Page 11 of Gratification in Gluttony (Passing Through Cafe #2)

Chapter eleven

All Around the Kitchen Island, the Elas Chased the Pyclon

The club seemed louder than before, and the lights were so bright. Toni searched the dance floor, but he didn’t see any of his friends. Even Oliver and Libbi had disappeared, and he checked his phone to see if anyone had messaged him. But there was nothing.

It wouldn’t have been the first time that a group hang had ended with them each dispersing to hook up or head home, but he’d never been completely abandoned like this without any heads-up before. Worry gnawed at his gut as he fought his way back to the bar, searching for Rusty’s pink fur or Gem’s bright orange top.

“Toni!” Zef’s voice was barely audible amidst the cacophony of music and voices, but Toni somehow caught it. He whipped his head around in search of the Mantodea, and panic seized his chest when he heard them say, “Toni, I cannot find you, but Gem is hurt.”

“Zef?” Toni hollered, making the people around him flinch. “Zef, where the fuck are you?”

“Toni, can you hear me? I am waiting near the doors. It is of the greatest importance that you find me.”

Toni fought his way through the crowd until he spotted Zef’s white hair and fluttering wings. “Zef!” He waved his arms over his head and Zef copied him with four of theirs.

“Gem is ill,” they said.

Finally, Toni stumbled out from the mass of bodies and nearly rammed right into the Mantodea. He startled when Zef placed two hands on the front of his shoulders to steady him. Their touch was cool and soft and fleeting. The moment Toni had his balance, Zef pulled away.

“Come,” they said seriously before turning and barking, “Move!” to the people in their way.

Toni had never heard Zef speak so forcefully before, but it worked. Bodies parted, and Zef charged through, Toni right on their heels.

“What happened?” Toni demanded the moment they were outside.

“Rusty claims that Gemae’s drink was tampered with, but I did not see it. There was an altercation—”

Toni didn’t hear the rest. His vision bled red as a vicious snarl ripped its way up his throat. He was committing murder tonight, and no one would be the wiser. He knew people, after all. He could hide a body where it would never be found, and he wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over it. Not if Gem was hurt.

He spotted Oliver, Willow, and Licorice first, and he shoved past them. “What the fuck happened? Where’s Gem?”

“Toni.” The sound of Gem’s broken voice erased the haze of murderous rage clouding Toni’s vision, and a wounded noise scraped his throat as he hauled Gem up and gathered him in his arms.

Gem sobbed, five arms coiling around Toni’s body until he was entirely trapped in his best friend’s desperate embrace. Tucking his face into Toni’s neck, Gem trembled and blubbered wordlessly. Rusty shifted beside them, head down, eyes locked on the one hand Gem wasn’t using to hold Toni. It was clenching Rusty’s hand, and Toni felt a spark of annoyance, though it faded quickly as he focused on Gem.

“It’s okay, Gemmy, I’m here now. I got you. What happened? Are you okay?”

“I wanna go home,” Gem whimpered. “Toni, I wanna go home.”

“Of course, baby. I’ll get you home. You don’t gotta worry, now. Toni’s here.” As he half-carried, half-dragged Gem out of the alley, he spared the Pyclon another irritated scowl. “I got him from here.”

“I’m going to Lust anyway,” Rusty said, following them thanks to Gem’s death grip on his hand. “I can get him home.”

“No,” Toni said sharply. “I have a place close by. Just a few tram stops from here. There’s no need to take him all the way to Lust when he can crash there.”

“He said he wants to go home,” Rusty insisted, surprising Toni with the pushback.

Sure, Rusty was a stubborn little punk, but he didn’t usually care about anything enough to stand up for it. In Toni’s humble opinion, this wasn’t exactly the time for the Pyclon to grow a backbone, so he sent him a warning growl as he led Gem toward the tram stop.

In response, Rusty’s tail puffed up, and he flashed canine. “You’re drunk, asshole. I’m not. Let me help!”

“I’m sorry,” Gem sniffled against Toni’s gills. “Don’t be mad.”

And just like that, Toni’s temper cooled by several degrees. “Hey, no one’s mad, baby. Everything’s okay. Just hold on to me. I got you.”

It took longer than Toni would have liked to get Gem back to the penthouse Toni’s father had bought for him, back before their falling out. He never used it, unsure if his father would use it against him somehow or try to call in favors. But Gem’s needs trumped Toni’s wariness.

Oliver and Lorel tagged along, and Toni’s temper—fueled by guilt and anxiety—boiled over a few times, aimed mostly at Oliver, who hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve it. It was one of his biggest weaknesses, according to Gem. Like his father, Toni’s temper sparked quickly and burned hot. Unlike his father, he at least knew the importance of an apology.

As they carried Gem toward the main bedroom, Toni promised himself that he’d make it up to Oliver. Once Gem was okay. Once Toni was sober.

“He won’t let go!” Rusty whined as he struggled to escape Gem’s tight grasp on his hand. Gem was already asleep, but he held firm as Rusty chittered and fought for freedom.

Toni couldn’t decide if it was humorous or annoying, so he decided to help the Pyclon out. “He’s ticklish. Right here,” Toni said as he dragged a few fingertips across Gem’s lower belly.

The Araknis jerked, hands flailing, and one smacked Toni in the face. He went down, cupping his throbbing nose. “Gem, you bitch!”

“Okay, I’ll head out,” Rusty rasped as he flexed his now-free hand.

“Y’all can crash here. There’s a spare bedroom, and the couch pulls out. The bedding’s clean.”

Toni waved vaguely in the direction of the living room, but now that he was horizontal and the adrenaline was wearing off, exhaustion crashed over him. He didn’t have the energy to get the others settled. So, he stripped off his vest and collapsed face-first on the mattress beside Gem. He was snoring before he even realized he was falling asleep.

He didn’t sleep well, waking often in a panic to check on Gem. Thankfully, Gem seemed to be sleeping better than Toni was, so other than retrieving a bucket and setting it beside the bed in case Gem got sick in the night, Toni tried to relax enough to get a few hours of rest.

By the time daylight crept through the cracks in the black-out curtains, Toni was more or less sober, and he dragged himself out of bed. His head hurt, but it was easy to ignore in the face of Gem’s situation. The Araknis was still sleeping, though sweat beaded his forehead even as he shivered.

Fresh anger burned through Toni’s veins, and he vowed to find the fucker who’d done this and make him suffer. Retribution would have to wait, though. For now, Toni tucked the blankets around Gem’s shoulder and kissed his sweaty cheek, under his lowest, red eye.

When Toni slipped out of the bedroom, he found that Rusty was already awake—he swore the kid never fucking slept—sitting on the expensive kitchen island, stuffing one of his hand-rolled cigarettes with his spicy tobacco of choice.

“You ain’t smoking in here,” Toni grumbled.

Rusty rolled his eyes but nodded, tucking the cigarette behind his ear. “How’s Gem?”

“Sleeping. I think he’s running a fever.”

Rusty’s pale eyes narrowed in a pained expression Toni had never seen on his face before. “Yeah, that’s normal. His body’s gonna be on the fritz all day trying to purge the drug.”

“You’re well informed.” Smiling cruelly, Toni propped his hip on the other side of the island and crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Is it from all the people you’ve had to drug so that they’d put up with your terrible personality?”

Apparently, Toni hit a nerve with that one, because Rusty snarled, ears flattening. “Go fuck yourself!”

“Oh my gods, it was a joke. Don’t get your tail in a twist.” Toni raised his hands in mock surrender as he retrieved a mug from the cabinet. He needed coffee. Now.

Hopping off the counter, Rusty placed his hands flat on the stone and glared across the island at Toni. “What’s your fucking problem?”

Toni scoffed. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’m hungover as balls, and my best friend got date-rape-drugged last night.”

“And you’re acting like both of those are somehow my fault,” Rusty retorted, tail puffed and ramrod straight.

“Keep your voice down, or you’ll wake Gem!” Toni hissed, before whisper-shouting, “You said you saw the drink get spiked and you did fuck-all to stop it.”

Rearing back, Rusty looked almost hurt, but it morphed quickly into anger. “I did more than you. At least I stopped him from going home with the asshole.” He leaned over the counter as far as his limited height allowed, copying Toni’s furious but hushed volume. “All while you were off getting fisted in some back room.”

Toni jabbed a finger at Rusty. “Hey, don’t knock fisting. It ain’t half bad when you do it right.”

“I wouldn’t let your fist near my ass if you paid me!”

“And you’d know about that, wouldn’t you?” Toni slapped back, but instead of being embarrassed, Rusty smirked.

“Maybe you should ask your mom.” He lifted two fingers to frame his mouth as he stuck out his pink tongue in the universal sign for cunnilingus. “While you’re at it, tell her to tip better.”

“My mother is frugal, not cheap, you punk-ass bitch!” Toni whisper-snarled as he launched himself at the Pyclon, who chittered in alarm as he scampered out of reach.

Toni chased him around the island several times, before saying goodbye to his dignity entirely and climbing over the island to snag Rusty’s tail. He gave it a hard yank, and Rusty yelped as he was jerked back, landing on his ass.

“Get your fucking hands off me!” Rusty whisper-cried as Toni, still lying across the island, grappled at the wriggling Pyclon on the floor.

“I’m gonna pluck out all your fur, weave it into yarn, use it to crochet a fucking scarf, then choke you with it, you chubby, pink rat,” Toni bit out between his clenched teeth.

“That is so weirdly specific!” Rusty continued dodging Toni’s clawing hands, hissing up at him from his spot on the floor. “And don’t body shame me, man. That’s messed up.”

“I didn’t mean it like that! All bodies are beautiful, you little shit.” Toni finally grabbed hold of Rusty’s cut-off shirt and lifted him off the floor to seethe—quietly—in his face. “I just don’t like everything else about you.”

“Ha, choke on my fat cock,” Rusty sneered back.

“Oh, fuck.” Oliver’s groan drifted from the second bedroom, effectively ending the quiet fight.

“Was that…” Toni started.

“Probably,” Rusty answered flatly.

“You’re so hard,” Oliver’s Gymnot said, and both Toni and Rusty grimaced.

“Gross,” Rusty said.

Toni shrugged. “I mean, go Ollie, I guess?”

“I just don’t wanna hear it,” Rusty said dryly.

Realizing he was still holding Rusty aloft by his shirt, Toni released him, satisfied by the pained oomph that burst from the Pyclon’s chest as he landed on the floor.

“Oops,” he said giddily as he crawled off the island. “Hope you didn’t break anything.”

“Shit-ass,” Rusty grumbled as he sat up, rubbing his lower back.

When Toni heard Liel instruct Oliver to come all over him, he realized he agreed with Rusty. As happy as he was that Oliver was getting some dick, Toni didn’t want to hear it.

“If you’re gonna let them fuck, then I’m smoking.” Rusty climbed to his feet and retrieved his cigarette from the floor where it had fallen during their scuffle.

“Open a window,” Toni instructed, and Rusty huffed but nodded.

Stopping in front of the guest bedroom, Toni battered his hands against the door. “Good morning, sunshine! Whatever mess you make in there, you’re cleaning up.”

“Fuck you, Toni,” Oliver whined, and Toni chuckled as he returned to the kitchen.

Rusty had opened a window, the smoke from his lit cigarette curling into the air and drifting out into the morning breeze. Toni turned on the coffee machine and searched the drawers until he found the individual pods his father always preferred over freshly ground coffee beans. But Toni couldn’t be picky, not when his head was starting to throb again.

He and Rusty ignored each other until Oliver shuffled into the living room, scratching at his bare chest. “How’s Gem?”

“Sleeping,” Toni replied as he watched the coffee stream into the waiting mug.

“If you have a bucket, you should put it next to the bed.” Rusty flicked his cigarette butt out the window. “He’s gonna be super sick when he wakes up.”

“Already did,” Toni said irritably, and Rusty rolled those pale pink eyes. Taking a sip of his coffee, he groaned in relief. “Fuck, that’s the stuff.”

His relief was short-lived when violent retching sounded from the main bedroom. They rushed to the door, Rusty pushing through first with Toni right behind him. Gem was bent over the side of the bed, vomiting into the bucket. Rusty barely blinked as he lifted the bucket closer to Gem’s head to better catch the puke.

Toni had a strong stomach, but he was also hungover, so he had to swallow bile as he forced himself to approach the bed and place a hand on Gem’s head. “That’s it, Gemmy. Just get all that poison out. You’re okay.”

With a grimace, Gem spat into the bucket. “T-Toni? What happened?”

Unsure how to voice the violation Gem had experienced but apparently didn’t remember, Toni hesitated. Rusty had no such qualms as he said, “Some asshole slipped something into your drink.”

“What? I don’t remember.” Gem gripped his head. “Oh, fuck, my head hurts.”

“Yeah, you’re gonna feel like shit today,” Rusty said, and Toni smacked his shoulder.

“Would you shut up?”

Rusty glared back at him. “Why? You think lying to him is gonna make him feel any better?”

Dismissing the Pyclon, Toni rubbed Gem’s shoulder as he dry-heaved, nothing but bile dripping past his lips. “Am I okay?” he coughed out, fear filling his eyes with panic. “Toni, did he—”

“No, nothing like that.” Toni cupped the back of Gem’s head gently. “You’re okay. Just try to relax.”

With a whimper, Gem’s face crumpled, and his breath hitched. “My head hurts so bad.”

“I can get him some aspirin,” Oliver offered from his spot hovering in the doorway.

Toni shook his head. “I got it.” He ran his fingers through Gem’s loose curls as he dry-heaved into the bucket again, then he turned and left the room. “Hold up,” he called out as Liel opened the bathroom door.

The Gymnot paused, stepping back as he tucked a chunk of flat brown hair behind his pointed ear. “Sorry, I—”

“I need the medicine cabinet,” Toni said.

“Of course,” Liel said primly, yellow eyes watching Toni warily.

Ignoring Mr. Fancy-Pants, Toni grabbed all the pill bottles he might need, then brushed past Liel with a clipped, “Knock yourself out.”

Wordlessly, Liel disappeared into the bathroom, and Toni spared thirty seconds to feel guilty over treating him poorly when he’d done nothing to earn Toni’s attitude. He’d make amends another time. Right now, Gem was all that mattered.

He dropped several white discs that claimed to help with nausea into a glass of water, listening to it fizz as he read the labels on the pill bottles. Choosing a bottle of high-strength painkillers and one of Gem’s prescriptions that Toni kept on hand for moments such as these, he took them and the glass of bubbly water back to the bedroom.

Upon his entrance, Rusty removed his hand from Gem’s shoulder and shuffled back as Toni sat down beside Gem, rudely forcing the Pyclon away. Rusty didn’t react; he simply took the bucket and mumbled something about cleaning it out.

Holding out the cup, Toni said, “Here.” Gem shook his head, turning away, and Toni clenched his jaw, fighting to keep his tone calm. “Gem, it’ll help.”

“I don’t want to throw up again,” Gem whispered.

“I know, baby, but you gotta try.” Toni set the pill bottles on the side table so he could run a hand through Gem’s hair. “It’ll make your head feel better, I promise.”

Still whimpering into the pillow, Gem blindly lifted one hand, and Toni pressed the glass into it. Then he portioned out plenty of pain meds, along with Gem’s prescription. “Here, baby. Happy pills coming right up.”

“Toni—”

“Gem, you need to take them.” Toni infused his tone with firmness this time. “I know it sucks right now, but you’ll feel better after.”

With a miserable nod, Gem used several hands to prop himself up, and Toni cupped the back of his head to help support it. Gem took a sip of the water, only to immediately spit it back out, gagging.

Before Gem spilled it, Toni took the cup away, unable to smother his huff of frustration. Not at Gem—never at Gem—just the whole suck-ass situation.

“I can’t,” Gem sniveled, starting to cry again. “Toni, I can’t.”

And fuck, Toni’s heart broke down the middle. He hauled Gem into his arms, pressing kisses into his sweaty curls. He heard more than saw Oliver retreat from the room, leaving them alone, and Toni finally allowed the burn behind his eyes to manifest tears.

As Gem sobbed into Toni’s chest, Toni buried his face in Gem’s hair and cried with him. Because fuck what his father said, men cried! “I got you, Gemmy. Okay? I got you, and everything’s gonna be okay. I’m gonna fix it. I’m gonna fix this.”

And Gem nodded, believing him. If only Toni had that much faith in himself.