Chapter 21
By the time they neared Cryss and Alex’s arrival, Kenji and Qylar had settled into something of a routine.
Their mornings were a quietly shared breakfast before running errands or exploring Aspen and its activities.
After lunch, Kenji napped off the pregnancy fatigue while Qylar worked on adding more decorations to the house, ignoring the protests of his mate.
In the evenings, they ate an early-ish dinner and spent the rest of the night watching Christmas movies and cuddling, which often led them to bed for even more vigorous cuddling that involved body parts and tentacles.
The wild, desperate need Kenji had been experienced never resurfaced. And he was glad. Not that needing his mate was a bad thing, but as worried as Qylar had gotten, he felt better that they were past it.
A couple of days before all five members of House Qlr-Kreegl arrived, Kenji cleared the breakfast dishes as Qylar washed the frying pans in the sink. Snow fell softly outside the window, adding to the few inches that had been added the day before.
“You know, I think we’re finally getting the hang of this breakfast thing. Cryss is going to be so pleased we haven’t had cereal every morning since we’ve been here,” Qylar said with a grin.
“Don’t disrespect the cereal game. I once lived a whole week eating Honey Nut Cheerios for every meal when I was strapped for extra cash and it’s all I had in the pantry.”
Qylar cringed. “I might not want to ever eat it again after that.”
“Took me a solid year before I could buy another box.”
Qylar chuckled. “Speaking of buying, we can’t keep putting off shopping for presents. We now only have a few days left.”
Kenji stiffened. Every time Qylar had suggested going shopping, he’d offered an alternative activity.
He’d handed over everything in his account to Tacoma to cover the last months of rent he owed.
There’d been only fumes left. There was nothing he could give Qylar but his body.
While he sensed his mate would be fine with that, Qylar deserved a gift from him under the tree.
He was ashamed that anything he might buy would be pathetic compared to the gifts everyone else would share.
“I thought we might go into town today and finally buy a few Christmas presents. I need to get something for Cryss, Alex, and the kids.”
Kenji continued to clear the table. “Yeah, I guess there’s no delaying it any further.”
“Delaying it? Is that what you’ve been doing?”
Kenji shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Why?”
“I no longer have an income,” Kenji said.
“You could always ask me,” Qylar murmured.
As if Kenji was going to ask his mate to hand over money to buy his own Christmas present. Too bad he wasn’t crafty, perhaps he could’ve made something.
“Just so we’re clear, you don’t have to get me anything for Christmas. You’ve given me way too much as it is,” Kenji said.
“What exactly have I given you?”
“Moving me into the townhouse. Flying me across the universe. Your friends hosting me on Nefyria. Spending weeks here and covering those expenses. Putting up more decorations than any one house needs.”
“Those aren’t gifts. What actual gifts have I given you?”
“Gifts or not, you’ve spent enough time and money on me.”
Qylar dried his hands off and pulled him closer. “I’m not letting Christmas pass without giving you something under the tree. It’s tradition, is it not?”
“Sure,” Kenji said, forcing a smile. “I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll finish up this last few dishes then head upstairs to get dressed.”
Kenji rushed into the bathroom off the kitchen and closed the door. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pulled up his banking app. He couldn’t remember exactly how little he had left in there. Maybe he could get creative with what he had.
As if I can get creative with nothing in a town like Aspen. It was a rich man’s playground with shop names displaying expensive brands. He didn’t have the money for that.
Only… he did.
When he opened his account, it wasn’t empty. Far from it. A million dollars had been deposited into his account weeks ago. He opened the deposit transaction and had no idea where it had come from.
How?
Was it a mistake? Realization hit. There was only one person he knew of who would’ve done it.
He stormed out of the bathroom and marched to where Qylar stood at the sink, drying his hands.
“What is this?” Kenji asked, showing Qylar his screen.
Qylar peeked at it for a second and shrugged. “Looks like money in a bank account to me.”
“Qylar, I know this is you.”
From the indolent look on Qylar’s face, Kenji knew he was right. “How could I have done that? I don’t have access to your account information.”
“With all your alien gadgetry, I’m sure you have ways of finding it and putting funds in there.”
Qylar lifted a brow but said nothing.
“Where did it come from?” Kenji demanded.
“I don’t know,” Qylar replied.
“Is it legal?”
Qylar scoffed. “Yes, it’s legal.”
Kenji growled. “Qylar… this is all starting to make me feel very uncomfortable.”
Qylar put down the towel and pulled Kenji closer.
“You’re not allowed to work through no fault of your own. How are you supposed to live?”
“This is more than I need to live.”
“Then use what you need and nothing more. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean you use it all at once. It’s a cushion, to allow you to be less anxious about the future.”
“But whose is it?”
“Mine.”
“You don’t work either,” Kenji barked. “You keep declaring yourself a servant, so how did you get it?”
Qylar sighed. “We needed money to survive and repair our ship we crash landed in. Fortunately, Cryss’s grandfather had left him the townhouse and some money, but it wasn’t going to go far and we had no idea how long we’d be here.
I created an algorithm that predicted which stocks to purchase and when—and also when to sell them—from the various stock exchanges here on Earth.
Cryss used a large share of his grandfather’s money and then shared the profits from of our first big sale, most of which we both reinvested.
The money grew. It covers our living expenses and has allowed us comfort.
I took some from my account and moved it to yours, so you have money to spend when you need something. ”
“This is way more than spending money.” Kenji shook his head.
“I’ve lived a life without, and I know how scary it can be.
Knowing there are so many people suffering…
” He waved a hand around the house. “While this kind of luxury exists, it makes me uncomfortable. I’ve tried to roll with it, but, this just pushes it way over the line. ”
Qylar eyed him. “Is there something I can do to help make you more comfortable?”
“How much of the money that you make goes to help those in need?”
“We donate and volunteer often. I’ve told you that. We will continue helping those in need whenever we can. But you know we’re limited in what we do here.”
“Do more. Donate more. Really help people who need it. That’s how you can make me more comfortable with this.”
“You know we can’t. The Embass—”
“The Embassy seems like an easy excuse to do nothing. You skirt the rules when you want. Hell, I’m sure using an algorithm to buy and sell stocks is totally against their rules, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Qylar murmured.
“But you did it, didn’t you?”
“We had expenses… and couldn’t get jobs. What else was I supposed to do?”
“And they can’t see what you’ve done?”
Qylar scoffed. “I found a little loophole in their system which hides this account from the Embassy. They haven’t noticed anything yet and hopefully won’t.”
“I want you to find a way to cover your tracks again and do something meaningful with what you’ve made.”
“We give as much as we can without alerting our watchers.”
Kenji scoffed. “There is real suffering in this world. A world you choose to call home because you can’t bear your own.
You have the luxury of leaping to a new world.
Do you know how many people here would love that same ability?
I want you to help those people in a real way…
” He looked at his phone. “Or I can’t do this. I can’t be a part of your world.”
“Skirting the rules for small things is one thing. Donating large sums will be noticed.”
“Find another loophole,” Kenji snapped. “Or a way to donate a million small sums. Whatever it is you need to do.”
“You make it seem as if that’s simple. I don’t even know how long this loophole we have now will last.”
“And if they find it? What happens to you?”
“We’d be kicked off this planet never to return,” Qylar replied. “Pay a massive fine to the Embassy. Be publicly shamed in front of everyone in the system.”
“But you’d survive, without any real harm, is what you’re saying.”
“I happen to like living on this planet,” Qylar said. “Especially now that it’s where I found my mate.”
“If you want to be a citizen of this planet, you need to be a true citizen.”
“I already have enough black marks against my name, Kenji.”
“Black marks? How sad for you? Have you ever gone to bed hungry? Do you know how hard it is to fall asleep with your stomach growling and twisting in pain? Have you ever worried you wouldn’t have a bed or even a roof over your head if you didn’t come up with enough money in a short amount of time?
Because I have. You’ve never experienced those things, Qylar, and you probably never will.
Wondering where your next meal is coming from or where you’ll sleep that night is terrifying.
You can’t think about the future when all you can focus on is surviving the day.
” Kenji paused, drawing in a breath and letting it out slow.
“I saw your face when you drove into my neighborhood to pick up my stuff. You immediately wanted me out of there and pushed until you got your way. And granted, I let you push because I was tired of living like that and your offer made me feel a relief I haven’t felt… well… ever.”
Qylar frowned.