After a few hours most people had disappeared, Blaine assumes it was because the actual auction was finally starting. He can’t comprehend why there were so many people looking around, and why some of them arrived so early, when the auction lasted only about an hour. He supposes a lot of the visitors are those incredibly rich individuals, who only show up to show off their status, many of them not truly interested in the main event.

During the hour break they were given, Blaine and Nick were not ungagged. Instead they sat in silence, shifting positions temporarily so the pressure on their knees reduced while they could get away with having their legs crossed or laid down (both positions Blaine tried, only to shortly become restless with the tug on his collar he was causing himself).

Once the actual auction had inevitably ended, Slapper was correct in predicting they would become more popular. Blaine was touched by numerous hands until he felt like he was nothing more than a slab of meat. Several times Slapper had to chase off guys who were slightly drunk, trying to untie the gag and get him to give them a blow job. They never made it past the initial sneering luckily, however Blaine wasn’t relieved for long when Slapper simply told the guys that if they wanted to ‘trial’ they would have to head to 6+ sub areas, and arrange a time slot with the guards over there. It appeared although he was free from the obligation today, in 5 months’ time he wouldn’t be.

He also had several people asking why he or Nick were gagged, and once Slapper told an abbreviated version (so not to bring into doubt the effectiveness of the training scheme), they appeared to lose all interest in both boys. It was a small blessing of a side effect.

As the night started to die down, people having either gone home or moved to hunt out more ‘gettable’ targets, a couple of extra guards walked over before Slapper addressed them as a group.

“Ok. You all – well, most of you – are done for the night now. We are going to take you back to your cell and cages, and from in there you will be informed on what will happen next.” She says, primarily directed at Blaine and Nick.

The guards make their rounds, unclipping the leads from each collar. Even though Blaine is one of the first to be unhooked, he waits for the others to move before he does, shyly following the rest of the group as they are led back to their cell, Nick at his side. Some of his rebellious attitude has subsided since the visit from Jeff and Trent; Blaine just hopes it will last.

Finally, they arrive back at the cell. Nick and Blaine the last ones to enter, trying to prolong the inevitable. They walk in and come face to face with an incredibly angry Slapper.

“You sluts. Knees. Now.” She sneers, scarily quiet. Blaine ungracefully drops down instantly, stiff from being in such a strenuous position all day. Nick objects a few moments, but seems to think better of it and eventually also drops to his knees next to Blaine. Slapper noticed the delay, but doesn’t pick Nick out on it, instead turning to address the others. “In the cages straight away. Since I have to deal with these two whores, I don’t think the rest of you deserve to all relax together. The cages get cleaned out daily if you need to relieve yourselves.” Blaine sees the slight confusion and struggle as the subs on the top row try to hoist themselves up with their hands locked behind their backs still. Slapper turns her attention back to Nick and Blaine.

“I… I don’t even know where to start with you two. Answering back, talking out of turn, and simply not following the rules. You are an embarrassment to this entire establishment. We have never had someone behave like that at the auctions before, let alone two of you! Now which one of you is going to tell me exactly what was just so important you had to knowingly ignore every rule?” Nick drops his head further, knowing they couldn’t tell the truth, but luckily Blaine had spent some time coming up with an alibi. He raises his eyebrow challengingly, not able to talk with the gag in.

“Don’t be so arrogant.” She says, leaning down to remove his gag. “We will get that whipped out of you soon enough.” Blaine flinches, hoping she doesn’t plan on whipping them both for the days’ events; Nick wouldn’t be able to withstand that again so soon, the previous marks still unhealed. Slapper removes the gag painfully, yanking it out before he properly releases it from between his teeth.

“They, they were bullies from our old life,” He starts, faking shyness. “They were taunting us. Say… saying that they were happy someone was finally putting us in our place. That they were saving up, going to buy us in a year. And that our friends also agreed and were going to help save up, to tease us more so with how different our lives now are. That, that they would have complete control over us, body and mind, and we would be able to watch how our life could have been if we weren’t such filthy fucking faggots.” He cringes at the words, although made up they still hurt. “It, it really struck a chord with us both, and we were unable to stay impassive.” He is glad he had rehearsed the speech.

He looks out the corner of his eye to Nick, and is grateful to see his friend nodding along to his made up story, and thankfully not too upset with the words Blaine said – although Blaine was impressed with the alliteration that he came up with.

“And why did I hear you thanking them?” Blaine breathes a silent sigh of relief, expecting this question.

“Because what else were we meant to say? We… we thought you wanted us to be polite to the hums, and it was only slightly sarcastic, so better than full out rudeness. And maybe, maybe it wouldn’t be completely awful being in an environment we are used to, it would make it easier to adjust.” Blaine really deserves an award for his acting skills. Slapper looks slightly skeptical, but after weighing the pros and cons of his response, she seems happy enough to accept his reply.

“I’m even feeling slightly sorry for you right now. But then again, you are subs, so that feeling has passed. I don’t think you really understand what that means yet; being a sub. So let me tell you. It means you aren’t people, you don’t have opinions or emotions. At least none that matter! You simply do as you are told, go where you are ordered. You don’t object, you don’t think, you just do. I couldn’t care less about what you would feel if you were bought by your old school bullies, as long as they find you worth their money.” She stops, thinking. “What’s going to happen is, you will stay here tonight, and some time tomorrow someone will come and get you. You are not going to get whipped, although by the end of the day you will wish you had. You stay in your cage until someone comes to get you. Understood?”

“Yes Ma’am.” Blaine replies, Nick nodding in agreement.

“9103, cage now. 5226, gag back on then cage.” She orders.

When they are woken up in the morning, it’s by a guard rather than a sub. Blaine assumes it will be a while before clothed subs start reappearing; all the ones returned and exchanged last night were auctioned off at the same time. Blaine didn’t see any of it, but could hear what was happening.

The guard unlocks all the cages but his and Nick’s, nd without a word they all leave, Nick and Blaine left behind. Nick looks at Blaine, raising his eyebrow and titling his head in question. Blaine doesn’t have an answer, and instead decides to lie back down and aim to bag a bit more sleep.

He doesn’t know how much time has passed since the morning, only that he is woken up by being dragged out of his cage. He tries to object, but encounters the gag in his mouth, rendering him unable to talk. Which considering his current situation, it is probably a good thing he wasn’t able to shout out. The guard that drags him out is another he hasn’t seen before. Like all the others he is tall, but incredibly so. While the guard drags him and Nick – who he pulled out first – down the corridors, Blaine tries to come up with a nickname to calm his nerves. Better to do something meaningless than to focus on what might happen soon.

By the time they arrive at their destination – another new room – Blaine has decided on the unimaginative name of Stretch. He has a large repertoire of short nicknames, having been called a lot of them himself, but nothing fun for tall people.

Blaine takes a moment to look around the room. It looks almost like a classroom, different to the empty rooms he has been taken to the last few days. There are two rows of benches, one behind the other, with padded cushions abandoned on the floor behind them. Blaine realizes the tall benches are at the ideal height for someone kneeling at them, and concludes these are in fact tables for subs. At the front of the room is desk, and an old fashioned projector, currently displaying a man in a strenuous bondage position. In a different circumstance, an alternative universe, Blaine thinks he would find that position enjoyable, however he is too worried with what this situation will lead to that his cock remains flaccid. Stretch notices that Blaine has his attention on the board.

“You will become friends with that position. We normally just show diagrams for subs to learn from, but today you are both going to be my models. That way we have better understood subs, and you won’t be missing much from the training you would have been getting if you didn’t-“ He pauses, interrupting himself. “What did you do? I didn’t get told?” Neither Blaine nor Nick wants to offer an answer, and thankfully Stretch doesn’t push it, likely because they are both still gagged anyway. “Never mind. I never get told anything here anyway. I’m just here to make sure subs don’t put themselves in unnecessary danger.” Blaine notices Stretch looks resentful about that.

Stretch walks over to the desk and picks up two long poles, which Blaine recognizes from his late night internet searches as a spreader bar. They are both identical, about 3 foot long, have thick leather cuffs at each end, and a chain hanging down from the middle. Blaine looks away in an attempt to picture himself elsewhere. Without a word, Stretch squats down in front of Blaine and cuffs his left leg, just above the ankle, tight enough so it will not cause chaffing. He taps the inside of Blaine’s right knee, and getting the prompt he reluctantly spreads his legs slightly, hating how exposed the position makes him.

“Further than that.” Stretch commands. Blaine looks down as he moves his leg once more, and is shocked to see how long the pole is up close. He moves his leg so it is level with the lose end, at which point he also meets the maximum limit of his flexibility. He is worried he is going to end up pulling a muscle. Stretch seems to be aware of his inner thoughts as he says, “I suggest that in the evenings you do some stretches. If this is all you can go you’re going to be in for a lot of pain later on.” Blaine was one of the more flexible members of the Warblers; he doesn’t want to think about what could be in store if he needs to be more malleable.

Once his other leg is cuffed, Stretch picks up the chain hooked in the middle and reaches for Blaine’s collar, pulling it down and causing him to bend forwards at the waist. He clips the loose end of the chain to the small hook on his collar, the one at the front shared with the tag. Stretch then moves to repeat the process with Nick before walking out, leaving both Blaine and Nick gagged, legs stretched, bent slightly at the waist, and hands still cuffed behind them.