Kian Lucas

“If you message her telling her it’s you before you call, she’ll answer. She won’t if she thinks it could be me again.” Kian answered honestly, though couldn’t hide the slight hope that maybe he’d get the hearing aids. He’d gotten so used to having them... that not being able to hear anything was too strange. “Do I just... Wander around, then?”

Kian realised he’d been overspeaking, and simply took a deep breath and nodded slightly. He swallowed a lump in his throat, looking around the kitchen a little bit, mostly just for something to do while he thought of what to do or say next. “Is there anything else you need me to do today?” he asked eventually, looking back at Brody.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Kian answered with a smile, before quickly licking his lip. Then, he sat up a little straighter, bringing his hands up to start moving along with that he was trying to say in the hopes that it would clarify where he was unclear. “My parents were away a lot. We had a cook-” he paused, realising he was giving away just how good of a background he came from “-but I always tried to help and started to learn myself. Then she got accused of stealing from us, and because I could cook and clean for myself, they didn’t hire anyone else. Not that you needed to know any of that, but I suppose it’s peace of mind you weren’t completely scammed.”

“I have to give you credit for that, too.” Brody assured, with a gentle nod of his head once again. “You seem like a good boy… and the meal is excellent.” He said as he pointed to the food. “So, so far, I’m definitely pleased with you.”

Kian’s cheeks immediately flushed red at the suggestive comment, clearing his throat a little as he leaned back a bit, almost to put space between them for a second. Don’t get him wrong, he was curious and given his age, it wasa only natural for his mind to drift that way but... well. He wasn’t about to admit that. “I’m... doing my best. I haven’t tried to run yet, have I?”

Kian sighed softly to himself, giving a small nod. “I’m not going to deliberately do that. If you happen to get worked up and I’m not ready, who’s fault is that?” he teased, fidgeting in his seat again. “I... wasn’t always deaf. Which is why the aids help. I can hear some noise, but barely enough. It’s like white noise, almost. All the time. I can’t really tell when people are coming unless you scream at me first. I can tell if I’m being too loud but only after it’s already happened. That’s why I need them.” 

Kian snorted, “I told you the only experience I have is by myself in my room, with a computer. It’s not the most vanilla stuff you’ve ever seen.” he huffed, taking another small bite before nodding a bit, “Fine.” he mumbled around his food, before realising it probably didn’t make much sense. He swallowed, before continuing, “One more rule... No... No uh... sex stuff until after I get my hearing aids, okay?” he said, though his voice was softer now, nervous almost, “I can’t hear the noises I make and I don’t think they’ll be great.”

Kian’s eyes squinted just slightly as he watched the other speak. It was a lot to decipher, but he got there, eventually confirming he had understood with a firm nod. “So nothing crazy like... I don’t know, having to sleep on the floor or clean your shoes with my toothbrush every day? Whatever crazy rules slave owners usually have.” And okay, maybe Kian didn’t need to keep repeating ‘slave owner’, but that was the reality. No use hiding from it. “Okay, boundaries... At the moment, I want... two hours to myself a day. Where I can just sit on my own and read or anything. After I move into the master bedroom, I want that to be four hours, because I won’t get it overnight. Sound reasonable?”

Kian hummed, “Well... we’ll approach that when I get hearing aids. Either that, or I become everyone’s favourite librarian because I can’t hear when they’re talking or being loud anyway.” He smirked, sitting forward again and taking a small bite of his food. “Can I hear your rules first? I’m sure you have some. Everyone has house rules, even when they aren’t a... slave owner, I suppose.”

“Yeah, like I have 40k just laying around.” Kian snorted, bringing one knee up to his chest, the other leg still out in front of him. He rested his chin against his knee for a moment, mind still spinning around all of this. “So... Should we set ground rules? Or... I suppose should you set some ground rules? Am I allowed to set boundaries, requests? Forgive me, I don’t really understand this whole thing.”

Kian found himself giving another small hum, watching Brody for just a second before looking away and at the table. It was almost his way of plugging his ears, stopping himself from ‘hearing’ while he thought things over. God, how had everything come to this? Where being someone’s slave genuinely sounded like a better deal than going home? “What happens if I never come to like you?” He then found himself asking, head tilting just slightly in curiosity.

Brody shrugged. “I don’t know the specifics that went into… pricing you. I assume your disability accounted for some of it.” He offered. “But yeah, maybe he didn’t know how much to ask for you… I don’t know. Doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Brody asked, straight and to the point. “Look… I hate to break it to you but he doesn’t want you, and I do. Seems like an easy call to me.”

“Well, I suppose you could… make friends out here. Especially if you go back to school at some point or something.” He offered, nonchalantly. “I mean, yeah you need to keep this place in order and… take care of me too but I’m not gonna be here 24/7 and there’s no reason for you to be either. At least unless it’s what you want. I’m not saying tomorrow or anything, but… eventually.” He said as he leaned closer. “You sure you wanna know?” He asked. “From my experience, slaves are usually like… 100k.” He explained. “That’s the very, very basic…” He trailed off. “I got you for 40.”

“Like I said, I have no friends and we’ve established that my parents don’t want me, so I have no one to call or message anyway. I just have to sate the YouTube addiction somehow.” Kian pointed out, a small smirk pulling at his lips. God, why was he getting so comfortable already? At the other’s apology, Kian could do nothing more than hum to begin with. It hurt, he wasn’t going to deny that, but he was oddly not at all surprised at his father’s actions. “I just hope I live up to your expectations. Can’t imagine slavery is cheap. How much did you pay for me anyway?”

Kian nodded a little, “Will it have blocks on it?” he found himself asking, pushing his food around a little bit. “The phone, I mean... going out could be alright, I guess. Though maybe in some clothes that aren’t likely to fall off if I walk too far too fast.” 

“Please, no. I hate even looking in the mirror I think a statue would give me actual nightmares.” Kian snorted, an actual smile starting to pull at his lips for just a second. “I don’t really need anything. At home I just... browsed online, gamed, or read. Watched TV. I didn’t exactly have friends to go out with so I got real good at keeping myself entertained.” 

Kian smiled a bit at the apparent approval, though of course he couldn’t blame the other for being cautious. He took another bite of his own, though his eyes were on Brody to try and gauge what he was saying. At the question, he blinked in surprise and gave a small shrug. “What... do you mean? I don’t need any other medication, if that’s what you mean. Sometimes my ears can hurt but standard painkillers work and I can deal with it if I... don’t have access to those”