Chapter Seven #2
And I supposed the third cookie had a home as I handed him the bag with a huff. “Here. Have a cookie.”
“What is it?” He pulled out the shortbread-esque thing and wrinkled his nose as he turned it over between his fingers.
“Cookie. Fruit in. It’s sugar and carbs. Eat.” I crossed my legs as I took up space beside him and settled in.
He examined the bag, as confused about the package as I had been at one point or another. Still, he took a grudging bite, though. “Not bad. Reminds me of ube shortbread.”
“Laa-dee-richy-dah,” I found myself saying. Someone was spendy rich enough to afford exotic produce. The program that raised me fed me a diet of protein gruel, fiber tablets, and the occasional vitamin transfusion when I looked peaky. Part of the reason why I loved food so much.
He glanced away, tail swishing away from me in a noticeable withdrawal. “If you had my resources, you too would have sampled many things.”
“I’d not be as rich as you if I had your resources.” I huffed. “How often did you rip us off?”
“Often enough.” Roan crossed his arms over his knees, a rather churlish gesture for someone so well-established and far more humanoid than he was last we saw. “Nice face.”
I reached up to touch my cheek, smooth skin meeting my fingertips, the sensation strange. “Thanks.”
“As I was telling him earlier,” Vil said, interrupting us. “That’s behind us. You made amends. I’ve distributed the money to my crew as their part and sent money to the designated beneficiaries of the crew we’ve lost since then. Everyone is happy.”
“Gotta admit, that payout was nice, not that it does us any good here.” I scoffed and leaned back, stretching a single leg out, enjoying the way my newly changed skin stretched over my muscles. Taloned toes stretched and spread before tucking.
“Well, if we—or when you—decide to leave…” Vil waved a hand aimlessly.
“What makes you think I want to leave?” I glanced up, meeting Vil’s guilty gaze.
“You’ve not…” Vil hesitated.
“You’ve avoided coitus or any interest in any of the omegas. I cannot imagine their eternal pestering is going to ease up.” Noel, as infuriatingly blunt as always, leaned into Vil and inhaled deeply, as relaxed as I’d ever seen him.
“Well… We’re equals here. I have no family out there,” I said, gesturing toward space aimlessly like I could point out which direction we were currently facing. “I have family here.”
Roan scoffed, and I glanced over.
“Though, it is getting a little crowded.” I raised my lip in a little threat display and earned a huff.
“Like one pussy-fruit-colored omega is going to make your life hell here.” His eyes didn’t flick my way again, posture wilting as much as his tail.
“Get the fuck off your pity party, Roan. Like… Seriously. They spent hours grilling us, making sure we weren’t misogy—speci—sexist?
Whatever. None of us give a shit about your gender.
And your color is fine! Whoever decided that one set of genitals owned a damn color needs to be resurrected, turned into an AI, and forced to share a mind with Merriel for a hundred years! ”
“Speaking of Merriel…” Vil glanced around.
“If it gets too bad, he can vacate his probe.” Roan shrugged. “You know how they are.”
“I don’t think he reciprocates her affection.” Noel glanced off in the direction she flew away.
“I don’t know if that’s affection…” I pursed my lips. “They’re like the last two of a species and one of them is gay.”
Vil’s face twisted in a pained expression. “I don’t think Merriel can quite wrap his head around sex. It’s been how long and he hasn’t even figured out how to wire pleasure? He’s figured out eight kinds of drugs in that time.”
“Leticia will update his code if she has half a chance,” Roan supplied unhelpfully.
“I’m going to check in on him.” Vil waved in the air to open a window. “Merriel?”
A beep responded before Leticia’s voice cooed, “Merriel isn’t here right now. Please leave a message after the—”
“Ahhh!” Merriel’s short scream ended abruptly as silence spread among the room.
“Leticia!” Roan sighed heavily.
She piped in, “Yes, sir?”
“Don’t you yes, sir me! What are you doing to Merriel?” Roan slicked his slender fingers back through the shock of hair atop his head, growing back in a neatly coifed fauxhawk.
“At the moment? Nothing. When I find his code, though— I will show him the meaning of pleasure.” Her evil laugh made the nonexistent hairs on my arms stand on end.
“I don’t want it!” Merriel’s voice chirped up as Leticia made an aha! And the line went silent once more.
“Honestly, for someone who loves drugs as much as he does, he certainly doesn’t understand the high that comes post-orgasm.” Noel stared at his nails.
“Wait? You serious?” Merriel’s voice piped up.
“Why do you think we like it so much and why I’m willing to breed so readily?” Noel gestured at his belly, and silence ticked on.
“Huh. Well. Hey, Cap’n, can I like, let Letti muck with my code?” Merriel’s hopeful voice cut out.
“Go for it. If she screws something up, we’ll restore you to a backup once Gorm is rehydrated.” Vil waved his hand, and Merriel gave a beep of confirmation.
“Good for him.” I shook my head. “You could learn a thing or two, Roan.”
“I enjoy sex, thank you very much.” Roan rolled his eyes.
“Well, that’s good. I’d hate to think someone gets two channels to fuck and hated it.” I picked at my teeth as Roan hesitated, glancing over at me with a creased brow.
“Two?” Roan whipped his head around, and Noel gave him some little gesture and some explanation about the ventral slit of an omega housing a channel as well as the rectal cavity’s perineal tie to some duct or whatever.
Roan froze in place as if he’d just been slapped, shoulders pinching tight.
“Did you genuinely not know?” Noel tilted his head.
“Of course I knew! I—I just don’t feel comfortable… I don’t make a habit of sleeping around. I—” He silenced as Nexus and Noah came toddling in with lips coated in blue crumbles.
“Gah, little man! You’re dripping crumbs everywhere. We’re going to get lyrets if you’re not careful.” I reached out to grab hold of Nexus and pulled a rag from my pocket to brush at his face as he fought me off.
“Yeahhh… They did a bio scan of the ship. There’s not a single lyret left on that thing.” Vil laughed.
“All gone!” Nexus held his hands up in celebration as Noah toddled over to Roan and stared at him with a twisted face.
Roan stared at the little one and stuck his claws in his mouth to chew on them, bright-blue eyes sparkling. Roan gave a little wave to the child. “Hello there.”
Noah pulled his fingers from his mouth and held out a soggy piece of cookie and toddled forward, holding it up.
“Oh. Oh, no thank you… I—” Roan glanced around and locked gazes with Vil pleadingly.
“Aww, isn’t that sweet, Roan? He wants to share. Don’t hurt his feelings.” Vil’s goading didn’t help as Noah’s face puffed up as if he were about to cry.
Noah’s little fingers spread as he reached up, thick saliva and blue mushy cookie spread over his palm.
Roan glanced around for a rescue before I had enough and gave in, refraining from laughter as I pulled Noah into my lap and mimed nomming on his hand while I discreetly wiped the cookie off with my rag. “Oh, yummy! Thank you, Noah!”
Nexus blinked and stared up at me. “Ew.”
Noah, staring at me horrified, teared up. “Teetee gone.”
Roan, sensing an issue, snapped a piece of his cookie off and handed it to Noah with a flourish. “Here, I’ll share mine, little one.”
As he did so, Nexus whined and reached out, wanting it to be fair. Reluctantly, Roan parted with the last of his cookie, and the two scrambled off as a warm weight curled over my tail. Heat spiraled through my core, my breath hitching as every nerve in my body woke at the same time.
“What the—” I glanced down to my tail and found it coiled with Roan’s, the two of us locked in a little gesture of attraction. “Uh…”
“Your room is as you left it—though I think Nema did clean it.” Noel gave the same tail curl to Vil as they snuggled closer. “If you or Roan need a nap.”
“No! Nooooo!” Nexus hissed from the corner of the room, covered in crumbs again. “No nap!”
“Nap?” Noah yawned and toddled over to the edge of Noel and Vil’s cushion and curled up. “Mnn…”
“Alright. None of that. If you sleep now, you’ll be awake all night climbing the ceiling.” Noel plucked Noah up and patted his back. “Uncle Wallace needs a nap.”
Noah grumbled, and my body made many decisions at once that my mind didn’t.