Chapter 8 #3
“Day is invisible to everyone except those who have been in possession of Norbert’s magical items, yes?”
“Yeah?”
“Which means no one would be able to see her.”
“Yup. That’s what invisible means, last time I checked.” Seymour gasped as the pieces finally clicked into place. “Oh! Day! You can totally be a lil’ fuckin’ spy kitty!”
“A spy?” Day’s eyes widened.
“Yeah!” Seymour grinned. “Whatcha’ think?”
“Yes!”
“You are tethered to the Inro, correct?” Sariel asked. “Do you know its limit?”
“No.” Day hummed. “I was able to reach the street from Clancy’s apartment though! I think I can go pretty far, especially since I can pass right through the walls!”
“Okay, awesome! We need to find people doin’ suspicious shit and find that head! You can do a lil’ ol’ sneaky sneak, poke ’round the back—” He stopped short as Sariel frantically shook his head. “Sariel. Exactly what kinda club is this?”
“The very kind you think it is.” Sariel blushed. “It may be best to avoid those areas, but there is an office behind the bar,” Sariel said quickly. “There is also storage and more private quarters beyond that. Start there.”
“Yeah, yeah. Stay in that part of the club. The part where people are keepin’ their clothes on. If you see people takin’ ’em off, chances are ya’ need to turn ’round.”
Day arched her brow. “Huh?”
“Just, uh. Good luck!” Seymour gave her a quick hug. “Be careful.”
Day hugged him back and nuzzled his cheek. “I won’t let you down!”
“You couldn’t even if ya’ tried.”
Day purred, hopping off the bar and then vanishing amongst the bustling crowd.
“So.” Seymour swirled the ice around his glass, giving Sariel a flirty grin. “Brought me to a monster sex club? Kinky.”
“The investigation is what brought us to the monster sex club.” Sariel smirked.
“Details.” Seymour nudged Sariel’s knee with his own. “So, you ever, uh, try out their services?”
“No. While I respect the profession and their work, I enjoy sharing physical connections with someone with whom I have… an emotional bond.”
“Does makin’ out in a bathroom count as, uh, emotional?”
“Not quite.” Sariel smiled warmly. “But talking about the zodiac in a cemetery is a fair contender.”
“I liked the talkin’ we did while eatin’ cookies. You remember. After I tried to escape your weird house before we went to the freaky ass circus.”
Sariel chuckled. “Where does that rank with the bathroom tryst?”
“Eh, definitely way above it.” Seymour winked. “Those were some damn good cookies.”
“I did not realize my performance was so subpar.”
“Come on—”
“I will never do it again.”
“Hey, hey!” Seymour laughed. “Let’s not get fuckin’ crazy.”
Sariel smiled. “Do not worry. I will stay sane.”
“Don’t you worry, Daddy. I got plenty enough crazy to go ’round for both of us.” Seymour snorted. “Plus a list of crazy ass exes longer than my leg.”
Sariel tilted his head curiously. “Your former lovers were… unwell?”
“Yeah. Well, no.” Seymour took a moment to truly process the question, and his guts turned in knots. “Okay. It’s a tiny bit unfair to call ’em crazy ’cause really, if anyone has serious volumes of issues? It’s… me.”
“You?”
“Yeah, me. Sayin’ they were the problem is just me passin’ the buck when all the bullshit is my fault.
It always has been.” Seymour looked down at his empty glass.
“I get bored. I get restless. I make shitty excuses and just move on. And I’ve dated some nice guys.
Some fuckin’ great ones. But it’s never been enough. ”
“What is it they are so lacking in that you feel the need to keep searching?”
“I honestly don’t know. It’s like there’s this fuckin’ hole in me I keep tryin’ to fill and nothin’ is ever gonna fix it… Fuck. Anyway. Look at me just ramblin’ away.” Seymour smiled weakly. “Sorry.”
“There is no need to apologize.” Sariel returned the small smile. “I am familiar with feeling a void that cannot be filled. I imagine it is because of what we both have lost.”
“Yeah. It fuckin’ sucks.” Seymour reached for Sariel’s knee. “You know, even with all the monsters and shit, today’s actually been one of the best days I’ve had in a long time.”
“Oh?” Sariel blushed. “You really did like those cookies.”
“Yup. They were some mighty fine damn cookies. And hey, before I forget.” Seymour gave Sariel’s knee a squeeze. “Good call on gettin’ Day to go take a look ’round for us. That was really smart.”
“Thank you.” Sariel ducked his head. “I appreciate that.”
“I appreciate the hell outta you, Daddy. Pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it this far without you and Day.”
“That is true. The drakeling would have certainly killed you.”
“Yup.”
“The troll would have utterly destroyed you.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, and Dagobert might have eaten you—”
Seymour kissed him.
Hard.
Sariel flailed but slowly relaxed, his hands framing Seymour’s face.
Seymour let the kiss linger for a long moment, his heart furiously pounding away. He wanted to crawl right into Sariel’s lap, to seek out the warmth of his embrace and taste him for hours. Nothing had ever felt so good or so right, and there for a moment…
He didn’t feel so empty.
Seymour grinned as they finally parted, and he rested his brow against Sariel’s. “Which sign is the most blunt? Or maybe I should say the most oblivious?”
“Well, both Sagitarrius and Aries are known for their honesty, but—”
“Mmm, love it when you nerd out, Daddy.”
Sariel squirmed. “I have many questions about that nickname. I cannot tell if you are being patronizing or if you truly enjoy me in a more dominant role—”
“Oh, definitely.”
“Hey!” Day scurried up into Seymour’s lap with an excited squeal. “I found it!”
“Whoa, what?” Seymour steadied her, his brain trying to recover from the previous train of thought and switch tracks to what was actually important.
Finding robot head.
Yes, that. Needed to focus on that now.
Sariel being a hot dom Daddy?
Yes, good.
But later.
“The head!” Day bounced excitedly. “I found it!”
“Holy shit!” Seymour cheered. “That’s fuckin’ amazing!”
“Yes! Well. I think.” Day wiggled a bit and took a deep breath. “Talos is said to have been a man of bronze, yes?”
“That’s what I keep hearin’.”
“There is a large chest in one of the storage rooms. It’s been warded heavily, but I was still able to take a peek inside, and—” Day meowed triumphantly. “—there was a giant bronze head!”
“Best kitty girl in the whole world! Yes, you are!” Seymour hugged her tight. “Well, fuck, that takes care of one big ass problem. You see any of them mostri guys hangin’ ’round?”
“No, I’m sorry.” Day’s ears dipped. “I did not see anyone. Anyone at all! It was oddly empty.”
“For now.” Sariel was already on his feet. “That could very well change. We should move quickly before we lose such an opportunity.”
“Fuck. Okay.” Seymour eased Day over his shoulder. “We go in, grab the head, and bounce?”
“Yes. We may not even need to. If the twins are watching us as I suspect they are, they will simply take you.”
“Huh? Like kidnap me? Why the fuck are you sayin’ that like it’s a good thing?”
“Hey, guys?” Day mewed quietly. “I—”
“Because it is preferable to dealing with Mr. Heiss,” Sariel said, not having heard her.
“One sec, Day.” Seymour patted her back as he said firmly, “Look, while that may be and he’s a giant douche mold, fuck bein’ kidnapped, okay? Besides, I wanna have a real long chat with your boss man ’bout—”
“Hey, guys!” Day growled, grabbing both their heads to turn them toward the entrance.
“Wha…?” Seymour stared. “Is that…?”
A group of men in suits had walked in, and the one at the front was very familiar—familiar, as in, this person had threatened him, wrecked part of his truck, and Seymour already knew what he looked like naked.
It was Lou.