Chapter 52

Joanie

S pying Buu sitting outside, eyeing the forest and the muddy ground around him as he sorted through the fronds we'd collected for basket weaving, and by we I mean he mostly collected because he thinks I might hurt myself this far along, I gave him a gentle nudge.

"You're contemplative. Quieter than usual. You okay?" I met Buu's gaze, offering him a smile.

He smiled back but he looked like he had something on his mind.

Rek, my forever shadow, much improved from some homemade juice, ahem, and plenty of mate cuddling TLC, glanced up from the loom he was repairing. "Buu misses caves home sometimes." Using a tool to hammer the pieces of wood he'd fixed back together, he gruntingly told us, "No worries you peekaboobs. Rek fix it. Buu not want leave my Jojomine."

Buu and I glanced between each other. "Buu not leave Joalee," Buu replied softly.

"Buu never, ever want to," Rek informed him confidently. The look he leveled on him said, Or else. God, I loved my crazy sock monkey.

Buu smiled in the face of that look, zero offense taken.

I grinned at the exchange.

Setting down the loom, Rek held a hand out for me and jerked his chin at Buu. "Come. Celuk finish with Rek when my Jojo spends time with dummy head and Goober. Says Rek show Buu and my Jojo when Rek ready."

"You all and your secrets," I muttered, but happily took his hand and let him help me up.

We didn't end up going very far.

Rek walked the few feet over to the stump hiding the ruins of our lovenest and lifted the hatch. "Rek go first, then my Jojomine, then Buu," he instructed.

My heart gave a little trill. They'd cleaned it up in here and fixed it up?

"Candy-ass help, too, when Celuk and Rek ask for help," Rek added. With a snort, he added, "She not much help."

"You know she hates when you call her that," I pointed out.

"Rek no care." A smirk stole over his face as he dropped down into the hole, narrowly escaping swatting range. "Pepé calls Candy-ass Candy-ass."

"She's too scared of Pepé to argue with him," I pointed out.

"Candy-ass say she ‘fraid Pepé?" Rek asked curiously.

"No." I blinked down at him, pausing at the hatch. "But does she really need to?"

"Candy-ass not so ‘fraid, she says." Rek tapped his nose.

Shaking my head quickly, I lifted my hands. "Much as that kinda makes sense, I don't want to know. I promised myself, unless it's during a support meeting, getting all up in people's shit like that, nuh-uh, it's really none of my business."

"Pepé not hate Dace much him say, neither," Buu added.

When I looked to him sharply in surprise, he shrugged his wide shoulders, then copied Rek in tapping the side of his own nose.

"Busybodies, all of you," I tutted, then laughed.

My laughter died in my throat as Rek helped me down the hatch, my feet hit the ground, and I turned and got an eyeful of our once ruined lovenest.

Buu carefully climbed down the safety ladder Celuk and Rek must have commissioned at some point for the hatch entrance.

"Oh… Rek. It's perfect," I blurted.

Rek grinned at the compliment and cuddled into my side. "Make better," he purred.

"There's room for all of us," I breathed.

Buu's throat worked. One of his hands found mine. I enclosed it in both of mine as it began to tremble. Bringing his hand to my face, I placed a kiss along his knuckles.

"Dace go with hunters, get wormies things Buu have home," Rek went on, giving us the tour.

"I thought- I was told she took off," I blurted. I'd thought it weird that she would, but she's since moved into my old hut and tries to be quite active in the community. She feels like she needs to make amends and she's taken it to the extreme. It's had some… unintentionally interesting results.

The bigger my belly has gotten, the more paranoid she's become that somehow living with us was going to make us enemies that put me and the baby at risk of harm. I knew all of this through Buu, who would confide in me what she told him, and that's as far as anything he told me that he didn't wish repeated went.

I felt a bit better knowing that she hadn't just up and left but was trying to surprise her best friend.

Rek paused as he was showing us the areas they'd carved out, a space for everyone, a bed in the middle of the main room large enough for our colossal family grouping, even a crib next to the bed, and a playpen near the redone kitchen area. All those hot water mini hot tub holes in the ground had grates that locked in to thick bolts covering them. They'd really thought of everything.

"No way make hot room for metal," Rek rumbled out to Buu, "but Rek take Buu to Joanie weenie bubby Doodie's. Him let Buu use forge. Rek and Celuk checked with Doogie."

Buu continued to clear his throat. Oh, those beautiful peepers were getting misty. Nabbing Buu's lower hand up to drag him in with me, I gave Rek a huge hug.

"Thank you," I whispered, then nipped his earlobe.

Rek's purr was so loud Buu pulled back and jokingly shook his hands out. "Buu no know Rek loves Buu that much," Buu teased easily.

"Bah. Rek no love Buu pretty face that much," Rek shot back as he reeled me in and wrapped his arms around me tight. "All know, Rek loves Jojomine the most."

"Then Celuk and Kirch, then Buu and Jeh-kal, then Gopher, Doogie, and Odix," I quipped saucily.

Buu laughed but Rek huffed out, affronted, "Who say Rek loves dummy head, Goober, and Doodie?"

"He's not denying it," I singsonged.

"Like Celuk tease, stand no chance with peekaboobs. Him nice, treat my Joanie good. Not tell Rek Rek can't love on my Joanie too, him wants cuddles from my Jojo and it him's turn."

"You love him because he shares me so well?" I spluttered, incredulous. Was he serious? Though, I mean, in Rek land I supposed that made perfect sense. Buu had zero problem sharing me with my other mates, even if it was his time.

Buu shrugged but smiled. He was so used to Rek by now, he just rolled with it.

Not feeling excluded was very important to both of them. They really were besties in the making, built-in emotional support for each other.

"Rek and Celuk have plans, build ‘nother love nest by my Jojomine hill house," Rek told Buu.

" My hill house? I think you mean Celuk's, Rekkie poo," I corrected not unkindly.

Rek shrug his head. "‘Luk say it Jojomine's. Him make for mate. Jojomine ‘Luk's mate. It Jojomine's, like lovenest and big village hut."

"Are you telling me I'm suddenly some Lo denaii real estate tycoon?" I spluttered on a laugh. I was more joking than serious, though that was a lot to take in. They thought of them as mine?

"No." My sock monkey shook his head. "Rek no know ‘bout Roller toaster tycloons. Dace tell ‘bout that game. Rek not play games. Rek for the reals. Jojomine's huts." Oh, I could kiss the fur right off of his confused mug right now.

Another laugh left me.

"Like Buu clan. Caves females'. Buu caves Jojomine's," Buu agreed.

"Well, all of it is OURS," I told them. "Equals."

"Rek hut still Jojomine's," Rek stubbornly insisted.

"Okay," I said simply, knowing he wouldn't stop until I agreed. Jerking him down to me, I planted one on him that had him purring so loudly my fingers sifting through the fur on his chest as my hands slid down to rest there were going numb.

A soft snort of a noise left Buu because he knew, oh, my big old cave-beast-cat-man so knew. He had mine and Rek's number. And I've so gone soft to be readily agreeing with him like that. Truly though, was it such a big deal to give in every now and again?

The big deal Rek made out of it, scooping me up to walk me towards the bed and test it out, growling at Buu to join us, told me it wouldn't hurt to let the fuzzy pain in my ass feel like he's won every now and again.