Author's note: Please be advised, this story contains non-con and dub-con elements, as well as some transphobic, degrading language which could be upsetting to some readers. All characters featured are over 18.
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Daniel was due for another check-up at his doctor's practice. He had them a little more frequently than most, being a trans man with more complex medical needs than the average healthy person. He'd been on testosterone for a little over five years, had had his top surgery over a year ago, and considered his transition from female to male to be wrapped up at this point, legally and medically, while choosing not to elect for any kind of bottom surgery. His once intense bottom dysphoria had dissipated entirely, so he felt no need for further surgery.
Although he didn't particularly like the occasionally invasive tests, or having his blood drawn every six months, he was a responsible adult and wanted to make sure his body remained healthy.
After finishing a long day at work, he was sat in the empty waiting room late in the evening, scrolling through the news on his phone. One headline caught his attention: "Government's newly launched debt management app 'TransOptimum' could wipe out transgender medical debts."
Daniel had heard a little about this. He hadn't looked into it because he didn't think it was going to be launched so soon, but here it was. Conscious that the screen in the waiting room could ping with his name at any time, he began quickly scanning the article.
Unlike some other countries, medical transition wasn't free here. Instead of expecting the patient to pay a large lump sum for the cost of surgery, hormones, and the therapy and appointments needed for the initial diagnosis - as was once the case - the government had created a loan scheme wherein trans people having gender affirming operations and treatments could pay back the costs over a number of years. A monthly payment amount, large or small, could be agreed on to help those with unstable incomes. This meant that while Daniel could pick the best surgeon in the country to operate on him, he was now left with a hefty debt to the tune of $20,000. And despite working hard at his job, he had only been able to pay the bare minimum towards his debt between his bills, rent, his monthly prescription of testosterone, food, and his car suddenly breaking down every few months like clockwork.
Acutely aware of his monetary situation, he continued to read and discovered that money could be accumulated through the app, where trans people offered a variety of services to potentially generous customers. The funds would go directly to paying off the medical debts of the trans person. Daniel was intrigued. It sounded like at the very least he could earn small amounts of money for doing odd jobs. He wasn't sure if he'd have enough time to try it out much, or even what he was supposed to do, but it was worth a look and he did need the extra money. He scrolled down the article a little more until he found a link to the government website, which brought him to a page where he could install the app "TransOptimum."
Upon setting up his account and verifying his identity, an extremely long "terms of service" page popped up, which Daniel promptly scrolled to the bottom of without reading at all, and ticked "Accept." On his profile, he could select a picture for himself, state whether he was female to male or male to female, add his name and a short bio, and stipulate the amount of money he needed to pay off his debt, as well as automatically accept money over a certain threshold. Curiously, he noticed the app was somewhat empty. There was no search function to look for jobs being advertised, or even other users. Perhaps the app was still in beta, being tested, or awaiting new features. Looking through the settings, he saw that his location was already enabled. He tried, but he couldn't seem to switch off the permission inside the app. He thought little of it considering he hadn't uploaded anything onto his public profile other than his first name and status as female to male trans.
After a few minutes of exploring the app, it proved to be unexciting. Daniel didn't have high hopes for it; as a joke he set all payments above $499 to "auto-accept." He figured he might be the only person who bothered to download the app. Laughing to himself, he went back to reading the news. He was halfway through an article about the hidden faults of self-driving cars when the waiting room screen pinged and displayed his name, the doctor he was seeing, and which room he needed to go to. At the same time, and as he was getting up, his phone pinged with a notification from TransOptimum: "Pending: $500 from C. J. ..."
Daniel was confused, but barely had time to read it. He figured he would deal with it after his appointment, so he pocketed his phone and walked through the waiting room, and made his way down a corridor to the appropriate room.
He stepped into the room, and a tall, well-dressed white man of about forty got up and greeted him. "Hello, Daniel is it? Take a seat." The man closed and seemed to lock the door after Daniel entered. Daniel didn't notice. "Yes, hi. How are you?" Daniel sat on the chair next to the desk.
"I'm good, thank you. I'm Dr. Johan. Don't think we've met before. I've just started in this practice a couple of weeks ago and Dr. Turner has told me about your situation." Dr. Johan began looking over Daniel's patient records on his computer.
"Oh, okay. How are you finding it?" Daniel tried to make idle conversation as he looked around the room. There was a small, cushioned examination table for patients to lie on in the corner which was covered with a long paper towel, a privacy curtain around it, which was drawn back, and a small chair at the foot of the table. Dr. Johan turned to face Daniel again. "Good, good. So just a check-up today. No bloods for a few weeks. How are you feeling? Any symptoms?"
"No, no symptoms." Daniel shook his head. "I'm good, just tired." He chuckled.
"Now, you're my last patient today, so I can have some time with you. But I'll examine you first." Dr. Johan responded quickly, and typed a few things onto his computer before turning to face Daniel, who was a little confused by the choice of words. But he didn't question it, and just assumed he might have misheard or misinterpreted the doctor.
Dr. Johan quickly began taking note of Daniel's vitals. He did his blood pressure, checked his breathing, measured his height and weight, and had a thorough look at his throat, his nose, his ears and his eyes. Everything appeared to be fine, according to the doctor, who typed all of the results onto his computer, while Daniel watched, occasionally checking the clock on the wall. "Now... there's a slim chance of reproductive problems arising due to testosterone. You've been on it for five years, correct?" Dr. Johan looked back at Daniel expectantly.
"Uh, yeah, a little over five now."