Dr. Marsh spoke, "I had it easier than you, though, Ira. Sex was, obviously, never a factor for Chloe and me. And I've never felt good when I order or punish Chloe," she turned to her granddaughter, "Not that your obedience doesn't make Me happy, dear," she assured Chloe, "But Ira feels things when he orders and punishes his drone that I don't." Back to Ira. "The things you feel aren't inherently good or bad. And they aren't uncommon. And your Brian would need orders and punishment just as much if they didn't arouse you... Well, no. I suspect Brian thinks arousal makes you happy. That would add something."
Arousal did make Ira happy. Or would if he could act on it. But while he had threatened to fuck Brian in the heat of anger and lust, had actually planned to fuck Brian last night, he'd cooled down since then. Brian might need orders. Brian might need punishment. But Brian was still, fundamentally, incapable of consent. Or, more accurately, was incapable of not consenting.
"Lost in thought?" asked Dr. Marsh.
"Erm, I was..."
Dr. Marsh looked at him, but said nothing. Chloe was impassive, looking at its grandmother without any apparent emotion. By now, Ira knew better than to think its deadpan face reflected its actual thoughts or feelings.
He let the words out in one breath, "What-about-actually-having-sex?"
"I think Brian should be here for that conversation. Bring him along next week, will you?"
***
Brian got thirteen lashes that night, but he didn't get fucked. His Boyfriend had visibly wanted to fuck him, so Brian didn't know why He didn't. Fucking Brian would make his Boyfriend happy. Brian wanted his Boyfriend to be happy. Brian shouldn't want anything other than to be in compliance and for his Boyfriend to be happy, but he wished his programming had included seduction. His programmers hadn't bothered, since Brian's Controller could fuck it anytime they wished; they hadn't anticipated a noncompliant Boyfriend who would need to be coaxed into using it.
Being used was compliance. There were things his Boyfriend wanted to use him for but wasn't. His Boyfriend's recalcitrance was illogical: Brian existed for his Boyfriend's use. His Boyfriend needed to comply. Once his Boyfriend was in compliance he would be happy. Bryan wanted his Boyfriend to be happy. This line of thought was non-productive, non-productivity was noncompliance. Brian wanted to be in compliance. He made an educated guess that his Boyfriend would say "No" if Brian asked Him to fuck him again, and that being asked would his Boyfriend unhappy. Brian wanted his Boyfriend to be happy. At least his Boyfriend hadn't ordered him not to sleep with Him. Waking up with Brian in His arms made his Boyfriend happy; ordering Brian not to sleep with Him would not be compliant.
Over the next five days his Boyfriend made more of an effort to be compliant. As Brian had predicted, his Boyfriend was happier when He was in compliance. Brian wanted his boyfriend to be happy. He gave Brian orders, lots of them, and punished Brian when his work was not satisfactory. Unsatisfactory work was noncompliance. Brian learned when he was punished. Being punished brought Brian into compliance. Brian wanted to be in compliance.
On the sixth day, Brian masturbated. He had masturbated every ten days since becoming his Boyfriend's boyfriend. Drones had to be healthy. Health was compliance. Technically, Brian was only supposed to cum if his Boyfriend made him, but if his Boyfriend wanted to suspend Brian's prostate maintenance protocols He was supposed to give Brian an order. Since He hadn't, Brian masturbated and hoped masturbation was compliance. Brian wanted to be in compliance.
Brian didn't know when his Boyfriend came. He had made an educated guess that his Boyfriend masturbated in the bathroom. Brian would not care if his Boyfriend had masturbated in front of him, as Brian sometimes did in front of Him, or slept with other people. But Brian did not think his Boyfriend had any sexual partners. Sexual partners would made his Boyfriend happy. His Boyfriend's celibacy was not in compliance.
The fact was that even though his Boyfriend was becoming better at compliance when it came to using His boyfriend (although better was not yet "good"), He was not in compliance with His other needs. He still tried to eat junk food, still didn't get enough sunlight, still didn't socialize, still didn't have sex. Brian knew that not all people needed sex, but he had made an educated guess that his Boyfriend did. There was nothing wrong with masturbation, but even if his Boyfriend didn't want to fuck Brian, he should be able to find other people or drones to fuck.
Brian decided to help his Boyfriend comply.
***
When Ira got home there was a ridiculously attractive man sitting on his sofa. "Um, hi," he said. "Sorry, this is really awkward, but your drone said I couldn't leave until you got home. It was... quite forceful about that."
"Brian, what did you do?"
"This man is a sex worker. You can have sex with him. That will make you happier."
"I tried to tell it you can't just call an escort on someone else's behalf. I'd assumed it'd done it on your orders. When I got here I realized you had a malfunctioning drone."
"He's not malfunctioning just... it's complicated."
The man nodded. "I'll admit I don't get antidroners, but I don't really get the appeal of drones either. More trouble than they're worth."
"How much do you charge for... however long you've been here?"
"Normally it would depend on what we did. Since all I did was sit, I think I can be accommodating."
The price, once settled, was expensive but not exorbitant. Brian had done his research and recited the man's posted prices as soon as he realized Ira was going to pay him; if Ira was being cheated, so were all the man's actual clients.
"Brian, I'm going to have to punish you for this."
"Yes, Ira."
At least punishing Brian was fun now. Ira had accepted that he had a sadistic streak. Maybe because Brian had given him one, maybe because Brian had forced him to realize it. He'd also found that He was way better at whipping, caning, lashing, and flogging than His complete lack of prior experience would suggest, a hint that His sadism might have been caused, or least augmented, by Brian.
Ira ordered Brian to strip, then to fetch His crop. They had begun to develop a ritual. Brian would fetch Ira's chosen implement, kneel before him, bow his head, and raise the implement above his head in both hands. Then Brian would ask to be punished. "Ira, please punish me."
What happened next would depend on Ira's mood. Today He ordered Brian to "stand, feet wide apart, arms parallel to the ground." He walked around Brian, occasionally hitting him lightly with the crop. This part was less punishment and more of an opportunity to ogle Brian and maybe make him flinch a bit. Brian was allowed -- was encouraged -- to respond during punishment. Once He had his fill of looking at Brian, He ordered him to brace himself against the wall. This was when the cropping began in earnest. Mostly on Brian's ass, but his thighs, calves, and back also got attention. When He was done, Ira allowed Brian to collapse in a puddle of tears and whimpers at His feet. "Thank You for punishing me, Ira."
Ira stripped off his own clothes, then masturbated furiously; it took less than a minute for Him to cum. "Draw Me a hot bath," He ordered. "I need to relax after all that work." It was a given that Brian would not get a hot bath. He would help Ira bathe, then massage Ira's sore muscles while He lay sprawled on His bed. Only when Ira was fully relaxed and sleeping would Brian return to the bath, by then tepid, to clean himself with Ira's bathwater.
This last part was unsupervised, since Ira was asleep, but He liked the thought of Brian using His leftover water to clean himself. Pity they both usually took showers; the second-hand water reminded Brian of his place.
