As Gem bit into the dumpling, Rusty gestured toward the closed door. “Can I use your bathroom?”
“Of course. You don’t need to ask, Rus.” He reached out his top hand and scratched behind Rusty’s ear, the fur there thick and fluffy.
His striped pink tail fluffed at the contact, and he indulged Gem for several seconds before he made a show of shoving Gem’s hand away with a growled, “Get off me!”
The moment Rusty turned toward the bathroom, Gem saw the bedazzledjuicyscrawled across the back of the shorts he wore, and he giggled. “I hate to see you go, but damn, do I love to watch you leave.”
Rusty went ramrod straight, a furious chitter bursting from him as he rounded on Gem with wide, horrified eyes. Then he seemed to remember the shorts too, and he glanced down, face wrinkling in disgust. His shoulders sagged in resignation, and he huffed.
“Get a good look, Akyllo. Because I’ll never be caught dead in these again.”
“Give me a twirl, sweetheart,” Gem purred, but unsurprisingly, Rusty did not twirl.
Instead, he backed toward the bathroom, both middle fingers flying proud.“Choke on my dick.”
“Honey, I only choke when I want to.” Gem flipped his hair obnoxiously. “But it’s adorable that you think I still have a gag reflex.”
On the threshold of the bathroom, Rusty paused, whiskers twitching madly before something naughty gleamed in his eyes, and he smirked. “Finally something we have in common.”
Gem’s jaw dropped as Rusty swung the door shut between them. “Ahhh, Rusty! You just made a sex joke. I’m so proud of you.”
The only response Gem received was a husky chuckle.
While Rusty was in the bathroom, Gem made up the couch with sheets and blankets. Then he hung Rusty’s wet clothes on his drying rack, situating his dehumidifier beside it. He didn’t think the jeans would dry by morning, given how early Rusty went to work, but it was the best he could do.
Upon Rusty’s return, Gem pointed at the clothes with one hand and gestured at Rusty with another. “Do you go commando?”
Rusty blinked. “The fuck kind of question is that?”
“Not a creepy one when it’s coming from a friend,” Gem justified. “But seriously. I hung up a shirt and pants. No underwear. Which means you’re still wearing your wet underwear from earlier, or you’re going commando. And since those juicy shorts aren’t damp…”
Crossing his arms over his furry chest, Rusty glared at him, his tail serpentining in annoyance behind him. “I have a lot of fur,” he said, as if in explanation.
“Rusty, you little slut,” Gem said, following Rusty as he limped to the couch. “I love that we’re learning new things about each other. It’s keepingthe spark alive.”
“The spark of what?” Rusty demanded.
“Our friendship,” Gem said seriously, and Rusty groaned, collapsing face-first onto the couch.
“I should have just bled out on the street. Nothing is worth this,” he lamented into the pillow Gem had provided for him.
With a giggle, Gem draped a blanket over him and pet the back of his head. “Whatever. You love being my friend.”
Another wordless grunt was Rusty’s only reply. Still cackling, Gem turned out the living room lights, then headed to his bedroom. Behind the room partition, he shed his robe and slipped on his favorite sleep shirt that readcumdumpsteracross the chest in rhinestones.
Since Rusty wasn’t going to share his bed, he didn’t feel weird about removing his capris to sleep in his panties, though he did exchange the lacy lingerie for his more comfortable briefs. He crawled under his covers and snuggled in, clicking off his lamp and dousing his flat in darkness.
“Goodnight, Rusty,” Gem called out.
Fabric shifted in the living room, and Gem caught the barest sound of a heavy exhale. Then Rusty said, “Goodnight, Gem.”
When Gem awoke thenext morning, it was to an empty flat and a text from his boss, Glyma. He didn’t see the text at first. He groggily went about his morning routine, pausing in the living room to inspect the clean couch and the pile of bedding neatly folded at one end.
Atop the pile was a hastily scrawled note.
Thank you. See you at work. —R
Gem traced the harsh slash of Rusty’s writing and smiled to himself before he jumped in the shower to ready himself for his day. He shampooed the fur on his arms and legs, then added a conditioning mask that ensured it would be shiny and soft. He scrubbed his scalp, then worked in a second conditioner that kept his curls from exploding into a frizzy mess the moment he blow-dried it.
