SYNOPSIS: Kaze and Iskios escape the disastrous heist attempt by fleeing to the home of their strange bedfellow, Anthix. Meanwhile, Julian and Nova attempt to better their dire circumstances as Jasper and Rhys help inaugurate the River Cleanup project with an impressive feat of strength and a clandestine fuck.

 

 

Iskios lay pressed back against the passenger seat, breathing hard, his pupils almost fully dilated, his nostrils flaring. He was hardly able to speak, but Seth knew what had happened. There was no need to explain the monumental reaming that they had taken thanks to poor luck.

 

Through the brief silence, all Seth could feel was the strain of his gritted teeth. "What the fuck?" Kaze said. "How could this happen again?" 

 

"Tykhe's Fist," panted Iskios finally. "The fucking timing of it. Your plan was good, man. But we can't rehash that shit right now. We need somewhere safe to hide. Call the Coin."

 

Kaze's eyes were still glazed as he stared out through the windshield. "Everything was going just righ—..." His voice trailed off before Iskios's words shook him out of his daze. "Y-yeah, we should call Anthix." He leaned over the centre of the dashboard and reached above the illuminated autopilot controls to tap the comms button.

 

A distinct soft beeping immediately filled the air. Kaze followed Iskios's example and collapsed backward into his seat as the van drove on autopilot. The two thieves waited for what felt like forever until, finally, Anthix Sweetmeadow answered. 

 

"Unveiled the secrets of the mysterious lab already, have we?" Anthix's voice was warm and teasing, but their smile fell away when they saw Seth and Iskios's expressions through the camera. "What happened?"

 

"Bad luck," Kaze responded. "We need a safe place to hide. Where can we go so that we and the van can disappear? We'll explain once we're safe."

 

"Right," said Anthix with a resigned sigh. "I'm sending you an address where you can leave the van. I'll have someone pick you up there." 

 

---

 

Nova carefully rolled his jaw around from side to side now that his mouth was empty. That gag couldn't have come off soon enough, but the cuffs were still worse. Julian was still futilely struggling in his tasteful wooden chair, trying to free a hand. It was subtle enough, but Nova could see the desperation in the strain of his muscles. Nova sighed and tried to twist himself in his seat to relieve some of the discomfort.

 

A quick glance around the well-furnished, floor-to-ceiling windowed room told Nova everything he needed to know. The elevator had taken them up to the top floor, and they had been put in Brandywine's oversized office. That meant there was ample room for the four guards that surrounded them. Not that Nova and Julian were going anywhere, cuffed to these chairs. 

 

The soft whoosh of the door sliding into the wall drew both of their attention, as the tall, elegant, unblemished Aristotle Brandywine strode into the room. As he did so, the guards left, moving down the hallway. Brandywine passed by without so much as glancing at his captives until he was seated behind his desk. 

 

"Now that we have a little more privacy, I think we should have a frank chat about your futures," said the Coin, his platinum hair now swept back into a cascading tail. He had even changed outfits in the hour or so since he had met them in the security room downstairs. "You see, I find prisons quite cruel, and I have a means of rehabilitating you. You aren't the first thieves to try and steal Project Mnemosyne's secrets. But I suppose you would know that since you're following in your friend's footsteps."

"Cut to the fuckin' chase. Man, you rich assholes really love the sound of your own voices, huh?" snarked Julian, all bravado.

 

Not that Julian's lip was unexpected, but Nova wished that his partner wouldn't antagonize their captors. Trying to put thoughts of Julian aside, he focused entirely on Brandywine.

 

The Coin seemed annoyed. He only performed patience, pretending this was merely an inconvenience. It was obvious that he wanted to find a clean and quick solution to this new problem. Nova felt certain that even if there wasn't a way out of this clusterfuck, there were still ways to make things harder for Brandywine. Nova knew that creating time and distance was key to any dangerous situation. He intended to slow things down as much as possible. 

 

Aristotle's smile was diamond-hard beneath his pleasant veneer. "As you wish, thief. The short version is this: you will both have the honour of witnessing and experiencing the technology that you tried to steal information about first-hand. I am going to overwrite your traumatic histories and mould you into biddable pets using Project Mnemosyne. Then, I am going to help you integrate back into society, far better off than you ever were before. I assure you, you will thank me for it when all is said and done."

 

For once, Julian was shocked into silence. He opened and closed his mouth, searching for a rejoinder, but none came.

 

Nova's blood ran cold. What now? What could they do? For a moment, his mind rushed with countless thoughts, all trying to come to the surface. It overwhelmed him. Then, a thought flashed into being in the back of Nova's mind like a spark, bringing him back to reality. The spark steadily grew into a burning rage. 'No, not "what can we do?" but "what do we have to lose?"'

 

Nova locked eyes with Brandywine. "So, that's it then. You're going to reprogram us, like you did Autolycus," the thief spat in the intervening silence. "You think you aren't so cruel as to punish us, so instead you're only going to rip apart the very essence of who we are so you can delete the pieces that you don't like, and make us all better, so we can fit into the system. Your system."

 

Aristotle raised an eyebrow in mild surprise but said nothing, as though curious about how Nova would continue his little rant. Meanwhile, Julian looked both awed and proud. 

 

"You hollowed-out, smarmy, gilded snake!" Nova continued, subtly twisting his hand and body into just the right position. "That's not helping us. I can't even conceive of a worse thing you could do to a person." Nova laughed loudly and bitterly.

 

Nova kept his gaze on the Coin. Kakia herself could not have been more casually evil. "I'd rather lay on a pyre than let you violate me for your revolting little experiments," Nova growled. He threw himself backward into his seat as hard as he could, knocking himself over. Nova barely felt the pain as the splintering wood of the chair crushed his thumb against his spine and broke it. Nor did he feel much when he ripped the mangled hand free from the cuff, leaving some skin behind.

 

Aristotle jumped to his feet as the chair shattered beneath Nova. He did not yet call in the guards or sound any alarm. Like most Coins, his reinforced skeleton, his enhanced musculature, and his increased healing factor made him feel confident that he could deal with a thief from the slums by himself if it came to it. "Good Asclepius above! Are you all right, pet?"

 

Julian, on the other hand, seemed to find this supremely funny. He began to cackle with laughter. "You're about to find out, asshole! Haha!" 

 

Wasting no time, Nova rolled off of the broken chair and found his feet. He took a running leap and vaulted over the desk, using that momentum to aim a flying sidekick at the Coin's midsection. Nova's target moved swiftly, so Nova instead landed in a bladed stance, directly in front of the towering, genetically modified man.

 

Nova feinted with a gut punch, using it to conceal a hard stomp to the Coin's foot. Aristotle blocked the feint by putting his forearm in the punch's path. Punching the Coin in such a bony spot was like punching a block of wood. Nova's heel landed solidly on Aristotle's shoe, compressing the toes and scuffing the mirror gleam. 

 

Aristotle's brow briefly furrowed as Nova's foot came down, and his smile faltered. Instead of retaliating, he took a step back, favouring his foot a tad gingerly. "Such intensity!"

 

Even the light impact with the Coin's arm from the feint hurt. Nova took it as a reminder that he had to be careful. He needed to only aim for soft spots, and couldn't risk being grabbed. Nova's training came back to him. If you were ever unlucky enough to tangle with a Coin, you needed to find or make an advantage, then capitalize on it. He knew just the way to get one here. Nova darted forward and swung his damaged hand in an arc at Brandywine's face, open-palm.

 

His palm struck Aristotle squarely in the nose. For an instant, Aristotle smiled at him, then blood began to spurt from his newly broken nose. Grimacing, Aristotle lashed out, grabbing Nova's wrist as he licked the blood from his upper lip, his other hand pinching the bridge. Already, the bleeding was slowing. "Well, that was a surprise. Enough of this tantrum."

 

"Go for his change purse, Nova!" shouted Julian, rocking around on his chair, too slight to guarantee that it would break if he rocked himself backwards, and unwilling to break his thumbs to free himself from the cuffs. He might need those soon.

 

'Shit!' Nova hadn't been able to avoid the Coin's long, sweeping arm. The grip on his wrist was strong but not perfectly placed. Nova twisted his forearm and wrenched it free, then grabbed Brandywine's wrist instead. The Coin had to step forward to grab at the thief, leaving his leg vulnerable. Pulling on the arm for leverage, Nova kicked into the back of Brandywine's knee. Even as Nova felt the knee bend he was regretting that move. 'It's like kicking a rubber mallet!'

 

Aristotle's vision swam, his eyes watering from the pain in his nose. Still, what he felt alongside the pain was...curiosity. The guards could be called through his implant at a moment's notice, but Aristotle wanted to test himself a little against what the slums had to offer. He went down on one knee and grabbed for Nova's arm again, yanking the wrist down hard and to the side, tripping Nova over his leg.

 

With his injured hand, Nova reached out and grabbed the desk to stop himself from falling. Pain shot through his arm at the impact and he only succeeded in pulling an armful of office supplies off of the desk. A shiny, stylized letter opener in the shape of a xiphos clattered to the polished stone floor. Nova gripped the little sword with his four un-injured digits and stabbed it downward into the back of Brandywine's hand.

 

Aristotle hissed as the small blade sliced into the sensitive flesh of his hand, cutting through tendons and grating along the small bones of his knuckles. He let go of Nova's wrist. 

 

"Fuck you! Fuck yeah, Nova!" yelled Julian with bloodthirsty enthusiasm from across the room. He didn't think that they were going to win this, not at the top of a building filled with alerted guards in a Coin stronghold, but it was satisfying to think of them going down fucking swinging.

 

Nova scrambled out of reach before Brandywine could recover, holding tight to the letter opener. It was clear that Nova wouldn't be able to take down the Coin on his own. That left only one option. Nova took a deep breath to steel himself and brought the letter opener to his jugular. "Don't move."

 

As his profusely bleeding hand dripped onto the stone floor, Aristotle stood still. He spoke, his voice smooth and gentle. "As you wish, though this hardly seems like a winning strategy for you. I can see that you are serious about preferring death to being a part of my scientific endeavours."

 

"It's amazing that you thought I was joking," Nova said with a cold, unflinching glare. "We walk out on our own two feet, or we get carried out in bags. Pick."

 

Julien, for once, had been awed into silence. Or maybe it was fear for Nova's life that kept him quiet.

 

Aristotle's displeasure was evident, although his voice never faltered. "You have made your point, thief. I will unlock your companion's cuffs remotely and you may leave through that door. It would be a waste for you to slit your throat."

 

Keeping the blade to his skin, Nova moved over to Julian and used his mangled hand to pull him to his feet the moment Nova heard the cuffs click open. "Follow me," he whispered to his partner, "We're leaving and fast." Nova kept his eyes on Brandywine right up until he opened the door, then he turned and ran.

 

Nova made it one full step outside the door before, as Julian called out a warning, his good hand was grabbed at the wrist and then pulled sharply outward and into an arm lock. The letter opener fell from his grasp. A pack of fucking security guards had been lying in wait the whole damn time. 

 

Aristotle listened to the recapture of the new Project Mnemosyne subjects with grim satisfaction as he injected himself with the same emergency nanite substance that had fixed Jasper's hand at his Golden Lattice Ceremony. His wound, which had already stopped bleeding, closed over and started to heal.

 

As frustrating as the pair had been, Aristotle reminded himself through gritted teeth that tenacity was a positive trait for pets. He was certain that they would come to appreciate the opportunity that they had been given and use their tenacious natures for better pursuits.

 

---

 

Project Mnemosyne's interface was already humming menacingly when they brought Julian into the room. Although he couldn't see through the one-way mirror, Julian knew that Nova was on the other side, tightly restrained to a stiff board and being forced to watch. Two technicians stood nearby to operate the machine.

 

Of course, their psychopathic host had told them, they couldn't both go at once, so one of them would have to wait. But since they were so interested in the technology that they had come to steal information about it, he wanted to give at least one of them a front-row seat to the demonstration. Since Nova had shown "initiative" earlier, Aristotle Brandywine decided that he should be the one to watch first.

 

Julian had been muzzled after the altercation with the guards in the hallway, so he couldn't share the choice words that he had for Aristotle and his scientist cronies. 'Fucking cowards.'

 

They strapped him into the scorpion-tail chair and Aristotle stepped into the room.

 

"I know this is disconcerting, darling, but trust me when I say that you are being given a second chance. Although you may be uncomfortable now, I promise that all of this will become as a dream, and then it will fade from your memory entirely," said the Coin as he approached Julian's side and tucked back a piece of the thief's blonde bangs. "Ah, it's time to begin."

 

Aristotle stepped away from Julian into the next room and let the technicians do their work.

 

---

 

Nova stopped struggling once he saw Brandywine heading back toward the observation room. He hoped the Coin wouldn't notice the marks from him throwing himself against his restraints. Not that it mattered, as the straps holding him down hadn't shown any sign of loosening. 

 

Aristotle sat back in a chair next to Nova's restrained form. "Get comfortable — if your friend is as stubborn as I believe him to be, this will take some time."

 

---

 

The headset descended over Julian's head and he felt something thin penetrate his ears as the technicians adjusted it. With his every limb and his torso secured tightly against the chair, not to mention the extra bands across his throat and head, there was very little that Julian could do to try and shake any of the equipment loose.

 

A series of flashing, rhythmic patterns assaulted Julian's eyes even through his tightly shut lids. Meanwhile, the series of sensors that they had stuck to his body was rapidly performing a series of scans. Julian could feel them rippling across his body with a light electrostatic charge, just as the technicians had explained would happen. They had taken the time to tell him everything in detail — cold fucking comfort when he was there against his will.

 

As the lights filtered through his eyelids, Julian could feel something happening. His thoughts were slowing as if a dense fog was pressing them down. Fuck that. Julian had to ignore these damned lights, whatever they were doing to him. First, he tried to flood his head with statistics and numbers. Big scores he'd done and how much came from which job. One of his favourites was when they'd gotten into a Coin banquet hall and knocked out the coat-check guy. They looted every pocket and every gilded brooch from those coats and cloaks while Autolycus had run the desk. That one had paid almost half a year's rent.

 

Then Julian remembered the team's first substantial haul. They second-storied into some low-level Coin's place to get at his home vault. They left that place with the jewelry they planned for and on top of that stole some artifacts that had been looted generations ago to repatriate them later. It was the message Lycus spray painted on the wall, "CULTURAL OBJECTS BELONG TO THEIR PEOPLES. RICH ASSHOLE ISN'T A CULTURE," that made them realize they should keep working together. Julian chuckled at that memory.

 

Then...then he tried to think of the time that they had gone to a pet auction and Julian had pretended to be a pet, and it was...so hot...Was that right? Had it turned him on? No, no, he had masqueraded as a pet to gain access to the changing rooms and they had...Try as he might, he couldn't keep his mind on the story, and, eventually, the lights and sounds began to steal more and more of his attention.

 

The machine was too overpowering. Too intrusive. He could actually feel it, like a spike being forced into his skull without the pain. From time to time, Julian was starting to make out words. He thrashed harder to try and escape them, but the restraints kept him largely still. Julian felt that he could have still fought it off if he hadn't been feeling so tired. The words from the damned machine were starting to make full sentences now. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he fell asleep in this...thing.

 

A pleasurable tingle moved down his body, starting on Julian's scalp and radiating in waves toward his feet. He gave a helpless sob as he realized that fucking Aristotle Brandywine wasn't only going to steal who he was, he was going to make him enjoy it. 

 

---

 

"Your name is Jewel," the clear, calming voice cooed. "You are a pet. You do not yet have an Owner, but you will. You enjoyed all of your pet training. You will always enjoy being trained. Training feels safe and pleasurable." 

 

Diodes plastered across Jewel's skin activated. A wave of sensation flowed up the pet-in-training's legs, briefly engulfed his cock, and then continued up to his head. It faded, leaving warmth and comfort behind.

 

The last traces of what had once been Julian the Thief, Julian the Bull-Headed, tried to rage against the voice. That fading part of him tried to hold on to who Julian was, but he was too far gone. The Mnemosyne was gradually massaging everything Julian was into Jewel, a unique and well-trained pet, ready for adoption.

 

The slow, methodical movements of the scorpion-tail chair beneath Jewel shifted his limbs around and kneaded his body. The tech allowed for the precise control of each tiny, independent piece of padding, including movement along the X, Y and Z axes, expansion, contraction, changes in shape, and even changes in density.

 

The movements served a triple purpose. They reached every knot in every muscle and released it, found and catalogued every preferred erogenous zone, and overwhelmed the mind with so much distracting physical stimulation that the psychological changes could take root.

 

"My name is Jewel and I'm a lucky pet who loves to be trained," said Julian's synthesized voice, upbeat and sincere, as if the last man who had laid a hand on Julian without his permission hadn't wound up eating his own nutsack. 

 

Julian laughed weakly at that, but Project Mnemosyne was winning. His memories still occasionally turned up unbidden in these moments of surprise when his humiliation sank to new depths, but there was less and less to remember. Each stage appeared designed to provoke novel thoughts and memories so that they could be eradicated.

 

Jewel didn't remember what he had been laughing at. 

 

---

 

At first, there was the uneasy silence of the major class divide between them. Nobody in the room quite knew the protocol for having thieves fresh from a failed mission over for tea. They all sat in Anthix's garden with a ridiculous spread of food between them: Anthix, Calix and Marin on one side, and Iskios and Seth on the other.

 

Eventually, Anthix cleared their throat. "Are either of you injured? Would you like me to get the medical kit?"

 

"Lo, for I have been struck by your dear companion's beauty," said Iskios, smiling at Marin. 

 

Marin smiled back, blushing a little, but they spoke teasingly. "And would that I had been deafened before I heard such overdone and twice-warmed wooings."

 

Kaze was speechless. After everything that happened, they finally make it to safety with obvious bad news and the first thing the Coins do is plunk them down in front of a banquet, then the first thing Iskios does is start flirting with a pet? 'What is even happening today?' Kaze thought.

 

The hacker wasn't the only one to find this extremely awkward. Calix looked back and forth between the guest and the pet for a moment, his expression unimpressed. He then met Kaze's gaze for a long moment before sighing. "Shall we start with what happened at the university?" 

 

"There was a brief power outage due to the special effects on-stage," said Kaze, keeping his voice as calm as he could. "It reset all of the security features. Julian and Nova were trapped inside. It was Autolycus all over again."

 

"That lab seems straight-up cursed," observed Iskios, taking a sip of his tea. He kept his gaze on Marin, who made appropriately sympathetic noises.

 

"I'm surprised to hear that you're superstitious," commented Anthix. Their hands never left their lap, where they were working on a piece of embroidery. "It's more likely that whatever is in there is valuable and warrants enough security that the chances of failure are higher than you're accustomed to. You're certain your compatriots were captured?" 

 

"Pretty sure," Kaze answered, nodding. "One was grabbed by a guard and was brought to the ground. The other almost turned and ran from the obviously impossible situation. Almost."

 

Calix didn't know what to do. He hated having no options. "We need more information," Calix said. "Maybe I can buy us some. Which lock-up did they bring your friends to?"

 

'Of course they want to buy their way out of this.' Kaze almost rolled his eyes at the thought. 'But, I guess it could work. It's not like I have a lot of experience bribing officials like that, but they probably do.'

 

"No idea," muttered Iskios unhappily. "We hightailed it out of there as soon as it became clear that there was no way to help them."

Anthix rethreaded their needle and stabbed into the fabric in their lap with deft fingers. "Hayakaze, do you still have any access to the building security? Perhaps there is some clue there?"

 

The hacker perked up at the suggestion. Now that he had a task in front of him, Kaze moved quickly. He reached into his bag and pulled out his tablet and, after a few seconds of letting them watch his fingers fly across the screen, he swept aside a plate of cheeses and set the device between them all. He displayed the holographic video feed above the table.

 

"It looks like they were dragged deeper into the building. Just like with Autolycus." Kaze looked up to watch for the reactions from the twins. "A little suspect, no?"

 

Calix kept his eyes on the images. "Very. But we already knew that something was odd with Aristotle's lab." 

 

The cameras had recorded how the thieves were eventually captured and hauled away. They later showed Aris following behind before looping back to the two men taking on the security team in the hallway. 

 

'Even against trained guards with body armour and weapons, they did well,' thought Calix. "I think we need to wait," the short-haired Coin said. "Until we can get more information to work with, we should keep watch on that building. If your friends are moved, we need to know."

 

"We need a safe place to stay," said Iskios. "I don't think that we should try to get back down to the slums."

 

"No, I want you near," replied Anthix, tying off a thread. "You should stay here. I have more guest rooms than Calix."

 

"I agree," said Marin, smiling at Iskios. "They should stay here."

 

---

 

"Mr. Fairmount, how long do you think it will be before the people of New Argent City are able to actually see improvements to the river?"

 

Thamyris answered the reporter's question with a winning smile. "That will depend on how quickly we can spread the word and help potential investors realize how important this truly is."

 

He half-turned toward the river behind him. Dozens of volunteers were throwing weighted nets out into the water to pull up heaps of trash, or walking the beach and picking detritus up with pointed sticks, piece by piece. 

 

"Everyone you see here already knows. Many of them are from this area and are forced to live with this pollution every day. But, I am certain that, with the right outreach, we can bring the right people on board to get this done soon. "And that is a key issue here. We must not look only at what is already in the water, but at what we continue to pour into it every day. The companies who own the facilities upriver——"

 

Rhys was cut off by shouts of alarm and frustration and the camera teams quickly refocused on a group of four people trying to pull a net from the water. One of them had fallen into the thick muck, while the others scrambled to prevent the net from sliding further back into the river. They braced themselves and held fast. Seeing that the danger had passed, but that the net appeared to be caught gave Rhys an idea.

 

"Just a moment please," he said to the reporters before turning and walking a few steps to the side where Jasper was waiting. He pulled his jacket off with a flourish, then handed it to his pet and started on his shirt's buttons. "I have an idea how we can get some extra exposure, if you'll pardon the pun." Dropping the shirt into Jasper's hands, he bent forward and kissed him on the forehead. "This should be fun."

 

"Hold on tight, folks," an older, more experienced volunteer called out. "Whatever this is caught on isn't moving. Once we give Ajax the Lesser here a minute to get out of the mud, we'll just have to let this one go."

 

Bare from the waist up and jogging across the sand, his perfect skin outlining each genetically engineered muscle, Thamyris Fairmount called out, "Was that someone calling for a replacement Ajax?" 

 

He stepped between the three volunteers, turned to face away from the water and toward the reporters, then held out his hands. "Please, allow me."

 

Stunned, the other three handed over their guidelines to the Coin. Rhys heaved the ropes over his shoulders. He leaned so far into the weight that it looked like he might topple over. 

 

"Is the volunteer safe yet?" the tall man asked pleasantly, some strain audible in his voice. The volunteer who had been guiding the team, dumbfounded by what he was seeing, could only nod. "Excellent. Be a dear and let me know when the snag is clear, would you?"

 

The weight of the net's catch had sunk his feet deep into the sand, but with a loud grunt, Rhys tore one foot free and planted it in front of him. He steadily hauled his load forward, step by step. The gathered mass, Coins, slum residents, reporters and city officials, stopped and watched as a single Coin did what four ordinary people could not.

 

So much exertion from one body necessarily caused immense heat, and so Rhys's rippling muscles were near-instantly coated in rivulets of sweat which ran between their striations. To complete the look, some errant strands of his long blonde bangs dangled attractively in front of his face, moving with each grunted breath. 

 

After ten paces, Rhys could hear the splashing behind him as whatever it was started to breach the surface, the river water running off of it. Five more steps and the sound of metal grinding on metal grated in his ears. After another twelve, he finally heard the volunteer call out, "Oh, uh, it's free, sir! You can let it go!"

 

Letting the net drop, Rhys stood up properly again, rolling out his shoulders. Looking off to his right, he noticed the young volunteer who had fallen in the dirt covered from head to toe in sand and mud. 

 

"Why don't you take some time to clean up, friend?" Rhys motioned to the newly rebuilt factory building. "The showers inside were installed yesterday. You can be the first to try them out." They nodded silently, jaw still hanging open.

 

The Coin walked back toward his pet, sparing only a passing glance at the net. It was full of scrap metal and part of what might have been a wrecked combustion engine. Small wonder it was so heavy.

 

Reaching Jasper and the reporters, Thamyris smiled. A light steam rose from his body as the heat of the day and the blood beneath his skin evaporated the sweat. He took his shirt and jacket from Jasper, laying them over his arm. "Thank you, pet." 

 

He turned his attention back to the reporters. "We all need to do our part. However we can."

 

---

 

"...And that is why this project will be led by the people who live here, near the river, because they are the most qualified to speak on the problems that they face from the rampant pollution. For that reason, the director and spokesperson of the project will be my very own Jasper, born and raised here in the slums. A round of applause for Jasper, if you please?"

 

The clapping echoed off the concrete of the factories and silos around the raised balcony where Rhys was finishing his speech. Jasper felt a strange mixture of pride and apprehension at what he had convinced Rhys to do. If he had been listening to Rhys announce him as the director, he would have snorted. He could tell what the people around him thought. Though he might have come from here, he didn't live here anymore. His only apparent qualifications were that he was fucking Rhys.

 

Nevertheless, everyone clapped, Coins and slum residents alike. The residents were prepared to take what help they could get. The fact was that filtration materials were hard to come by and the costs went up every year. The Argent River wasn't getting any less polluted. 

 

When Jasper could finally excuse himself from the banquet, he left the balcony and went upstairs, to the smaller mezzanine that Rhys had installed exactly where Jasper and Seth used to drink their cheap beer and watch the sunset on the river. He breathed in the familiar scents of the slums.

 

The door opened behind him, Rhys's steady footfalls betraying his presence. Jasper half-turned to him, smiling. "Hello, Rhys."

 

"Hello, pet," Rhys answered. "Or should it be 'Director Jasper' when we are here?" He cocked an eyebrow playfully. He stopped just shy of being side to side with Jasper and kept his hands crossed uncharacteristically behind his back.

 

"Director is probably a good call if we want people around here to take me seriously," admitted Jasper. He turned and moved in for a hug but stopped short when he saw Rhys's odd posture. "What are you hiding back there?" 

 

Rhys grinned fondly at his pet and held out the two brown glass bottles he had brought along. "I thought you might like to keep an old tradition alive. I may not be your old friend, but hopefully, I can be a suitable substitute for now."

 

Jasper's heart ached at the sight of the bottles. It reminded him that Seth was probably just a few blocks away, still scratching his head at why the great Autolycus had chosen to become the pet of exactly the kind of person he had always despised. Alongside that thought was a deep love for Rhys, who had paid attention to what Jasper told him. Rhys had even found their brand. He smiled, his eyes a little watery, and took a bottle, opening it against the fancy bannister with a downward motion. "Thank you, Rhys." 

 

"Of course," Rhys answered, relieved that the surprise had been a good idea after all. When it came to the subject of his past, Jasper said little and guarded his emotions carefully. 

 

Belatedly, the Coin's smile faded as he tried to replicate what he had seen his pet deftly do to remove the cap from his bottle. From what he had seen, Jasper had applied a surprising amount of force against the edge of the balcony. Rhys looked down at the bottle and resented that the cap did not simply twist off. He hesitantly brought the bottle up to the railing. 

 

"Is...is it like this?" he asked, preparing to mimic his pet.

 

Jasper swiftly took the bottle from Rhys, concerned that he didn't know his own strength and would send glass and beer spraying everywhere. "Allow me. The angle takes practice and I don't want you to miss out on tasting the finest that the Slums has to offer."

 

Like the first time, Jasper's practiced movement didn't even leave a scratch on the banister. Impressive. Rhys took the proffered beverage and sipped it. Interesting. He would never be so rude as to discard a drink from someone callously, and so he took another, testing it on his tongue.

 

"I must say, I am impressed," Rhys said, almost hiding his dislike of the beer. "I was not expecting much of a flavour profile, but this certainly has some depth. I suppose I should know better than to assume that beers and ales would not have the complexity of wines."

 

Jasper was watching Rhys's reaction, pressing his lips together to hold back a laugh. "That was a very diplomatic response. It's all right. You don't have to finish it."

 

As he finished his beer, the pet looked out over the Argent River, then up toward the floating castles in the sky. For once, he was feeling hopeful. Or, maybe he was just a little buzzed from the drink. He turned toward Rhys, reaching his hand up toward his Owner's cravat, and pulled him down by it, capturing his lips in a kiss.

 

Though surprised, Rhys allowed himself to be pulled down to his pet's lips. The Coin decided that it would be best to foster this more take-charge aspect of Jasper's personality when near anything regarding the restoration project. It was the reason he had given Jasper the position, after all.

 

"So kind of you to cleanse my palate with your tongue," Rhys said. He lifted his pet by the waist, letting Jasper wrap his legs around Rhys's hips, and then returned Jasper's kiss. Rhys slipped his own tongue into Jasper's mouth, feeling a familiar urge rising. He wanted to fuck his pet switch right then and there. And so he would.

 

Rhys briefly pulled away from his lover's lips, resting his forehead against Jasper's. "Was it my little stunt on the beach?"

 

Jasper blew away a strand of Rhys's fine blond hair. "It certainly helped. Every muscle gleaming with sweat as you helped clean up the pollution in my childhood home...a guy could fall in love."

Moving his hands to Rhys's waist, Jasper fumbled briefly with his Owner's belt buckle and unbuttoned the front of his pants. Meanwhile, he pulled his own pants down around his thighs. "I want to watch the sunset. I'll brace myself against the balustrade and you can lift my hips to where you want them." 

 

"Two gorgeous views at the same time?" Rhys asked playfully. "That sounds perfect." He lowered Jasper's legs to the ground, allowing his pet to maneuver himself while Rhys pushed his trousers down low enough to free his already hard cock.

 

Eagerly, Jasper leaned himself against the railing and braced himself. Today, the work to help the people who lived on the banks of the Argent River really started, and it was his connection to Rhys that made it possible. He glanced over his shoulder at Rhys. "I want you, Rhys. I want to underscore this moment in my mind."

 

Rhys was touched by the warmth in Jasper's words, and in the ever-growing bond between them. He didn't know what to say. Rhys could only blush and move his cock into position behind his pet. Using the soft skin of his cockhead, Rhys caressed his pet's lower back, leaving a thin line of precum behind. 

 

"I—" Rhys started. The Coin couldn't put his thoughts into words. "I am so very glad that I found you." Having finally brought his tip to Jasper's hole, Rhys gently pushed inside past that first ring of muscle.

 

The stretch and fullness even from just the tip of Rhys's long, thick cock felt incredible. Jasper had learned to anticipate it for the pleasure that came after when that relentless head rubbed against his prostate with every pass inside of him. He pushed back against Rhys's cock, eagerly taking more inside of him.

 

Bless modern body modifications and enhancements. With every thrust, Rhys felt the slickness of Jasper's plentiful bio-lubricant help him sink deeper. Rhys's breathing grew heavier with the pleasure of his thrusts. With Jasper at his side, he felt excited about the future, able to meet any challenge. "You belong at my side. Together, we can — hah — do great things." 

 

A shudder ran up Jasper's spine, a warm flare of arousal shooting through his abdomen as Rhys said those words. He had learned to take pleasure in belonging. Rhys made being a pet so fucking worth it. He moaned and did his best to welcome Rhys inside of him, tightening and relaxing rhythmically, trying not to tense up too hard. By clenching and unclenching at the right time, he massaged Rhys's endowment with his ass. 

 

Then, Rhys suddenly changed rhythm and Jasper, who had been wholly focused on the mechanics of making this feel good for Rhys, was literally thrust back into his body, suddenly feeling the intensity of every sensation anew. That cock stretched him out so good, it made him taste the sweetness of his pleasure in his mouth.

 

Focusing on Rhys's pleasure was such a sweet thing, such a 'pet' thing, to do, but the Owner would not allow that. This was for Jasper more than it was for Rhys. The multi-talented pet deserved this treat. Rhys leaned down to Jasper's ear.

 

"Do not focus on me, sweet pet," he whispered. "Focus on what I am doing to you."

 

Changing his angle a few degrees, Rhys was able to push in while lifting up. At the end of each motion Rhys's thick, sturdy cock sunk so deep that they could both feel their balls colliding as Jasper's feet left the ground. Jasper grunted needily with each thrust, all too keenly aware of the party still going on below. He doubted that the wind and the music would allow his hungry noises to be heard, but he could imagine his old neighbours and the haughty Coins looking up to see his face, contorted with pleasure. 

 

Though he blushed, the thought turned him on. He kept pushing back against Rhys, trying to go deeper than that deepest point, trying to take more, be better, but each thrust had him completely undone. All he could really do was take what was given and serve the way that Rhys wanted as he watched the sun dip down below the horizon. 

 

Jasper's moans reminded Rhys of how tentative and mistrusting Jasper had been, just a short while ago. The uncertain and confused new acquisition had quickly developed into a confident and captivating pet that drew others in easily. Rhys loved how Jasper drew the eye of everyone in a room and charmed them seemingly effortlessly, no doubt because of his days as a conniving thief. Rhys briefly remembered his suspicions upon seeing Jasper's records but forced the thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time to dwell on such things.  

 

Rhys shifted his focus back to the rising and falling of his pet's ass. He had been granted a gift in this loving, sensual pet. If some things were still strange to him about his Jasper, he felt certain that they could overcome that in time. He stopped holding back, letting the pleasure roar through him. 

 

The sensation of Rhys letting go was immediate. Jasper tightened his grip on the balustrade and let Rhys smash into his ass, their balls smacking loudly against each other. He tightened involuntarily and he could feel it when Rhys got set off. He gave himself a few quick, sharp strokes and groaned as he came, too. The surge of intense pleasure came suddenly. Jasper felt his inner thigh muscles tighten, locking him in place while Rhys pounded his hole. 

 

"Hnng!" Jasper bit his lip to help him keep his voice down. Each thrust sent electricity up his spine all the way to his neck, his head tossing about without his conscious control. As Rhys slowed down, Jasper's legs finally started to relax and he shakily regained his feet. 

 

"I'm going to pull out slow," his Owner said. "I want you to feel every bit of my wet cock sliding out of you."

 

Looking back over his shoulder at Rhys, still biting his lip, Jasper's expression was one of naked hunger. He nodded and closed his eyes as Rhys's cock slowly withdrew from his hole. He moaned all the while as it slid through his sensitive channel.

 

Rhys loved to see Jasper stretched out like this, dripping with cum. He smiled at Jasper's back. "Come, pet. We need to dress and go downstairs. I think they may have messaged me while we were enjoying the sunset." 

 

The Coin mentally navigated his ocular implant's display, bringing up a short snippet of text. "Jasper, darling?"

 

Jasper, who was a little cumdrunk, looked up dazedly at his tall owner. "Mmm?"

 

"Anthix Sweetmeadow called. Do you know why someone named Seth would urgently need to speak with you?"