Nine

Khush

It'd been a week since the first time Dustin came to the Sanctuary. He'd visited once more since then, and we'd talked on the phone every day, but his work had stopped us from hanging out more often.

I had half a mind to ask him to leave his job and move in with me, but I'd been warned by both Touya and Bellamy that it would be the wrong move to make.

According to them, most humans thrived on being independent, and asking Dustin to do otherwise when we'd just started building our relationship was a bad idea.

I'd listened to them, if only because I respected the fact that they knew more about humans in general than I did, but I still couldn't figure out why it had to be such a big deal.

After all, Dustin could move in with me without giving up his job since he worked from home, and this way he wouldn't have to leave his cat alone to spend time with me.

Dustin had said he had a habit of rushing things in relationships, but I had a feeling I had even beaten him. We hadn't even kissed, for fuck's sake. Well, except for that little peck last week, but that didn't count, right?

I decided to keep my mouth shut for now, and let Dustin take the lead. After all, he had more relationship experience than me. While I'd hooked up with a few people—even as a pansexual man, the options were pretty limited when you grew up with half the people you knew—I'd never been in a relationship before, though I'd observed more than a fair share of it since Silas and Touya were rarely conscious about how much of their sappiness they tortured us with.

Tomorrow was his day off, so he'd invited me to his place to hangout and play video games, since it was one of the things on my bucket list and also one of Dustin's favorite hobbies.

That night, as I lay across the branch I usually slept on—I'd even brought over some comforters and a pillow that I stashed in a hollow in the trunk to make it more comfy—I gazed up at the sky, or rather the bits and pieces of it I could see through the leaves. I wasn't quite sure how the headmaster's magic worked. Was the sky I was seeing the same one Dustin would see if he looked out his window? Or was mine a replica of the real sky, without all the smog and light pollution of the human cities?

I wasn't sure when I fell asleep, but when I woke up the next day, the sun was shining brightly, and I had the distinct feeling I was in trouble. Call it an instinct honed from years of living at the Sanctuary, but I knew I'd messed up, even if I didn't remember what exactly I'd done wrong.

I was reminded quite firmly when I climbed down the tree—it involved a mix of hanging off the branch with my arms while I grabbed a lower branch with my tail and then repeating the process until my tail touched the ground—and came face to face with Jacinta.

Jacinta was a cecaelia, and a powerful one at that. They didn't really have a pronoun preference, so I used they/them. After the people in the Forest, Jacinta was the person I was closest to. They were better known for their cooking skills...and their gossip skills. They had informants in every area, and for some reason, they'd picked me to keep them up to date on what was happening here in the Forest.

"Why did I have to hear from Touya that you found your mate?" they asked without preamble, arching one brow perfectly. Their long, platinum-blond hair hung straight down their back, gleaming in the sunlight like it had crystals studded in it.

"Sorry," I said, scratching the back of my neck as their sharp blue eyes narrowed on me.

"Mm-hm," they muttered as they continued staring at me, their tentacles shifting slightly, making them sway where they stood. Jacinta's home turf was the Ocean, and their tentacles didn't do very well on the grassy grounds of the Forest, which was why they didn't visit very often. They must've really wanted to see me if they made the trek anyway.

"His name is Dustin," I said, deciding it was better late than never. The only reason I hadn't already told them was because of their aforementioned gossip expertise. I hadn't wanted the whole Sanctuary to know just yet. "He's human, and he has a cat. He's sassy, and he makes me laugh, and I really like him."

Jacinta's stern look softened, their lips curving up just a little. "Yeah, I can see that, little snake."

I scowled at the nickname, smacking their tentacles with my tail. It was something they used to call me when I first moved to the Sanctuary. Jacinta was much older than me—though they'd never told me their actual age—and even though we'd lived in different areas, they'd been a big influence on me as I grew up. I'd never fit in with the other nagas, and when I came here, I'd felt out of place too. Until I met Jacinta, who had not one or two but eight tails like mine—or that's what it looked like to a twelve-year-old—and they'd taken me under their tentacle, teaching me everything from the best way to climb the trees to what a good piece of gossip was.

Over the years, they'd turned from a mentor to a friend, and while they still sometimes scared the crap out of me, I adored them very much.

"I hear you already told him about all of this?"

"I did. He took it pretty well."

"That's good," they said with a nod, then wrapped one of their extending tentacles around my neck. "Now come help me with breakfast. It's been a while since the two of us worked together in the kitchen."

I wouldn't be going over to Dustin's until after lunch, so I let Jacinta drag me to the kitchen, happy to spend some time with them and other members of the Sanctuary.

Dustin

Usually, I didn't wear my chest binder when I was home, instead opting for comfy clothes. Even outside, most days, I only wore it so others wouldn't misgender me. It'd taken me a while, but I'd realized I was okay with my body the way it was. The fact that I couldn't afford the surgeries had obviously played a role in it, but I knew my experience and feelings were different than a lot of other trans people, though not any less valid.

Quest, for example, had gotten top surgery as soon as he could. He'd offered to pay for mine too, but I didn't really mind having a bigger chest, as long as no one thought of them as bbs. Yes, I censored myself. No, I don't regret it.

I'd gone off topic. Again.

Usually, I didn't wear my chest binder at home, but today I'd put it on because Khush would be visiting. I didn't want him to look at me differently. Hell, I didn't even know if he even found biologically female people attractive. Then again, the whole 'perfect match' thing implied that he did, right?

Or was I taking the soulmate thing too far? Everyone had to change at least a little to be with someone, right? To make compromises, to adjust their lives a little to fit in a new person?

My phone buzzed as my mind whirled with the philosophical questions, and I grabbed it from the coffee table, Scrappy giving a warning hiss as I almost dislodged her from my lap.

Khush : Hey, can I come over?

Wow, how long had I been lost in thought?

Me : Yeah!

I ran my fingers through my hair, then glanced around the room to make sure it wasn't too messy. I'd spent the whole morning cleaning up and spacing out the furniture so Khush wouldn't have trouble moving around, but I still felt like I should've done more. My place was nothing as impressive as Khush's—I doubted many places in the human world could be—but I still wanted him to feel at home here.

Scrappy growled loudly and leaped off my lap, her tail going straight up as she glared at the front door. My eyes widened as I glanced from her to the entrance, wondering what had her fur all straight like that.

A moment passed, and the front door flickered a little before it opened. Like, the door itself didn't open, but it looked like another door opened through it, and Khush slid through, the door closing silently behind him.

"Hey," he greeted a touch hesitantly, glancing at Scrappy, who stood between us, still on high alert. "Shit, did I scare her?"

"She'll be fine. Don't worry." I leaned down and scooped Scrappy up, cuddling her close. "It's okay, Scrappy. Khush is not an enemy."

"Not an enemy, huh? Have many of those?" Khush teased as he moved closer to me. Scrappy peered up at him with her big black eyes, the yellow barely more than a ring around her pupils.

"I have a few," I answered with a lofty shrug, making him chuckle. Scrappy leaned forward and sniffed at Khush, then started struggling in my grip. When I loosened my hold, she immediately leaped, landing on a surprised Khush's shoulder.

"Uh, looks like she likes you."

Khush's deer-in-the-headlights face made me chuckle, and I raised a brow at him. "Want me to take her back?"

"No, no. It's okay," he said, reaching up hesitantly to run his fingers through her fur.

Scrappy, the slutty traitor, started purring like a motorboat. I'd been worried she wouldn't get along with Khush, but clearly, I shouldn't have, because suddenly I felt like the newcomer on the scene instead of Khush.

"Would you like something to drink?" I asked, ignoring my cat for now. I was sure she'd get bored of hogging him soon enough.

"I'm okay," Khush answered with a small smile, his eyes scanning the living room. "I really like your place. It feels like you."

I blinked, surprised by the compliment. My place really wasn't much. A rental that I paid in cash for, with a living room, a bedroom, and a small bathroom that had hot water for only five minutes every day, but I'd tried my best to make it home.

"Thanks. So, video games?" I asked, and Khush nodded excitedly.

"I'll admit I have absolutely no experience, so you'll have to go easy on me."

I shot him a grin. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of you." I added a flirty wink, and hid my smile when it made his ears turn pink.

I set up the console, picking a classic racing game to start with since it didn't have too many controls and was pretty intuitive.

Khush didn't really need a chair to sit, but what was really fun was when he curled his tail under him in such a way that there was a perfectly comfy spot for me on the second ring—from the top—of his tail. Apparently, my weight was nothing to him, so I settled on his tail, loving the way his scales felt under and behind me. It felt nice to sit so close to him, and as I started our first game, I decided this was now my favorite spot in the world.

We were on our third game when there was a knock at the door. I shared a confused glance with Khush, then got to my feet.

"Give me a minute," I said, and Khush nodded, turning around to watch me as I walked to the front door.

Peeking through the peephole, I cursed under my breath.

"It's my landlord," I murmured, remembering what Khush had said about his excellent senses the other day. "You need to hide."

I glanced over to see Khush give me a thumbs up, and I was smiling as I opened the door, a smile that slipped at the serious look on my landlord's face. I had a bad feeling about this.