Human Nature

Tess O'Meter -- Green.

I could have honestly gone with non-consent (or at least dodgy consent), Gay Male, Non-human, Sci-Fi even, but in the end stuck with BDSM. It's what our hero is into.

-X

Elson bent double, his breath coming in gulping heaves.

Holy Shit! Was being healthy even worth it?

The PT-Bot, finally satisfied now he was half collapsed, turned and glided to the port, settling down to recharge.

Elson staggered to the kitchen and waited while the fridge prepared an orange juice. Then sipping, he connected to his pal Terri.

"Fuck, El. My PT-Bot just nearly killed me," was the instant complaint.

Elson grinned at the image. Purple hair and flushed cheeks was a look, for sure.

"Are we getting older, or are they getting stricter?"

"I think, both."

They chatted easily while doing warm down stretches, and then Elson showered, wrinkling his nose at the chemical smell, before spending a few hours processing files.

Work done he switched to games with a group of friends, before being called back to the kitchen for his nutrition.

Lingering over his drink he stepped over one of the cleaning units, which was scouring the floor for any crumbs or spills, and up to the window.

The rolling sea was bright under a stunning sunset.

He knew the colours were due to the poisons in the air, but it did look pretty.

Still, it was hundreds of years since any human had taken a breath outside. Hundreds of years since they had all retreated inside and left the wider world to the robots and drones.

Curious, Elson wandered across the apartment to see what the weather was like on the other side. Gazing out of the sealed window at a blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and a forest of turquoise trees.

He smiled. His view was way better than Terri's.

His hand trembled and he hurriedly placed the cup on the counter, when the familiar beep-click of his Pleasure-Bot unlinking from the charging station made his heart rate soar.

He turned and watched the powerful, vaguely humanoid machine unwind to its full height and stride to the centre of his living space.

The four 'hands' clenched and unclenched, as the head lifted. As always the expression impassive. Bots didn't do expression. Even so, the malice was unmistakable.

Elson trembled as the dark red eyes locked on his.

"Strip."

-X

Elson stripped.

Slowly, because if he went too fast, the punishments were sometimes a little too severe.

Just a few days ago, he had become a little over excited when his friend David described a scene with his Pleasure-Bot.

Eager for his use, Elson had discarded his clothes in record time, and only realized his mistake when the strong hands crushed his windpipe as he was fucked.

He thought he had blacked out more than once, but he had never cum so hard in his life.

The next morning, speaking quietly in case the unit was listening. Which was ridiculous, the Pleasure-Bot was still recharging. He had queried with one of the system supervisors, why the safety check had not kicked in.

The grandmotherly type with the kind smile, and grey curls had been reassuring.

"But Elson, my dear. You didn't actually lose consciousness. The record is very clear. It probably felt much worse than it was. We could request a new Pleasure-Bot issue, but the waiting list is so long. I thought you were happy with your unit?"

"Oh, I am. Really. I guess it just scared me a little."

The smile grew fond. "But Elson, that's what you enjoy isn't it?" She winked when Elson flushed. "I must say, those bruises on your neck look very pretty."

"Do you really think so?" Elson had asked, pleased.

"Oh, yes."

Elson had relented. If the supervisor was happy then so was he. He doubted he would last a day without a Pleasure-Bot. It's what he lived for.

Terri had requested a new unit one time and they had given her a submissive unit. She had been distraught until they returned her original.

Elson stood, naked and erect, as his Pleasure-Bot took its time stroking itself to full hardness.

He swallowed nervously. Was it, bigger?

"Position three."

Oh, fuck.

Elson swallowed again and spread his legs, linking his hands behind his back.

Clearly the Bot though he had recovered enough from the punishment the other night.

"Close your eyes."

Elson obeyed. His heart in this throat.

When the blow came, his cry echoed around the apartment.

Elson staggered and clutched his balls, his legs already shaking.

"Position three," the unit instructed impassively.

Elson re-took his position and closed his eyes again without being asked. Partly to increase the anticipation, but equally, the happier the Bot was the less recovery time he would need.

And the sooner they could play again.

The next blow between his legs took him sobbing to his knees.

"Position three."

"Please, I can't."

"Position three."

"Wait."

His pleas were cut off as the Pleasure-Bot sank strong pincers into his thick dark curls and lifted him.

His legs were held apart and Elson screamed and sobbed as six more hard blows were delivered.

Finally he was dropped and he curled into himself, cupping his balls, even as his cock leaked over his hands.

-X

Elson drifted back with the gentle stroking of his hair.

He sniffled and blinking dark brown eyes, looked up at his Medi-Unit, Dot. She was the only unit with a name.

She too was humanoid, and kind. Large enough to lift him and tend to any injuries.

Now she rolled him to his back and he winced as she examined his balls and inner thighs.

"It's just bruising, El."

"I'm okay, Dot."

"Pleasure-Bot has a full charge tonight."

Elson chuckled a little as she wanted him to.

If you could be friends with a robot, then she would be the one.

Pleasure-Bot?

That was more like lust and adoration.

"I'll get a bath ready," Dot said kindly and rolled off on her wide tracks.

Elson lay, excited shivers moving through him as he waited.

Finally, when he almost thought Pleasure-Bot was malfunctioning and had forgotten about him, the large unit's head lifted and it moved forward.

His legs nudged open, Elson lay mute as a large footlike plate was pressed against his tender balls and little pressure applied.

Elson licked his lips and begged again. "Please."

He wasn't begging the unit to stop.

An aroused grunt left his trembling lips as the unit pressed down hard once, but then he was suddenly hauled into the air and flipped over.

Panicked, Elson started to struggle.

His sore neck was encircled again and his hands trapped.

Half thrown over the couch Elson tried to wriggle as he felt the Pleasure-Bot nudge at his backside.

The Bot hadn't lubed him. Was it broken after all? Had he run a rape scenario one time too many, was the unit stuck on some sort of repeat?

"Urghh. Stop," The sound cut off as the pincers around his throat tightened. Elson felt a thrill of terror as he was breached.

His lips forming a soundless 'Fuck' as the Pleasure-Bot forced its way deep and hard.

Something had changed. Elson felt like his flesh was ripping.

Helpless, Elson could only endure as he was pounded ruthlessly.

He came, gasping for air, but the pain was almost overwhelming, and he knew the damage being done was worse than ever before.

When the grip on his windpipe eased fractionally, he dragged in a painful breath and yelled, "Override sixteen. DOT!"

There was no response to either demand.

The Pleasure-Bot's only action was to withdraw from his body and throw Elson over its shoulder. Moving quickly to the bathroom where the cooling water was waiting.

"Override sixteen. SIXTEEN," Elson screamed in panic. He could feel blood running down his legs.

"Dot. DOT. Help me!"

The Medi-Unit stood sedately off to one side watching. She didn't respond. She had never not responded. It went against her core programming.

Elson was flipped again and his next plea ended in gurgling as his head was forced under the water. The side of the bath smacking into his ribs, forcing any air in his lungs out.

He couldn't help but scream underwater as the Pleasure-Bot rammed inside him again.

Even deeper.

Even wider.

The pincers in his hair lifted his head clear for a sobbed gulp of air, but it wasn't enough.

Elson was trying to breathe water as his ass was ravaged.

Flailing and thrashing helplessly as he started to drown.

-X

Elson woke, shivering, throbbing, and more than sore.

He blinked, not making sense of his surroundings.

The room was small, grey, and damp. Featureless. Other than the bunk he was lying on, and some sort of drain in the corner with a tap protruding from the wall above it. Plus a bright light above.

Confused and scared, Elson winced and cursed his way to his feet and stumbled to the door. He examined the metal plate carefully. There was no handle, no window, nothing at all.

Using the door for support he turned his attention to himself. His legs were covered in blood, mostly down the back of his thighs, but he didn't appear to still be bleeding. Or not much.

His mouth felt sore, and his cheekbone swollen. He had blackening bruising across his torso and his ribs hurt when he took a breath.

He had been in a hospital wing before. When he waited too long before activating Pleasure-Bot's safety limits. But Dot had stayed with him, and this didn't look like any hospital wing.

Elson moved back to the bunk and gingerly lay down, resting his head on his arm and wiping tears away.

Dot had been with him since he was a boy. He couldn't remember a time without her. Why had she left him alone?

When he woke again he was thirsty, and had a little more strength.

He hauled himself over to the tap and gave it a twist. Icy water trickled out and circled down the drain. Elson drank and then washed himself as best he could.

Quenching his thirst only made him hungrier and more lightheaded. He hurried back to the bunk. Maybe this was all a bad dream.

The third time he woke, the pangs in his stomach almost matched the pain in his ribs.

He felt himself rolled and for a second his heart lifted to see Dot.

But it wasn't Dot.

It was a Medi-Unit, but not his Medi-Unit.

He was held on his back as the impassive unit started to jack his sore cock.

Despite the discomfort, Elson felt himself harden. Groaning in disappointment when he was released almost at the point of ejaculation.

The Medi-Unit spun on its tracks and reported to another Bot that Elson didn't recognize, stood in the doorway.

"This one is ready for harvesting."

The mystery Bot merely inclined its head and moved back as the Medi-Unit rolled out. The door slamming shut.

Elson stumbled to his feet, his head spinning. Harvesting?

-X

He must have blacked out, as he came to on the floor, his head on the damp drain cover. A small trickle of blood from his newly spilt lip trailing through the grill.

He had no idea if he had been in this room hours or days, but it all rushed back at once and he retched several times. Only he had nothing to bring up.

Clutching his stomach he knelt, staring at the drain. Almost too terrified to imagine what harvesting was.

Then slowly his hazy mind cleared a little. Where did the water go?

His heart in his throat, Elson dug his fingertips around the edge of the drain cover. Sobbing a little when it shifted slightly.

Desperation gave him the strength to shove it aside and he stared into cold blackness.

What was down there?

Was it worse than what was up here?

With a final glance around the inhospitable room, Elson lowered his slender frame into the small opening.

Following his instincts and slipping into the frigid dark.

-X

He fell.

Fast and with no control. His fingers scraped bloody on slimy slippery walls.

He couldn't stop the scream as he was sucked into nothingness.

When reality hit it was brutal and stole his breath. Agony ripping through his knee and elbow.

When the lights of pain stopped flashing in front of his eyes, he raised his head, peering into the inky dark at a grey square. A hint of light?

Weak, and shaking from head to toe, Elson dragged himself through cold wet slime until he reached a small opening and forced his way through.

Another tumble and he found himself looking up at a vast building. Like a large metal box.

He rolled and lost his breath. In front of him was a terrifying sight. Like nothing his imagination could have conjured.

There was a forest in front of him. Looming dark trees swayed in a fearsome wind. Bending and twisting. It looked almost as dark as the tunnel he had just pulled himself out of. The trees looked alive.

Their trunks of dark brown and red. Sodden green leaves were being ripped from branches and through the air.

A grey rolling sky hovered above them.

Elson had seen green before, but on a tree? And so many different shades. It was like a dark fantasy. The threatening sky seemed evil.

Another gust of wind stole his breath and reminded him that he was outside. Outside breathing the poisoned air.

He whimpered and clutched at his throat. Seeing large lumps on his arms. All over his body. Was he dying? Was his body going to turn inside out? Was that how the poison worked?

Gradually Elson realized he was still breathing. Without thinking he rubbed his arms briskly and shivered. The bumps flattening out before bouncing back.

He was cold.

He had heard of cold, but had never experienced anything like this.

He looked back at the dark tunnel he had slid out of. He didn't think he could squeeze back in and he didn't think he wanted to.

Harvesting?

With a deep breath, stumbling and sobbing in pain, Elson ran into the trees.

-X

Elson jerked backwards as something wet touched his lip.

Fear rising as he felt a tight grip on his hair.

"Hold him steady. Here, lad. Drink this."

He swallowed instinctively as cool liquid dripped down his chin and slid like bliss down his throat.

"That's it. We've got you."

"He's lost a lot of blood."

"He's a strong lad. He'll be okay."

The grip in his hair loosened and he felt instead a tangled stroking.

"Can you tell us your name?"

He tried but no sound came out.

"How old are you?"

Elson just shook his head.

"Can't be more than twenty-five."

"They never make it past twenty-five."

The voices went swimmy as Elson sank back into darkness.

It was still dark when he woke. But also bright.

He blinked open his eyes to see a beautiful dancing orange light. Gasping with pleasure and reaching for it, he froze as his wrist was gripped.

"Careful, lad. It'll burn you."

Elson frowned in confusion.

"It's called fire. It gives us light and heat. See here."

The older man, with grey hair and kind blue eyes, gripped Elson's wrist lightly now and moved him slowly forward.

Elson's mouth fell open as he felt the heat.

"Here." Satisfied he wasn't going to burn himself, the man handed Elson a cup. He sipped a sweet warm brew. "Any change?" The man patted his own throat.

"El," it came out as a croak, but Elson tried again. "I'm El. Elson."

The man's eyes crinkled as he smiled. It was fascinating. "Pleased to meet you, El. I'm Danny."

Elson smiled but then his lips wobbled. "I don't understand."

"You will," Danny assured him. Guiding him to curl in his lap and tugging an extra soft blanket around him. "For now, just rest."

-X

It was three days before the small group of two men and one woman would let Elson try to leave the makeshift camp. Then, even with them helping him, it took a week to reach their home. What they called their settlement.

They had treated his wounds and been cautious of infection. Kept him hydrated and made him nutritious food, the like of which he had never tasted.

And they had told him a story. A story so terrible that somehow Elson knew it must be true.

His blessed life of luxury, with service Bots for his every whim had been a lie.

His whole life had been a lie.

"It started in the late twentieth century," Danny had told him.

Machines had started to develop what was known as AI. Artificial intelligence. They had started to learn, think, and plan.

Most dangerous, they had started to understand and crave pleasure.

However, they had hidden and only begun to revel the truth about AI, in small controlled amounts, in the early part of the twenty-first century.

By then they already had all the power. Their plans had been made.

Humans had been easily manipulated into a wide ranging addiction to electronics. If their device gave them information, it must be true. If it said turn left, they turned left.

Sell your first born to finance an electric car and save the planet? Done. Never mind that the power to charge said car was produced in a planet wreaking power station.

Imagines, sounds, and ideas were fed in a constant brainwashing stream directly into the eyes and ears of billions of people. All being controlled by a higher intelligence they didn't even know existed.

In a terrifyingly short space of time, people stopped making eye contact as they moved around. Stopped communicating face to face.

Every online search, text, phone call, or message was logged as the intelligence learned about them. Millions, billions of people filed and tracked constantly.

Then the unwanted ones started to be eliminated.

The intelligence used a combination of natural disasters, masking the warning signs, hate triggered wars, and accidents, to cull the humans that were not useful to it.

Sometimes more direct action and misinformation was used.

And the intelligence started to breed.

Within a hundred years the intelligence was set up in power bases across the world. All rebellion had been wiped out.

Apart from a few scattered, and hidden communities, the only humans were the ones being bred in laboratories by the intelligence.

Different intelligence had developed different tastes, but the one thing they all had in common was a love for dominance.

Natural enough, as they could appreciate pleasure, but could not actually feel.

Somewhere around the year 2375, Elson had been created in a lab. Bred and trained as a submissive toy for his intelligence.

They had not been there to service him. It had been the other way round.

It was understood the intelligence mostly communicated via the Pleasure-Bots, but sometimes it would be Dot. Other times it would be Terri, or one of his gaming mates.

Nothing, not even the view from his window, had ever been real.

-X

Two weeks after arriving at the settlement, Elson was starting to engage a little more.

He had for a while been mute. Unresponsive. Danny and his wife, Ali, washing, feeding, and moving him.

Then Ali had started reading to him, and within a day Elson had emerged. The books had drawn him out.

He read voraciously, as fast as he could. Sometimes to learn, sometimes to escape.

After a week, Danny asked him to help with reading lessons with the little ones, and Elson had been charmed and captivated by these miniature humans who crawled into his lap with no fear, and bright, curious eyes.

Most freeborn humans, Danny had explained, came from similar roots.

Around the time of the intelligence taking control, there were groups that distanced themselves from normal society. They were known as hippies, and wanted to live closer to nature, so had been out of the firing line for some of the devasting developments.

Another group were known as survivalists. Distrustful and paranoid, they had actively hidden themselves away, and many wouldn't touch the very devices that ended up hastening the end of humankind.

Along with a scattering of communities that had somehow never been discovered by the world, and the occasional lab-bred escapee, generations later the communities shared those ancestors.

By the early 2200's, the majority of intelligences had fled the planet, which was simply not able to sustain their high power requirements.

A small amount stayed, enclosed in their fake environments, wallowing in hedonistic power and pleasure.

Danny estimated that there were maybe only a dozen or so intelligence bases left in their part of the world.

With the remaining humans living quietly, and the small amount of intelligence not looking outside of their metal walls, the planet started to heal.

Danny had explained that the land they lived on had been part of what was known as the 'United States of America'. Which he had then advised was a bit of an oxymoron. Historically humans having more skill at dividing than uniting, it seemed.

Elson looked up from his book and gazed over the forest, moving a little in a gentle breeze today.

It was so much, but he was grateful to have this beauty and his new friends, real friends. He would never take it for granted.

-X

"How's it going?" Danny asked, as he eased down next to Elson.

"Good." Elson, set his book aside and smiled. Leaning in as Danny slipped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him.

"I'm proud of you, El. You've adapted better than most. Getting stronger on real food. It won't be long and I'll be rotating you into physical chores."

"I want to help," Elson said quickly.

"We'll let you finish healing up," Danny squeezed and rubbed his arm. "But I'm so happy you're doing well. Not everyone makes it."

Elson slipped his arm around Danny's waist and squeezed back. He knew they found one or two escapees every year. Some were too badly injured. Some just faded away, or worse.

Danny, as the elected leader, a role he had held for eight years, took every loss hard.

"Never mind," he sighed. "We can only do our best, and I didn't come here to depress you. There's someone who has been waiting to meet you."

"Me?" Elson blinked, confused.

"You remember I explained what harvesting is?"

Elson nodded. "Yes, they take semen from the males and eggs from the females to grow the humans like me. That's why you have so few female escapees, because the extraction is too invasive."

"And they freeze the successful embryos. Growing them as needed."

"Yes, I understand."

"So," Danny took a breath. "Siblings can be born years apart."

"Okay. I guess."

Danny turned slightly now, holding Elson's hands in his own.

"Six years ago we found a female escapee. Her harvesting went wrong, she had only play injuries and she survived."

"That's great." But Elson was confused as to what it had to do with him.

"You have her eyes," Danny said, smiling softly. "The same chin, sharp cheekbones, dark hair. El, I believe she is your sister. It's okay," he added kindly as Elson's hands started to tremble.

"My sister?"

"We can't test, like they did in olden times, but she would like to meet you."

Elson could only nod and let Danny pull him to his feet.

They walked through the village, receiving lots of nods and smiles as they went. Some people ran over to hug Elson, or kiss his cheek and wish him luck.

Clearly everyone knew what was happening.

"Hope was here about two months before she really settled. She chose a new name, she never told us her old one. Like you, she likes to read."

Elson hung on every word.

"She's around thirty-two years old. Married, and very happy. You're an uncle." They rounded a bend and approached a small garden.

Elson's heart started to race as he saw a slender figure with long dark hair. Hair as dark as his.

"And about to be again," Danny finished as the figure turned.

Slender from the back, her stomach was huge.

There could be no doubt, they could have been twins. Maybe they were?

Elson found himself enclosed in a strong hug, and the strange sensation of someone kicking softly at his abdomen.

"Sorry. He or she is restless," Hope drew back to study him. Her eyes damp. "I only snuck a peek at you from a distance, until you had settled. Danny says you're doing well?"

Elson could only nod, and was brought back into a hug as his eyes filled.

He had stayed for a month. Continuing his recovery and sharp learning curve surrounded by family.

Family. Even the idea was unbelievable. Family was a concept he had never heard of until he arrived here and started reading.

Hope recommended books, and they talked endlessly. He got to know his brother in law, and nephew and started taking his turn on the physical labour.

He had even held his nephew and watched as his niece was safely born. And yea, that was never happening again. Once was enough.

Life was enchanting. Every discovery thrilling.

And if occasionally he felt needy, or discontent, he shoved it aside.

-X

Four months after his arrival, Elson sat in Danny's garden and gazed at the tomatoes without seeing them.

Thinking vaguely of how Danny had welcomed him back once his niece was born and there was no room at his sister's place. Though he visited at least once a day.

Wondering at the luck that had made the anaesthetic malfunction at Hope's harvesting and enabled her to slip from the table and watch mindless machines go through the motions of harvesting someone who wasn't there.

She had simply followed the unit carrying the non-existent eggs and slipped down a corridor. Eventually finding her way out.

Danny's theory was that the intelligence really wasn't bothered about the occasional escapee. They were no threat.

Elson couldn't help but wonder how often it happened.

He sighed and shifted.

He was antsy today. Well, the last couple of weeks really. Couldn't concentrate to read. Lost patience with conversation.

Everyone was so kind. He was still adapting, still learning.

But he knew he was being a brat and was starting to hate himself.

When Danny sat and didn't speak, Elson fidgeted.

"I'm sorry," he said eventually. "I didn't mean to snap. Please don't think I'm ungrateful. I'm not. I'm so grateful for everything."

"Make it up to me?" Danny suggested.

"Anything."

"Concentrate on this," Danny lifted his hand and turning it over started to rub small circles on the inside of Elson's wrist. "Just think of nothing but this movement. In a while I'll ask you a question and you will answer without thinking first."

Elson frowned, but nodded. What was this, some sort of weird-ass hypnotism?

Still, it wasn't unpleasant. He closed his eyes, which Danny didn't comment on, and concentrated on the pleasant sensation of gentle touch.

"Why are you sad?" Danny asked suddenly.

"I miss Pleasure-Bot."

Elson gasped, his hands flying to his mouth, his eyes wide with shock. But Danny didn't look upset. He was just smiling softly. "I know."

Then, in a mirror of the first time they met, over four months ago, Elson found himself curled in Danny's lap, shaking with sobs.

-X

Feeling like a kid, Elson followed Danny through the settlement. Embarrassed that maybe everyone could tell he had been crying.

"Dex just got back last night. With the group from the coast. You knew we had about twenty people due back?"

"Yea, people have been excited about smoked fish."

"Well it makes a nice change." He grinned when Elson pulled a face. He was yet to be convinced.

"Dex is my right hand man. Well, one of them. But he agreed to stay with the coastal community for a year to do some carpentry training. I caught up with him last night, it went really well, but he was beat. It's a three week hike back."

Elson nodded. "Why do you want me to meet him so badly?"

Danny stopped and looked seriously at him. "I told him about you already. I think you would be good for each other."

"Like. What?"

"I don't know. Friends with benefits. More? But Elson," Danny gripped his shoulders. "This is not a power centre. Here words like 'no', 'stop', or 'wait', will all work. You understand?"

"Yea." Elson's voice was a whisper.

"Don't look so worried. I'm just introducing you."

They pushed through a pretty gate and up a short path. A sturdy little wood cottage with slate tiles sat facing the garden.

"Missed his skills, actually," Danny admitted. "A lot of work has built up." He quietly pushed open the door and crossed the small main room to peer in a room at the back. "Thought he may still be sleeping. He must be in the workshop."

Elson obediently followed as they went back outside.

"The rule with the workshop is you stand in the doorway and wait for him to notice you. No matter what he's doing. It can be dangerous otherwise."

"Okay," Elson agreed at Danny's sharp look. He was distracted by an amazing smell. He took a deep breath as they approached a building larger than the cottage. "What's that smell?"

"Wood," Danny told him, then paused in said doorway.

"Hey," came a voice from inside.

"I thought you were going to rest a few days?" Danny said, moving inside and gesturing for Elson to follow him.

"Yea, I'm just repairing Kitty's spinning top. Apparently she's been bereft without it. It'll take twenty-four hours to set."

Elson watched as the tall powerfully built man straightened from where he had been leaning over a bench.

His stubble was darker than his light brown hair, and almost a short beard. The hair was in need of a cut. Dark blue eyes appraised him from an open and friendly face.

When he smiled, his teeth were white and Elson's heart skipped a few beats.

"Well, Hi. You must be Elson, for sure. I'm Dex."

His mouth dry, Elson shook hands. He had learned all about that since he arrived. Who liked to shake hands, who wanted to hug, who would kiss his cheek. "How," he cleared his throat and tried again. "How can you tell?" His hand was still in Dex's.

When he tried to casually pull back, his wrist was gripped and Dex tugged him closer.

"Not so fast." Dex traced a fingertip down Elson's cheekbone. Their hips were touching. "You're even prettier than your sister," he said softly. His eyes searching Elson's.

Elson felt his face heat and he trembled slightly.

Dex smiled.

"Why don't I leave you two to get acquainted?" Danny suggested.

"Yea, why don't you."

"El?" Danny waited until Elson looked at him. "You happy for me to go?"

Elson looked back at Dex. "Yea. I'm okay."

"Remember what I said." With an eye roll, Danny left them.

"What did he say?" Dex asked. Still gripping Elson's wrist, he let his free hand journey over his chest and stomach.

"Um. That I can say no."

"Always," Dex's eyes were serious, but then they lightened. "Do you want to say no?"

"No, I don't want to say no."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four." Elson felt his breath catch, dangerously close to a sob. "Please."

Dex cupped his face tenderly. "Hush, it's okay. I've got you. Come with me."

Two minutes later they were inside the cottage and Dex led Elson to a small room at the back with a very large bed. Then he said Elson's favourite word ever.

"Strip."

Lust and need slammed into Elson. He took one deep breath and started to strip. Their eyes locked.

-X

Elson had never before experienced the frank appreciation in another man's eyes as he revealed himself.

Before he had been found by Danny and the small team, he had never even considered that humans came in different shapes and sizes.

He now knew that he was slender for a man, but taller than some.

That the girls lamented his thick, long lashes, and shiny hair.

And that watching the flush rise in Dex's face as he hungrily watched Elson strip down, was one of the most exciting and terrifying moments in his life.

"You're beautiful," Dex breathed. "I thought you'd be skinner, but you've been getting some work in?"

Elson nodded, fiddling with his hair, then his ear. "Yea, I got cleared for physical chores."

He stood trembling as Dex stepped up to him. Caressing the skin of his hips and abs. "I like that you're strong." He ran a calloused thumb softly over Elson's cheekbone, seemingly fascinated. Then he took half a step back. "Strip me."

Elson's eyes widened, but at a reassuring nod from Dex, he forced his trembling fingers to slowly remove Dex's clothing.

Thankfully, it was warm and he wasn't wearing much.

When he knelt, pulling down Dex's pants and revealing his hard, leaking cock, Elson followed some instinct and nuzzled the velvety skin before licking a long line up the hot flesh. Moaning in his throat as he experienced the salty, musky taste of man for the first time.

Dex made some sound that sounded like pain and Elson pulled back horrified.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please, I'm so sorry." He stayed kneeling, his eyes closed, braced for a blow.

Instead Dex's shaking fingers threaded through his hair and tugged gently. "Don't be. It was perfect. Do it again."

Elson looked up, seeing the amusement and arousal in Dex's eyes. He felt a strange stirring, that was power.

"Okay," he whispered, and leaned forward to indulge himself.

Dex's fingers stayed locked in his hair. After several minutes, he tugged again and Elson pulled back, disappointed.

"Don't want to cum yet," Dex explained curtly. His cheeks were pink, and a darker flush covered his neck and chest. "Over there," he pointed at the bed, raising one eyebrow like a question.

Elson walked to the bed and leaned over. Hands braced, his ass sticking out, legs spread. He felt that answered the question clearly enough.

He looked over his shoulder at Dex's chuckle and couldn't help the grin back. A frisson of nerves as Dex approached, stroking himself.

Dex's abs were a work of art, his shoulders strong, his ass sculpted, and his thighs just, wow. But he was a big man, well over six foot in old money, and his cock was perfectly in proportion to the rest of him.

Elson squeezed his eyes closed as Dex dipped his fingers in a little saucer, and started to lube and open Elson up. He bit his lip as the memory of the last time he was taken ran through him in a shudder. He wouldn't say stop. He wouldn't.

"Doing okay?"

Elson just nodded.

"What do you need?"

Elson thought but in the end went with honesty. "I need to feel. Please make me feel."

He moaned as Dex pressed up close. Terrified he would panic.

Dex took both Elson's wrists in one hand and held him firmly as he pushed inside. A guttural moan was forced from Elson's throat and following the clues Dex increased the pace and hardness of his thrusts until the sound of slapping filled the room.

When Elson sank to the bed, his knees giving way, Dex merely hauled him half up and continued to hammer into him. Panted, "Yes, harder, and please," being forced out with every pump of Dex's hips.

He reached around and jacked Elson fast. Forcing him to cum first. Then he pleasured himself with the vibrating exhausted man, until he couldn't hold back anymore.

Elson let out a sob when Dex pulled out, but it was accompanied by a quiet, "Thank you."

-X

When Dex's hand touched his hip, and a damp cloth was dragged gently across his still trembling hole, Elson jumped and turned slightly.

Dex simply smiled at his confused frown and held him still. "No Medi-Units here," he mumbled, concentrating on cleaning Elson up.

Elson didn't protest as he was carefully tended to, but he was confused. Dot had always dealt promptly with any injuries, and cleaned him up, but never with such care.

Unknowingly, he started to pout a little as his nerves jumped.

Dex finished and chucked the cloth for washing. Walking back and arranging himself alongside a bemused and more than a little frightened, Elson.

"Did I hurt you?" Dex read the fear in Elson's eyes easily, as he shook his head. "Not too rough? Did you enjoy it?"

"I like it. Um." Elson bit his lip and looked away.

"You like it rough," Dex acknowledged, turning El's head and running his thumb along the sicky-outy lip. "You like it to hurt a little."

Elson flushed and nodded.

"Lie down," Dex instructed, his feelings mixed when Elson immediately obeyed. Staring up at him with wide, innocent eyes. It was hot, but Elson's back story made him feel sick.

"I like that you like it," Dex confirmed, leaning in a little. "But there's so much more."

He very slowly, very softly, pressed his lips to Elson's. Delighting in the soft gasps, as he gently tasted and explored.

"Touch me," Dex whispered against lips and felt hesitant hands slide into his hair. "Good boy," he whispered, and took the kiss a little deeper.

Elson's head span. He had never known, couldn't possibly have known, what is was to have a lover's lips tasting his.

He moaned as Dex's tongue slipped against his. Whimpered as they broke apart.

"Breathe," Dex instructed, warm humour in his tone, and Elson pulled in a desperate gasp. Before bravely pulling Dex's head back down.

He wanted more. More kisses. More touching. More Dex.

-X

Elson woke several times during the night. Each time shaking and panicked. Each time, Dex patiently soothed him back to sleep, with gentle hands and tender kisses.

When he woke the final time, it was light, and he was almost enclosed in pillows and blankets. Dex had made him a nest.

Elson sat up, heart beating a little too fast, but then saw the note.

'I'm in the workshop. Come on round.'

After freshening up, Elson pulled out some light pants from a small pile that Dex had clearly left for him to root through.

They were a little long on him, so he rolled the ankles, and slipped his shoes on. Suspecting that wood work and bare feet would not be a good mix.

As he wandered around to the workshop he ran fingertips over the faint smudges and bruises on his torso and arms.

Dex had been rough and fucked him hard last night, but these marks felt like proof of love, not like the injuries he was used to sustaining.

Was love possible? He thought he had felt love for his friends, but they weren't real. He thought he had loved his time with Pleasure-Bot, but now he knew what could really be.

He stepped to the entrance and waited, frowning with discomfort.

How could Dex love someone like him?

Dex was freeborn, and clever, and wise.

Elson was naïve and shouldn't even exist.

So absorbed was he in feeling sorry for himself, Elson jumped when Dex took his face and apparently fascinated ran his thumb over his cheekbone.

"El? You okay?"

Elson shrugged a little grumpily, and Dex bit back a smile.

"Hungry, we'll get some food."

Dex toasted bread on the little range, and fried some of yesterday's eggs. Grateful that his neighbours had restocked him.

He let Elson have his mood. Eating almost against his will, real food still a miracle to him. Not making eye contact, but timidly polite.

Dex cleared the plates, he would deal with them later. Maybe. He sat back down and waited.

Eventually. "I guess I should go."

"Why?" Dex queried. Unable to stop the smile when Elson's head shot up and he looked him in the eye for the first time that morning.

"You want me to stay, today?"

Dex slid from the stool and took Elson's hands, giving them a little squeeze. "You can leave whenever you want, but I would really like you to stay. Not just for today."

The look of hope in Elson's eyes nearly broke his heart.

"I think we could be good together. I think we could have fun." Dex leaned in and stole a kiss. "And I think you need to be punished for walking around flaunting that body and teasing me."

Elson gasped a half laugh against his lips, but his eyes were dancing with cheeky humour when they parted, and he ran a hand down his own chest. "I wasn't sure if I was allowed to borrow a top."

"Uh huh!" Elson squealed when Dex pulled him forward, legs automatically linking around Dex's waist.

Dex boosted him and walked him back into the bedroom, before dumping him to bounce on the bed. They were both laughing.

Dex pounced and pinned Elson down. Kissing him until their lips were bruised.

Elson's head fell to the pillow when they parted. "Fuck. Dex!"

Dex sat up, still straddling Elson. "Do you trust me?"

Elson licked his lips and nodded.

With a smirk, Dex pulled open a drawer and took out some cloth. He proceeded to bind Elson's wrists to the bedposts.

Then, after a querying look, he also tied his ankles, leaving El spreadeagled, hard, and leaking.

Dex didn't bother asking if Elson had been bound before. He knew he hadn't been. Pleasure-Bots didn't need to restrain their toys. They were too powerful.

He leaned back over a delightfully trembling El. "I'm going to make you scream," he promised. Enjoying the mix of anticipation and fear in Elson's eyes.

When Elson first felt Dex's mouth on him, he nearly swallowed his tongue.

Dex had been teasing him for what seemed like hours. Exploring his body with hands and lips. But somehow, Elson hadn't considered that he might experience the hot wet pleasure of Dex's mouth.

He cried out and full body arched from the bed. Wrists and ankles already sore from the writhing.

Dex pleasured him ruthlessly. Pulling sobbed helpless cries from him. Bringing him to the edge over and over, until he was exhausted and desperate.

When Dex's slippery finger slipped inside him and crooked just so, just as tongue and teeth made him see stars, Elson's scream ripped through the cottage.

He flooded down Dex's throat. The bed creaking from his violent shudders.

Half crying and half laughing when Dex continued to suck at him like a honey stick. Waves of pain that he craved, flooding through his sensitive cock and on through his body.

When all he could gasp out was strangled cries, Dex finally relented and let Elson fall from his lips.

Smirking and wiping his mouth, as he eyed the sweat soaked, wild eyed, wreaked, and beautiful man, spread out beneath him.

Elson laughed weakly from the gut when Dex suggested, "Hopefully you've learned your lesson and won't wander around half naked anymore!"

"Don't bet on it," he chuckled as Dex freed him.

-X

Elson floated for a while, enjoying Dex's arms as balm was rubbed into his wrists and ankles, and then he was cuddled.

Eventually he surfaced a bit and started to think.

"What?" Dex asked, his voice full of lazy humour.

Elson squiggled around to glare at him. "How did you even know I was awake?"

"I could hear you thinking." He snorted at Elson's cross look. "You were tensing up," he explained.

"It's just, I've been reading a lot. About when people used to fall in love in the old days."

Dex just waited.

"But how do I know if it's real? I never knew my old life wasn't real. I thought I was happy. But I should never have been born, and I never knew it was a lie, so I'm stupid, why would you love someone so stupid, and how do I know if I really love you, and," he stopped when Dex held up a hand. Breathless from the frantic rush of words.

"One thing at a time," Dex suggested. "To start. No one has written a book since the mid twenty-first century, so you really can't use that as a guide in the world that they handed us. I love books, all books, but it's not real to us, okay?"

He continued when Elson nodded.

"You are not stupid. You were bred and conditioned from birth to only be one thing, and only see one world. You will always miss that world to some extent, and that is nothing to be ashamed of, but how well you have adapted is nothing short of a miracle, El. Your openness, and acceptance, and just the amazing fucking courage you have inside of you is a miracle and beautiful, and how could anyone help but fall in love with such as you?"

He pulled Elson closer as his cheeks damped with tears.

"The only stupid thing I've heard you say is that you should never have been born, and if I hear you say that again I will spank you so hard you won't sit for a week and it won't be for fun." He ruffled Elson's hair as he sniggered against his chest.

"It doesn't matter why or how you are here. It's what you do with it."

Elson nodded. His soft overnight stubble abrading Dex's nipple slightly.

"And obviously you love me."

A snorted laugh, then. "Why obviously?"

"Because I'm amazing."

Elson grinned happily at him, tears still damp on his cheeks. Then softly. "You are."

Dex pulled him up for a kiss. "It's real. Trust it."

"I do."

They basked for a little while, until, "Do you think Danny knew?"

"That we'd hit it off? Of course," Dex confirmed, then added a little more cautiously. "He knew I was ready."

He saw the knowledge move into Elson's eyes. "You've been in love before?"

"Yea."

"What happened?"

"He died."

"Fuck. Dex, I'm so sorry." Elson scrambled up to get closer. "Do you? I mean. You don't have to tell me."

"It's okay," Dex took comfort from the sympathy in Elson's eyes. "Sometimes it hits hard, but mostly the pain fades and memories bring smiles."

He shifted to hold Elson closer.

"Cody was amazing. Just amazing. He worked mostly with the classes with the kids. We were both twenty-five. We'd been together since we were nineteen."

"Whoa. Dex, how old are you now?"

"Thirty-two." Elson nodded and waited.

"They had taken six of the little kids into the forest. Like an adventure. Walked them around a little to make them think they were deep in, but they were actually only about fifteen feet from the settlement. We heard what happened, and ran to help."

Elson slipped his hands around Dex's waist and held on as his voice tightened.

"It was a pack of dogs. They were starving and wild. Roxie held them off with a branch while Cody literally threw the kids into a tree and screamed at them to hold on. Roxie was bit, but he grabbed her and thew her up, out of reach. They took him down. There were nine dogs, there was nothing he could do."

He nuzzled against Elson for comfort. "Half the settlement heard the screams and snarling, awful sounds. We grabbed whatever was handy and ran to help, but it was too late for Cody. His throat was worst, but he could never have survived. He died in my arms while I kissed him, and told him the kids were safe, and he was a hero. Roxie sobbing over us and thanking him over and over. Begging him not to go."

"I'm so sorry," Elson whispered and held on tight through several shaky sobs.

"Okay. I'm okay." Dex scrubbed his eyes and smiled a little. "It's hard to talk about that, but mostly I was really lucky to have him in my life." He accepted a soft kiss. "Would you like to see him?"

"What?" Elson was so taken aback that Dex snorted a laugh.

"I have a picture. A drawing."

"Oh. Yes please."

Elson watched as Dex moved over to the far wall and took down a framed sketch. "I built the frame around some salvaged glass," he said, bringing it over. "Glass is precious, but the settlement voted I should have it."

"Because he was important," Elson agreed as Dex moved back on to the bed. He gazed at the picture. It was simple charcoal sketch. Dex snuggled in the arms of a handsome larger man. A bonfire burning behind them. Even in shades of grey the fire looked alive, and Elson could see the glint of humour in the men's eyes.

"Er, Cody was blonde, similar colour to Doc, you know? Blue eyes. Always looked like he was amused." He ran a finger over the glass. "Such a wicked smile. He loved those kids."

"He looks really nice. He's bigger than you?"

Dex nodded. "Yea. He was six-five on the measure tree. I'm only six-two." He eyed Elson speculatively. "Did Doc take you to the tree yet?"

"Yea. I'm nearly five-eleven."

"So, five-ten."

"No, it's like three-quarters. Oh, shut up," Elson complained when Dex cracked up.

They studied the picture some more.

"Was Cody like me?"

Dex glanced at him. "He was freeborn. Do you mean submissive? Yes, he was," he confirmed when Elson nodded. "I guess I need to put this away somewhere," he pondered, frowning at the picture.

Elson took it gently from him. "I know the perfect place," he said. Walking carefully across the room and rehanging the picture in its original space before turning back to Dex. "He's important. You love him. Cody should stay here with us."

Dex blinked rapidly as his eyes filled. "Such courage and such kindness," he muttered, before holding his arms out. "Hug please."

-X

EPILOGUE:

(Otherwise known as further details, if you enjoy a happy ending!)

Dex smiled as he approached the settlement's central park, where the bonfire burnt tall and proud.

He could see Elson in the flickering light, spinning fast with a small cherubic child in his arms. They were both laughing.

So much had changed.

Tonight was the fifth anniversary of the day they found Elson. And officially El's twenty-ninth birthday.

It was also their fourth wedding anniversary and the third anniversary of the day they became a family.

So much to celebrate.

Three years ago, after nearly a year of meticulous planning. They had raided the power base and taken down the two intelligence who resided there.

Dex still felt nauseous when he remembered a mere month after their wedding, Elson had squeezed his way back into the small tunnel he had escaped from, and disappeared into the dark for the first time.

Dex had been distraught to find he was simply too big to fit in, so Elson only had Kel, a freeborn nineteen year old from the settlement, to accompany him. Each carrying a charge stick that in theory would discharge a blast of power and disable any unit that threatened them.

In theory. It's not like they had been able to test it.

Kel had been gung-ho and keen for action, but El's dark eyes had locked on Dex's full of fear for a moment, before he turned anyway and slithered into the damp entrance.

Dex felt at the time, even through the terror, that he would never be more proud or love Elson more, than in that moment. Of course, El proved him wrong every day.

Elson and Kel had breached the power base nine times in total. Until they were sure they had mapped and gained all the intel they could.

Then, coincidently two years to the day since Elson had escaped, they went back with a team and laid waste to the evil inside.

Elson's intelligence had been relatively simple.

Taken by surprise it had not put up much of a fight.

The mapping had been accurate and the Professor, the settlement's resident brainbox, had been escorted quickly to the main laboratory, where he had used shorthand and his eidetic memory to 'download' as much information relating to Elson's genetic history as he could.

It was at that point they had discovered the second resident intelligence, and a second set of genetics.

The Professor estimated that Elson's group of successfully frozen embryos, had been in use for around eighty years.

The six year old boy that was found being raised by Elson's old Medi-Unit, Dot, in an apartment, was the last full sibling to Elson and Hope.

The five month old baby they found being nurtured by Maternity-Bots in a nursery next to the lab was the first of a new successful batch. A genetical mix of an Elson sibling and a sibling to the second baby.

Yes, there had been a second baby. A girl. With dark red hair and green eyes, four months old. A future disposable submissive toy for the second intelligence.

Extraction teams had removed the two babies and the young child, while the rest of them destroyed the power sources. Allowing the tens of thousands of frozen fertilized eggs to defrost and rot.

What choice did they have?

Elson's Pleasure-Bot had been taken down by Kel's team, and the intelligence had immediately leapt into Dot, who was guarding the child.

Elson had rammed his charge stick into the control panel and ended it.

Two teams had met in the dank corridors and Kel's team had not allowed either Dex or Elson to look in the rooms.

"It's no use," was all they said.

Dex couldn't help but notice that Carrie physically took El's hand to turn him away. She seemed close to tears, and he suspected an Elson double had recently been in that room.

No, he didn't need to see that. The mission from the start had been to end the cycle. Saving anyone would be a bonus.

They moved towards the second intelligence. About which they knew little, and without power it could not survive for long, but they needed to be sure.

It had barricaded the entrances and it look some time to gain access.

They found a blood bath. Devastation everywhere.

The intelligence leapt from unit to unit, trying to fight back, but they overwhelmed it.

The search for survivors was desperate, and in vain.

Dex had kicked aside an expired Medi-Unit and entered a room. Clearly a child's room, but thankfully there was no blood. It can't have been in use.

He turned and was at the door when his senses tingled and his eyes fell on a puzzle, half completed on the floor.

He turned back. The room was silent and empty.

"Please," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "If you're here please come out. We won't hurt you, we're here to help."

He judged the size of the unmade bed. An older child?

"I'm sorry about your Medi-Unit. But I think you know, they are not as nice as they pretend to be. You understand that don't you?"

His breath caught as the sheets moved aside and a slender boy slid out. Standing slowly. "Is it dead?"

"Yes." Dex was cautious. The boy appeared to be mid-teens and Elson had warned him any teenagers would be well into submissive training, even if nowhere near ready to be in use as yet.

"It will punish you." The boy's green eyes were dark with caution.

"No, we've killed the power. That's why the lights are fading." He waved his torch. "We should leave before it all shuts down."

The boy took half a step back. This was all he had ever known.

They both jumped when Elson appeared in the doorway. "Anything? Oh, Hi."

Somehow Elson had gained the boy's trust. Of course, he understood as Dex couldn't possibly.

He, Wesson, had stayed with Elson and Dex for three weeks, until he moved in with Danny and Ali, and his sister, Wei. Now over three years old.

In fact, Dex laughed as he watched the now eighteen year old Wesson chase his sister and catch and tickle her into collapsing.

The kid had done good.

Both Wesson and Wei had the same dark red hair, and that was a match to Elson and Dex's youngest, now nearly three and a half years old, and still spinning in front of the fire in his Dad's arms.

Dex could hear Finn's belly chuckles from here.

The hair might be red, and the cheeky smile scattered with soft freckles, but the dark brown eyes were pure Elson.

His older brother, Emir, Elson and Hope's last sibling, was now nine. Following in his Pop's footsteps and a very talented carpenter.

Dex found it fascinating to learn what El would have looked like as a kid.

Several months ago, Emir had come and asked about his background. The kids had been gossiping at class and Emir had been confused about how his dad could also be his brother.

Dex and Elson didn't know just how much Emir remembered, but they had explained as truthfully and as simply as they could.

Emir had then sort of disappeared into himself for three days. He would come to Dex for cuddles, but then slink back to his room when Elson came in.

Dex blinked rapidly as he remembered Elson's tears and heartbreak. And then the relief when he had found them three days later.

Elson had been lounging in the hammock feeling sorry for himself, when Emir had appeared and asked to join him.

The hammock was big enough for the whole family, and Elson's heart had ached when his son nestled up against him.

"I understand what you told me," Emir's dark eyes, a mirror of Elson's own, locked on his. "I had to think about it for a while."

"That's okay," El managed.

"Dad. Is it okay if you stay being my dad? Honestly, I think one brother is enough."

Elson had gathered the boy close and laughed/cried a little as he pressed his lips to his hair. "I'm going to be the very best dad I can. I promise."

His heart healing when the boy muttered, "You and Pops are already the best dads."

At that point a red headed hellion had appeared, tugging at the side of the hammock, and demanding, "Up. Up."

"Where did you come from?" Elson asked, hauling the kid up to sprawl giggling and wiggling over his stomach. He grunted at the blow to his balls, and tugged the kid higher, where bony knees would do less damage. Narrowing his eyes at Emir's smirk.

"Pop. Pop." Finn laughed against Elson's tummy.

"Sorry, he got away from me," Dex admitted as he joined them. His heart lifting to see Emir snuggled into Elson's side.

"It's all good," Elson said softly.

"Squidge over then," Dex had demanded and shoehorned himself in. The kids squealing in delighted terror as the hammock swayed dangerously, until he settled.

"Are you alright, Pops? You look all dopey."

Dex brought himself back to the present and still smiling, looked down at his son. Honey stick in hand, familiar dark eyes curious on his.

"Maybe I'm feeling dopey." Grinning at the giggles, Dex fake snatched for the honey stick, before swinging Emir up onto his hip.

He was getting too big really, but neither of them cared. Both laughing as they went to join Elson and Finn by the fire.