Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

PERRY

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod," I manage between shallow gasps of air. Yes, I'm on the verge of hyperventilating. According to my memories, something like this happens every time I incarnate, yet I can't seem to make myself stop. Possibly because my whole life has been a giant fucking lie and I'm actually death incarnated. "Oh my god ," I groan, hunching forward.

A bottle of top-shelf vodka appears under my nose. "Drink this," someone suggests. I think it's Flame, but I'm too busy gratefully seizing the bottle to really care. Alcohol seems like a really good idea right now.

I unscrew the cap, take a generous swallow, grimace as I remember that vodka isn't my favorite hard liquor, then take another slug.

"Better?" Aether asks gently. He's sitting beside me, watching with worried eyes. My free hand reaches out to take his before I even know I'm doing it, an action so familiar, I don't have to think about it. That's so fucking terrifying.

I tip the bottle to my mouth for two big swallows.

"Whoa," Aqua mutters. "Bro, go easy. You don't wanna pass out before you ask all the questions."

A flood of memories rises in my mind's eye, making me feel a little nauseous… which makes more memories rise, reminding me that this happens every time. I'll feel sick until my brain gets used to managing the memories of multiple lives. Sometimes it takes a couple hours, sometimes a couple days. Fingers crossed it's quick, because the nausea and the vodka aren't mixing well.

Aqua's right, though… I have questions. Even though all the answers are in my memories, the me I've been for nearly three decades now really wants to ask anyway… which my memories tell me also happens every time.

I thrust the vodka bottle toward Aether. "Take this away, please. Don't give it back no matter what I say."

"Oh, great," George mutters. "It's going to be one of those incarnations."

I flip him the bird, something I feel incredibly comfortable doing now that I remember knowing him since single-cell organisms first began to divide. I couldn't think back then, but the essence of me still existed. Which I can't think about too hard unless I want a headache.

"Let's all just stay calm," I say, fully aware that I'm the only one on the verge of freaking the fuck out. "Are we calm? Let's be calm."

"Dude." Aqua shakes his head sympathetically. "Alcohol's taking its time to kick in. Want a toke?"

"God, yes. No, wait! No. Not yet. After." The vodka's gonna start doing its thing soon, and adding weed to that isn't going to help me think. I run a hand through my hair. "So, uh… just as a summary… you guys are the four classical elements incarnated as human. Probably because climate change is destroying the planet. And Aether is the incarnation of life energy, the consolidation of all four of you." I stop to gather my composure, because the next bit is the terrifying part. "And I'm Aether's balance. He embodies life, and I embody the need for life to end." I pause again, this time waiting for confirmation. Even though I can remember the truth, can remember every painful time I made the decision to let death take its course, I still need someone to say it.

"Yes." It's Aether who speaks, still holding my hand. He knows how hard this moment always is for me. The awakening. Not only does it rip away every piece of my current life, I'm also forced to remember ending billions of others.

"You all get incarnated to counter whatever natural disaster is fucking with the world. Aether is incarnated when things are dire and more power is needed." I swallow. "And I'm born to tell you when to stop trying." It was my decision to let the dinosaurs go, after thousands of years trying to save them and three-quarters of all life at that time. It's always my decision—it has to be. Only someone who is born and raised and lived every second of their life in those circumstances, in that society, as that species can know when the limit is reached.

So I made the call. The same call I'd made many times before and many times since. I'd told the guys to stop fighting the decrease in temperature, to stop trying to hold back the ice. We lived out the rest of that lifetime without fighting and let millions of whole species become extinct.

Tears track slowly down my face, and the guys wordlessly crowd closer. It helps.

Finally, I let out a shaky sigh. "So… you'd think these damn humans would have learned after we saved them during the industrial revolution," I grumble. Humans are the worst. If you work out the percentage of how much time we've spent with them per length of time they've existed, they're the most troublesome species of them all, causing most of the recent issues we've had to fix.

But that doesn't mean I want to let them die out.

"Humans learn what humans want to learn," Zephyr intones, and affection rushes through me. I love these idiots so much.

"What's the plan?" I ask, and there's a collective sigh of relief. We all remember that one time when I was barely over the awakening and made the immediate call to let go. They'd already done everything possible, and nothing Aether and I could add would have changed anything. It was a nightmare none of us want to repeat.

"We're struggling with the fires, torrential rain and flooding, and hurricanes and other weather events," Flame admits. "Volcanic and earthquake activity has stabilized, so George has been able to help us out, but we're not winning."

I nod slowly. "And we won't unless the humans step up and rein in their pollutants." Even when I was just a clueless human, I felt strongly about this. I've done a lot of reading about climate change and the effect humanity is having on the world with the overuse of fossil fuels. Swallowing hard, I push down the thought that my once-dinosaur self has probably been used to fuel someone's car.

"We're working on that," George says confidently. "Raising awareness and encouraging the design of technology that will help in the longer term. But it's taking too long, and some humans are stubborn."

I grin. It feels a little lopsided on my face, since the alcohol is finally starting to have effect. "We'll just have to convince them."

Hours later, after a marathon planning session, dinner, the rest of the vodka (not by myself, though), a joint Aqua assured me he'd been saving for my awakening, and some maudlin reminiscences, I crawl into bed beside Aether and cuddle close. Earlier today, he was a weird stranger I was concerned about, and now I'm planning to fuck him stupid and fall asleep beside him, secure in the knowledge that he's my literal soul mate, fated to be with me until the world ceases to exist.

He turns his head to kiss me, and the familiarity of it soaks down to my bones. This man is my other half, and the countless moments we've lain together like this are precious memories.

As our tongues tangle together, I slide my leg between his, loving the way it presses our hard cocks together. This first time will go fast—it always does. We've been separated for hundreds of years, even if I didn't remember that until a few hours ago. Our bodies are desperate for each other.

Aether rolls us over so he's on his back and I'm lying on him. "Need you," he whispers, breaking our kiss.

Any thought I might have had of trying to draw things out vanishes. Fulfilling Aether's needs is my only priority—next time we can take it slow. "I need you too." I roll my hips, thrusting against him, and he widens his legs, letting me fall into the cradle between.

"Perry," he gasps, half warning, half plea. I stroke my palms over the warm, hair-roughened planes of his chest, loving the way the muscles twitch in response.

"How do you want me?" I ask, bending my head to tease his nipple.

"In meee." His voice rises on the last syllable, body jerking under my mouth.

"That's a given," I promise, my dick throbbing with desperate need at the thought. Time for me to take charge. "Hands and knees."

His face relaxes with relief at the order, and I give his nipple one final lick before easing back and giving him space to move. He scrambles to turn over, getting onto his knees and presenting his ass to me.

I want to bite it.

As if reading my mind, he glances back over his shoulder and gives a little wriggle. He knows me so well. Who am I to deny him? I lean down and nip his round left cheek.

His breathy laugh shoots through me like electricity. How can I have missed something I never knew existed? But I have. So much.

I kiss the small red bite mark, then the spot next to it, trailing my way to his crack. I just need one quick taste. Spreading his cheeks, I get to work. The sounds that burst from him are all the encouragement I need.

When he's a panting, begging mess and my cock is painfully hard and weeping with need, I pull back and test his hole with my fingertip. It clenches reflexively, then relaxes, opening beautifully under my touch.

"Please, Perry," Aether implores, and I can't resist him for a second more. I dot kisses down his spine as I line the head of my dick up with his pucker and ease inside.

We both moan. This is it. This is where I'm supposed to be.

Taking firm hold of Aether's hips, I draw back and then thrust again.

"Faster," he orders, pushing back. I lightly slap his right cheek.

"Behave."

He pushes back again. "I don't want to. Harder, Perry. Faster."

Wordlessly, I obey, picking up speed and driving into him.

"Yessssss." He drops his head as I set a new rhythm, one guaranteed to get us both off soon.

Sure enough, it's only a minute later that I feel his muscles begin to tense.

I stop moving, and Aether whines in protest. "Up," I command. "Up on your knees." I wrap an arm around his chest and pull him up so he's basically sitting on my lap. The angle of penetration changes, and he cries out. "That's my good boy," I croon. "Just relax. I'm going to take care of you."

Obediently, he slumps against me, his head lolling back onto my shoulder. I keep one arm around his waist, pinning him firmly against me and keeping my cock deep inside him. I have less leverage for thrusting in this position, but I don't need it. Small movements supply all the internal stimulation he needs as my other hand closes around his hard dick. I jerk him with quick, tight strokes, supporting his body with my own as I work him over.

"Perry," he breathes against the side of my neck.

"Come for me," I croon. "Now."

His whole body clenches as he heeds my command, his ass clamping around my cock as cum spurts from his. I glory in his wild sounds of pleasure, then let myself join him.

We lie tangled up in each other, sweaty and panting as we come down from the high of orgasm, and I wonder how soon we can?—

My thoughts are interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. "Are you finished?" Zephyr calls politely. "I have electrolyte drinks for you, to ward off a hangover."

I lift my head and look toward the door. "How long have you been standing there waiting?" I ask, raising my voice.

The handle turns and Zeph's smiling face appears around the door. "Longer than I thought I'd have to," he admits. "I was sure you'd be fast, after being apart for so long. Well done with the stamina, both of you!"

I begin to laugh as Aether says, "Thank you," and then Zephyr comes in carrying drink bottles, followed a moment later by Aqua, plaintively asking if we know where he put the spliff.

This is my family, and we're going to save the world… or end humanity.

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