Stargazing With Beilah

Miyuki

There were a lot of things in the lives of Sterling and Octavia that left them struggling for money. College education, the attempts of starting up their business, the supplies they needed for their comics and novels, and, in Sterling's case, the cost of transitioning from surgeries to hormone therapy. It was more money than either of them could gather together quickly enough to support themselves along.

If Sterling was being honest, there wasn't much that he had going for him in way of making fast money. He was, however, young, eager to please, and looked far more idiotic and naive than he actually way. As it turned out, that was enough to give him the opportunity to make his move.

The first time it happened, Sterling hadn't been searching for someone to take advantage of. In fact, it was easily the other way around.

He had been in a cafe, drinking the cheapest thing he could get there without being kicked out and working on a project of his when an older man approached him. He wasn't elderly, but he was certainly quite a bit older than Sterling- at least twice his age- and was clearly quite well off. 

Considering the man's charm- and the fact that he hadn't really given Sterling an option- they stayed together for several hours that day. Despite the fact that Sterling didn't get much work done after the man joined him at his table, he stayed with him there for a long time, just talking and occasionally flirting with one another. 

When closing time rolled around, Sterling and the man exchanged contact information and went their own ways. 

From then on, they spoke to one another almost daily, with the older man frequently giving Sterling gifts of money, among other things. While Sterling didn't particularly enjoy the company of the man, it quickly became obvious that it would be beneficial for him to keep the man in his life. He and Octavia could hardly keep themselves afloat on their weak incomes and they desperately needed the help of the man, even if he sometimes made sterling uncomfortable. 

Several weeks passed before the man finally brought up the concept of them forming a more "professional" relationship. The deal was simple, so they never bothered making anything beyond a verbal contract of it. In exchange for a set amount of money, Sterling would would offer the man his "services" in varying forms. 

Initially, things went smoothly. Sterling was given a decent amount of money from the older man (far less than seemed reasonable considering the services he was providing in return, but he wasn't in a position to turn the man down) and Sterling would give the man almost anything that he wanted. This ranged from innnocent things like text updates on what he was doing every hour and listening to rants about stressful work situations to more... intense things. It wasn't that sex with the man was bad, but it always made Sterling uneasy- scared that the man would hurt him or push him too far.

As time went on, the man demanded more from Sterling. He wanted to meet him more, spend more time with him, touch him in ways he hadn't previously. They began adding new, strange elements into their relationship and it became clear that the kind facade the man had worn the first time he met Sterling was nothing more than that- a facade. There was more going on with the man than Sterling had initially hoped. While he had seemed like a slightly weird and eccentric but nonetheless kind person when they had first met in that coffee shop, it was clear that there was more to him than that. He was demanding, and, with all of the money that he had, he had no problem with indulging in any and all sketchy substances that he desired. 

While the man's substance abuse problems were far from obvious when Sterling first met him, the longer they stayed together, the less he bothered to hide from the younger man. It was clear that Sterling was fairly financially dependant on him and that he wouldn't leave him, even if he wasn't being treated very well.