“It’s true. I don’t.” Gem climbed to his feet and offered Rusty a hand. “Isn’t it amazing?”
Rusty took the hand, and Gem hauled him to standing much too easily for someone with such spindly arms. Araknis as a species were strong and durable, and their lean bodies were misleading. Gem’s femme presentation added to the juxtaposition, which led to people underestimating him, but Rusty knew he was tougher than people ever gave him credit for.
“Now, let’s practice putting in your contacts before we get stupid high,” Gem said, and Rusty blew out a nervous breath.
“Okay, but if you jab my eye out, I’m gonna maul your ass,” Rusty threatened, and the Araknis laughed.
“Oh, Cheer Bear, don’t threaten me with a good time.”
An hour of bickering, cajoling, and, yes, caterwauling followed as Gem proceeded to jab Rusty in the eye. Numerous times.
“If you would stop struggling for two fucking seconds,” Gem snarled as he crawled into Rusty’s lap and pinned him down, “then this would be over with already!”
“You’re gonna blind me,” Rusty cried as he struggled against Gem’s hold to no avail. “I take it back. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“You’re being such a baby right now. Just take a deep breath and let me do this!”
Two hands held Rusty’s head immobile as two more hands pinned Rusty’s arms to the couch. Gem’s ass was heavy enough to keep Rusty’s lower half trapped, but he kicked his feet all the same. Baring his canines, he growled a warning as Gem brought the contact to his eye.
“Stop it! Get away. I don’t consent anymore.”
“In any other situation, I would honor that, but you told me to keep going, even if you said stop.” Gem’s finger holding the contact hovered over Rusty’s face as he raised his voice, like he was speaking to the neighbors through the thin walls. “This is a consensual non-consent situation, I promise.”
“We never established safe words!” Rusty lamented.
“Mine’s kerfuffle,” Gem said in English, and Rusty was so surprised that he stopped fighting him.
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah, I heard a human say it once, and I thought it was the funniest word,” Gem said right before he jabbed Rusty in the eye. “There we go! One contact in.”
By the time both contacts were in, Rusty’s eyes were sore and bloodshot and Gem was sweaty and out of breath. He collapsed onto the couch, socked feet in Rusty’s lap as he panted up at the ceiling. Rusty lay boneless against the back of the couch, blinking sandpaper lids.
“I feel like we just did something dirty and shameful,” Gem said as he fought to catch his breath.
“I feel violated,” Rusty admitted, and Gem reached out with his lowest hand and patted his arm.
“For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry. That escalated quickly, and I’m not proud of how we handled it.” Capturing his bottom lip with one fang, Gem blinked discordantly. “I got a little hard at the end, and I don’t wanna know what that says about me.”
“Ah, gross, Gem!” Rusty roared, shoving his feet off his lap and stalking toward the bathroom.
“Don’t judge me! I’m trying to be open and honest. It’s an important part of a close friendship,” Gem called after him.
“I don’t know if anyone should bethatclose,” Rusty snapped over his shoulder, rubbing at his throbbing right eye. Unfortunately, he rubbed the contact right out of it, and he froze, scanning the floor for where it had fallen. “Shit, the contact fell out.”
With a furious cry, Gem rose and strode purposefully toward him. “Godsdammit, Rusty!”
Abandoning the lost contact, Rusty released an embarrassing yelp of fear and bolted for the bathroom. “No! Leave me alone.”
“Get your furry ass back here.” Gem tackled him from behind, and they both crashed to the floor in a mess of limbs.
“Kerfuffle,” Rusty yowled, claws digging into the floor, leaving marks in the wood as Gem dragged him back to the couch. “Kerfuffle-kerfuffle-kerfuffle!”
Later still, after Rusty replaced the cursed contacts with his glasses and Gem ordered them dinner, Gem tucked a fat joint between his lips and used Rusty’s lighter to burn the tip until smoke curled towards the open window. He inhaled and held the smoke in as he handed the human weed to Rusty. Blowing it out the window, Gem sighed and rested his temple against the window frame.
“It’s not gonna make me… lose control, right?” Rusty asked as the sweet smoke thickened the air between them.
Gem shook his head. “It’s not like being drunk, if that’s what you mean. I just feel super chill and snuggly and giggly, and sometimes, I get hella snacky. And my brain gets so quiet,” he added wistfully.
