(5 Years ago)
The collar cut off Shawn's air as the man dragged him away from the table. "I really do gotta start from scratch…"
Shawn gasped around the metal as his feet struggled to keep up. "If you didn't… want me sitting… you shouldn't have put-"
The collar beeped angrily and electricity jolted through his body. The hand let go with a loud curse, sending Shawn crashing painfully to the ground. He fought to catch his breath, but still couldn't help his grin at the proof that the man had felt the same shock as him. It served him right, having Shawn set the table for two and then getting angry when Shawn sat in the other chair.
"Think that's funny, do ya?"
Shawn barely registered the words before the pain hit again, searing down his neck and locking up his body. His chest burned and his muscles screamed; every nerve lighting up as the shock kept going. And going. And oh god it wasn't going to stop…
The collar turned off, and Shawn collapsed, his muscles spasming as he gasped for breath. He'd never had a shock last that long. He never wanted a shock to last that long again.
The man grabbed his arm before he could recover and bodily dragged him over to the wall. Wet cloth stuck to the inside of Shawn's legs, and his face heated with shame. He'd wet his pants. He wasn't even in control of his own body anymore…
His collar vibrated and Shawn flinched, waiting for the pain to start again. Instead, the man let him go and Shawn fell bonelessly until his collar brought him up short, choking him. He fought to get his knees under his body, his shaking muscles struggling to do what he needed. His exhaustion didn't matter. His collar was clipped to the wall, and he needed to breathe.
The man's hands returned, wrenching Shawn's arms behind his back and shoving his head down. "It's time you learned your place. Stay."
Shawn's breath hitched as the weight of the order settled over him and the man walked away. His muscles trembled, his pulse pounded in his throat, and every wheezed inhale pierced his lungs. Why couldn't the man have at least told him to stay while he was lying down? He clasped his shaking hands together to force them to stay still. He couldn't be shocked again. Not yet, anyway.
"A slave also cleans messes, it doesn't make them," the man said, standing in front of a small puddle on the floor.
Shawn cringed away, the pungent smell from his pants growing stronger at the reminder. Was he going to be hurt for that too? It hadn't been on purpose.
Keys jingled and the man walked past Shawn. "You'll take care of it tonight."
The door opened, and Shawn's heart froze. The click of the lock was as loud as a gunshot as it closed behind the man. They'd been getting ready to eat breakfast; he had to stay like this all day?
A car engine turned over, and Shawn listened as long as he could before it left his hearing range. He'd really been left here, with a collar that wouldn't let him move. Abandoned until the man had use for him again.
No. Biding his time until the man thought he was broken in. He couldn't make it seem too easy.
This was all according to his plan, not the man's.
Despite his post-shock exhaustion, it only took a few minutes before his legs started to jitter. Fifteen minutes later, he'd accidentally given himself a new canker sore from chewing his cheek, and his fingers were tapping out the beat of Another One Bites the Dust into his palm. He needed something to do.
"Look, kid, do yourself a favor. At least try to learn the rules before you go breaking them all."
His dad was right, even if it wasn't the lesson he'd meant to teach. It was time to see how far the collar rules could be stretched.
The cuffs and collar had to be linked somehow, so it made sense they were both involved in the 'stay' order. Shawn moved his hands slowly, clenching them before stretching his fingers out. The collar stayed quiet.
Next came his head. Shawn slowly looked up while trying to keep his neck still. He mentally cursed as he felt the collar move and it beeped at him. He dropped his head back to its original position and counted to one-hundred before trying again, slower. He didn't get any higher before the warning beeps stopped him again.
Looking side-to-side gave him similar results, and even rolling his shoulders was hard to do without accidentally moving the collar. He also learned the painful fact that he had to wait to move for a very long time after the third warning beep.
Shawn closed his eyes and stayed still as he tried to retreat into his memories. He focused on something simple, the opening scene to Groundhogs Day. It was boring, but at least it wouldn't hurt if the movie was tainted by the experience.
Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to focus, and he gave up after only a few scenes. His body was exhausted, but an invisible current flowed through him, pushing him to just get up and move. Experience had taught him that the urge would only grow stronger the longer he ignored it.
He braced himself and rotated his wrists. The collar stayed quiet, and he sighed in relief as he wiggled his arms. Until a loud beep had him freezing in his spot again. So, there was a bit of wiggle room -literally- but he couldn't keep it going for long. At least it was something.
Shawn spent the rest of the morning testing the collar's limits and discovering just how screwed he was. He managed to doze for an hour before spending yet another debating how badly it would actually hurt to move anyways and take the shocks.
By the time the man came back that night, Shawn almost cried with relief. He'd be ordered around, but at least he'd be able to do something. The man made him wait another hour before unclipping the lead from the collar and ordering him to clean up his mess.
He was put away again the next day.
(Present Day)
Shawn scrubbed his head quickly as water ran over his shoulders and back. It was early in the morning, like Crystal had recommended, but he still didn't want to take any chances while he showered. The less time he was out on his own, the less chances there were of him running into trouble.
Gus had offered to come with when the alarm had gone off, but Shawn had stupidly told him to stay in bed. It had seemed like the right call at the time, he had to get used to being alone in the dorm hall, but maybe the first morning was pushing it.
Though Gus really had looked comfortable with his half-lidded eyes and blankets pulled up to his ears. Even half-asleep he'd been looking out for Shawn, slurring out, "You c'n still hot water," in a groggy voice. He deserved to rest.
Shawn took a deep breath and ducked his head under the warm spray, scrubbing the shampoo suds from his hair. His focus stayed locked on the curtain separating him from the rest of the bathroom as he strained his ears to make sure he stayed alone.
College wasn't quite what he'd expected. He'd been both dreading and looking forward to moving to the dorm with Gus, but now that they were here, he didn't know what to do with himself. Literally. The Gusters had been right; there really weren't many chores in the small room once everything was put away. What was he supposed to do when he wasn't useful?
He emerged from the spray and gasped for breath as he shook the water out of his face. The second worst part of the shower was done. Now it was just time to clean his neck.
His collar felt heavier after a recent dream he'd had. It had been a good dream, even if it had been a bit self-indulgent, but it had also left him feeling unbalanced. He was so used to the collar around his neck, he barely noticed it anymore. But now, as he carefully scrubbed around it, he seemed to notice every single small shift against his skin. He hated it, but it was a part of him now.
He even wore it in his dreams.
If he ever decided to run, and he did find the Black Market, would it even matter? They could remove the metal collar, but what about the real one that controlled him?
Shawn shook his head at the philosophical thoughts as he turned off the water. He clearly already had too much downtime if that was where his mind was going.
He dried himself off as quickly as he could and changed into clean clothes. He didn't dare take up space in the common bathroom, so he made do with gelling his hair by feel. Luckily, he'd had enough practice to be fairly comfortable with it.
The bathroom stayed blessedly quiet, and he gathered his things and slipped on the lanyard with the floor number on it. He'd discovered that it was tricky to get it back off without accidentally touching his collar, but it was still better than the alternative. Gus was always so nice to him.
He deserved a slave who made things easier, not harder…
Shawn shook his head at the thoughts and walked towards the door. Gus had chosen to be his friend, not just his master. Gus didn't just want a slave. Somehow that made things more complicated and less complicated all at the same time.
He reached to push the door open, but it was already moving, swinging out and revealing a short female slave on the other side. She flinched back in surprise, and he quickly took in her mussed brown hair, the oversized t-shirt she was wearing, and the impression a blanket had left on her left cheek.
The slave immediately shifted to a submissive posture before freezing as her eyes locked onto Shawn's bare feet and the cuffs around his ankles. She slowly looked up, taking in the sign he was holding out. 'Peace. Don't fear.'
She glanced down the deserted hall before her posture relaxed and she gave him a small smile. Her free hand came up and flowed through a series of signs. Shawn frowned and played them back slower; what did they mean? Only one looked vaguely familiar, something about being welcome.
Her expression changed, pity turning her smile sad. Her hand dropped to her side and she nodded at him respectfully before looking past him into the bathroom. Because he was still blocking the door. He shook his head at himself and stepped back, letting her in.
She gave him one more small smile before walking to the showers. She wasn't wearing anything besides the oversized t-shirt.
Which only mattered because it let him see that there weren't any bruises on her arms or legs.
And he was still standing around like an idiot. He needed to get back to Gus' room before anyone else woke up. He checked his things one last time before walking into the hallway.
The move had really done a number on his head; there was no reason for another slave to have thrown him for such a loop. He needed to focus on what was important, which was making Gus happy and figuring out his place.
Shawn continued to think about those things until another thought hijacked his brain as he reached for Gus' door.
There hadn't been anything stopping him from just saying 'Hi' to the slave.
He was an idiot.
Gus was still asleep with his face burrowed in his pillow. Shawn tiptoed around him as he put his things away. As a rule, slaves never wanted to wake their masters. Plus, Gus' second alarm would be going off in fifteen minutes; he deserved the extra rest.
Shawn tossed his dirty clothes in the laundry basket and looked around. It was obvious that Gus had set up his room so there would be a Shawn-side and a Gus-side. Most people would have just given him a few blankets on the ground, if they were nice. Or they would have stored something else in the closet besides clothes...
But Gus hadn't just given him a whole side of the room, he'd given Shawn the side without the closet. Shawn actually had more space than Gus. It was weird, and wrong, and made the room feel crooked. Shawn had tried to fix it, shoving his sleeping bag into the corner and putting the laundry basket right next to his snack basket. But it still wasn't enough. Maybe if he rolled up his bag during the day…
Which Gus would definitely notice and would get weird about. It would have to do for now.
Shawn glanced at the clock; ten minutes until the alarm. Now what?
The pile of broken down boxes still needed to be taken out of the room, but he couldn't do that on his own. There wasn't anything else to clean, even his sleeping bag was straightened out for the day. Gus would like coffee in the morning, but the sound and smell would wake him up if Shawn started it too early…
Shawn sighed and settled into his corner, crossing his legs and leaning back into the wall. Waiting was a normal part of a slave's life. It didn't matter that he didn't have chores or a schedule to ground himself with; that wasn't his job to figure out. He existed to be useful when he was needed and to stay out of the way when he wasn't.
He let his mind wander, retracing their walk from last night and adding landmarks to his mental map of the area. Frat houses were to be avoided if at all possible, several areas seemed tailor made for food carts to park, the large class buildings were complete unknowns, and the wide sidewalks promised even bigger crowds once the rest of the students moved in. It was overwhelming to think about.
His mind retreated to his smaller world, and he examined the short interaction with the brunette slave again. How many slaves were there, on this floor, in this building, on campus. How many of them didn't know what to do either? How many of them even cared that they were in a new location? Did some of them have masters like Gus?
Loud beeping brought him back to the present, and Gus grumbled as his hand emerged from his blankets to flop on top of the clock. It took him several tries before the beeping stopped, and his hand stayed resting in its outstretched position as he yawned. Shawn smiled at the display and quietly stood up to start a pot of coffee.
He already knew the answer to his last question. Gus was one of a kind.
"Are you sure you want to come with?" Gus asked as he twisted the leash around in his hands.
"Yeah. I…" He knew what he was supposed to say, why was it hard again? "I w-want to come with."
Did he though? It was going to be a lot of people…
"Anything I can do to help?"
"No…" Gus liked knowing what was going on. "It's harder, to be what you want, when other people are around."
"Shawn…" Gus looked at him with kind eyes. Because he was a friend, not just a master.
Shawn amended what he'd said. "It's hard to be me. When other people are around." But he couldn't let Gus win completely. "You don't like when I act like a slave."
"Yeah," Gus agreed with a sigh. "But it's what you need. It's better when a slave isn't noticed, right?"
A rush of relief washed over him; Gus understood. "Right."
They were going to be around people a lot; he'd need to get better with them. But for now, with all of the uncertainty clouding the future, it was good to know it wasn't expected for him to change overnight.
Shawn lifted his chin and Gus made a face that he clearly thought Shawn couldn't see. Which was another thing that was still the same, and that one brought the warm fuzzies back to Shawn's chest.
Gus clipped on the leash and opened the door. "Alright. Let's see what freshman orientation is."
The building was impressive, with pillars and overhangs and glittering windows that stretched up for several floors. The crowd around it was even more impressive, with people milling about in the large courtyard and slowly filtering through the building's front doors. The sun beat down on all of them, with only a few brave palm trees giving shade.
Gus' steps became less sure as they worked their way towards the large steps leading up to the building, and he looked back in concern. Shawn caught his eye and nodded reassuringly, even as he had to step out of the way of yet another person. He hadn't been in a crowd like this since Gus had bought him. It wasn't a time he wanted to repeat.
Gus nodded back and led him up the steps and into the building. Cool air washed across Shawn's face as he stepped out of the sun, and he was able to forget about the danger around him for a blessed second.
The doors led to a large atrium, with walls that stretched up higher than expected and fancy designs that ran all along the edge of the ceiling. Large windows showed the waterfront on the back side of the building, with greenery and trees making the whole area look like an idyllic oasis.
A shoulder rammed into Shawn, breaking the moment as he cringed away and became painfully aware of all the people in the large room. It wasn't safe; he couldn't be noticed.
"Hey, watch it!" Gus snapped at the person who was already long gone. His voice dropped as he asked, "You ok?"
"Yes, sir."
Gus didn't like when he said that, but he couldn't think past all of the information flooding him. Red-shirt-girl had cats, beard-boy just got dumped, floppy-haired-boy wanted that beard, mini-skirt-girl wasn't going to get the sorority she wanted, black-hair-boy was going to trip over his untied shoes, unzipped backpack with lab goggles, a hand sneaking into a purse, a chip bag being opened, so many hats, a kiss, a laugh, a scuff, cologne, voices, movement, echoes…
Why had he said he wanted this? How could he even hope to get used to it?
"Come on, I think the room's down this way."
Gus' voice called to him, more important than anything else. Shawn honed in on it, focusing on Gus' shoes and following them into a quieter hallway. He relaxed as the walls blocked the sounds from the atrium. There were still people around, but they were quiet and walked in an orderly fashion that was easier to predict.
Most of the crowd was filing through a set of double doors further down the hall. A large sign made sure no one would be confused about where to go as it declared,'Freshman Orientation! Welcome!' A man stood next to the sign, greeting everyone with a large smile.
As they approached the doors, the man stopped one of the students and pointed to another door across the hall. The student nodded easily and followed the instructions as her slave trailed behind her. The panic clawed its way back into Shawn's mind as they moved closer and the man flagged them down. He focused on the back of Gus' shirt, tracing the lines with his eyes as he took deep breaths. Gus wouldn't let anything bad happen.
"Hello, you're here for the freshman orientation?" the man asked cheerfully.
"Yeah, I registered a few weeks ago." Gus sounded guarded, his stance shifting subtly so he was standing fully between the man and Shawn.
"That's great to hear! We're happy to have you. Unfortunately, there's a limited amount of space, so we're asking any non-essential slaves to be left in the room just over there." The man pointed as the student from earlier walked out of the door without her slave. "Don't worry, I'll monitor the door to make sure there isn't any trouble, and you can pick him up afterwards."
"Wait, the information booklet said slaves were welcome in university buildings."
"Yes, but restrictions may exist," the man quoted back. "Students sometimes bring their families or friends to these meetings, and we need to ensure there's enough room for everyone. Don't worry, I'll supervise anyone who goes in there. No one will tamper with him."
"Like you 'supervised' that kid?" Gus asked as he turned his back on the man. Shawn kept his eyes down and Gus spoke quietly to him. "I swear, there wasn't anything about slaves not being allowed. It's fine, it's not mandatory. I can probably just google whatever they're going to say and save an hour of our lives…"
Shawn's heart thudded in his chest as he forced himself to shake his head. Gus liked information; he thrived when he knew everything there was to know. Shawn wasn't going to be the reason he didn't know something. "I'll be ok. It'll be quieter there too."
"Are you sure? Because if this is going to send you into slave-mode or flashbacks or something, then I'd rather just leave and take a walk."
Gus cared. And that made Shawn care. Sometimes friends did what the other one needed. "I'm sure."
"...Ok," Gus said, sounding less sure.
The holding room ended up just being an empty classroom with perfect rows of desks facing a clean chalkboard. Several slaves were already kneeling in the back with their leashes clipped to a series of hooks along the wall. Gus paused at the sight and Shawn realized what was wrong. There weren't any hooks left.
"I guess I'm just supposed to order you to behave," Gus grumbled as he started walking again, leading Shawn to the back wall.
Shawn knelt next to the last slave and adjusted quickly to the familiar position. It was fine, it was only for an hour, Gus would never order him to stay longer than necessary.
"Ok, I'll see you in an hour."
Shawn's eyes snapped up as his leash dropped in front of him. Gus gave him a knowing look and left without giving any orders.
Panic clawed at Shawn's thoughts as the door closed. He was in public without his master. He hadn't been ordered to stay, his leash was free. Nothing was stopping him from moving, running, breaking all of the rules. It was against the law, he was unrestrained in public without his master. He didn't have to stay. He'd be in so much trouble if someone caught him. He didn't have to stay. He could run, be free. He didn't have to stay. Gus trusted him to stay.
Gus trusted him.
Shawn squeezed his eyes closed and clenched his hands together, keeping them still. He took a deep breath and fought the panic. Gus didn't know it, but that trust was more binding than any order would ever be. Shawn couldn't break it. Not on a frantic plan that was doomed to fail.
Besides, he'd decided not to run. Those thoughts didn't belong anymore.
His hands shook at the effort to stay still, and he tried to distract himself by taking in the other slaves with him. The male next to him had a vacant look in his eyes, and a heavy-looking backpack pulling on his shoulders. The female next to him looked almost bored, her eyes darting around every few seconds as her fingers twitched. Shawn had to rely on his memory for the other three slaves: The young male who shook and wouldn't have been in college yet if he was free. The older male who was trying to glare holes in the linoleum flooring as he clenched his jaw. And the female with the plunging neckline who was keeping her legs tightly pressed together.
Why had he been looking for the brunette slave? Was he disappointed that she wasn't there?
The door opened again, and Shawn held his breath. Surely there was something on the collar that showed he wasn't following any orders. They would look at him and know. And he'd be taken away, and hurt, and Gus would blame himself…
"For fucks sake, they couldn't even make sure there was enough spaces…" The masculine voice dripped in sarcasm as he added, "So well organized, you'd figure they've been doing this for years."
The boy stepped close, and Shawn froze, making himself as invisible as possible. Free people didn't look at slaves, it would be ok, free people didn't look at slaves.
"Down."
A female slave quickly knelt next to Shawn, her hair hiding her face.
"Stay."
Her leash dropped and the boy spun around, not noticing her flinch as he stalked back out of the room. Shawn let out a long breath in relief. The free person hadn't looked at him.
He watched his new neighbor as her breath hitched and she very slowly relaxed her shoulders. Shawn recognized the movement; how badly had she been beaten? She didn't wince when she let out another soundless sob, so at least her ribs weren't broken.
Three more slaves were brought in over the next five minutes. No one even glanced at the other slaves or their collars. Silence settled over the room as the clock over the chalkboard ticked past the top of the hour.
It didn't take long for restlessness to settle in, once the panic crept back to lurk in its cave. He'd gone from too much information to too little. The slaves barely showed anything past their overall mood, and the lack of an order made it so only his own self-restraint kept him in place.
He'd never been good at self-restraint.
He tried to fall into his usual headspace for when he was put away. He thought about the food from the night before, the portable breakfast making a delicious dinner as they walked and moved. He could walk and move now; he didn't have to stay.
He remembered every detail of Gus' dorm room, right down to the hidden drawing in his basket. Gus had left him alone in his room for a few minutes when they'd packed and had said that anything in the basket was Shawn's. Slaves didn't have things like snacks and baskets and drawings. They were things; things that were put away when they weren't useful. He wasn't useful now, but he hadn't been put away. He didn't have to stay.
He flexed his hands and tried to copy the series of signs the brunette slave had used that morning. What did they mean? He could have just asked her, but he'd been too surprised to do anything besides what a slave was supposed to do. And a slave was supposed to stay when it was told to. But he hadn't been told to and he didn't have to stay.
Shawn just barely stopped himself from throwing his hands up in annoyance. His brain hated him. His legs jittered, his teeth worried at the inside of his cheek, and his fingers refused to stay still. But it wasn't enough. He could move, he could walk, he could talk…
He could talk.
It was better than trying to run. Shawn glanced around and sent a silent prayer to Gus' patience before opening his mouth and saying, "So. Nice weather we've got here. A bit hot, I'll admit, and there's not much of a breeze. Not much shade either. I don't know if you noticed, but it really seems like they hoarded all of the trees for the back of the building instead of the front where everyone actually walks…"
The responses were predictable. The hurt female flinched and cringed away, the vacant male didn't move an inch, and the curious female's jaw dropped as she stared without moving her head. The silence grew heavier, like the weight of all of the other slaves' judgements were resting on his shoulders.
But the invisible current urging him to move had quieted slightly, and he rushed to keep relieving the pressure. "I don't know if any of you have heard, but they just cloned a sheep a few months ago. Yeah, blood plus test tube and bam, instant identical twins. Who are also mother and daughter-"
"Shut up," a low voice growled before a collar beeped angrily.
Shawn visualized the line-up of slaves and realized the angry male had decided it was worth getting shocked to tell him to stop. But the curious female looked interested and the hurt female wasn't shaking as bad as she peeked through her hair. Shawn lowered his voice even more and said, "Hey, I'm not breaking any rules. You don't have to listen."
He was breaking plenty of unspoken rules, but they were unspoken, so they didn't count. Even if most masters wouldn't agree.
He had enough listeners; it was worth it to keep going. Shawn kept a close ear on the door as he cast his mind around for something to talk about next. "We've got some time, let's do a story. There once was a beautiful girl called Buttercup. She was raised on a small farm in the country of Floren. Her favorite pastimes were riding her horse and tormenting the farm slave that worked there. His name was Westley…"
Shawn continued the story, pausing when footsteps walked by the door and always keeping an eye on the clock. He cut out several parts of the movie, as the minute hand moved higher, though he took great care in matching the 'to the pain' scene word for word. He managed to finish with only three minutes to spare. "...and they kissed and lived happily ever after."
The curious female had a small smile on her face, the hurt female was calm, and even the vacant male looked more relaxed. Shawn smiled as he ducked his head back down. He'd done that; he'd helped. Even though it made his throat sore and it had almost been painful keeping his hands from adding visual effects.
Gus was the first one through the door when it opened, and he spoke immediately as he walked towards Shawn. "Stand up."
Shawn snuck a quick glance up as he stood, seeing the man from the hallway watching through the doorway and a tight expression on Gus' face.
Gus strode forward and picked up the leash as he ordered, "Follow me."
Something was wrong. Gus didn't order him around. Shawn kept himself in his place behind Gus as he was led to a door at the end of the hallway. Gus didn't say anything, only his tight grip on the leash betraying his emotions.
Warmth spread over the back of Shawn's neck as they stepped outside into the sun. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but if Gus thought he needed to act like a normal master, then that meant Shawn needed to be a normal slave.
Did he know Shawn had been talking? Was he mad?
Shawn's fingers twitched as they walked to the mostly empty sidewalk, and he fought against the panic trying to take over again. He trusted Gus, he wouldn't act like this without a good reason.
Right?
They took three steps on the sidewalk before Gus' demeanor changed instantly, his shoulders slumping and his hand loosening out of its tight fist. "I rescind all orders, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking. I didn't want to give you orders, I knew you didn't need them, but I forgot other people might notice, and of course the stupid monitor recognized me and had to come with to prove he was supervising, and I didn't want him to see that I hadn't given you any orders…"
Gus paused for a breath and Shawn took the opportunity to say, "It's ok. I'm fine."
He'd known Gus would have a good reason.
"Really?" Gus turned to look at him, the tight expression now easy to read as guilt. "I wanted to treat you better. And I never gave you extra orders at church, but I never really left the room at church either, and I didn't realize the difference until it was too late… I shouldn't have gone. It was just stupid safety stuff and reminders to study and not get drunk."
"Did you learn anything?"
"I already knew not to get drunk," Gus snapped out.
Shawn hid his smile; he knew a deflected answer when he heard one. "No one even looked at me. And you learned stuff. It's ok."
"Yeah, but they could have looked at you… I put you in danger, all because I was an idiot…" Gus sighed and started walking again. "We need to figure out what order I should use if we end up in that situation again."
With any other master, 'We' meant 'I'. But Gus actually meant it. Shawn thought before offering, "You can still use 'stay', you know."
In a lot of ways, it'd be easier…
"And then when there's an earthquake, how are you going to get out when I can't tell you to move?" Gus asked pointedly.
"I'm pretty sure the buildings are earthquake safe…" Shawn trailed off as his master glared at him. He shrugged and looked at the ground. "It's what anyone would expect you to do. If they're watching."
"Fine," Gus sighed. "But if no one's there, then I'll just order you… to put your hands behind your back or something." He glanced back and quickly added. "And I rescind that order too."
Shawn stopped his hands right before they could clasp behind his back. He hadn't even thought about it before moving at the order. The collar grew heavier as he sped up to walk closer to Gus.
"I was thinking maybe we postpone the dining hall until tonight," Gus said after a minute of silence. "We can grab lunch on the go and catch a bus to somewhere quieter."
"I'd… like that," Shawn said as the sidewalk turned around the building and he saw all of the people ahead of them. "I'd like that a lot."
Gus gave him a proud smile. Shawn twitched his lips up in response before falling back to his place as they stepped onto the busier sidewalk. His feet were solid on the pavement, but he still felt unbalanced as he followed his master. His friend.
Gus wanted him to be a person, but he was a slave. There was a reason he jumped to follow orders and didn't know what to do without chores. It was part of who he was. But there was also a reason he liked to talk and move and be a friend. It was also part of who he was.
So what exactly was he?
A/N: The story Shawn tells is from The Princess Bride with only a few words changed for the setting.