Thirteen
Diego
"Tell me about your mom," I said, and Shade startled beside me. He'd talked about her before, telling me how she'd told him how he would recognize his mate when he met them, but he hadn't talked about her since, and I was curious.
What was she like, the woman who'd raised someone as sweet and kind as him?
"She was the best woman I've ever known," Shade said softly, and I turned to face him, throwing my arms around his middle. We were still in bed, since I'd been too tired after yesterday to do much of anything.
"Was?" I asked, sadness filling me. I'd lost my mom a few years ago, and I wished no one—and especially Shade—had to experience loss like that.
"I haven't seen her in centuries. I don't even know if she's still alive. "
"What happened?" I asked, sensing a story there, and Shade blew out a breath.
"I was an idiot," he said after a moment, and I frowned.
"I was barely an adult at the time," he continued before I could defend him, and I wrapped myself tighter around him.
"And I got curious. This was before I learned to teleport through shadows.
We'd lived in a cave all my life up to that point, and I'd wanted to see the world.
So when an animal walked past the cave one night, I hitched a ride in his shadow before my mom could stop me.
Shadows don't have unlimited space. They go deep, but they're generally as wide as the animal or thing the shadow belongs to. "
"So you couldn't hide in Pixie's shadow, for example," I said, and he hummed.
"Exactly. So Mom couldn't follow me because the animal wasn't big enough, and off I went, hopping from shadow to shadow until I reached a human village, where I started following a human traveler.
Before I knew it, I lost track of my surroundings, and the direction my cave was in. I couldn't go back."
"Oh, Shade," I murmured, giving him a tight hug and wishing I could do more.
"It took me almost a century to get good at traveling through shadows, and the first thing I did once I was confident was go back to the cave."
"Was she there?" I asked with bated breath, but Shade's sigh answered my question before he spoke.
"No. She was long gone, but she'd left traces of her shadow for me, as if a message to tell me she was okay."
"Couldn't you track her through her shadow like you did with me? "
I felt him shake his head, his palm running up and down my back in a move that seemed to comfort him more than it did me.
"No. That only works with you because they were my shadows on you, and because you're my mate. It's not something I can do with any shadow."
"I'm sure she's okay, wherever she is."
"I hope so," he murmured in a low tone, and I regretted asking about her. I felt better knowing, but I hadn't meant to bring Shade's mood down.
Before I could fish for something to say to cheer him up, the lunch bell rang, startling the crap out of me.
"Lunch time," Shade murmured as he held me close, and I hummed, then pressed a kiss on his cheek before pulling back.
I sat up, then frowned. "Can you grab my clothes?" I asked, then something struck me, and I froze. "Did I...Did I talk to Keoni naked this morning?" My mind had still been on the whole light-doesn't-affect-Shade-near-me thing, and I hadn't even thought about it.
Shade pressed some clothes into my arms, then kissed my cheek. "No, you didn't. You were cloaked in my shadows, and no one would've been able to see through them, I promise. I'm not letting anyone see you like this."
My cheeks went hot at his claim, and I shook my head. Sliding off the bed, I started dressing as Pixie slid her way between my legs, trying her best to make me trip from her love.
Once I was dressed, I grabbed my phone, unplugging it from the power bank Liam had given him for his phone.
"Ready?" Shade asked, and I nodded, then grabbed him before he could move away, leaning up so he'd know what I wanted. Reading me perfectly, he cupped my face, then pressed his lips to mine, kissing me deeply .
I never got tired of kissing Shade, because it felt like the first time every time his lips touched mine.
Maybe it was because we were mates, or maybe it was just because of how much I liked this man.
The word 'like' didn't seem enough for the way I felt about Shade, but the other L word scared me a little.
It was so big, and while I'd already said it to Shade a long time ago, that had been completely different.
"Come on, let's go before someone comes looking for us," he said, and I nodded.
I grabbed my cane from where I'd left it by the couch last night, then made my way outside, walking down the hallway to the door labeled Dining Room.
Keoni raced up to me the moment I stepped inside, the clatter of his cart making it easy to recognize him.
"Diego, hey! I was just about to come ask you guys if you wanted lunch brought over. Is Shade with you?"
"Yeah. We thought we'd eat with everyone."
"That's great! Come on. Sit with Khush and Dustin, and I'll grab you two some food."
"Oh, okay," I said as he directed me toward a chair, settling in as I heard him clatter off.
Shade had told me about Khush and Dustin, but I didn't think I'd talked to them before.
"Um, hello," I said hesitantly, and Shade's shadows tickled my ankle, making me relax a little.
"Hey, guys," he chimed in from my phone as I placed it on the table, and that relieved me even more.
"Hello, Shade. You've been hogging your mate all to yourself, you know.
I've been dying to talk to him properly," a cheerful voice said, and I assumed it was Dustin because Shade had described Khush as a 'grump,' so it couldn't be him.
"It's nice to meet you, Diego. My name is Dustin, and beside me is my mate, Khush. "
"Hey," a deeper voice greeted, and I waved in his general direction, completely awkward. What the hell was wrong with me? I wasn't usually like this.
"I imagine all of this has been a bit crazy for you, huh? Meeting Shade again, finding out about all of us..." Dustin trailed off, and I shrugged.
"Sort of. I always knew there was more to the world since I met Shade, but I never thought I'd see him again, so that was a surprise."
"A good surprise, right?" Dustin teased, and I grinned.
"The best."
Shade
Watching Diego get along with the Sanctuary residents made my heart swell, and I stayed quiet for the most part since people kept coming up to the table to introduce themselves and talk to Diego.
While many of them had reacted negatively when the first humans came to live at the Sanctuary, they were doing much better now, and seemed to have accepted it.
A part of it could be that the humans were mated to some of the more powerful supes here, but mostly, it was because everyone here was good at heart.
Jacinta came over then, the sticker on her t-shirt announcing today's pronouns as she/her.
"Hey, Diego. I don't think we've met yet. I'm Jacinta, she/her for today. "
Diego smiled widely as he turned his face to her, holding out a hand. She blinked at it for a moment before giving it a careful shake.
"It's great to meet you, Jacinta. I wanted to tell you that I really like your cooking."
She stared at him for a moment, then grinned. "I like you, and so, I won't eat you."
Diego paused, as if unsure if she was serious or joking.
"Jacinta," I warned, making her chuckle.
"Shade, you're the friendliest person in this place. You don't scare me," she said, flicking her platinum blond hair behind her shoulders.
Sometimes, being a nice person came back to bite you in the ass. I couldn't let her think I wouldn't protect my mate, though, so I moved from Diego's shadow into hers, then pulled the ends of her tentacles in before returning to Diego's shadow.
"What the—" Jacinta tried to move back, but couldn't, and she glanced down, finally realizing what I'd done.
"What's wrong?" Diego asked, clearly sensing her mild distress.
"What's wrong is your mate stuck my tentacles in my shadow and now I can't move."
"Your... tentacles?" Diego asked hesitantly, then shook his head. "Shade, free her."
"But—"
"Shade," he pressed, and I sighed, then did as he'd asked, ducking back into his shadow when Jacinta tried to smack me with her tentacle.
"Thank you, Diego. You're a sweetheart. Tell me what your favorite dish is later, and I'll make it for you. "
"Why did I never get my favorite dish?" Dustin whined, and Jacinta raised a brow at him.
"You will when you pop that baby out," she said, then sashayed away. It wasn't intentional, just what she looked like when she moved on land with her tentacles.
Diego's brows were furrowed, his head turned toward Dustin, and I realized I'd forgotten to tell him some very important things about the man.
Dustin, clearly sensing Diego's confusion, explained, "I'm trans, and pregnant."
"Congratulations!" Diego said, instantly delighted by the news, which made Dustin happy as well.
The rest of the meal passed in a similar fashion, and we lingered for a while afterward since everyone wanted to talk to Diego. He had a smile on his face the whole time, and I got the feeling he liked talking to everyone as much as they enjoyed talking to him.
When we finally did make our way back to my area, we climbed right back into bed as Diego released a deep sigh.
"You're really lucky to have such nice friends."
"They're your friends now too," I reminded, which seemed to surprise him.
"You think so? They weren't just being nice because I'm your mate?"
I snorted at that, then pulled him into my arms until he was on top of me. He crossed his arms on my chest, resting his chin on them, his eyes on my face as if he could see me.
I cupped his face in one hand, rubbing my thumb under his eye. He pressed into my touch, making me smile.
"My friends aren't nice to people because they have to be, Diego. They were nice to you because they like you. Simple as that. "
"Yeah?" he asked, a soft smile curving his lips, and I hummed.
We lay like that for a while, but then Diego sighed.
"I have school tomorrow."
"I know."
"I should probably go home."
"Why?"
"Well, I don't have clothes here, for one. Or my laptop. Or notes."
"I can grab anything you want," I offered, and he shook his head.
"Some of my stuff is in the living room, and it's not light-proof," he said, then pursed his lips, as if something had just occurred to him.
"What if the glitch happens again when I'm at work and you aren't able to get to a shadow quickly enough?"
"That won't happen. I'm fast," I assured him, and he sighed.
"But what if you're not? How about I fix up my bedroom and you stay there while I'm at work?"
"Diego," I murmured, not wanting him to worry about me.
"Please. Just until Zephyr fixes it."
"Okay," I relented, because I'd do anything to keep him from worrying.
"Good. I'll go home tonight, and you can come with me. You can help me secure the bedroom for daytime."
"Sounds good. What would you like to do until dinner?"
Diego bit his lower lip, then grinned. "I'm sure we can think of a few things to try."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
He chuckled, then closed the distance between us to press his lips to mine as he murmured, "How about your cock, my mouth? Or vice versa? "
"Hmmm... We could do it at the same time," I suggested, making him grin.
"I like the way you think," he said with a laugh before deepening the kiss, and I moaned into his mouth as I pulled him close with the hope that I'd never have to let go.