[Arashi] [Sakumiya] Flavour of Love

[radhaj]

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Those people are not mine. I only wish they were
Warnings: slavery, kinks all around yadda yadda
Summary: In a world where slavery is flourishing, two people are living their lives by exploiting the system. But are they truly as removed from its effects themselves as it seems at first glance?

Chapter 1

That morning, Nino woke up to lips pressing against the nape of his neck.

Sho was spooning up to him from behind, his left arm tight around his naked body, their warmth mingling under the blanket that they were covered with. Even though he was awake now, Nino refused to open his eyes, staying in this personal version of heaven.

A few years ago, this would have been everything he needed to feel completely fulfilled. And although nowadays things were much more complicated, even though Nino's world had expanded so much since then and now included so many more worries, needs and hopes, the fact that this was where he felt most at home had never changed. Being in bed with the person that meant everything to him, who was everything to him, and knowing that this person wanted him here as well was still so amazing that sometimes Nino could scarcely believe he had been blessed enough to have it. But it was very real.

“How much longer are you going to pretend to still be asleep?” came his bed-mate's amused voice and the warm gust of breath at his nape that accompanied it sent shivers down Nino's spine. Of course Sho wouldn't just allow them to continue lying in silence. Nino wondered just how long the other had already been awake himself.

“I don't know. Depends on how long you are going to let me?” he muttered sleepily, otherwise still stubbornly not moving a muscle.

“Well...” Sho drew out, thoughtfully, his previously immobile arm rubbing a couple of circles over the younger man's stomach before coming to rest again on the side of his hip, “Not very long, since we really need to get up soon. But perhaps we can think of something to make waking up less... undesirable for you?” he pretty much purred into the smaller man's ear, causing yet another shiver.

Ah yes. Their current position might have been enough to make Nino feel fulfilled, but that didn't mean it couldn't get even better. The petite man's eyes finally fluttered open and he shifted in Sho's arms, turning to look at his incredibly handsome face, drinking in the familiar features from up-close.

“What did you have in mind?” he asked, obviously already convinced no matter what exactly it was. He would always do whatever Sho wanted, not least of all because it was usually what he wanted as well.

“Ah, unfortunately we can't get too frisky this morning. We already pushed it, having sex last night,” Sho answered, giving it some thought and making the happiness in Nino's eyes dim slightly for a moment at the indirect reminder of what was happening later that day. But he immediately pushed the thought away and grinned cheekily instead.

“I think I have an idea, if you don't mind?” he muttered impishly, and Sho lifted an eyebrow, nodding his head slightly to indicate Nino should continue. But the smaller man didn't share his idea with words; instead, he found one of Sho's hands and brought it out from under the covers to his lips so he could lewdly lick up one of the fingers, all the time looking Sho straight in the eyes, before taking it inside his mouth and sucking on it. His cheeks hollowed out, and he then started moving the digit in and out of his mouth in a pornographic display, his glinting eyes staying upon Sho's, making the offer clear. That was enough for the older man's eyes to glaze up with obvious hunger.

“I've always... loved your ideas,” he whispered in acceptance of the dirty offer, his voice breathy. Nino didn't hurry to act on it, however. Rather, he got another finger inside his mouth as well, running his tongue between the two, slurping on them and making them wet while his hand went down to Sho's crotch, finding that his attentions on Sho's digits were already waking the man up in another way.

“Ah, you little wicked creature,” Sho groaned with fondness, failing to be annoyed at the teasing when Nino started rubbing his swelling cock, slowly urging it into full hardness. Their eye contact finally failed, but not because Nino broke it off. Sho ended up lying back in pleasure, half-way closing his eyes, but started moving his fingers in and out of the petite man's mouth himself, “Oh goodness... please... just do it already...” he groaned out louder, the hand working on his dick quickly erasing the last of his ability to wait. That was enough to get Nino let go off his fingers from his mouth at last.

“As you wish,” he whispered with a cheeky smile. Sho made the mistake of looking at him again then, only to groan at how wanton Nino looked, his cheeks slightly rosy with arousal already and a thin string of saliva still connecting his lips to Sho's wet fingers. The younger man made it even worse by licking his lips in preparation before pulling his hand away from Sho's hardness and carefully lifting the blanket away from them so he could fulfil his offer more comfortably.

Both of them shivered in unison when the much cooler air of the room hit their bodies, but it didn't make Nino pause as he just scuttled downwards, where his prize was waiting for him, already pointing upwards in a well-known arch. It had been a while since he had blown Sho, and Nino felt a bit ridiculous because of how excited he was getting now that he was about to do it again. His hands quickly wandered downwards Sho's perfectly sculpted body that he often spent hours upon hours worshipping, his fingers only barely flickering over the the familiar curves and shapes and lines of the hard muscles and the soft skin as Nino fitted his absurdly bony body in-between the slightly parted legs. His eyes subconsciously flashed upwards one more time then, only to find Sho's lust-filled, dark ones staring expectantly back at him, and he finally bent down.

A musky smell he was very well acquainted with filled his lungs as he gave the first, languid lick to the length before him, already prompting a small, appreciative moan to escape from Sho's throat. He shivered with pleasure, opening his lips and sucking first the head, then the entire girth of Sho's cock into his mouth, starting to move his head up and down the engorged shaft. Concentrating only and completely on pleasuring Sho in the best way he could, paying no mind to anything else, he automatically moved together with Sho's body when the older man shakily shifted upwards, lifting himself onto his elbows so he could watch Nino through his half-lidded eyes.

Up and down, bobbing his head nonstop for what seemed like a small pleasure-filled eternity, then abruptly halting at the top so he could run his tongue around the head and suckle on it as if it was the most delicious candy. The salty taste of Sho's precum melted on his tongue and then he went down again, letting the intensity of the other man's moans guide his pace. Faster if they got quiet, slowing down a little if the guttural sounds he emitted became higher-pitched with desperation, like the other couldn't take it anymore much longer; always just the way Sho liked it. Up and down. Up. Down.

“Always... so good...” a gasp, “Touch yourself, Nino,” a rather distant sounding passionate whisper reached Nino's ears through the haze of sex and sweat, and his hand went to obey the heated request without as much as an extra thought about it. His fingers found his own cock hot and hard despite the fact that he had barely even noticed his own condition while blowing Sho, and he started stroking it haphazardly, not willing to spare it much more attention than that when Sho's dick was still twitching whenever he swallowed it down his throat, obviously enjoying his ministrations, “Wank yourself off for me while sucking my dick, just like that... just... ah... like that, Nino...”

Fingers, in his hair, long, slender, tangling in it, pushing his head further down the moment he consciously lifted his ass higher, so that Sho could see the way he started bucking his hips slightly into his own hand. Bitter saltiness on his tongue and the unrelenting hot hardness in his throat he struggled to swallow and breathe around without gagging. Soft curls tickling his nose whenever he went as deep as he could and the animalistic groans and gasps filling the room around him until it was so full of them that his lungs started screaming at the lack of air left to inhale. Everything was mixing in a dizzying, chaotic rush until it finally exploded, right in Nino's mouth, filling it with a thick liquid that clung to the sides of his throat when he thirstily swallowed it down. And the moment the fact registered in his mind, the moment he realized that Sho had come and was now gasping for breath after the amazing orgasm that Nino had given him, the petite man finally gripped his own cock more tightly and tugged on it a few more times before he came as well, his whole world momentarily getting swallowed by a blinding whiteness of pleasure.

The next thing Nino knew, he was lying on his back again, Sho's softly smiling face hovering above him while a hand was gently petting his hair as the older man waited for Nino to come back to the world of the living. The older man had obviously repositioned him while Nino had been out of it because of his climax. Suddenly embarrassed at the knowledge that he had blacked out so completely for a while that Sho actually had to wait for him to recover, the younger man turned to the side to bury his burning face into the nearest object which, in this case, just happened to be Sho's muscular, slightly sweaty chest.

“That was quite amazing,” was Sho's only comment, however, and Nino felt lips pressing on top of his head. Smiling at the small sign of appreciation, Nino then managed to make himself stop hiding his face and look up.

“So pretty,” Sho continued then, serenely, caressing Nino's cheeks and jaw with the back of his fingers. The smaller man smiled jubilantly and closed his eyes, leaning into the touches that seemed to flutter randomly over his face. But Nino knew that Sho was actually playing a silly game of connect the dots with his moles, as he sometimes liked doing without even really noticing it. For some reason, it always made Nino happy, however. It felt to him as if it was Sho's way of saying he loved those tiny spots that others would probably view as flaws, marring his features, “I could stare at your face forever. Such a pity I'll have to mask it again in a bit for later...”

Snap!

And just like that, the calm and blissful mood that Nino had been enjoying was broken and his eyes opened in unpleasant surprise. The peaceful moment was ruined. And as much as he couldn't seem to realize how much and why his words affected Nino, Sho did notice the abrupt change of the younger man's mood and saw the tension in his pale body. His caresses froze and Nino suddenly felt silly about it, but couldn't shake off the way the unwelcome reminder made him feel.

“You should stop spoiling the mood like that,” he complained, trying to sound light-hearted, backing away a little on the bed so he could sit up since he was unable to just lie there and relax any longer.

“Huh?” again, Sho didn't seem to understand his problem at all.

“Nevermind,” Nino muttered sadly in surrender, “Let's just shower and get going then,” he urged and then hesitated, “If you don't mind, of course,” he added eventually. Sho was still looking at him with a mix of confusion and suspicion, but finally nodded his head carefully.

“Yes,” he said decidedly, “It's about time we set out.”

~-*-~

Crap. Fuck. Shit. Fuck shit crap.

Nino had thought that these occurrences were already behind them. That he was now old and experienced enough to not be stuck in such a situation again. Ever since the first time it had happened and Sho had had to come rescue him, only to later explain that none of the bindings used in such situations were truly secure and rather were just there as a half-illusion for a willing partner who just wouldn't try to get out of them... Nino had thought that that knowledge was enough for him to always find a way to get out of all such restraints unaided. But here he was, the slight light he could see through the flimsy blindfold informing him that it was past daybreak already, and he was still as hopelessly tied up as he had been a few hours ago, with just his raw wrists to show for his struggles to free himself.

Sho would have to come help him again. In fact, he was most likely on his way here already, and Nino cursed extensively once more at the thought. Sho hated when this happened. He thought it was an extra risk that increased the possibility of getting caught tenfold, which was right, of course. And thus Nino just felt like a terrible disappointment at the knowledge that Sho would have to come and get him again. A complete failure in the only purpose that he had in this scheme.

Swallowing down a scream of despair that he knew would be questioned and difficult to explain were it to be heard my his current “owner”, not to mention challenging to even get out through the gag in his mouth, Nino gathered the last of his strength and pulled on his bindings one more time in a last ditch-effort to free himself, but his burning wrists gave out with yet again no progress made. He was well and truly stuck. Because the person that had bought him today just had to have this god forsaken kink where he thought it was fun to leave Nino helpless, gasping and struggling through the night, just so he could see how his new pet dealt with it. Because Nino was so weak. Because while Nino always felt smug and bragged whenever he pulled off the perfect Houdini trick of getting out of fake shackles or untying an amateur knot with a well-practiced flick of his quick, nimble fingers, he was still fucking useless when it came to getting himself out of real predicaments such as this.

A dry sob tore itself out from Nino's throat but was fortunately muffled by the ball-gag as he finally gave in completely and collapsed back on the mockingly-soft bed. He didn't even feel the physical discomfort of his situation anymore, his “owner's” best attempts at making the night trying for him fading to the far-off background of his mind in comparison to the mental beat-down that he was giving himself. However, as preoccupied by that as he was, his ears still caught the almost inaudible whisper when it finally came.

“Nino,” it was barely even a breath and could have easily just been a figment of the young man's imagination if it weren't for the fact that Nino knew it had to be real, “Is it safe? Is there time?”

Yes, there was, because Nino knew the bastard that had bought him had every intention of leaving him alone for hours more. He nodded as well as he could in response, any other way of answering unavailable to him, and then there was a quiet jingle of a lock-picks set, followed by a series of ticks, clicks and scratches before one final, louder click as what Nino assumed to be the balcony door to his room got unlocked from outside. Silence then, and barely perceptible shuffle of clothes and footsteps as Sho headed straight towards the bed.

The blindfold went first, easy to discard as it was a simple strip of cloth tied around Nino's head. The restrained man blinked rapidly to regain his eyesight when he was temporarily blinded by the light coming from outside, only to be greeted by a parody of the sight from just last morning – Sho's dark eyes gazing down upon him from a completely unfamiliar, heavily glamoured face, tired worry having replaced the carefree fondness in them as he waited for Nino to recover. The gag followed next and Nino had to flex his jaw for a second to try and get rid of the numbness from having his mouth kept open uncomfortably for so long.

“I'm so sorry,” he whispered as soon as he was able however, “I-” but he was cut off when Sho hastily pressed his hand down on his mouth.

“Not now,” he mouthed, completely without a sound, frowning down at him before lifting his hand away again and redirecting his attention at the bindings that kept Nino immobile. Nino could guess what was going through his head. Any single sound, anything that wasn't completely necessary could end up being that one extra factor that would get them caught. But his heart was aching with the need to apologize and he had to literally bite down on the tip of his tongue to stop himself from trying and speaking up despite being told not to.

To distract himself, he followed Sho's gaze above himself to the rope circling his wrists that he had been blindly struggling with this whole time. He winced when he saw his wrists, red and dark from rope-burn, but didn't linger on them long before concentrating on the rope itself. The knot holding it in place was unfamiliar to him, and from the crease on Sho's forehead, he knew the older man was none the wiser about it. Simply cutting through the rope was the obvious option, quicker as well as easier than untying it, but it would also make absolutely clear that Nino had had outside help when making his escape, and they wanted to avoid that at all costs.

“Wait,” Sho mouthed silently at him again and shifted towards the foot of the bed, inspecting, instead, the ropes restraining Nino's legs. Those must have been secured much less sophisticatedly as just a second or so later, Nino could feel Sho already freeing them. That made him able to scoot upwards enough to at least make the tension in his arms disappear, and he did just that, hoping it would also make it easier to untie him, ignoring how hard it was to move through the stiffness of his body after it having stayed in the same position for so long.

It took at least ten minutes. Sho prodded and tugged and pulled on the ropes carefully, a small sheen of sweat appearing on his face from the amount of concentration it took, but it still sometimes made Nino wince in pain as his wrists got further abused. Eventually, however, the knot loosened enough for Nino to withdraw his hands and as soon as that happened, he pretty much flinched down the bed away from the headboard, shuddering in relief, before disgustedly reaching between his legs and, as casually but quickly as he could, pulling out the butt-plug that had been buried inside him for this whole length of time.

Sho's eyes widened minutely as he had obviously not noticed its presence before, but Nino just hastily threw it onto the bed and tried to forget it had ever existed. He had been far too mentally distressed and distracted for it to have fulfilled its purpose of keeping him aroused and on the edge through the night. In fact, he had barely even felt it the whole time. But that didn't mean he wanted it inside him for any longer than absolutely unavoidable. He had no problems with sex toys and kinks, and he would even willingly go through a night of being teased without relief. But not for someone like the random guy that had the luck of buying him this time.

“Let's go,” Sho had to urge him mutely to get him going. There was no reason to linger and increase the risk of getting caught after all. Nino gathered his remaining energy and followed the other man out onto the balcony. They were on the second floor, but Sho managed to expertly scale down the side of the house without getting in the line of sight of any of the windows and then helped Nino get down as well, catching his trembling from exhaustion figure before he tumbled to the ground. They were in the enormous back garden of the mansion that Nino's latest buyer resided in, so Sho quickly led them deeper into the lush greenery before taking out a set of clothes from the backpack he was carrying and handing them to the petite man, gesturing him to dress himself so they could walk through the city without being stared at. Nino clothed himself as fast as his trembling hands allowed him to.

Luckily (or perhaps by Sho's design from when he was entering the estate), the guard at the gate was snoring, deep in sleep with his cheek squashed comically as he was resting it on top of the desk in his little booth, his hand, ironically, still wrapped around a half-full plastic cup of coffee. The two of them slipped past him unnoticed and could finally breathe out in relief. They were out in the city. Even if Nino's absence were to be noticed soon now, they were one step ahead of any search parties that might get sent out. Through the mostly empty streets of the just-now waking city, the two of them headed towards the nearby supermarket – their would-be rendezvous point – where Sho's car was parked.

Them being out in the city now also meant another thing to Nino, however. He was free to talk.

“I'm sorry,” he croaked out again, his voice hoarse from disuse, as he followed half a step behind Sho's left shoulder, “I tried to get out, I really tried. But I just couldn't this time. I'm really sorry...”

“It's not your fault,” Sho cut him off, staring right ahead of himself as he walked. The curtness of his words pierced through Nino's heart painfully.

“But you are angry,” he pointed out in a small, dejected voice, struggling to keep up with Sho's striding pace.

“Not at you,” the answer was brusque and dismissing again. But Nino was unable to let it go. If Sho was displeased because of him...

“I'm sorry,” he just repeated again, sounding desperate now and almost tearing up. Sho suddenly stopped at that and whirled around, making Nino flinch and tense up as he almost expected to get slapped – the annoyance on Sho's face was more than visible and he did indeed swing back his hand, but then stopped it, curled the fingers into a fist and let it drop to his side. Apparently he wasn't about to let out his anger on Nino, despite having every right to. Even if Nino wasn't the actual subject of his anger.

“Listen,” he said through gritted teeth, sounding torn between annoyance and exasperation, “I am angry at that guy back there who just had to tie you up like that the first night after getting you. I am mad at myself, for having just the damned luck of choosing that guy to sell you to. You did your part, okay? It's just frustrating, but we shouldn't expect it to go as easily all the time as me selling you and then you simply walking away from the place. Now come on, there's no use wasting time that we could be using for getting away from here. The parking lot is still a way's off,” the taller man explained and resumed walking, with Nino still following close behind.

Their continued trip was silent for a while. Nino still felt incredibly apologetic of course, but he knew Sho considered the issue to be closed already and that he shouldn't bring it up again. There were, however, other feelings inside him now too, ones that got woken up by Sho's careless remark.

“It's never that simple,” he muttered quietly, one of his hands lifting to massage the bruised wrist of the other as he walked.

“What?” Sho asked, sounding absent-minded and like he was barely even really paying attention, too preoccupied with the worry of reaching his car faster. Somehow, his lack of honest concern just made the negative feelings inside Nino grow.

“I said it's never that simple,” he repeated, his voice increasing in strength and confidence now, “Or did you forget that I usually get fucked multiple times in-between the selling and getting away parts? I know it's easy for you to not remember, since it happens out of your sight and I am pretty damn good at hiding the battered state they leave me in. But some appreciation for what I do, at least sometimes, would be nice,” he stated heatedly, all of it bursting out from his chest at once now that he accidentally lifted the dam that had been holding the flood of his feelings away for more than two years now. But Sho didn't even slow down his walking speed.

“It's just some sex. You should be used to it, that's what you do after all,” he replied dismissively and for the first time in his life, Nino really felt anger at the older man.

“It's not just some sex,” he cried out at Sho's back, as silently as he still could keep his voice in the mostly empty street, because even now he knew they shouldn't draw too much attention to themselves, “It's not just some sex when I'm sold to them, and then I need to act as their slave convincingly,” he started, curling his hands into fists subconsciously, “So I get into that mindset, I please them, I live for them for those few hours and then I need to make myself get out of it again, so I can run away from them. Because running away is everything that mindset is not. Do you have any idea how it feels? How much it tears my mind apart to go back and forth, back and forth again? Even with you, even you treat me as your partner in crime on the way to those fucking Markets, but then whore me out to those people the next second, and I just have to accept that-”

“Of course you have to accept that!” Sho interrupted him suddenly, now sounding annoyed at him, “Don't get over-dramatic, Nino. You always are my slave, nothing else, nobody else's. The only mindset you need to have is that of one. You're always just doing what I want you to do, there's nothing to feel torn about.”

Nino didn't even notice anymore that they had stopped, in the very parking lot that they had been walking to this whole time, Sho's car just a few steps away. He just stared at the face of the other man, now turned towards him, looking at him as if impatient for him to just get over whatever fit he was in.

What might be hard to understand was that Nino didn't feel hurt. The only reason Sho's words made him feel dazed was because they had simply been unexpected. Which was silly in itself because how could they be unexpected when they had simply stated the truth that Nino had accepted ages ago? He was a slave, he had been born a slave, and he always would be one. He didn't even resent this reality, because a slave's life was all he really knew and it wasn't bad at all. He was probably only surprised because over the last few years, the unorthodox livelihood he and his owner ended up in got to his mind and he almost forgot some things.

No, the words didn't hurt. But they did affect Nino. Positively, in his mind. He had been confused before, but here his owner was, finally grounding him again. A slave was all he needed to be, there was no need to feel conflicted. And so he blissfully went completely back to being one, the anger and other confusing emotions disappearing completely because as a slave he had none of those. Had no need for them, because all he existed for was Sho. It felt so good, Nino almost cried. It was so calm there...

But there was something else disturbing the calm, now that he was back as he should be. Not anger or frustration, but a need that any slave would have had in this situation. And Nino obeyed it immediately, sinking to his knees before his Master and bowing down before him, disregarding the fact that they were out in the public, with more and more people now starting to mill around as they started their day. Noone paid any mind to them anyway. There was nothing unusual about such a sight in public after all.

“I apologize, Sir, I have spoken inexcusably out of line,” he said evenly, repentance audible in his voice, “I beg you to punish me as you see fit, Master, so you may hopefully find it within yourself to later forgive your misbehaved slave.”

He held his breath then, his mind buzzing almost pleasantly in preparation for the relief that was surely about to come. This was why a slave's life was good. The simplicity of it. You did what you were told, and you obeyed unconditionally. And if you happened to misbehave, it felt terrible and punishment was absolutely necessary, but it was all that was needed to return tranquillity to your mind.

But all that came in response was an exhausted sigh.

“What the hell, Nino, there is no time for this shit now,” Sho groaned, exasperated, “Just... I'm not angry, okay, you're forgiven or whatever, so let's get going already.”

Nino flinched, his eyes widening impossibly as he continued to stare disbelievingly at the asphalt ground under the palms of his hands.

What? That was not how it was supposed to go. Didn't Sho know, didn't he remember that as long as Nino was a slave, he needed that? How was the petite man supposed to not feel torn apart from inside when even if he tried to return to this role completely, Sho didn't do his part to allow him to? Just telling him he was forgiven was not how it worked. A slave was unable to just let it go. It would stay on his mind, making him feel terrible, making him feel like he wasn't even worth it to Sho to get punished properly...

But that was just it, wasn't it? Sho didn't want to waste time on this. Did that mean he didn't do it on purpose, because he thought Nino deserved to be further tortured by that feeling?

No. No he didn't. As a slave, Nino wanted to believe that everything his owner did was calculated and purposeful, that everything was as he deserved to get it, but after having been allowed more freedom than the average slave, after having been encouraged to think for himself, Nino unfortunately now knew better than to believe Sho was infallible. And he couldn't help but realize that Sho just simply... didn't understand what it meant exactly to not give Nino the punishment he had begged for.

“Yes, Master,” he replied anyway in a deadened voice, having no other choice, and got back up so he could get into the car.

But as they pulled out onto the road and started their next trip in oppressing silence, Nino couldn't help but curl up insecurely on the back seat, not saying anything. His heart was aching, his mind was in turmoil.

He could not believe that this would work much longer, not with Sho not even seeing how broken their relationship was becoming. And Nino didn't know anymore how it would be possible to mend it. He couldn't be torn apart like this much further, because whether Sho could understand how it could be happening or not, it was. But apparently, Nino could no longer go back to just being a slave either. Nor could he ever fully become the other alternative... he didn't want to, either.

So what was left for him then?