christmas present for jingledrell!!! merry kringlefucker u memer
Sarus fidgeted, staring at his feet as he waited for the door to his parents’ apartment to open. His toe-claws needed a trim. He should ask Mari if she would let him borrow her talon sealants. Stay focused, idiot, he scolded himself. Now’s not the time to worry about that.
He jumped slightly as the door opened, looking up to see his mother’s eyes looking back into his own. “Sarus?” she asked, mandibles fluttering. “What are you doing here?” Then her tone grew sharp. “Did you do something?”
He shook his head quickly, raising his hands in surrender. “No, no, Mari, swear, nothing bad. It’s just…” He took a deep breath. “I have a… relationship issue.”
“Who do I need to kill?”
“What? No, Mari, it’s nothing negative, I swear!” Spirits, he loved his mari, he truly did. But sometimes he wouldn’t mind her being a little more calm and less pure you want to fucking go. “I just… Could we maybe discuss this inside?”
His mother frowned a little, but she stepped aside, allowing him to walk in. “Do you need anything to eat? Your father cleaned out the fridge of leftovers yesterday, but we only had dinner a couple hours ago, so there’s still some food around if you’re hungry.”
“I’m fine, Mari, I ate before I docked.” A lie. He hadn’t been able to stomach food since making up his mind to come here three days ago, and had just barely managed to keep down just enough scraps of food to keep from starving to death. But he didn’t want his mother to worry.
She flicked a mandible- she could tell he didn’t smell like any sort of food, he knew she could- but shrugged and motioned for him to take a seat. “Go sit down, lidan. I’ll be along in a moment.”
He touched his frontal plate to hers as he passed, then trotted into the main room, settling down on the edge of the couch as his mother disappeared into the kitchen. He fidgeted, listening to her move around for a solid five minutes before she finally emerged, pressing a plate of food into his hands as she passed by on her way to her usual chair. “Eat, boy,” she said sternly. “Whether you’re lying or not, you still look too thin to be healthy. The more food you get in you, the better.”
“Mari-“
“Don’t. Argue.”
She tilted her head up and positioned her mandibles so the long, elaborate extensions on the back flared out, and Sarus whined softly, ducking his head and mumbling a quick, “Yes, Mari,” before starting to eat the thankfully small meal she’d thrown together for him.
Satisfied, she sat back and watched him in silence, allowing him to finish eating before beginning, “So, what’s this about, Sarus? Sudden homesickness?”
He shook his head, setting his plate down on the coffee table and folding his hands in his lap. “No, ma’am. Where’s Pari?”
“Hmph. You only ever call me ‘ma’am’ when you’re scared I’m going to tan your hide while it’s still attached to you. Your fratri Viridus is in town, so he and your pari went out to spend time together. You’re lucky I had paperwork to do, or I’d be out with them and you’d be stuck on your own for a good while. Now spit it out, Sarus. What do you want?”
He flinched and looked at the ground. “Um, well…” He took a deep breath. “I want to propose to Kabus,” he admitted, lowering his head. “But I don’t really know how to do that? And, um, I was hoping you could help me.”
Sarus swore the ensuing silence dragged on for hours, but it was really probably not even a full minute. Then his mother stood up, crossed the room in two steps, and sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around him before she’d even fully sat down. “Spirits, lidan, why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” she purred, nuzzling behind his mandibles. “This is wonderful news! Oh, you’ll need a vincorit, one for each of you. Have you thought about what he’d like? Your father got me a hip spur ring, but I don’t know what Kabi would like.”
Sarus stared, mandibles fluttering rapidly. “Um, well…” He swallowed. “I was thinking just a bracelet or an anklet, really…”
“Hm. There’s plenty of styles that are interchangeable between the two, he can choose how he wants to wear it. Let me call your father, tell him where we’ll be, and then we can go out looking. Spirits, Sarus, I’m so excited, my little boy’s getting married!”
-
“Hey, Kabi.”
Sarus flicked a mandible out in a smile as Kabus looked up at him from putting away leftovers from dinner. “I was wondering if you’d like to come out for a walk with me?”
Kabus glanced over at the clock above the stove. “Isn’t now about when you like doing your Spectre paperwork?”
Sarus shrugged, trying to make it look casual. “I finished early, and I felt like taking a walk. Thought you might like to come.”
Kabus tilted his head, then smiled. Sarus’ heart did a flip in his chest. “Sure, just give me a second to finish cleaning up, alright? It’ll only take a second.”
Sarus nodded. “I’ll get your coat. Presidium’s always chilly this time of day.”
“Thanks, carrisim. It should be hanging up by the door.”
Sarus nodded and turned to walk off, doing his best not to hop as he walked. Spirits, he was a Spectre, not a fledgling. And walking like an excited child would give him away.
By the time Kabus made it to the door, Sarus was lacing up his shoes, muttering to himself to cover up the faint jingling in his pocket. His jacket, a lightweight thing meant more for appearances than warmth, bristled with pockets, but rarely did anything in it jingle- a pistol, some ration bars, a bottle of hot sauce, a picture of Kabus, but nothing that would cause the very faint clinks he didn’t dare let Kabus hear.
Kabus sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “Really? Just that? You fuss over making sure I stay warm, then you do nothing to take care of yourself.”
Sarus looked up at him and smiled. “Well, Kabi, I’m just so hot I’ll heat up the air around me and won’t need anything warmer.”
“Uh-huh, sure. Come on, doofus. You’re at least going to wear a scarf. I’m not going to be the one who tells your mom you froze to death because you didn’t want to put on a warmer jacket.”
Sarus snorted but got up, moving so Kabus could get into the closet behind him to grab a scarf. He waited patiently as Kabus dug through the mess of winter gear to find the thick blue scarf his mother had knit for Sarus years ago, then obligingly leaned down so Kabus could meticulously wrap and tie it around his neck. “Satisfied?”
“Maybe. Do you have gloves?”
“Do I have to?”
“With you, that means ‘no, Kabus, I don’t have anything of the sort and was hoping you’d forget.’ Gloves, Sarus. You always complain when your fingers get cold.”
Sarus let out an exaggerated sigh but rummaged in his jacket for the set of insulated gloves he kept in an inside pocket. “You know me too well.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Sarus grinned and pulled his gloves on, then gave Kabus a sweeping bow. “Shall we?”
Kabus rolled his eyes but smiled. “You should have been an actor. You’re a big enough ham.”
“And miss the chance to make conservatives shit themselves over ‘Saren 2.0’ and make my namesake proud? Never.” He chuckled and straightened up, reaching out to take Kabus’ hand in his. “Come on, before it settles into the night cycle temperatures.”
Kabus squeezed his hand a little and followed him outside, making sure the door locked behind them before walking at his side out to the Presidium.
This time of day, the Presidium was at just the right balance of activity and relaxation, as all the businesses and restaurants and stalls shut down for the night one by one and everyone made their way home. If Sarus squinted, he could see the Tower gradually going dark, and he idly wondered if they might run into his uncle on their way around the Ring. He hoped not- Sarus swore Tollak had made a pact with his father to annoy him at every turn, which he happily did every time he saw him, via very long conversations he was legally obligated to participate in.
They gradually made their way around, stopping here and there to browse what shops were still open, grab a snack, or so Sarus could talk to a fan or reporter who recognized him. He was much happier to talk to the fans. They didn’t have agendas beyond “talk to the Spectre.” Maybe forty-five minutes, maybe an hour after leaving home, they reached an entrance to the complex of parks scattered around the Presidium and headed in. Sarus walked a little bit closer to Kabus, humming softly under his breath. Kabus glanced at him with a raised brow plate, then gave a minimal shrug and went back to looking around.
They made their way around a lake, and Sarus watched Kabus’ face as he slowly realized where they were. “Sarus,” he said slowly, “is this..?”
Sarus nodded. “The lake where we kissed that first time.”
Kabus’ neck turned a faint blue, barely visible in the fading light of the station’s dusk. “Feeling sentimental?”
“I guess so.” Sarus shrugged and smiled, then kept walking until he found the little grove of trees where he liked to meditate. He cleared a little spot with his foot, then sat down and glanced up at Kabus. “Join me?”
Kabus raised a brow plate. “Isn’t it a little cold?”
“Never.” Sarus smiled and patted the ground beside him, adding, “Besides, we can have cocoa when we get home. The way you like it.”
Kabus seemed to consider this, then sighed and sat down, scooting over to press against Sarus for a little extra warmth. “You’re hopeless.”
“Good.” Sarus leaned over and nuzzled the side of Kabus’ head, humming quietly to soothe him- and, with any luck, distract him while Sarus reached into an inside pocket on his jacket. “Actually, Kabi,” he mused, “I did have another reason for coming out here.”
“And what’s that?” Kabus murmured, resting his head on Sarus’ shoulder.
Sarus held up his hand so Kabus could see, then let the matching chain-link bracelets in his hand dangle from one talon. “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking one of these?”
Kabus was quiet for a moment, and Sarus held his breath, hoping beyond hope Kabus was just taking a while to process what he meant. Then there was a sharp intake of breath, and he had to quickly seize the bracelets again so he wouldn’t drop them as Kabus hugged him fiercely around the middle. “Sarus Domitiana, you sappy motherfucker,” he muttered, pressing his face against Sarus’ neck.
Sarus twitched a mandible, trying not to laugh. “So that’s a yes?”
“Of course, you dense obrach.”
