Page 66 of Gratification in Gluttony

And that Toni had not known.

“What?” Toni said as everyone turned their attention to Rusty. Rusty, who was standing stock-still, hands strangling his tail. Rusty, who was glaring at Gem like he was trying to set the Araknis on fire. Rusty, who apparently had a fucking tattoo.

“You have a tattoo?” Oliver asked.

“No,” Rusty said unconvincingly.

“What is it?” Toni asked.

“Where is it?” Willow asked.

“Is that why you had a bald spot above your tail?” Tad asked.

Glyma’s jaw dropped. “Oh, yeah. He wore long shirts for, like, six months, and we couldn’t figure out why.”

“I can’t believe you have a tattoo,” Oliver said.

“I don’t have a tattoo!” Rusty snarled.

“Oh, he has a tattoo,” Gem confirmed, and Rusty bared his canines and hissed at him. Thoroughly offended at the Pyclon’s attitude, Gem snapped several fingers and crossed two arms over his chest. “Do noteven, Rusty! I have kept this secret for over a year. A year! And now I have new secrets. I’ve reached my secret limit, and one had to go.”

“So, if his tattoo is above his ass,” Jude started, and Toni pointed gleefully at the Pyclon.

“Oh my gods, Rusty has a tramp stamp!” he finished with a giddy cackle.

“No, I don’t!” Rusty shouted.

“Rusty, you dog,” Oliver said.

“I’m a Pyclon, not a dog! I don’t have a tramp stamp,” Rusty insisted, still hugging his tail. “I got it removed.”

Gem gasped dramatically. “You got your tattoo removed? But our friendship was forged in the ink of that tattoo.”

“It was not. But you know whatwasforged in the ink of that cursed tattoo?” Rusty pointed a sharp claw at Gem. “Betrayal!”

“Okay, drama queen. It wasn’t that bad,” Gem dismissed.

“You were supposed to get a tattoo, same as me,” Rusty said, voice low and dangerous. “And you sacked the fuck out.”

“Gem!” Glyma, Willow, and Oliver said.

“Okay, hold on. That’s not the full story,” Gem said.

“We were both on that bus,” the Pyclon said, chest heaving with emotion. “And we were both scared! And then you saw those neon lights.”

“Damn those neon lights,” Gem wailed. “Damn them all!”

“And you said, ‘Hey, Rusty, I have a great idea.’ But guess what?” Rusty met everyone’s eyes in turn. “It wasn’t a great idea. It was the worst idea anyone has ever had in the history of the universe.”

“At the time, it felt like a great idea,” Gem said defensively, fisting the fabric of his shirt. “It’s not my fault.”

“You said, ‘Weshould get tattoos.’ And then you sacked out, and left me alone with a fucking tramp stamp above my ass!” Rusty barked, louder than Toni had ever heard him speak before.

As one, everyone in the room glared at Gem, and he withered.

“I understand that doesn’t paint me in the best light, but in my defense,” Gem sniffed and smoothed several hands down his torso, “I was very drunk, and I forgot that I was afraid of needles until they were jabbing Rusty in the ass with one.”

“Betrayal,” Rusty repeated.

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