Jackpot, Pt. 1
Chapter 15 of JACKPOT (Masterlist)
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CW: institutionalized slavery, pet whump, dehumanization, ‘it’ as a pronoun for whumpee, conditioned/brainwashed whumpee, implied dubcon, whumpee is basically a sex slave for rent so if you’ve made it this far you know what you’re in for
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Alex hates weddings. He hates any large social gathering, really; but the few weddings he had been obligated to attend in the past were especially painful to sit through. Usually the thought of not showing up at all would cause him to feel bad, but sitting in the hotel room with his brother and his friends he starts to question what led him to come along in the first place.
There are two other important things that Alex doesn’t like, those being Vegas and his brother Eric. The more he thinks about it, the more absurd it seems to him that when told Eric was getting married and having a bachelor’s party in Vegas he actually accepted the invitation.
It was him, his brother, and his brother’s two close friends Jackson and Gage (both of which Alex finds obnoxious but can get along with fine enough).
This doesn’t have to suck.
Alex has reminded himself of that several times by now. It isn’t supposed to suck, at least. It’s supposed to be fun, and hopefully a good chance to actually spend time with his younger brother in a way he hasn’t much since they were kids.
This doesn’t have to suck.
If you think it enough times, he figures, it’ll come true.
Alex doesn’t drink much but he decided at the start that if his brother’s idea of a great time is getting hammered and gambling then he would try to enjoy it with him. And the first two nights were actually pretty enjoyable.
But now, as he stands unable to look away from the man kneeling on the carpet in the corner of the room, he no longer knows what to make of the situation.
“No yeah I do remember,” Gage says after a moment of sitting with his hand on his forehead. “I entered us all in, this was one of the top prizes I think.”
Gage had paid for each of the group to enter the raffle being held by the hotel’s casino the night before. Alex had gone back to the room to sleep shortly after that and missed the rest.
“It’s one of the ones they rent out. Didn’t know you swung that way.” Jackson jabs from the other side of the room. The conversation has been back and forth like this since Alex woke to find that Gage is now in possession of a pet he has no idea what to do with. For a few moments he didn’t know what to think, but that problem didn’t last long.
Who is this pet? Why did Gage even accept the prize? Why is he still kneeling? Does Gage own this guy now?
“Why did you even accept it?” Eric asks before Alex gets a chance to.
“I was drunk.” Gage replies, an excuse he uses far too often.
The pet kneeling on the carpet flinches as Gage stands. He doesn’t seem to notice as he groans and rubs his temples.
“It’s probably worth a good amount of money. My uncle had one I think..” Jackson says as he looks it over.
“…so you actually own him?” Alex pushes out before anything else, his tone slightly more flat than he had planned. Alex doesn’t know much about pets; what he does know is that the thought of ‘owning’ another person leaves a bad taste in his mouth regardless of whether they signed up for it or not. Then again they did sign up for it…
The idea never sat right with him but he never really looked too much into it. He’s always assumed that some people just want that life. Seeing the man in front of him now though just feels… off.
“For now.” He responds with a sigh.
“One of the hooker ones too,” Jackson adds from the corner.
“I’m gonna have to find out about giving it back or something while we’re here. I doubt I’ll be able to get it on the plane tomorrow anyways, they need their own tickets.”
Alex could swear the pet’s breathing speeds up when Gage says that. The look on its face has been neutral this whole time; almost to a suspicious degree. Everything about this just feels very wrong.
“What’s his name?” Alex asks. Gage shrugs, searching something on his phone.
“They don’t come with names,” Jackson says. “You get to name them when you get ‘em.”
That makes him sick to his stomach. This whole situation is weird. This guy can’t be happy like this; he hasn’t moved or said a word the whole time. Is nobody else even a little put off? He looks to his brother, who is staring at his phone apathetically. Is it just the hangover? Alex barely pays attention as the others talk about getting food.
“Are you… just gonna leave him here?” He asks after the others discuss plans.
“Yeah,” Gage responds. “I think later I’ll call and ask about returning it or something.”
“I can go down and ask the desk and ask about it while you guys go out.” Alex offers. “I was thinking of staying back to relax for a while anyways, I have a bad headache.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah man, I got you.”
Alex doesn’t like the thought of leaving him alone in here, and the fact that the others don’t mind it at all makes him want to go out right now even less. Plus, the part about the headache is true.
“Appreciate it.”
The group gets ready to leave as he returns to his connected room to think for a moment. None of this sits right with him. The way they talk about him… it doesn’t feel right. He decides to talk with him.
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The guys don’t return for a few hours, but when they do Alex takes Gage aside to talk.
“About the pet,” he says. “I’ll buy him off you.”
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[Hey that’s the name of the show! Sorry for the wait, this one was hard to write and I’ve been busy with life stuff. I’ve rewritten it a few times cause I can’t decide how exactly to set it all up but I decided to just go with what I have now, hope yall like it!]
Tags: @stars-hide-our-fires @shadow-traveller @oldspruceinn @yourlocalgaefae33 @elegantinternethottub @hueningplushie @painwithoutplot @suchprettypieces @theloveofwhump @whumpzone @jumpywhumpywriter
