Page 103 of Gratification in Gluttony

Molly’s tail wagged as Toni scratched behind her ears. Jude took one of Gem’s puppies and smothered its face with kisses as it squeaked happily. Rusty reached hesitantly into the pen, but given his height deficiency, he was just too short to touch the puppies.

“Just climb in,” Gem said as he easily stepped over the wall of the pen, giggling as the puppies swarmed around his boots. He offered Rusty a hand, and the Pyclon grudgingly accepted the help, ears twitching madly as he joined Gem inside the puppy pen.

A strange chirping from the other side of the barn piqued Toni’s interest, and after one last pat to Jude’s puppy, he followed the sound. He found another pen full of tiny winged… things. He didn’t know what they were, but they looked funny with their poofy feathers and weird, taloned feet.

“What the fuck is this?” he asked, reaching in to touch one. They scattered, chirping wildly. They reminded him vaguely of the Avia species, though the proportions were all wrong.

“They’re chicks,” Jude said as he came up beside him. “Baby chickens.”

“They’re goofy-looking,” Toni said, reaching in again to try and grab one. “They’re fast little fuckers, though.”

“You can sit with them. Once they’re used to you, they probably won’t run.”

Careful not to let them escape, Toni unlatched the pen door and walked inside. He sat in the corner as Jude stood on the other side, chin resting on his folded hands as he gazed down at Toni. The heat lamp had sweat prickling Toni’s scalp as he sat and waited for the chicks to grow accustomed to his presence.

A few brave ones approached him, their tiny beaks pecking at the ground, then at his jeans. Snorting, Toni captured one, cupping it gently so he wouldn’t crush it. It weighed next to nothing, and its feathers were so downy and soft.

“Oh, I like these,” he said as he rubbed a fingertip over the top of its head. “Hey, stupid, I could eat you, you know. I ain’t gonna, but I could.”

“We actually do eat them,” Jude said, and Toni cupped the chick to his chest.

“Well that ain’t very nice now, is it?” To the chick, Toni said, “Don’t worry. I won’t let Jude eat you. Toni’s gonna take good care of you.”

The longer he sat in the pen, the braver the chicks grew until he had a dozen in his lap, chirping and squeaking. He couldn’tstop laughing at them because they just looked so stupid. But also, super cute. And soft. Toni liked how soft they were.

At some point, Gem rushed out of the barn yelling at Oliver to take him to the cows. Rusty was grumbling something about puppy piss, but Toni was too obsessed with the chicks to pay the Pyclon any mind.

“I could just bite it in half,” Toni said to Jude as he placed several chicks on his crossed legs, “and it doesn’t even know! What a dumbass little chick.”

Laughing, Jude gazed down at Toni with an expression that made Toni’s insides squirm pleasantly. Jude reached down, and Toni lifted a chick high enough so he could pet its back.

“They are very cute,” Jude said, and Toni nodded.

“Yeah, I like them.” Toni brought the chick close to his face, snickering when it pecked at the hair that had fallen across his forehead. “Hey, that ain’t food, dum-dum. Why you so stupid, huh?”

“Chickens aren’t that stupid, you know?” Jude said, finger tracing the pointed shell of Toni’s ear.

“They look stupid, but I like that.” A loud clanging rang through the air, and Jude straightened with one last caress to Toni’s ear.

“That’s the dinner bell.”

Bidding the chicks farewell, Toni crept out of the pen, locking the door behind him, then threw an arm around Jude’s shoulders. Before they left the barn, he leaned down and pecked the top of the human’s curly head. In response, Jude took Toni’s hand that hung over his shoulder and pressed his lips to his bluish-gray palm, and Toni felt warm all over.

They still needed to finish their talk, but Toni had a good feeling about this weekend. And as everyone knew, he had the gift, just like his great-great noni, so he was going to trust that feeling.

Dinner was foreign but delicious, and as night fell, Oliver’s dad, Greg, stoked the fire until it burned bright and hot. Maggie, Oliver’s mother, passed out blankets as the temperature dropped, and Toni offered to share his with Jude, smiling brilliantly when Jude tucked himself into Toni’s side without hesitation.

When it was clear Gem would eat the entire bag of fluffy, white sugar cubes—marshymallows, Toni thought they were called—Toni took it upon himself to get his best friend tucked into bed. As Gem did his nightly skincare routine, Toni changed into his pajama pants. His ears picked up his human’s heartbeat, and before Jude could pass their door, Toni opened it and snagged him by the arm.

With a yelp, Jude stumbled into him, and when Toni captured Jude’s lips in a bruising kiss, he melted against him. As Toni sucked on his tongue, Jude groaned, and if it wasn’t for Gem making disgusted tisking noises behind him, Toni would have shoved his hand down Jude’s pants to see exactly how hard he could make the human moan.

Since Toni would never scar his best friend that way, he broke away, licking his lips to chase Jude’s taste. “Sweet dreams, bitesize,” Toni purred, giving Jude’s ass a smack.

A little dazed, Jude blinked and pressed the back of his hand to his now-flushed cheek. Then he flipped Toni off, frowning in mock annoyance. Toni just laughed, watching Jude disappear into the room he was sharing with Rusty.

“I swear to all the gods that exist,” Gem said as he rubbed face lotion into his dark gray cheeks, “if I wake up in the middle of the night to anything untoward happening—with Jude or otherwise—you and I are gonna have strong words.”

“I think I can restrain myself from jerking off beside you while we sleep,” Toni sassed back as he settled onto his stomach and hugged a pillow to his chest.

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