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Chapter thirty-three

Cow Suit

Rusty

Two months later

“Okay, so all this has to go down to the moving truck?” Enfys asked as she sucked on a lollipop, her frilly antennas flicking in annoyance. “That’s a lot of boxes.”

“Well, Gem has a lot of shit,” Rusty said as he set another box labeled, “Private! Do not open unless you’re ready to be mentally scarred!” on top of the pile.

She pointed a finger at the box. “Those are sex toys, aren’t they?”

It was either a box of sex toys or a box full of Gem’s cow figurines, and since the sex toys were less embarrassing, Rusty nodded. “Yup. Sex toys.”

“Lovely.” She shoved her lollipop into her mouth as she picked it up and headed out of the flat.

The entire cafe crew had shown up to help them move from Gem’s studio into a two-bedroom they’d found five blocks closer to the station.

Cya was in the kitchen, wrapping utensils in newspaper as Zef emptied the fridge into grocery bags.

Toni, Gem, Willow, and Krul were carrying the couch down, and Quin was in the bathroom, dumping Gem’s many beauty products into a box with less finesse than Gem would have wanted.

But since she’d grown a tad short-tempered as her pregnancy progressed, Rusty wasn’t going to correct her.

Rusty had lost sight of Tad a while ago, but that was okay. He thought it better not to question her absence.

One of the new hires, a Lupyn named Dex, was currently proving that he could bench press the lounge chair as Jude and Glyma watched. He did a few reps, his tail thumping rhythmically on the floor as he counted. Then he toppled the chair to the side and jumped up, clapping his large paws.

“See, dude. Told you I could do it. Boom!” Dex high-fived Jude hard enough the human winced and shook out his hand. “Aw, my bad. I forget that you humans are all fragile and shit. You good, bro?”

“Yup, I’m good,” Jude said through his grimace.

“Hey, can you not throw our chair around,” Rusty grumbled, pointing at the toppled chair.

“My bad again!” Dex said as he set his cap backward on his head between his tall ears. “I will be so super respectful of your stuff from here on out. I just got too pumped from, like, the adrenalous.”

“You mean, adrenaline?” Rusty corrected, and Dex nodded, mismatched eyes wide.

“Yeah, that too. Exercise always gets me hyped, but that’s no excuse for disrespect.” He held up his hand. “Apology high-five, bro. ”

Unholy shit, Rusty hated that so much, but he’d learned quickly that it was easier to just go along with it than fight Dex when it came to high-fives. So he grudgingly lifted a hand and winced as the Lupyn slapped his palm with far too much vigor.

“Forgiveness and closure. Boom!”

Dex bent down and picked up the lounge chair with ease.

Given all his thick fur, Rusty couldn’t see the muscles rippling, but Dex talked about his workout routine often enough that Rusty knew he had them.

He also had a knack for emphasizing every single accomplishment he found noteworthy with the expression, “Boom!” and it made Rusty want to bash his head against a wall.

“Chair saved,” Dex said with a wide, canine-filled grin, and Rusty braced for it. “Boom!”

And there it was.

Glyma, who found Dex utterly adorable, clapped her enthusiasm. “Well done, Dex, and you were right. You could bench press that chair.”

“Hells to the yeah, I could.” Dex offered her his palm. “ You can give me a high-five because I’m a feminist and respect the shit out of you as a woman.”

“Oh, okay,” Glyma giggled as she high-fived him daintily.

“How does that make you a feminist?” Jude asked, and Dex frowned at him like he was genuinely confused.

“Um, giving women the choice?” he scoffed, jabbing his thumb in Jude’s direction. “Dude knows nothing about the chykas .”

The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on any of them. Well, except Dex, of course.

“Could you just carry the chair down to the moving truck?” Rusty asked, fighting for patience.

It wasn’t that Dex was a bad guy. He was just young and enthusiastic and…

Rusty didn’t want to use the word stupid .

It sounded harsh. But Dex had also introduced himself on his first day at the cafe by saying, “Hey, everybody. I’m Dex.

Like sex but with a D .” And he genuinely hadn’t meant it as a gross innuendo.

He’d literally been explaining how to spell and pronounce his name.

As if Dex was a difficult name to comprehend.

So, no, Rusty wouldn’t use the word stupid . He wouldn’t.

“Get ready for the gun show,” Dex said, flexing his furry arms with a growl before he hoisted the chair off the ground.

Cya, who’d been silently fuming since Dex had first opened his mouth, spun around with a rattle of their tail. “Must you always refer to your arms as guns?”

“Uh, yeah,” Dex said, bushy brows once again furrowing in confusion. “Or else it wouldn’t be the gun show. It’d be, like, the arm show, and that just sounds stupid.”

Their tail rattled again, and they hissed wordlessly, flashing their sharp fangs.

Dex just laughed, like he and Cya were in on a running joke together.

Whistling, he strutted out of the room, gym shorts swishing, tank top riding up his back.

Even with the fur, Rusty didn’t understand how the Lupyn wasn’t cold, given the icy rain outside.

“Jesus, he’s a… character,” Jude said diplomatically.

“Isn’t he just lovely?” Glyma simpered as she picked up a box. “He does so well with customers. Return attendance has gone up since he started.”

And sure, she wasn’t wrong. Dex, for all his dopey idiosyncrasies, was very good with the customers.

He remembered names and orders of people Rusty had served for six years and could never have picked out in a crowd.

Even if he grated on Rusty’s nerves now and then, he understood why Glyma kept him around .

When the final items from the flat had been taken down to the moving truck, Gem spun in a slow circle, inspecting the empty space.

Rusty waited, giving him time. He’d lived here nearly a decade, and if Rusty hadn’t moved in and Gem hadn’t taken the promotion in Greed, he probably would have stayed another decade more.

“I didn’t think I’d feel sad,” Gem said as he hugged himself, and Rusty stepped up beside him and rubbed his cheek against Gem’s arm. “Because I’m so happy with our new place, and I can’t wait to live with you officially, even though we’ve technically been living together this whole time.”

Since Rusty tended to stay the night at Gem’s at every opportunity, they had practically been living together almost from the start of their relationship, but he understood the sentiment. It was exciting to move into a place where they’d both be living, where both their names were on the lease.

“You sure? It’s too late to back out, but you should still be sure,” Rusty said, and Gem snorted, facing him and cupping his face in his top hands. He rubbed the knuckles of his middle hand down Rusty’s throat, scent-marking him, and Rusty purred.

“Yes, I am sure.” He bent down as Rusty popped onto his toes, and they both sighed into the kiss. “Are you?”

“Yeah, Gem, I’m sure.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Rusty kissed him again, keeping it short. “Ready?”

“I guess so.” After one last walk-through, Gem waved and said, “Bye, house. Be good to Enfys.”

As they exited, Gem locking the door for the last time, they found Enfys in the hallway, still sucking on her lollipop as Belami stood on the threshold of his flat, arms crossed over his chest. His wings flapped choppily, giving away his unrest as he shot Gem a glare.

“Officially leaving, are you?” the Spryte sneered, and Gem smiled sharply at him.

“I am. I’m sorry you can’t jerk off to my cum noises anymore.”

“I never did that,” he said, shooting Enfys a panicked look. “He’s lying.”

“Of course I am,” Gem said, shaking his head at Enfys.

Rolling her lolly around in her mouth, she studied Belami with her dark eyes, and his face flushed. “Well, I’ll be moving in tomorrow. I’ll be sure to come loudly as long as you prove yourself a good neighbor.”

Bel’s face darkened even more, chest hitching. “That’s not—I don’t—”

His sputters died off as Enfys stalked toward him, a predatory smile on her face, and he swallowed thickly. Coming to stop in front of him, she cocked her head, antennas wriggling, and Bel tilted his head to glare up at her challengingly.

She didn’t say a word; she simply stared him down as she wrapped her proboscis around the lolly numerous times. Bel’s focus dropped, and his throat bobbed again. Enfys’s grin widened.

“Oh, precious, you’re going to be fun,” she purred.

“I—I am?” he asked, and she nodded.

“Oh my gods, what is happening?” Gem asked, and Bel shot him a furious glower.

Before he could curse Gem out, Enfys tsked. “Look here, please, not at him. I’m not done with you yet.”

Immediately, Bel looked back at her, eyes wide, wings trembling.

“Yes, you’re going to be very fun, indeed,” Enfys crooned as she offered him her hand. “I’m Enfys. ”

“Bel. Belami. But Bel’s fine,” the Spryte stammered as he shook her hand awkwardly. “Or Belami. Whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?” The Lepid looked ready to devour him right then and there. “Are you sure about that?”

Gem’s fingers dug into Rusty’s arm until it hurt. “Rusty.”

“I know,” Rusty whispered back.

“Rusty!” Gem squeaked, and Rusty shushed him.

“I know. Just be quiet.”

“Um…” Bel’s throat bobbed and clicked. “Yes?”

“Are you asking or answering?” Enfys demanded.

After a moment of consideration, Bel said, “Answering.”

“Well then, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sweetling,” Enfys crooned, and the Spryte practically melted. “I suppose we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, won’t we?”

Bel nodded, and Enfys’s eyes narrowed.

“When I ask you a question, I’d like you to answer with words,” she said, voice sterner than her word-choice, and Bel shivered.

“Yes. I mean, I’m sorry. Yes, we’ll see a lot of each other.”