Chapter 13
“I can’t believe he hasn’t been able to understand us this whole time. Our poor Asher…”
“I’m messaging Olaz Prine right now. He’s the best of the best when it comes to tech implants.”
“Will he be able to come out to the Falls on such short notice?
“He will. For our yshain? He will. And you know he owes me a favor…”
***
“Asher, I-I know you can’t understand me right now, but there’s a Dresht coming to see you who will help with that. He’s just going to give you a small prick and then you’ll go to sleep while he fixes your implant. We’ll be right there with you the whole time, little love.”
“And we’re so, so sorry we didn’t realize sooner.”
***
Asher groaned as his consciousness swam to the surface. His head was pounding, and there was a spot behind his right ear that felt sore. On instinct, he tried to bring his hand up to touch it, but his arms were—stuck. Bound together.
Right.
Keeping his eyes closed, Asher took stock of himself. Shifting his hips minutely, he could feel something inside him. But his stomach didn’t feel swollen with venigash. And the thing inside him wasn’t Trenet’s thick cock, or Vrayl’s devastatingly long one.
What did they call those insertions? A senchr. That was it.
So his arms were still bound and he had a senchr. It… didn’t feel like there was anything covering his eyes though. And—Asher swallowed reflexively, then opened and closed his mouth, working his jaw. He didn’t have the gag in? But Trenet and Vrayl had only ever taken it out for meals.
What did that mean?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Asher kept his eyes closed. Maybe if they thought he was asleep, he’d get some answers.
“Vitals say he’s awake,” he heard then, hushed. Heard and understood. It was still somehow Trenet’s low growl, but Asher could understand his speech! “Asher? Little love, are you awake?”
Little love? The words shocked Asher into opening his eyes.
The room he was in was dimly lit, and he was grateful for it because his head still hurt. But even in the light of the room, he could make out Vrayl and Trenet, big and blue and as otherworldly beautiful as ever.
Asher had struggled with the blindfold the entire time he’d worn it, but he hadn’t realized just how hard it had been not to be able to see anything until that moment, getting to see his Dresht again.
“Hello sweetling,” Vrayl said, voice soft. “Can you understand us?”
Mute with surprise from the fact that he could, Asher simply nodded.
The surprise wasn’t alleviated by the pure relief that painted Trenet and Vrayl’s features. “I’m so glad,” Vrayl said. “And we’re so sorry, dear heart. We’re so sorry we didn’t know you couldn’t understand.”
Dear heart? Asher incredulously repeated in his head.
Trenet came closer, sitting next to Asher on the bed and brushing the hair out of Asher’s face with big, gentle fingers.
The act felt shockingly tender. “You might have a headache for a little while as your new translation implant integrates, but it should pass soon. And we’re sorry we had to remove your jahin, little love, but it just wasn’t safe for you to wear your kanto and humshus while we got your implant fixed. ”
Blindfold, Asher’s translator supplied. Gag. Subvocalization: pleasurable.
Jahin. Comforts.
Asher swallowed again. Comforts?
What…?
“Do you think you could eat something?” Vrayl asked, sounding hopeful. “It would be so good for you if you ate. We’d give you your humshus back as soon as you were finished.”
“And then a bath,” Trenet said. “A nice relaxing bath? So we could tend to you.” Trenet reached out again, cupping Asher’s cheek. “We’d make you feel so good, little love.”
Asher blinked at them both, fully taken aback. They were… asking? Offering? Not… not forcing. They actually seemed to care. Care about what Asher wanted.
Had… had they always?
“I could eat,” Asher said quietly. He had never been a loud talker to begin with, but also his head ached. “Maybe more berries?” He asked hopefully. He’d liked those a lot.
“You’ll have your pick of dishes,” Trenet promised before scooping Asher into his arms and standing up.
Asher’s startled noise was loud without the humshus muffling the sound, and he winced at hearing it.
For all that he’d cried and carried on since he’d…
become Trenet and Vrayl’s, Asher didn’t actually enjoy making a fuss or being noisy.
He just—hadn’t had any other way to make his displeasure known.
He didn’t mind being carried though, he supposed. He was certainly used to it by now, if nothing else. Though typically over the last several days he had been carted about in the takan. Which was an entirely different experience.
He did like being held like this, secure in Trenet’s arms. It was kind of nice to be carried. Trenet and Vrayl were so much bigger than he was that they could hold him so easily. It felt… cozy.
Then he scolded himself. He was probably thinking that because he’d spent three years on Journey-5, without so much as a hug or kind word. He was just touch starved now. That was all.
They arrived at the dining area quickly; much faster than it took to get from the bedroom or bathing room to the dining area at Trenet and Vrayl’s home, and Asher didn’t recognize any of the rooms they passed. They were still at the Falls then?
Asher hoped he wouldn’t have to wear the kanto—the blindfold—for a while. He kind of wanted to see this new place. If only because he’d been hearing various fauna and the sounds of moving water for days now. Was the Falls as lush and green as it sounded?
When Trenet took a seat at the table, Asher was seated in his lap.
The position put pressure on the senchr that had to be inside of him, and he whimpered at the feeling of it.
Glancing down automatically, he realized that his chest was bare, but he was dressed in a pair of airy, silky shorts.
Clothes of a sort, and very comfortable, but they did absolutely nothing to preserve modesty; Asher could see the outline of his cock.
If the shorts were any sheerer, Asher was sure he’d be able to look right through them.
Still, he wasn’t going to complain about clothes.
Trenet made his soothing rumble sound as he stroked up and down Asher’s chest and sides. “You only have to wear the training senchr through the meal, little love. Your headache should abate by then. You’ll be able to have me inside you during your bath.”
Asher shuddered, opening his mouth to protest—and then closed it again.
Would it really be that bad, to have Trenet’s cock inside him during the bath?
Now that Asher could understand what was going on, could see what was going on, would it be so terrible?
He’d been riding Trenet’s cock for so many days now anyway.
He almost felt bereft sitting on the Dresht’s lap without his cock inside Asher’s hole.
The training senchr was… noticeable, but it had nothing on the overwhelming thickness of Trenet.
Besides, it—it might be nice. To be able to enjoy a bath. Because suddenly it hit Asher that being impaled on Trenet’s cock meant that he was secure in the water. That he was going to be held fast and wasn’t going to sink. And then Vrayl would bathe him and maybe even tend to Asher’s hair again.
That sounded just… so, so nice.
When Asher looked up again, it was to see that the table was covered in dishes.
Instantly, his trepidation rose, and he shrank back in Trenet’s arms.
Vrayl looked at Asher and then he glanced up. Making eye contact with Trenet. “What if you tried some senma?” Vrayl asked, sounding hopeful. He held up a brown bun. Asher recognized it from one of his first days with them. “Senma is delicious, and is nutrient and calorie dense—”
“What is it?” Asher asked, trembling against Trenet. He wished for his humshus back. They didn’t try to feed him when he was wearing it. “Is—is it meat?”
Again Vrayl made eye contact with Trenet before focusing back on Asher.
“The outer part is a sweet bread,” Vrayl said, speaking softly, as if afraid Asher might spook.
“The filling is a savory synth meat in a sweet sauce. Don’t you want to have a taste?
You never have to try it again if you don’t like it. But won’t you try one bite?”
“It's… synth meat?” Asher asked, voice quavering. “It's not… people?”
Vrayl’s eyes widened, and behind him, Asher heard and felt Trenet inhale sharply. Asher glanced from Vrayl to Trenet and back again. He couldn’t really see Trenet’s face, but Vrayl’s expression was one of abject shock.
“People?” Vrayl croaked. “Asher, no, of course not, why would—no.”
“Just synth meat, little love,” Trenet said, voice low, as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind Asher’s ear. “Not people. Never that. Not even animals anymore. Not for generations.”
“Why… why would you think…?” Vrayl seemed at a loss, still holding out the bun like an offering.
“I’ll try it,” Asher said. Because he was hungry. He was always hungry. Less so, recently, since they’d started giving him the venigash, but a few days of venigash weren’t enough to combat months of starvation. And if… if the food was safe. “The senma. I’ll try it.”
Vrayl nodded and leaned forward, pressing the bun to Asher’s lips so that Asher could easily take a bite. The bun was small, maybe the size of Asher’s palm, and so even though he couldn’t manage a big bite, he still got a mouthful of the outer sweetbread and the inner filling.
It was good. But even knowing it was synth meat couldn’t keep it from making his stomach hurt with guilt.
When he’d chewed and swallowed, his hunger roared up to eat away at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to take another bite of the bun, no matter how hopeful Vrayl looked.
“Could… could I have the berries?” Asher asked. “Or olo? If… if we have some?”
“Yes,” Vrayl said, reaching for the table again to grab a bowl. “Yes, of course. We have oiyer. Freshly picked and sweet!”
But Asher could see that Vrayl was feigning excitement. Was he disappointed that Asher hadn’t had more of the senma?
Asher opened his mouth for an oiyer berry. Only one could fit in his mouth at one time, they were so big. Big and juicy and delicious, and Asher closed his eyes and hummed happily as he enjoyed it.
When he’d swallowed that mouthful, he opened his mouth for another berry, which Vrayl was quick to give him. Once Asher had swallowed that, his hunger no longer felt like an angry living thing.
So he opened his mouth again. “My home colony,” he said. “Where I’m from. Not… not Journey-5. Sometimes a baby gets born wrong, or is born unwanted. A-and that baby gets sent to the kitchens.”
Vrayl’s mouth dropped open. “W-what—?"
Trenet growled behind him. “You… you mean…”
“I was one of the babies that wasn’t born right,” Asher said, staring down, away from Vrayl’s horrified expression.
He’d never actually said any of this out loud before.
Who would he have told? “My moms decided not to send me to the kitchens, but… but I had to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, or else…
” He swallowed hard. “Or else that’s where I would have ended up.
That’s why I was on Journey-5. My family sent me away to be safe. ”
Trenet’s arms came up to encircle him fully as Trenet nuzzled the top of Asher’s head while emitting that soothing rumble. “Then we are so very, very grateful you were sent to Journey-5, little love.”
“And we will be forever grateful that we found you there,” Vrayl said, reaching out to cup Asher’s cheek. “You’re so incredibly precious to us, dear heart. You were born perfect, not wrong. You are loved and you are valued and you’re ours.”
“Our sweet Asher,” Trenet said, tightening his arms minutely, just enough for Asher to feel truly held.
Asher felt his lower lip tremble as his vision went blurry. He blinked rapidly to try to clear the moisture from his eyes. How many years had he longed for someone to tell him that? Tell him that he was fine just the way he was. That who he was at his core didn’t have to be a dirty secret.
Vrayl had called him perfect. Asher had been scared and angry and had lashed out as best he could, crying and throwing tantrums because he didn’t understand what was happening or why, and—and Vrayl and Trenet still wanted him anyway. Still… still wanted to take care of him.
They’d seen Asher at his very worst, and still thought he was precious.
He had to clear his throat twice before he felt capable of speech, and then he was struck with not knowing what to say. “I…” His voice wavered. “Could I have more oiyer, please?”
“Yes!” Vrayl said quickly, plucking another berry from the bowl. “Yes, yes, of course.”
“Anything you want,” Trenet said, his deep voice fervent. “Anything you wish from us is yours.”
Asher took a shaky breath. He couldn’t dream of a response to so powerful a promise.
So instead of trying, he simply opened his mouth to allow Vrayl to feed him the next berry.