know you’re his one and only owner."
"How can you be so sure he's not been used already ? Such a pretty thing…"
"My brother was raised in the Nargylian faith and he's very devoted to his belief. They teach that your body belongs only to your husband. Plus I've seen the kid grow up. I didn't let him wander off and I can attest he is still pure as snow."
Which is both true and a crock of bullshit, seeing as Mark became his stepbrother when Jared was fifteen already and he hasn't taken care of Jared at all until very recently, probably when he realized the value of Jared's virginity. The virginity he's able to advertise today because Jared's faith has indeed prompted him to save himself for the right person.
He kind of regrets it right now. And that's when the auction starts properly.
The price is not that high to begin with, probably just covering the price of their trip, but Mark has made sure that every customer's glass is kept constantly full and soon the auction soars. Little by little, and even though misery has to be written all over Jared's face, offers to buy him get incredibly high. They get even higher every time Mark turns him around to show his ass once more.
It's a nightmare, a production of his feverish mind, an hallucination brought by something bad he had for dinner. He can't be a few minutes away from being sold to one of these drunken nobodies.
Then he hears it, the growly, sexy voice coming from the back of the room.
"Two million !"
Over his shoulder, Jared shoots the unknown man a disbelieving look. Two million has to be the budget of some small countries on many planets.
The silence is suddenly thick after the ruckus of the savage auction. Everybody stares at the gorgeous man slowly making his way to the stage.
The stranger stops in front of his soon-to-be possession, never letting his eyes stray from Jared's. Jared who can't help feeling relieved, as much to see that his probable buyer is exceedingly handsome as from the fact that he looks saner than most other bidders. His clothes are no different than what any other guy out there wears, but there's an aura about him, something that will always make him stand out in a room, be it populated by lowlifes or the highest society. His handsomeness is only part of it. Jared doesn't really know how to explain it. There's something magnetic about this man who wants to claim him, something he could very well succumb to.
Mark's face is split by the hugest smile Jared has ever seen. The auctioneer repeats the stranger's offer once, then twice, but of course no one is able to match it so the short Noctioner raises both his hands above his head and claps them. The noise of the sensors in his palms hitting each other indicates the auction is over and the computers record the deal.
Jared is sold.
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Correction : according to the auctioneer's next words, Jared is married.
Once the payment is confirmed by the sensors, Jared's new husband comes to him. His first move, while Jared's ties are cut per his orders, and even before introducing himself, is to grip the tunic from the ground and secure it back on Jared's shoulder to protect his modesty and hide his nudity.
Maybe it's the cold and the fright, or maybe it's the light touch of the man along his flanks and arms that has Jared breaking into shivers, enough that his buyer sheds his vest to help Jared pulling it on too. It's a bit tight on him, but it smells nice and it's warm, and Jared feels even more at ease. Whatever happens now, he's sure the man won't try to harm him and that he'll listen when Jared explains that he hasn't been brought here willingly.
Then their eyes meet and it's clear that the stranger feels just as out of his depth in this instant that none of them had expected. Maybe even more, as Jared keeps on admiring the beautiful features of the man who bought him, endeared by his obvious discomfort and sweetness.
"Hi," the guy says at last. "I'm Jensen. I want you to know that you have nothing to fear. You're free now."
Jared is left speechless. The man just spent two million on him and he asks for nothing in return.
"I'll repay you," Jared stutters. He has no idea how, and even less how to really thank his savior, but he'll do it.
"That's not really necessary. I just couldn't stand seeing you so afraid and distressed up there."
A man comes to stand next to them. Lost in his contemplation, Jared has to force himself to look at him but then he realizes this is the Noctioner auctioneer - the very satisfied Noctioner auctioneer, judging by the smile on his face, which probably means his commission is as huge as unexpected in such a dive - watching them with a serene expression. His badge reads Curtis, right above the Arm Strong Auction Corporation logo symbolized by two muscled arms raised just like Curtis did a few minutes ago to conclude their deal.
"Sorry to interrupt," Curtis says, "but I couldn't help hearing your conversation and I think there's been a slight misunderstanding. You two pretty boys are married now ! That was the point of this auction."
"Is it really legal ?" both Jensen and he ask rather comically at the same time, wearing the same disgruntled expression.
"Irremediably. Marriage is not taken lightly on Noction ! It can't be broken, not before five years together at least, and even then you have to come up with a very important reason why you've changed your mind to stand a chance to be granted a separation."
"Isn't an auction in which I was a forced deal reason enough ?!" Jared exclaims.
"Your brother's credentials as your legal guardian are satisfactory."
"And what if I argue that I only paid to save him ?" Jensen intervenes.
"The judge will tell you that no one and nothing forced your hand. You both better get used to the idea. You're married, and that's final."
The man wanders away, leaving them to absorb the definitive reality of the situation.
"Sorry, man," Jensen says. "It was supposed to help you, not trap you with me instead of one of the other bidders."
"Don't compare yourself to those horrible men !" Jared shivers, burrowing deeper into his rescuer's vest. "You did it all to help so don't worry about me. For what it's worth, I'm sorry too. Not that you helped me escape a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, but sorry for being such a numbskull, for repaying your generosity by imposing myself on you. My brother's schemes leave you saddled just as unwillingly with a husband you didn't choose."
"Well, we'll just have to make the best of a bad job. I promise I won't force myself on you and that you'll be free to live your life the way you want. I have a big house, you won't even have to see me if you don't want to. We'll be able to keep on living completely separate lives. And I won't stand in your way if you meet someone that… someone you're attracted to."
Jared looks up at that, utterly shocked.
"I can't… I'm not that kind of person."
Jared stops and blushes. He doesn't dare to add that it will be Jensen or no one for him. Marriage vows are sacred. Even the ones he didn't take.
"I get it, Jared, I really do. But I can't hold you responsible for this and this is not your usual marriage. You're young, you're bound to fall in love someday."
Jensen is so understanding and kind, and yet his attitude makes Jared feel abandoned in a way. Shortchanged.
"I know you're trying to do right by me but I'm yours now. This shouldn't be a one-way relationship."
Jared blushes again and shuts up but Jensen seems to hear what he can't say.
"You're sweet," he says, cupping Jared's jaw with the palm of his right hand. The tips of his fingers gently brush Jared's cheek and Jared feels himself shiver again. But this is not disgust he's experiencing right now, and Jared's glad the vest is long enough to hide his growing problem.
"I don't want you to settle for less than love," Jensen adds. "Your first time has to be magic."
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Jensen hadn't lied. His house is really big, so much so they are able to live two parallel lives that never connect. As promised, he's also never tried to force himself on Jared. He hasn't so much as tried to kiss him. Not even a peck on the cheek.
Jared waits all day, every day for him to leave his part of the house but Jensen has made himself scarce after giving Jared the tour of his big, impersonal home. The chores are done by old-fashioned robots, not even androids Jared could speak with, so his time is spent mostly alone. The first time he tries to use the computer to read, a synthetic voice utters "The reverie alone will do." Jared understands it wants an answer, the password to unlocking the device, but all his attempts fail. He gets quickly annoyed with the strange sentence, that Jensen doesn't really explain when he finally leave his bedroom and sets a personal session and his own password for Jared.
The first thing Jared checks is for potential representatives of his faith here on Noction. There's none, so he registers with an online site to follow the tenets and hear the words of God, but it only takes him a few minutes every day, an hour, tops, and then Jared is left to his own company again.
Jared is bored, and he's depressed. What's the point of having a house as big as a castle and the most generous husband if his life looks so much like the one he's left behind ?
What's the point of his husband being so gorgeous if Jared can't brag about it, show off at his side, and enjoy the very special, very physical relationship they're supposed to share ?
"I'm not interested in a relationship," Jensen tells him the day Jared finds the courage to speak during dinner, the only moment of the day they share. "I sleep part of the day away, and I spend all my nights in the Reverie."
"The what ?"
Jared's never heard of such a place, and he's never seen or heard Jensen going out after Jared has gone to sleep. But it would make sense. Jensen never shows up before late afternoon, although Jared didn't know before Jensen's admission if he's sleeping or just avoiding the husband he never asked for. He could have been working, but Jared figures than someone able to pay two million on the spot to save a virgin in distress doesn't have to work to make a living. He can certainly pay other people to deal with the troubles that come with a job.
"The Reverie," Jensen repeats. "I guess you could say it's kind of a game. And that I'm kind of… addicted."
"How come you were at the auction, then ?"
"My system needed an upgrade and it was inaccessible for a few hours, at risk of endangering my mind if I forced it. I didn't trust myself to resist if I was home, so I decided to go get drunk."
Jensen turns towards Jared, a self-deprecating smile on his handsome face.
"That's why we had to wait till morning to come here after the auction : the house was on lockdown until after the upgrade was done," Jensen adds sheepishly. "I hadn't gone out at night in months, maybe years. I ended up at the tavern, and then I saw you…"
Jared falls on his knees and sends a heartfelt prayer to God. It can't be anything else than the hand of his maker protecting him, on this occasion in which Jared could have lost himself and everything he believed in, by placing Jensen in his path and saving him.
"Jared ?" Jensen enquires with worry. "What's wrong ?"
"Nothing's wrong," he answers with a delighted smile. "You just confirmed that we're destined to be together. You were to save me just as I am to save you from your addiction."
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Jared's plan is simple. Admittedly, he doesn't know much about seducing the man you love. But he's always heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. He decides to begin with this and build from there.
The first step is to ask Jensen to show him where to buy food.
"You need to tell me where it's okay for me to go, and the places that are forbidden to me."
"What do you mean ? Nothing's forbidden to you."
Jared might be happy that his husband is not a jerk ready to rattle his chain just because he can, but he wants to make him feel involved in Jared's life.
"That's nice of you. Still, I need you to show me which places are safe and which are not. I don't wish for a repeat of the situation that led to our encounter."
Jared puts a frightened expression on his face and Jensen's reaction is immediate.
"No problem, we'll go investigate this afternoon, see what's around that you might be interested in. Is that alright ?"
"Great !"
If Jensen isn't more knowledgeable on the subject already, that's because he has everything bought on the net by his robot majordomo and delivered to his house.
None of this for Jared. They end up spending at least three afternoons a week together out buying groceries or whatever stuff Jared has decreed they need at home. It's all part of the plan to make Jensen feel at home in his own house. A real home, where he feels good and free despite Jared's intrusion ; or maybe even thanks to Jared's intrusion.
"What are you doing ?" Jensen asks the first time he finds Jared in the kitchen. "It smells delicious !"
"I'm baking. It's an old Earth recipe, the four-quarters cake. Did I tell you that my mother came from Earth ? This was her secret recipe."
"Yeah ? Did you cook and bake a lot with her ?"
"Quite a bit, yes. And seeing that you're my husband, you're allowed to learn her tricks, too. The secret here is to add the zest of a Xanga lemon. You're going to love this flavor !"
Jensen seems a bit dubious but, although a picky eater at the best of times, he asks for more at the end of the dinner. Jared's definitely lucky that Jensen's fortune authorizes him to buy overpriced ingredients imported from Earth, before he has time to learn to go local. The food market is just as much of an auction as the rest of the planet and Jared is glad that he wasn't alone to learn how to deal with this, especially when the process is long and they spend so much time together. Jensen even looks like he agrees now that it's much more fun to buy live together than through his computer.
Jared's plan is obviously a win all around.
For the next part, Jared needs to find a way to get Jensen out of the house and spend more time with him on a more regular basis. This one's easy too.
"Is there some place to visit on Noction ?" Jared asks at lunch, once he's managed to get Jensen up and ready late in the morning, rather than during the afternoon, and sharing a second meal together every day. "You know, monuments, museums… ?"
"I think so. Not that I've seen much of them, but I've heard of the ancient treasures, before the planet was turned into the huge auction field it is today. You want me to find out what's still around and what's open to the public ?"
"That would be great !"
Jared remains conscious that they will have to find someday a better occupation to bring them together, some kind of common project to tether them each to the other but, in the meanwhile, to interest Jensen in the past of his planet and share it with Jared seems like a good way to ground him. Indeed, it feels to Jared that Jensen suffers from a lack of roots as well as a lack of direction.
So they begin to get out for fun in addition to their trips to the markets. Jensen quickly gets caught in the game and keeps on finding new places for Jared and himself to discover. His money definitely helps to open doors a general audience couldn't trespass, and he does it all to make Jared happy. The only restriction Jensen brings to their entente is that he needs to get back home in the evening to enjoy his own time out.
There's no question that the last step in Jared's plan will be the hardest one : sever Jensen's addiction to the Reverie.
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On to part 2
Author : siriala
Rating : NC-17
Word count : 11,500
Fandom : J2
Genre : RPS, AU, futuristic fantasy
Characters : Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Mark Pellegrino, Curtis Armstrong, Alaina Huffman
Pairings : Jensen/Jared
Disclaimer : balivernes et billevesées, hokum and twaddle. This is all fantasy, there's not a leak of truth in this story !
Beta : the wonderful honscot who went once again above and beyond to help me, although she was going through a difficult time, and I can't thank her enough.
Warnings/enticements : I tried to keep it pretty light and fun but still, there's reference to human trafficking on a planet that is all about auctions, virgin bottom!Jared forced into marriage, a particular form of addiction (of which the fic doesn't pretend to offer a real depiction at all), and a weird justice system.
Summary : Noction was supposed to be a simple trip for Jared, not a place to be sold and married to a dashing but shifty stranger.
Notes : written for the 2015 spn_meanttobe challenge - thanks to tebtosca for organizing it all, and especially for the one-week extension ! Original prompt : #56 When Mary Smith’s corrupt, debt-ridden brother drags her to a seedy pub to sell her virtue to the highest bidder, Alasdair Thornham leaps to the rescue. Of course the marquess is far from perfect husband material. Although he is exceedingly handsome, with a perfect, strong body, chiseled jaw, and piercing green eyes, Alasdair is also too fond of opium, preferring delirium to reality. Still, he has come to Mary’s aid, and now she intends to return the favor. She will show him that he is not evil, just troubled.
Mary was a damsel in need of a hero, but Alasdair’s plan is shortsighted. He never foresaw her desire to save him from himself. Alasdair is quite at home in his private torment, until this angel proves that a heart still beats in his broken soul. The devil may have kept her from hell, but will Mary’s good intentions lead them back to the brink-or to heaven in each other’s arms?
The word songe, borrowed from French, means dream. Playful references to Star Wars's Obi-Wan Kenobi and my first slash OTP, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan from The Phantom Menace, and to Brian O'Conner and Dom Toretto of the Fast and the Furious movies.
Read on AO3
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"To dream is to walk back towards childhood."
("Rêver, c'est proprement rebrousser chemin vers l'enfance." Ménage, Dictionnaire étymologique, 1750, II : 400 (1694) in Rêver. Le mot, la chose, l'histoire, by Daniel Fabre)
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If the perpetual auction on Noction is famous all over the galaxy, it's of course because it's free. As long as you're able to somehow make your way to the planet, you're sure to find a great place to put your merchandise on display and wait for the opportunity to make a good deal, while top-notch and just as free advertising never fails to bring the best buyers directly to you.
If you do strike a deal, the planet's commission is a bit on the high end of the usual trade scale but it's worth it as every other planet known to sentient life in the whole quadrant acknowledges the deals and respects them.
What Jared didn't know before he visited the auction is that there's a second market on Noction ; one that no self-respecting young virgin will approach for fear of finding themselves on the bad side of a sale.
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It's clear he shouldn't have trusted his stepbrother. But here's the rub : Mark is his brother. A drunkard, a fool, untrustworthy with money in his hands, and they're only related by the fact that Mark's father married Jared's mother. But still, his brother.
Whatever new low he's reached, never could Jared have imagined the kind of appalling plan he had come up with.
Of course, he'd been surprised by the offer to travel along - given that Mark is hardly a good sibling, and he doesn't exactly spend a lot of time with his pain-in-the-ass little brother - but Jared was tired of being cooped up all alone in their house on their backwater planet, where nothing happens on a daily basis, and he reasoned that no one had ever gone far that looked a gift horse in the mouth, not too closely anyway.
Yeah, well, that particular horse was not even a donkey with a bad kicking habit.
So here is Jared today, waiting for his virginity to be sold to the highest bidder.
This is how it happened, and how Jared is saved from a terrible fate.
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The noise brings him back to consciousness, the brouhaha of a room full of people out to have a good time, share bad, offensive jokes and get drunk together.
He wakes up feeling slightly nauseous, but it's not nearly as disconcerting as finding his arms tied in a complicated, almost artistic way, behind his back. Instead of his usual trousers and shirt, he wears a simple white tunic, toga-like, that covers Jared down to his naked feet in an elegant fold of fabric when he feels steady enough to stand up.
Until it goes down all the way.
In one click, Mark has a clip released and Jared's tunic falling to the floor, leaving him naked as the day he was born in front of this roomful of half-drunken men outbidding each other for the right to take him home and own him. Jared tries to struggle, to unbind his arms once again, to protect himself, to hide, to flee. But it's still impossible, the knots too tight, Mark's hold too strong.
"Hey guys," Mark bellows over the shouts, "say hello to Jared !"
As hellos and laughter crank up the decibel level, Jared feels each whistle like a blow to his face, each stare like a dagger. Each of his brother's words praising his beauty and assets is like poison to his soul. He's always known Mark was not a good man, but still he can't understand how they've come to this violation of their brotherly bond.
The men in the room come pretty much from the same ilk. Most of them don't bother hiding their boner at the view of his nakedness as much as his helplessness. Many are currently stroking themselves, some have even taken their dick out to show Jared what he'll be dealing with in case they manage to buy him.
Mark turns him around to show off his butt. Jared shivers with fright when he hears a man yell that he will keep him bound that way for the rest of his life, fucking him all the time.
"Show us his asshole !" another one demands.
"Sorry, guys," Mark answers. "There's got to be something left to discover for the boy's future owner."
Jared isn't sure if it makes him feel really better but still, it's one boundary Mark isn't willing to cross. Not yet at least. Jared doesn't try to fool himself that Mark won't do it in a heartbeat if he comes to think it will serve his purpose.
"Look at this virgin ass," Mark entices his prospective buyers by forcing Jared to bend in half, his butt on full display. "Think how delightful it would be to slide into this for the first time, to know you’re his one and only owner."
"How can you be so sure he's not been used already ? Such a pretty thing…"
"My brother was raised in the Nargylian faith and he's very devoted to his belief. They teach that your body belongs only to your husband. Plus I've seen the kid grow up. I didn't let him wander off and I can attest he is still pure as snow."
Which is both true and a crock of bullshit, seeing as Mark became his stepbrother when Jared was fifteen already and he hasn't taken care of Jared at all until very recently, probably when he realized the value of Jared's virginity. The virginity he's able to advertise today because Jared's faith has indeed prompted him to save himself for the right person.
He kind of regrets it right now. And that's when the auction starts properly.
The price is not that high to begin with, probably just covering the price of their trip, but Mark has made sure that every customer's glass is kept constantly full and soon the auction soars. Little by little, and even though misery has to be written all over Jared's face, offers to buy him get incredibly high. They get even higher every time Mark turns him around to show his ass once more.
It's a nightmare, a production of his feverish mind, an hallucination brought by something bad he had for dinner. He can't be a few minutes away from being sold to one of these drunken nobodies.
Then he hears it, the growly, sexy voice coming from the back of the room.
"Two million !"
Over his shoulder, Jared shoots the unknown man a disbelieving look. Two million has to be the budget of some small countries on many planets.
The silence is suddenly thick after the ruckus of the savage auction. Everybody stares at the gorgeous man slowly making his way to the stage.
The stranger stops in front of his soon-to-be possession, never letting his eyes stray from Jared's. Jared who can't help feeling relieved, as much to see that his probable buyer is exceedingly handsome as from the fact that he looks saner than most other bidders. His clothes are no different than what any other guy out there wears, but there's an aura about him, something that will always make him stand out in a room, be it populated by lowlifes or the highest society. His handsomeness is only part of it. Jared doesn't really know how to explain it. There's something magnetic about this man who wants to claim him, something he could very well succumb to.
Mark's face is split by the hugest smile Jared has ever seen. The auctioneer repeats the stranger's offer once, then twice, but of course no one is able to match it so the short Noctioner raises both his hands above his head and claps them. The noise of the sensors in his palms hitting each other indicates the auction is over and the computers record the deal.
Jared is sold.
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Correction : according to the auctioneer's next words, Jared is married.
Once the payment is confirmed by the sensors, Jared's new husband comes to him. His first move, while Jared's ties are cut per his orders, and even before introducing himself, is to grip the tunic from the ground and secure it back on Jared's shoulder to protect his modesty and hide his nudity.
Maybe it's the cold and the fright, or maybe it's the light touch of the man along his flanks and arms that has Jared breaking into shivers, enough that his buyer sheds his vest to help Jared pulling it on too. It's a bit tight on him, but it smells nice and it's warm, and Jared feels even more at ease. Whatever happens now, he's sure the man won't try to harm him and that he'll listen when Jared explains that he hasn't been brought here willingly.
Then their eyes meet and it's clear that the stranger feels just as out of his depth in this instant that none of them had expected. Maybe even more, as Jared keeps on admiring the beautiful features of the man who bought him, endeared by his obvious discomfort and sweetness.
"Hi," the guy says at last. "I'm Jensen. I want you to know that you have nothing to fear. You're free now."
Jared is left speechless. The man just spent two million on him and he asks for nothing in return.
"I'll repay you," Jared stutters. He has no idea how, and even less how to really thank his savior, but he'll do it.
"That's not really necessary. I just couldn't stand seeing you so afraid and distressed up there."
A man comes to stand next to them. Lost in his contemplation, Jared has to force himself to look at him but then he realizes this is the Noctioner auctioneer - the very satisfied Noctioner auctioneer, judging by the smile on his face, which probably means his commission is as huge as unexpected in such a dive - watching them with a serene expression. His badge reads Curtis, right above the Arm Strong Auction Corporation logo symbolized by two muscled arms raised just like Curtis did a few minutes ago to conclude their deal.
"Sorry to interrupt," Curtis says, "but I couldn't help hearing your conversation and I think there's been a slight misunderstanding. You two pretty boys are married now ! That was the point of this auction."
"Is it really legal ?" both Jensen and he ask rather comically at the same time, wearing the same disgruntled expression.
"Irremediably. Marriage is not taken lightly on Noction ! It can't be broken, not before five years together at least, and even then you have to come up with a very important reason why you've changed your mind to stand a chance to be granted a separation."
"Isn't an auction in which I was a forced deal reason enough ?!" Jared exclaims.
"Your brother's credentials as your legal guardian are satisfactory."
"And what if I argue that I only paid to save him ?" Jensen intervenes.
"The judge will tell you that no one and nothing forced your hand. You both better get used to the idea. You're married, and that's final."
The man wanders away, leaving them to absorb the definitive reality of the situation.
"Sorry, man," Jensen says. "It was supposed to help you, not trap you with me instead of one of the other bidders."
"Don't compare yourself to those horrible men !" Jared shivers, burrowing deeper into his rescuer's vest. "You did it all to help so don't worry about me. For what it's worth, I'm sorry too. Not that you helped me escape a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, but sorry for being such a numbskull, for repaying your generosity by imposing myself on you. My brother's schemes leave you saddled just as unwillingly with a husband you didn't choose."
"Well, we'll just have to make the best of a bad job. I promise I won't force myself on you and that you'll be free to live your life the way you want. I have a big house, you won't even have to see me if you don't want to. We'll be able to keep on living completely separate lives. And I won't stand in your way if you meet someone that… someone you're attracted to."
Jared looks up at that, utterly shocked.
"I can't… I'm not that kind of person."
Jared stops and blushes. He doesn't dare to add that it will be Jensen or no one for him. Marriage vows are sacred. Even the ones he didn't take.
"I get it, Jared, I really do. But I can't hold you responsible for this and this is not your usual marriage. You're young, you're bound to fall in love someday."
Jensen is so understanding and kind, and yet his attitude makes Jared feel abandoned in a way. Shortchanged.
"I know you're trying to do right by me but I'm yours now. This shouldn't be a one-way relationship."
Jared blushes again and shuts up but Jensen seems to hear what he can't say.
"You're sweet," he says, cupping Jared's jaw with the palm of his right hand. The tips of his fingers gently brush Jared's cheek and Jared feels himself shiver again. But this is not disgust he's experiencing right now, and Jared's glad the vest is long enough to hide his growing problem.
"I don't want you to settle for less than love," Jensen adds. "Your first time has to be magic."
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Jensen hadn't lied. His house is really big, so much so they are able to live two parallel lives that never connect. As promised, he's also never tried to force himself on Jared. He hasn't so much as tried to kiss him. Not even a peck on the cheek.
Jared waits all day, every day for him to leave his part of the house but Jensen has made himself scarce after giving Jared the tour of his big, impersonal home. The chores are done by old-fashioned robots, not even androids Jared could speak with, so his time is spent mostly alone. The first time he tries to use the computer to read, a synthetic voice utters "The reverie alone will do." Jared understands it wants an answer, the password to unlocking the device, but all his attempts fail. He gets quickly annoyed with the strange sentence, that Jensen doesn't really explain when he finally leave his bedroom and sets a personal session and his own password for Jared.
The first thing Jared checks is for potential representatives of his faith here on Noction. There's none, so he registers with an online site to follow the tenets and hear the words of God, but it only takes him a few minutes every day, an hour, tops, and then Jared is left to his own company again.
Jared is bored, and he's depressed. What's the point of having a house as big as a castle and the most generous husband if his life looks so much like the one he's left behind ?
What's the point of his husband being so gorgeous if Jared can't brag about it, show off at his side, and enjoy the very special, very physical relationship they're supposed to share ?
"I'm not interested in a relationship," Jensen tells him the day Jared finds the courage to speak during dinner, the only moment of the day they share. "I sleep part of the day away, and I spend all my nights in the Reverie."
"The what ?"
Jared's never heard of such a place, and he's never seen or heard Jensen going out after Jared has gone to sleep. But it would make sense. Jensen never shows up before late afternoon, although Jared didn't know before Jensen's admission if he's sleeping or just avoiding the husband he never asked for. He could have been working, but Jared figures than someone able to pay two million on the spot to save a virgin in distress doesn't have to work to make a living. He can certainly pay other people to deal with the troubles that come with a job.
"The Reverie," Jensen repeats. "I guess you could say it's kind of a game. And that I'm kind of… addicted."
"How come you were at the auction, then ?"
"My system needed an upgrade and it was inaccessible for a few hours, at risk of endangering my mind if I forced it. I didn't trust myself to resist if I was home, so I decided to go get drunk."
Jensen turns towards Jared, a self-deprecating smile on his handsome face.
"That's why we had to wait till morning to come here after the auction : the house was on lockdown until after the upgrade was done," Jensen adds sheepishly. "I hadn't gone out at night in months, maybe years. I ended up at the tavern, and then I saw you…"
Jared falls on his knees and sends a heartfelt prayer to God. It can't be anything else than the hand of his maker protecting him, on this occasion in which Jared could have lost himself and everything he believed in, by placing Jensen in his path and saving him.
"Jared ?" Jensen enquires with worry. "What's wrong ?"
"Nothing's wrong," he answers with a delighted smile. "You just confirmed that we're destined to be together. You were to save me just as I am to save you from your addiction."
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Jared's plan is simple. Admittedly, he doesn't know much about seducing the man you love. But he's always heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. He decides to begin with this and build from there.
The first step is to ask Jensen to show him where to buy food.
"You need to tell me where it's okay for me to go, and the places that are forbidden to me."
"What do you mean ? Nothing's forbidden to you."
Jared might be happy that his husband is not a jerk ready to rattle his chain just because he can, but he wants to make him feel involved in Jared's life.
"That's nice of you. Still, I need you to show me which places are safe and which are not. I don't wish for a repeat of the situation that led to our encounter."
Jared puts a frightened expression on his face and Jensen's reaction is immediate.
"No problem, we'll go investigate this afternoon, see what's around that you might be interested in. Is that alright ?"
"Great !"
If Jensen isn't more knowledgeable on the subject already, that's because he has everything bought on the net by his robot majordomo and delivered to his house.
None of this for Jared. They end up spending at least three afternoons a week together out buying groceries or whatever stuff Jared has decreed they need at home. It's all part of the plan to make Jensen feel at home in his own house. A real home, where he feels good and free despite Jared's intrusion ; or maybe even thanks to Jared's intrusion.
"What are you doing ?" Jensen asks the first time he finds Jared in the kitchen. "It smells delicious !"
"I'm baking. It's an old Earth recipe, the four-quarters cake. Did I tell you that my mother came from Earth ? This was her secret recipe."
"Yeah ? Did you cook and bake a lot with her ?"
"Quite a bit, yes. And seeing that you're my husband, you're allowed to learn her tricks, too. The secret here is to add the zest of a Xanga lemon. You're going to love this flavor !"
Jensen seems a bit dubious but, although a picky eater at the best of times, he asks for more at the end of the dinner. Jared's definitely lucky that Jensen's fortune authorizes him to buy overpriced ingredients imported from Earth, before he has time to learn to go local. The food market is just as much of an auction as the rest of the planet and Jared is glad that he wasn't alone to learn how to deal with this, especially when the process is long and they spend so much time together. Jensen even looks like he agrees now that it's much more fun to buy live together than through his computer.
Jared's plan is obviously a win all around.
For the next part, Jared needs to find a way to get Jensen out of the house and spend more time with him on a more regular basis. This one's easy too.
"Is there some place to visit on Noction ?" Jared asks at lunch, once he's managed to get Jensen up and ready late in the morning, rather than during the afternoon, and sharing a second meal together every day. "You know, monuments, museums… ?"
"I think so. Not that I've seen much of them, but I've heard of the ancient treasures, before the planet was turned into the huge auction field it is today. You want me to find out what's still around and what's open to the public ?"
"That would be great !"
Jared remains conscious that they will have to find someday a better occupation to bring them together, some kind of common project to tether them each to the other but, in the meanwhile, to interest Jensen in the past of his planet and share it with Jared seems like a good way to ground him. Indeed, it feels to Jared that Jensen suffers from a lack of roots as well as a lack of direction.
So they begin to get out for fun in addition to their trips to the markets. Jensen quickly gets caught in the game and keeps on finding new places for Jared and himself to discover. His money definitely helps to open doors a general audience couldn't trespass, and he does it all to make Jared happy. The only restriction Jensen brings to their entente is that he needs to get back home in the evening to enjoy his own time out.
There's no question that the last step in Jared's plan will be the hardest one : sever Jensen's addiction to the Reverie.
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On to part 2