moonlettuce | Fic: Going, Going, Gone, Primeval

Title: Going, Going, Gone
Author: Claire
Fandom: Primeval
Pairing: Nick/Stephen, Abby/Connor/Jenny
Rating: PG
Summary: In which various people get sold and Connor ends up in a threesome.
Notes: Written for

svmadelyn's Fourth annual Kink/Cliché Challenge. My prompt was: Auctions (slave or slave charity). The Master List is here.

"A bachelor auction?" Stephen looked down at the leaflet Nick had just handed him, scanning it quickly.

Nick nodded. "The Dean thought it would be a good way to raise money for the university. He's suggested all the faculty get involved." Nick paused. "Including professors and TAs." In fact, he'd cornered Nick after the monthly departmental meeting and all but begged him to get Stephen to agree to take part. He'd even gone so far as to promise Nick that a portion of the proceeds could be used to help fund a trip to Mexico so some of the students could work with the dig planned for Terapa the following year.

"Including-- oh, no." Stephen thrust the leaflet back at Nick, shaking his head. "There's no way I'm getting on a stage and shaking my arse so some old woman can buy me and have me for dinner."

"Come on, where's your university spirit?" Nick slapped Stephen's arm lightly.

Stephen just looked at him. "It got buried under the pile of shit that pterodon left on top of the truck last week," he said dryly.

"Stephen--"

But Stephen just cut him off. "Stop wheedling, Nick. You know I hate it when you wheedle. I'm not doing it; and if the Dean thinks I am, he's got another thing coming." Stephen picked up his backpack and headed towards the door, turning back after only a couple of steps. "Are you coming? We've got that meeting with Lester at two, remember?"

"He said he'll sign off on the Terapa dig," Nick said, ignoring Stephen's comment about the meeting with Lester. These days, there were always meetings with Lester.

"Seriously?"

Nick nodded. "As long as this auction raises enough, some of the proceeds will be used to help finance the trip out to the dig."

Stephen was quiet for long moments, absently picking up an ammonite off the bookcase next to him and playing with it. "Pervy old git probably only wants me in so he can buy me himself," he muttered.

Nick didn't deny it. It was well known around the university staff that some of the students weren't the only ones who seemed to want to get into Stephen's knickers, and almost a running joke among some of the them that whenever the Dean had to come down and see Professor Cutter, he always seemed to time it so that Stephen was in the office as well.

"How much of the trip is going to be financed?" Stephen asked, and Nick smiled. He recognised that tone. It was Stephen's 'okay, fine, I'll do it, but I'm going to complain about it first' tone.

"Half," Nick answered. "If enough's raised." The Dean was very insistent on that stipulation. Even so, that would still let the department send at least five more students to the dig than they'd originally been able to budget for.

Putting the ammonite back on the bookcase, Stephen sighed. "Fine. I'll do it." Because, pervert bosses aside, Stephen had to know that it was too good an offer to knock back.

Nick grinned. "Good man. You won't regret this, Stephen."

The grin faltered as Stephen moved, closing the distance between them, gleam in his eyes and a wicked smile playing on his lips. "Oh, you're damn right I won't regret it. Because if I'm doing it, Nick Cutter, then so are you."

And that was how it started.

~*~

Nick buried his head in his hands as he listened to Abby and Jenny making plans.

It was his own fault, he knew it was. He should never have stuffed the leaflet from the Dean in with the other papers he was taking to the ARC, certainly shouldn't have realised it was there and then tried to throw it away while they were waiting for Lester to arrive.

Before the crumpled piece of paper had even reached the bin, it had found its way into Abby's hands. Abby, who had read it with glee before passing it on to Jenny, and the two of them were now looking at him and Stephen with the same kind of gaze the Deinonychus had had on its face when it had thought Nick was supper.

"And you're both going to be in this?" Abby said for what seemed like the fourth time.

"Yes," Nick replied again, not sure if he should be more worried about the fact that Abby's eyes lit up at this, or pissed that she seemed rather amused at the thought of him on a stage and being bid on.

A snort drew their attention further down the table, seconds passing before Connor realised he was being stared at and lifted his attention away from the laptop he was typing on.

"And just what's so funny, Mr Temple?" Nick asked, mentally kicking himself when Connor just smirked at him, indicating that his Professor-voice was no longer working on the younger man.

"I mean, it's just that you'd never find me doing something like that. Parading around an' all that." He waved a hand in the air, the motion coming to an abrupt stop as Stephen stood up and walked over to him.

With a smile Nick hadn't seen on Stephen since Rex last shit on one of Lester's suits, Stephen reached out and placed a hand on Connor's shoulder. "Actually, Connor," he said, "since this is open to students as well, I think that's exactly where we'll find you."

Connor swallowed heavily.

~*~

Stephen swatted at Nick's hand, knocking the fingers away from his tie. "Leave it," he said.

"But, it--"

"It looks fine," Stephen interrupted, pausing as he Nick up and down thoroughly. "More than fine. Trust me on that one."

An image of Abby flashed into his mind.

Trust me, she'd said as she'd handed him the bag earlier that day. He hadn't recognised the name on the side, but that wasn't a surprise. After all, he tended to buy his clothes with only two thoughts in mind, that they were hard-wearing and not too colourful - he'd learned that lesson after a run-in with a particularly hideous jumper knitted by his Aunt Fiona. He'd worn it once and decided that, no, lime green and blue really weren't his colours and had attempted to throw it out, before Stephen had appropriated it and proved the fact that he really did look good in anything, damn him. As far as Nick knew, the thing still lurked in the back of Stephen's wardrobe.

So, he'd been more than cautious when he'd taken the bag off Abby. However, he'd been pleasantly surprised by the new jeans and the black shirt. He'd been less sure about the tie, until Abby assured him that it really did look good on him and he'd have the bidders falling at his feet.

Problem was, he glanced over at Stephen, it wasn't exactly the bidders he wanted falling there. Maybe after the event was over, after he'd had the dinner with whoever 'bought' him, he'd--

His thoughts were derailed by a hand on his arm, grip tight and hot.

"Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick." Connor's eyes were wide. "Have you seen it out there?"

Nick shook his head. He'd specifically not looked into the next room, although he could still hear the shouts and laughter that filtered through.

"I'd rather face a pack of Allosaurs then go out there."

Stephen nudged Connor's shoulder with his own. "Don't be daft, Connor, you'll do great."

"I'll probably end up falling on my face."

Stephen raised an eyebrow. "It's only walking, Connor, you've been doing it for a while now."

Connor shook his head. "But it's not just walking. It's walking and wiggling and showing off assets that I don't have!" He started to pace, three steps one way and then three steps the other before turning and starting again. "It's all right for you," he said, waving a hand towards Stephen. "You've got that entire thing going on."

"That thing?" Stephen looked confused and Nick found himself almost agreeing with Connor's words that Stephen did indeed have a thing going on before he remembered where they were and stopped himself.

Connor nodded. "You know, the entire 'I walk into a room and everyone looks at me, rawr' thing." He even did little claw actions for the roar.

Stephen just looked at him for long moments before he reached out, slapping Connor on the arm and shaking his head in exasperation.

"You'll do just fine, Connor," Nick said, choosing to squeeze the younger man's arm rather than taking the route Stephen had. In fact, Nick had little doubt that Connor would raise a decent amount given how good he looked. When Connor had first walked in, Nick had been surprised at how well he scrubbed up, although he suspected that both Abby and Jenny had had a hand in the transformation, half sure that Abby will have handed Connor a bag much like the one she'd handed to him. "I'm sure we all will."

"Well, it looks like we're about to find out," Stephen commented, nodding towards where one of the people running the auction was waving them over. "We're up."

~*~

When it was over, they stood next to the payment desk, the look of confusion on Stephen's face mirrored by the one Nick knew he was wearing; the one placed there by the fact he was watching Abby gleefully handing over a cheque for her successful bid on Nick. The surrealism of the situation only added to by the way Jenny was standing next to her, handing over a cheque for Stephen and Connor.

"Please tell me you didn't buy us out of pity because no one else wanted to," Connor asked, gaze flicking from Abby to Jenny like he was unsure which one to look at.

"Hardly," Abby replied as the moved away, allowing the woman behind them to get to the desk. "When Jenny put that final bid in for you I thought that woman on the next table was going to smack her," she told him.

"And the look on the Dean's face when he realised Abby'd outbid him on Stephen," Jenny commented, tone of her voice indicating that said look had not been a happy one.

Told you, Stephen mouthed to Nick, who just hoped the Dean would still sign off on the dig.

Connor grinned, peppering Abby with questions about the woman who had tried to buy him. "Who? The blonde? The one with the big--"

"Yes, her," Abby said, glaring at him.

Connor's eyes glazed over for a second before he refocused on Abby. "So, why didn't you let her-- I mean, why-- With the--" His hand motion encompassed all five of them as he looked at Abby and Jenny for an answer.

Jenny glanced at Abby before turning to Nick, smile on her face. "Nick, we bought you for Stephen."

"And we bought Stephen for Nick," Abby added.

Nick could feel Stephen's gaze on him, but he kept his attention on the women in front of him. "You what?"

"Look," Jenny said, "we've watched you dancing around each other for as long as we've known you and, well, to be quite honest, we're fed up of it."

"Exactly," agreed Abby. "So, tonight you get to eat, drink, be merry and make use of the room we've booked you in this lovely establishment." She held out her hand, room key dangling from her fingers. "It's a double; we didn't think you'd mind."

Nick just looked at them, his fingers closing around the room key as Abby dropped it into his palm. He knew he should say something, he just wasn't sure if 'Thank you' was appropriate in situations like this. Luckily, he was saved from having to say anything by Connor.

"So, if you bought Nick for Stephen and Stephen for Nick, who did you buy me for?" Connor swallowed nervously, paling slightly. "Oh god, please say it wasn't Lester."

Abby grinned at Jenny as they both moved forward, each of them linking with one of Connor's arms.

"Oh no," Jenny said, eyes sparkling, "we bought you for us."

~*~

"Well, that was unexpected," Stephen said finally, the smell of his lemon chicken tickling at Nick's nose and making him wonder if he should have gone with that instead of the sirloin.

"You think we should tell them?" he asked, still eyeing Stephen's plate.

"What, that they're actually a month too late and we just hadn't got around to telling anyone yet?" Stephen smirked as he picked up his plate, swapping it with Nick's. "We could, but it'd be a shame to waste the effort they went to."

"And I would hate to disappoint them, so it's only polite that we eat, drink and make use of that double room." Nick lifted his glass of wine and tilted it in Stephen's direction.

Stephen's smile widened. "Absolutely," he said, gently clinking his glass against Nick's.

~*~

"So, do you think the plan worked?" Abby asked, her voice low so she wouldn't wake Connor up.

Jenny turned to face her, silhouette lit by the start of the sunlight coming in through the window. "I'd say so, if the way Nick's hand was on Stephen's arse when they got in the lift is any indication."

Abby smiled. "Good, it's about time." She glanced back at the bed, noticing Connor had kicked off the duvet now that she and Jenny weren't in there with him. "What time do we have to be out of here?"

"Check out's at 11," Jenny answered, following Abby's gaze back to the bed, back to Connor's form spread out across the mattress, and matching her smile. "Which means we've got plenty of time." Reaching out, she wrapped her hand around Abby's wrist, thumb stroking the soft skin of Abby's arm as they walked back towards the bed. "On three, yes?"

Abby nodded. "Three," she said, grinning.

And then they pounced.