25. Garrett

Chapter twenty-five

Garrett

G arrett and Jonah were only taking a three-day honeymoon. Originally, it was scheduled to be longer, but between medical problems, minor freakouts, and work piling up back on Pandora, they had decided to take it from eight days to three. Honestly, even that was almost longer than Jonah was really comfortable being away from Cody, so it worked out all right.

Honeymoons were an entirely new concept for both of them. Garrett was used to having the time he wanted to do whatever he wanted, no special name for it needed, and Drifters never took a break, so between the two of them, a honeymoon ended up as a compromise between utter indolence and a rapid return to the rhythm of their normal lives.

The newlyweds ended up in a private chalet on Paradise’s tallest mountain, completely alone except for the robotic staff. The chalet had been built by a longtime friend of Miles’s named Vernon Cage, a Central System aristocrat and technophile who wanted it for a getaway home but didn’t want to bother with hiring actual people to work there. Cage was a genius with integrative artificial intelligences and owned one of the only companies still manufacturing androids in the universe.

The backlash against completely human-seeming machines had made the business an uncertain one for a long time, but the androids he made, like those who staffed his mansion, were humanoid but also very clearly machines. The butler who met them at the door had appendages that changed shape depending on the task it was engaged in, shifting from seemingly white-gloved hands when it ushered them inside to a keypad that it encouraged Garrett to use to set the password for the house’s alarm system while they were there.

Jonah watched the keypad shift back into hands, breaking off into tiny blocks and reforming, changing from black keys to white fingers in the space of a few seconds, unexpectedly versipellis. “How the hell does he do that?”

“Uncle Vernon wrote a special algorithm that allows for a certain amount of mutability in his androids,” Garrett said, handing over their bag to the butler. “It’s pretty advanced math, and the work is completely proprietary. It’s made the man a huge amount of money in the mining industry, among others. His machines are incredibly versatile, no matter what task they’re set to. Thank you, Michael,” he told the butler, who inclined his head gently.

“How do you know his name?”

“Uncle Vernon always calls his butlers Michael.”

They followed the android into the mansion, Jonah glancing around with wide eyes while Garrett kept a hand pressed to the small of his back. It was an effort not to let it slide lower, but Jonah deserved the tour of the place before Garrett pulled him off to bed. This house, like all of Vernon’s homes, was a spectacular salute to imagination and indulgence. “He’s nothing if not consistent.”

“How many butlers does one man need?”

“The last I knew, Uncle Vernon had thirteen houses on ten different planets, and all of them were staffed exactly the same. Is that still accurate, Michael?”

“Entirely accurate with regards to staff, Master Garrett,” the android replied, his voice a smooth tenor. “I do believe that Mr. Cage now has seventeen residences on fourteen planets, however.”

Jonah, who had gotten used to a fair amount of luxury since entering Garrett’s life, seemed thunderstruck. “Why’s one man got so many houses?”

Michael answered the question as though it had been addressed to him. “Sir is rightfully protective of his privacy and finds it advantageous to have numerous options on hand for his personal comfort.”

“He’s paranoid,” Garrett paraphrased. “With reason because he’s a very wealthy man with a very lucrative business that a lot of people would like to get a piece of. He’s never married, never had kids as far as I know. He’s not my actual uncle, but when my father and I were reconciling when I was young, Vernon was around a lot. He’s a brilliant guy, but he’s got his own way of doing things. He lets Dad use this house at his discretion.”

“I shall put your luggage in the third bedroom, Master Garrett,” Michael said, interrupting delicately. “The evening repast will be ready in three hours, to be served in the informal dining lounge. Sunita is at your service to guide you to wherever you wish to go.”

The seemingly solid metal floor rose up in the center, forming a small dome shape that blinked up at them like an eye. Garrett watched Jonah start back with surprise and laughed a little. “Sunita is the house,” he said. “Almost all the surfaces are versatile.”

“That means the house is gonna be watchin’ us the whole time we’re here?” Jonah asked, one eyebrow raised.

“In the moment, yes, but I can instruct it not to keep any records once Sunita has verified that we aren’t a security risk. Or,” Garrett added, stepping in closer and placing a hot kiss on the side of his new husband’s neck, “we could let the house watch, with our blessing. Do you have any latent exhibitionistic tendencies, darling?”

“No,” Jonah said firmly, and Garrett felt a little let down. “But,” he continued, “I do know that you like puttin’ on a show. And I don’t mind so much if our only audience is the house.”

“Excellent!” Garrett grinned. “I like that you’re entering into marriage with an open mind, sweetheart. I think we’re getting off to a good start.”

Jonah put his arms around Garrett’s waist and pulled their bodies flush together. Garrett wiggled his hips against the hard line of his husband’s erection and felt his own body rapidly respond. “There’ll definitely be some getting off,” Jonah husked. He kissed Garrett’s mouth hard and possessively, then dropped down to his knees. Garrett’s knees tried to wilt, and the nearest wall swayed out toward him, available to lean against if he needed it. A little reminder that the house AI was present: silent but watching.

Oh, yes. This honeymoon was definitely getting off to a good start.