“He’ll want to be there for you,” he said tentatively. “If it were me—and I know it’s not the same, but if it were me, I would want to be there and support my partner. No one wants to make this type of decision, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing I’d let the person I loved face that path alone. Rusty’s right; you need to tell him.”
The human nodded, tears dripping from his chin to wet his jeans. “I know.”
Dex’s phone vibrated, and he pulled it out to check. It was his mom, asking where he was. For the third time.
“I think people are getting worried,” he said as he quickly typed a response.
I’m safe. Rusty and Jude are too. We just need a minute.
Wiping his face clean, Jude sniffed and nodded. “Yeah, okay. We should just… Yeah.”
At Jude’s request, Dex swept all the tests with their cursed checkmarks and smiley faces and double lines into the trash while Rusty emptied the cup of urine into the toilet. Jude washed his hands and splashed his face with water, using his own shirt to dry it. Rusty and Dex washed their hands next, then they stood aimlessly in the middle of a semi-public bathroom and stared at each other.
“Well, that’s one way to deepen friendships,” Dex said, and Rusty snorted. Jude’s mouth twitched. “Sorry, by the way. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Actually, I’m really glad you did,” Jude said. “I don’t, um, get a period anymore, so I wouldn’t have figured it out for a while.”
“I don’t know what that is,” Dex admitted.
“I think it’s a human heat cycle,” Rusty explained.
Jude shrugged. “More or less. It’s usually how girls—I just wouldn’t have known. So, I’m glad you said something.”
“I’m still sorry,” he said, and Jude smiled wanly.
“Me too, Dex.”
Then the human hugged him, head fitting under his chin, hands fisting at his back. His tail thumped against the sink as he hugged Jude back, rubbing his cheek extra hard into the human’s hair. When their hug ended, Jude tugged Rusty into an embrace, and the Pyclon went willingly.
“No matter what happens, you’re not alone,” Rusty said, and Jude tightened his arms around his neck.
“Yeah, you got us now,” Dex agreed, and Jude pulled out of the hug with a sniffle, wiping at his eyes again.
“Thanks.”
Hand in hand… in hand, the three of them exited the bathroom. Dex placed the bathroom key on the counter as Holli peered at him above the rim of her glasses and blew another bubble.
“More of your polycule is waiting in the parking lot,” she said as she tucked the key back under the counter. “They don’t look too happy.”
“How did they find us?” Rusty asked.
“My mom has my location.” Dex pointed at his pocket. “Our family app; we can track each other.”
“Fuck,” Jude breathed, squeezing Dex’s hand. “Okay. Here we go.”
“We’re with you,” Dex said.
“Toni will understand,” Rusty said.
And Jude said, “I know.”
Out in the parking lot, Hemersyn leaned against the hood of another dark sedan, while Gem and Toni moved aimlessly around. Toni was pacing back and forth, like an animal in a cage. Gem bounced and swayed in circles, six hands fidgeting and twitching.
The moment the door to the pharmacy slid open, the bell chimed, and Toni and Gem froze. Then they converged. Dex released Jude’s hand and stepped aside, not wanting to get caught in the fray. Gem practically tackled Rusty, mouth running a mile a minute, words blurring from Hellia to Arakni to English and back again.
Somehow, Rusty was able to understand him, and he did his best to calm the frantic Araknis. When that didn’t work, he grabbed Gem’s face in his hands and kissed him soundly, effectively shutting him up.
“I’m okay,caryd,” he said, kissing him a second time, gentler, sweeter. “I promise. I’m sorry I worried you.”
