Saturnalia (M/M) - *03.09.25 part 2*

[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 - part 1

(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. 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 back 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 more snugly than ever.

There were some advantages, he reminded himself, to being the more seasoned half of a relationship with a livewire like Lance. Out of necessity, he’d developed not only patience but pecs: Richard had modified his diet, doubled his gym sessions and was starting to feel the benefits. Shirt and breeches were snug in the right places; there was yet more muscle in the muscle-bear.

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 that 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.

[Straitjacketed]

Well, what can I say? This has been a hell of a year for me, and not in a good way, but I'm finally surfacing for air and able to return to properly contributing to this place. Thanks to those who missed me, and I will do my best to ensure Saturnalia continues and ideally concludes before, well, actual Saturnalia.

I will also, when I can face it, edit previous stories for the annoying type-glitches, and fix broken links.

I like polls so there'll be one along as soon as I can think of a subject. Maybe a poll of poll topics?

As ever, I'm tagging people who previously voted 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 - part 2

(Co-written with @DeeperThanRed)

Stu wasn’t generally one for mirror-preening but vacillated over the unfamiliar stubble. Kaiden reassured him one last time before literally dragging the biker out of their room, reasoning they’d need a head start to arrive at the venue to change and meet with the others before it got crowded.

The blond man liked to think he was the more practical one of the couple and he often teased Stu for being somewhat indecisive about his looks but he had to admit that he himself had taken a while to gather the confidence necessary to go outside in his current ensemble.

Dressed in somewhat more inconspicuous leather pants and boots compared to his boyfriend, the leaner man wore an open leather vest with matching bicep bands. While he wasn’t as sturdily-built as Stu, his ongoing gym efforts allowed him to sport a tight, black shirt that hugged his muscles, with “ROPE WORKS AHEAD” written on it.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Kaiden huffed. “I want to show off my guns.” Still, he pulled on a PVC puffer jacket before heading out. The weather in the English capital was icy, and he was going to leave the masochism to Stu.

On the way, the taxi driver smirked knowingly at the way they were dressed but to Kaiden’s relief, she didn’t comment further. It was possibly, he speculated, not her first time driving someone to that exact location. Stu was quiet, apparently mesmerised by the passing London streets. Kaiden smiled as the biker misted the car window with his breath and drew a square in the condensation, adding a semi-circle on top then the familiar shape of a keyhole. A padlock.

When they arrived at the address, Kaiden realized he had once again underestimated how unique Richard’s tastes could be.

“This isn’t a party,” he grumbled. “It’s a damn urban exploration saga!”

The fancy, pseudo-Roman-looking banner simply announcing “SATURNALIA” adorned a rather inconspicuous entrance he could have sworn they had already passed on the earlier journey from airport to hotel (although it wasn’t easy telling one sooty brickwork façade from another).

“It looks… disused.” Stu scratched his chin.

Peering harder through spiralling flakes of snow, the men realised that what had appeared, at first glance, a humble maintenance doorway was some kind of rear or fire exit, connecting to a much bigger building. Glancing upward, Kaiden could make out the gentle curve of a dome, dark against clouds heavy with the promise of snow.

“According to Richard, it’s been closed since the 1950s… but his theatre buddies got permission to open it for one night.”

There were some cordons and a couple of what Kaiden assumed to be staff members (looking like they popped out of a faintly Roman-themed Tom of Finland drawing, and shivering slightly in the wintry air) checking names from a list. He hoped they had coats stowed somewhere.

“Outfits should be less of an issue in an abandoned tube station,” Stu mused, “didn’t people used to shelter down there in wartime?”

He’d half-expected to need the warmth of his own jacket even inside the building but at least he might now convince Kaiden to take his shirt off. The biker remained curious about that “change of jacket” his boyfriend had mentioned but he was clearly going to have to wait until they got inside the venue.

One of the chilly door-hunks nodded curtly to acknowledge them when they got close. “Good evening. And, uh, Io Saturnalia,” the man looked slightly embarrassed, “before I check you in, I’m going to need to know your roles.”

Kaiden and Stu silently glanced at each other, now seeing how the “theatre” part of this event was going to be relevant. The staff member kept talking: “Which one of you is the master and which is the slave?”

—

“We should’ve taken a taxi.”

Julian reached out and squeezed Mateo’s hand when the bigger man twitched for the eighth time in five minutes. “Relax,” he soothed, “this is a big city and the subway is packed. Nobody is looking at you.” Of course, it was easier for him to say.

The young man was dressed smartly for the cold weather with a fleece-like hoodie and jeans, all rather baggy on his wiry frame. His mousy brown hair was starting to get a bit shaggy, like his slight stubble, and was stuffed under a snapback cap.

“I still can’t believe you talked me into this. Now I get why you didn’t talk outfits until the last minute,” Mateo grumbled.

Compared to Julian, his groomed looks contrasted heavily with the unflattering rain overalls – in a blinding shade of yellow – that covered his body almost entirely. Combined with infantile blue wellingtons and pink rubber gloves, it was a miracle he didn’t get even more curious stares.

“Lost a bet, mate?” chuckled a passing Londoner, a flash of dark wool as he moved down the carriage. Mateo rolled his eyes.

“I feel like an adult baby,” he hissed, “and adult baby is not one of my kinks.”

Julian smoothed the hood of his partner’s garish overalls to make sure only his face was visible. “You can always unzip if it’s too stuffy in there,” he offered with a mischievous smirk on his face.

More grumbles. They both knew full well that Mateo had another rainsuit under this one - one that he couldn’t reveal no matter how sweaty he might become, given that it was fully transparent. And, under that, he was fully naked save for a thong with negligible amount of coverage.

“That layer of trapped air,” added Julian, “is at least keeping you warm.”

Despite showing almost no skin, Mateo felt dangerously close to getting arrested for public exhibitionism – and, while humiliating, the prospect excited him more than he admitted.

The businessman always got a kick out of having his own money used to put him in various ordeals, but he also knew that Julian’s civilian disguise hid kinky clothing of his own - bought with the money he earned from his new part-time job rather than from the couple’s Gear Account. That was one of the younger man’s boundaries.

“Look, here’s our stop,” Julian pulled Mateo by grabbing his waist, “let’s go.” There was something possessive about him that showed itself when they played in public. Mateo found that kinda cute - and made him feel safer about his risky attire.

“Aaand here we are,” Julian checked the map from his phone. Mateo had nowhere to put belongings, and it was doubtful whether he could even navigate a touchscreen with his rubbery, two-layers-gloved fingers, “that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Mateo tugged at the collar of his outer rainsuit, “Let’s just get inside.”

—

In the end, Lance and Richard compromised.

The black-haired man agreed to wear an overcoat over his chosen apparel. However, a careful onlooker could easily spot that he wasn’t wearing all that much underneath. Although Lance insisted that he was getting a kick out of testing how much cold he could endure, Richard noticed relief washing over his partner’s features once they’d passed the doorman and made their way into the Underground station where Saturnalia would take place.

“Isn’t this place abandoned?” Lance frowned, his features forming a glare that Richard knew from experience was his rather unconventional means of expressing curiosity, “how is it not cold?”

Richard shrugged. Although he knew all about how the concept would work from his friends in the theatre company behind the event, he was strictly here as a customer and wasn’t privy to backstage information about how the glamor was upheld. Instead, he joked: “If you’re cold, I can always stuff you inside something warmer. Maybe a sleeping bag.”

Lance snorted, showing unusual restraint in biting back a comment about how Richard ought to be more familiar with bags – having spent half the night inside one the last time the group got together for tabletop role-playing.

“Nice try, big guy. But I didn’t spend half a day waxing for nothing.”

Ever since the Asian man cut down on his travels a bit and crashed at Richard’s place more often, the ginger bear could tell that he was more conscious about his looks. Still not above getting into the occasional random bar brawl (London offered plenty of opportunities for those) and returning home all bloody - he still had a healing scar over the bridge of his nose.

“Then you’re in luck. This must be the cloakroom,” Richard said, pointing out to a counter that probably was a kiosk when trains still ran through the station. Now, it was handled by a politely attentive man in a puppy mask topped with some sort of wreath or crown. He could see several racks of regular-looking items of winter clothing already stowed away.

“Fucking finally,” Lance removed his overcoat, revealing his tan, muscular body, clad in thick boots, fingerless gloves, an H-harness, booty shorts with a zipper on the back and… well, that was everything other than the leather collar he had on, with a disc engraved with the word “SLAVE” clipped to it.

Richard also had a matching bracelet with a “MASTER” inscription, both provided by the slightly awkward doormen after they declared their “roles”. Lance handed his coat to the attendant, giving him a pat on the head.

“Good boy.” Lance’s nipple studs glinted in the dim lighting of the station, predictably hard from the cold.

Richard shook his head in exasperation. “Shall we hie us on our way? I want to see as much as possible before you get hypothermia.”

“I know Tariq should have already arrive- oh, there he is!” Lance waved to a young man around his age who just appeared from the bathroom. “There you are, you scaredy cat!”

Tariq meekly allowed Lance to put an arm over his shoulders and give him a noogie. “Lance, you’re uh, pretty naked,” he noted in a lightly accented low voice, blushing, “and that’s Richard, correct?”

Richard nodded, checking out the new arrival’s dress choice. Tariq was dressed in a shiny, black bodysuit that covered him from neck to toe, only leaving his hands and head bare. Lace-up boots and a bulldog harness completed the ensemble along with a “SLAVE” collar identical to the one Lance wore. Suit and harness were good quality and fitted to the young man’s frame; the whole thing must have cost a pretty penny.

“You look cool for a rich nerd,” Lance teased him affectionately. The darker man wasn’t quite as cut as Lance but was somewhat bulkier, with light brown skin and a black buzzcut. Unlike his clean-shaven friend, Tariq’s stubble was on its way to becoming a short beard.

“Th-thanks.” The man in the almost-gimp suit chuckled nervously. “It’s my first time in an event like this so I hope you guys are patient with me. I still feel a bit guilty about what happened at my parents’ place.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Lance winked at Richard. “That was all of us. And I think the old man enjoyed meeting with your parents.”

Richard’s harrumphed response was interrupted by four men making their way towards them: Mateo and Stu, with their collars, and Julian and Kaiden, wearing the Master indicators.

"I guess Ancient Rome didn't have switches," called Julian, dangling his bracelet.

"Or sides," acknowledged Richard, "but it did offer a profusion of other diversions."

“We should meet more often,” Julian laughed, running the last few steps to greet the newcomers with a series of hugs, “hey, Richard, what do you know about this place?"


To be continued...

[gag1195]

A wonderful treat to see more of this story! I am sorry to hear that you've been having a rough time @Straitjacketed, and I hope things are improving! Take all the time you need to get more of this story published, truly there is no rush!

That being said, I am so intrigued by what's going on at this little festival! Lance willingly choosing the Slave role is also interesting, given his and Richard's continuous battles for dominance. And who is the Master paired with Tariq? Surely he isn't there alone, an unclaimed slave waiting to be snatched up?

[blackbound]

Glad to see you back @Straitjacketed! Keep me on the tag list at any cost for what's sure to be a hot and steamy story!

[Straitjacketed]

That being said, I am so intrigued by what's going on at this little festival!

I imagine Richard would love to be part of this kind of theatrical company, setting up the show, but he also enjoys being its audience.

Lance willingly choosing the Slave role is also interesting, given his and Richard's continuous battles for dominance.

Yeah, it's almost as if he enjoys the battles more than the dominance itself...

And who is the Master paired with Tariq? Surely he isn't there alone, an unclaimed slave waiting to be snatched up?

Heheheh, there could be Masters with whole stables of slaves...

[Straitjacketed]

Glad to see you back @Straitjacketed! Keep me on the tag list at any cost for what's sure to be a hot and steamy story!

Lovely to be back! And there's more coming very very soooooon...