Page 40
His only answer was a shrug of Gem’s shoulders.
Untangling one hand, Rusty slipped a claw under Gem’s chin and tilted his head up until he could study the Araknis’s expression. “Do you not want to manage the new location?”
“I mean, I won’t be managing anything. It’s only me and Ollie there,” Gem hedged.
“Do you want to?” Rusty repeated, gently digging the tip of his claw into Gem’s jaw.
“I do,” Gem whispered, worrying his bottom lip. “But it’s a lot of responsibility. What if I fuck it up?”
“You won’t,” Rusty said.
“I’m forgetful.”
“Not when it matters.”
“I get distracted.”
“Then you refocus.”
“I won’t see you every day,” Gem added, so quietly Rusty would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been staring down at his face.
“So? We’ll still see each other, even if it’s not every day. We’ll still hang out. We’re not done with Chainsaw Man ,” he said with a playful scrape of his claw.
A wobbly smile stumbled over Gem’s face. “I’m gonna miss everything at the cafe. I won’t know the inside jokes or be part of the stories. What if the new barista is prettier and funnier than me, and you forget all about me?”
Rusty snorted. “You’re impossible to forget. ”
“Will we still be friends?” Gem asked, finally lifting his gaze to Rusty, eyes wide and a little wet.
Rusty nodded. “Yes.”
“Will we still be gaiz?” Gem murmured, and Rusty’s chest ached.
Capturing Gem’s chin between his thumb and fingers, Rusty squeezed just enough so Gem would feel it, so he would believe it. “We will always be gaiz, Gem.”
“You promise?” Gem demanded fiercely.
“Yes.”
“Do you promise, Rus?” Gem repeated, tears in his voice.
Rusty released his chin and offered him his pinky. “I promise.”
With a wet noise, Gem hooked their pinkies together, sealing the vow. “Good. I don’t want to lose you.”
The sentiment shouldn’t have flooded Rusty with warmth and hope, but he was full to bursting as he said, “You won’t. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Gem’s watery smile widened, and he leaned in to rub his cheek against Rusty’s.
Rusty returned the affection, purring softly, and Gem sighed.
He withdrew enough to touch the tips of their noses—so briefly Rusty wasn’t sure it had actually happened—then he lifted their still clasped pinkies and pressed Rusty’s knuckles to his neck.
Foreheads connected, Gem stared intently into Rusty’s eyes as he pushed Rusty’s knuckles harder to his skin. Demanding. Pleading. And Rusty was all too eager to comply. He massaged his scent into Gem’s throat, and Gem shivered, arms tightening around his waist and fisting in the fur of his chest.
“I can’t believe you and Ollie are abandoning me,” Rusty said to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere. “You’re gonna leave me with Toni and the newbies? You bitch.”
It worked, and Gem burst into thick laughter. He squealed and practically tackled Rusty, rolling them over until he straddled Rusty’s hips, face tucked under his chin, limbs wriggling until Rusty was surrounded entirely by him.
“I’ll beg Glyma and Quin to let me bring you with us,” he said, breath sifting hot through Rusty’s fur.
“If the new location is that small, you won’t need me,” he replied breathlessly.
Propping himself on his upper elbows, Gem gazed down at Rusty in something akin to adoration, lamp light filtering through the sheets encasing them to play along Gem’s profile. “I always need you, Care Bear.”
That annoying pet name shouldn’t have felt so good, but Rusty found himself smiling as Gem lowered his head to, once again, press their foreheads together.
Breath weak and shaky, Rusty tentatively rested his hands on Gem’s bare thighs, and the Araknis’s eyes shuttered closed.
His skin was tough but smooth, fuzzy from downy hairs, and Rusty cautiously dragged his palms up until he met the hem of Gem’s long shirt.
A hand—Rusty didn’t know which one—ran up his chest to press against his now-racing heart.
Fingers tangled in the fur there, tugging with just enough force to sting, and Rusty tightened his grip on Gem’s legs in retaliation, claws digging in.
Gem gasped, and, fuck, Rusty liked that.
He wanted to make Gem gasp, make him moan, make him scream.
He could do it; he knew how. And maybe after, Gem would want him to stay. Maybe he’d hold Rusty close and safe. Maybe he’d want to keep him forever.
“Rus,” Gem whispered, his lips tracing Rusty’s, a kiss but not a kiss.
Rusty had never kissed anyone before. He’d been kissed, been tongue-fucked and choked by greedy mouths and demanding lips. But he’d never kissed anyone before. But now, in this moment, he wanted.
“Gem,” he whispered back, lips brushing in a barely there touch.
Gem made a noise, a sweet, sexy little whimper, but he didn’t kiss Rusty. He didn’t move at all, hovering over Rusty’s mouth. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. For Rusty. Giving him the choice. Where everyone else had simply taken, Gem waited for Rusty to give .
It made his chest ache and his throat squeeze. It made him want to run. It made him want to cry. More than anything, it made Rusty brave.
So, after a small eternity, he tilted his chin, leaning up to close the minuscule distance between them.
The moment before their lips met, however, thunder crashed and lightning split the sky outside, and the lights in the flat winked out.
It startled them both, and Gem yelped, sitting up in a rush, taking their blanket fort with him.
Panting like they’d both been sprinting, they turned to the windows, where rain beat against the glass and thunder rumbled.
Rusty hadn’t even heard it, too lost in their secret world under the sheets.
Gem seemed just as surprised, blinking rapidly like he was forcing his eyes to adjust to the sudden dark.
“Shit, the power’s out,” he said unnecessarily.
“I can see fine. Where do you keep your matches?” Rusty patted Gem’s thigh in clear instruction to dismount. “I’ll light some candles.”
“It’s fine,” Gem tried to say, but Rusty was already sitting up, forcing Gem to roll off him.
He rose and rounded the foot of the bed. “At least let me get you a flashlight.”
“I’m not blind,” Gem huffed in annoyance, sitting back on his heels, sheets pooled around him. “Come back to bed.”
Paw fisting around the room partition, Rusty hesitated. “I can sleep on the couch.”
A disappointed sigh sounded in the night, barely audible above the rumbling thunder. “What if I don’t want you to?”
It was probably a bad idea, but Rusty was tired of fighting this.
Would it ruin everything? Probably. Would he lose the only gaiz he’d had since his mother’s death when Gem realized just how inadequate he was?
Yes. Would Gem wise up after a few nights of slumming it with a Pyclon pito and remember he was worth so much more? Rusty hoped so.
But he was tired, so tired. Of not getting what he wanted. Of fighting the inevitable. Of being alone.
Slouching in defeat, Rusty turned back to the bedroom.
Lightning split the sky outside, illuminating Gem’s long form.
His thick, dark thighs. One slender shoulder where the neckline of the too-large t-shirt had slumped off.
His lower hands gripped the sheet between his spread knees, middle hands clutching his shirt.
His top arms lifted, beckoning Rusty in.
“Come back to bed, ashari ,” he said, and Rusty cocked his head.
He understood Arakni well enough, but he didn’t recognize that word. He wanted to ask Gem what it meant, but his tongue was too heavy, his lips sealed shut with nerves.
“Come to bed,” Gem repeated, and Rusty knew what he was asking, what it would mean. Things would be decided, one way or another, and he had never been more terrified in his life.
Rusty came to a stop at the edge of the bed, and Gem sat back on his heels. For the first time, Rusty was taller than him, and he almost laughed. It was strange being on eye-level when he was so accustomed to looking up. Gem’s upper hands took his and tugged him closer.
Thunder rumbled, and Rusty felt it in his bones. Static charged in the air as he sank one knee into the mattress. He lifted a hand and traced Gem’s cheek, then the corner of his mouth. The tip of his claw outlined the shape of Gem’s lips, and the Araknis shivered, eyes glittering in the night.
“Don’t stop.”
“I don’t know how to do this,” Rusty admitted, and Gem’s brows furrowed. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
The look the Araknis gave him was full of adoration as he said, “Everything.”
“I’m scared,” Rusty confessed.
“Me too,” Gem agreed.
Rusty swallowed thickly as his claws slid back until he cupped the back of Gem’s head. “You make me want to be brave.”
And oh, how Gem smiled. “Then be brave.”
“Okay,” Rusty whispered, then he tightened his quaking fingers on the back of Gem’s head and kissed him.
It was soft, so soft he questioned whether it had happened at all. Oh, but his body knew. His heart lurched and his blood roared hot and loud in his veins and every nerve-ending sparked like fireworks under his skin.
Gem gasped at the contact, like he hadn’t actually believed Rusty would kiss him, but then he pressed closer, lips melding with Rusty’s. His mouth was warm and sweet, full lips giving under the pressure of Rusty’s. Rusty kissed him slow and cautious, and Gem melted against him.
Two arms circled Rusty’s neck as another set slid around his waist. The third pair of hands settled on Rusty’s hips, and he purred. Gem’s fur vibrated in answer, and Rusty smiled, unintentionally breaking the kiss.
Eyes closed, Gem’s lips spread into a contented grin, his gray tongue sliding over them like he was chasing Rusty’s flavor. “I’ve been waiting a while for that.”
“I know,” Rusty croaked. “Sorry it took me so long.”
Gem opened his eyes and pulled Rusty closer until their foreheads met. “Oh, baby, I’d wait for you forever.”
And could anyone blame him for framing Gem’s face in his hands and kissing him again?
As the thunder crashed outside, Rusty surrendered to the storm brewing between them, secure in the knowledge that Gem was with him and he would keep him safe. And for the first time in a very long time, Rusty thought maybe, just maybe, magic was real after all.
Table of Contents
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- Page 40 (Reading here)
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