12. Gray

12

GRAY

O n the other side of the aisle, Revv's suitcase sits, waiting to be opened. I stare at it for a long time while I hold Revv in my arms. The doctor said there would be a point where Revv would feel finished with his portion of the nest, and he'd go to sleep, passing off the construction to his alpha. I guess that happened when Revv told Chris to get a tripod.

But the nest doesn't feel finished yet. Not even if there was a tripod set up. I was more than happy to just watch and help when needed. I don't necessarily feel a desire to open Revv up myself. And yet, the suitcase calls to me.

I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to look inside before Chris gets here.

Revv doesn't stir when I leave him sleeping on the bed. I tiptoe over to the suitcase and maneuver it until it's lying flat on the ground. I'm not sure what I expect when I open it, but it isn't three plastic bags with labels. The largest one says Anchorage, a smaller one says Rixton, and a tiny bag no larger than a fist is labeled Dow.

I open the Dow bag first. There are only a few rocks in there, all encrusted with mortar on one side. Did Revv chisel these rocks from the manufactured cliff in Dow? That must mean he started nesting weeks ago. The bag of rocks from Rixton has smooth, flat rocks, probably from the beach. The rocks from Anchorage aren't rocks at all, but bars of metal. They're shaped like bars of gold from an Indiana Jones movie or something. They're vaguely familiar.

Then I remember where I've seen bars like this—during my fieldtrip to the Dubow jewelry shop back when I was in elementary school. The docent showed us a similar bar and told us that magic metal was melted down and formed into bars before being sold to welders.

How on earth did Revv get this much magic metal? There must be a fortune of it in here. Did he steal it from Axe and Cy? I can't believe he got it through airport security.

In a strange way, I guess it makes sense. Revv brought pebbles, and he brought the metal for his future necklace too. In true Revv form, there is far too much of both.

I begin by setting the metal bars in a ring around the nest, just like a necklace. I place the rocks in a smaller ring, displaying the few rocks from Dow at the foot of the bed. Then I rip open the bags of fluff Revv piled up next to the suitcase and create a cocoon of softness around Revv on the bed. He looks like he's in the middle of a cloud—a blue-haired angel at the center of his completely unique nest.

Chris appears next to me. I didn't hear him come in. He's holding a tripod in one hand and a phone charger in the other.

"Did you finish the nest?" he asks.

"It just needed a few extra touches."

It occurs to me that nesting is the only thing Revv and Chris have done completely by the book in regard to penguin shifter tradition. This is the first time I've gotten a glimpse of fairy penguin shifter culture. There's a beauty to its strangeness.

I help Chris set up the tripod and rig up Revv's phone. At a certain point Chris abandons the project altogether and climbs onto the bed with Revv. Instinct has taken over, and I love the way he burrows his nose into Revv's neck and inhales deeply. It's a feral sort of action, like a bison shifter in rut or a polar bear shifter in heat.

This is the part where I get to see the fairy penguin side of Chris take control.

Revv stirs under Chris. His skin is now sheened with sweat and sometime during the tripod setup he took off his pants, so he's completely naked in his cocoon.

"Daddy," he whispers, lifting his head lean into Chris.

"Shhhhh, I've got you."

I start recording because I want them to see this when they wake up from the haze of the egg-laying process.

"Gray," Revv whines.

"He's right here, baby."

I pull off my clothes and join them in the bed. It smells of Revv's slick, and I notice a big wet spot on the bed underneath him.

Revv is ready.

He climbs onto his hands and knees and starts rocking back and forth, slick leaking down his legs.

"Turn around so the camera can see you slick, baby," Chris says.

Revv obeys him without question, continuing to rock.

"Lower your chest and stick your ass out. Show the camera how wet you are. How badly you need it." Chris pushes down on Revv's back and slides his knees open until he's completely exposed.

"Look at you. So eager for it. I bet I could invite anyone off the street to fuck you now, and you'd take their dick for me, wouldn't you?"

Revv nods eagerly, his eyes closed, his body rocking in earnest.