Chapter Text
Jason woke the next morning, put on a robe, and made his way downstairs. He froze when he heard movement in the kitchen. It took his sleep-addled brain another minute to remember he’d purchased a slave yesterday and it was probably him preparing breakfast.
As if summoned, Dick popped his head out of the kitchen. When he saw Jason, he stepped out with a cup of coffee in hand, “I was unsure how you took your coffee, sir.”
Jason took the cup offered to him, “Black is fine.”
The slave smiled and then hurried back to the kitchen. He emerged with a plate of toast and some sliced fruit. He set the food on the table and then stood, waiting.
Jason took a seat and reached for a piece of toast. When he noticed Dick had not taken a seat he asked, “Did you eat already?”
Dick looked shocked at the implication he would eat before Jason, “No sir!”
Jason rolled his eyes, “Well, then sit. Eat.” Jesus, some of the asinine rules they made these slaves stand by were ridiculous. “Remember, we eat together?”
The slave looked upset at himself, “I’m sorry to have forgotten, sir.” He quickly sat down, “It won’t happen again.” Just like yesterday, he sat, straight-backed, with his hands in his lap.
“That’s another thing,” Jason said, “If I’m already sitting, you can start eating. You don’t need my permission.”
Dick nodded his understanding and reached for a slice of toast. Jason watched his carefully practiced movements for a moment, before returning to his own breakfast.
After he’d finished, Dick cleared the plates and then came to stand at Jason’s side. Jason took one last sip of his coffee and then handed it off to the slave, “I need to head to work. While I’m gone, you can start on some of the basic cleaning we discussed yesterday.” The slave nodded his head. “Don’t forget to eat lunch. And there should be a grocery delivery arriving today, just keep an eye out for it.” Jason walked towards the stairs to change into work clothes, leaving the slave to finish cleaning up breakfast.
When he came back downstairs, Dick was waiting in the foyer holding out a paper bag. “I wasn’t sure if you would need lunch, sir,” he handed off the bag to Jason.
“Oh, thanks. I hadn’t even thought of that,” Jason said peeking inside the bag.
Dick ducked his head, “It’s just a sandwich and some fruit.” He paused, trying to decide how his next words would be taken, “The kitchen is a bit bare, sir.”
Jason let out a chuckle, “Yeah, I haven’t been great about managing food.” He grabbed his jacket and opened the door, “I’ll be back around six. If you could have dinner ready around 6:30, that’d be great.”
The slave’s mouth turned up into a small smile, “I will make sure it happens, sir.”
They stood there both a little unsure about what should happen next. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later,” Jason said with a tiny wave that felt stupid.
“Have a good day, sir,” Dick replied as he watched Jason step outside and make his way to work.
________________
Jason was lying in bed, reading a book. At least he was trying to read. His mind kept wandering back to the evening he’d had. It had been so pleasant to come home to a freshly cooked meal and another person. Even if that person had been bought and sold to be there.
He was still not entirely finished wrapping his head around the fact that he owned a slave. But, either Dick’s actual personality or his training had put Jason more at ease. Their second dinner together had gone slightly better, especially after Jason had mentioned Dick was free to speak about his day.
That helped fill the awkward silence that had existed the previous night. Even when describing the minutia of his day, the slave was amusing to listen to, and Jason found himself enjoying just observing Dick as he spoke.
They had parted with a genial goodnight, and were now in their respective bedrooms. Jason finally gave up on the book. Setting it down, he turned off the light and opted for sleep.
The next thing he registered was the screaming. It had wrenched him from the peaceful sleep he’d been enjoying. He jolted out of bed and into the hallway, trying to figure out where it was coming from. That was when he realized it was emanating from the slave’s room.
He ran down the hall and threw open the door to Dick’s room. The only light came from the open doorway, but it was enough for Jason to see the slave’s ridged form on the bed. Jason went to the bedside.
“No! Mama! Papa!” were the only words he could make out. The rest seemed to be a different language and one Jason was not familiar with.
Even in the dim light, he could see the slave’s shirt was soaked with sweat. Jason sat down and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Dick, wake up. It’s just a dream.”
Dick’s eyes opened and Jason saw they were full of tears. Slave comforting was definitely not a chapter that’d been covered in class. So he acted on instinct instead. Folding him into his chest, he wrapped an arm around Dick and held him.
Either too distraught or disoriented to be concerned with etiquette, Dick melted into Jason’s embrace and sobbed into his chest. “Easy, easy,” Jason said softly, “You’re okay. It was just a nightmare.”
He continued to comfort the man until his breathing evened out and he seemed to come back to himself. Dick lifted his head and made a swipe at his nose as he took in one last sniffle. “Thank you,” he said quietly as he lifted his eyes to meet Jason’s. Then his eyes widened with fear as he realized what had just transpired.
He leapt out of Jason’s arms and threw himself down on the ground, “I’m so sorry sir. Please, please it won’t happen again. Please forgive me.” Jason sat, slightly dumfounded. His silence was taken as disapproval. “Please don’t send me away for recalibration, sir. I won’t let it happen again.” The slave remained face down on the floor and Jason could see his shoulders shaking with fear.
Finally, Jason’s brain caught up. “Woah, calm down,” he reached down to pull Dick upright and back onto the bed, “I have no intention of sending you away.” The slave still looked terrified. Jason placed a hand on his arm, “Why don’t you start by telling me what the dream was about.”
Dick hesitated, but then said, “My parents.” Jason gave a nod to continue. “My family used to be performers, acrobats. We weren’t exactly slaves; we performed where we were told, but otherwise they let us be.”
Jason had never once considered that Dick might have a back story. Most slaves were born into it and knew no life outside of their training centers. Jason felt something akin to guilt twist his gut.
“One night, my dad got into a fight with the owner of our group. I don’t remember what it was about; I was too young to know what stirring up trouble could do.” Dick took another swipe at his nose, “During our performance the next day, my parents’ rope-it snapped.” He hung his head, “I was sold into slavery that evening.”
“I…I’m…” Jason was at a loss for words. What was there to say? ‘I’m sorry’? ‘That sucks’? None of it would change the past. They sat in silence. Then a thought occurred to Jason, “How did you pass training like this? I mean, didn’t they notice when you woke up screaming?”
Dick looked up, “It doesn’t happen when I sleep next to someone.” A wry smile tugged at his mouth, when he saw Jason’s confused look. “I’m trained to be a full service slave. After initial training, I never spent a night alone.”
Jason felt slightly repulsed by the thought of what ‘full service’ training would entail. But Dick didn’t seem too hung up about it. At the very least, Jason was glad to hear there was a way to keep the man’s nightmares at bay. Then Jason realized he was the only other person in the house. If Dick was going to sleep by someone, it would have to be him. Well shit.
He cleared his throat, “Thank you for telling me.” He shifted a bit, hoping to make himself more comfortable with what he was about to do. “Since I don’t want either one of us to be woken up in the middle of the night like this again, I want you to sleep next to me from here on out.”
For the first time that night, relief flooded the slave’s features, “Really?” He seemed to remember himself and added, “I mean: Thank you, sir. I would be most happy to join you.”
“You can still keep this room as your own, but you may spend the nights with me.” Jason stood up and moved towards the door, “Collect whatever you’ll need for the night and meet me in my room.”
Jason didn’t have to wait long. He had enough time to enter his room and wonder if there was time to order a larger bed before he heard Dick’s footsteps reach the doorway. He had changed into a fresh shirt and was holding a toothbrush and spare set of clothes.
When he remained in the doorway, Jason sighed and waved him in. “You can take the inside, since I tend to get up during the night.” Jason silently cursed himself for pushing the bed against the wall. Maybe tomorrow he’d have Dick rearrange things so the bed sat in the middle of the room. Right now he was too tired to move furniture.
Dick crawled gracefully into the bed and laid on his back. Jason swallowed once and climbed in next to him. He rolled onto his side and reached to turn off the light. “Goodnight,” he said, trying not to focus on how intimate this set-up felt.
“Goodnight, sir,” came Dick’s response. And after a pause, he added quietly, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jason replied, “Now, try to get some rest.”
He felt the slave tug the blanket up a bit, “Yes, sir.”
He wasn’t sure how long it took, but eventually he heard Dick’s breathing fall into a gentle rhythm. And for some reason, instead of feeling more tense, Jason felt himself relax. Soothed by the sound of Dick’s quiet slumber, Jason fell into a peaceful sleep.