Eron walked into his new room, pulling his wheeled garment case and carrying his small bag of possessions. To say he was befuddled would be an understatement. A week ago he was back in Manav, doing his best to make himself useful as the Industrialate was being dismantled. And now he was here.
He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh as he looked around. His room was undeniably very nice. It was round, with the entire wall opposite the door composed of a single huge window looking out on the mountain view. His bed, like all beds since he’d left the factory, was at least four times as wide as the narrow bunk he was used to in the dorm. The room also had a wide desk with built in data center and a plush couch pointed at an entertainment screen that while much smaller than the one in the workers’ lounge, was also much nicer. Sighing again he went over to the door to the closet and palmed it open. It didn’t take him long to stow all of his clothes as he only had a week’s worth of outfits and found even that extravagant as he was still used to wearing the same jumpsuit for a week at a time. It took him even less time to find places on various shelves and surfaces for his few trinkets.
Then he didn’t know what to do with himself.
He turned on the entertainment screen and tried finding something to watch, or a game to play, but he just couldn’t bring himself to be interested. Every news story referenced people he had never heard of, from places he’d only ever vaguely heard referenced as semi-myths. All of the shows, even something that the menu described as a ‘casual situational comedy’ kept making references that were completely beyond him. When he saw yet another aerial shot of League airships landing in Manav he gave up and switched the screen back off and just went to stare out the window.
He did love these mountains. Manav, what little he’d ever gotten to see of it, was flat. And every inch of land was covered in factories, mines, or farmlands growing crops to be turned into some product or another. The official policy of the Industrialate had been “wild land is wasted land.” When he had gotten to see the sky, it had never been this brilliant blue, but always a hazy beige. Eron was actually lost in thought, trying to count how many different types of trees he could see from his window when the door chimed behind him. When he turned around to look, the screen above the palm plate had switched on and showed an image, obviously taken by a camera far above the subject, of a young man. “Uh… enter?”
The door swished open and the man stepped in. “Eron Fulani?” he asked.
“Yes?” The young man was shorter, slighter, and- though he had obviously spent more time outside than a factory-reared guy like Eron- paler than anyone Eron had ever seen. He was also almost aggressively cheerful with a wide grin that showed every single one of his sparkling teeth.
“I’m Jaden Dietz. I’m the Resident Assistant for this floor.” Jason stepped closer and extended a hand. “Well one of them, anyway. There are two. But I’m the one assigned to the north and east corridors, so that means I’m your Resident Assistant. I heard that you’d checked in, and I wanted to give you some time to settle, but now that you’ve had a chance to unpack I thought I’d come by and introduce myself!”
It took Eron a moment to parse that spiel of information. As he awkwardly shook Jaden’s hand, he asked “What’s a resident assistant?”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot you wouldn’t know. Well we’re upperclassers here at the Academy who’ve been assigned to supervise floors and help lowerclassers adjust. We also are available to help with whatever comes up and we just generally keep order in the residences.”
“Oh. You’re like the dorm wardens.”
Jaden’s face immediately darkened. “No.” He said it firmly and let go of Eron’s hand, moving his own hand to Eron’s shoulder. “Very much not. I read the file they gave me when you were assigned to this floor, then I did some research of my own on the situation in Manav. There’s not a lot of information available yet. But I can assure you that living at the Academy will be almost nothing like living in one of those factories.”
This actually took Eron aback. During the week it had taken him to travel by airship and train from Manav on the very tip of the Western Peninsula here to the Academy in the center of the continent, he had been met with variations on the pitying glance and the occasional commiseration session about his situation. Practically every public vidscreen was playing coverage of the League of States’ takeover, which meant that he made every effort to not attract attention to himself as a Manavian. That was difficult since he was traveling with a special student visa that announced him as such at every terminal. But Jaden didn’t treat him as someone that needed pity or rescuing. His voice and expression just held reassurance.
“Okay” Eron told him as the resident assistant stepped away.
Jaden smiled at him again “So you can come to me with questions about your schedule, where to find your classes, that kind of thing. If you happen to be taking classes that I’ve taken before, I’d be happy to help you with coursework you might struggle with. I also like to think I’m pretty good at giving out advice, or at least on advising where to find people who can give good advice. I’m not going to be doing things like demanding that you go to sleep at a certain time, or telling you to take your libido blockers. RA’s also are in charge of organizing a lot of the social events.”
Eron couldn’t help but smile slightly at the mention of libido blockers. He was still getting used to the fact that the Industrialate’s practice of suppressing the sex drives of the indentured class was what outraged most League citizens the most. When he had been preparing to leave Manav, many of his friends in Varqua Factory Town had actually requested of the League transition officers to resume supplying their daily doses as they preferred not having to deal with ‘such annoyances.’
“Anyway, you’re the first of the new students to arrive. We wanted you to have a chance to get settled in and get used to things before all the chaos breaks loose. But my room’s just down the hall. I’ll have my door open if you need anything, just stick your head in. Oh, that’s something I should fill you in on right off the bat, I suppose. Door open means that anyone can stick there head in and say hello. Door closed means that you are doing something but open to being interrupted. Door locked means no interruptions unless someone really needs something. Then the blue signal light above the frame is for if you’re having sex or otherwise absolutely not to be interrupted. Apparently people used to use a sock on the door handle, but things have gotten a little more sophisticated.” At this Eron began blushing furiously. “I mean, it’s not strictly necessary. It’s left over from when people had roommates, so the roommate would know to go be somewhere else for a while. And now that everyone has a single, locking the door really serves the same function. But It does have its uses sometimes. Anyway, do you want to come with me down to the dining hall to get something to eat?”
“Uh, sure.”
Jaden led the way, chit-chatting all the while, around the square of corridors. He pointed out his own room, then showed Eron the large bathing facility which included private shower cubicles, several saunas, and huge soaking tubs as well as toilet stalls and ranks of sinks which at least looked normal enough to Eron, before finally stopping next to the other RA’s door to ring the chime. “This is where Enriqua lives,” he told Eron. “She’s in charge of the south and west corridors.”
Eron just nodded. He had gotten some idea of the scale of this structure coming up the elevator, but Jaden’s brief tour had driven it home much more clearly. Each floor of the residence was a huge square, with the residents’ rooms built as round pods poking out of the outer edge. Jaden’s room was at the corner where the north and east corners met and the bathing facilities were opposite him poking into the central courtyard, though they didn’t have any windows. The facilities for the other two corridors were similarly opposite Enriqua’s room. The rest of the inner sides of the corridors were lined with study rooms, lounges, gaming rooms, and other public spaces for the residents.
In the introductory material he had been given, Eron had read that there would be 99 other people living on this floor with him (not counting the two RA’s) twenty five people per corridor. But walking the square of corridors with Jaden this floor took up more space than one of the indentureds’ dorms back in Varqua, and each of them had held twenty times that many. The luxury of these accommodations was beginning to make his head spin.
As if that wasn’t enough, Enriqua’s door slid open and she stepped out. “Hi Jaden, ready for lunch? Is this Eron?” Eron didn’t take in anything about her appearance. He was too distracted by the fact that she was, well, a she.
“Yeah, this is him,” Eron said and turned to introduce him. His jovial smile instantly fading away as he took in Eron’s expression. “Oh crap. Uh, Enriqua, could you get us a glass of cold water? Eron, go ahead and sit down on the floor against the wall. Start taking some deep breaths for me please.”
Not having any better ideas of what to do, Eron followed these instructions as Enriqua ducked back into her room. When she reemerged holding the water and handed it to him, he automatically drank it. It was indeed quite cold. Colder than any water he had ever drunk back in Manav, that was for sure, and the temperature snapped him back to his senses. “Sorry,” he said, trying to push himself back to his feet, but Jaden’s firm hand on his shoulder held him down, “I just… I don’t know.”
“It’s a lot,” Enriqua assured him. “It’s a lot for students coming from graduate courses who have specifically trained to enter the Civil Service. That’s why the faculty decided that it would be better for you to come a bit early before the rest of the incoming class arrived.”
“I guess they knew what they were on about.” Eron agreed, handing her back the now empty glass. She just smiled at him. “I didn’t realize that the residence was going to be, what’s the word they use here?, co-ed?”
Her smile widened. “Actually, gender isn’t considered at all when rooms are assigned in the residence,” she told him.
His face, which has been completely drained of blood by his panic attack now flushed bright red with the most intense blush he thought he had ever experienced. Though to be fair he had really only started blushing since he had gone off the libido blockers four months ago. “So, uh, do the girls…” he had to stop here to steady himself “on our side have to run all the way down here to use the restroom?”
The look that Enriqua and Jaden shared was inscrutable, though Eron could tell they were both unsuccessfully trying to suppress smiles. “No,” Jaden finally said, “Everyone just uses the restroom closest to them. All restrooms at the Academy are gender neutral. Even the bathing facilities. If you’re using a study room on this side, or on another floor, and you feel more comfortable walking all the way back to the northeast one, you’re welcome to. But you’re also completely welcome to use the southwest one.”
“Huh,” he mumbled, and started to fuzz out again. Enriqua went back into her room and got him another glass of water which he drank gratefully. While the libido suppressors were very effective, the added precaution of strict segregation of the sexes except during work time was just a fact of life throughout Manav. Other than the Entrepeneur class, most people never even saw someone of the opposite sex except across a work bench. Some managers applied for family privileges if they gathered enough social capital, but many didn’t bother as they saw it as a distraction from upward mobility.
After a minute, Jaden asked, “Are you feeling better?” Eron nodded and Enriqua took the water glass back. She quickly stowed it back in her room and then they all took one of the elevators down to the first floor and the dining hall.
* * * * *
Later that afternoon, while Eron was once again fruitlessly flipping through channels on the entertainment screen looking for something to fill his time, the door chimed again. He didn’t bother getting up this time, but simply called “Enter.” He looked over, expecting Jaden to have returned, but instead a taller, more muscular boy with straight black hair tied back in a braid walked in, smiling at him. “Hello?” Eron said uncertainly.
“Hi,” the boy said, waving, “I’m Märc. I just got in. Jaden told me that I wasn’t the only one who arrived this early so I figured it would be more fun to come introduce myself than to just sit alone in my room.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Can I sit down?”
“Of course!” Eron quickly gestured to the couch next to him. He wasn’t used to having any space to call his own, so he was really not used to being able to play host, but he had found and read a digital pamphlet on the etiquette around being a good host and a good guest five times during the train rides to the Academy.
Märc smiled at him again as he walked around to sit next to him. “You’re Eron, right? From Manav?”
“Yes. First Manav student sent to the Civil Academy. Well, to any of the Academies.”
“Really?” Märc casually draped his arm across the back of the couch so his hand was resting on Eron’s upper arm. “How old are you? You must be some kind of prodigy.”
Eron blushed, both at the compliment and the physical contact. “I don’t actually know,” he confessed, “When word came down that the Industrialate had agreed to join the League of States, the Entrepeneurs in charge of Varqua- the factory town where I’m from- wiped all of the computer records. Part of it was to cover up some of the stuff they were doing and part of it was just out of spite. The League medical workers who arrived and took over did some medical scans and think that I’m at least twenty. And there are other computer experts the League sent in to try and recover the records, but they hadn’t made much progress when I left.”
“Twenty? You look about sixteen.”
“Yeah, the libido suppressors do that to the Indentureds.”
Märc’s warm half-smile, which seemed to be his default expression, vanished. “So that’s true? I thought it was just propaganda.”
“No, it’s true.” Eron sighed. He’d had variations of this conversation at least twelve times already.
“But they’ve worn off for you?”
“Huh?”
The hand that Märc was resting on Eron’s arm began to move in rhythmic circles. “The libido suppressors, they’ve worn off?”
“Well...yeah. That’s part of why I was selected. The medics said that I had returned to…” he paused to remember the exact phrasing then quoted from memory “‘Standard physiological functions remarkably quickly and effectively.’” I think part of that was honestly that I was one of the few people who didn’t want to keep taking them.”
“People wanted to keep taking them?”
“Yeah. A lot of people do. They just see sex as distracting. Something that gets in the way of doing more important work.”
“But not you?”
At this point Eron was blushing so hard that he thought he might burst into flame. He might have been imagining it, but he thought that somehow Märc was also significantly closer than he had been when he first sat down, though he hadn’t seen the distractingly cute boy move. “Er, no.” He paused for a moment then started to stammer out an explanation.
The hand on his arm moved to gently squeeze. “No need to elaborate. Let’s just say I’m glad of that.” Märc shifted so he was sitting sideways on the couch with his legs crossed, facing Eron and entirely ignoring the screen. “So I wasn’t entirely truthful when I came in here. I did get here early like you, and I was sitting in my room bored, but I’m not just here as another student. Jaden is the Resident Assistant for this side of this floor, I’m the Resident Sexual Counselor for the whole floor.”
“Sexual Counselor?”
“Yes. See, a big part of working in the Civil Authorities in the League of States is forming relationships with other people working in the Civil Authorities. Close, personal, sexual relationships. It dates all the way back to the Vendran Empire. The thing is that it seems to work. It breaks down barriers and opens up communication and there’s a lot of psychology and anthropology and yada, yada, yada behind it. So people sent here to the Academy are supposed to start practicing. So in addition to the Resident Advisors on each floor there’s a Sexual Counselor. And that’s me.”
“So you’re going to teach me to have sex with people?”
“Not directly. I’m more here to answer questions and give advice. And help you make the best decisions for yourself. This is absolutely not supposed to be exploitative. We’re trying to find people who enjoy this kind of life, not force people into a life they don’t enjoy. And it doesn’t mean that you just have to have a ton of sex with everyone. Like I’m gay. I don’t like having sex with women at all. I’m not going to be expected to have sex with women just because I’m going into Civil Service.”
“Okay.”
“And it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a partner. You can absolutely have a primary partner, get married even. Just an open marriage.”
“I don’t know what any of that means.”
Märc smiled at him again. “That’s also part of what I’m here for. Anyway, first things first, are you masturbating?”
“Uh, what?”
“Are you self stimulating? Playing with yourself to achieve climax?”
“I didn’t know that was a thing.”
Taking a deep breath, Märc paused to think. “Okay, we’re going to have to go back to the very basics. Assuming you are about twenty, then you are about ten years behind where most kids raised in League of States countries are sexually. So may I?” At Eron’s nod, Märc took the control tablet to the entertainment screen and set it on his lap. With the hand not holding Eron’s arm, he began typing on it. Menus began popping up and he navigating through them at a dizzying pace. “Okay, here’s where I think you should start,” he said when a video popped up labeled Your Changing Body, “I mean it’s not perfect because it’s for boys just going through puberty, but it covers most of the basics about erections, anatomy, fertility, and such. After that, here’s the more advanced one on male birth control.” He queued up another video, “Then here’s the menu for the pornography directory. Basically just go exploring and start seeing what you like. Also, you have an extra scholarship for spending money so if you want to do some shopping, I recommend this particular online sex toy shop.” Yet another window popped up in the corner. “Basically, just explore and have fun. But remember to stay hydrated.” With a final squeeze of Eron’s bicep, and a decidedly lascivious wink, Märc gracefully stood up and made his exit.
It was odd staring at the screen after Märc left, but his first thought was how surprised he was by the capabilities of the Entertainment screen. He had been treating it as a larger version of the televisions they had had back in the workers’ dormitories but with more channels, when it was actually more like a giant data center. In fact, Eron wasn’t quite sure how it was different than the one he had over on his desk. Examining the control tablet, he actually found a small icon that when pressed transferred everything on the entertainment screen over to the screen on his desk. Getting up he went over to his desk and found the icon to transfer it back to his entertainment screen. Then he sat down and tentatively began to take Märc’s advice.
* * * * *
Down the hall, in Jaden’s room, Märc was laying on the bed on his belly but propped up on his elbows watching his tablet. “Good boy,” he said as the data told him that after watching the intro film and a few tentative starts and stops, Eron was seemingly engrossed in a fairly tame erotic film. He swiped the command for the tablet to turn off and set it on the headboard shelf.
“So this is what I can look forward to this semester?” Jaden asked from where he sat on the foot of the bed, smiling, “You walk into my room, lock the door, strip naked, and start spying on our residents’ pornography habits?”
“Of course not!” Märc protested, rolling onto his side and his right hand moving seductively down his chest to his crotch, “I’m not spying! I’m monitoring a particularly difficult case! And now that I know it’s progressing, what do you think?” With the hand that hadn’t begun to stroke rhythmically, he gestured to his pecs and the two still-livid scars under them.
“Oh, very nice,” Jaden assured him, and stood up, his own hands going to his belt to begin unbuckling. “Now don’t get too far ahead of me.”
“Well it’s not like it’s my fault you didn’t start undressing until right now!”
“I was hoping for a little more romance than ‘Hi! Good to see you. Out of my way,’ then you stripping naked and getting your voyeur on in my bed. Silly me. Now stop flicking your bean for five seconds while I get my pants off!”
Märc giggled and complied, holding up both hands in surrender as Jaden managed to strip off pants, boxer briefs, and shirt and then pounce on top of him on the bed. Both young men chuckled as they rolled back and forth, exploring each others’ bodies with their hands as their mouths grappled and their thighs slid past each other.
“Gods, you’re hard as a rock,” Märc observed, “Did you not hook up with anybody over break?”
“Not really. What about you?” Jaden asked, skimming one hand down over Märc’s belly then briefly cupping his vulva before slipping his middle finger up inside his favorite lover.
Märc shuddered in pleasure then sighed and arched up to kiss Jaden. “There wasn’t much time around top surgery.”
“Understandable” Jaden muttered, but his next words were cut off as Märc’s incisors clamped down on his bottom lip.
“Now,” Märc growled lustily, holding onto Jaden’s lip, “When I let go I’m going to roll over onto my stomach and you’re going to fuck me from behind and do that thing you do so well with your hands. Got it?”
“I love when you take charge,” Jaden enthusiastically agreed. Märc grinned enthusiastically and finally released his lip. With a wicked smirk, Märc spun underneath Jaden and then wiggled his pert little ass against Jaden’s already straining cock. Jaden whimpered, “I really love it,” and reached up to slide open a cabinet in the headboard. Märc turned his head on the pillow and they began to kiss frantically as Märc fumbled.
It wasn’t until Märc felt Jaden pulling his hands behind his back, and the suede restraints firmly tightened around his wrists that he thought to break the kiss and look. “Whoa…” he gasped out, “You’ve… uh, got some more toys.”
“Yeah, there wasn’t much to do back home this summer.” Jaden told him, “I spent most of my time working on my thesis and shopping. Now arch your back.” He reached for a bottle of lube and a sharply curved black toy.
“I thought you said you liked it when I took charge?”
“I do. I love it! And I am going to do everything you told me to. I’m just adding some extra flair,” Jaden assured Märc as he lubed up the tapered end of the toy, “Now arch your back!” Märc complied and Jaden expertly slipped the toy into Märc’s ass, adjusting it a bit, then clicking and twisting the knobbly controlling buttons until it was vibrating and pulsing pleasantly.
“Ohhhh… that feels nice.”
“Doesn’t it though? Now don’t start humping my mattress! Raise your hips, spread your legs and make room for me!”
It was different than the last time they had fucked, right before summer break, when Märc had been entirely in control. Now with his hands tied behind his back he had to use just his knees and chest for leverage. Behind him, Jaden lined himself up and slid inside, then pressed his entire body along Märc’s back and pressed him down into the mattress. With one hand, Jaden undid the tie of Märc’s braid, then ran his fingers through it a few times until it was loose, causing Märc to whimper at the sensations running down his spine, then Jaden fisted that hand in Märc’s hair at the base of his skull. With his other hand he began to stroke up and down Märc’s groin and vulva and around his clit. After a couple of minutes he yanked back on Märc’s hair, kissed him hard, and began fucking him.
“Gods!” Märc managed to gasp out, “You really have missed me!”
“Oh yes,” Jaden assured him, then paused, “I can feel the toy vibrating through your cunt. Hold on a second.” He freed his hand from Märc’s hair, reached down, and turned up the toy’s settings. Märc yelped.
“That’s better. That’s awesome!”
“Says you! That’s too much!”
“Well just hold on. Oh that’s right, you can’t.” Between them, Märc’s bound hands clenched against Jaden’s abs as Jaden resumed fucking him. Jaden moved the hand that had been in Märc’s hair to lovingly explore Märc’s new pecs and stroke along his scars. “Oh gods you’re sexy. I’m so glad you got the SC position so you could come a week early. And so I could get revenge for you tying me to that chair.”
“I’m cumming!” Märc shouted, his face pressed down into the pillow to muffle it even though all the rooms were soundproofed. Jaden never broke his rhythm and savored the feel of Märc’s vagina spasming around his cock as well as the young man’s muscles twitching under him and the sweat breaking out all over his lovely skin.
“We’re only getting started. You know that, right?” Jaden assured him, though he did reach down and turn the toy down before resuming his thrusting.
“Sadist,” Märc gasped out, twisting to look over his shoulder at Jaden.
“You love it.”
“I love you.”
They both froze. Neither of them had ever admitted that before. But then with a grin Jaden freed Märc’s hands, pulled out for just long enough to flip him onto his back, and then plunged back into him as Märc wrapped arms and legs enthusiastically around Jaden. They effortlessly began moving together and after only a few minutes, Märc came again with a choked gasp. A few minutes after that, Jaden plunged as far as he could inside Märc’s pussy and shot his load. As he was coming down, Märc reached under them both and pulled the toy out of his ass. It took a few moments of fumbling, hampered by the fact that Jaden was still sprawled across him, but Märc managed to switch the toy off and then he dropped it on the sheet.
“I love you, too,” Jaden whispered and kissed Märc’s sweaty forehead.
