Chapter Eighteen
Luc
“How are you feeling?” Luc went over and joined Sage on the couch.
They were in a hotel room, having collectively decided that they needed a bit of a breather after the giant squid rescue.
Sage said he wanted to write up a report while it was still fresh in his mind, detailing everything that had gone wrong for that poor squid.
Luc and Nic had already privately decided that there was a good chance that the giant squid wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway.
Surprisingly, for such large creatures, natural giant squids had a remarkably short lifespan.
But Luc was glad that Sage believed he was able to do something to help at least ease that creature’s suffering.
When it died, it would be a natural process because of his age, as opposed to somebody deliberately bleaching the water he’d been placed in.
Luc could understand Sage’s anger, and he and Nic focused on making sure that Sage had the privacy and time he needed to decompress.
Their caring third had been genuinely upset.
“I hope there was nothing in our little rescue mission that upset you this afternoon,” he added.
Sage looked up, and Luc noticed he was looking at photos he had clearly taken from where he was in the helicopter, while Nic and Luc were in the sea with the squid.
“I probably could’ve done without seeing Nic dive off the whale sling as the helicopter was still trying to maneuver into place, but then I remembered he is known for his diving skills. ”
“Nic loves jumping off things,” Luc agreed. “It might look reckless, but he’s actually really careful with the way he lands.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Luc loved Sage’s dry humor. “I’ve never come so close to a living giant squid before,” Sage said, stroking over the screen. “I’m gutted that such a rare opportunity was so distorted due to a single person’s discrimination against things they don’t understand.”
Luc remembered what he and Nic had overheard as they had gone to find Sage, after freeing themselves from people who were just really glad to see them.
“Is this tentacle discrimination business going to be an issue for you? I got the impression you’re highly respected in your field.
” By most people. Luc was hesitant about bringing it up, but they needed to have a very clear and frank discussion if Luc and Nic were going to be able to claim Sage the way they wanted to.
Tentacles were a huge part of Luc and Nic’s life – they couldn’t stop being who they were.
“Even before I met you, there were narrow-minded people who would make innuendos about my fascination with cephalopods.” Sage shut his laptop, and leaning over, he slid it onto the coffee table before leaning back on the couch. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed the area above his eyes.
“I don’t know why that is. All creatures - krakens, squids, octopuses - they are not just a bunch of tentacles.
They have brains, they have feelings. Well, I ascribe them to having feelings.
I don’t know for sure. But they are more than just tentacles.
They’re so incredibly clever. You think about Charlie back in the lab.
If you put an octopus in a tank that has an opening anywhere that’s bigger than their beak, they will get out.
It fascinates me how they map out their surroundings, and work out how to do what they want to do. ”
Sage sighed. “So yes, I’ve been used to hearing people discuss my apparent porn content, although if they knew me at all, they’d know I wouldn’t have time to watch it. I can usually shrug it off. But what happened today hit particularly hard.”
“Oh, are we talking about porn preferences?” Nic asked with a laugh, coming over and sitting on the other side of Sage. He rested his arm over the back of the couch, and Luc did the same thing so that they could join hands.
Luc and Nic’s bond was settling beautifully, and Luc had never been so happy.
But yes, he was greedy too. He wanted to know their serious third – a person they were quickly coming to care for - would be part of their bond too.
Discrimination against tentacled beings, or people’s perception of the kink involved, could hamper that.
“We can chat about porn preferences another day,” Luc said quickly. “Sage, tentacles are as much a part of us as the color of your hair is to you. We definitely hadn’t considered the discrimination…”
“Probably because most people don’t say things like that to our face,” Nic added.
“Exactly, but we don’t want you or your work negatively impacted by us claiming you.”
“Does that mean you’ve changed your mind?” Sage stopped rubbing his eyes and quickly put his glasses on. “Are you thinking it’s not a good idea to claim me anymore?”
“Gods no,” Luc said quickly while Nic was shaking his head hard. “You’re our third. We will have no other. We just don’t want it to be a negative thing for you professionally.”
Sage sat for a moment, clearly thinking.
“I don’t think it’ll be much worse than it already has been,” Sage said.
“I’m not tooting my own horn when I say I’m an expert in my field.
I’ve worked really hard to get to that position.
Like with the giant squid – that will likely be the only time I ever see a creature of that size alive and up close… ”
“Don’t count on that,” Nic said with a grin. “We can take you swimming, and if giant squids are your thing… I’m just saying never say never.”
“Having a chance to see one in their natural habitat would be amazing. But for me, in normal cases, he would be a specimen for me to observe and try and learn from. The moment I could see he was sick, my only focus was to put him back where he belongs. Caring for these creatures and advocating for them will always be more important than research or my own natural curiosity.”
“That’s one of the things we like about you,” Nic said. “You care for the creatures you study – you don’t see them as specimens or slices of flesh on a petri dish in a lab. You see the creatures as whole beings. That means a lot to me, for reasons you’ll learn as we get to know each other better.”
“I wouldn’t study so hard if I didn’t care about them,” Sage said. “And no, I don’t have any concerns about being claimed by you two because of the tentacle angle. If you think about it, it could be handy to have someone like me around.” Luc noticed Sage glancing at Nic.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice that rather large growth that you have on one of your tentacles,” Sage said sternly.
“While what you and Luc got up to last night was particularly beautiful, and I truly appreciate you sharing that experience with me, I noticed that one of your tentacles is not moving as freely as it should be. It’s not likely to be dangerous - paranormals aren’t prone to issues like cancer.
But you’ve clearly had a wound at some point that didn’t heal correctly, and this growth is just your body’s way of overcompensating for it.
However, it’s serious because it’s hampering the natural movement of that particular tentacle.
I think you’d feel a lot more comfortable if it were removed, don’t you? And yes, that’s something I could do.”
“Oh, no!” Nic covered his face with his free hand and then quickly moved it away, chuckling at Luc. “I told you our Sage would notice that. Didn’t I tell you? I told you he would notice that I had that wart thing. That’s why he wears the glasses. He can see things.”
“Yep, you did say it.” Luc started laughing too, and after a moment, Sage joined in. But Luc could still sense there was some reluctance in their third, and he really wanted to know what was behind it.
“What’s bothering you?” he asked gently. “You have to know that Nic and I want to claim you so badly. But we would never put pressure on you. We would never force you to do something you didn’t want to do.”
Sage’s face seemed to go a delightful shade of pink, and Luc wondered if he was thinking about sex. “After what I saw last night…” He was thinking about sex. Luc forced himself to pay attention.
“I don’t have any issues with being claimed. It’s not the tentacles that are the issue. You two are very sociable men, for starters. You got a celebrity welcome at the facility today.”
Luc scratched his head and looked at Nic, who shrugged. “It doesn’t happen very often, and once people realize how important you are to us, then they’ll want to get to know you, too.”
“I’m not sure how comfortable I’ll be about that.” Sage tilted his head to one side. “I guess it’s something you get used to.”
“Definitely,” Nic said, nodding frantically. “And aside from New Year’s, our penthouse at the Regis is our private space. That’s where we are most of the time.”
“That’s nice…assuming you want me there with you.”
“Absolutely.” Luc grinned. “We want you to live with us. I might have a moving company on standby to help you empty your current address.”
“Of course you do. Okay. All right.” Sage pressed the spot between his eyes with his forefinger and let out a long breath.
“I don’t have much, but that’s handy to know.
I’m not a fan of packing. But that brings me to another point.
You’re rich – both of you – a lot richer than I’ll ever be.
” He pointed at Luc. “Don’t let me forget to get the receipt for the helicopter hire from you. I will get that reimbursed for you.”
Luc’s instinct was to say “no need,” but he saw the fire in Sage’s eyes – so arousing – and simply nodded. They could buy something nice for Sage with it.
“We might be rich, but you can’t use our age against us,” Nic said. “You wouldn’t do that, would you?”
“Your age? I don’t know how old you are.”
“Exactly,” Nic said firmly. “We’re decades older than you, and if you think about it logically, then if you lived as long as we have…”