Cya turned back to their closet—their tiny, minuscule closet—and continued hanging up the clean laundry from five days prior thatthey’d forgotten in the hamper. They weren’t used to putting away their own clothes, cleaning up after themself, or providing for themself at all, really, but after a month of living in Hemersyn’s spare bedroom, they were getting better at it.
The day after their life had imploded, the sleek, black card with their family crest on it had been blocked, leaving them fully self-reliant for the first time. Fortunately, Hemersyn had arranged the moving truck to pick up the rest of their possessions, including all their rocks, tools, and tumbling machines. Unfortunately, there was no space to store any of it, and now, everything they owned that wasn’t a daily necessity sat inside a seven-by-ten foot storage unit twenty minutes away.
Three days after their life had imploded, Cya had accompanied Dex to the public transportation office to apply for a student card that let them ride anywhere in the Pentagram for one myrel a day. Then they’d sat down with Hemersyn and Quin and went over their personal finances to set up a budget—something they’d never needed before. Money had always been an abstract concept, immaterial and abundant, but now, it was a tangible, finite resource they had to conserve.
To their relief, the payment for the last semester of the school year had been processed already, but come December, Cya didn’t think they could afford Pride University’s tuition themself. To be honest, they weren’t sure if they evenwantedto return to P.U. at all.
They’d never fancied a career in business and had only chosen it because they’d marginally favored it over medicine and law—the only other education paths their parents would pay for. But walking away from their education completely tasted like shameful failure, even if the idea of never setting scale on the P.U. campus again filled them with so much godsdamned relief.
“You could focus on your jewelry,” Dex had suggested. “Sell it online or at markets and festivals. I bet loads of people would buy it.”
“I’d need a workshop to make the jewelry, and I can’t afford that,” they rebutted.
Ever the optimist, he dismissed their concerns. “Maybe not right now, but once you save up a bit more, you could. Just gotta be patient and wait for the right thing to come along.”
“And you have time,” Hemersyn added, kissing Cya’s brow. “You’re young; you have your whole life ahead of you. Now’s the time to discover what makes you happy and brings you fulfillment.”
“And if I prove to be nothing but a failure?” they whined childishly, making the Avia laugh.
“The only thing worse than failing, in my humble opinion, is being too cowardly to try at all.” He cupped their chin and smiled dotingly at them. “And if there’s one thing you’ve proven over this past year, it’s that you are not a coward.”
They’d cried quite a lot after that, and Hemersyn, the saint that he was, had held them through it.
Cya would finish out the school year, and after? They weren’t quite sure. The unknown was utterly terrifying, but they weren’t facing it alone. They had their family; they had their pack. Sure, it wasn’t perfect. It was messy and crazy and rough around the edges. But it was nothing a little tumbling couldn’t smooth out.
Furry arms circled their waist from behind, and Cya blinked back to the present as Dex kissed the nape of their neck. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing,” they said as they blanketed his hands on their stomach. “Everything.”
“Hmm, wanna tell me about it?”
“Maybe later.” They turned their head, smiling as he dotted kisses over their cheek, ending at the corner of their mouth.
They tilted their chin to connect their lips, and the kiss was sweet and warm and lovely. It tasted like freedom and love. It felt like coming home.
“I gotta go,” he murmured against their lips, and they pouted. “Don’t give me that. You know I can’t resist you when you beg.”
Spinning lazily in his hold, they draped their arms around his neck and pressed their body against his from hips to chest. “Then don’t resist.”
His mismatched gaze heated, and his responding growl vibrated through their torso. “I have to. It’s the championship, and Coach will kill me if I’m even a minute late.”
With a hum, Cya rubbed their breasts against his chest as their tail snaked up his leg. “We can be quick.”
Under his tail, they tapped their rattle against his ass, and the Lupyn bared his canines in a feral grin. “We definitely don’t have time forthat.”
Last week, he’d joked about their rattle being the perfect dildo, with its tapered tip and ribbed-like texture. They’d joked back, asking him if he was interested in trying.
To their shock, he’d shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve never done butt stuff, but I’m open-minded. Although, your rattle is kinda big, and I don’t think I’m a size queen.”
“We’ll work our way up to it,” they’d teased.
“Just don’t fist me without warning, okay?” he’d said, as if fisting someone out of the blue was a common occurrence. “I’m a delicate flower.”
They’d laughed until tears gathered in their eyes. “No surprisefisting, I promise.”
Cya hadn’t actually fucked him with their rattle yet, but they were curious to explore. Yesterday, while they’d coiled between his spread knees with his glorious cock in their mouth, they’d boldly teased his asshole, slipping one finger inside right before his orgasm hit, and he’d come harder than ever.
Dex was right, though; they didn’t have time for that right now. However, they could make time for other things.
