Page 36

“It fucking pissed on me,” he growled, and Gem burst into laughter.

“This is the best day of my life!”

Of course, all of that paled in comparison to the cows. It was everything Gem had dreamed it would be, and as he lay atop a beautiful black and white spotted cow—a Holstein, Oliver had called it—he nearly wept from happiness. There was even a baby, and it was even cuter than the pippies.

He didn’t ever want to move from this spot, but when the dinner bell rang, he grudgingly bid farewell to the cow and her baby—he’d named them both Gem—and followed Oliver and Liel to the clean-up station.

That night, Gem dozed fitfully. The bed was too hard, and he’d eaten too much sugar, and Toni was snoring offensively.

The sounds outside were foreign and loud, and Rusty hadn’t come back from his walk yet.

That was probably the most worrisome concern keeping him awake, and he huffed and sat up, glaring down at Toni as he released another obnoxious snore.

As quietly as he could, Gem slunk out the bedroom and tip-toed down the hall. A muffled giggle came from Glyma and Quin’s room, and an uncomfortable tremble of horny energy tickled along Gem’s arm, tempting his dick to rouse.

“Ew,” he whined, hurrying his steps to escape before he heard or felt anything else.

He crept out onto the back porch, ensuring the door didn’t squeak, then he searched his surroundings.

The pastures were mostly empty of animals, and only one moon shone in the sky, casting eerie white light over the farm.

His night vision wasn’t all that sharp, and everything looked foreign and a little creepy in the dark.

“Rusty,” he whisper-shouted, shuffling to the edge of the porch. “Rusty?”

What if he was lost or hurt? What if he’d fallen and couldn’t get up? Oh deities, what if he’d been eaten?

“Rusty, don’t you dare make me come save you,” he snarled quietly into the night. “Un-fucking-acceptable!”

He paced on the porch, glaring at the scary human night that Rusty was going to force him to explore. Oh, when he found that Pyclon, he was going to rip him a new asshole. Or rip the asshole he already had. Shit, now he was thinking about Rusty’s asshole, which was entirely unhelpful!

“Come on, Gem, you’re an Araknis. There’s nothing out here that could actually hurt you. It’s time to pussy up!” He took several fortifying breaths through his nose, then he charged off the porch and into the terrifying human world.

He’d only taken a few steps when something dropped from the large, leafy tree to his left and said, “Gem?”

“Ah! Don’t eat me,” Gem cried as he dove to the ground, covering his head with two hands and his ass with the other four—it really was his best feature, after all, and needed to be protected at all costs.

Rusty chuffed a laugh. “What?”

As the Pyclon came to a stop in front of him, head cocking, one ear folding down, Gem rolled into a sitting position and glowered. “Where the fuck have you been? ”

Rusty jabbed his thumb towards the tree. “I was hanging out in the tree.”

“For how long?”

“Uh, I dunno. Ten minutes?”

Gem’s leg fur released a frustrated hum. “Did you not hear me calling you just now?”

“No, why were you calling me?”

“Because I didn’t know where you were.”

“I just said I was up in the tree.”

“Well, I didn’t know you were up in the tree,” he hissed, and Rusty held up his hands placatingly. “You just never came back. I thought you were lost. Or hurt. Or possibly eaten!”

The chain connecting Rusty’s wallet to his jeans clinked as he crouched. “Why would I be eaten?”

“I don’t know. Ollie said that there were animals that came out at night and ate people. Keyodies or pierogies or something.”

“I don’t think they’d eat me.”

“That’s not the point,” Gem snarled, and Rusty snickered as he hunkered down onto the grass beside him.

“What are you even doing awake?”

Was the Pyclon really this dense?

“Um, I was worried about you.”

Rusty frowned. “Why?”

“Because I care about you,” Gem said, and Rusty’s brows rose. “You just wandered off in this alien world at night. With murderous pierogies stalking you. And then you never came back. Hence, the worry. ”

“Oh,” he said, and Gem harrumphed as he brushed dirt and grass off his exposed legs. “I would have come back sooner if I knew it was keeping you awake.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I also ate many s’mores, so it’s probably the sugar,” Gem snapped.

A rough hand landed on Gem’s middle arm. “Sorry for worrying you. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” Gem mumbled glumly. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Silence stretched between them, and the sounds of chirping creatures in the fields pressed in on them. The night was chilly, and Gem rubbed warmth into his arms as he shivered.

“I guess I’m not used to people worrying about me,” Rusty said at long last, and Gem huffed.

“Well, you’re worth worrying about, so…” Gem drifted off, and Rusty ducked his head.

“Thanks, Gem,” he murmured, and Gem wordlessly leaned in until their arms pressed together.

With a sigh, he let his head fall back, and he stared up, marveling at the bright dots smattering the sky. They didn’t have those in the Pentagram.

“What are those?”

Copying him, Rusty looked up too. “Stars. They’re made of gas and other matter held together by gravity.”

“They glow.”

“Shine,” Rusty corrected.

“How do you know all that?”

Rusty shrugged. “Read it once.”

After another prolonged silence, air whistled through Rusty’s nose as he exhaled, and he reclined back until he was lying in the grass, hands folded on his stomach. Gem followed him, wriggling closer until their shoulders and elbows brushed.

“Some humans believe that we’re made of stardust,” Rusty said as he lifted a hand and drew invisible designs across the sky with a claw. “I thought that sounded nice.”

“It does,” Gem said, watching Rusty paint the stars. “Sounds like magic.”

Rusty’s hand faltered, then dropped to his stomach. “Magic’s not real.”

“Some magic is,” Gem whispered, and Rusty turned toward him, pale eyes reflecting the moonlight.

“I guess I stopped believing in magic a long time ago,” he finally said, soft as a secret.

Gem reached up and dragged his knuckle along Rusty’s furry jaw. “I’ll help you remember how, if you want.”

Throat clicking on a heavy swallow, Rusty stretched out his paw, and—knowing what he was about to do—Gem angled his head, baring his neck.

Rusty inhaled sharply, hand hovering for a moment, but when Gem smiled in encouragement, Rusty pressed the pad of his thumb to Gem’s jugular and dragged it down.

Gem’s hearts lurched, and he devoured Rusty’s face with his many eyes, memorizing every angle so he would never forget this moment and how lovely Rusty looked in the starlight. Rusty’s eyes followed the path his thumb forged, and a purr rumbled to life in his throat.

In response, Gem’s fur vibrated, purring back, and Rusty smiled. He pulled his hand back, but Gem stopped his retreat, capturing his wrist gently. They stared at each other, something heavy and expectant trembling between them .

“Why do you do that?” Gem asked the question that had been burning inside his chest for weeks.

Rusty’s reply was weak and shaky. “I don’t know.”

Gem called his bluff. “Yes, you do.”

He read Rusty’s indecision, the desire to pull away, to flee. If he’d tried, Gem wouldn’t have stopped him. Because whatever this was brewing between them, it had to be Rusty’s choice too. Too much had been taken from him already, and Gem would never add to the tally.

But Gem didn’t want to run from this, and he hoped Rusty didn’t either. Sure, the universe was probably at stake, but at this point, he was willing to risk it. If it meant getting Rusty, Gem would let the world fucking burn.

When Rusty didn’t pull away, Gem guided his hand to his face, rough palm pressing to his cheek, and leaned in until their foreheads met. Rusty’s whiskers prickled Gem’s cheeks, and his soft fur tickled his brow.

Their exhales mingled in the minuscule space between them as Gem repeated, “Why do you it, Rusty?”

Staring into Gem’s eyes, Rusty released a shuddered breath. “Because you’re my gaiz.”

Gem didn’t recognize the Pyclese word. “What does that mean?”

Rusty’s eyes glossed over, and his chin trembled for a moment before he said, “I don’t think I know anymore.”

And oh, that cracked Gem right down the middle.

“Oh, sweetheart.” He pressed Rusty’s hand harder to his cheek. “Then I’ll help you remember that too.”