“So? We’ll still see each other, even if it’s not every day. We’ll still hang out. We’re not done withChainsaw 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’dbeenkissed, been tongue-fucked and choked by greedy mouths and demanding lips. But he’d neverkissedanyone 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 togive.
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.
