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Chapter twelve

Gaiz of Two

Rusty

That slumber party became the first of many. Since Gem could only appreciate Chainsaw Man one episode at a time, they worked their way through other human anime series together, along with a few Hellian animated shows. Rusty introduced Gem to the amazing world of Asian pop music—

“Oh. My. Gods,” Gem breathed as he watched the human girls sing in Korean as they danced on Rusty’s phone screen. “What is this, and how do I make it my entire personality?”

“This, my sweet, summer child,” Rusty chuckled as thick, sweet marijuana smoke billowed out of his mouth, “is K-Pop.”

Gem grabbed Rusty’s shoulders and shook him so hard the joint fell from between lips and rolled onto the carpet, singing the fibers. “Show me everything!”

—And Gem taught Rusty everything he knew about cows. Which, in Rusty’s opinion, wasn’t much since Gem would mostly scroll through a photo album on his phone composed entirely of cow pictures and gush about how cute they were.

One evening, after they’d smoked a bowl, Gem took Rusty through each of his cow collections in his crazy cow closet. The ceramics and porcelain. The bobble-heads. The artwork. He even had a collection of cow keychains, and he’d named each of them.

To be honest, Rusty did think Gem’s obsession with the hooved creatures was weird, but after six years, he’d grown accustomed and desensitized to Gem’s particular brand of insanity. If anything, Rusty found it entertaining now.

“The very first collectible from my ‘Udderly Hilarious’ line,” Gem was saying, motioning to the more cartoony-looking ceramic figurines, featuring cows doing human activities like laundry and dishes, “is impossible to find. It’s called Cowabunga .

It’s a cow doing a cannonball into a pool, and it’s amazing.

But they aren’t made anymore. The only ones selling are secondhand, so they’re either chipped or damaged, or they’re in pristine condition but selling for ridiculous prices.

“There’s this human website, eBay, where you can buy that kind of stuff, but some jag-off named Cow-Head69 keeps out-bidding me.

I almost had a mint condition Steak-Out figurine, but then Cow-Head upped the bid by five human dollars in the last ten seconds.

He practically stole it from me! I complained to eBay, but they, like, didn’t even care. ”

“Let me guess,” Rusty said between hissing snickers that only made an appearance when he was incredibly stoned, “ Steak-Out is a figurine of two police cows in a surveillance van?”

“Of course. What else would it be?” Gem said impatiently, and Rusty laughed harder.

Normally, Gem would hang out with Toni on Sundays to watch Desperate Desires , Gem’s favorite Hellian soap opera, but ever since Toni had started hanging out—or hooking up?

Rusty wasn’t exactly sure—with Jude on Sundays, Gem tended to invite Rusty to stay after one of their Saturday night sleepovers.

Or, if they didn’t hang out Saturday because Gem was out at a club or meeting up with someone from Cock’d, Gem would text him Sunday morning, inviting him over.

Since Rusty lived in a shitty flat with even shittier roommates, he almost always accepted the invitation.

He liked spending time at Gem’s. It was homey and comfortable, and Gem, for all that he was extra and obnoxious, was fun.

He was a near constant bubble of happiness and positivity, and while it was overwhelming at times, it was also addicting.

Gem was like the sun, and after so long living in shadow, Rusty had forgotten what it felt like to bask in the light.

To his surprise, Gem seemed to genuinely like having him around too, even if they weren’t doing anything specific.

As if sharing space was enough, Gem would sit in the corner of the couch, feet propped on Rusty’s lap as he read a raunchy romance book aloud while Rusty scrolled through socials or painted Gem’s nails.

“We have another heaving bosom coming up,” Gem said, licking his thumb so he could turn the page. “Get ready. His member is about to start throbbing.”

“I’m on pins and needles,” Rusty said blandly as he painted Gem’s left tarsal claw what he thought was neon orange.

Halfway through June, Gem took Rusty thrifting and forced him to buy several shirts that weren’t black. “They’re so dark they might as well be black,” Gem said as he held up three shirts: indigo, deep maroon, and dark purple—according to Gem.

“I’m not taking those home,” Rusty muttered before he grudgingly bought them—and a vintage black cut-off, purely out of spite.

Rusty kept his word, though; he never took them home.

Instead, the shirts remained in Gem’s flat.

They ended up in a corner of his dresser, beside extra clothes of Toni’s that had been left behind once upon a time.

The only times Rusty actually wore the colored shirts were after impromptu slumber parties, and every time he shrugged one on, Gem would simper ridiculously, much to Rusty’s chagrin.

Some nights, they’d walk around Lust, following the familiar paths Rusty had forged over the years.

He showed Gem the hole-in-the-wall places he’d discovered, and, once, he even took Gem through the blocks he’d worked on Flesh Street.

Gem had grown quiet and a little sad, and when he’d taken Rusty’s hand and held tight, Rusty didn’t shake him off like he usually did.

He wasn’t ashamed of his past, but those years had been hard and, at times, unpleasant. So he was grateful for the support Gem offered.

On a Saturday evening in July, Rusty sat on his bed next to the open window, sweating through his jeans as he worked on the next chapter of his graphic novel.

His main character, Jewyl, had recently discovered her magical familiar—a highland-cow-inspired alien creature—and his followers had already fallen in love with the new addition.

His phone pinged, and he checked the incoming message, surprised to see Gem’s name. Gem was supposed to be with Toni tonight, so Rusty hadn’t expected to hear from him at all.

You busy?

Not really. What’s up?

Can you come over?

Aren’t you with Toni?

We got in a fight, and he left.

Irritation flashed through Rusty’s chest as he read the last message. Toni had all but abandoned Gem the entire summer to get his dicks wet, and the one night he’d deigned to gift Gem—a night Gem had been so excited about all week—and Toni had fucking left?

Setting aside his tablet, he quickly typed out a response before he grabbed a tank top and tugged it over his head.

Be there in 15.

Rusty made it to Gem’s in ten, and Gem opened the door, wearing his sad hoodie—the ginormous one that swamped him, sleeves hanging past his wrists, the hem reaching his mid-thighs.

Rusty only saw Gem wear it when he was upset and needed comfort, though how he wasn’t sweltering in it, given the summer heat, Rusty didn’t know.

“Hey,” Gem croaked, cradling Walter to his side, eyes puffy from crying.

“What did he do?” Rusty growled.

A tear slid down Gem’s cheek from one of his small eyes. “It was me too, I think. But mostly him. He has a temper, you know? He just gets all wrapped up in his anger and yells like an asshole.”

Stepping back, Gem motioned Rusty inside, and he entered, relieved that Gem had all his windows—plus the huge fire-escape aperture—open to let whatever breeze was blowing inside the stuffy flat.

“So, what happened? ”

“Honestly, I don’t even know. One second, we were talking, and the next, we were yelling. And then he just left, like a coward.” Gem wiped angrily at the tears on his cheeks as he sank onto the couch and hugged Walter close. “I just didn’t want to be alone, I guess. Thanks for coming over.”

Cautiously, Rusty sat down beside him and laid a tentative hand on his shoulder.

He wasn’t good at comfort or emotional support the way Gem was, but he was trying.

Gem was tactile and touchy, and though Rusty avoided physical contact with most people as much as possible, he didn’t mind so much when it was Gem.

“Of course, Gem. You don’t have to thank me for that,” he said, patting Gem’s shoulder.

With a soft sob, Gem leaned over and curled himself as small as he could so he could tuck his head into the nape of Rusty’s neck, his bent knees propped against Rusty’s thigh.

Walter ended up more in Rusty’s lap than Gem’s, and Rusty huffed in exasperation as he extended his arm around Gem’s back, subtly pushing Walter out of his face with the other so he could still breathe.

“Hey, come on.” Rusty rubbed Gem’s upper arm awkwardly. “It’s gonna be okay. Toni will pull his head out of his ass and come crawling back.”

“I’m gonna make him grovel so much!” Gem sniffled messily.

“Atta girl,” Rusty said and was rewarded with a wet chuckle. “And if he still tries to be a douchebag, Walter and I will take him down.”

Gem’s sobs morphed into fully formed laughter. “Walter won’t be much help. He’s a pacifist.” He angled his head on Rusty’s shoulder and smiled up at him through his tears.

Unable to not reciprocate, Rusty smirked down at the Araknis, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I guess I’m taking down the Elas alone then.”

“I’d pay to see that showdown,” Gem teased, a hand absently playing with the fur of Rusty’s chest peeking out from the neckline of his shirt. “Though, I don’t need you to defend my honor or anything. I can take care of myself.”

“I know,” Rusty said because he did. “Punching Toni in the face would be more for me than for you.”

That did not earn a laugh. In fact, Gem’s brows furrowed. “I wish you didn’t hate each other.”

“I don’t hate him,” Rusty said, and he was pretty sure that was true. Mouth thinning into a line, Gem arched a disbelieving brow, and Rusty shrugged. “Just because I think he’s a selfish douchebag doesn’t mean I hate him.”

With an unimpressed huff, Gem snuggled back into Rusty’s neck. “Well, I like you both.”