Saturnalia (M/M) - *10.01.25 part 1*

[Straitjacketed]

I did say those of you wanting more wouldn't have to wait that long! That said, this one isn't going to be updated as speedily as some of our recent output (Stuart meeting Kaiden and Mateo meeting Julian) has been; this time, instalments are going to appear with a little more time between.

It's now well known that I enjoy collaborative stories - tales co-created with another writer, where we take turns in advancing the narrative - and my co-creator and I like these particular characters. Some of you seem to, too.

As ever, please do comment. Feedback is the lifeblood of this place, a primary reason those of us who post our creations here keep posting.

There''ll be a poll along soon because I like polls...

I'm tagging people who previously voted in a poll or commented on a story featuring these characters (if you want to be untagged in my updates, let me know; conversely, if you want to be tagged and get a heads-up when a new instalment drops, just say so): @blackbound, @gag1195, @Guardianbound, @KidnappedCowboy, @Windrunner, @Wedgieboy69, @_zin_, @CaptiveDan, @Bradstick and @Croup.

As ever, my parts of the narrative are in default font, @DeeperThanRed's are in red


Saturnalia

(Co-written with @DeeperThanRed)

Kaiden:
Dark blond hair, brown eyes. About as tall as Stu but more of a runner's build with leaner muscles and a healthy tan. Older and more confident than Julian but maybe quite not as bold.

Stu:
An inch or two taller than Mateo, almost as dark-haired but paler complexion, clean-shaven with grey/green eyes; well-built but with muscle gained more naturally from playing sports, diving, etc. Less vain than Mateo, somewhat naive - still!

Julian:
Pale, dark brown hair worn in medium length waves. Shortest and least fit, has a fair bit of stubble/leg hair.

Mateo:
Part-Italian, swarthy, dark-eyed, dark-haired, consciously gym-fit. Has a short, well-trimmed beard and a reasonable covering of body hair.

Lance:
Tall, buff but lean Asian man in his mid-to-late twenties. Short-but-messy dark hair in an undercut. Stubble. Resting scowl.

Richard:
Tall, wide, muscled white man in the latter half of his forties. Impression of bulk. Celtic complexion, ginger hair and beard, blue eyes. Open features. Nose broken and crookedly reset.

Tariq:
Shorter and a little chunkier than his friend Lance, with light brown skin, a black buzzcut and long stubble


“So,” clarified Stu, “it’s basically a massive kink party?”

The muscular biker reclined with arms behind his head, dark leathers and knee-high motocross boots (the buckles of which had set off the alarms going through customs) stark against the crisp white linen of the hotel bed. He’d left his razors at home and, a mere two days into their holiday break, his usually clean-shaven chin was sporting an almost Homer Simpsonesque blue-black shadow.

“Yeah,” said Kaiden (who had decided he liked his partner’s newfound swarthiness), “although I think there’s more to Saturnalia than that. Richard called it ‘site-specific immersive theatre’.”

Stu snorted, “Sounds very Richard.”

The wirier man couldn’t disagree. He wouldn’t ordinarily think of London for a weekend break so close to Christmas but the large ginger bear could be very persuasive - and he’d talked up the fetish-meets-avant-garde-theatre event – free tickets! – with such enthusiasm that both Kaiden and Stu had been won over.

“Well,” continued the dark-haired man, “I’m looking forward to seeing Lance again. He’s cool.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kaiden, running a hand through his dark blond hair, “The big guy’s got his work cut out staying in control of that one. He’ll be trying to avoid a re-run of last time…”

“’Richard Chandelier’,” smirked the biker, “maybe that should be his stage name”.

“It has a certain ring to it,” agreed Kaiden, “shame he missed out on Beauty and the Beast, he could’ve been cast as…”

“Beast?”

“… Lumière!”

Stu giggled. His partner was on a roll.

“I’ll just let that… hang there.”

Both men dissolved into peals of laugher. The memory was comical: the last time they all got together for an evening of gaming, their sometimes rather bumptious friend had fallen foul of his wily younger partner, ending up suspended and struggling, strapped, laced and locked into several layers of reinforced cowhide, wholly unable to do anything other than snort, sweat and seethe.

Finally, Stu wiped his eyes.

“If the party, submersive, whateveritis is kink, I don’t have to change out of my bike gear, right?”

“The dress code is ‘when in Rome’ – which is open to interpretation, obviously – but boots and leather jeans should be fine,” reassured Kaiden, “but I asked Richard to bring a change of jacket for you. It’s still leather, just… smarter. More tailored. Tight. You’ll like it.”

Stu arched a quizzical eyebrow.

“You will. I promise.”

—

A few streets away, in a larger, more luxurious hotel room, an even swarthier man remonstrated with his shorter, more slightly built partner.

“I can’t believe you’re not even going to tell me what I’m wearing to this thing!” Mateo gestured toward the sizeable duffel bag in the corner. He frowned, smoothing his moustache with well-manicured fingers.

Julian smiled at the ‘tache-stroking, recognising his boyfriend’s signature nervous tell. The half-Italian businessman was genuinely anxious: although he’d opened up a good deal since the pair got together, Mateo (accustomed, in his working life, to being in control of those around him) still became apprehensive at the prospect of even semi-public displays of the fetishes they both enjoyed in private.

Julian, for his part, liked to prolong that apprehensiveness.

“That’s our deal, babe,” he squeezed the other man’s gym-toned bicep, “I get to choose what you wear, and you… you get to pay for it.”

Strange as it might seem to others, this financial arrangement suited the couple when it came to the games they liked to play: Mateo had established regular monthly payments to what they both termed the Gear Account, but only Julian had spending power. His muscle-sub partner only got to know the specifics of purchases when they were unveiled in the course of a play session – and, much as he might grumble, that’s how Mateo preferred it. Mostly.

“I think you’re going to appreciate what I have in mind,” continued Julian, “maybe not straight away but eventually…”

Mateo continued to fret but changed the subject.

“Richard had better not pull his hypnotism trick again.”

“He probably won’t have his cane with him,” countered Julian, referring to the stick Richard sometimes affected, not because he needed a walking aid but as a hypnotic focus, “and anyway, that stuff didn’t do him much good the last time we all got together,” countered Julian.

Mateo’s frown broke and both men chuckled at the recollection of their burly friend swinging like a piñata above their living room table, fully bagged, gagged, hooded and helmeted, his usual honey-toned eloquence reduced to grunts of muffled outrage.

“I bet he and Lance are having a stand-off right this minute.”

—

“Lance, you cannot wear that on public transport!” The red-bearded man paused, mid tie-knotting.

“Oh yeah?” challenged his younger, more lithe partner, “is the big leather cop afraid my immodest attire will scandalise his neighbourhood?”

“No,” retorted Richard, throwing a scowl at the other man via the bedroom mirror, “it’s December in London – the air bites shrewdly – and you have zero body fat. You’ll bloody freeze!”

He sighed. Lance would do what Lance would do.

The bearish man turned his focus back to his own outfit. He’d done his best to recreate the full leather police uniform he was wearing when he and his boyfriend first met, in a Berlin club. Sure, the facial hair was a little longer and a sprinkling of salt dusted the ginger of his temples but grey leather shirt, black leather breeches (with matching grey side-stripe), gloves and Dehner boots fitted as snugly as ever.

He took his trusty Langlitz jacket – new at that first meeting, now comfortably broken-in – from its hanger, engaged the zip and pulled it up, fastening the integral belt and buckling the diagonal Sam Browne strap over his broad chest. Horsehide creaked as he reached for his Muir cap, positioning it so it sat straight with the glossy peak low over his blue eyes.

“Trying to reestablish your top credentials with the guys?” smirked Lance, upping the ante, “I mean, you were in leather the last time they saw you – even more leather – and wasn’t it quite a bit… tighter? Oh, and Tariq’s gonna be there. I’m sure his parents told him what they found you wrapped up in that time at their place: PVC fisherman drag in the height of summer, accessorised with an apple tree…”

Richard shot him a warning glance. The end of their second date, in the French countryside, had been a sore point for a while afterwards – and the memory of meeting Tariq’s parents still stung. Lance was being bratty, intentionally pushing his buttons.

“If we weren’t already late,” the leather cop clenched a gloved fist, “I would put you over my knee and give you such a spanking.”

“Promises, promises,” Lance danced, laughing, out of the older man’s grasp, “anyway, we’re late because of your outfit, not mine.”

Richard made a conscious decision not to take the bait. For now.

“How poor are they that have not patience,” he intoned, with theatrical menace, “let’s just see what Saturnalia brings…”

To be continued...

[blackbound]

For one glorious moment, I really thought his name was Richard Chandelier.

Looking forward to see more of the boys, especially - hopefully, finally - the mysterious Tariq.

[gag1195]

This already feels so wonderfully ambitious! So many characters and relationships and dynamics to enjoy! I am so ready to see (and experience) the costumes and outfits everyone is wearing and what hijinks are in store at the Saturnalia!

[KidnappedCowboy]

Oh! I love it already. Moving from couple to couple...it's a great introduction and buildup. The characters are from different walks of life converging on one event. You do this quite well. It reminds me of the series "Unforgotten," which introduces characters like this and who have an event or incident common in their lives. Here the common event promises to be a bondagefest.

Cannot wait for more. Thank you.