Page 56 of Cosmic Captain

There were two levels of shops selling anything that I could possibly imagine. Sometimes, I even had a hard time guessing what was for sale. I spotted clothes, glowing crystals, jewelry, even large-ass beetle-looking aliens selling what smelled like poop. Bars, restaurants, and what might have been a brothel—I tugged Seth away as fast as physically possible. It was amadhouse of activity that was impossible to follow. Every shout, scrape, and whistle made the tension in my muscles ratchet up until I thought I was going to shatter under the strain.

Seth was as tense as I was, but for a very different reason. Seth had social anxiety, and crowds stressed him out; I was worried some asshole was going to abduct and sell me to the highest bidder. I tried to remind myself, repeatedly, that Don was on the station, and everyone had a touchstone. One word and Kal, Fyn, and Mindy would descend for their mates.

It was the one time I was actually happy that Kal was a possessive fucker. I imagined he was hanging around waiting for Seth to call him.

To top it off, Caleb looked fierce as hell in his black tunic and trousers, both topped with black leather armor. He walked with a metal cane that had a white grip, bouncing every few steps in excitement. For once, his wings were properly tucked beneath his shirt; I hoped he hadn’t hurt himself to achieve it, but it wasn’t my business.

Caleb and Camden had become fast friends in a short time, laughing and joking about everything in loud voices that carried over the bustling crowd and hawkers yelling about their wares.

Brad and Teddy were talking, or more accurately grunting and giving a single sentence every once in a while. They seemed to be getting along, despite their age difference. Roman walked beside them, as silent as ever, but he was watching the crowds, like I was, and his body was tense.

Pierce floated between conversations with ease.

We explored all the market had to see, which was a lot. Seth bought jewelry and clothes for Kal. He offered to get me whatever I wanted, but I was content to look—until I saw a crystal instrument. It was long, with glowing strings as fine as hair. The shape reminded me of a traditional Koreaninstrument, a gayageum, but it was made of crystal and shorter, not to mention it glowed when the strings were plucked.

“You want that?” Seth asked. “Why? You were never musical in the past.”

“Don. He likes music. I don’t even know if he can or would want to play it.”

“What’s going on with you two?”

Apparently, now was the time to disclose certain things. “We’re friends with benefits.”

His mouth opened in surprise.

“What? We’re consenting adults. We talked about it. Permissions, he called it. I really like those, FYI. He doesn’t want anything serious and neither do I, but we get along.”

“If it works for you.”

“It does.”

“Then I’m glad.” Seth walked forward and bought the instrument, scanning his touchstone. I had no idea what the cost was, but it had to be substantial. The seller put it into a metal case, and Seth handed it to me. “Here. Give it to Don. Kal would want his brother to have whatever he wants. Don doesn’t spoil himself.”

“Thanks.”

We started forward again. Seth grinned, and I asked, “What?”

“I hated permissions. In the past, I did whatever my partner wanted whether I liked it or not. Kal wouldn’t let me do that. He wouldn’t touch me, for the most part, until I told him what I wanted. It helped. I just hated talking about it.”

“I liked it. It made me feel safe,” I said before thinking about it.

Seth glanced at me, eyes narrowing. Being “safe” had never been a worry of mine in the past. He didn’t say anything or ask any questions, and I was glad. I didn’t want to talk about it, becauseit didn’t matter. Maybe if I told myself that enough, I would believe it.

I froze. “Is that a cat?”

He glanced at a shop with glass doors, which was full of cats with the fanciest cat towers and toys I’d ever seen—like, they were actually trees. The cats even had a damn waterfall and pond with fish moving in it.

“Yeah. Because I brought Lucy, my cat, with me, cats are popular. The Coalition tried to outlaw it, but there was a huge illegal market on cats, so they changed the law. Any cats born in space can be traded, but Earth cats have to be left alone. It’s closely regulated, because the Animal Regulation wants to make sure they are properly cared for and not used as breeders.”

I wanted one. I could have a pet, an actual Earth pet. A furry friend to snuggle with would be so nice when I needed support or another presence, but I couldn’t. I was going home, most likely, probably; I didn’t know. This was temporary, though, and animals were a lifelong commitment.

Seth leaned closer, and I tensed as usual, not to mention I pulled back because I didn’t want him to touch me, but my pulse remained even, which was odd. Shouldn’t I be turned on or feeling something?

“To tell you the truth, I lied to Kal,” he whispered. “I told him it was a cultural law not to move when cats sleep on you. Like it’s super illegal and no one does it. He believed me. It’s spread. Then Caleb made up the fact that we worship the house gods and have shrines with towers, water features, and catnip, not to mention naming towns after cats. When you buy a cat, they literally make you sign a legal document that you won’t break the cultural law of Earth. It does deter people from randomly getting one. That, and they are very expensive.”

I burst into laughter, and Seth turned bright red. Shock lining my voice, I asked, “You did that?”

“I didn’t think it would matter. Caleb also verified it. It was the first thing he told all the humans we rescued about. All ofthem have agreed to keep it quiet. It’s become like a secret that belongs to us.”

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