Rusty
Unsurprisingly, Rusty woke first.His eyes were heavy, body sated but still exhausted from the previous night, and he managed to doze for an indeterminable time. When his full bladder could no longer be ignored, he carefully extracted himself from Gem’s limbs and snuck to the bathroom, using the toilet and brushing his teeth with his finger. Then he smoked a quick cigarette on the fire escape before he headed back to the bedroom.
He’d promised that Gem wouldn’t wake alone, so he crept back into bed. Like he sensed him, Gem turned toward him, practically throwing his entire upper body across Rusty’s chest. Rusty tucked a hand behind his head as he let Gem snuggle into him, cheek on his chest, one hand rubbing his belly fur. Once Gem settled, mumbling nonsensically before snoring again, he ran his fingers through Gem’s messy hair, careful not to tug on his tight curls.
Tracing the swirls of color down Gem’s neck to his shoulder, then further down one arm, back up and down another, Rusty marveled at thefact that hecouldtouch Gem this way. He was allowed to. In fact, Gem hadwantedhim to. He’d begged Rusty to touch him, never flinching away from his rough hide or his sharp claws. He didn’t see Rusty as a pito; Rusty didn’t think he ever had.
He nuzzled Gem’s head, breathing in his cinnamon and coffee, and Gem hummed deep in his throat, his voice thick with sleep as he mumbled, “Good morning.”
“Technically, it’s almost afternoon,” Rusty said, kissing his scalp.
With a snuffled laugh, Gem coiled his limbs around Rusty until he was imprisoned. “Oh, well good afternoon, then.”
“Good afternoon,” Rusty replied.
Gem angled his head, several eyes blinking drowsily up at him, and Rusty brushed his thumb over his brow. When he dipped his head to kiss him, Gem covered his mouth with a hand.
“I haven’t brushed my teeth. My breath is gross.”
“I don’t care,” Rusty said, forcing Gem’s hand away so he could kiss him soundly.
Gem melted against him, fur vibrating happily. His breath did taste sour from sleep, but Rusty kissed him anyway. At Gem’s prompting, they rolled until Gem was underneath him, Rusty straddling one of his thighs. He mouthed over Gem’s jaw, tasting salt and clean sweat, and Gem whimpered, baring his throat to him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Rusty couldn’t help himself. He licked the dark bruise he’d sucked into the hollow of Gem’s throat the night before, then he clamped his teeth gently around it and sucked again. Gem shuddered, moaning as he hitched his knee over Rusty’s hip.
Releasing Gem’s neck, Rusty licked the nearly painful looking bruise he’d left there. “Mine,” he whispered to himself, licking it again.
“Don’t stop,” Gem gasped out, and Rusty smiled against his throat.
Before he could comply with the request, a phone rang, and Gem sat up and glared at his cell on the side table as Rusty settled back on his heels with a grumbled, “Let it go to voicemail.”
“It’s my mom’s ringtone. I—oh shit!” Gem scrambled off the bed and grabbed his phone, switching from Hellia to Arakni as he said, “Hi, Maman. No, I didn’t forget,” he said as he hurriedly grabbed clothes from his dresser. “That’s so offensive! I’m, like, totally on my way already. Of course, I didn’t forget the plates. I so have them. Right here with me. On the tram that I’m definitely riding right now.”
He paused as his mother spoke, and he winced. “You’re right. I can’t lie to you. I did totally forget about the plates, and I might have overslept a teensy bit. So I’m gonna be late.”
Rusty heard a throaty laugh from the other end of the line, and Gem pouted again. “Don’t laugh at me. It’s not even my fault.” He shot Rusty a glare, though it lacked any real heat as he switched back into Hellia, saying, “It’s Rusty’s. Our sleepover went late. Well, yeah, of course he’s coming too. I already invited him, and he was like, ‘oh em geez, Gem, that sounds fire. Can’t wait to meet your family.’” Gem cringed as Rusty glowered. “I mean, he may not have said that verbatim, but it was definitely the intended vibe.”
Gem gestured for Rusty to get up and get dressed. “Yeah, we’re on our way. We’re, like, walking out the door right now.” Covering the phone with a hand, he whisper-shouted, “Get dressed,” at Rusty before he dropped his hand. “Mom, seriously, I gotta go. Yes. Yes. No.” Gem looked at Rusty then away. “Maybe.”
As Rusty buttoned his jeans closed, Gem easily dressed with his other hands while he continued talking to his mother. “We’ll see you soon. Okay? Yes! Oh my gods, gross. I’m hanging up. Love you, bye!”
Hanging up the phone, Gem tucked it away in his pocket before he settled a manic smile on Rusty. “So, how would you feel about coming to a barbeque at my parents’ house? It’s, like, totally not a big deal. Super chill. Just me and my parents and my seventeen siblings. And their significant others. And a few nieces and nephews because some of my siblings don’t know how to keep it in their pants or use birth control, apparently.
“And you can’t say no, because I already told my mom we’re coming,” Gem finished, fluttering his lashes. “So, do you wanna go?”
“Uh, yes?” Rusty said, and Gem clapped his hands.
“Awesome! What a happy day.” With a distressed noise, Gem strode purposefully to the bathroom and started hectically getting ready.
Nerves cramped his stomach as Rusty propped himself on the bathroom door jam. “I can just go home, you know? If you don’t want me to—”
“I want you to come,” Gem said around his toothbrush, holding up a finger as he leaned over the sink and spat. “I promise, I really do. I just know my family is a lot. Like, we’re hella loud and all mentally ill in some form or fashion. And you don’t like crowds, and my family can’t help butbea crowd.”
“Gem—” Rusty tried, but Gem was working himself up.
“I don’t want you to get overwhelmed or get scared off. My family means well, they really do, but it’s a lot. And don’t get me started on Dadi’s dad jokes—”
Rusty dragged Gem down into a kiss, cutting off his rambling before he really got going, and Gem kissed him back fiercely, walking him backuntil his spine hit the door jam. “Sorry,” he said between kisses tasting like toothpaste. “I started to spiral.”
