Page 117 of Gratification in Gluttony

“It’s not my fault it has so many straps. I got confused!”

“Honestly, I think you have it on upside-down.” Gem stepped back and bent over, staring at Toni’s mostly naked body at different angles. “Yeah, I think that part’s supposed to be by your ball, not your head.”

“How?” Toni demanded. “There are too many strings.”

“Some of those are supposed to go up your butt,” Gem explained impatiently as Toni complained loudly. “Oh shut up. Beauty is pain, bitch. Get used to it.”

When they finally had the thing finagled correctly, Toni stood in the middle of his bedroom as Gem inspected him. “I look ridiculous,” he said.

“No, you look hot,” Gem said.

“I look like I just got caught in a sailor’s net,” Toni snarled.

Gem grimaced. “Honestly, I think that’s the intended vibe. But here, try one of the others.” He rifled through the pretty outfits Toni had bought, pulling out a pale pink one. “Here, put this one on.”

The fabric was sheer and soft, a little frilly, and Toni’s face flushed hot. He’d liked this one the best, but it was the most feminine. Which made him uncomfortable while simultaneously exciting him. It was a very strange dichotomy.

“I don’t think it’ll look right on me,” Toni said as he smoothed his thumb over the delicate material.

“What does ‘look right’ even mean?” Gem placed his middle hands on Toni’s shoulders as he cupped Toni’s face with his upper hands. “If it makes you feel good, that’s all that matters. You’re allowed to be pretty if you want to be.”

“I know,” Toni said, because he did.

Gem’s smile was only a little condescending as he tapped Toni’s temple and said, “You know it here.” His lowest hand pressed to Toni’s chest plate over his heart. “You still need to know it here. And that’s okay. You’re on no one’s timeline but your own.”

Once again, Toni was reminded of how much he did not deserve Gemae Akyllo. Without a word, he leaned in and pressed his face to Gem’s neck, and the Araknis enveloped him in a six-armed hug that felt like home.

“Oh, my repressed little Elas,” Gem cooed as he petted the back of Toni’s hair.

“I’m not repressed,” Toni mumbled into Gem’s skin.

“You’re a little repressed,” Gem corrected, kissing his temple. “But look at how far you’ve come, Toni. You’ve been wearing eye-liner and nail polish out in public, and you’re about to go put on a lacy, frilly, baby pink lingerie outfit for your hot, human boyfriend, who can fuck you with a different dick every night. I’m so proud of you.”

Nuzzling the nape of Gem’s neck, Toni whispered, “I just feel silly. You wear this shit, and it looks right on you. I ain’t pretty like you are, you know?”

“Of course you’re not pretty like me,” Gem said, not unkindly, pulling back to gaze down at Toni with all eight eyes. “You’re pretty like you.”

To stop himself from tearing up, Toni popped onto his toes and pecked Gem on the mouth. “I love you, Gemmy, you know that, right?”

“I love you too,” Gem said, knocking their foreheads together, before he pushed Toni away. “Now, go put on the pink babydoll. And”—he turned back to the pile and after finding what he was looking for, he tossed a black, lace jockstrap at Toni—“put this on. He’ll probably fuck you while you wear it. It’s super hot.”

“Gemmy, Gemmy,” Toni said as he untangled himself from the sailor net, “always coming in clutch.”

And Gem beamed at him. “You’re godsdamned right.”

Friday evening, Toni spentthe last hour of his shift prepping for Saturday, when the younger, weekend crew would be working. The closing shift was full of young kids too, mostly teenagers with a few uni students mixed in, and most of them ignored Toni, which suited him just fine. A Sypent ten years his junior had hit on him when they’d first started working here, but Toni had shut that down fast.

Not only were they barely legal, but they spoke with a haughty Pride accent that grated on Toni’s ears. He tried not to judge people too harshly based on their district, but Pride and Greed tended to produce entitled assholes, so it made it difficult not to jump to conclusions.

The Sypent—Toni could never remember their name—still flirted every now and then, but they’d mostly taken the hint. So Toni would pop in his earbuds and listen to his own music—the radio channel the kids listened to was happy-clappy pop music that made him want to rip his ears off—while he finished out his shift.

When the kitchen doors swung open, Toni glanced up, expecting to see the Sypent kid as they were one of the only ones brave enough to come talk to the adult who worked the day shift. Instead, it was Jude, wearing an unsure smile and a pink button-up with orange clouds all over it.

“Well, well, well,” Toni said as he removed his earbuds and tucked them into his pocket. “If it isn’t my favorite human-slash-boyfriend. What did I do to earn the pleasure of your company?”

Jude rolled his eyes as he met Toni halfway across the kitchen. “You knew I was crossing the veil tonight.”

Sliding his arms around Jude’s waist, Toni leaned down to kiss his brow, inhaling the fresh shampoo wafting from his still-damp hair. “Not this early, I didn’t.”

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