"I thought we were gonna play Smash Brothers..."

Finally, they came barreling down the stairs, hands wildly feeling around their pockets.

"Okay," they breathed out with a too charming Grin aimed his way. "Think I'm ready."

He cocked his head and crossed his arms. Hm. Something was a little off about this. They looked a little too put together. And there was a spark in their eye that gave them away. Now wasn't the time to worry about it, though. Whatever mischief they wanted to get up to would certainly wait until Snail got bored.

"And you've got everything?" he asked, looking them over. Their pockets looked full, but it never hurt to double check. "Phone, wallet? All the keys?"

"Pretty sure you've got the car key," they said as they gave themself one last pat down. "But other than that, yeah. What about you?"

He patted his own pockets, where his phone and his wallet both stuck out about halfway. "I have all I need. Everything's already been put in the car." He put a finger up and continued, "And yes, I did pack extra snacks, just in case. Last time was a mistake that's not going to be repeated, I promise."

They let out a snort and poked his nose. "Good. We don't need a certain someone getting grumpy again."

"Anyway," he stressed as he handed over the keys, "let's get going, shall we?"

Smoothly, they took him by the hand and opened up the front door, one arm sweeping toward the car in a dramatic motion. It was the picture of playful, romantic chivalry and he all but swooned at the gesture. With a soft laugh, he bounded up ahead, the thrill of the day ahead already seeping into his bones.

"You're certainly being a gentleman right now," he noted when they also took it upon themself to open the car door for him. "What's the catch?"

They faltered for just a moment, then let that smooth grin cover up the fact that he just caught them red-handed. "Catch? C'mon, you don't think I can be romantic just for the hell of it?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I know you can." After giving them a quick kiss to the cheek, he took his seat and shot a knowing smile up at them. "But you're not hard to read, Snail. You've got something planned, I just know it."

They stepped in the way of the door and propped their arm against the car roof. "Oh yeah? And what do you think that is?"

"As if I could even begin to guess. You're easy to read, not predictable."

Something about them changed. It wasn't any individual part, but a culmination of little details his eye picked up. A quick breath, the sudden squaring of their shoulders. That half-lidded gaze locked onto him, slowly raking over, drinking in every last detail. Down... Then back up. Lips parted. Pupils blown.

Cocking an eyebrow up, he casually asked, "Can I help you?"

"Nah. Just looking."

"Looking like you want to eat me alive, more like it."

"Huh. Guess you're right, then." They grinned. "I am pretty easy to read."

Was it strange to realize that he had no means of getting out? Sure, he could scramble over the driver's seat and go that way, but could he do it before being grabbed? No way in hell. And with Snail completely blocking the normal way out— very purposefully, in hindsight— he was, for all intents and purposes, trapped. His only hope was that they were just trying to rile him up. After all, why would they strike right now?

"There's plenty of time in the day for you to fuck me," he said, trying his best to sound unaffected by the dominating air they gave off. "And plenty of public restrooms you could pull me in for just that."

They leaned in closer, even more imposing, and grabbed his chin. "Yeah? Already thinking about your cute little ass being filled? Just need it that bad?"

His mouth went dry. 

No. No. He wasn't thinking about that. Of course not. Why would he be?

Sure, maybe when he picked his outfit today, he kept in mind the way it hugged his curves. How the tank-top would ride up just enough to show off a sliver of his stomach if he raised his arms. How his shorts cupped his ass and showed off what at one point he would've called 'too much' skin. And maybe his motivation was to be just a little tantalizing for them. That didn't mean he was already thinking about getting railed.

That was for later.

"What, no sass for me?"

He blinked several times as he forced himself out of his own head. Now there was a hand on his thigh. Heavy and firm. Almost squeezing.

"Since I'm not one to disappoint, here's a little something just for you," he said as he grabbed their hands and pried them off. "You don't need to project your libido onto me. I know I'm irresistible, but you could at least give it the old college try. Especially since we have plans."

They rolled their eyes, then suddenly grabbed both his thighs and pried them open. "Well, I got plans of my own. Be a good boy and sit still for me."

Heat surged through his face. He tried to squeeze his legs shut, but as usual, they were far too strong for him to even have a hope. And as soon as his hands moved to try and help, they swiftly snagged his wrists in their firm grasp and pinned them above his head.

"What're you doing!?" he snapped, voice pitching up in combined outrage and desire. "Snail, I swear to god—"

"Calm down, I'm just getting you ready for the trip."

Their free hand yanked down his shorts and panties in one fell swoop, freeing his half-hard dick. He bit down on his lip and successfully blocked a moan from spilling out. Snail left his clothes hanging around his knees in favor of grabbing at his bare thigh. It was rough, almost bruising, and very much put his willpower to the test.

Daniel swallowed down a gulp of air. "I don't see how this is getting me ready..."

"I mean, you get so bored during the ride that you just sleep through most of it," they explained. A finger traced up the length of his dick, making his hips jolt. "So I figured I'd help keep you awake. But, you know, I can't really do that if I'm driving."

"So what the hell is your game plan?" he bit out. Fuck. That was less fiery and more pitiful than he would've liked. Guess he couldn't sound like he won't take shit with his shame out in the open like this. "Get me hard and leave me here to wiggle in my seat? That way you get to 'help me stay awake' and have a little show for the ride?"

They reached into their pocket, making him whimper at the loss of contact. "Nah, I'm not really feeling that sadistic right now. You disappointed?"

"Oh, very. But I'll find a way to get through these trying times."

"There's that sass," they muttered affectionately as they pulled out— oh god, one of his ties!? 

"Hey!" He tried to pull his hands free, but they swiftly looped the tie around his wrists and bound him to the oh-shit handle. "Snail! Snail! You better let me go right now, or else...!"

"Now that's a pretty sight," they cooed and pulled back just enough to look him over. "But you're missing a little something. Dunno what it could be, though."

He shot them a luke-warm glare. "The free use of my hands, perhaps?"

"No."

"Of course not."

Without skipping a beat, they pulled out a bottle of lube and began to slick up a couple fingers. His body reacted instantly. An ache built up inside him and he slipped down in his seat, legs spreading open to give them all the room they needed to do, well... Whatever they wanted to him. At this point, fighting wouldn't get him out of this soon-to-be-sticky situation, so why not enjoy it?

A finger prodded at his hole.

"You want it?" Snail asked with that god-forsaken smarmy Grin. "Looks like you do. Weren't you just yelling at me a minute ago?"

"Haven't you learned by now that I yell just to hear my own voice?" Daniel shifted in his seat, looking anywhere but at them as his face grew warm. "You've already tied me up, so I figure you've earned your prize. Doesn't mean I can't complain about it..."

They pushed in and earned a high-pitched squeak from him. "Don't worry, princess, I'll make sure you have a great time. Just good feelings for the next two hours, yeah?"

His fists clenched as little jolts of pleasure went through him. In, out, in, out, in... That was all he could think about for a couple of too-long seconds. Then, with a sharp breath, he said, "Oh, lovely to hear. I'll make sure to give you a five-star rating when you're done."

"I only need one," they countered with a wink.

As if being fingered didn't make him flustered enough, they just had to be sweet, too? Today just wasn't his day.

Soon a second one joined the first, properly stretching him open with each wonderful pump. It was slow and further sweetened by an accompanying hand on his dick. His mouth fell open and soft noises spilled out of him. Don't be too loud, do you want the neighbors to hear?

"How's it feel?" they asked as their fingers found his prostate. For once, they didn't abuse it, instead just barely touching on it with each pass. "Good?"

He nodded absent-mindedly.

Snail laughed and, to his despair, pulled their fingers out. "Didn't even need to ask. Bet you're ready for more now, huh?"

A brief couple of seconds was all he needed to start thinking again. Suspicious, but not enough to close his legs about it, he watched them reach into their pocket and pull out....

Ah. His vibrating dildo. Or, well, one of them. One of the bigger varieties. Not as big as Snail themself, but he'd learned by now that they could be a little calculating when it came to these sorts of escapades. This was a dildo that said their aim was to satisfy, but not spoil.

After all, they'd want him begging for their cock by the end of the trip.

"I'm still not sure what you want from this," he said as Snail lubed up the dildo. "If you're trying to edge me, then why—"

"Daniel."

"Hm?"

"You're thinking too much."

"I am not."

"Oh yeah? Then I guess you just didn't hear me earlier," they teased in tandem with the dildo nudging against his ass. "I don't wanna edge you. I'm just gonna leave you tied up with a thick toy in your ass and let whatever happens happen."

"...You can't be serious."

"C'mon, you really think I'm not? This is sex we're talking about."

"You know what, you're so right," he dryly admitted, though he knew his face was embarrassingly red. "When sex is your primary love language, you can't do anything but take it seriously."

They eased the dildo into him, stopping after about an inch. "Actually, that quiz you showed me said it was physical affection. And gift giving, I think."

"That's what I just said."

"Oh yeah?" Another inch. This time, he crumbled under the feeling of being stretched just the tiniest bit. "'Cause my dick is such a gift to the world? You just can't even think to live without it?"

He took a deep breath as little jolts of pleasure started working their way through him. "Oh, yes...!"

"You mean that?" they teased and pressed onward, not stopping until the dildo was fully seated inside him. "Or you just moaning about it?"

Click. Click. The dildo started vibrating inside him. His moans only got stopped by one final, heated kiss from Snail while their hands slipped under his shirt and played with his nipples. It was heaven. If he hadn't been all tied up, he would've pulled them on top of him and demanded they rail him hard enough to make him see stars.

But this was good enough. For now.

"You're so hot," Snail breathed out when they pulled back, dark eyes tracing over him for the millionth time. "Can't wait to see you cum all over yourself. Again and again and again."

With the door slammed shut and Snail having quickly made their way into the driver's seat, the two of them got started on what Daniel figured would be the most unorthodox road trip of his life. Luckily for him, they hadn't set the dildo to max. Once the city had faded from view, he'd managed to scrounge up enough brain cells to act somewhat normal.

"You know something, Snail?" he asked staring out the window at the other cars on the highway. "You're really lucky we have tinted windows."

"Oh yeah?"

Daniel hummed, though it was really more of a moan, and shot them a glance. "Otherwise everyone would be able to see me with my dick out. And I don't quite feel like getting stared at for some kink."

They cocked an eyebrow. "You know the windows aren't that tinted, right?"

His heart— and his dick— jumped. "E-Excuse me?"

"Wait, you really don't?" A laugh that would've sounded delightful in any other circumstance filled the car. "Yeah, you can totally see in. I mean, I guess you wouldn't be able to see really small details, but like... As much shit as I give your dick, it ain't tiny."

Oh god. Oh god. No, that couldn't be right. Right? He'd seen his car from the outside before and he couldn't see in. Was that just him? Was he remembering wrong? Were his eyes really that bad? Did he need a new prescription for his glasses?

Biting his lip, he turned back and glowered out the window. "You're... Shit, you're just trying to fuck with me. But it's not working!"

"Mmhm. Yes, dear."

Wasn't this wonderful? Not only was he tied up inside his own car with a vibrating dildo inside his asshole, but now he had a little nagging paranoid thought in the back of his mind. A cherry on top of this humiliating, kinky sundae. Ignoring it didn't even help at all. Not when all he could see were cars and the people inside them. Could they really see him too? How hard he was? How he couldn't even go a full second without shifting or wiggling in his seat? All helpless and horny?

Alright. Let's not focus on that. Instead, let's just enjoy the dildo. Sure, having it just sit inside him was less than ideal. He wanted nothing more than to reach down and treat himself like the slut he was. Oh well. The vibration still worked wonders, making him roll his eyes back and start letting out moans once he'd let his self control slip.

"Oh god... Fuck..."

"You having fun over there?"

Daniel ignored them. Not like he had much of a choice. Slowly but surely, he rocked his hips to try and recreate the feeling of being fucked. His fists clenched and with every accidental jerk against his own tie, reminding him of how trapped he was, he got closer and closer to the edge. 

"Guess that's a yes," Snail said cheekily. "What a little slut. You trying to distract me or what?"

"N-No," he moaned out, writhing in his seat, "I'm not, just... Fuck! Just keep driving, don't... Don't mind me...!"

"What if I wanna mind you? What if I just wanna watch you cum in your seat like the little whore you are? You know you love it. Being all filled up and getting those good feelings you want. How about you thank me for doing you a favor, huh?"

Closer and closer, oh god, he wanted more! 

But. But. They were being a bastard. He didn't much appreciate that. And they had to know before it was too late.

"Sh-Shut up...!"

Snail hummed. "Now that's not very nice. I could pull over and get that dildo out of your cute little ass. Then you won't get any orgasms. How's that sound?"

"That's not fair!"

"If you're gonna be bad, I'm gonna punish you. But you don't want that, right? You wanna be a good boy for me. All you gotta do is moan real pretty for me and say 'thank you, Daddy'. Real easy. I know you can do it."

His bottom lip trembled and he glanced out the window. "Snail..."

"That's not what I told you to say," they chided him light-heartedly. "C'mon, baby. Give Daddy what they want."

How could he refuse again? As an orgasm overtook him, forcing his body to go buck-wild, he let out a slew of curses and said between moans, "Thank you, Daddy! Oh god, feels so good, thank you, thank you, thank you! Fuck!"

"Good boy."

Even once he was all spent, the dildo kept up its hard work in making him lose his mind. Every so often, Snail would throw in a comment about the neighboring car getting a nice show, or how pretty he looked, but with how sensitive Daniel was, he didn't have much of a mind to process it all.

When orgasm number two came around, about half an hour into the drive, he lost any hope of having even the smallest piddle of a thought about anything except what was happening to him. He just felt so good. Like this was where he was meant to be. Tied up with something thick inside him. A little slut to be watched until Daddy decided to pull over and use him.

God, he wanted that. So bad, in fact, that the fantasy of what they could do— bend him over the hood of the car and take him where anyone could see— made him cum a third time.

"Fuck me, Daddy, please! I want it, oh god, use me like the little slut I am! Fuck!"

Snail laughed at him. The next thing he noticed was that they'd pull into a gas station and gotten out. 

His breath hitched and his heart skipped a beat from the anticipation. As soon as his door opened, he spread his legs and made sure to beg real pretty for them, "Daddy, are you gonna fuck me? I need it, I need your cock, please!"

"Woah, there!" A hand covered his mouth and with a couple of clicks, the dildo was tortuously turned off. "As hot as that is, we're just here for gas and drinks. You want anything besides my dick?"

His eyebrows furrowed and his mouth hung open as he glared up at them. They really weren't going to fuck him? What the hell?

"Alright," they drawled after a long moment of tense silence. "I'll just get you an iced tea."

Before he could get a word in, they turned the dildo on— click, click, click!— and gave him a couple of hearty pumps. Whatever he was going to say was lost to time, replaced by needy whines and other meaningless noises. Holy fuck, this was exactly what he wanted. If he was lucky, they'd keep going and going and going until he couldn't even remember his own name.

"Have fun, pretty boy."

Just like that, they were gone, closing the door behind them and leaving him all alone in the car. He wanted to pout at their retreating back and pound in the window. Hey! You're forgetting something! Like his dick! And his ass!

All his righteous fury got thoroughly buzzed out of him after about a minute. Face pressed to the window, he squeezed his eyes shut and simply rode out the high for a moment. So fucking good. Too much, yet not enough at the same time. No matter how much he bucked and writhed, he couldn't get that more he craved.

His eyes drifted open just in time to catch a mini-van pull up to the next gas pump over. A woman hopped out and went about fueling up, then he lost interest.

"Fuck, Daddy," he moaned out, as if that would get Snail to come running. "Please..."

"You know your windows aren't that tinted, right?"

Suddenly everything felt a thousand degrees hotter. Why did that pop into his head? It wasn't even true. There was absolutely no way in hell that lady could see him. He knew that for a certified fact.

So then why did it look like she was stealing glances his way?

Breathe. Chances were that she didn't even know he was there. How could she? Daniel could just sit back, relax, and not worry about it.

Until his imagination got the better of him, at least.

'You sure she can't see you?' it asked, donning Snail's voice like a costume in some sort of fucked up play. 'I mean, when's the last time you even looked? Sure wasn't this morning.' 

This was the last thing he needed right now.

'C'mon, you know this sounds really fucking hot!'

No! It didn't!

'I'm not so sure. You're pretty hard about it.' God, he hated how his own mind could perfectly replicate the smug tone they'd have saying something like that. 'Not to mention you're wiggling a whole lot. Like you wanna get caught!'

In a vain attempt to prove his own brain wrong, he forced himself still.

For about a three seconds.

'Too late now! She already saw you! God, you're so fucking pretty all covered in your own cum with your cute little dick out. Think she knows that you let this happen? That you let yourself get tied up so your slutty hole could be stuffed full of dick? I'm sure she can tell what a whore you are. And you love that, don't you? You love being Daddy's messy little fuck-toy. Make sure she knows it!'

Right at that exact moment, her eyes locked with his.

"Oh god..." Like a tidal wave, his impending orgasm crashed over him. He lost all control, jerking at the tie around his wrists until he was almost certain he'd bruise. "Oh god, Daddy! More, please, I want more! I'll be good, I promise, please! Fuck me hard! I need it so bad!"

As he added more to the mess already coating his thighs, the sound of a door opening resounded through the car.

"Oh yeah?"

Snail's cheeky Grin greeted him as he looked over. He had half a mind to tell them off for... Something. But he didn't know what. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea in the first place. He barely even remembered what they'd left him alone for. To get... Fuck, what was it?

"Wow, you look gone," they commented, leaning in to cup a hand against his cheek. "Wanna little break so you can drink your tea?"

Tea!

One nod later, he was untied, unplugged, and left alone to sip away in peace while Snail got gas for the car. As it turned out, he'd gotten very parched from spending the last god-only-knew-how-long moaning his head off. Lesson learned: next time, he'd pack some drinks and be a little more difficult for Snail to corner.

Now that his throat was cooled and his poor ass had a moment to breathe, he could finally mull over the last few minutes and process that he came all over himself in front of someone. It sure was a lot to—

Hold on. No. That didn't happen. Rather, it couldn't have. You know what it was? Just an intense fantasy that had really dug its claws into him, taking full advantage of his humiliation kink and his thing for 'putting on a show'. That's all. He'd made it all up and convinced himself it happened.

Slam!

Ah. So he might've been wrong, actually. But he wasn't going to look. It was comforting to be kept in the dark. Ignorance was bliss, and all that.

Snail clambered into the car, distracting him from a whirlwind of embarrassment, and brushed back a few stray curls from his face. "Everything okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"Someone might've seen me cum just now."

Why did he say that!?

"You mean when you were all like—" their voice raised to a painfully annoying, nasally pitch— "'Oh god, Daddy, more! Fuck me, uh!'"

He clicked his tongue. "That's not what I sound like."

"Not the point."

"Okay, well, yes," he admitted with a huff. As another wave of shame washed over him, he hid behind his hand and continued, "There was some lady pumping gas in the next car over and we... Made eye contact. Hard eye contact."

"While you came?"

"While I came."

"Sick," they said with a twinkle in their eye and took a sip of their soda. "That's pretty hot. Meanwhile, I had to deal with the cashier trying not to stare at my boner. Which isn't as hot, just so you know."

"You're ignoring what I said, Snail."

"Huh?"

Daniel tapped his fingers against the part of his thigh that wasn't covered in cum. "Some lady— a complete stranger— saw me cum. We made hard eye contact while I came. She saw it. How many other ways can I spell that out for you?"

"I dunno, but like... Can you maybe do it a little prettier? Throw in a moan or something, just to spice it up?"

"Snail!"

They playfully stuck out their tongue. "Killjoy."

What else could he expect from the one and only Snail Nadiva? He rolled his eyes, sticking his chin up in defiance. "And?"

"And I love you."

"I love you too. Now, back to the matter at hand?"

"Right, right." Taking another sip, they sat back in their seat and glanced upward. "Well, I mean, you got nothing to worry about, right? Your windows are tinted."

"They're not that tinted."

Oh. There was that damn mischievous glint in their eye. The bane of his existence, his one warning that some bullshit was about to come out of their mouth and turn his whole world upside-down.

Tense, he asked through his teeth, "What?" 

Guilt crossed their face, only to be smothered by obvious humor a mere second later. "I might've, you know, lied a little," they verbally circled around, then let out a wistful sigh. "Which sucks 'cause I would've loved to see you cum all over yourself again. That never gets old."

His jaw dropped.

"...Daniel?"

Tense silence. Then, suddenly, a torrent of emotion overtook him and he let out a high-pitched laugh of "oh my god!" It was absurd. He knew that he should've been angry— pissed, even— but this whole disaster was pretty fucking hilarious in hindsight. That whole time, he'd been worried over nothing! But hey, at least he got one hell of an orgasm from it.

Snail, though, seemed more than a little concerned. "So am I in trouble, or what?"

"God, no!" he said as soon as he had the wind to. "I'm not mad, I promise. I just..."

Suddenly, a thought struck him. One that should've spoken up a lot sooner, to be quite honest. 

"Did you... Did you hear me earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

His mind raced, causing his words to come out in a rush. "When you repeated my own fucking sex-frenzied ramblings back at me, Snail. Did you hear me cum earlier?"

They grinned. That was all the answer he needed.

"Oh my god!"

All that relief, gone. Out the window. He pressed his hand to his forehead and slunk down in his seat, overcome with despair.

"Aw, don't be like that, baby," Snail purred and leaned in close, pressing kisses to his sensitive neck. "She's gone and she didn't bother you about it. You can just enjoy knowing that you got caught being a huge slut without any consequences, huh?"

"...I guess so."

"Now how about we get you all put together again? I'm sure you're eager for another hour's worth of cumming."

They set their drink down and reached for the tie, but he quickly stopped them in their tracks. 

"You don't need to do that," he said, putting their hand back on their lap, where it belonged, and giving it a gentle pat-pat-pat. "Really."

Snail raised a skeptical eyebrow. "How else am I gonna make sure you behave?"

"Oh, I don't know, by putting your faith in me? Your loving, loyal, and obedient husband?"

"Obedient? Bullshit."

"Okay, well, obedient for the time being," he conceded. Leaning over, he made sure to bat his lashes all pretty and give them the best Puppy Dog look. "I just want free reign to have my own kind of fun for a bit. Is that too much to ask?"

Grabbing his chin, they pulled him even closer and scrutinized him. "Maybe it is," they said, voice husky and dominating. Fuck. "Depends on what my good boy wants to do."

His head swam. "I... I just want to touch myself."

"Yeah? You're such a slut that you wanna get your hands all over yourself now and put on a real show for Daddy?"

He nodded, drowning in headspace.

"Hm... If that's the case..."

In a flash, they'd snatched up his wrists and tied them back to the oh-shit handle. Whimpering, he tried to pull free, but only managed to tighten the knot around himself.

"What the hell!?"

"You can touch yourself some other time," they said as they grabbed the dildo from where they had put it aside. "Right now, I wanna see you tied up and wiggling. Is that too much to ask?"

His ass got filled up once again before he could answer, forcing a moan out of his mouth. A few pumps later and he was jelly, perfectly content to let the whatever was going to happen to him happen. Unfortunately, 'whatever was going to happen' only turned out to be sitting with the dildo vibrating in his ass while Snail drove. Again. And with how sensitive he was, it very quickly became overwhelming.

"Daddy!" he whined out, writhing helplessly in his seat as the dildo tortured his prostate. "Oh god, it's too much...! Please, I can't take it...!"

"I think you can, princess."

"No, I fucking can't...!"

"Are you giving me attitude?"

To put it bluntly, he snapped. There was just some part of his horny little brain that couldn't bear the thought of being their obedient slut anymore. Maybe he just wanted to be punished with a good rawing— as if that ever worked— or maybe he just wanted to spice things up a little. At this point, he didn't know.

In any case, it was already too late to try and take back the words spewing out of his mouth.

"Maybe I —  Maybe I am!" he stammered hysterically. "What're you going to do about it, Daddy?"

Eyes straight ahead, they answered, "Nothing."

His breath hitched. "Huh?"

"Don't got time to do much of anything else. We're running on a tight schedule as is."

"You have enough time to... Fuck, untie me and... Not let me cum!"

"Why would I? You're not being that bad." A sadistic smirk broke out on their face. "Besides, as your loving husband, I want you to know that I have full faith in you. I know you can do it. Just sit pretty for a bit longer and I'll make it worth your while."

Daniel wanted to throw a fit. But even the smallest movement would jostle the toy in his ass and send about a million wonderfully agonizing jolts through him. 

At least he still had his words.

"Who said I wanted to? Maybe— shit— maybe I'm done!"

A chill swept over the car, one that didn't come from the blasting AC.

"You really think you have a choice?" they asked, voice low and taunting. "Cute."

Once again, he found himself trying to argue solely for argument's sake. "I... I do, you fucking... You...! Fuck!"

That was the end of it. His next orgasm interrupted and replaced his failed attempt at being ornery with pathetic cries and moans. He wiggled desperately in his seat, bringing about more intense feelings— more, more, more, never enough!— and forcing out another aftershock of an orgasm as soon as the last one had finished taking its toll on him.

"Daddy...! Daddy, please, oh, please, I can't...!"

Snail shot him a quick glance. "You can't? But you just did, baby. Didn't it feel good? I bet you're real sensitive now, huh?"

All he could do was nod and let the dildo continue to ravage him.

"You're so fucking cute," they praised, making him feel all pleased. "Just cum a couple of times and you're ready to give up all that fight. You ready to be a good boy for Daddy and take that dick like I told you to?"

One last defiant whine escaped him.

"Don't be like that. I know it's not the real thing, but like I said, be real good and you'll get a nice treat."

As if he had much of a choice. His pressed his head against the cool glass, but that only distracted him for a second. Everything become a blur after that. A pleasure-filled blur that ended in mess after mess after mess, filled with his own moans and Snail's dirty-talk.

"Fuck, oh fuck, Daddy...!"

"So good, so pretty. Can't wait till I get to use you. I almost wanna pull over and do it right now. How's that sound?"

"Please!"

A laugh. "Thought you'd say that. But no."

He only whined in response. All he wanted was more. Why couldn't they give him that? After an eternity and too many orgasms to count, the stretch of road ahead shifted into a packed parking lot. His heart pounded in his chest as Snail circled the car around and around... And around...

God, he could feel himself getting closer to the edge again already. He closed his eyes and braced himself.

Slam!

If he hadn't been tied up, he would've fallen out of the car with how quickly the door opened. Thankfully, a warm body was there to catch him. No sooner had he realized what was happening, Snail threaded a fist through his hair and smashed their lips against his, shoving their tongue down his throat. He moaned into the kiss and completely submitted to them. At this point, he was far too down the feel-good rabbit hole to even think of fighting.

They pulled him back, pupils blown wide, then used their free hand to get their dick out. "This what you want, slut?" they asked gruffly, affection still laced expertly in their words. "You want Daddy to fill that loud mouth with dick? Use you like a blow-up doll and fill you with cum? Huh?"

"Yes," he said mindlessly, eyeing them up hungrily. "Please, Daddy, I want it so bad!"

Their thumb pressed against his bottom lip, and he immediately opened his mouth for them. Like the pretty little whore he was.

"There we go," they said, voice barely above a whisper. "Such a good boy."

Without further ado, they gave him exactly what he wanted for once and began to fuck his face. The best part was that he didn't even have to do much. Just look pretty, sound pretty, and be a pretty little hole for his Daddy to use. Not a bad deal, since he got to feel good too.

"Fuck," they groaned, fingers tightening in his curls. "Your mouth feels so good. Like it was made for taking my dick."

It was!

"Maybe next time I'll fill it up too. You'd love going two hours with all your holes filled, huh? And a nice little vibrating cock-ring too. Make you go fucking crazy. Think you'd cum even more?"

Daniel didn't know. But he sure wanted to, even if he couldn't say it.

Once they'd gotten into a nice rhythm, they sped up, both hands giving them more than enough leverage to maneuver him how they saw fit.

"Think someone's gonna catch us?" they asked out of the blue, Grin on their face. "The door's wide open, I'm sure anyone could see the Daniel Nadiva all tied up with a dick in his mouth."

His eyes went wide. For a brief second, he had the thought of pulling back. Their grip on him tightened, nipping that idea in the bud.

"Can't do anything about it all tied up like that."

If given the chance, they probably would've laughed at him right then. "Guess you'll just have to keep taking my dick until I say you're done. Won't be long thanks to the show you've been giving me."

They were right. Just a few more hard thrusts, bruising his lips and the back of his throat, and they were done. Right on time too to sync up with him cumming all over himself too.

Panting, they traced a hand down to cup his cheek and pulled their dick free. Lovingly, they swept their thumb across his skin. "God, you're so pretty. How about a picture to remember this by?"

By the time he'd thought to say yes, they'd already taken the picture, put their phone away, and gotten the dildo out of his ass. The world was just moving too fast around him.

Now in the middle of untying his hands, they asked, "How're you doing?"

"Fine," he answered, though his throat sounded a little croaky and he was still flushed from all of the humiliation he'd been put through. "I'm fine. Kinda gone. I just..."

"Okay, don't hurt yourself."

Once he was free, they went about looking over his wrists and even pressed some light kisses to them. It probably would've made his romantic little heart go pitter-patter if it hadn't already been pounding a mile a minute. And if he hadn't been mentally stuck on how much of a gross mess he was.

"I'm disgusting," he complained. "You're going to... Clean me up, right?"

"Of course, princess. I brought stuff just for that."

Sure enough, they gathered a wash-cloth and a water-bottle that they'd snuck into the car.

Clever.

The water wasn't warm enough to be all that soothing, but they more than made up for it with coos of "pretty boy, good boy, you did so well" in his ear. He let his eyes drift shut, forgetting where he was.

"Don't fall asleep now," Snail teased. He opened his eyes up to see a huge smile on their face. Not unlike the Grin, but infinitely less devious. "We've got the whole day ahead of us and I dunno about you, but I'm ready to rock some rollercoasters."

He snorted. "Snail. I just got off of one. It was called Dildo Devastation."

They barked out a laugh. "So dramatic. But, you know, that would actually be a sick name for a ride."

"Oh, shut up."

"Make me!"

What they didn't know was that he had just enough strength to snatch them by the shirt and pull them in for a kiss. Which he gladly did. Their breath hitched, but in just one second flat they'd melted against him. It didn't hurt that he took full advantage of a few gentle fingers in their hair.

"That's cheating," they said against his lips, eyes sparkling.

Smiling, he argued, "Says you. Now how about we finally get out, huh? I need to stretch my legs and not my asshole for a bit."

Mimi's brow furrowed, reminding him of their other parent. Then they lit up and gave him a big, goofy grin. "Yeah! Snail said that, um, this story's real special, so you gotta be there!"  

"Oh, I have to?" Playfully, he tapped his fingers against the chair and pretended to think about it for a drawn out moment. The pout he earned almost made him laugh. "I guess I have no choice. Lead the way, pumpkin."

After he stood to his feet, their little hand firmly wrapped around his pinky and they pulled him along. Out the door, through the hall, toward the stairs, they scampered as fast as they could. Daniel, with the blessing of his long legs, was easily able to keep up, though he did his best to slow them down. Just so they wouldn't trip over themself.

Once they reached the first step, Mimi turned to him with a very serious look on their face. "We have to be careful now, Dad," they explained. "Don't wanna fall down. It's a long way."

"Of course. Do you want me to carry you?"

"No!" They took the first step, grip on him tighter than ever. "I can do it. But if you fall, I'll catch you."

He followed suit, smiling since they were too focused and too short to see it. "How sweet, thank you. And if you fall, Dad will make sure to catch you too."

"I won't fall."

"...Yes, pumpkin."

After the long, somewhat tedious process of going down one step at a time— with Mimi taking extra care to warn him when "this one was extra tricky"— the two of them made it to the living room, where Snail lounged on the couch, waiting.

"There's my babes!" they cheered as Mimi let go of Daniel to leap onto their lap. A strained groan escaped them when Mimi landed a little too forcefully, but they clearly did their best to keep up their jovial attitude. "Yup, should've seen that coming. That excited for story time?"

Mimi rolled their eyes. "Duh! You're gonna tell me how you and Dad met."

Daniel's eyebrows shot upward. "That certainly is an interesting story," he said evenly, but he knew Snail had picked up on his true feelings. Needless to say, they looked more than a little sheepish. "Pumpkin, how about you go get a snack from the kitchen while Snail and I figure out how we're going to tell it."

"Can I have cookies?"

"No."

"Chips?"

He considered that pleading look on their face. Just like Snail. "Fine. But you have to share."

"Yes!"

Snail opened their mouth after Mimi took off, but Daniel held up a finger to quiet them. Sure enough, that pitter-patter that had gotten softer grew in volume, and they popped out from around the couch.

"The chips are in the cabinet. I can't reach them."

Shit.

"Use a chair," Snail casually suggested, eyes flicking from Mimi to Daniel, then back again. He knew that look. It was a message. 'Look, I know you won't like this, but it'll be fine. Trust me, I know what I'm doing.'

They were right, of course. He absolutely didn't like the idea of his child using a chair to get something high up. What if they fell? What if they knocked their head against the counter? What if they ended up with a scar? Or even worse: what if they poked an eye out? He didn't want to see his baby like that. It would break his heart.

But the little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Snail chimed in. Mimi was a smart kid. Capable, too. And a lot older than a certain someone was when he went through the exact thing Daniel was worried about. In all honesty, this wasn't as big of a deal as he was making it out to be. His anxiety was just getting to him, plain and simple.

So he took a deep breath. Counted to three. And said...

"Just be extra careful, Mimi."

"Okay!"

This time, he waited until he heard the distinct, god-awful scrape of cherry-wood against tile. Then he leaned in close to Snail and harshly whispered, "They want to know how we met!? We can't tell them that! Hell, we haven't even told my parents the whole story! And we're not going to, for the record!"

Snail grabbed the front of his shirt so they could yank him down onto their lap. Arms enveloping him, they pressed a kiss to his jaw and said, "Relax. We can just cherry-pick the, you know, less sexy parts and make up the rest. Shouldn't be hard for someone as smart, and creative, and talented as the Daniel Nadiva."

He pouted. "Are you trying to butter me up?"

"Yeah," they answered with a shameless, heart-stopping grin. "Is it working?"

"You don't need to know that."

"So 'yes'."

More scraping indicated that their private time was running short. Daniel pressed himself into their chest for that sweet Snail comfort and sighed out, "I'll do what I can, but if I start to flounder, you better step in and help." 

Their hand felt pleasantly warm against his back. "Don't I always, princess?"

Before he could answer, a rather emphatic "ew!" interrupted. 

"You guys can kiss later!" Mimi said, grimace plastered across their face and chips in hand. "I wanna sit on Snail's lap!"

Daniel clicked his tongue. "I believe you can ask a little more nicely than that."

They only pouted.

"Mimi."

"Please move, Dad?" they finally relented, eyes wide so they could look a lot less petulant. "Pretty please?"

"You're so lucky you got my adorable face," he said, which earned a derisive snort from Snail. Then he got to his feet, stretching upward so he could prepare for an intense session of dramatics and showmanship. "Sit down, relax."

Not even a second later, Mimi had taken his spot. Judging by Snail's pained expression, they got in another gut shot too. Better than the alternative, he supposed.

Pressing his hands together, he took a deep breath and asked, "Is everyone ready?"

"Wait!" Mimi said, leaning forward so far that Snail had to hook an arm around their waist to stop them from tumbling headfirst to the floor. "Soup and Daisy need to hear!"

Snail and Daniel shared a look, then called their respective pets with a whistle and a well practiced imitation of a meow. Daisy barreled in, a hundred pounds of pure canine force, and barely saved Snail from horrid pain by crashing onto the empty side of the couch. Soup didn't make her own presence known until she leapt onto the back of the couch and settled down behind Snail's head, as graceful and dignified as a cat of such high standing should've been.

"There," Daniel said, hands on his hips. "The family's all here. Are we ready now, Mimi?"

They nodded and stuffed their face full of chips.

"Lovely," he sighed out, just to buy a few precious seconds of thinking time. "Now, you wanted to hear the story of how Snail and I met, is that right?"

"Yeah!"

Daniel's hands began to move, flourishing and jumping about with his words, like actors on a stage. "Well, once upon a time... A long time ago, but not too long.. There was a princess."

Mimi's eyes grew wide and they pointed a finger his way. "That's you!"

"Yes, that's me," he revealed with a coy smile. "Back in the day, this princess thought he had it all. But he didn't."

They frowned. "He didn't?"

Daniel leaned forward and poked their nose playfully. "He didn't. In fact..."

________________________________________________________________

The Princess was a lot more sad than he wanted to let on. Sure, he had his castle, his treasures, and millions of people that looked up to him. Yes, millions! But it just wasn't what he needed. Do you want to know why?

Because the Princess was always told that nothing was better than true love. So one night, right before bed, he looked to the stars in the sky, where all the other princesses of the past lived, and wished with all his heart for that true love to appear. When he did, he thought he saw the stars twinkling extra bright.

So he went to sleep, believing that it worked.

The next day, he met someone. At first, they seemed perfect. But as he talked with them more, he realized that this wasn't his true love. He had very high standards and knew exactly what he wanted: someone who was sweet, funny, creative, good-looking, and would give him as much attention as he wanted. This person, as nice as they were, didn't hit all the boxes.

So he wished on the stars again that night.

"Please," he said. "I just want them here with me. I don't want to be alone anymore." 

No luck. Every day, he'd meet someone new and they wouldn't be the one. Every night, he'd wish, and wish, and wish his little heart out. But his heart could only take so much wishing. And with every unfulfilled wish, it grew colder, more unwilling to believe that he'd ever have a hope of being truly happy. Eventually, he just couldn't bring himself to wish anymore.

He gave up.

"Dad, this is really sad."

--------------------------------------------POV Switch-----------------------------------------------

Snail spotted the exact moment Daniel got pulled out of his own head. His brow furrowed and his mouth hung open from where he stopped his kinda melodramatic spiel. Not to brag, but Snail had gotten pretty good at knowing what was going on in that head of his. This was him right on the cusp of panicking and saying some bullshit that he'd probably regret.

Guess that was their cue to step in, huh?

"Some stories start off kinda sad," they said, rubbing circles into Mimi's side. "Especially when they're true. But that just makes the happy parts happier, yeah?" 

Mimi turned around, face all twisted up, and argued, "But I only wanna know the happy parts!"

"You're just like your dad," they said with a wry grin thrown Daniel's way. He looked pretty embarrassed by it. Emphasis on pretty. "How about Snail takes over the story from here? You probably wanna hear about the cool life I was living before I met your dad, huh?"

While Mimi seemed excited, Daniel looked less than enthusiastic. They mouthed a quick "sorry" as they got up and slung Mimi under their arm like a sack of potatoes. Once Daniel had gotten seated in their place, looking like he was taking this a little less personally now, they plopped their giggling haul onto his lap.

"Alright, time for the cool side of the story," they said, running a hand back through their hair. "So once upon a time, there was... An orc."

"Snail!" Mimi immediately cut in. "You're not an orc! You're a human."

"As far as you know, kid," they fired back. Oh yeah, that shocked look on their face was totally worth the deceit. "'Sides, if Dad's a princess, I can be an orc."

"If I could interject here," Daniel decided to chime in, one eyebrow raised. "I'm not seeing how that adds up."

Mimi nodded, looking like they knew what he was talking about. Another thing they got from Daniel: a bad habit of BSing. It was pretty funny, even if Daniel didn't really think so.

"Alright, stick with me here," they said putting their hands out. "So, what makes a princess?"

"Princesses are pretty!" Mimi looked very pleased with their own answer. "And Dad's the prettiest princess ever."

Daniel got all pink and smiley. Good.

Snail ruffled Mimi's hair. "You're so right. But princesses are also sweet, smart, good with people, dress nice..." Without thinking, they let their eyes linger on Daniel and kinda got lost for a second. Leaning closer to his red face, they continued, "Soft, perfect to hold and kiss—"

Two little hands pressed against their stomach. "Ew, no, you're crushing me! Bleh!"

"Huh?" they asked, almost closing the space just to tease Mimi. "You hear something, babe?"

Smirking, Daniel replied, "Nothing but the beat of my own heart."

"Oh yeah?" They stole a quick glance down and almost lost it at Mimi's little baby glare. Give it a few more years and they'd give Daniel a run for his money. "Guess if we kiss that won't help at all, huh?"

"Not if you do it right." 

They knew what that meant. Hurry up and kiss me, I want it so bad! So they leaned in even closer until they were just an inch away, then...

Pulled back to finally give Mimi some much needed breathing room. And to maybe tease Daniel a little. Two birds, one stone.

That little gasp told them it worked. Nice. But, uh, the glare that snapped into place right after told them that there'd be hell to pay later.

Future Snail could worry about that.

"Anyway, Dad's all of those things, so obviously he's gotta be a princess," they said in what they thought was a pretty smooth transition. Which they knew all about. "Now what're orcs?"

Mimi frowned and did their best thinking pose. "Orcs are... Strong?"

"And handsome," Daniel added, clearly without realizing what he was saying before it came out. He cleared his throat and glanced off to the side. "I mean, to some people. I'm not sure who, exactly."

"They love to fight!" Snail could see Mimi starting to catch on. "Like you and Uncle Mortar! And they do cool things like break stuff! And... Oh, and orcs make a lot of things! Like weapons and things out of bones and teeth! They're, um, creative! Just like you, Snail! Except you draw. That's not bones."

Hell, they didn't even think of that last one.

"Exactly. So if Dad's a princess..."

"Then Snail's an orc!" Mimi finished, stars in their eyes. That lasted all of a second before they were pouting once again, though. "How come you and Dad never told me?"

"We didn't want you thinking I was too cool," they answered with a wink. "But now you know and we can get back to the story, right?"

"Okay, okay, so Dad's a really sad princess, Snail's a super cool orc." Mimi took a deep breath, then settled back against Daniel's chest and swallowed down some more chips. "I think I got it. On with the story!"

Snail let out a snort. "So once upon a time, there was a super cool orc..."

________________________________________________________________

As cool as this Orc was, things weren't so hot for them either. I mean, they had a place to live and a job, so it wasn't terrible. And they had a sick roommate, Captain Thunderblade. He was a cute little mouse— not a rat— that lived in their wall and ate cheese they gave him.

But anyway, like the Princess, they were pretty lonely. It was hard being on their own. Till then, they'd lived with other orcs, you know?

So they went out to try and find someone they could love. They'd heard somewhere that once you kiss someone, you're supposed to know if they could be your soulmate or whatever. It wasn't the smartest thing to do, but they kissed just about everyone they could find.

Yeah, uh... That didn't work.

At some point, they sat down and had to think it out. If they went around kissing more people, who knew what would happen? They had to figure out how to kinda narrow the field.

What did they want from their soulmate? Someone who was pretty, sweet, funny, and, most importantly, loved to kiss. Yeah, yeah, I know, ‘ew’, but kissing's important for this Orc! If they couldn't do that, then what was the point?

Still, it took a little while. They just kinda lived their life and tried not to be too sad about being alone still.

Then one night, they saw a boy. Oh, sorry, a Princess. And he was the prettiest thing they'd ever seen in their godda— uh, darn life. Tall, long hair, gorgeous face... Sure, he looked kinda pissy, but that only gave him a little edge. The Orc liked their boys all fierce and fiery.

They knew right then and there. He was the one. He was gonna be theirs. So they ran home, got their nicest clothes, ran back...

And were stopped by one of the castle guards.

"Wait, so they couldn't get in?"

Nah, the guy was kinda stubborn about it. You had to be invited to the party and he didn't believe the Orc when they said they left their invite at home. I mean, that was a lie, but still.

"Then what's the point in telling this part?"

--------------------------------------------POV Switch-----------------------------------------------

That was a blatant cue if Daniel ever heard one. He shifted Mimi over to their own seat, where they readily cuddled up with Daisy, and got to his feet to join Snail on the make-believe stage. Their arm hooked over his shoulder and he leaned into their side, locking into place like a puzzle piece.

"So impatient," Daniel teased, flourishing a hand through the air. "Sure, the Orc couldn't get in at that exact moment, but what they didn't know was that they'd get their chance before too long. Because all that commotion caught the Princess's attention..."

________________________________________________________________

Now, I should probably explain what this whole party was about first. Every year, the nobles of the castle would throw a celebration for all the things they managed to get done for the people. It was also a way to collect donations for future projects. A little business, but all in all, it should 've been a lot of fun.

Should've.

In reality, it was incredibly stressful. You had to talk a certain way, dress a certain way, and act a certain way if you didn't want mean people to whisper about you behind your back.

And the Princess had to be extra perfect if he wanted people to donate to him and his cause. The pressure made him nervous. What if he said something wrong? What if he ruined it? He could never trust himself to persuade the people. Not when he couldn't even find his true love.

He was so nervous that he ended up standing around, doing nothing.

That only made it worse.

Until, lo and behold, he heard one stubborn Orc arguing with his guard. And who else would be able to handle such a situation?

Once he gathered his confidence, he stepped up to that whole mess and, seeing that the Orc was so desperate to get in, demanded, "Step aside, guard. They're with me. My plus one."

________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, the Orc was losing their mind. Like, there was his royal highness, just letting them into his ritzy party like that was a normal thing to do. Wild, right? They had no idea why he did that, but hey, they weren't gonna complain.

So they followed him in and tried to think of the perfect thing to win him over. What sucked was that they really didn't know what a princess would like. But they had a couple tricks up their sleeve. Like lifting something really heavy to show off how buff they were. Or... Uh, lifting something heavy to show off how buff they were.

Okay, they only had the one. And maybe, like, trying to talk to him. They knew that was the smarter idea, but they still held onto that first one. Just in case.

But before they could do anything, the Princess whipped around and asked, "Can I help you?"

He might've looked all pissy, but the Orc knew better. They could see that he was just a little nervous. He was looking all over the place, mostly at all the stiff jerks that were staring. Really, he should've been looking at them.

To make that happen, the Orc pulled the Princess real close and said, "You're cute. Wanna dance?"

________________________________________________________________

This was when the Princess finally got a good look at the Orc. Handsome face, charming grin, the sweetest brown eyes he'd ever seen... And he could tell how strong their arms were. 

Perfect for carrying dainty Princesses, in fact.

As much as he wanted to say yes, this poor Princess couldn't bring himself to. His heart pounded in his chest. Hopeful that this Orc could be his true love. And scared that they weren't.

He turned away from the Orc. "No, I don't have time to dance. I need to entertain my guests."

But oh, all those guests were already staring. Judging him. A Princess and an Orc? Absurd! Unheard of! No Princess in their right mind would ever associate with such a rough and tumble character! If he didn't get out of this right now, then his reputation would be ruined!

...Or so he thought. The Princess had a habit of blowing things out of proportion.

Lucky for him, this Orc was quite smart. Somehow they knew that he was all in a panic for no good reason. They gave him some space— very respectful of them, might I add— and then asked, "You don't look good. I think I can help. Wanna smash instead?"

"Like Smash Brothers?"

--------------------------------------------POV Switch-----------------------------------------------

Not gonna lie, it was pretty hard for Snail to keep it together when they saw the absolute panic on Daniel's face. It was a look that said, "Oh, I screwed up and now I don't know what to do." Usually, they fixed that by kissing it away, but with Mimi around, they had to settle for a quick cheek-smooch and some even quicker thinking.

"Kinda," they led with, just to buy a couple more seconds. "That's what the Princess thought, but Orcs mean something else when they say smash."

Mimi's eyes grew wide. "Oh! Like smashing things!"

They grinned. Gotta love it when the hard work gets done for you.

"Exactly."

________________________________________________________________

The Princess didn't answer the Orc right away. Made sense, he was kinda freaking out. And when he did, he said "yes". Let me tell you, the Orc wasn't really expecting that. The Princess still seemed nervous, duh, but the way he looked at them with those big eyes, all hopeful and sweet, like the exact opposite of that scowl he had when they first saw him...

It made them do something a little dumb.

Without thinking, they scooped that princess up— "Oh, Snail!"— and carried him out of that party. Lucky for them, the guards kinda weren't paying super close attention, so they were able to make it out without pissing everyone off.

Nope, they only pissed off the Princess.

"How dare you!" he screamed at the top of his little lungs. Yes, that's what he sounded like. No, I don't take criticism. "You can't just carry me off! What are you, some sort of brute? Were you raised in a barn? I can't believe this!"

"Hehe, that's totally what Dad sounds like!"

Even with all that yelling, the Orc was just happy to have a boy in their arms. He was so warm and soft. They were in love.

________________________________________________________________

You're really not putting me down, oh, okay, fine—

Ahem. Well, it would've been a lie to say that the Princess didn't feel the same way. There was something about being in their arms that made him feel safe. So eventually he settled down and, as bad of an idea as his anxiety thought it was, made another wish on the stars above.

"Please, let them be the one."

And you know what? The stars twinkled so bright, he knew they were pulling through for him.

All cozy in their arms, he gave the Orc directions to his castle—

"Wait, weren't they already at the castle?"

...His other castle. That was his work one, you see. Every Princess had a work castle and a home one. After all, you can't live and work in the same castle, can you?

"Huh... I guess not."

So he gave them directions and that's when the whole "Smash" thing came up. They had a laugh about it and cleared up the air, deciding to just play Smash Brothers instead of, you know, breaking any of the Princess's valuable belongings.

________________________________________________________________

Actually, that's not all they did. See, the Orc was ready to commit to the Princess right then and there. But the Princess was still a little shy. So when he got the game all set up, they, you know, placed a little bet. If the Princess won, the two of them could just play games all night long. A real dream come true for him, yeah?

But if the Orc won, they wanted a kiss.

Can you guess how the Princess reacted?

"I can't do that! I'm a Princess, I don't kiss people I just met!"

Now he didn't say that out loud, but it was all over his face. So was the fact that he really wanted to kiss them, but they didn't wanna bring that up.

What mattered was that he agreed to the bet. The Princess picked the most badass space bounty hunter to fight with while the Orc chose the cutest little puffball in the world. That gave them a bit of an advantage, but they could tell they were going up against a Princess with a lot of skill. Really, it was up in the air.

"So who won?"

________________________________________________________________

Snail shifted Daniel in their arms, a knowing grin plastered on their face as they looked down at him. "You wanna tell them?"

He stuck his nose up in the air and crossed his arms. "Not particularly."

"C'mon, I think it's your turn to take over."

"No, please, if you'd like to go on for a little bit longer, be my guest. Don't let me ruin your fun."

"But I bet Mimi really wants to hear it from you. Can't hold out on them."

"I can't?"

"Oh, come on, just look at their face!"

Like a perfect little actor, Mimi gave Daniel the most pathetic puppy-dog look and said, "Please, Dad? You gotta finish the story! I really wanna know!"

Daniel let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, fine. The Orc won, by some miracle, and got the kiss they wanted." As he glanced downward, they noticed the little smile on his face. Good to see that first night made such an impact. "It was magical. The Princess knew it for sure right then. He loved the Orc and he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with them."

"The Orc knew too," Snail added, warmth filling their chest as they tucked Daniel closer. "This was their boy. Their Princess."

Those dark eyes locked onto them, warm and full of love, and a tender hand pressed against their cheek. "So the Princess and the Orc spent the whole night together. What a night it was. The first of many."

"So many."

"And the rest..."

"Is history!" Mimi finished enthusiastically, nearly throwing their chips all over Daisy. "Yay! That was a really nice story. Even if it started off really sad."

Daniel huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Thank you, pumpkin."

"Next I wanna hear how you guys had me!"

...Uh-oh.

"That'll have to wait some other time," Snail said as they carefully set one tense Daniel down on his feet. "You gotta be a little older to hear that one."

"How old?"

"Uh..."

"Thirteen," Daniel decided after what felt like forever. Okay, cool, he had a plan. "When you're thirteen, we'll tell you the whole story of how made our lives infinitely better."

Mimi pouted. "But I already know part of it!"

The look Daniel gave Snail sent chills down their spine. They put their hands up defensively and said, "Hey, I didn't tell them anything."

"It's obvious," Mimi continued matter-of-factly and grabbed a few more chips to snack on. "You grew me in a pumpkin patch. That's why you call me pumpkin. Duh."

Whoosh. A baffled Daniel Nadiva was infinitely better than a pissed one.

"Um... Well, the rest will still have to wait. Now how about you go play now?"

Once they'd pittered their way off to their room, Daniel pressed himself to Snail's front, resting all his weight on them. They rubbed circles into his back, earning a few nice little groans of approval.

"So," they started, grinning. "A pumpkin patch, huh?"

"Do you think that's more, or less, absurd than the idea of you being an orc?"

"I dunno. Think the real question is if it's more absurd than the actual story of how we adopted them."

They could see the bags forming under his eyes. "We need to come up with something to tell them before they're thirteen. I know they're going to keep asking and I don't think we can twist the actual story to be more palatable for them."

"We can workshop something," they offered. "At least we got a little time, right?"

He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around their waist. "Right. We've got this."

"You're damn right. Love you, princess."

Not-so-thankfully, he had to make room for the trophy. A pretty thing, very alien-like. Something he couldn't show off to the average person, certainly. Jagged, metallic spikes shot out from the base of it, almost in a hexagonal shape that sloped inward. Sitting on top of the needle-thin points was an orb with the most gorgeous array of royal blues and rich, red-leaning purples swirling together in unity. If he hadn't seen otherwise when he pulled the trophy out of the box, he would've worried that the ball would roll off at any slight angle.

After about an hour of rearranging and moving a few things into boxes to be shoved into a closet and forgotten about, he finally had a beautiful display. The trophy sat on the top shelf, perfectly centered and framed by his accolades and other assorted awards. With a smile, he pressed a gentle finger to the orb, activating it.

'Snail and Daniel Nadiva. Winners of the 3078 Annual Pet Show.'

Seeing that had gotten him to thinking. At this point, he could feel it in his very bones: he and Snail were forever. They were his soulmate. Right now, the two of them had taken the steps to show that fully in Snail's culture, but what about his own? The collar on his neck sat heavily while his ring finger felt strangely naked.

So maybe he'd gone out and gotten a ring. A simple band of silver, reminiscent of his collar. He'd gotten himself a matching one, of course, just to complete the image. All he wanted was to be a married man. At least in spirit, if not legally for... Obvious reasons.

Now it was a matter of popping the question. He talked himself through several different scenarios, but none of them felt right. At a restaurant in front of a ton of people would put too much pressure on them. At home during a cozy night in wasn't special enough. What was he supposed to do?

The ring burned a hole in the pocket of his blazer as he made his way downstairs to think it over. With Snail out on an errand, he had all the room to think.

In hindsight, he didn't need that. All alone, his thoughts grew warped. Fantasies of Snail scooping him up into their arms and shouting 'yes!' for the world to hear turned into nightmares. Rejections. Narrowed eyes and bared teeth, claws ripping the collar off him. The irrational fear of being left alone even though, deep down in his heart, he knew that would never happen.

Maybe he needed to relax. And what better to help with that than a fresh, piping hot cup of tea?

Daniel searched the cabinets, not finding himself to be in the mood for any of his conventional blends. Really, the only thing that grabbed him was the strange little jar that Snail had added to the collection. He never got the chance to ask them what it was, but he'd been picking up the language pretty well. Why not just figure it out himself?

"Let's see... 'Good'," he muttered, eyebrows furrowed and a finger pressed to his lips. That was definitely written there. "Oh! And ‘plant’. Makes sense. Good plant? That's a conjugated verb... Feel? 'I Feel Good Plant'? Does that make any sense?" 

There was another word in there that he didn't quite know. It looked familiar, though. Like one he'd seen a lot in passing without somehow gleaning its definition. Oh well. He wanted to feel good. By the way the dried herb smelled, he figured that it would make for a decent tea. Especially if he threw in some chamomile, a little cinnamon, a pinch of clove...

Fifteen minutes later, he sat down at the kitchen table with an experimental cup of tea in his hands. Carefully, he pulled the ring out of his pocket and set it down so he could stare at it and contemplate. How could he propose without coming off as weird or... Weird? Was that even possible? What if they thought the very idea of marriage was stupid?

Daniel Nadiva, drink some tea and calm down before you have a heart attack!

With his own self acting as the voice of reason, he had no choice but to obey. Hm. Not the best tea he'd ever had. But it wasn't bad. A solid seven out of ten. It certainly needed more sugar and maybe a little less clove. Though the aftertaste was a little better. It left a fiery warm, rich flavor in his mouth that spread down to the tips of his fingers and even down to his toes. Almost like a strongly spiced candy.

Now to come up with his game plan. Once he'd downed the entire cup, he focused all his energy into that.

If he was clever enough, he could thread the needle and make a whole show of it while still keeping the pressure off them. Or, actually, what was he worried about? If anyone wouldn't feel pressured by a public proposal, it'd be Snail. God knew they didn't give a single fuck about what anyone else thought of them. That was one reason he loves them so much. They were just so unabashedly themself.

Still, he'd rather play it safe. You know what? Maybe a post-sex proposal was the answer. If he fulfilled his 'duties' as their beloved pet, then whispered the big question in their ear while they basked in the afterglow, maybe they'd really get to see what this meant to him.

Of course, the sex beforehand would have to be good enough. Something a little more fun, a little more hot and wild. Maybe he could get a cock-ring on himself and lay back in bed with a vibrating dildo in his ass until Snail came home. Or stage another incident of them walking in on him jacking off. Or he could just strip down and ask them how they want him to please them. God, all of those sounded hot.

Wait, why the hell was he so horny?

Swallowing down a deep breath of air, he finally noticed the sweltering heat clinging to his skin. Like a heavy coat he couldn't shrug off. Although doing what he could- removing his blazer and rolling up his sleeves- didn't even help. Neither did putting his hair up, or getting a cool washcloth to press against his forehead.

Ring back in hand, he tumbled his way to the living room and unceremoniously slumped onto the couch. Like a tragic hero in a Greek play, he reclined back and pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. It didn't help any, but the drama of it made him feel a little better. Emotionally.

Until he felt the heat all settle right in his dick. Take a wild guess at what happened next. No, really, go on.

If you figured that he got as hard as a rock in three seconds flat, you'd be right.

If you also guessed that he wasn't quite elated for that to happen, then you're two for two. 

And if you somehow predicted that Snail would arrive onto the scene right at the most inopportune time, then either you're clairvoyant or you know how much life just loves to torture poor Daniel Nadiva. It wasn't fair, it really wasn't.

"Daniel?" Snail immediately asked, rushing to his side. "What happened? Are you sick?"

"I don't- I don't know," he stammered out. The heat was melting his brain into a useless puddle of goo. "The tea... I had some of your weird fucking alien tea and now everything feels hot and I'm hard and I kinda can't stop thinking about you railing me."

"...Alien tea?"

"That's what I said! It... It's the... The shit you put in the cabinet!"

All four eyes went wide. "Huh? No, you're joking, right? You made tea with that?"

Uh-oh. Daniel was very happy to say that he'd never had a heart attack before, but this was probably close enough to count. "Excuse me? Was I not supposed to? What is that shit? Oh god, is it some sort of alien pot? I'm too anxious to be doing any kind of drugs, Snail!"

"What? No, it's not a pot." They scooped him up so they could sit with him on their lap, one hand on his hip and the other on the back of his head. "It's, uh... Something to make you really horny and sensitive. I got it hoping we could try it out together, but..." Color rushed up their face and they gave him a sheepish smile. "Guess keeping it next to your tea wasn't the smartest idea."

"Not as much as... Drinking something I'm not certain about."

Their grip on him tightened and they looked him over, blatant worry on their face. "How do you feel?"

His head spun in endless circles. "How do you think? God, I haven't been this horny since... Fuck, since I was a goddamn teenager. I... I need..."

A sharp hitch of breath in his ear cut through the fog. Snail's thumb swept across his hip and they leaned in close to his throat. For a brief second, he thought he felt the sharp edge of teeth against his sensitive skin. Like they were just one split-second away from losing control, barely able to resist the temptation.

"What does my pretty boy need?"

"Fuck me!"

Just like that, another one of his perfectly good suits was torn to shreds. What happened to the ring, he didn't know. But he also didn't care right then. The cool air against his scorching flesh was enough to make him outright moan and finish off any semblance of brain-power he had left.

One hand moved down to the curve of his back, pressing him to their chest. Then they firmly wrapped the other around his dick, drawing a sharp gasp from him.

"How about I warm you up first?" they purred, a perfect mix of absolutely feral but still in control. "Get you nice and ready for me. Sound good?"

They didn't need an answer. He sure as hell didn't give one. Instead, he got his hands on their arm, more to send a message than anything, and began to fuck into their hand. It felt like heaven and only got more intense when they latched onto his throat, right above the collar. The only thing that could make this better was a tentacle or five pounding into his greedy hole.

"So pretty," they huffed, setting his nerves ablaze with the slight dig of their claws into his skin. "My good little pet... Keep going. Wanna see you cum."

It didn't take long. Once he really got into it- head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut, moans turning into undeniable screams of pleasure- his carnal instinct took over. Snail showered him with praises the whole time, stroking his ego in time with his cock. There was no shortage of good feelings, both physical and emotional.

Just how he liked it.

"Fuck!" he moaned out as he felt himself getting close. "Please... Snail, want your tentacles, all of them, want them all, please!"

They blanched. "What? No, you can't-"

"I want it!"

He bucked wildly as he came, but he sure as hell wasn't done yet. Clearly, he needed to prove himself. Why else would Snail try to hold out on him? They didn't want to hurt him.

Sweet, but frustrating.

"Please, Snail, I need you to fuck me," he said between ragged breaths once he'd finished making a complete mess of himself. Carelessly, he trailed his fingers up his chest, his throat, and to his mouth, letting them linger against his lips. "All ten. I want it, I need it, I need you! Don't you want to fill me up? It'll really prove how much I belong to you. My ass will be so ruined from ten tentacles, god, that sounds so fucking hot, doesn't it?"

All four of their eyes locked with his as he sucked on his fingers. Pride swelled up in his chest. They were enchanted, enamored. Absolutely smitten. And so were the tentacles wiggling about on the fringes of his vision.

Without further ado, he popped his fingers out and filled his ass. For once, this was actually a little justified because Snail thought he'd need a break from sex after the Pet Show.

"Are you sure you want it?" they asked, putting their hands on their hips. Their pupils were narrowed, almost disappearing completely, and their claws threatened to break skin. "It might be too much, I mean..."

"I took nine just fine," he argued. "What's one more?"

No answer. Pathetic whines flew out of his mouth and he bounced frantically on his fingers. It wasn't enough. Not even three fingers were enough- damn it all, he'd really become a fucking slut. Unable to resist, he curled his fingers right against his prostate and let the mix of shame and desire crash through him. And he couldn't even blame it on the goddamn alien tea. All that did was make him horny. He didn't have to deal with it. He didn't have to let Snail touch him, or finger himself on their lap. Most of all, he didn't have to beg for all ten of their tentacles.

This was all him and his repressed slutty desires. Like water breaking through a dam.

"Cum for me again," Snail said out of the blue, breathing hard. "Do it and I'll fill you up, just like you want. Show me what a cute little whore you are, what a sweet, obedient pet. Fuck..."

Their words transitioned to the harsh spits and guttural growl of their language. More praise and dirty talk, he imagined. His mind easily filled in the blanks, replacing the white noise with everything he wanted to hear and more. Pretty, good, sweet, hot, can't wait to fuck you, love you so much, feel so good around me.

Before he even knew what was happening, he came for the second time. Moans and curses flew out of him like no tomorrow while he relentlessly pounded himself through his orgasm. This was bliss. Absolute heaven with just the simple use of his fingers.

Exhausted, his hands fell and he collapsed against their front, completely limp. But the fire still burned inside him. A brief flicker of warmth at the moment, but it began to rise.

Firm hands on his hips lifted him up, making him whine pathetically. He barely had enough energy to lift his head to see what was going on. Snail stared downward, teeth gritted, completely focused.

But... Wait... There were supposed to be ten, wiggling, eager little tentacles hanging about. Where'd those go?

Stupidly enough, he looked up high first. Just in case they'd decided to wait, coiled up high like a scorpion's tail. But no. Had they gone back inside Snail? Oh god, did he do something wrong? What if they got turned off for some reason- fuck!

Right then, something pressed against his ass. Hot and huge. His dick jumped to life almost immediately and his heart raced with excitement.

Stealing a glance down, he finally saw the final piece of the puzzle. All of the tentacles had coalesced into a monstrously large, well, dick and were currently threatening to absolutely brutalize him. His arms coiled around the back of their neck as they gave him a mere inch and let out a huffy groan in his ear.

"This what you wanted? Got a nice, thick cock ready for my needy little pet to take. Just say the wo-"

"Please!"

Daniel caught them- and himself- by surprise by forcing himself downward and breaking through their iron-strong grip. The force was just enough to get a couple of wonderful inches inside him. Thighs trembling, he lurched forward and let out a stream of desperate noises that intermingled with their animalistic growls.

Damn it all. He didn't have it in him to finish the job. Too much, not enough, too much!

Lucky for him, Snail took it out of his hands. With barely any effort, they pushed him down the rest of the way, fully seating him on their dick.

After that, things went more than a little fuzzy. There were a lot of feelings, without a doubt. Mostly pleasure. A little overstimulation. Hands on his hips, in his hair, pulling, grabbing, bruising. Hips bucking against his own while he greedily bounced on their cock. Teeth against his skin, lips against his jaw, hot breath, intense passion. His own hand on his painfully hard dick, stroking without a single goddamn lick of rhythm. All they while, his moans and curses mixed with /their huffs and the repeated slap of his ass against their thighs. In the back of his mind he worried that he'd end up with a few more bruises than he originally expected.

Then he came for the third time in a row and lost the capacity to worry about it.

"Snail, oh god, fuck, so good, love you!"

"Love... Too... Shit!"

Full of and covered in more than his fair share of cum, he completely collapsed against their, chest heaving with the effort it took to get some oxygen back to his brain. The two of them stayed like that for several minutes while the heat ebbed out of him. Blissful silence reigned and he got to soak in their presence without a care in the world.

Until he remembered the ring.

"Fuck, wait, where is it?" he asked, still very much out of breath. But that didn't stop him from pulling away and trying to use his eyes.

"Where's..." Huff. Puff. "Where's what?"

"The... The fucking ring, where is it? I need it, Snail, oh my god, I can't lose it!"

There! On the floor! He threw himself off their lap and scrambled to pick up the ring. He held it close to his chest and promptly curled up into an exhausted ball, having pushed himself past his limits.

"Daniel!"

Strong arms scooped him up without hesitation and a warm hand pressed against his jaw, making him look into Snail's worried eyes.

"It's important," he answered before they could even ask. "Can't lose this ring."

"Why?"

"I need it to propose to you."

"...What?"

Shit. Now he had to do it, right? And, well, this was what he had planned. Hands shaking, he held up the ring to see, placing it in front of his collar with the hopes they'd pick up on the similarities.

"Snail," he said, then took a deep breath. "Will you... Will you marry me?"

They cocked their head. "Is this a human thing?"

His face grew hot. "Yes. It's our way of... Claiming our partners for good."

Gingerly, they took the ring and looked it over. He was tempted to look away. Though he was glad that he didn't, otherwise he would've missed the sweet little smile that spread across their face.

"Then yeah," they finally answered as they began to slip the ring onto a tentacle they'd brought back out.

He stopped them with a breathy laugh. "It goes on your finger."

"Right! Right." Their tentacle retracted and they seemed to ignore the blush growing on their cheeks. "I knew that."

Easy for them to say. But he didn't have it in him to argue. For once, he was going to force himself into this whole optimism thing. Otherwise he'd just crawl into Snail's arms and have a breakdown.

"Up next... Daniel Nadiva, the Eleven!"

Taking a deep breath, he straightened himself up to his full height and muttered, "Well, break a leg, Daniel. You've got this."

He just barely caught the horrified gasp that left Snail as he stepped out, followed by the faint demand of "don't do that!" It lightened his mood a little, at least. Still, he made a mental note to explain that particular turn of phrase and make up for nearly giving them a heart attack.

Roars of applause greeted him as he strutted out into the spotlight. The judge stood center-stage, waiting for him with the hint of an unnerving smile on her face.

As unnerving as it was to be out here without Snail, he still put on a smile and did a princess-like wave for the crowd. That caused another uproar, much to his delight. As it turned out, he really was the brightest star in the universe. Who would've guessed? Well, besides him.

The judge waited for the noise to settle down before clearing her throat. "It's time for the obedience assessment," she declared. "Are you ready, Daniel the Eleven?"

He stuck his nose proudly in the air. "Of course I am."

"Very good. Now sit!"

...Excuse him?

A brief second-long pause was all he needed to see that she was serious. He scrunched his nose in distaste and asked, "Is the floor dirty?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "...What?"

"Is the floor dirty?" he repeated slowly, flickering his gaze down to try and ascertain the answer himself. "I'm not sitting if it is. I don't know what kinds of diseases these other pets have!"

"...Daniel, sit."

Now the crowd was deathly silent. What? He had a point! Did they not have to worry about shit like that? Was he just paranoid? Look, he'd concede that he was a little, but he sure as hell didn't see or hear about anyone wiping the place down between contestants. Just the thought that he could be standing in something with his bare feet nearly made him gag.

But he didn't need to be told a third time. So he did a half-compromise and sat down on the floor with his legs tucked beneath his body. At least then all his intimate bits wouldn't be at risk.

She let out a gruff hum. Not even a lick of praise? What was the point, then?

"Speak."

Scowling, he asked, "What the fuck do you want me to say?"

Her mouth screwed up to the side. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea to curse out someone judging him for obedience. But if he was lucky, she wouldn't pick up on his less-than-pleased tone or even understand what throwing in 'fuck' like that even means.

A clawed hand shoved itself in his face. "Shake."

"Do you want me to lay down for you too?" he quipped on instinct, only to wish he'd bitten his tongue instead. It was too late now, though, so why not follow through? "Maybe play dead?"

"Just shake, Daniel."

Damn it all. His face grew hot under her decreasing patience and intense scrutiny. Shaking her hand, he internally lamented the fact that nobody on this god forsaken planet had even the smallest fucking tidbit of a sense of humor. It wasn't fair. What, did Snail steal it all from everyone else?

Her hand was cold. Unpleasant. As she pulled back, she barked out a command of "lay down!" 

Pouting, he hesitated for only a second before that horrible glare and those sharp teeth pulled back into a silent snarl cowed him into submission. As much as he loved and cherished his hair, it wasn't worth potentially pissing off someone who could tear him in half with one hand. He'd just take a shower tonight. 

A very thorough shower.

Laying down on his back, he squinted his eyes as the spotlight above shone directly onto him and tried to hold back the chills running through him. Did it have to be this cold, or was this purely just to spite him?

The judge leaned over him, the back-lighting casting harsh, intense shadows over her face. Then her mouth stretched wide, giving him a view of that broad grin filled with nothing but daggers and venom.  And there was a gleam in her eye. One that he found vaguely familiar, but it took a long moment for him to recognize it.

Sadism.

"Spread your legs."

His eyes went wide. "Excuse me!?"

"Spread your legs, slut."

Oh. Oh. This was the route she was going down? No. Absolutely not. He may be a pet, but he was a goddamn person first. And there was only one alien allowed to talk to him like that. He quickly rose to his feet, towering over her in a show of unabashed, righteous fury, so she'd know without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't taking anymore of her bullshit.

"Who do you think you are?" he bit out between clenched teeth. "Because you sure as hell aren't my loving boyfriend! So don't you dare talk to me like you're in control here! You're not. Like hell I would ever even think about giving you that power over me! You're lucky I even played nice long enough to not lose my fucking shit before now!" After taking a deep breath to cool himself down, he continued with a pointed click of his tongue, "But you know what? I've decided that I'm done humoring this lackluster excuse of an event that you call a pet show. Just give me my fucking score."

Too-long seconds passed. More and more, he realized that he wouldn't be able to hold it all in for long. He was so frustrated, so frazzled, so goddamn nervous that he just wanted to cry and scream and make all these fuckers feel what he was going through! Maybe they'd treat him a little more humanely if they had to be put in his position!

Warm claws on his hips had him melting in no time. Snail scooped him up into their arms, face tucking into his hair to let out low, reassuring purrs. They covered up the faint beeping that came along with them.

"Your pet has a lot to learn," the judge bit out, glare focused entirely on Daniel. "Is this the kind of behavior we're supposed to expect from an Eleven?"

"Uhhh..."

Snail looked at him, questioning.

What was he supposed to tell them? That he was torn between his competitive spirit and his desire to be treated with the respect he deserved? Why couldn't he have both? You couldn't let him eat cake his whole life only to take it away and say that people like him shouldn't have it in the first place.

But he came all this way. It had to be worth it, right?

Under his breath, he curled himself closer to Snail and whispered in their ear, "I want to keep going."

Their thumb rubbed circles into his back. Then they let out a snarl that he could tell was an act and said, "I've trained him to only listen to me. What, you think I wanna risk my Eleven obeying someone else?"

She suddenly grew pale, as if she hadn't even considered that sound reasoning. Clearing her throat, she countered, "And what about his unruly behavior? He has quite the mouth."

"Letting him get mouthy keeps him safe from people who wanna take him," they readily said. "Someone else has already gotten a collar on him. But, you know, I made him loyal to me so he told that guy off and made his way back so I could fight for him." They let out a scoff, though he could see the slight fear in their eyes. "If you had an Eleven, you'd know that's what makes him special. But I get it. That kinda thing's hard to understand for people who aren't in the know."

After that bold display where they all but literally whipped their huge dick out for the world to marvel at, hushed choruses of "oooohs" and "aaaahs" fell over the crowd.

"Um, well then, if that's that case," the judge said after a long moment, looking unsure of herself. "Then... I must give him a ten for obedience. After all, he obeyed his owner's orders without a second thought. And that's what matters in the end!"

As a roar filled the stadium, Snail picked him up and rushed him out of there. He coiled himself around them like a touch-starved anaconda, letting out a sigh of relief when they brought him to his designated dressing room and slammed the door shut. They pressed their back to it, as if they thought someone would try to bust their way in. After a long, tense moment, they let out a breath they'd been holding.

"You okay?" they asked, their grip loosening just enough for him to notice.

"Yeah," he breathed out and reached up to cup a hand against their cheek. "Thank you. For saving my ass out there, I mean."

They gave him a wry smile. "You mean saving your trophy? Your ass would've been fine."

Rolling his eyes, he gingerly stepped down from their arms. As much as he loved being close, what he needed right then was a little space and some cool air. Anything to settle his racing heart.

"Need anything?"

"Is there tea here?" he asked. His body wasn't cooperating with him as much as he wanted it to. Deep breaths and a little bit of pacing kept him grounded, at least. "Or anything like tea?"

"Uhh... We don't drink leaf water here."

Great.

"Well, what about... I don't know, any sort of hot drink with caffeine? Or sugar?"

"I don't... Think so?"

He drew in a sharp breath. Well, then. Wasn't that just wonderful? No caffeine, no sugar, no warm bliss to settle in his stomach and make him feel at home for even a brief second. God, he was gonna go fucking crazy.

"And I can get you more water," they suggested with the ghost of a touch to his back. "Is that good enough?"

Looking over at them and how earnest they were, he couldn't help but to ease a little. After a deep breath, he was able to give them a gentle smile and a chaste kiss on the lips. "That sounds lovely," he said, if only to see that little spark in their eye when they thought they were doing good by him. "Just be quick? Please?"

Like a lapdog, they melted under his affection with a big, goofy, sharp-toothed grin. "Yeah! Want anything else while I'm out?"

He swallowed thickly. "Word on what the next part of the show is going to be? If you can? You don't have to, but... I don't know, I'm just nervous. I don't want to fuck it up again."

"You won't." Their claws raked through his hair as they stepped out the door. "But I'll try. Sit tight, okay? And try to breathe a little. You're getting a little panick-y and that's not gonna help much of anything."

Closing the door and locking it with a gentle click, he tried to do just that.

Tried.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The look on Snail's face when they slipped back into the room couldn't have meant anything good. It was the little half-grimace and the aversion of their eyes, like when there was something that they'd rather not tell him. Like 'I broke the new toaster you just bought' or 'I might've tried attacking the mailman again because I got possessive'. Like usual, he expected them to come right out with it, though. They were fairly good at the whole communication thing now that they'd learned.

"So the next part of the competition might be a sex test or something."

He nearly dropped the water after they'd handed it to him. "A what?"

"Yeah. A sex test. You know, because pets are for, uh..."

"For fuck," he finished bitterly, then swallowed down some much-needed water. "So what's going to happen? Are they going to give us a room, have us go at it like wild animals, and judge how well I do by how satisfied you are afterwards?"

They ran a hand through their hair and gave him that look again. "Um, no-"

"Oh, I know!" he cut them off, now pacing around in a fit of manic energy. "They're going to send that creepy judge in to watch us! God, how horrible. You're really going to have to work your charm to get me hard with her around. Oh, and I want extra after-care once we're done."

"Daniel, that's not-"

"Attention all owners! Be ready to go on stage in five minutes for the next portion of the show!"

Snail let out a huff, shoulders drooping. "Ah, shit..."

There wasn't enough time for him to figure out why they were so frustrated. The two of them made their way to where they were supposed to be and got in position- Daniel was the lucky bastard picked to go last after everyone else. It made sense, he was expected to blow away the competition. He just didn't much appreciate the immense pressure that put on him.

"Whatever happens," Snail whispered in his ear as the seconds ticked closer to his cue, "I've got you, okay? Just say the word and I'll bust us both out of here."

He had to frown at that. "That's sweet, but I don't understand why you're telling me this right now."

"You'll see."

All too soon, his name was announced and Snail led him out onto the stage, where he was met with even more applause than ever before. That was a good omen, at least.

"Now Daniel the Eleven will really prove his worth for us by pleasing his Master. Pay extra close attention, everyone, it's not everyday you see an Eleven at work!"

His eyes went wide. "Wait-"

Snail quickly cut him off by scooping him up into their arms, manhandling him into the same position that the judge had looked him over in. Flames licked at his face as he was exposed for the entire audience to see once again, with Snail's too-goddamn-strong arms very much in the way of him getting any semblance of coverage.

"What do you want?" they asked in his ear, voice husky like. But it wasn't genuine. "Just say the word, baby."

"I want to win," he said without hesitation. Was it bad that he was already getting hard? "Fuck me. Please."

Their breath hitched and their claws flexed against his thighs on reflex. "Yeah? You want it that bad, huh? Then how about you get your pretty little hole nice and stretched for me? Show everyone here how bad you want it."

"Did you hear that? Snail is getting their pet to touch himself first!"

A huff into his ear told him that they were just about as enthused by the announcer as he was. Still, he did his best to tune that jackass out while he squirmed in Snail's hold and said, "But..."

"No buts. Be a good little slut and just do it."

Did they have to make him do the most embarrassing thing possible? Hesitant, he snaked a hand up to his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. Since he didn't have lube, he was going to have to use the next best thing.

"Such a good boy. You know, you're really cute when you got something in your mouth."

After slicking up his fingers, with his eyes still very much closed, he let them make their way down to his ass. All he had to do was relax and pretend he wasn't being watched. Then fingering himself wouldn't be nearly as humiliating. So what if there were tons of aliens watching him? That didn't matter. Did he care that they could all get an eyeful of him practically humping against his own fingers, pathetic little whines slipping out from him as he went right in with two fingers? Not at all.

"I... I think that's enough."

In the very next second, they wrenched his hand away from his ass. Right as he was about to snap and ask what the fuck they were doing, two tentacles shoved their way into his ass, turning his words into nothing more than a strangled gasp.

"Snail!"

"So loud already," they growled out, pressing kisses to his shoulder. "Just want everyone to hear you, huh? How about... Fuck." Their hand shot up to grab his chin. "How about you look at your little audience? See who you're getting fucked in front of? I know you want to, slut."

"I... I can't... Oh god...!"

"Aw, feeling shy?" Another two tentacles pushed their way into his already abused ass. "I'll change that real quick."

They kept to that promise. One tentacle wrapped around his dick and quickly pumped him, pushing him over the edge a lot sooner than anticipated. As he made a complete mess of himself, they muttered husky praise in his ear that electrified him. Then in went two more tentacles, forcing a pathetic, loud whine out of his mouth.

"Too much, baby?"

He squirmed helplessly as all six tentacles continued to ravage him. But he couldn't find his words.

"That's what I thought..."

More orgasms, more tentacles, head swimming, wonderful feelings, he couldn't get enough! But he made the mistake of opening his eyes and seeing the swathe of people all focused on him. Oh god. This was too hot. Being used for everyone to watch, like he was some sort of pornstar. It made him get too into his own head, forgetting about the bullshit nonsense that was shame or pride. All he wanted were the tentacles inside him and on him to never stop.

"More..."

Snail faltered. "Uh, shit... You've already got-"

"More!" His hips bucked impatiently. "I want more, please, I need it! I can take it, I promise, please, I just...!"

With what he could almost assume was some sort of strangely pleased snarl, they stretched his ass with the rest of the tentacles they had to offer: all but the one on his dick. His entire body lit up from being so filled. Stars filled his vision and danced through his nerves.

This was heaven. Pure and simple.

With each rough pump into him- and each hard hit to his prostate- he tumbled closer and closer to the edge. He knew that once it got close enough, he would leap off headfirst, ready to drown in pleasure. What else was there to do? He had to be good for his owner. For his audience. He was an Eleven, this was what he was made to do!

"Such a good slut, feel so tight around me, you like this? Like being used? Gonna fill your pretty ass up, show everyone here that you're mine. My Eleven, my pet, my Daniel. All mine and you can't do anything about it."

"Don't want to," he managed to breathe out. "Love being yours, love you- oh god! Snail! More, harder, please!"

All the pressure and heat inside him snapped. And they did too. The only words he could make out between their animalistic huffs and groans were "pretty", "love", and "Daniel". Needless to say, he got the gist.

Much better. With than taken care of, he was free to make his way over to the strangely oblong, metallic table that he'd dumped all his things on and check his phone.

"Ah, shit," he muttered under his breath. A whole day and a half had passed since they arrived. In hindsight, it made sense. Worse jet-lag meant a longer recovery time. But now he only had a day to see the sights before the Pet Show. He didn't even know that people could sleep for that long.

Tossing his phone to the side, he made his way over to the door. A little walk would help clear his head and wake him up, at lea-

"Access denied."

He blinked, reeling his hand back. "Excuse me?"

Once again, he tried to open the door.

"Access denied."

Scowling, threw himself the door to try and get it open. It didn't have a knob or even a lock, so it should've opened just fine!

"Access denied."

Alright. Fine. He couldn't leave for whatever god-forsaken reason. The very thought made his skin crawl, but he'd be fine until Snail woke up. All he needed was a little fresh air. So he rushed over to window, nails scraping over every inch to find a latch or something that would open-

"Access denied."

His jaw dropped. "'Access denied?'" he repeated under his breath. "I'll fucking show you access denied!"

Over and over, he tried to open the damn thing, earning a string of mocking denials that overlapped on top of each other until it finally ended with a little extra flair that stopped him dead in his track.

"Access denied. All pets must get the permission of their owners to open any doors and windows. Harsh punishments may be given to any pet who is caught trying to escape."

Suddenly, the collar on his neck felt like it weighed a thousand tons. Without another word of frustration, he dragged a chair over to the window and slumped down into it. He forced his thoughts to the back-burner, wanting to just relax for a moment. No worries. No restrictions. Just him and the view. That couldn't be blocked just because of some arbitrary bullshit that hardly even applied to him.

The night sky was similar to the one back home. Pitch black and full of twinkling lights. But whereas he used to be able to pick out the big dipper or Orion's Belt, now he had nothing to go on.

Eventually, a brilliant shock of red came along to sweep it all away. There was about a half-hour or so where it mixed with that mango color from before, making him crave a smoothie. Did the people here even have smoothies? Probably not. Or if they did, he probably wouldn't be served one. Pets aren't allowed. What bullshit.

"Daniel...? What're you doing up?"

He glanced over, face pressed against his hand. "I couldn't sleep anymore. It's been about a day."

Snail sat up and stretched, letting out a groan. "Yeah, I know."

"...You know?”

"Who do you think got up to get us food?" they asked, rubbing the sleep from all their eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You really don't remember?" They got up and made their way over, claws locked onto his hair so they could run through it. "Guess you were pretty out of it. But we got up a couple times to eat. You were hardly able to stay awake, though."

"That's..." He swallowed thickly. "That's concerning. Am I sick?"

"Nah," they said with that casual tone that didn't ease him in the slightest. "I looked it up at some point and it's normal for humans, I think? Something about the air. You needed to get used to it, that's all."

Did he feel any better? No. Not really. It seemed like everything here was out to get him. Could he just relax for one moment? Pretty please?

"What's wrong?" Snail asked, their hand cupping against his cheek.

His bottom lip trembled and his eyes burned with pent up tears. He shouldn't have been so emotional, yet here he was. "I couldn't leave the fucking room. Or open the window. And now the stupid fucking air made me sleep for a day and... Everything just feels wrong. I almost want to call it quits and just go the fuck home."

They swept him up into their arms, cradling him bridal-style, and began to plant gentle, almost ticklish kisses along his jaw and throat. "We can do that, if you want."

"That's sweet, but I'm just frustrated," he muttered. The attention was nice, at least. "I can't give up now. Not when I've come this far. I mean, I'm the Daniel Nadiva. If I was a quitter, I wouldn't be able to say shit like that."

"It's okay to give up."

He drew his lips into a thin line. "I know. But I've been through worse. I'll be fine, just..." A deep sigh, then he looked up at them, feeling lost. "Just help me get through it?"

"Yeah, of course."

After a beat, the most sharp-toothed grin spread across their face and they unceremoniously dropped him onto the bed. He let out a yelp as he bounced back, then shot a glare up at them.

"What the hell?"

"I'm gonna eat you out," they said, clearly excited by the prospect. "Then once you're all happy, I'll go get us some breakfast. And I'll make sure to get the-" a garbled word came out of their mouth- "that you like. How's that sound?"

While his dick started waking up from its slumber, his face grew hot. "The what?"

"Shit, right, you forgot," they muttered, but that didn't dampen their energy at all. Casually, they pried his legs open and got to work sliding his pants down. "Guess that means I just get to see that look on your face again. It was really cute, but it'll probably be nicer to see when you're not falling asleep on yourself."

If they hadn't dived right in like he was an appetizing three-course meal, he would've had more questions. But, you know, he was more than happy to just enjoy himself for the time being.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daniel popped another piece of kritzk- the most deliciously sweet ball of fruits and baked dough he'd ever had in his life- and let Snail guide him through the winding streets of the town. They'd spent all day yesterday showing him around, but he still didn't find it easy to orient himself. Especially not with his nerves so fried.

"You're gonna be fine," they said in his ear, arm slung protectively over his shoulders. "I promise."

He huffed even as his stomach did flips. "I know. I'm fine. Really. It's just another show."

"...A show where you're going to be judged."

"As if that isn't already the case."

"A show where you have to be naked the whole time. And you don't know what's gonna happen because you've never done it before."

"Are you trying to stress me out?"

"No, I'm just trying to get it through to you that I know you're nervous. 'Cause I know what you're nervous about."

"...Alright, fine. You caught me." He let out a heavy sigh and shoved the kritzk in Snail's face. "Can you finish this?"

"Fuck yeah!"

While Snail eagerly shoveled food down their throat, he stared up ahead at the Show Hall. It would be fine. He'd be fine. After all, he'd gotten an exclusive pre-show care package. That obviously meant he was already in good graces with the people running this whole thing. He could do this. He was going to blow everyone else out of the water!

Right inside the doors of the Show Hall were a couple of grinning attendants. Their eyes immediately locked onto him and those grins broadened just the slightest bit. Very unnerving.

"Snail?" one of them asked, turning their attention away from him. "And this is your pet? The Eleven?"

"Yeah," they answered, mouth full. "His name's Daniel."

"And would you like anything special done for him today?"

"Uh... I mean, what're you already gonna do?"

"We'll be giving him a bath with the finest soaps money can buy, firstly. It'll be very relaxing for him, we assure you. Then we'll make sure he's sufficiently nourished with foods made to replicate those on his home planet. Then we'll style his hair and administer some finishing touches to his appearance to really make him stand out."

Daniel scowled. That certainly made him feel like less of a person and more of a pure-bred poodle or some bullshit. But that was fine. He could nod and smile long enough to enjoy it.

"Guess that sounds good," Snail said oh-so-helpfully, turning toward him. "What do you think?"

"It sounds lovely to me," he finally got to say, a pleasant, if pointed, smile on his face. Yes, hello, he was right there!

"Great!" the attendant said, claws clicking together. "Now this service is being provided to you complimentary, but would you be interested in providing a tip?"

"No."

Immediately, the faces of both attendants fell.

Daniel lightly slapped Snail's arm and hissed through his teeth, "That's so rude!"

"Tips aren't the same here."

Their pupils were narrowed, making them look wild while they kept their attention on the attendants. A twitch of their claws made his heart jump. He knew this look. One wrong move and they'd snap on someone. And it was far too easy for him to put the pieces together and figure out why they were like this.

"Oh."

The second attendant stepped forward and put up another grin, hands clasped together as he amicably said, "If you'd like, we can bring in eunuchs to take care of your pet instead. Just so you can make sure nothing happens without your permission."

Snail ran a hand through their hair, a snarl still on their face. "Yeah. Do that."

"Wonderful. They'll be out shortly."

Once they were gone, Daniel let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. Wasn't this lovely? Exactly what he needed before one of the most stressful events of his life.

"Should I go in with you?" Snail asked after a long, thick moment. "You know, just in case?"

"I don't think that's necessary," he said softly. "I'll be okay. They're sending out eunuchs." With a click of his tongue, he crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air. "I didn't know we'd time-traveled to ye olde royal highness's harem, but that's fine."

As a testament to how baffled they were, they completely dropped every ounce of tension and shot him a wide-eyed look. "Huh? What does that mean?"

...Right. Of course they wouldn't get it.

"Remind me after the show and I'll explain it to you."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To no one's surprise, especially not his own, he was only slightly less objectified during the bath than before. The people that were brought out to take care of him were nice enough, of course. Very sweet and doting. And with the help of the ear-pieces they'd donned, there wasn't any issues with communication.

Or rather, there shouldn't have been.

"Can you let the conditioner sit for a few minutes?" he'd politely asked while chin deep in the most comfortable bubble-bath to ever exist. "I think my hair really needs the extra help."

And do you know what happened next? He got ignored, they rinsed out his conditioner, and sure, his hair still came out as luscious as ever, but it was the principle of the matter. If he asked for something to be done with his hair, then the people taking care of him should listen! They could understand him, for fuck's sake!

That wasn't the only instance, either. But if he kept thinking about it, he'd rile himself up and make it harder to play nice during the show. So there he was, at Snail's side, waiting for the show to start and doing his best to keep his mind off the numerous things bothering him.

"You okay?" Snail whispered and put a hand on his back. "You look pretty red." "It's because I'm naked, Snail."

"Right..." Claws against his skin made pleasant tingles run down his spine. "Um, it'll be okay. I've got you."

He took in a deep breath. "Thank you."

Sure enough, they kept to that. Once the announcements started and the competition started filing out onto the stage, Snail grabbed his hand and absolutely refused to let go. Good thing, too. He was already shaking like a leaf. So many people could see his dick.

The voice speaking on whatever sound system said that same generic bullshit he'd heard in dog shows back home. It was almost funny, how similar it was. There was even a stone-faced judge on the floor, going down the line, assessing the other pets and having conversations with their owners. He almost wished the crowded audience wasn't so fucking chatty, so he could try and hear what was being said. But at least he didn't have to wait too long before his turn came around.

Cold hands grabbed his chin and turned his face every which way. If he hadn't already been in Host Mode, he would've snapped.

"Good symmetry," the judge said blandly, though this close Daniel could see the interest spark up in her eyes. "Attractive features for his species. Beautiful hair. Name and ranking?"

"Daniel," Snail answered, tense. "And he's an Eleven."

The crowd roared. And he wouldn't be a proper showman if he didn't preen in the limelight. An Eleven, here he is! Hello, world!

"Absolutely stunning," the judge then said, eyes glued to him. "Lift him up for me, please."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't go touching anything."

Wait, what?

Snail easily scooped him up into their arms and manhandled him into a very compromising position: back pressed to their front and their hands gripping firmly onto his thighs, spreading him wide open for everyone to see. His face instantly lit up like a flame. Despite his base instinct, he kept still while the judge leaned down and got a  little too close for comfort.

"His dick looks a touch small," she commented. "But it works in his favor. I'm guessing that this hole right below it is the one you use to fuck?"

"Yeah," Snail answered, hanging over his shoulder and staring like a particularly neurotic watchdog. "That's it."

She clicked her tongue. "It seems like its been a while since you've used it." "I mean, I ate him out yesterday. But we haven't fucked in a while, no. We had to travel to get here."

"Ah, that makes sense. Can you turn him on for me?"

"Turn me on?" he whispered out in shock.

"I've got you," Snail reassured in his ear. "All you gotta do is be a good boy and get hard for me."

His breath hitched. "I don't know if I can. God, I feel like a fucking piece of meat right now..."

"You're more than that and you know it." Their thumbs swept across his skin. "And, I mean, don't you get off to the thought of being seen like this? That's why you stuck to doing the show, right?"

"Excuse me?"

Now he could hear the Grin in their voice. "Everyone can see you all spread open. Isn't that hot? They can all see you, red-faced and wiggly, unable to do anything. I could just up and fuck you right now and they'd all cheer. Don't you wanna prove what a cute little fuck-toy you are? How easy it is to get you riled up and ready to take dick?"

Why was that working? Oh god, he could fell himself getting hard despite- no, because of the circumstances. He bit down on his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping he could pretend that millions of eyes weren't on him.

"Is this coloration in the face normal for humans?"

"Yeah, he's just flustered. It's real easy to do, he's kinda... Shy."

"Oh, how adorable... Let's see, in terms of appearance, I give him a ten out of ten. Congratulations."

"Thanks..."

After that, everything became a blur. Did he black out? Maybe a little. But he was aware enough to feel Snail's hands keeping him steady after they set him back on his feet. When the haze cleared away, he found himself off the stage, in some sort of dressing room? Whatever the case, Snail was still by his side, at the very least.

"Are we done?" he breathed out.

"Nah, just taking a break. Next part's the obedience test. You gonna be okay to do it?"

"Did you... Did you do anything last night?"

He blinked several times, but that did nothing to clear the fog. "Huh? I slept. That's about it."

"You sure about that?"

Finally, the fuzzy details became a little more visible. Stripes led to a grinning a face. 

Grinning. 

Uh-oh.

"Yes?" he mumbled, pressing a hand to his forehead. Then a memory flashed into his head. Fuck. Okay. He could just keep playing ignorant and they'd be none the wiser. "We went to bed together and... The rest need not be said."

"No, I think it does need to be said," they purred, a single claw trailing up the underside of his chin. "Because I know what you did."

Hot chills ran down his spine. "Oh really? Please, tell me, then. Because I sure as hell don't."

Lips found his jaw, making him melt into a happy little puddle. Lazily, he looped his arms around them. But he stayed on guard. He had to be able to bounce back from any accusation.

"Well, last night someone got a little wily," they purred, hand grabbing his hip. Their thumb circled against his skin. Teasing. "And my tentacles had a fun time getting woken up to play with a needy pet and fill his greedy little holes."

"What makes you think I did that?" he asked, only to immediately wince at how stupid that question was.

They cocked their head. "If it was someone else, then you're surprisingly calm right now."

"I can be calm!"

"Uh-huh. Well, do you really think I'd ever even dream of fucking anyone else?" They placed a sweet kiss to his lips, their chest pressed to his and sending pleasant rumbles through him. "Even dead asleep I can recognize my boy."

He huffed. "By touch?"

"I'm a talented guy," they joked. "Helps that no one can get into the ship. It's pretty air-tight."

Well. Shit. Unable to handle the truth with dignity and grace, he crossed his arms and stuck his nose up. "You don't know that."

They laughed. "C'mon, don't pout!"

"I'm not pouting!"

"You totally are!"

"It's called a frown."

Snail moved into his line of view, bottom lip stuck out in a mockery of his expression. Turning away did nothing to help, as they only butted back into his space. Finally, he pressed a hand to their cheek and shoved them away, earning a playful "ah, hey!". He paid them no mind, instead sitting up and pretending as if nothing happened.

"Rude pet," they whined, resting their head on his shoulder and snaking their arms around his waist. "I think you owe me a kiss for that."

He hummed, as if pretending to consider. Then he grabbed their hand, bringing their knuckles up to his lips to give them what they wanted. "Better?"

"For now."

"Okay. Well, we have a long day ahead of us, right? The final stretch?"

"Yep. We should get there by morning."

Standing up, he stretched out his back, relishing the string of pops that came of it, only to immediately yelp when Snail's hand groped his ass.

"And once we're there, I can punish you for last night," they purred, sauntering past him.

Well. That was certainly something to look forward to.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...Are you ready?"

"Are you?"

"Not what I asked."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was the one emotionally compromised by this."

"Hey!"

A deep breath. Daniel's hand found Snail's, gripping it tight. "I'm sorry. But I am ready. I just wanted to make sure you were too. Since this might be, I don't know... Rough for you? Coming back home after so long, I mean."

They gave him a tentative glance. "I'm not the one that'll get objectified. Anyone talks shit about me and I can kick their ass."

"I still don't think it'll be that bad. But I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay... If you say so."

The hatch of the ship slowly opened. What did Daniel expect? Towers of imposing, metallic buildings, all lit up with harsh red lights? A jungle with minimal housing, hiding beasts within that weren't nearly as dangerous as the sapient people to be found? Something else? A completely new type of society that he couldn't even begin to wrap his head around? All those possibilities lead him to have a mini-panic attack.

Snail was here, though. They'd lead him along.

Finally, light filled the ship and he got to see what awaited him. It was...

Strangely familiar.

The first thing he noticed was the orange sky. Not a deep orange, almost pale. It made him think of summer, like an ice-cold tropical drink full of mango. It didn't help that the flat clouds above- what few there were, at least- were the richest, most saturated red he'd ever seen in his life. Your average bull would keel over at the sight of them. The sun was also red, but he didn't feel like blinding himself to try and describe it beyond that.

What baffled him the most were the buildings. They weren't futuristic and they weren't nearly as prehistoric as he could've guessed. No, they were modern, yet rough. Like a slightly less populated suburbia. The shapes were strange, not anything you'd find on Earth, but outside of that, it was normal. He could guess which ones were houses and feel fairly confident that he was right. There were even roads! Unpaved ones, more like pathways between buildings with the violet plant-life cleared out. But that made sense, once he thought about it some more.

"So?" Snail asked with a gentle squeeze. "What do you think?"

He drew in a deep breath. The air was similar to home. A bit more... Thick, though. Humid. Yet grainy at the same time. If he tried to take in too much his lungs wouldn't be happy. But he could manage.

"It's a lot more mundane than I expected," he answered honestly.

"Is that... Bad?"

"No." He gave them a gentle smile. "It's comforting, actually. I can almost pretend I'm home."

"Good," they breathed out, their own nervous smile lighting up his view. "Let me know if you're uncomfortable at all, okay?"

"Don't worry, I will."

"Okay." Suddenly, their eyes went wide. "Shit! One last thing before I forget..."

They let go of him just long enough to click-click-click against the back of his collar. Pulling back, they looked him over and said, "There. How's that?"

His eyebrows furrowed. Was their voice deeper than usual?

"Good, I guess?" he said, putting a hand to his throat. "What did you do?"

"Um, well, these collars come with a little chip that-" a curse snaked out of their mouth, guttural with the tell-tale cadence of their natural language- "I dunno, it translates so you can understand people here."

He blinked. "Wait, so you're not speaking English right now?"

"No."

If he had any interest in the sciences, he'd want to pick apart and try to figure out how the hell that worked. But he didn't care enough to. He did have one question, though.

"Does that mean people can understand me too?"

They shook their head. "Only if they happen to know English. Which isn't that likely."

"Is that so?" he asked as they took him by the hand once more and led him out. "But you know it."

"I, uh, started learning it once I found out where you were," they admitted, eyes straight ahead. "Funny enough, I learned another Earth language first."

"Which one?"

"Elvish."

Daniel blinked several times, whipping his head around to look at them. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah," they said, cheeks dark. "I mean, it was one of the ones available. And when you pick a language, they show you pictures of what those people look like. Elves are pretty cute, so you know. I went with it."

Did he have the heart to tell them? God no.

"Uh-huh. That's certainly... Interesting."

Their arm looped around him, pressing him flush to their side. "But they're not as cute as you! I'm happy with my little human pet."

Oh. How sweet.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As strange as it was, the two of them didn't see much of anyone until they reached what Snail called the "Show Hall". In fact, that's where it turned out everyone was. Droves upon droves of people that looked like Snail lined up at the door, accompanied by...

Oh god.

His face grew hot by the mere sight. All sorts of different aliens- and a couple humans!- collared, leashed, naked. Strangely enough, it made him feel like he'd committed a social faux pas. Especially when eyes turned toward him, going down, then up, and stopping at the collar on his neck. That raised a few too many brows and other equivalents.

"This is certainly a big turnout," he muttered lowly, crossing his arms as the two of them got in line. "Am I going to be competing against everyone here?"

"Nah." Snail's claw found their way to the small of his back. They seemed tense. Any sudden movement and they would lock onto it. "I think they screen pets based on ranking. Anyone under a nine's gonna have a hard time getting in."

He pressed himself against their side. Home away from home. "So I'm guaranteed to make it, then?"

"Pretty much."

"...Even if they run out of spots?"

They glanced over and began to rub soothing circles into him. "You're an Eleven, Daniel. They'd sooner kick someone else out than let you go, huh?"

He took a deep breath. "You're right."

Unfortunately for his anxiety, it seemed like the buzz all around them picked up. Eyes flickered toward the two of them. It was unnerving. But why? He should've been used to being the center of attention. But those people marveled. They stood in awe and whispered 'that's him! Daniel Nadiva, there he is!' Some would approach, others would envy their courage. And he'd get to bask in the glow of what all his work led him to.

This was different. Othering. Something he hadn't felt since before he became famous. And only one word stood out from the buzz.

Eleven.

Not the worst thing he'd ever been called in this context.

It continued- Eleven, Eleven, Eleven!- up until someone finally decided to approach: a green alien with more rounded stripes. Chained to his side was someone who he could only describe as 'Draenei adjacent'. Pale pink skin, broad horns, stunning pupil-less eyes, long flowing hair, and...

God, how was he supposed to say this...?

Fuck it. He was attracted to women. It was normal to notice. Right? Right.

She had huge tits. There.

"An Eleven, huh?" the green alien asked, eyeing him up like a piece of meat he wanted to sink his teeth into. He tugged at the leash, callously pulling his pet forward. "Mine's a Ten. Tightest pussy you'll ever feel."

"Good for you, dude," Snail said, completely unwilling to hide their annoyance. "Why're you telling me this?"

The alien smirked. "'Cause I want a round with your Eleven. In return, I'll let you play with my pet. Hell, you can even have her for a couple days."

Sneering, they tightened their hold on Daniel. "Not interested."

"Come on! What'll it take? Money? Got plenty of that too."

"Didn't you hear me? Fuck off."

While the two of them argued, Daniel found his attention going toward the poor girl standing there with her head hung. Pets and Masters should've been just extra kinky partners. Yet it seemed like she was lacking the right to a happy relationship. And that just broke his romantic little heart.

Leaning close, he whispered, "You deserve better, you know."

She drew in a sharp breath, but didn't say a word. He could feel her gaze burning a hole into him, though.

"And if you get the chance, a hard knock can break that collar," he added. "The back of it is the weakest part. It's as easy as falling on it wrong."

Her hands shuffled together. "Ah... Thank you..."

"Hey!"

A green claw yanked him up by his collar, knocking the wind out of him. He grabbed the alien's arm and all but snarled out, "What the fuck are you doing!?"

"No one said you could talk to my pet!"

Quick as a flash, Snail separated the two of them with a snarled out, "Hands off!"

He managed to right himself with the hesitant help of the other pet. Once he was steady on his feet, he straightened himself up to his full height- about on par with the green alien- and butted his way back into the middle of the confrontation. Even Snail's warning of a growled "Daniel" didn't stop him.

"Look, jackass, I don't care who you think you are," he said in a barely level tone and poked a finger into the guy's chest. "You don't get to put your fucking hands on me."

"Your pet's pretty mouthy for an Eleven." The alien's eyes flickered past him. "Makes me think you're a fucking liar."

Daniel threw his hand in that bastard's face, dragging his attention back to where it belonged. "Excuse me! Hello! I'm the one talking to you, not them! What, do you need a fucking translator? I can get Snail to do it!"

The alien looked past him again, expectant. After a brief few seconds, his face fell.

"Oh, you thought they were going to pull me back?" he asked, unable to help the devious grin on his face. "Cute. But no, you have to deal with me! So what are you going to do now, hotshot?"

Lips pulled back to reveal sharp teeth. It made his heart skip a bit. But when his eyes locked onto his collar, then trailed back to Snail, he knew he'd won. No one would be stupid enough to attack him. Not with Snail around.

"An Eleven, my ass," he ended up grumbling. "Can't wait until you get caught lying. Then you'll be in trouble."

Without another word, he stormed off, dragging his pet with him. She gave one last glance back toward Daniel and, right as the two of them rounded a corner, put a hand on her collar.

"That went well, I think," he said, turning to Snail.

"Yeah," they breathed out, shoulders slumping. "I'm kinda glad I didn't have to step in, though. I don't really feel like fighting anyone right now."

He cupped a hand against their face. "I'm sorry."

Purring, they nuzzled into his touch. "It's cool. And, uh, don't let what that guy said worry you. We both know you're an Eleven."

Right. He'd almost forgotten about that last little comment. Eyebrows furrowed, he pondered the implications of what he said, then eventually asked, "So I'm guessing it's illegal to lie about a pet's ranking?"

"Yeah. To get into a show, at least."

"...I see."

They frowned at him. "You're worrying."

"No, I'm not."

"You totally are!"

Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said, "Okay, so maybe I am. Just a little bit! I mean, what if I'm not an Eleven? What if your sensor bullshit was wrong? What then? Are we going to be thrown in jail?"

"That's not going to happen."

"You don't know that!"

"Daniel."

He huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm just saying. You don't know what's going to happen."

Snail pulled him close, their strong arm securing him to their side. "Okay, so maybe I don't. But I can tell you what's most likely gonna happen."

"And what's that?"

Tap-tap-tap. Their claws almost tickled through his clothes. "We're gonna wait in line for a while, be bored as hell, then we're gonna sign up, the person will probably test you to make sure you're an Eleven-" at the hitch of his breath, they tucked themself into the crook of his neck- "which you'll pass. Then we'll be entered in. And if you're real good, we can go get something to snack on afterwards. How's that sound?"

He pouted. "Okay..."

They were right. It took a whole fucking eternity, which he suckered them into carrying him for at least half of, and then they were there. The alien at the counter scrutinized the two of them with narrowed eyes, and in response he slunk out of Snail's arms with red cheeks.

"Planet of origin?" she asked, lazily looking over to Snail.

"Earth," Daniel quickly answered. "I'm from Earth."

Her eyes widened by a fraction. After a beat of silence, she cleared her throat and reached up to press something on her earpiece. "Can you repeat that for me?"

"Earth."

"Alright." Her hand waved, bringing up a holographic interface full of strange looking characters. "Full name?"

"Daniel Lee Nadiva."

"...Species?"

"Human."

"Height?"

"Six feet, two inches."

"Weight?"

"One-hundred and thirty pounds."

"Ranking?"

He swallowed thickly. "Eleven."

Her claws froze against the hologram. "Can you repeat that for me?"

"I'm an Eleven," he restated with more confidence in his tone.

"You do understand that with a claim like that, we have to test you. Would you like to retract your official given ranking?"

"No."

She let out a heavy sigh. "Alright. Hold still."

Suddenly, what looked like a cartoonish ray-gun was brandished in his face. He barely had time to flinch before a bright red light flashed in his eyes, dizzying him and making him see stars. Snail's firm claws found his hips, keeping him upright.

...Ding.

...Ding.

...Ding.

Beep-beep-beep!

The alien stared down at the device, completely taken aback. Then, stiffly, she set it aside and began to type away once more.

"Eleven," she muttered under her breath, stealing quick glances at him. It almost seemed like she was flustered. "And the name of your owner?"

"Snail."

He felt a pleased rumble against his back.

"Well, you're all registered for the show," she said after a moment. "And because your high ranking, we're offering you free room and board up, as well as a special pre-show care package, should you wish to accept."

Finally. The treatment he deserved.

That was a leap, but listen. Snail insisted that they couldn't have sex for the duration of the trip. Something about focus or whatever- that didn't matter! It was torture! Whatever bullshit they had about needing sex must've been contagious, because he sure as hell caught it.

So maybe he lied earlier. Maybe he also spent a lot of time, well... Railing himself with a dildo until he was satisfied enough to continue with his day or too tired to keep going.

In any case, it fucking sucked. And he didn't know how much longer he could take it.

"Are we getting close?" he asked, slung over Snail's shoulders like a needy feather-boa. "Or do we have to do another week of this bullshit?"

"Should only be another day and a half." Their hand reached up and lightly scratched his scalp, sending pleasant tingles down his spine. "Not too much longer."

He pouted when they stopped giving him that sweet attention. "'Not too much longer...' What bullshit."

They snorted. "Yeah? Is that what you really think?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Well, how about you bee a good boy and keep yourself busy for a bit? I gotta keep an eye on things here and I don't need your cute face distracting me."

"How about my cute ass?"

"You horny or something?"

"Maybe."

Their eyes widened. "Oh. Didn't think you'd be so upfront about it."

"I'm really horny," he admitted, face burning hotter than the sun. "It's... Almost unbearable, to be quite honest."

"I'll fuck you as soon as we land, promise."

That was that. Dejected, he slunk out of the room and made his way to the little corner that had become Daniel's Spot. Snail was kind enough to get a comfortable bed put in place, with piles upon piles of blankets and pillows to cushion his delicate physique. Throwing himself onto it, he let out a deep sigh and stared up at the ceiling. What was he going to do for another day?

Jack off.

...Now that was an idea. He glanced over at the dildo half tucked under his pillow. Time flies when you're having fun, right?

With that thought in mind, he went right for it. Five minutes later, he was sprawled out and filled with seven thick inches of said fun. He'd found that after making the transition to toys more... Aligned in shape to his particular tastes, jacking off became a lot more enjoyable. Turns out, once you got stuffed with a slew of tentacle dicks, you could never go back.

Daniel drew in deep, ragged breaths as he got lost in pleasure. If he closed his eyes real hard, he could pretend that Snail was fucking him. That was all he wanted. Just once before this trip ended.

God, he could imagine how feral they'd be. How they'd pin him down and growl in his ear, fuck him raw until he saw stars. In and out, in and out.  He was tempted to go out there, bend over the console, and demand that they finally give him what he wanted. Though he knew that wouldn't work. They liked to hear him beg.

"Please..."

Shit. He needed to be quiet. Or else he'd 'distract them'. So he threw a hand over his mouth and worked the dildo harder. It made him wiggle, whine, squirm, whimper, squeeze his eyes shut as hot shame rushed his face, and it was amazing. The thrill of getting caught brought him closer to the edge.

In hindsight, maybe he wanted them to hear. Then they'd have an excuse to come in there and call him a needy little slut. Show him what a good pet like him was best for.

With a muffled "fuck!", he came all over himself. No touching his dick necessary.

...Though that wasn't going to stop him from adding that to the mix for orgasm number two. In a couple quick motions, he'd stuck the dildo to the headboard, got into face-down-ass-up position, and gotten his hand exactly where he needed it. Now his hips could go buck wild, letting him rail himself so wonderfully.

"Such a whore," he muttered to himself, unable to keep it all inside. "Fuck...! Can't even go five seconds without... Without filling your needy hole..."

This was his favorite position. It really made him feel dirty. How a good pet should feel.

For his third round, he stood against the wall and fucked himself like that. The fourth, letting the toy sit in his ass while his hands toyed with his nipples and took turns pumping his dick. After that, he started repeating positions and methods, mixing and matching on a whim. Each orgasm wracked his sensitive body with almost too many good feelings, making it easier for the one to follow to take its toll on him.

Around orgasm number seven- how much time had actually passed, he sure as hell didn't know- his romp came to an early end.

"Hey, Daniel, you hungry? I was thinking we could... Uh..."

His eyes locked with theirs, which was a bit of a feat considering his face was pressed into the mattress. Frozen in place, he swallowed down as much cool air as he could so he could answer them.

"Yeah, um, I could... I could eat."

Silence. Damn it all. If he had more shame, he would've gotten the dildo out of his ass and tried to pretend like he wasn't just jacking off like a fucking horn-dog. If he had less, he would've just kept going and ignored this little hitch. 

Unfortunately for him, he was right in the No Man's Land of suffering, unable to do either.

Snail's face grew a dark purple. Hell, he could almost see them drooling over themself. Then a grin slowly made an appearance and they said, "So, uh... Did I interrupt something?"

He nodded, biting his lip.

"Want a minute to finish up?"

"Um... Yes, please."

"Okay. Just one thing before I go..."

In a flash, they were in front of him, one strong hand under his chin as they lifted him up and invaded his mouth with their tongue. He eagerly returned the kiss until they pulled away.

Pop!

"A little something to think about," they purred, giving him a wink as they left the room.

Needless to say, their kiss worked wonders. Only a few short minutes later, he met them in the little kitchenette with shaky legs and a bathrobe hastily thrown over himself. Did he remember to clean himself up beforehand? Well, he didn't want to say.

"Hungry?" they asked, all sharp teeth and humor.

Carefully, he took a seat at the table. Ouch. His ass still hurt a little. That was fine. Bitterly, he muttered, "Do I really need to answer that?"

They laughed. "No. Your red face says enough."

"Oh, shut up."

"Why don't you make me?"

"What, you didn't get enough earlier when you shoved your tongue down my throat?"

"I just know that you didn't."

He huffed and tap-tap-tapped his fingers against the table. "Dinner?"

Snorting, they got up and ambled over to the little oven they'd had put in. "I'm working on it. It's nothing fancy, just so you know."

"That's... Fine..."

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be at such a loss for words. But he was completely baffled. You see, when Snail stood up, they showed off, well... Something they had just stuck on to their front, right where their tentacles would come out. The dirtiest part of his brain first saw it as a flesh-light, but that couldn't be right. Why would they have a flesh-light stuck to them while they made dinner? 

Though he had no other idea what it could be. Should he ask?

"You're staring an awful lot."

He blinked several times. "Hm? What? I'm not staring. You're staring."

Snail raised an eyebrow at him, back leaned against the counter. "Maybe, but you were staring first. Like what you see?"

"Of course." His eyes shot up to meet theirs. "I'm also a little curious..."

"About what?"

He took a quick breath. Oh, come on, he could say it out loud. Just say it! Ugh, he hated post-sex brain.

"That thing on your dick..."

"...Yeah?"

"Um... What... What is it?"

"A flesh-light."

Ah. It was almost funny how blase they could be about proving him wrong and right. He pressed a hand to his cheek and hoped that his thoughts couldn't be read on his face as he said, "Oh. Well, then. Can I ask... Why you have a flesh-light just on your dick?"

They grinned. It was almost predatory. "I mean, isn't it obvious?"

"No, not at all, actually," he refuted dryly.

"Hm. I just got horny, seeing all messy and desperate. This bad boy-" they gave the flesh-light a very gentle pat- "is making sure I don't get too worked up and rail your sensitive ass. 'Cause I really fucking want to."

His eyebrows furrowed together as he tried to scrutinize it again. "Wait, so it's... It's jacking you off right now?"

"More or less," they said with a casual shrug. "But in a way that kinda keeps most of me from getting too into it. The tentacles are having a hell of a time all by themselves and I get to keep an eye on the ship."

As they turned back to check on dinner, his addled mind got to work. He had an idea- not the best one, really, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to finally feel satisfied. And maybe also give Snail the chance to have a little real fun. Just not consciously.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The time had come. Had Daniel put a little too much effort into preparing for this? Probably. But he needed to go to bed early to make sure he woke up before Snail did. Plus he was already fairly exhausted from his solo escapade earlier. So really, it was two birds with one stone. And what a bird it was.

Though waking up all cozy in Snail's arms almost had him reconsidering. Did he need to get fucked right now?

Yes.

Alright, well, he could still afford to just... Lay for a bit. One little fun thing he'd learned was that Snail ran particularly warm while they slept. And with how they liked to curl on top of him, a leg thrown over his own for good measure, it made all but the thinnest of blankets a little excessive.

After a few minutes of lightly dozing and daydreaming, he managed to free himself from the haze and began the slow, tedious process of slinking away.

Careful... Careful... Don't wake them up, or else your master plan's a bust...

There. Admittedly, he could've afforded to be a little more reckless, but better safe than sorry.

Preening himself on his success, he got out of bed and turned the lights to their lowest setting. Just enough to let him see Snail's peacefully sleeping form.

For a moment, he just stood there. Enamored.  Maybe now wasn't the time to get all sappy and romantic, but he couldn't help it. That was his Snail. Their soft, handsome face, the hints of muscle he could pick up on, and the stripes that decorated their skin were all his to enjoy. Just like he was theirs. God, it felt so good to just bask in their presence.

But enough of that. Time to get horny.

With a few careful nudges and pushes, he managed to get them on their back. You know, he never thought he'd be happy about the fact that they slept naked. That made it easier to get his hand right where those wonderful tentacles rested. Now, this next part was vital. He kept his touches feather light, until one little tentacle sluggishly wormed its way out. It curled in the air, questioning.

Daniel sat back and, with a broad grin, spread his legs. For a moment, it didn't move. Then it began to wave aimlessly through the air. Quietly, he beckoned it with an outstretched hand. When that didn't work, he let out a harshly whispered "hey!"

No response. But why?

...Oh, god damn it all! The tentacle couldn't see him. Or even hear him, he bet. Of fucking course. Why would it be able to? Snail was asleep.

A little change of plan was needed, but fine. To make it easier, he stripped out of his pajamas and tossed them off to the side. Then, when the tentacle began to blindly inch forward, he gently course-corrected it with a guiding hand. It immediately pushed more into him, practically quivering in what he could only assume was recognition and delight.

"There we go," he whispered fondly. "You wanna have a good time?"

It readily went along as he guided it down, down, down toward his dick. His breath hitched at first contact, which turned into a heavy moan when it wrapped around him fully. Quickly, he threw a hand over his mouth to stifle his noises.

One pump, two, three. Daniel was losing his mind already. Shaky breaths and muted sighs escaped between his fingers, and his whole body coiled with pleasure. It was wonderful.

Until a couple unexpected guests made an appearance.

"Excuse me, no!" he whispered, gently papping away the two extra tentacled that had snaked out of Snail's body. "This isn't a fucking orgy, get back!"

That didn't work, to no one's surprise. Those two tentacles trailed up the length of his arms and grabbed his wrists in a vice-like grip, forcing them up into the air where he couldn't interfere. No matter how much he pulled and wiggled, he couldn't get free. Though to be fair, he couldn't do much of that thanks to the lovely dick attention and Snail.

"Fuck," they mumbled in their sleep, one claw twitching against the bed as they turned their head to the side. "Feels... Guh..."

In short, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Mercifully, he wasn't given much of a chance to worry about it. The rest of the tentacles came out one-by-one, each searching his body for a role to play in this fuck-fest. Two on his nipples, one on his thigh and three right in his-

"Oh god!"

It was a miracle that his outburst didn't wake Snail up. Another miracle happened in the following second: the one remaining tentacle shoved itself into his still-open mouth and began to face-fuck him. Sure, it didn't really stop him from trying to talk with his mouth full, but at the very least it reassured the small, anxiety-ridden part of his brain that his noises wouldn't be, you know, that loud.

Beep-beep-beep!

Fuck, not that too! God. To think his plan could fail so spectacularly. That's what he got for being so desperate for it, he supposed. A dirty slut, trying to get dick from his owner while they slept.

His whole body lit up with heat. Hungry for more, he rocked against the tentacles that roughly fucked him, giving them no choice but to ramp up the pace. 

Meanwhile, the one in his mouth forced itself down further while the one on his dick completely wrapped around, giving him a facsimile of a hole to fuck.

Harsh squeezes, pulls and tugs, gentle touches, tender brushes against his skin, so many different sensations were gifted to him by the rest of the tentacles. The one assigned to his thighs seemed to be putting in a little extra effort, too. 

Snail's voice even gave him a little jolt of delicious fear once again. At first it started off in broken sentence fragments he could pick up. Half of a "good pet", a couple curses. Then it switched over to their language, fill of harsh sounds and groans that perfectly suited their sleepy, husky voice.

It was hot. That was the only conclusion he could come to. Mostly because he was cumming to it.

Coated and filled to the brim, he took the first chance he had to catch his breath. Though it didn't last long, with the gaggle of tentacles that decided to wiggle around in his face.

"Okay, okay!"

He really couldn't have a little break? Oh well. At least he knew what they wanted. All it took was ten quick kisses- all pressed to the tips of eager recipients- to settle the hoard and get them tucked back into Snail's body. It was cute how they'd all started demanding his affection like that.

Once he'd cleared the stars from his vision and stretched out the tension in his back, he slipped out of bed and padded his way to the bathroom. All he needed was a good scrubbing and all the evidence of his debauchery would disappear. This night would be his little secret. After all, how the hell would Snail find out? They'd probably think they had a wet dream or something.

Wonderful. You know, when Snail pulled Daniel into the living room, going on about how they wanted to teach him their language, he thought it would go a little more smoothly than this. After all, it was such a sweet sentiment, what the hell could possibly go wrong. Right? Especially because the first few lessons went so well. He’d picked up several words, though reading came a lot easier to him.

But it couldn’t last. Two hours into lesson number ten and he’d barely gotten anything done. At some point they’d just jumped to this particular phrase, and it seemed like no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t get his mouth around the words. The syllables snaked together and got all twisted up with his tongue.

As a man who took pride in his oral skills, it was rather humiliating.

He pouted and crossed his arms, nose stuck up in contempt. “What the hell does this even mean anyway? Do I really need to know how to say it?”

“Yeah, it’s important. The best pets say it to their owners every day.” Their claw pressed against his chin, and they leaned in close to whisper against his neck, “And don’t you wanna be a good pet?”

Heat surged through his face. Goddamn it all. They just knew how to push his buttons, didn’t they?

“I just want to know what I’m saying. That seems like a basic right, doesn’t it?”

They blinked several times, their eyes falling out of sync. Then a deep purple blush colored their face. “Uh, I mean, it’s not that important for you to know just as long as you can say it.”

“What kind of logic is that?”

Huffing, they got up and ran a hand through their hair. “Look, I’ll tell you what it means later! I promise! But right now, let’s just take a break, huh?” That look on their face shifted from agitation to something a little softer. “How about we go out? It’s been a while since we’ve been to the arcade. I’ll even drive you.”

Uh-oh.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said, following suit and stretching up to deal with the ache in his back. Pop-pop-pop! “I can drive just fine.”

“Nope, I’m driving!” Before he could argue, they scooped him up into their arms and carried him off, stopping just long enough to grab his stuffed octopus. “All you have to do is sit back and relax.”

They were so obviously trying to keep him placated. Oh well. He pressed his octopus against his chest to ease his nerves. Flying around was something that he’d never get used to. Not in a plane, not in a goddamn spaceship. But he had come to trust Snail at least a little more than some anonymous airline pilot, at the very least.

Another plus was that he was allowed to move around while they drove. He’d taken to snooping a little during these trips. Not too much, mind you! He never looked at anything that seemed important, as if he could really tell in the first place. Curiosity got the best of him sometimes, but he didn’t want to be an asshole. Though maybe now he could decipher things just a little bit more easily…

Daniel poked around the counters and desks in the main chamber. Several pods and other assorted pieces of technology grabbed his attention. He’d learned that most of these popped open to reveal some sort of hologram message. Alien mail, he presumed.

A bright purple one caught his eye. Usually they were a more dull color than thought. Someone got something a little special! Giddy, he grabbed it and popped it open.

Hm. A lot of words he didn’t understand yet. Though the title of it was pretty clear.

Pet Show!

That was certainly interesting. Like some sort of talent contest? He could only assume so. Maybe Snail could enter him? Wouldn’t that be fun? Daniel Nadiva, certified Eleven, taking home the gold in a Pet Show because he was the prettiest, the smartest, the best. The very thought sent his heart aflutter in the best way.

Quickly, he made his way to Snail’s side. “Hey, I found something interesting.”

They glanced over at him for a second, one eyebrow raised when their eyes locked onto the pod still in his hand. “Oh yeah?”

“Maybe I took a peek at some things,” he admitted and took a seat on the counter in front of them, one leg crossed over the other. “And I found this. It says Pet Show, right? So what’s the deal with that?”

Discomfort flashed across their face. “Uh, I mean… It means exactly what it says.”

“So is this an invitation to participate?” he eagerly asked, excitement taking over. “I mean, I am an Eleven, so it shouldn’t be too hard for us to win, right?”

“I guess not, but I don’t think it’s the best idea.”

He pouted. “Why not?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

Their nose scrunched up and their hands faltered over the control console. “Because it’s probably not what you think it’s gonna be like. Besides, we’d have to go to my home planet to do it, and that’s gonna be a hassle. You’ll have to miss work.”

“That’s fine,” he said with a shrug. “It’s been a while since I’ve taken any time off anyway. They can scrounge up reruns to air while I’m gone.”

“You’ll also have to be stuck in the ship for a while." Their top eyes almost narrowed into slits, making it seem like they were glaring. Thank god that look wasn't directed at him. "Nothing to do, nowhere to go. Just flying for hours on end..."

"I have my gameboy," he argued, then flourished a hand up and began to count on his fingers. "Don't forget my DS, my 3DS, my PSP, and my-"

"Okay, I get it!"

An easy victory. A smile took over his face as he preened himself. "Then that means we're going, right?"

"No."

"But-"

"Pet's are supposed to listen," they bit out and finally hit him with that scathing look. "Be good and do that for once."

That struck him. Pets are supposed to listen. Sure, he'd heard similar bullshit before. Pets are supposed to take dick, pets are supposed to look pretty, pets are supposed to beg for more. But they'd never said anything so... Harsh? It made him feel cold inside. And hot. Part of him wanted to apologize. To promise that he'd be good and let the topic drop. Anything to keep them from getting pissed enough to leave him.

But another part wanted to scream. How dare they say that to him!? He was so much more than a pet at this point. He was a partner, an equal, and now they're trying to renege on that? All because he wanted to go to their home planet, to learn about them like a good boyfriend should? They were already teaching him the fucking language! So what was the goddamn problem!? Was it him? Did they think he'd embarrass them? That he wasn't a good enough pet to take back home? It was the only logical thing he could think of, but he'd already learned that logic was never a huge factor in things like this.

Not knowing was the worst part. And all those feelings collided, blowing up inside his chest like a nuclear bomb.

"Well, maybe I don't want to be a good pet!"

Tears pricked at his eyes as he launched himself off the counter. He couldn't bear to look at them right now. Not even when they let out the softest "Daniel, wait!", no, he wouldn't have any of it. He ran off, cursing the fact that he couldn't get off the damn ship until they landed. Even so, he managed to find a comfortable enough nook to curl up in.

Hidden away from the world, with his octopus- his sole means of comfort- pressed to his face, he let out a choked sob.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following week after his little breakdown was a little rough, to say the least. He tried to pretend like things were alright. Especially since Snail seemed pretty keen on pretending that it didn't happen. Though they couldn't fully hide the little glances they'd steal his way. Not like he really cared what those were about. They probably just wanted to keep an extra careful eye on their pet.

Bitterness sat heavily in his chest. Well, so much for enjoying a stress-free evening. All he wanted to do was lounge on the couch, play some games, and not think for a few hours. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so. At least Snail had made themself scarce. He didn't need another aching reminder of how lowly they thought of him.

"Pets are supposed to listen," he mocked under his breath as he idly moved his character around the screen. "Fucking jackass. Goddamn prick. That motherfucker, the biggest asshole to ever exist-"

"Daniel? You busy?"

He immediately drew in a sharp breath and shot Snail a wary glance. "No," he answered coolly, as if he hadn't just been shit-talking them. "Why?"

Click-clack, click-clack. They pressed their claws together over and over. Even in his riled up state, he felt a twinge of empathy for them. Well, okay, more than a twinge. But his righteous fury told him to stay put until they finally said something. As horrible as it was, he wanted to be a little vindictive. An eye for an eye and all that.

"I, uh, I just thought that maybe we should talk," they finally said, shuffling closer. "You know, about that argument we had."

Oh god. This was happening. Suddenly the room felt too small and his heart kickstarted into overdrive, beating a mile a minute. The only thing going for him was his nonplussed facade staying in place.

Beep-beep-beep-beep!

Snail immediately glued themself to his side, pulling his trembling body onto their lap and tucking his head into the crook of their neck. "Hey, hey, it's okay!" they said in a hushed tone. "You're okay. I'm not mad, I promise. Such a good boy, just breathe..."

"Don't say that I'm good," he muttered against their skin, even though he threw his arms around them. "You and I both know it's a fucking lie. I'm not."

 Their hand froze in his hair. "What makes you say that?"

"It's so fucking obvious!" As much as he wanted to pull away, he didn't dare move a single muscle. Their soft warmth was comforting as much as it drove him further down the anxious rabbit hole. "I don't listen like a good pet should. That's why you don't want to take me back to your home planet. Because I'm going to be a goddamn embarrassment. I'll make you look like an ineffective owner and then you'll have to give me up, and-"

"Daniel."

He bit down on his lip. That harsh tone certainly didn't ease him at all. But maybe it was for the best. The more he talked and the less he listened, the more likely his worst nightmares would come true.

A ray of hope cut through the darkness. Soft lips to his head, his face, claws slipping under his shirt to trace gentle patterns against his back, words in his ear that didn't sound like much of anything at the moment. His breath grew shaky, but still, he took it slow. One at a time. They did it with him, and before long their words began to make more sense.

"Very good... My sweet boy... Tchriktel Zha... Love you so much..."

More seconds ticked on by, helping him feel far better than he'd had in what felt like forever. When the shrill sounds of his heart-rate finally settled, Snail pulled back and cupped a hand against his face.

"Do you need anything?" they asked, all four eyes searching his. "Tea? A snack? Your octopus?"

"No," he breathed out and leaned into their touch. After a moment of thought, he continued, "Do you? Need anything, I mean."

They shook their head. "I just still want to talk. If you're okay."

"Yeah," he immediately said, even if it was a half lie. "I'm okay. What exactly did you want to talk about? Regarding the... Argument, I mean."

Their eyes went all over the place, before eventually locking onto his. For a moment, he let himself get distracted by the anxiety of not knowing which eye to look into. He had twice the trouble with Snail, and as strange as it was, this unease was almost a comfort. Something small to focus on instead of the titan of a discussion before him.

"Are you mad at me?"

A solid ten seconds passed before he truly processed their question. Five minutes ago, he would've said 'hell yes, I am!' Now he didn't even know the answer.

Yet it somehow slipped out of his mouth anyway.

"I'm just scared."

A wince. That was about the response he expected. And hopefully they'd already picked up on the details earlier. God only knew if he'd be able to say it all again...

"Sorry," they said, all gentle and sweet. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's really not like that, I mean, everyone on my planet would want you for sure. You're the best pet ever." Pulling back, they tapped a claw against his nose. "My Eleven, remember?"

Even though it was small, he let himself smile. "Of course I do."

"There's my happy boy," they cooed with a smile of their own. "So gorgeous."

The moment had its chance to blissfully sink in. Like the eye of the storm. Though, now that his head was a little more clear, he realized it was more like a light rain shower. Still, it wasn't too long before their expression grew more somber, the touches to his hair seeming less for his sake and more for theirs.

"I do wanna take you home." Their voice was barely above a whisper. Hesitant, almost nervous. "Fuck, it's something I've wanted for, like, a really long time now. It almost feels right, you know? Getting to show you around and all that. Like you do for me."

"Then what's the issue?"

"Everyone else."

Daniel almost stiffened at that growled out answer. They hadn't sounded that pissed since...

"Do you think someone else will try to take me?" he asked and gingerly ran his hands through their hair.

As expected, they melted under his touch. "No. You're collared. For good."

Pride washed over him and he almost preened. "Damn right I am. And there's no way in fucking hell I'm going to let anyone think that I'm not owned."

Snail let out a gentle laugh, only to fall silent for just a few seconds too long. He knew they were just thinking. It ate at his nerves a bit, but he took deep breaths and let them have their time. Anything to help them.

"The people back home," they started, then let out a sharp sigh. "I dunno how to say it... I'm just not like them or whatever."

Raising an eyebrow, he said, "You're going to have to clarify a little bit."

Another quick struggle, then, "They don't treat their pets like how I treat you."

"Okay... You're still not being clear enough, Snail."

"I know," they huffed out, eyebrows furrowed together and claws gripping him just a little too tightly, "I'm trying to get it out. But, okay, you remember what pets are for, right?"

He had to roll his eyes at that. "Yeah, I do. They're for fuck."

"So back home, that's all pets are for. They're just... Warm holes and playthings, basically."

"...That's not what you told me," he said suspiciously. No, they wouldn't have lied to him. Right? Oh god, had this been some kind of trick the whole time?

"I know!" Now they sounded almost desperate. The way they held onto him at least betrayed how they really felt. "I don't think it's cool or anything, I mean, I love cuddling you and taking baths and getting to just be with you. It's nice. That's what I think owners and pets should do."

Okay. That was fine. He could accept that. Just take more deep breaths. One. Two... There you go.

"So why exactly does that keep you from taking me to your home planet?"

They winced at his tone. "I just don't think you can handle it. You're pretty soft."

Soft!?

No. Now wasn't the time for any bullshit bravado. Though he did want to at least rise to the challenge, to show them that he was willing to do anything to make them happy. Even if it meant going through a little hardship.

"I want to go," he decided firmly, locking eyes with them when they glanced up. "And I want you to enter me into that pet show." A smirk played at his lips as thoughts of glory filled his head. "A trophy will be a nice souvenir, I think. But also, we should look around for something else, just in case, but we both know I'll win, so it's not too important that we do. Anyway, we should also get something for my mom..."

Instead of opening the holo-screen, like he expected, they shot up with a wide grin. “You’ll see! We just need to go to the Garden first.”

“The… Garden?”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll love it!”

They took off, leaving him to scramble after them. It wasn’t hard to catch up, but he still stuck to their side as much as he could. Just in case.

Suddenly, they stopped in the middle of two intersecting hallways. Eyebrows furrowed, they looked down every direction they could go, even the one the two of them came from, and muttered under their breath, “Which way was it again?”

He straightened himself out and laced his hands together. “Do you need help?”

“No, no, I got it!”

Without further ado, they grabbed his hand and led him along. Left, right, right, straight, left- they took him through countless turns and halls before finally heading through a pair of doors that screeched horrendously as they opened.

“Here it is!” they announced, looking down at him with that same grin. “Are you excited?”

The room was barren, save for a small platform in the middle. And dust. Too much for his liking, but he knew better than to say that. Still, it wasn’t quite what he expected. But perhaps he didn’t quite know as much as he thought he did. The drawback of being undercooked…

“Of course I am,” he finally answered with a polite smile. A little lie wouldn’t hurt. “The Garden is very lovely.”

They snorted, then put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair. “This is where the teleporter is, Daniel. It’s gonna take us to the Garden.”

Oh. How embarrassing.

Daniel took a deep bow at the waist while his face burned with shame. “I’m so sorry, My Diamond. I should’ve known.”

That hand trailed down to cup his cheek. “Hey, it’s okay,” His Diamond reassured. “Just a little mistake, nothing to be sorry about. I mean, it’s not like you’ve ever been before, so how could you know?”

“A fair point,” he breathed out as the thrumming in his gem slowed to a stop. There were still too many thoughts running through his head, but at least he hadn’t made them angry. That was the most important thing. “Thank you, My Diamond.”

“No problem.” They gave him a smile that undid all his progress in calming down, then pointed a thumb toward the teleporter. “Think you’re ready?”

“Yes, My Diamond.”

“Cool, let’s go!”

Teleportation was certainly a new experience. Daniel had never been outside of the Citadel, let alone off the planet entirely. But the flashes of color passing by, the momentum of shooting through space faster than light itself, distracted him from any worries he could have had. For a brief couple of seconds, nothing else mattered.

It was very freeing, actually.

One last burst of light, and the two of them arrived in a domed enclosure, filled with Homeworld architecture and…

“Huh,” His Diamond said as they ran a hand through their hair. “I don’t remember it looking like this.”

Daniel frowned as he took it all in. Something incomprehensible hung in the air. It reminded him of Gray Diamond. Was this normal? Where was the color?

Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. A flower about the size of his hand, outstretched toward him, petals twitching uselessly. Perhaps it had been a more vibrant color at some point, but now it was a sickly sort of brown. Almost yellow in some patches. The sight put a heavy weight in his chest.

Carefully, he knelt down and scooped the flower up. It lolled back and forth, spreading its petals out like it was looking at him. Pleading with what little it had.

“It needs help,” he whispered and ran a thumb along the underside of its petals.

His Diamond squatted down next to him, head cocked and eyebrows furrowed together. “How do you know that?”

“Just look at it, My Diamond.”

“…Uh-huh. What am I looking for?”

He did a double-take. Did they really not get it?

“See how it’s moving?” He ran a finger along the stem, causing the flower to flutter open and shut several times. “It’s asking us for help.”

Their nose scrunched up in obvious distaste. “It’s a plant.”

“I know that, but—”

“Daniel, it can’t even think.”

A jolt went through him. Right. What was he even thinking, trying to argue with a Diamond? He was just a Pearl, a barely functioning one, at that. Gingerly, he placed the flower back on the ground, then stood to his feet, hands laced perfectly in front of himself.

“Yes, My Diamond.”

Following suit, they slapped a heavy hand against his back, making him wince, and said in a completely unbothered tone, “Let’s just go back. And don’t tell Red about this, huh? She’ll totally shatter me if she finds out that I let this place die.”

“…Yes, My Diamond.”

————————————————————————————————————It was only a day after His Diamond had taken him to the Garden that it started to invade his thoughts again. The hours seemed to scrape on by painfully as he was consumed with the most horrible feeling. That flower, he could’ve tried to do something for it. Anything. And he didn’t.

So what? It’s only an organic life-form. They’re supposed to die anyway.

But it didn’t have to die now. Shouldn’t it have the chance to live as much as it could?

That’s not how a proper gem should be thinking. Organic life dies, that’s it. It doesn’t affect the empire at all.

Then tell him, why did that feel so wrong?

“Hello? Homeworld to Daniel! You in there?”

He blinked back into awareness. His Diamond’s hand waved in front of his face, so he turned to look at them. “Yes, My Diamond? Is there anything I can help you with?”

They snorted and gave him a grin, hand pressed against their face as they leaned against the arm of their seat. “Nah, just thought you’d wanna be here when the battle starts. It’s gonna be sick— I heard that the Pyrite they sent is one of the best. He conquered a whole planet by himself, with nothing but his own weapon!”

“That’s... Pretty impressive.”

Thankfully, that was the moment the lights in the arena fell, prompting them to turn their attention away, eyes lit up with excitement.

Two gems walked out onto the battlefield. The Pyrite and a Jade. They made their introductions, but the words slipped through him without sticking at all. He never really cared for these battles in the first place. Something about how His Diamond looked at those gems bothered him. Wasn’t it his job to keep them entertained? That’s what he was made for. Did they think he couldn’t? Was that why they staged these fights?

He didn’t want to think about it.

Instead, he let his mind drift back to the Garden. Maybe there was something he could do for it. And His Diamond. After all, they probably weren’t happy with the state it was in. Especially if the other Diamonds would be upset too. So why not? They were already distracted by their oh-so-exciting arena.

That was enough justification to slip away from their side unnoticed and make his way through the winding halls of the Citadel. His memory wasn’t the best, but he was able to puzzle his way through the maze until he finally reached the teleporter.

Everything flew by so quickly, he almost felt dizzy when he landed. But that didn’t stop him from immediately heading forward at a brisk pace. As he passed by the flower, which almost seemed to follow him with its petals, he called out, “Don’t worry! I’ll fix this!”

First step: find a terminal. There had to be one around somewhere.

It didn’t take long to come across a lead. Up ahead, towering over the entire Garden, was a gazebo, covered in sickly green vines and intricately carved fractals. If he were to set up an important piece of technology somewhere, that would certainly be it.

Of course, he was right. Practically beaming with pride, he approached and opened it up. After it took a little too long to boot up, the holo-screen appeared in a flash of red, giving him a list of pages.

Log of Organic Lifeforms.

Layout of the Garden.

Potential Dangers of the Asteroid Belt.

Working List of Banned Activities.

“Layout of the Garden,” he muttered under his breath. “That seems promising.”

His eyes scanned through the countless paragraphs of information, glazing over after just a couple. This was far too much. How was anyone supposed to glean anything useful?

Wait, there!

Daniel opened up a section on something called the Feeder. A device put into place to shower down a mixture of nutrients on the Garden, restocking itself from the very life it maintained. But that didn’t make sense. If things were already in perfect balance, how did the Garden get like this?

“Only one way to find out…”

According to the terminal, the Feeder was placed inside the dome itself, directly in the center. What it didn’t tell him, though, was that the Feeder was almost impossible to get to from the inside. And he didn’t realize that himself until he was directly underneath it, head craned and eyes squinted as he tried to gauge the distance.

There had to be something he could do. He racked his gem for even the smallest hint. Most gems had some special capabilities: teleportation, shape-shifting, telekinesis, flight. Any of those would be a great help. But Pearls weren’t made to do that. Even if they were, Daniel himself would still be just as useless…

Hot shame surged through him. Lately it seemed like everything in the universe just wanted to bring attention to that. He’d tried his best to ignore all the small signs, but each one added its own weight and he didn’t know how much more he could hold before he shattered.

He reached up and plucked a star— the constant reminder of his imperfections— from his hair. It twinkled, almost taunting him. You’re defective, it said. Undercooked. Useless. You can’t even help Your Diamond with The Garden. If they get in trouble, it’ll be your fault. And then you’ll be  s h a t t e r e d.

With a pained cry, he threw it as hard as he could. It was stupid, in hindsight. But he just wanted it gone. And maybe he hoped it would fix him. Then he’d be able to solve this whole Garden mess and finally make His Diamond proud.

As soon as it hit the ground, it bounced back into the air and began to expand. It didn’t stop until it was nearly as tall as him and three times as wide. Then it just floated there. Completely still, with that same glimmer it always had. His own wide eyes bored into him as his mouth fell open in almost horrified awe.

“…What just happened?”

No answer. He pressed his hands close to his chest and stepped backwards. It closed the distance he made without any hesitation.

Throwing a hand forward, he took another step and demanded, “Stop!”

To his surprise, it stayed still. A little glimmer of hope sparked in his gem. Could it really follow his directions? And if so, then could he…?

Several quick little experiments gave him the answer he needed. He could move the star anyway he wanted, lay it flat, shrink it down, blow it back up, even have it float up above his head several feet. But the most important part was that he could do this with all his stars. It took a lot of concentration, but he could even manipulate them all at once if he wanted to. And it gave him a crazy idea.

His hands waved about while he worked. “You go here, and you go there, the rest will fall in line like this and… Done!”

Before him was the beginnings of a makeshift spiral staircase. Not nearly high enough to reach the Feeder— in fact, it didn’t even make it a fourth of the way. A work in progress, to be sure, but he was more than ready to work.

With a deep breath, he grabbed two fistfuls of his skirt and steeled himself.

Three…

Two…

One…!

Go!

He took off. His breath hitched when the first star almost gave way beneath his weight, but he willed it to keep still for the split-second before he was on the next one. 

Step by step, faster than he thought he could run, he bounded along his own stars, eyes glued to the next one in line. Before he knew it, the end was in sight. But he didn’t even think about stopping. That would only make this fall apart. He needed to keep moving, to focus, to make this work for the Garden, for His Diamond.

Right as he made to stop onto thin air, his gem thrumming in distress as he stared at the ground below, a star soared up to boost him along. The next star followed suit, and he let out a joyous laugh. It really worked!

And there he was. Perched on a star, directly underneath the Feeder.

Streaks of light nearly blinded him when he tried to get a closer look at it. When he blinked away the spots in his vision, he caught the fleeing image of three comets, all too close to the Garden for his liking. At least there didn’t seem to be any others wanting to interrupt him. He let out a huff and tried again, while still keeping a wary eye on everything on the other side of the glass.

Was it even on? The maintenance panel opened up at the very least, though he did have to jam his fingers in and force it. Ouch! Nothing seemed to be out of place, though Daniel didn’t really know what to look for. But he could easily see the important parts. Wires were plugged in properly, switches were flipped on, there was a tank full of bright green liquid that he could only assume was nutrients for the Garden.

The only odd thing was the power source. Was it askew? One push made it click into place and the Feeder instantly responded with a whirring hum.

He stepped back and watched as mist began to spray out and gently fall over the entirety of the Garden. As it soaked in, the plants below bloomed up in response. Several took longer to regain their color, but they still added to the spontaneous ocean of hues underneath him. Blue, purple, pink, yellow… Too many to count, all he could do was marvel at the beauty of it. This was life. Growth. And he helped it flourish.

This feeling was new. Almost too much to contain. 

He wanted more.

“Daniel!?”

For a split-second, he locked eyes with His Diamond and time stood still. Then he felt the tell-tale pull of gravity yank him down and the rush of air as the ground came rocketing toward him. A cry escaped him and he flipped himself around, eyes scanning for the stars that should’ve been there. He found one and threw his hand out, trying to will it to grow, but he didn’t have time.

Before he could even think about what would happen to him once he crashed, he felt the full impact of a body beneath him. Two strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him close, until his nose was right next to His Diamond’s gem. It thrummed, the sound low and pulsing with quick succession. He inched closer, tempted to try and comfort it. But he didn’t know how.

A hand cupped against his face, dragging his attention upwards. They stared down at him with a mixture of horror and relief, chest heaving with deep, ragged breaths.

“You’re okay,” they said, voice barely above a whisper. Their hand found the back of his head and pressed his face into the crook of their neck. “Oh my god, you’re okay! What were you even doing up there!?”

He swallowed thickly and pulled back to look at them. “I was fixing the Feeder, My Diamond. The power source had gotten knocked loose.”

They ran a hand through their hair, pinning him with the most incredulous look he’d ever seen. “What?”

“Now the Garden won’t die,” he clarified with a sweeping hand toward the lively foliage. “See?”

Those piercing eyes never left him. He shrank back under their gaze and found himself unable to meet it after just a few short seconds.

“…Did I do something wrong, My Diamond?”

A sigh escaped them. “Look, Daniel, you can’t just—”

“Incoming call from Red Diamond! Purple Diamond, please report to the Garden terminal!”

Everything went cold. But His Diamond rushed to the terminal with him still in their arms, far before he was ready to face what lied ahead. It immediately reacted to their presence and showed Red Diamond’s impassive face as she sat on her throne.

“Purple,” she greeted politely, one hand poised in front of her face. Her eyes flickered down for a brief second toward him before sliding back up. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Nope,” they replied through gritted teeth and tightened their hold on him. “What do you want?”

“Always cutting right to the chase,” she said with a smile. “What if I just wanted to catch up with you? It’s been a little while since we’ve last talked. How are you liking your Pearl?”

“He’s great. No complaints, he does everything I want and never gets out of line.”

“Then would you care to explain—” she leaned forward, all traces of humor gone from her face— “why I caught him sneaking off on his own, to a Garden that you let fall into disrepair, and putting himself in danger to try and fix it?”

“Uh, well—”

“Put him down. I’d like to talk with him alone.”

“Hey, wait—”

“Purple.”

They drew in a sharp breath. But did as they were told, leaving him alone under Red Diamond’s scrutinizing gaze. He stood perfectly still, hands laced in front of himself. Be perfect. It’s the only way you’re getting out of this.

“Do you realize how lucky you are, Daniel?”

“No, Red Diamond.”

“I’ll tell you, then.” Her tone grew softer, almost back to what it had been just a minute ago. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but whenever a terminal that hasn’t been active in over a century gets turned on, Gray and I receive a notice about it. A safeguard to keep our old technology from being misused.”

Then that meant…

“Why, if Gray had wanted to deal with it, who knows what would’ve happened,” she continued casually with a wave of her hand. “You’d most likely be shattered by now. He’s not nearly as forgiving toward wayward gems as I am.”

His gem pulsed. “Wayward?”

She almost seemed taken aback, then brushed it off quick a laugh. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t use that word quite yet. But you’re awfully close to the line, Daniel. You’d best be careful not to step over it.”

Daniel scowled, eyes locked onto Snail as they sat on the foot of the bed and played his gameboy. The fucking jackass! There wasn't even any music or sound effects to grab his attention, no, they just had to keep it muted. It was absolute hell on Earth, and he had to wonder what the hell they were trying to pull.

"You know, I thought my punishment would be a little sexier."

"Who said this was your punishment?" Oh, there was that sharp-toothed grin. The one that always meant trouble. "I just thought you'd want some rest first. But if you're that desperate, I could just go ahead and fuck your brains out."

"I'm not desperate!" he squeaked out rather damningly, then took a deep breath to regain what little composure he had. "Look, I just thought you'd want to take care of your needs as soon as possible. That's all."

Their thumb idly fiddled with the D-pad for a moment. "I took care of them as soon as you got home. And this morning too. I'm fine."

Something wasn't being said. He watched them carefully to try and figure out what it was. That's when he noticed an odd little detail. This whole time, their eyes hadn't moved. Yet while the lower pair were staring straight down at the gameboy, the upper pair were almost honed in on him. Watching intently. Unblinking, even when the others did. How were they able to do that?

"You seem tense," he commented, one eyebrow raised as he locked eyes with them. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Mmhm."

Liar. He scanned them over to prove it. Those eyes gave them away, first and foremost. The ones trained on him were almost pure gold, pupils slitted so much that they all but disappeared. Meanwhile, the other pair were entirely glazed over. Unseeing. Like they were zoned out. But they couldn't have been, not with how tense they were. Their shoulders were drawn back and he could see the effort they had to put in to not shatter his gameboy.

What gave it away, though, was their playing. Or, well, 'playing'. Now he realized they were just pressing random buttons. Did they even turn it on?

Cocking his head, he asked, "Having fun?"

They faltered. "Yeah."

"That's good. What level are you on?"

"...Two."

Aha!

"Wow, that's interesting. Especially since Pokémon doesn't have levels."

All four eyes went wide as the lower two shot toward him. Almost pouting, they stammered out, "I, well, you know, I was just calling it that, I know there's no actual levels."

His tone softened. "Snail."

They screwed their face up into an almost pained grimace. In the next instant, they were on top of him, face pressed to the crook of his neck while pathetic-sounding purrs poured out of them. "I'm worried about you."

"Why?"

"You're made yourself sick before you left. And you didn't eat at all yesterday." They pulled back and shot him with what he could only describe as feral puppy-dog eyes. "You're, like... Fragile, you know?"

"That didn't stop you from fucking me," he snapped. "Twice."

Dark purple surged through their cheeks and they let out a sharp huff. "Well, my instincts took over! I see my pretty boy, I wanna fuck! Hell, it's really hard not to do it again!" They lowered half their gaze, claws tracing loose, random patterns along his sides. "But I wanna make sure you're alright now."

"Well, I am," he said with a huff. A spike of anxiety shot through his heart at the thought of Snail hurting themself over him. "So feel free to do whatever you want to me. That's what you tied me up for, right?"

They sighed heavily.

If he hadn't been tied up, he would've cupped their face in his hands and pressed a kiss to their lips. But he had to lay there, tortured by his inability to comfort them like he wanted. Letting his head fall to rest against theirs, he gently explained, "I promise I'm fine. There's just one thing I want now, and it's you."

The coy smile on his face grew when they pulled back to stare at him, confused.

"You don't really think you're the only one here with certain needs, do you?" he asked. "It's only been a week, and I started going crazy after day one."

Claws dug ever-so-slightly into his skin as they drew in a sharp breath. "You can't just say that right now."

"I can't? Why not? It's the truth." He squirmed underneath them to prove his point. His still-hard dick was pressed right against them. "And if it's so damn hard for you to hold back, then let go."

"Daniel..."

Maybe this wasn't Snail's intended punishment, but some divine power wanted to torment him with their thick, stubborn skull. A tight, hot ball formed in his chest, only lessened with his poor attempts at steady breathing. 

"Alright, fine, you want me to say it?" he snapped through gritted teeth, his frustration lashing out through his words before he could even think to stop it. "I'm desperate. And I know you are too! So fuck me! Use me! I'm yours, and I need you to prove it to me again after this god-awful, hellacious shit-show of a- mmf!"

Snail cut him off with a harsh kiss. Actually, no, he couldn't call it that. They'd practically slammed their lips against his in an attempt, but it wasn't a proper kiss, not by a long-shot. Still, he melted under the attention all the same. Delighted moans filled the air as their hands grabbed and squeezed all over his ass and thighs, allowing their tongue to slip into his mouth and force him into submission.

Pulling back, they stared down at him with wild eyes and growled out, "Punishment."

Oh god. 

Their hand wrapped around his dick and started pumping him mercilessly. He drew in a sharp gasp, hips bucking up without shame against their hand. It already felt so good, he thought he was going to cum right then. And he almost did. It hadn't been too long since his last orgasm, all he needed was the tiniest push to fall over the edge again.

"Gonna make you feel so good," Snail panted out, then pressed a slew of sloppy kisses to his neck. "Make you cum so many times. Over and over and over. And you're gonna beg for more. Got that? Beg real pretty for me to ruin you. Like a good little pet."

Daniel whined when they thumbed the head of his dick. So this was his 'punishment'? Multiple orgasms? Pretty underwhelming, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

With every stroke, every little jolt of pleasure running through him, moans and curses would spill out of him without a care. The strange device around his wrists tightened as he arched and tugged his arms. It reminded him of the position he was in. How vulnerable he was. Just a helpless little pet, unable to do anything but let his owner have their way with him. Deep down, even if he didn't want to admit it, he knew that this was all he wanted right now. To be tied up and used, unable to couldn't think about anything but them.

Remember that little push from earlier? There it was. With one final moan that may have actually sounded more like a scream, he came all over Snail's hand and practically fucked it until he was completely spent.

Now, this would normally be the part where he would catch his breath, enjoy a slew of kisses pressed to his face and neck, relish in the love showered upon him. Then either they'd go for another round, or carry him off for a warm bubble bath.

Not this time. Stars hadn't faded from his vision yet when their claws pried apart his legs, spreading him wide open. Even after the millionth time, it didn't fail to get him all flustered.

"Stay."

His dick immediately jumped. Swallowing thickly, he nodded.

A pleased croon and a hand in his hair rewarded him. Then they were gone. He didn't dare move a single muscle. Hell, he even tried to hold his breath. Not the smartest idea, as his burning lungs told him after a mere couple of seconds, but he didn't want to take the risk.

Be a good boy. Do what your owner says.

Hard and eager, he waited the agonizing minutes it took for them to get back. To his delight, all of their tentacles had made an appearance, wriggling and reaching toward him as soon as they set foot in the room. With another alien rope in hand, they tied his legs into place and made sure he couldn't close up on then. All the while keeping their wily tentacles in line with a quick hand and deep, controlled breaths.

"Pretty," they breathed out as they looked over their handiwork. A wide grin took over their face. "You ready to be used, pet?"

"I'm already hard again," he said with a huff. "So what do you think?"

"Being hard doesn't mean you're ready," they teased and stroked one of their tentacles. His mouth watered as he stared. Chuckling, they pulled his attention along to the rest of the group. Each one got only a few seconds of attention, and he felt a pang of need go through him. When would he get his turn?

"Yeah, well," he finally managed, "I am ready either way. So, you know. Hurry the fuck up."

They suddenly looked a lot more sinister. "Bad boy, talking back to me like that. Guess I'll just have to put your mouth to use."

A tentacle shot up and pushed its way past his lips. The others surrounded Snail in an almost hypnotic array, twisting and intermingling, pushing each other aside, never getting closer to him. Like they were waiting their turn while Lucky Tentacle Number One got to fuck his mouth.

Whimpering, he ran his tongue along its length to try and appease Snail. See? He was being good.

"There we go," they purred, eyes half-lidded. "Now you're being real good. All you gotta do is be pretty and obedient. You already got half of that down, so it shouldn't be hard, right?"

Only about as hard as he was. If he were the kind of mongrel to talk with his mouth full, he would've said that. But he was a civilized man, so he began to properly blow them instead. The one thing he could move was his head, so why not take then down even more? Why not do everything in what little power he had to make them feel good?

In hindsight, it was probably that kind of thinking that made him an Eleven.

He drew in a sharp breath when the tentacle pressed itself flush against him. Yes, that included his dick. Every thrust would make them rub against and send the tiniest little jolt of pleasure through him. Like a little treat. And the way Snail watched him was the cherry on top. That was a look that told him 'I can't wait to ruin you'. And he couldn't either, so he showed his approval in high whines and other desperate noises.

Before long, their claws found his hips and gripped tightly. "Your mouth feels so good," they crooned between huffs and puffs. For good measure, they gave him a firm smack on the ass. "My little slut... You like this? Sucking me off? Can't get enough, huh?"

Why ask him questions if he couldn't answer? He whimpered, hips rutting against them with what little leeway he had. That would be good enough, right?

Their breath hitched, and they even let out a harsh mutter in their alien language. Then they came down his throat with a groan, eyes glazed over as they threw their head back. Curses in both English and not spilled out of them, and by the time he'd swallowed down every last drop of cum, they'd devolved into incomprehensible nothings.

Pop!

Happily, the tentacle withdrew back into their body, leaving its nine compatriots to writhe in excitement around him. He stared, wide-eyed, and tried to catch his breath.

Tried.

"I'm not done with you yet."

Not-As-Lucky Tentacle Number Two prodded at his ass, circling around his hole and drawing a sharp gasp from him. He bit down on his lip to keep himself quiet as it pushed its way inside. His face grew hot when he realized how much it felt like he was being ogled by a whole crowd. Each tentacle an impatient spectator, wanting to participate instead.

"I really wanna just fill you up," Snail growled, leaning down to bite at and leave marks along his sensitive thighs. "Stretch you and fuck you so hard, make you forget your own name."

His breath hitched. "Please...!"

"But I won't," they continued, two parts taunt and one part threat. "You're being punished, remember? And I gotta catch up on a week without my fucktoy."

On cue, a nice rhythm started up. Slow and careful at first, while they hungrily watched him writhe from agonizingly wonderful feelings. It was obvious how they relished the torture they put him through, the goddamn sadist.

Thankfully, they couldn't even last a minute before speeding up. Their groans filled the air, joined by his own curses and pleas for "more, oh god, more!"

More never came. They railed him harder, sure, but they didn't give him what he really wanted. They knew he could take more, so what the hell were they playing at? He just couldn't put the pieces together. His brain was just one or two orgasms away from being shut off completely. There wasn't much time.

"Why...?" he asked, voice pathetically high-pitched. "Why won't you...? You're supposed to... String me up and rail me! Fill me with every last tentacle! I can take them, Snail, I want to!"

A snarl. Not angry, but primal. 

"I know."

"Then please...!"

"Can't. Gotta... Gotta punish you. Be a good boy and take it."

In a very deliberate attempt to assert their dominance, the tentacle inside him honed in on his prostate. Over and over and over again, they abused the poor thing, erratic as they kissed on the bruised flesh they'd claimed.

"Oh...! Snail, fuck!"

Another orgasm, another mess, another tentacle filling him up as soon as the other pumped him full of cum. His bottom lip trembled and tears pricked his eyes from how sensitive he was. But it felt so good. So damn good.

Snail pulled back from his thighs, a wild grin on their face. "Think you can cum eight more times for me?"

Click.

"No," he sighed out in disbelief, wiggling against his restraints. "You can't be serious...?"

They slid up to his chest and latched onto a nipple, sucking hard. At the same time, their tentacle began slamming into him, even faster than the one before. It was heaven. Tortuous, dizzying, absolute heaven.

Breathing hard, they pulled back and gave his hip a firm squeeze. "Don't you wanna be my good boy?"

He kept his mouth shut. That didn't convince them to stop, though. In fact, it might've even encouraged them to keep going until he came again. All thirty seconds that it took, at least. And once again, they replaced the sated tentacle with a hungry one. Never missing a beat, never giving him the chance to catch his breath.

This went on forever. All he could do was moan, squirm, curse, and enjoy it. Not a single thought passed through his head, and at some point his mouth started going without his permission.

"Snail! Oh god, fuck, so good, more... Please, more!"

His prayers were answered with each orgasm. Four, five, six- he lost count at some point. Eventually, they finished with a final groan in his ear, having made their way up on a journey to cover every inch of his skin in marks. Instead of filling him up again, they collapsed on top of him. Like a comforter made of warm alien.

Everything felt fuzzy. His mind, most of all. Slowly, he melted into a glorified puddle of jelly and his eyelids drifted shut. He didn't need to sleep, no, not yet. But a little shut-down wouldn't hurt.

Purrs filled the air and reverberated against his chest. Gentle claws trailed along his sides with a coo of, "Good boy. Love my sweet little pet. Love my Daniel. So good. So pretty. Love fucking you."

"Love you too..."

So maybe they'd taken him on an intense romp that pushed his limits in terms of how much he could take in a row. But for as much cum they filled him with- nine tentacles' worth in his poor ass alone- they'd given him an equal amount of love. And really, what more could he ask for from his alien boyfriend/owner?

"Tea?" he asked hoarsely and forced his eyes open. "Please?"

Daniel clicked his tongue in disdain. The last thing he expected was to get a call late in the evening yesterday, asking him to come to the middle of bum-fuck nowhere for some secret bullshit that he hardly cared about. Still, he let himself get buttered up, and now here he was: driving three hours of his life away just so he could pull up to a gate as tall as a fucking giant.

An orc and an elf with their brows furrowed watched him with suspicious eyes. When he came to a full stop, the orc approached, one hand on the sword at her hip. Daniel rolled down his window.

"Hello, I'm Daniel Nadiva. I believe I'm expected?"

Slowly, the orc's eyes raked over every last inch of him, lingering just a little too long on his body before finally resting on his face. With a wide, toothy grin, she said in a gruff voice, "Oh, right. Mr. Nadiva, we've been waiting for you. Just sit there and look pretty for a sec while we let you through."

Something about that whole interaction made him feel dirty. Especially when he noticed that elf eyeing him up too. His gaze was a little more cold, but just as salacious. When the orc passed him, they shared some words that Daniel caught with great clarity. It was like they weren't even trying to be quiet.

"They got a real fine piece of work, huh?"

"Yeah, they sure fuckin' did. Shame, too. What I wouldn't give to see him in my bed..."

"Don't make me start thinking about it. Unless you want me to go on 'break' for a few minutes."

"On the clock? Really?"

"A guy's got needs. Sue me."

Well, then. Someone in the HR Department was going to get an earful today. Was this how they spoke of all their visitors?

His knuckles tightened around the steering wheel as the gate jerked to life. From the corner of his eye, he could see the orc sauntering back over, that grin still on her face. As soon as the gate was opened wide enough, he slammed his foot down on the gas, shooting off before she could make him even more uncomfortable.

Just another minute down the winding road, and he found the right building. Department of Dracology and Related Magic. 

The area around it was crowded, filled with guards of various shapes and sizes. A dwarf directed him this way, a human directed him that way, and then he managed to squeeze into a parking spot right by the entrance. Perfect. He didn't know how he’d feel having to walk around all by himself.

Before he stepped out, he took a look in the rear-view mirror. He had to make sure he was presentable for such an 'important' meeting. Not a hair out of place, horns sharpened and pristine, the scales under his eyes perfectly polished. 

He let a coy smile slip onto his face. Maybe those guards could be forgiven. How could he expect anyone to resist such elegant beauty?

It wasn't until he heard a shuffling sound near his car that he remembered that right, he was here for some kind of business. Not even a moment after he'd slammed the door, a somewhat familiar voice popped up behind him.

"Mr. Nadiva?"

He yelped and whipped around, one hand on his chest. A mousy looking halfling girl in a lab coat stared up at him with the most apathetic eyes he'd ever seen. Even though his heart still pounded in his chest, he cleared his throat and coolly presented his hand.

"The very same. And you are?"

She roughly grabbed one of his fingers and pulled it close to her face, nearly going cross-eyed. "You don't trim your claws?"

"I— uh, well, no?" he stammered out as she scrutinized said claws from every angle she could. Her grip was like steel.

"Interesting," she muttered under her breath. Then she dropped his hand and whirled around him faster than he could keep up with. So it nearly made him jump out of his skin when he felt a pair of curious, cold hands on his tail. "And you seem to keep your scales in perfect condition. Tell me, where do your scales give way to your skin? Is it at the base of your tail, or farther along your spine?"

His whole body froze in place as her hands trailed higher and higher. When they poked under his blazer— thankfully stopped by his tucked-in shirt— he reeled back in drew in a sharp breath. The frigid air held in the back of his throat while he bit out, "That's a little personal."

Blinking owlishly, she pulled out a notepad and began to furiously write. "Forgive me, it's just that I've never seen a dragonborn in person before. A specimen such as yourself is a rare sight."

Whoosh. All that energy deflated out of him rather anticlimactically. Probably for the best, he didn't want to have to answer for almost killing someone today.

"I... Thank you?"

"You're welcome. Now, follow me. I must ask you a few questions while we walk, just as a formality, we do this with every guest, I assure you."

Her words almost flew by too fast for him to catch. Before she'd even finished, she'd grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along with surprising strength. He needed a moment to let those short seconds play through his head again before he could even respond.

"Oh, um, of course. Ask away."

Bright sunlight and open air gave way to fluorescent bulbs and sterile hallways as she led him through the front door. It was at that moment that he realized he still never got her name. Fuck it. At this point he didn't care too much. He wouldn't be there for long, and he sure as hell already knew that he wasn't ever coming back.

"The first few questions are about your physical well-being. Would you say you lead a healthy lifestyle?"

"I guess I would, yes."

"Lovely. And how magically capable are you?"

His finger twitched. Something about that question set him off. But he didn't know why yet. Better to wait and see, just in case he was being paranoid.

"Very."

"And what sort of magic do you utilize the most?"

"Enchantments."

"I should've known. That's very commonplace for a bard."

"Entertainer."

"Right. Anyway, do you currently have any romantic partners?"

He drew in a sharp breath. "Excuse me?"

"I guess that's less pertinent," she muttered more to herself, eyes locked straight ahead. "Let me rephrase: are you sexually active? Or have you ever been sexually active in your life?"

Glaring hard, he yanked his arm away from her and snapped, "Oh, so you ask everyone that visits if they're a virgin? That doesn't sound very professional."

She tensed up for just a moment, then let out a long sigh. "My apologies. I got ahead of myself. If I may, I have just one more question to ask— and it's hopefully not too personal. If it is, feel free to abstain."

"...Fine. What is it?"

"What kind of dragon can you trace your lineage back to?"

His tail swayed in agitation. But that question was fine. Certainly not what he expected, though.

"Silver."

That made her light up. "Very interesting. One of the metallics. That's what I expected, but you can never tell nowadays. Your scales have a blue sheen to them, you know."

He only hummed an acknowledgment. If that was all, he would take a moment to process—

"By the way, what's your familiarity with the Draconic language? I imagine you're quite proficient, all things considered."

Hot shame washed over him. "You said you only had one more question."

"You don't have to tell me, Mr. Nadiva. It's not that important."

"Then I won't."

"Very well."

Deeper and deeper, she led him into the building. Down several flights of stairs, through countless corridors. Soon the lights began to grow more dim, which added an almost ominous air. A part of him wanted to ask just what the hell he was here for. But the more polite part kept his mouth shut.

Eventually, the halfling spoke up on her own, "Do you mind if I share some of my findings on dragons with you, Mr. Nadiva?"

Ugh, someone kill him.

"Go right ahead."

"Lovely. I imagine you know the basics, so I'll cut to the most interesting bits."

Joy.

"Did you know that even though chromatic dragons and metallic ones hardly ever had friendly interactions, on rare occasions, a chromatic dragon would sometimes still take a metallic mate?"

Daniel furrowed his brow, now invested. "What do you mean?"

"Well, findings in various chromatic dragon lairs have revealed both the bones of metallic dragons and petrified clutches of eggs. What testing we've done has shown that those clutches are what we call gemstone dragons. A mix between the two, you see."

"How is that possible?"

"It's quite brutal. Are you sure you'd like to hear?"

"Please. I can handle it."

At this point, he finally noticed the somewhat unsettling grin on her face. Almost gleefully, she explained, "Well, let's say a red dragon and a gold dragon fought and the gold dragon lost. If that gold dragon proved itself to be a powerful member of the species, didn't die in battle, and didn't already have a mate, there's a chance the red dragon would, instead of finishing it off, breed with it."

Cold terror jolted through him. "A gold dragon would never agree to that."

"Of course not. But as I'm sure you're aware, metallic dragons mated for life. Essentially, the red dragon would take advantage of that to gain an ally and to produce a powerful lineage. The gold dragon would have little to no choice in the matter, and certainly wouldn't go against its instincts. Or its new mate."

"That's..."

"I told you it was brutal," she said, and now he was sure she was getting some sort of sadistic kick out of this. "But that's just how it was. And I'm sure we'd have more cases of that happening if there were still dragons just out and about. I would love to know the disposition of a gemstone dragon..."

Her last statement almost slid past him, but he got caught on the very purposeful wording of it. Carefully, he asked, "Wait, 'just out and about'? What do you mean by that?"

Suddenly, she stopped. "We're here. Are you ready, Mr. Nadiva?"

He let out a huff. Whatever. It didn't matter much anyway. So he simply answered, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Without missing a beat, she opened the door before them and waved a hand toward it. "After you."

The hallway was pitch black. But maybe there was a reason for it. Or maybe she was going to use some spell to light their way, he didn't know. So he pushed forward.

Slam— click!

Immediately, Daniel whipped back around and scrambled to open the door. His claws scraped against the metal uselessly. Was there no fucking doorknob? Oh, the HR department was definitely going to hear from him. Not to mention all the news sites and the police. He'd have this place shut down sooner than he could say 'bite my dragonborn ass, you exotifying piece of shit'.

But first, he had to be able to see.

Pulling out his microphone, he hummed a quick tune to focus his magic. Four blue, star-like lights surrounded him and revealed that the door did not, in fact, have a knob on this side. He turned around to see a dark hallway, going farther than even his lights could show. Of fucking course, right? But it was the only way he could go at this point. Unfortunately, he didn't know any teleportation spells.

So he pressed onward. The hall took twists and turns after a little while, and even seemed to slope downward at one point. Like it was sending him deeper and deeper into the underbelly of this research facility.

Ugh. You know what? He should've seen this coming.

Eventually, the hallway ended at a very secure looking door. He frowned to himself. This could only spell trouble, he was sure. What else was he supposed to do, though?

Daniel had to blink several times to get his eyes adjusted to the bright light of this room. It was almost like being out in the sun again. Which was rough after being in darkness for so long.

When he was actually able to see, he finally took in his new surroundings. The walls were slate gray, but there wasn't much else of note besides a gaping cavern in the floor up ahead.

Step by cautious step, he made his way over to it. Once he got close enough to start seeing inside, a surge of magic spiked up around him. It felt targeted at him directly, setting off every last alarm bell in his head. 

Quickly, he backtracked, only to press up against an invisible wall. It felt more solid than any magical barrier he'd ever dealt with before. Whoever put it up meant to trap him, no doubt.

He tightened his grip on his microphone. Just in case.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

And there was the case.

The ground nearly shook as whatever it was got closer, but he sure as hell didn't want to turn around. Maybe if he kept still, it wouldn't notice him.

Of course, that didn't work. Low rumbles told him that well enough. Time to bite the bullet.

Oh. Oh. That was all he could bring himself to even think as he locked eyes with a dragon. A full, gargantuan dragon. His jaw dropped as waves of awe and terror washed over him. No one had seen even a glimpse of a dragon in hundreds of years. Yet here one was, staring him down like he was some sort of bug skittering around on their kitchen floor.

They bared their teeth, and that was the exact moment he finally noticed the color of their scales.

Purple.

In the very next instant, he drew in a sharp breath. A flash of surprise crossed the dragon's face right before he blasted them with a torrent of ice-cold wind. Frost clung to their scales as they reeled back, but he could tell that it didn't hit quite as hard as he wanted it to. 

After all the air was gone from his lungs, he tried to puff himself up and look as intimidating as he could.

The dragon barked out what sounded like a laugh. Great. Then they opened up their maw, revealing rows of jagged teeth. He just barely processed the light in the back of their throat before they returned his panicked gesture, overwhelming him with arcane power. It snaked its way into his mind and made him feel a lot less capable of fighting this battle, despite his best efforts.

What didn't help was the barrage of voices coming all around, all saying things like, "yeah!", "kill him!", and "fuck his shit up!". Daniel finally noticed that raised platform high above both him and the dragon, filled with almost countless people. Guards, researchers, others. 

At the front of the crowd was her. Notepad in hand, scribbling like her life depended on it. Focused on him and the dragon with such intensity that it made his stomach do flips.

This was why she brought him here? To be a lamb for the slaughter? Well, fuck that nonsense. What she didn't know was that Daniel Nadiva had other methods of getting out of trouble. He was a man of words, then action.

"Look, we don't have to fight," he said as he turned his attention back to the dragon. His hands went to his horns, tracing the curve back up to their sharp tips, and he almost let out a sigh of relief when their eyes followed. "We could work together and get out of here."

They blinked. "Wux'e vi munthrek? Vur vi darastrix?"

Fuck. Of course the asshole just had to use Draconic. He racked his brain for what little memory of the language remained. Okay, they said ‘dragon’ at the end there. And ‘human’? Human and dragon? And he thought they said ‘you’ toward the beginning. ‘You, human, dragon?’

"Axun," he answered after a long moment. The word felt strange in the back of his throat, and he hoped he didn't just say 'yes' to something completely stupid.

They leaned their head down, almost pressing their snout against his entire front, and huffed out through their nostrils. As they sized him up, intensely focused on his face, he stayed completely still and held his breath. God, he hoped they couldn't hear his heart trying to beat out of his chest. Thankfully, it was only another second before he had his personal space back.

On the downside, his eardrums almost shattered when they let out the most horrendous roar he'd ever heard. It was followed by raucous cheering from the audience, because he wasn't going through enough of an audial assault already.

Okay, that plan failed. Guess he really did have to fight. So he pressed his microphone close to his mouth and summoned his magical might into a bitten out, "Well, I fucking warned you!"

Nothing. The dragon seemingly shook off his attack, eyes narrowed dangerously at him. Coincidentally, that was the exact moment that Daniel realized that maybe, just maybe, trying to viciously mock a creature ten times as big as him and twenty times as powerful probably wasn't the best idea.

A large claw came down and knocked him over, pinning him to the ground too easily for his pride to handle. While stars still danced in his vision, he felt a pull at his microphone. With all his strength, he managed to hold onto it, which earned a surprised noise from the beast over him.

"Ixenhe," the dragon muttered as they finally yanked it out of his hand. "Si hefoc wux."

Well, they said something about him, that much was clear. But he was a little too focused on his only means of defense being tossed away carelessly.

"Jackass!" he hissed out and tried to pry the claw off him. "Let go of me!"

They slowly looked him over. Then their head drew back, their mouth opened wide, and he caught a glimpse of that familiar purple light in the back of their throat. 

With what little reaction time he had, he squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself for another hellish blast, only to have a gentle warmth waft over him. It soaked into every last inch of his being and almost relaxed him despite his best efforts to fight against it. By the time he found the energy to glare at the dragon, he felt almost completely like jelly.

A low, rumbling laugh left them, and he could've sworn that he saw a grin on their face. They lifted their claw up and watched him for a moment.

He knew what he should've done. Get up and run! But something in his brain kept him frozen in place. Like the small, curious part of him that wasn't freaking out at the thought of being brutally slaughtered by a dragon was in full control. And it wanted him to just lay there.

The dragon's claw— not that sharp in hindsight, but still very large— tucked itself under the collar of his shirt. Every hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he swallowed thickly. Well. This was it. At least he went down fighting.

Riiiiiiiiiiip!

Cool air rushed against his skin as they easily tore open the entire front of his suit. Before he could even be pissed about how his whole outfit was ruined, though, he realized two things. Firstly, he wasn't dead when he knew very well that he should've been. Secondly, that dragon now looked a little less pissed and a little more...

Their tongue ran across their teeth and they stared him down with wide eyes. 

Hungry.

Almost gingerly, they lifted him up like a ragdoll and peeled the remnants of his clothes away. By mere coincidence, that was the exact moment he finally noticed their gigantic cock just out in the open.

The following moment slid by in painful silence before being shattered by an uproar from the crowd above.

"Holy shit, it's gonna fuck him!"

"There's no way!"

"Look, it's as hard as a fuckin' rock!"

Too-warm scales gripped his thighs and pried them apart, completely exposed for the dragon's still hungry gaze. Their tongue lolled out of their mouth as they leaned in for a closer look. Heat washed over him in waves, crashing against each other when he realized that his body was taking this a lot differently than his brain.

Don't get hard, dumbass! You don't want a dragon having their way with you!

That didn't help in the least. Every ounce of anticipation pooled down until he was about as hard as the dragon, and wet enough to take their dick, too. But why the hell was he even thinking about that? He needed to get the fuck out of there, now!

"Let go of me!" he hissed as he fruitlessly squirmed against their hold. "You fucking brute! You can't just take what you want!"

Their thumbs pressed against his pussy and spread his lips open. The cold air made him twitch and whimper pathetically in a way that he really didn't want to think about. This wasn't hot, nope, not at all!

"You've got such a cute pussy," the dragon purred. "I can't wait to ruin it."

Oh, as if he was going to—

Wait.

What!?

"Bet that mouth would look great around my dick too," they added right as his jaw dropped, gleeful eyes raking him over. "And that ass. My pretty little mate has so many holes to fuck!"

Great. Wonderful. Was he going crazy? He had to be, right?

Before Daniel could spiral down into the depths of his own head, the dragon pressed their tongue flat against his pussy and slowly dragged it up to the tip of his dick. Something in him sunk when they passed over his hole, but he did his best to ignore that. Of course, his best resulted in his hips bucking up when they pulled back, but who cared about those details anyway?

Get it together, Daniel! You need to tell this asshole what-for!

"I-I'm not your mate!" His hands pushed against their snout uselessly, almost shaking even though he could barely give it any real effort. "Get your filthy tongue off me!"

They blinked. Then, after a long moment, they let out a huff through their nostrils.

"You're still fighting? Lame." That short-lived serious tone dropped for their normal huskiness. "Guess I'll just have to break you down a little more. Wanna cum like this first, babe?"

"Of course I don't— fuck!"

Like the goddamn brute that they were, they didn't even wait. No, they had to just assault his pussy right then and there, much to the detriment of his willpower. This time, though, when they got to the head of his dick, they went right back down and circled his pussy. It was almost teasing, the way they refused to dive in. And absolutely infuriating.

Desperate noises escaped him as his fingers curled against their scales. What the hell was he thinking? He didn't want this. Right? Right, of course not. He had his morals, his pride.

"Look at him, he totally wants it!"

"What a fucking slut!"

"Should've known he'd spread his legs for some dragon cock!"

Thanks, ever-present, eagerly watching audience. You always pull through when you're least needed. 

At least it reminded him of the stakes. This wasn't some alleyway accosting— he was trapped in some sort of research facility, surrounded by people who only saw him as a thing to poke and prod. Or some sort of whore putting on a show. Sure, he was turned on, but...

No buts. Do something!

His claws trailed up to their scalp and dug down. A part of him hoped that maybe he'd be able to break through their hide, leave enough of a sting to get them off, if only for a moment. Just so he wouldn't be a whining, pathetic mess, rocking his hips against all the good feelings forced on him by their tongue.

That was pure wishful thinking. The dragon let out a low, pleased rumble, eyes practically rolling back as their tongue curled around his dick. Just a second later, they used just a fraction of their strength to easily pin his hips down, leaving him even more helpless to their attention. Faster and faster, more and more, they didn't let up, quickly switching between eating him out and blowing him.

Every last thought in his head faded to white noise as he tumbled right over the edge. At least he managed to bite down on his lip and not scream "fuck, so good!" for everyone to hear. That was a plus.

As he swallowed down gulps of air, though, he realized something. Daniel Nadiva, proud descendant of a noble silver dragon and nationwide celebrity, just came. Hard. Thanks to a dragon. A purple dragon. A purple dragon who forced themself on him. He came. In front of a whole crowd of people too. And he liked it. He shouldn't have liked it. But he still did. 

The worst part was that he couldn't deny it anymore. Not with the proof sticking to his thighs.

Crooning, the dragon pulled their head back and gave him the most shit-eating grin he'd ever seen in his life. "Yeah? Feel good?"

"Oh, get fucked!"

Those bright violet eyes narrowed. After a few short seconds, they cupped their claws under his ass and lifted his lower half up toward them. He opened his mouth to curse them out even more, but his breath hitched when he felt their dick press against his pussy. Almost immediately, he started soaking with excitement.

"If you want me to fuck you so bad," they purred in his ear and pushed into him just the tiniest bit. "Then how can I say no?"

A jolt went though his heart. They'd tear him in half! Not even a split-second later, his panic made him draw in a deep breath, nerves tingling with anxiety and power. Bolts of electricity hit the dragon right in the face as he blew out, causing them to drop him and reel back with a roar.

Instinct led him through the next frantic moment. Flip over and take off! Go as fast as you can! He didn't even know what the hell he was doing, but—

One hard tug on his tail sent him face-first into the ground. His outstretched hand landed just a couple mere inches from his microphone. He would've tried to close the distance if it weren't for the growls filling the air overhead. That was a clear warning if he'd ever heard one.

"You really like playing hard to get, huh?" That low tone combined with their hot breath sent a torrent of chills down his spine. "Cute, but now you're kinda pushing it. Stay still."

Even if he wanted to disobey, something told him that his body wouldn't cooperate. Wonderful. 

"Good boy," they said as they let go of him, sounding a lot more pleased. "Keep this up and I'll make you feel real nice. Fuck you hard and fill you up with a whole clutch of eggs."

"What...?" he breathed out in pure shock. "Eggs?"

"You'll look so pretty," they continued and traced a claw along his side. "So used. My sweet little mate, only for me to breed with."

Daniel's eyes trailed up toward the crowd overhead. Oh god. Not only would everyone see him get fucked— for the first time, no less— but if the dragon was serious, they'd all see him get knocked up too. Could this get anymore humiliating? Maybe if he closed his eyes, he could pretend those people weren't there...

Nope. The cheers and jeers still filled his head, keeping him all too aware of their presence. It blended together into sandpaper that rubbed against the inside of his skull. Those assholes couldn't even let him enjoy the dubiously sexy parts of this? Really?

To his surprise, a loud roar cut through the noise and left only an echoing silence in its wake. With the crowd seemingly cowed, the dragon pressed their snout to the back of his neck. Part of him read pure affection in the gesture, helping him draw in deep breaths and get his heart a little more settled. But he knew better than to let his guard down.

"How hot is it that all those people are watching? Think they'd get off to you moaning for me?"

And that was why. His whole body tensed when they trailed their snout down his back, stopping every so often to press against the stray scales scattered about. Finally, they ended at his tail, only to pull it out of the way and expose him to the world once again.

"Hm... Wait a sec..."

His heart dropped. Wait? Why the hell were they making him wait?

"Fuck," they cursed under their breath, puffing out warm air against his too-sensitive skin. "You're really small, huh?"

"..Small!?" he hissed, the words pouring out before he could stop them. "You piece of fucking shit! You think you have a right to call my dick small when you had your tongue on it not even five fucking minutes ago! I swear to god, if you didn't have me pinned by some stupid enchantment bullshit, I'd—"

"Woah, chill out!"

If he had a choice, he would've gotten right up and continued to chew their head off. Since that wasn't the case, though, he simply laid there, chest heaving with deep, angry breaths.

More puffs of warm breath washed over him as the dragon let out a barely subtle laugh. "Good boy."

"Bite me!"

"So now I know you're a little sensitive about your size," they teased, which earned an offended noise. "But I wasn't talking about your dick. I mostly meant your cute little pussy."

Oh. Well. That made sense. You know, in hindsight.

"Is that why you freaked out?" At least their tone wasn't angry at all. Just a little teasing, and there was a certain softness to it that almost put him at ease. Especially when they— well, nuzzled, for lack of a better word— against his back. "Aww, how cute. Just a shy little virgin, so wet and eager, but so nervous about taking dick."

Humiliation burned his face. Sure, maybe they were a little right. This was all so new, so exciting. They made him feel good. Great, even! Yet he was still all-too aware of how wrong this was. How he couldn't possibly let himself be mated to this dragon.

So the worst possible thing he could've said to anyone of draconic blood slipped out of his mouth.

"Nortai plythuilti."

Now, he didn't know if it was a good thing that his words came out shaky and lacking any semblance of confidence. Maybe it saved him from pissing them off too much. Or maybe it just made him seem pathetic. How ironic, right? Trembling while trying to call someone the equivalent to a 'pissbaby unworthy of being a dragon'.

Either way, they reacted to his delightful little insult with a snarl and a harsh bite to the crook of his neck. Just the slightest bit, their teeth sunk into his flesh. Then they began to suck. 

Hard.

His claws scraped uselessly against the ground while a string of whimpers poured out into the air. This didn't help the insatiable need building up inside him. Actually, this attention just made it all the worse. Exactly what they wanted, no doubt. Had to show him where his place was, right? Needy and whiny underneath them? So hard and desperate that he practically ached?

Pulling back, they growled, "Ass up."

By this point, he knew better than to even try fighting against his own body. Once he was effectively presenting himself to them, he drew in a shaky breath and waited. God only knew what they would do to him now. Probably just go for it and shove their dick in. The brute.

"By the time I'm done with you," they said against his thigh, "you'll be crying and begging for my cock. No more fighting. No more yelling. Just a needy little slut ready for his virginity to be taken and his pretty pussy pumped full of cum. Got it?"

Something warm and wet delved into his folds for just the briefest, most tortuous second. A broken gasp of "yes" flew past his lips without anything to stop it.

"Good boy. Make sure to moan real loud for me. I want everyone to hear."

Without further ado, they pressed their snout flush against his pussy and let their tongue snake its way into him. For a split-second, he thought he could close his eyes and pretend that he was just fingering himself, safe in his own bed while a dirty fantasy played out in his mind. 

Except this wasn't a fantasy, he wasn't at home, and this wasn't his own finger working its way into him. Just the tip of their tongue was enough to make him whine and wiggle like a pornstar earning his keep. The stretch was almost too much to handle. How the hell was he supposed to take their dick like this?

What made it worse was that the crowd had started to get chatty again. It started out as a quiet mess of white noise, then escalated into more strings of easy-to-hear comments, all about him.

"I can't believe he's letting it tongue-fuck him!"

"Must be 'cause he's so desperate— he doesn't care what fills his pussy!"

"What monster do you think we can get him to fuck next? A gnoll? A hellhound?"

Was this really what he'd become? Some sort of fucktoy for bestiary entries? No, he was the Daniel Nadiva. Talk-show host extraordinaire and beloved star for millions, much more than a living fleshlight.

"I'm not...!" he tried to argue, voice cracking as the dragon pulled their tongue out. "I'm not letting them...! I... Oh...!"

But as the dragon's tongue pushed back in, even deeper this time, a single thought broke through the walls he'd been trying to build up. Maybe this wasn't so bad. There wasn't anything he could do about it. Deep down he knew that he was going to mated and bred one way or another. And how many times has he had a fantasy like this? His whole life he'd been waiting for someone to want him bad enough to just go for it. So why not give in? If all he could do was take it, then why not let himself have fun too?

"Fuck... Please—" You know that word in Draconic, say it!— "Petranas..."

A surprised croon sent oh-so wonderful vibrations into him. In return, he let out a full moan, hoping to encourage them. 

And it did.

Every time he thought maybe they'd filled him up as much as they possibly could, they'd prove him wrong and stretch him even wider than before. His eyes rolled back as they pounded out very last thought in his head— both good and bad. All he could focus were feelings. The jolts going through him with every quick pump of the dragon's tongue, the motion of his hips as he started to rock back against them. Not to mention the small bloom in his chest that told him 'you're going to be claimed'. How soon he'd be mated, owned. Like a dream come true.

"More... Throdenilt... Please...!"

If he hadn't been turned into an almost-complete puddle, he would've tried getting a hand on his dick. Instead, he did what little he could and simply pushed faster against their tongue. 

Now he was doing nothing short of fucking himself, uncaring of what it said about him. In fact, it just pushed him along even more to see the crowd above. To know that they could see him at his most shameful. Every last person up there knew that even if he tried to pretend he wasn't, he really was just a slut. More than ready to let a dragon take full advantage of him all because it felt good.

That was the final straw. His pussy clenched and stars danced across his vision as he screamed his head off, releasing a slew of curses in a weird mish-mosh of Common and Draconic. Honestly, he couldn't tell if he even said anything meaningful. And he didn't super care, either.

Spent and fighting to regain his breath, the only thing he could manage when the dragon pulled out of him was a pitiful whimper.

"Yeah?" they asked in a teasing tone. "You liked that?"

"Uhhh... Hhhh... I..."

"Okay, don't push yourself." A claw lightly trailed down the curve of his back and sent goosebumps along his skin. "My beautiful mate, so loud, so good... You deserve a little breather."

Pleased purrs resonated in his chest and he let a smile slip onto his face. This felt nice. It certainly put him a little at ease, now that his brain was almost completely fried.

"Get to fucking already!"

"Come on, you stupid dragon, the hole's right there!"

Well, there went the mood, crashing headfirst to lie in a crumpled heap beside the shattered remains of his pride. No one these days could appreciate a little romance, could they?

"Those humans are really pissing me off."

He let out a low hum in agreement.

The dragon laughed. "You too? Well, maybe after we're done I'll kill them for you."

Part of that sounded nice. A good way to get revenge for what those people had done to him. But it clashed with the guilt, the little thought those were still people. They didn't deserve to die, right? But also was this really the time for a moral crisis?

"God, you look so fucking hot," the dragon purred in his ear, making that decision for him. "All bent over for me. Ready for my dick. Just like I said, right?"

Their claw grabbed him from under his chest and lifted him up, keeping him there while they slid into position overtop of him. Scaled muscle pressed against his back and made him draw in a sharp breath. Fuck. This was really happening. He had a big, strong, hot as hell dragon so close, mounted and ready to absolutely ruin him. Their cock pressed against his pussy only made that all the more obvious.

"There's just one little thing..."

A whimper escaped him. What the hell could possibly be wrong?

They let out a huff in his other ear and continued, "I don't hear any begging. You can even do it in Common. Just as long as I know that my little whore wants it."

His fingers curled against the claw holding him up. "Please..."

"Come on, you can do better than that. You know a lot of pretty sounding words." They pushed into him just the smallest bit. "And, you know, saying 'please' in Draconic wouldn't hurt. It's really hot, actually. I'll have to teach you how to say 'I want your cock so bad, fill me with cum!' It'd sound great coming out of your mouth."

"Petranas," he whined out, body going wild with desperation. All he could do was squirm in their hold, tortured by the delay. "I want... I want your cock so bad! Fill me with cum and... And make me yours!"

"Yeah? You want it, baby? You want me to take you right now? Just fill up your little pussy, fuck you over and over until I know you're full of eggs?" They moved back to his other ear and gave him the smallest nip. "What a slut. If I didn't know better, I'd say you weren't really a virgin. You just wanna be used, don't you? Wanna be my personal fucktoy? Just here to bend over and be a warm hole for my cock? Good for holding my eggs and nothing else?"

Tears of frustration pricked at his eyes and he let his claws dig into their scales. "I already said it! Please! Just hurry up and fuck me, I can't take it anymore!"

The dragon's hold on him tightened and not even a second later, they pushed in. Every last cog in his head stopped turning and his whole body lit up with delight. He moaned his approval as they bottomed out, fully seating themself in his pussy with a low groan. It was almost too much for him to take, in all the best ways.

But then they held still instead of getting right to fucking him. He didn't appreciate that very much.

"How's it feel to be claimed?" they growled in his ear. "Not a free little virgin anymore, huh? You're mine now."

They pulled out and punctuated their statement with a hard thrust. A strangled moan escaped him, which faded into soft whimpers when they refused to move.

"No one else can have you. Not even those people watching. Your pussy is only for me. I'll make sure everyone knows that by the time I'm done with you. So let's put on a good show, huh? Be a good boy and moan real loud for me."

Another pointed thrust. He had to squeeze his eyes shut and bite his lip as humiliation burned at his face. They just had to remind him of his audience, huh?

Hot air puffed against the back of his neck. "Fighting still? It's too late, baby. All those people already know what a slut you are. You put up a cute fight, but you just couldn't resist letting me have my way with you, could you?"

Slowly, they began to build up a rhythm. But it wasn't anything close to the hard fuck he wanted. This was slow, purposeful. And the purpose, as far as he could tell, was to drive him crazy.

"Bet you've been waiting for this," they said with a somewhat unhinged tone. Like these words were just spilling out without any sort of thought. "Waiting for someone to just pin you down and take you. Fucking slut." Their breath hitched in sync with the falter of their hips. "God, I can feel how much you love this, you're practically pulling me in. Like you just can't get enough. Didn't know how good a hard dick would feel inside your pretty little pussy until now?"

Was he really that easy to read? Unfortunately, he didn't have the means to ask, given that his mouth was too busy letting out whiny curses and meaningless sounds. Now they were giving him more of what he wanted. What little energy he had went into pushing back against them, making sure he took as much of their dick as he possibly could. But it never felt like enough.

Between ragged breaths, they kept up the dirty-talk. With each word, the voice grew more harsh and husky, more in line with what he'd heard when they first met.

"You're so fucking tight, perfect for my cock. My mate, all mine. Can only take my dick, have my eggs. You wanna be filled with cum? Absolutely used like the little whore you are? Bet you can't wait to get knocked up, huh? That'll show all your little human friends that you're nothing but a slut."

"Please! Oh god, oh god, fuck!"

Without even thinking, he shot his hand down to touch on his poor, neglected dick. If it meant he was a slut, then fine. As embarrassing as it was, he just felt so desperate that he couldn't help himself. And holy shit, the extra attention worked wonders. So close, just a little more...!

Suddenly, a hard push against his back made his front almost slam into the ground. Once again, their cock sat tortuously inside him, making him squirm. He turned his head as much as he could, but could just barely see their grin from the corner of his eye.

"I didn't say you could touch," they taunted and tapped their claws against his sensitive skin. "That's mine to play with."

"Huh? You can't even—"

One hard thrust made him shut his mouth real quick. Even though they didn't seem angry, there was an overwhelming sense of dominance that he couldn't ignore.

"Not getting enough? Is that it? So needy, you just want more..."

Low growls made him go stiff underneath them. As terrified as he knew he should've been, it only worked to make him melt. Like he knew this was just for show. His mate wouldn't hurt him.

"Lucky for you, I'm feeling nice."

Purple light danced in his vision for a second. Like little stars. Then he felt something warm and snug around his dick. Or... The illusion of something? Either way, it felt magical.

"Yeah?" they said in response to his high-pitched moan. "Happy now? Can I get back to fucking you?"

They didn't bother waiting for an answer. In fact, they went right back to where they were without skipping another beat, railing into him so hard and fast that he forgot about everything else. Whatever force was on his dick seemed to pump in time with their thrusts too, only adding to all the wonderful feelings wrecking him.

He threw his head back and practically screamed, unable to do much else. Any attempt to move his hips were stopped by the hand holding him down. 

Slut. Unable to do anything but take dick. And he loved it.

His whole body went wild, doing anything and everything possible to ride the high. And as soon as his pussy started clenching around the dragon's dick, a deep groan told him that they'd just crossed the brink too. For some reason, his brain was focused on the feeling of them pounding through their orgasm. Oh god. Each thrust seemed to fill him up with more and more cum, until it seemed like he couldn't hold anymore. It was wonderful, embarrassing, so right, so wrong, like a terrifying new comfort that he couldn't bear to escape.

Eventually, they settled down inside him with a low grumble. Daniel didn't know how to feel about being plugged up like this. A nagging voice in the back of his tired mind reminded him, 'It's only so they can get you pregnant. They're a Purple Dragon. They used you.'

Bitterness sat on the back of his tongue. At least until his eyes began to grow heavy. Eager to hide away from the world, he let the encroaching darkness whisk him off.

"Good mate... So vorel... Si itov wux..."

With those half-intelligible words echoing in his head, he fell into a restless sleep. It felt like only a mere couple of seconds before he was awake once more, surrounded by darkness and swimming in an ocean of... Fabric? What the hell?

Groggily, he sat up and tried to feel around. Cotton... Silk? Pure wool— a button!?

In the very next instant his heart began to race. What was that? Slowly, his fingers curled around it.

His microphone!

In a burst of song and color, four wonderful little stars surrounded him, lighting up the cavern that he was in. There wasn't much of note. Nothing on the walls, or even the floor. Just the weird mass of cloth he was swaddled in. Upon closer inspection, he realized that this were all strips of shirts, pants, skirts, outfits, what have you. But there was something off about them...

Blood. Dried, thankfully. Just stains and a lingering odor that almost made him gag. But hey, he wasn't the one who'd been hurt, at least.

Not yet.

He had to get out. Before something happened to him. Or the babies. If he thought real hard, he could... Come up with a... Plan...?

Mind frozen and body numb, he let his hand slowly raise to his stomach. Firm, too firm, with just a little give. Not as flat as usual, either. No, he had a... A goddamn pooch, a visible sign of what his mate had done to him. Of the fact that there were eggs inside him. 

Oh god, there were eggs inside him.

Just then, the familiar stomp-stomp-stomp of heavy dragon feet grabbed his attention. 

"Rumag? Wux svern?"

Their voice boomed through the cavern, and if he hadn't been so terrified, he would've almost seen this as some cutesy 'honey, I'm home' bullshit. Since he was absolutely scared out of his mind, though, he panicked.

Quick, hide!

A part of his brain that he hadn't used since he was a seven-year-old brat trying to fuck with his mom kicked into gear. Slithering deeper into the nest, he made sure every last inch of him was covered and held his breath. Sure, this was a longshot, but he just had to wait them out. Then he could make a break for it.

Those footsteps stopped, but he could still hear their deep breaths and the way their tail swayed against the floor.

"Svabol'e wux tirir?" they asked in that familiar growl that maybe he was a little too used to. "Vucoti wux'e persvek tempiswo. Wux shil'ti houpe de ve."

Okay, so they might look for him, but eventually they'll have to give up, right? In the meantime, he can come up with an escape plan. He had his microphone, so that was one point in his favor. Maybe he could just go all out: blast anyone who got in his way and act as a one-man army. Or he could try to get his mate on his side, but how? What more could they possibly get from him?

Unfortunately, while he was busy trying to puzzle through his next course of action, he forgot to keep track of his mate. So he didn't feel the shuffle of the clothes over him, or take note of the burst of cold air near the top of his head until it was too late.

A careful yank to one of his horns pulled him out into the open, making him gasp.

"Etaha wux!" his mate barked out and scooped him up with a claw, pressing him against their chest. It almost felt like a warning, how tight they held onto him. All he could see in the dark was the occasional flash of their sharp teeth. Or those striking eyes. "Bensvelk, 'goa si jahus zahae ekess itrwic xihooda..."

Fuck. Were they pissed? What were they going to do? Kill him? Kick him out and force him to raise the eggs on his own? Leave him for those goddamn researchers to test on? Oh god, they couldn't do that to him, they were his mate!

A scorching hot tear ran down his face and his breath hitched.

"Woah, 'yorn, re wux kruth?" they asked and shifted back onto their haunches, their other claw coming up to run through his hair. "Svabol shinalta?"

"You better keep me around," he managed to get out between choked-back sobs. "You... You're stuck with me, you hear? I don't care if you're some asshole chromatic dragon, you're gonna deal with the consequences of mating with me! You're as much mine as I am yours, fuckhead! You can't just cum and go!"

Daniel didn't have the wits about him to even try processing what they said next. Crying kind of kept him occupied. His claws clutched against their scales, helping soak in what little comfort he could get. At least the gentle thump-thump, thump-thump of their heart was soothing. And after a few minutes, he was able to settle down into a less dramatic sniffle.

Gingerly, his mate curled a claw under his chin and guided his head up. Their mouth opened wide, filling his vision with purple light. In the split-second that he had, he panicked, but it did nothing to keep the magic from coursing through him more easily than ever before.

"It's okay," they then cooed out and began to lightly brush through his hair. "You're okay. I'm here, see? You wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"You can't fucking understand me, can you?" he asked under his breath. There were lingering traces of bile and bitterness in the back of his throat, but at least that cry did something good for him. "So what's the point?"

"Fuck... You really don't speak Draconic, huh?"

"Yeah, no shit!"

"Okay, well, we'll figure this out." They nuzzled into the crook of his neck, their hot breath sending goosebumps down his spine. "I'm guessing you were scared, huh?"

He swallowed thickly and coiled in on himself.

"Yeah? Scared of what? Waking up alone?"

His fingers tapped along the base of his microphone. Then he let out a him to bring back his lights. It would be easier for them to see him shake his head.

Their brow furrowed. "No? Then what was it?"

Drawing his lips into a thin line, he pointed a single finger at the culprit. That seemed to stun them into a short stupor.

"Huh? I scared you?"

"...Harkajup."

"You... Thought I was angry? For hiding?" Now they sounded more reserved, maybe even a little more gentle. At least they were talking more softly. That sounded nice in his ear. "I know you were just fucking around—"

Before they could continue, he pressed a finger to their lips and shook his head. Their eyes narrowed and scrutinized his face. After a moment, he couldn't turned his gaze to the floor. The eye contact was a little too nerve-wracking. But then he heard the softest little "oh", something he never thought he'd hear coming out of a dragon.

"You were hiding from me," they finally said. "Like, for real."

He nodded.

"Shit..."

Their claws tightened around him. Before he could panic, though, they began to purr and trace patterns along his skin. Were they trying to be comforting? Why?

Despite his best efforts, they got him to melt after only a short moment. Once he was nothing but a cozy puddle in their arms, they took in a deep breath. Then another. And one more before opening their mouth again.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," they reassured in that same gentle tone they'd been using. "You're my mate."

...Best to just keep his mouth shut about that.

"I'll prove it," they added when the silence dragged on for too long. "Just tell me what you want, and I'll get it for you. Not to brag, but I've got some pretty sweet connections around here. Just say the word and it's yours, babe."

Oh, now they were trying to be suave? If they were serious, he could at least make use of it. But that was a huge if. Should he even bother? Or would this just be a waste of time?

"Need to think about it?"

Just to buy some time, he nodded.

"Alright, cool," they said as they moved him into more of a cradle than just a regular hold. "Just let me know."

Silence. God, that was the worst thing for his frazzled head. There wasn't a single damn thing to keep him occupied except for his mate. And the longer he stared, the more strange feelings bloomed up in his chest. Affection, yearning, all that sweet, wonderful, terribly romantic bullshit. It didn't help that the way they stared at him only showed everything that he felt, and then some. Like they were already head-over-heels for him.

Impossible.

"Why're you staring at me?"

They blinked, then hummed with a pleased grin on their face. "You're really cute. So soft." A claw touched his arm. "Soft skin." They moved up to thread through his curls. "Soft hair." Then back down to gingerly poke at his stomach. "Soft everything. Perfect for the eggs. I hope they get that from you."

Oh. Warmth surged through his entire body, but mostly in his face. Yeah. He was in love. As much as he hated to admit it, this stupid purple dragon won his heart. But any idiot could do that. Not breaking it would be the hard part.

That aside, he realized that maybe he should at least give them his name. So he waved a hand in front of their eyes, then pointed to himself when he felt like he had their full attention.

"Daniel."

It took a few seconds, but he could see the click behind their eyes. "Your name's Daniel?"

"Axun."

"Pretty," they cooed, successfully making him blush again. "I'm Snail. Or you can call me Daddy. You know, whenever I'm balls deep in your cute little pussy."

All his outrage and humiliation shot out into a high-pitched shout of "Snail!"

They had the audacity to laugh right in his face. Jackass.

Once they finally sobered up, they gave him a cocky grin, eyes still sparkling with mischief. "My name sounds real nice coming out of your mouth. Can't wait to get you to say other things. Like 'wow, Snail, you're so hot' or 'your muscles are almost as huge as your cock!'"

He snorted. "More like almost as huge as your goddamn ego."

"Hm. That didn't sound very nice."

"It wasn't."

"Okay, no need to be so sassy. I can't even understand you!"

"That only takes some of the fun out of it. I don't do this for you, I do it for me."

A puff of hot air ghosted over his face as they snorted out their amusement. "Oh yeah? So many words. Maybe I should learn Common. Might be useful, huh?"

His heart sunk. It'd be kinda nice to be able to speak with his mate. This would be the perfect time to say it. Except it felt too vulnerable. He didn't want Snail to hear his tone and realize that maybe he wasn't as content as he'd been pretending to be.

"Mr. Nadiva?" a voice suddenly called out into the cave, echoing off the walls and inside his head. "Are you finished resting? I have some very important questions to ask you."

"That's my connection!" Snail set him down with the utmost care, then got back on all fours and stretched out. They almost smacked him upside the head with their wing. "About time. I'm starving. You know what you want yet?"

Unfortunately, he didn't share in their enthusiasm. The last person he wanted to see was her. What, was she gonna drag him off to be experimented on? Maybe she wanted to lock him away until he popped out his eggs, just so she could take them and do all sorts of horrid things. He'd seen enough shitty science fiction movies to know what goes on in places like this...

"Si tuor okarthel."

"...Home?" they asked softly, though their voice was a little tense. "But this is your home. It's not much, but, you know, I can ask for shit. Get a nicer nest, maybe start up a little treasure hoard. Paint the walls or something. How does that sound?"

Daniel shook his head, eyes anywhere but on them. The air felt thick with emotion. Disappointment, mostly. Some sadness. And a touch of anger.

"Mr. Nadiva! Time is of the essence, here!"

Snail curled their wings tight against their back and started to make their way out of the cave. "We'll talk about this later."

With no other choice, he followed suit, head hung and eyes downcast. Ouch. Look, he didn't want to tell Snail that he'd rather not live in an empty, dirty hovel far from his real home, but he had to. If only he had the words to tell them how fucked this place really was, then maybe they would've understood.

Bright light stabbed his eyes as he finally emerged from the cave. To his slight relief, Snail had pointedly put themself between him and that woman. As he stepped forward, he draped his arms down to cover his shame.

"I'm so glad to see that you are doing well," she greeted with a smile, clipboard in hand. "You've been through a lot in the past few hours."

"Oh, fuck off!" he snapped, teeth bared and tail swaying dangerously behind himself. "You can't trick me with your stupid fucking pleasantries! If you're not here apologize and escort me out of here, then I don't want to hear it!"

She clicked her tongue and raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You're much too valuable to be released now. We're quite excited to see what will become of your new..." Her eyes blatantly trailed down to his stomach. "Situation. And how the dragon's behavior will change with a mate around. If it changes at all."

"You do realize we're people, right!? 'The dragon' has a name! It's Snail!"

"Hm? You talking about me?"

"Mr. Nadiva, you realize that it's still a dragon, don't you? And a chromatic one, at that. Surely, as someone descended from a silver dragon, you realize that there isn't anything in their heart besides greed, gluttony, lust." A horrendous smirk stretched across her face. "You've experienced it firsthand."

His lips drew into a thin line as his cheeks grew hot. "Fine. Maybe I did. But you know what else I've experienced firsthand? Their sympathy and their sense of humor. You don't know them."

"Your mind is clouded by emotions and hormones right now," she said in an unamused tone and wrote something down. "I know what will convince you. Come with me and we'll get you a nice room until your eggs are ready. Then we'll take them, wipe your memory, and let you go. You get to live in the lap of luxury while you're here, then go back to your life, to your fans, like you never even left."

"You're not taking my eggs. Or separating me from my mate."

"Hm. One way or another, we'll get what we want. Metallic dragons might not be able to find new mates, but the same can't be said of chromatic ones..."

"Daniel?" Snail cut in with the smallest growl in their voice. "I don't like her tone. What's she saying to you?"

He had to be careful. One wrong move and things would fall apart. Thankfully, he had the one thing he needed in hand. So he raised it to his lips, delighting in how the researcher's eyes widened with shock, and snarled out, "You can't just kill a celebrity like me and you know it. Now be a kind host and get me some fresh clothes, will you?"

Just like he expected, his magic worked its charm. She let out a quiet huff, but still turned and left to do just as he asked. And thankfully, it didn't take too long before she was back with a somewhat shoddy gown in hand.

"Here you are, Mr. Nadiva. Is there anything else I can do to make you more comfortable for your stay here?"

"No, but you can open that large door there," he said while pointing to said door with a coy smile. "Should be large enough for my mate to fit through easily. Then we'll be on our way. After that, if you'd like to ask us any questions about the eggs or our relationship, you can give me a call."

"...I guess that sounds reasonable enough. It might be better to have more real-world data."

"Very glad to see we're on the same page."

Snail let out a low whine and butted their snout against his side, interrupting him while he got dressed. "Hey, what the hell's going on?  Why's she opening the door?"

"Okarthel."

"Huh?"

Oh, goddamn it all. He took several long steps forward and waved them along. But instead of following, they stretched up to their full height and glared down at him.

"I'm not leaving my lair," they growled out. "And you aren't either."

His heart skipped a beat. Shit. He glanced over at the entrance to their little cavern, then let his eyes trace along the large walls that surrounded him. No, he couldn't call this his home. And it sucked that Snail seemed to be tricked into doing just that.

One. Two. Three. That's how many slow, steady breaths and careful steps it took until he was right in front of them. Arms stretched up, he successfully beckoned them into leaning down. His claws immediately found the top of their scalp, tracing along the scales and around their horns. When they eased under his touch, he trailed down to the curve of their jaw and pressed a kiss right to their lips.

"Petranas?"

The goofiest little smile took over their face for a second. "Hmmm, okay."

For the first time since he arrived at this god-forsaken facility, he laughed. That was a lot easier than he thought it would be.

Suddenly, their smile fell. Were they pouting? No, that was impossible. An almighty, all powerful dragon, pouting? It was as funny as it was cute.

"Shit," they grumbled and nuzzled against his chest. "I'm so whipped."

That warmth melted off and gave way to an intense wave of hot air. After a moment of hesitation, he pushed his voice out into the world and asked, "Hello? My Diamond? What form would you like me to take?"

"Default."

Cold. Much colder than he expected. But that didn't keep him from following orders. Even if he struggled with it at first. Sure, he knew what he was supposed to look like. In theory. Small, beautiful, long curls tied back to show off his face. Donning the finest, purple dress with a ruffled skirt, leggings, and flats with ribbon tied in neat bows.

But it was hard. Like pushing against an immovable wall.

Pop!

With a gasp, he finally formed around his gem, just barely able to land on his feet. He stared at his hands and flexed his fingers while the heat around him surged. Wow. This is what it was like to exist? To be in the world, filling up space?

A touch to his hair made him jump. Lips drawn into a tight line, he looked up and locked eyes with...

Red Diamond. 

Shrouded in a crimson glow that cut through the darkness of the room, she towered several feet over him. One eyebrow raised and not a hair out of place, she betrayed nothing about what could have possibly been going through her mind right then. And with nowhere else to look, he could only stare as she pulled her hand back.

Glimmering between her fingers was a star. Light purple, almost pink? Most importantly, though, not supposed to be there.

Before she could say anything about it, he swung his arms up into the Diamond Salute and took a deep bow at the waist. "Red Diamond, thank you for creating me. How may I be of service to you?"

She neatly folded her arms behind herself. "You can start by telling me your purpose."

"Of course!" He straightened his back and laced his hands in front of himself in an effort to be perfectly poised. Like she was. "I was made to be a companion, a source of entertainment, and an assistant for My Diamond— Purple Diamond."

The corner of her lips quirked up, sending a rush of pride through him. "Perfect. Come now, I have to show you off to Gray."

Oh. Gray Diamond. Cold apprehension took hold of him, but he followed closely behind Red Diamond as she led him through twisting corridors. Of course, he respected Gray Diamond as much as any of the others. But he wasn't like them. Something about him was almost unknowable. Distant.

Terrifying.

"Gray?" Red Diamond called out as the two of them stepped into a large chamber. "Can I have a moment with you? Alone?"

"Ugh, what do you want?"

To keep himself from getting too nervous, he scanned the room. That would be enough to keep him occupied until he was allowed to join the conversation, at least.

The first thing he saw was a gem dressed exactly how he was, down to the same shade of vibrant purple. Another Pearl? They seemed to be looking at him too, a small frown on their face. But then his eyes were drawn past them, to the other gem dressed in the same way. Wait, and there was another too? 

How many Pearls were made for His Diamond? Wasn't he supposed to be the only one?

"Oh, please, don't be like that. I simply want to show off my latest experiment to keep Purple... Entertained. You've been complaining to me so much about it, I simply thought you'd like to see him."

That was when he noticed the multiples of Red Diamond standing about.

Oh. Mirrors.

Face burning with humiliation, he hung his head, only to be met with his own reflection once again.

"Maybe I've got better things to do than— wait, him?"

Immediately, he was drawn to the reflection of Gray Diamond's black-hole eyes. The ones that had been haunting the corner of his vision this whole time. They simmered with something that made his gem thrum in distress. An almost scalding hand to his back helped him break away, though, and he immediately closed his eyes.

"Yes, him. I made a Pearl."

"...Lorna, get out."

Soft footsteps passed right on by him, followed by the slide of the door opening and closing.

After a long, tense moment, Gray Diamond finally asked, "You made a Pearl? For Purple? Without even asking me first?"

"I don't believe I need to ask you for permission to do anything," Red Diamond said coolly, while still keeping her polite tone. "It's my prerogative to do whatever I please with the resources at my disposal, is it not?"

"Those are our resources, Red! We could've made hundreds of Pyrite soldiers! But no, you pumped them all into a Purple Pearl!"

A hand wrapped around his wrist and yanked him upwards. His eyes shot open as he let out a pained yelp, feet kicking to find any solid ground, only to freeze in place. Sharp white teeth filled his vision, silently snarling out a threat. 

Don't move, or you're dead.

"And it's under-cooked," Gray Diamond spat. "See how tall it is? You really think a defect will keep Purple out of our business?"

"There wasn't enough to let him develop for longer. He would've been worse off for it."

"Do you even hear yourself!? This is like Orange all over again!"

Red Diamond drew in a sharp breath. "Orange was a mistake. This is nothing like him."

"Oh, right. Because Purple and their defective Pearl are shining examples of gemkind."

"Speaking of 'shining examples of gemkind', how is Lorna working out for you? Is having an overcooked, nearly blind Pearl everything you wanted when you asked Black to make one?"

"Pretty sure it was your side of things that dropped the ball on her. I'm why she turned out as great as she did."

"Gray."

"What? As if the Pearl's even listening. It's probably too stupid to. I mean, just look at it!"

"He’s terrified because you're endangering him. If you'd like to deal with the fallout of having destroyed Purple's Pearl before he's even calibrated, then be my guest. But I would suggest putting him down before you damage him too much with your little temper tantrum."

Too late for that. Sure, he wasn't physically hurt, but his mind was reeling. Now he knew that the last thing he ever wanted to do was get on Gray Diamond's bad side again. But a small, nagging part of him felt some kind of way. He hadn't even done anything yet— hadn't had the chance to. It felt so incredibly unfair.

But it was Gray Diamond's right to be frustrated with his existence. He had a point, after all.

"Whatever. As long as I don't have to see it, I guess it's fine. But if Purple comes whining to me about their shiny new Pearl, I'll hunt it down and shatter it myself." For a brief second, those black eyes flickered towards him. "Got it?"

Without even giving him the time to reply, Gray Diamond unceremoniously dropped him to the ground. He landed on his feet, thankfully, and managed to stay upright with Red Diamond's help. She even gingerly grabbed his arm and looked it over, brow furrowed and a scowl on her face. No doubt from the slight discoloration there now.

"Fine, then," she said, voice cold as her eyes snapped back up. "Just try not to let this get to Black."

Gray Diamond sneered. "We'll see."

Before he could even wonder how Black Diamond would react to his existence, he was ushered out of the room. He just barely caught the sight of Gray Diamond sinking into the floor before the doors practically slammed shut in his face, leaving him with more questions than answers.

"That certainly could have gone better," Red Diamond noted. It sounded like she was talking more to herself than to him. "No matter. Gray can think whatever he wants. I'm positive that Purple will be more than ecstatic to see you."

A part of him wanted to ask if she really thought so. Doubts clouded his mind. What if he wasn't good enough for them? What if they reacted the same way Gray Diamond did? What if they hated him even more? What if they shattered him on the spot because he was under-cooked? Defective?

He knew better than to question a Diamond, though, so he simply kept his mouth shut and his eyes downcast.

"Well, if this is going to be a surprise, you need to recede back into your gem."

A pang went through him. What was this feeling? Fear? Why would he be afraid of His Diamond? It didn't make any sense. Instead of trying to figure it out, he ignored it and focused on the sheer joy of finally getting to meet them.

"Yes, Red Diamond."

It was easier to pull back than it was to push out. Inside his gem he couldn't see much, especially not with Red Diamond's fist closed around him. But he could still hear, at least, even if everything was muffled. Movements got through to him, too. Lifts and pulls of elevators, the jostle of footsteps. Various hushed whispers of "My Diamond" or "Red Diamond". Those all filled the journey to His Diamond’s chambers, giving him something to focus on

Then it all stopped.

"Purple? Come here for a second, I have something to discuss with you."

"Are you gonna finally give me a planet?"

His Diamond's voice. His gem pulsed in response, eager to finally do what he was made for. If it hadn't been for Red Diamond's hand tightening around him, he probably would've ruined the surprise.

"...No. You aren't mature enough to have a planet yet."

"What about—"

"Or an armada."

"Ugh, then what's the point?"

"If that's how you want to act, then I'll just put your new gem to some other use. Pity, since you've been waiting so long for it, but..."

A long pause.

"Wait! You mean it's ready? The gem? What kind is it? What can it do? What's its name? What's it like?"

"Settle down. In just a moment, you'll be able to ask it yourself. But first, I need you to understand that having your own gem is a great responsibility. Everything it does will reflect on you. Make sure that what it shows is nothing less than perfection."

His Diamond let out a groan, then said, "Yeah, I know! Just hand it over already!"

"Purple."

That was the first time her voice held any true fire. It bled into the air, or at the very least into her hand. By some miracle, he didn't get scorched. But it set off alarm bells in his head, just like Gray Diamond did. All he wanted was His Diamond; to not have to deal with anyone else, as radiant as they were.

"...Sorry."

Red Diamond sighed. The sound was soft, though her frustration was still crystal clear. "This gem is a test, Purple. Don't take it lightly."

"Yeah," they said in a clipped tone. "Got it."

The following moment felt like an eternity. Tense silence, not even the smallest sound. A part of him wanted to break it. Hello, he was still here! But he beat down that thought. Everything he did would reflect on His Diamond, and he wanted to be nothing short of perfection.

Slowly, the fingers around him unfurled. "Pearl, you may come out now."

Finally!

In a burst of light, he emerged from his gem once again, this time posed in a deep bow with his hands stretched behind him and a smile on his face.

"Hello, My Diamond!"

There they were. Even though he already knew what they looked like, his eyes traced over every last detail anyway. Spiked up, brown hair, wide eyes, soft face accentuated by piercings. And of course, the purple uniform showing off their status— and the perfectly cut gem embedded into their chest. 

Seeing them made all the fear go away in an instant. Now his gem only thrummed in absolute delight, filling the silence of the room. Nothing could bring him down now.

Or so he thought. But they didn't say a word. Was something wrong? Did they expect something better? Could they see he was defective? Just in case, he kept his smile perfectly in place. A Pearl is always happy to be at their Diamond's side.

Slowly, they knelt down before him, one hand outstretched. Their touch was gentle as they brushed against his cheek, though that didn't keep him from trembling.

"He's beautiful," they whispered, looking awe-struck. Their fingers threaded through the curl that framed his face. "Perfect."

Something inside him swelled. This was all he could possibly want. He didn't care about Gray, Black, or even Red all that much. Purple Diamond was his whole universe, and he would do anything to put a smile on their face.

"I'm glad you like him," Red Diamond said proudly, one hand to her chest. Something about the way she spoke now almost put him off. It was harsh, each sound more pointed than her flowing eloquence around Gray Diamond. "Now all you have to do is calibrate him and perhaps give him a name. That should be simple enough."

His Diamond didn't react until the doors had already closed behind her.

"Wait! Calibrate? Huh?"

He bit his tongue. They would be able to figure it out. And if not, he was there to help them along. But he didn't want to jump in quite yet. No, that would only give off the impression that he thought they were an idiot. How ridiculous would that be? A lesser gem thinking of a Diamond in such a way? Not only ridiculous, but treasonous too.

They let out a huff and almost pouted. It was... Kind of cute. If a little odd. Nothing prepared him to see His Diamond act like this. But that was fine. They were still perfect, of course.

"So, um," they eventually started with a hesitant glance his way. "I guess I have to name you now, huh?"

"If you want to," he said and straightened himself out, hands folded perfectly in front of his skirt. "I'm one of only two Pearls currently in existence, so a name isn't all that necessary. There wouldn't be much confusion if you just wanted to call me Pearl."

Their nose scrunched up in obvious distaste, then they fully seated themself on the floor. "Nah, I don't think so. Just gimme a sec, I'll come up with the perfect name for you."

"Yes, My Diamond."

More than a second passed while they huffed and fidgeted, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as they looked him over. His face grew warm from all the attention. But at least they didn't seem to notice. In fact, he knew that they were almost completely in there own head until they slapped their hands down against their thighs with an exuberant "aha!".

"My Diamond?"

"I got it now!" they announced with a broad grin, then poked his nose. "Daniel! That's you!"

"Daniel?" he repeated under his breath. It sounded foreign, but strangely... Right? Either way, it was His Diamond's decision to make. So with a gracious curtsy, he said, "It sounds perfect, My Diamond. Thank you for giving me such a wonderful name."

A rush of purple flooded their cheeks and they ran a hand through their hair. "No problem. I just figured it sounded pretty enough, you know?"

Oh.

"Anyway," they continued before he could sink into the warmth that statement had brought him, "tell me about yourself, Daniel. Who are you? What can you do?" A pause, then an added, "And what's your favorite color?"

He blinked, taken aback by the surge of questions. Especially that first one. Didn't they just establish that? Oh well, best not to question it.

"I'm your Pearl, Daniel. I can sing, dance, tell jokes, provide companionship, and do whatever you want me to do. My sole purpose is to make you happy, My Diamond." Despite himself, his smile grew a little more shaky, betraying the fluttering he felt in his gem. "And my favorite color is purple, of course."

"You can sing," they gushed under their breath, eyes lit up with stars. "Can you sing something for me?"

"Of course, My Diamond!"

Daniel clasped his hands together under his chest and took a deep breath, only to hesitate. The first note got caught in his throat, stifled by the thought that it would come out sour. Gray Diamond's voice echoed in the back of his mind. One complaint and he'll be shattered.

...That was fine. If he was truly defective, then he deserved it anyway.

Sweeter than he ever expected, the 'Ode to the Great Diamond Authority' spilled past his lips and into the air. Once that barrier was broken, a rush of confidence pushed him forward and made him pour his entire soul into the song. 

Everything blurred together after that moment. Color, sound— it was all one mess of an experience that he didn't fully process until he'd belted out the final note, now posed with one hand to his chest and the other high in the air. At some point he'd even taken a step closer to His Diamond, as if drawn closer to them even in his haze.

Face hot, he immediately retracted back into the stance he'd taken before. Hopefully they didn't take offense to—

"That was so good!" they cheered with a round of applause that echoed through the whole room. Now their grin went all the way up to their eyes and they leaned forward so far that he almost thought they'd topple over. "You have a really pretty voice."

He beamed with pride. "Thank you, My Diamond."

Silence followed. And staring. A lot of staring. All with that grin still firmly in place. It almost put him on edge. Not in a bad way, necessarily. It wasn't like what he'd felt earlier around Gray Diamond. Still, when it lasted for a little too long, he found himself unable to keep his mouth shut.

"Can I help you, My Diamond?"

"Hm?" They blinked several times, as if still processing what he'd asked them. Then they sat back and rested their head in their hand, eyes never leaving him. "Oh, no, not really. I just like looking at you. It's like, woah. I made you. That's just kinda hard to believe, you know? I made a gem, and here he is. Right in front of me. And you're so perfect."

His hands worked faster than his brain. Mezuzah, lock, handle. Warm air wrapped itself around him like a welcoming lover and fought the chill at his back. He stepped inside, more than ready to-

Slam!

Lips hungrily stole a kiss from him as the sound of low, dangerous growling and faint beeps filled his ears. Daniel whimpered, too tired to fight back or even ask what the fuck Snail thought they were doing. No, he just wanted to enjoy it, savor the feeling of being back in their arms. Even if it meant being completely overwhelmed, letting them ravage his mouth while their claws gripped tightly onto his hips.

They pulled back and finally gave him the chance to speak.

"That's one hell of a welcome home," he breathed out. "Sorry I'm so late, the flight got delayed and then traffic was... Um... Snail?"

Breathing heavily, they simply stared at him. Pupils slitted, like when they'd fought off that other alien. They didn't seem pissed this time, at least. Just gone. Primal, almost. Like they were running on pure instinct and nothing else. Their claws dug deeper, tearing through his clothes and getting dangerously close to knicking flesh.

Slowly, they leaned forward until they were pressed flush against him. Their growls resonated in his chest all while those soft beeps picked up. Hot breath ghosted over his ear and sent a torrent of wonderful chills down his spine. An eternity passed, then that low rumble turned into a coherent word.

"Mine."

"Wha- oh!"

In one swift motion, they hefted him over their shoulder and took off up the stairs, their one free hand scrambling against the steps to propel them forward even faster. After a rush of color and movement that had his head spinning, he found himself thrown onto the bed. A high-pitched "oof!" left him and it took a solid moment of grounding himself before he could even see straight.

"Snail, what the hell are you doing!?"

Oh, this was borderline nightmarish. Sharp teeth bared in a snarl, golden eyes focused on him with narrowed slits for pupils, sharp claws kissing his skin once again. And to top it all off, ten wiggling, writhing tentacles surrounded them, all poised in the air like cobras about to strike.

But hey, one man's nightmare was another man's dream come true. He just wanted to know why first. Was that too much to ask?

"Well?" he finally said after an intense staring contest. "Are you going to fucking answer me?"

In the next instant, their teeth and claws got a little too close for comfort, tearing his clothes to shreds. Tentacles would dart in to fling off the scraps from his body and give the occasional grope to his sensitive bits. His thighs seemed to be their favorite target today, how lovely.

"This isn't an answer!"

"Need to fuck," they bit out and grabbed his thighs, spreading his legs open as far as they could go. "Need to fuck now, been so long, be a good little pet and take it."

Yeah, that's about what he expected. Maybe he should've known better than to leave his fuck-hungry alien boyfriend by themself for over a week. But he'd told them that they could jack off! So either they didn't take his advice or it just didn't work. A complete toss-up at this point.

That didn't matter right now, though. What mattered were the tentacles pushing into his ass. And his mouth. And his balled up fists. They really were desperate, weren't they?

Well, now he was too. All he could do about this was just take it and whine as best he could, so why not let himself enjoy it, right? The tentacles in his ass felt great after so long of having to use his fingers. Having Snail so close was exactly what he needed to just release all his tension and be the mindless slut they liked him to be.

"So good," they groaned in his ear, all husky and deep. "So good, so good, so..."

Their words devolved into mindless, animalistic growls. Daniel whimpered as more tentacles pushed into him. This was so much already, and they just had to go even harder too. Not that he minded. No, he was far too gone to care. Even if it did make him a slut.

If his mouth hadn't been full, he would've begged for more. But at least he had other ways of doing it. Desperate whimpers, the occasional buck of his hips. The bad news was that he didn't really have the energy to do much more than that.

The good news was that it didn't matter.

One tentacle wrapped around his dick while their mouth found what little of his neck was exposed. Oh god, those were teeth. Sharp ones. Thrills pumped through him at an alarming rate as they pulled even more moans from him. Somehow they managed to be careful as they brutalized his skin. The sting was never too harsh, it only served to make him cum sooner.

Right as they finished, to be more exact.

Those tentacles didn't spare a single ounce of mercy as they pounded him through his orgasm. After he was all spent, everything became a blur of feeling and color. Lingering pleasure, cum being pumped into him, and a lot of purple. Then emptiness.

That's when he closed his eyes. But he was too riled up to really fall asleep. It was more like a doze. So he heard the soft mutter of "fuck, shit, Daniel?" under Snail's breath.

"Hm?"

"Oh, good, you're okay..."

"Hm..."

That was about it for a little bit. He felt the bed shift, then heard a door. Then running water. His mind slowly began to drift off at that moment, and the last thing he knew was the feeling of a warm cloth pressed to his stomach.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sleep Daniel got that night was heavy. Full of strange dreams, all mostly pleasant. Except for one involving an airplane crash, of course. But that didn't last too long, and he was back in the more pleasant corners of his subconscious before he could even try to wake up.

Eventually his dreams took more of a turn to the... Horny side of things. He couldn't remember any details about when, where, or why, but he remembered the feelings vividly.

It started light. Brushes against his hips and stomach, then up to his chest. A quick pinch to his nipples that made him whimper, before hands trailed back down toward his thighs. Then those hands gripped firmly onto his thighs and spread him open. He felt his own breath hitch as he tried to squirm. But his body was far too heavy to move.

Words in his ear. Soft, whispered. "Pretty". "Eager". "Slut". Among others. But those ones in particular were all he could process.

"Nnn... Wha..."

Soft touches to his dick cleared a little bit of the haze. At this point he realized there was something around his wrists. Bracelets? No, too heavy... And why were his hands above his head?

Something pushed into his ass before he could really wonder. That barely did much for the state of his awareness, though. It was almost like his body was acting without him. Even if it was only the slightest bit helpful, his hips rocked and wiggled as much as they could, all while whimpers spilled out his mouth. He had no control over himself, and he barely even knew what was going on.

"Fuck... Mmm... More..."

Did he mean to say that? Either way, he got what he asked for. His ass stretched even more and whatever was fucking him aimed right for his prostate. Something even moved his legs for him, wrapping them around a warm, soft... Body? Who was this?

Snail, you dumbass.

Right! That made the most sense, actually. Claws, tentacles, all that good stuff. Easy to recognize now.

Their husky voice broke through the fog a bit easier this time as they groaned in his ear, "Yeah? Love this don't you? So fucking tight, my perfect pet... Such a good slut, you'll even let me fuck you while you're..."

Garbled nonsense poured into his head at that point. Oh well. At least now he had a little more control over his body. Instead of pathetic little attempts at movement, he managed to actually start up a rhythm. Sure, it wasn't much, but it was actually something, and it worked in getting him more of those wonderful feelings.

Grip tightening on him, they picked up their own pace. Now each thrust was punctuated by the rough slam of their hips against his. 

Before long, they let out an almost guttural roar that overpowered his needy moans. As they lost all control, he came hard for them, and prepared himself to slip back into the blissful darkness between dreams.

Except... That's not what happened at all.

Slowly, his eyes opened. At first it was just a mess of purple and white. But once he blinked away the haziness, he managed to see more details. Snail's piercing eyes, the stripes on their face, the fact that they were over-top of him and panting very hard. Oh, and did he mention the tentacles making their way back into their body? Or the cum all over him? No? Well, that was an important detail. Because that made the final puzzle piece click into place.

"What..." he started in between ragged breaths. "What the hell...?"

"Ssshhh, just go back to sleep," they cooed in their husky, post-fuck voice that he very much recognized. Their hand ran through his hair, and they let their claws drag along his scalp in the exact way he liked it. "Pretty pet, so good. Get some rest, you deserve it."

He wanted to swat their hand away and curse them out for their bullshit. But instead, he let out a strangled "I can't believe you" and almost sprained his wrist. His attempt at melodrama was painfully ruined by... Something that kept his hands bound to the headboard. It almost looked like one of their tentacles, but that clearly wasn't the case. Too rough, and it only tightened around him with each tug he gave.

"Okay," he said between clenched teeth, eyes trained on a Snail-in-the-headlights, "you have five seconds to explain why I'm tied up and covered in cum."

They swallowed thickly, claws clicking together as they stammered out almost faster than he could process, "Well, okay, you see-"

"Five."

"-what happened was after you came back from your little trip was-"

"Four."

"-I got really, um, well, you know, and last night I kinda fucked you-"

"Three."

"-but this morning I was still kinda, you know, horny, so I thought-"

"Two."

"-'hey, what if I tie Daniel up so I can fuck him whenever, then I-"

"One."

"-wouldn't have to worry about it again!' So I did!"

Daniel glared hard at them. Oh, that was the most idiotic bullshit he'd ever heard in his goddamn life. And no, it didn't send a little jolt of excitement right down to his dick. Why would it? This was a violation of his personal agency! Not some kinky little romp! They just decided this for him, he didn't even have a choice! And now they just expected him to be their living blow-up doll!?

...Goddamn it, he was hard again.

"But, um, yeah. That's about it," Snail added when the tense silence carried on for a little too long. Their nerves seemed to ease, though, and they took a deep breath. "So you're tied up now."

His face burned as he squirmed and pulled even more on his bonds. But it only squeezed tighter, eventually making him give up with a pathetic whimper.

"Careful!" they chastised and touched on the weird alien rope bullshit holding him in place. "It'll only get tighter if you keep doing that. Just relax, okay? I don't want you breaking your little wrists."

"Oh, fuck you!" As fired up as he was, he didn't make the grave error of pulling harder just to spite them. The resounding crack that would've made was already echoing in the back of his head. "Here's a little idea, you could un-fucking-tie me! Or maybe you shouldn't have done it in the first damn place, huh? How about that?"

They reeled back, a cowed look on their face. Then after a moment, that look faded into contemplation as they stared him down. Finally, a glimmer lit up in their eye, one that he already wasn't very fond of.

"I don't think I want to untie you."

The shock of hearing that made all his hot air whoosh out of him into one high pitched, "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I've decided," they said as they hungrily looked him over, tongue dragging along their razor-sharp teeth and claws grabbing at his hips. "I like you like this, all ready for me to play with. You can be loud and scary all you want, but you can't do anything about it, can you?"

"Newsflash, asshole, I have important shit to do!" he reminded them harshly. "What about work, huh? You gonna keep me from doing that?"

"I'll let you call out. It's not like I'll keep you tied up forever. Just until I make up for the last week."

This was getting more and more dire by the second. Any sense of righteous fury he had left gave way to unbridled... Well, not fear, exactly. Worry? Concern? Anticipation? Whatever it was, it also seemed to fuel his boner, much to his embarrassment.

"Okay, well..."

Snail's thumbs swept against the sensitive flesh of his inner thighs. "Well...?"

"Well," he repeated sternly and squeezed his legs shut. "How the hell am I going to eat? I mean, I haven't even had breakfast yet, you know. And I didn't eat at all yesterday, FYI. You're practically dooming me to starve here-"

"Bad pet!" they interrupted and poked a claw at his nose, making him go cross-eyed. "You didn't eat? I told you to!"

"I would've puked it all back up!"

Their face scrunched up into a grimace, then they let out a long sigh. "Alright, fine. I get it. But now you have no excuse, so what do you wanna eat? A bagel? Toast? Yogurt?"

"That's a little skimpy," he muttered, more to himself than to them. His growling stomach readily agreed. But he couldn't ask them to make something too complex. That could end with his house burnt to ashes. "Toast sounds fine, but how about some eggs with it? Just scramble them up and add a little cheese, it'll be fine."

"...Eggs?" they asked as they went pale. "You sure about that?"

With all the tentacle porn he'd watched over the last week, it only took a second for him to get onto the same page.

"It's not anything like whatever your kind might have, I promise. They're bird eggs."

They didn't look super convinced. But still, they leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, then said, "Okay. I'll be right back with your breakfast. Be a good pet and stay put, okay?"

He scowled in response to that smug grin, only to gasp and buck his hips up when a wily finger trailed up his dick.

"Stay hard for me too!"

Bastard.

With them gone, he didn't really have much to keep himself occupied. The strange rope around his wrists had loosened at some point, letting circulation get back to his hands. He gave a quick tug just to test it out. As expected, it tightened around his wrists and pulsated, like it was warning him. Don't try that shit again.

Loud clangs from downstairs jolted him away from his little experiment. It was promptly followed by a "shit!" and some more clattering.

Daniel had to beat down the thought that this would be where he died. In reality, he had full faith in them. At least enough to not destroy his whole life just from trying to do something so simple. At worst, it'd be burnt. That would be easy to deal with. Just smile through it and assure them that they did a wonderful job. 

"Oh! These are hard!"

...Alright, then.

Before long, the deliciously tantalizing smell of cooked eggs wafted into the room. His mouth watered and his stomach let out the most embarrassingly horrendous roar he'd ever heard in his life. Snail probably caught it from where they were, it was that loud.

At least he didn't have to wait an eternity for them to return. And hey, nothing looked burnt.

Beeeeeep. Beeeeeep. Beeeeeep.

"What the hell is that?" he asked, head cocked to the side. It was lower, more droning than the kind of rapid-fire signal he was used to.

"Warning for when you're hungry," they answered casually and took a seat on the bed. Then they scooped up a forkful of eggs and presented it to him, just a mere inch from his mouth. "Now open up! My pretty pet's gonna need a lot of energy for his punishment."

He'd already had his mouth around the fork when he processed that ending remark. His eyes went wide, but he could only watch as they happily offered him a bite of toast next. A punishment couldn't possibly be good news.

Talk like this had been going on for longer than Daniel could remember. And he was so tired of it. So tired of this stupid war. But he wouldn’t back out of it. There was too much at stake. All or nothing, and he’d be taking it all.

“We’ll deal with the Shard Eater as soon as we can,” he said, arms crossed in front of himself as he stared up at the map. “For now, the plan is the same. Fight until the Shard Eater comes. Then retreat. Take care of each other, leave no gem behind. I… I’m sorry I don’t have a better plan for you all.”

“...Purple Diamond would’ve had a plan.”

Daniel jerked his head toward the gem who’d called out. One of the lower level commanders, a Chalcedony, only had charge over a small troop of close-range fighters. But he could easily tell they’d been here from the beginning. Homeworld still had its claws in them.

“Well, they’re not here right now,” he carefully countered, hoping to not cause a scene. This new fire in him always clashed with his Pearl duties. And it had only gotten worse since it first sprung up. “As much as I would love for them to be in my place, I’m the one here, and I’m the one you should listen to.”

All the other gems stayed quiet. Only shot wide-eyed glances at each other. One tried to nudge the unruly Chalcedony, to no avail.

“We were winning the war until we lost them!” they shouted and slammed their hands onto the table. “And now we just have their toy leading us? You think anyone actually believes that you come up with their plans? Purple Diamond was just trying to boost morale. Pearls are only made to look pretty, and that’s a fact.”

In that moment, the two conflicting sides of him came up with two wildly different ideas.

His cold logic of his Pearl nature told him to back down, apologize, and leave. He knew he wasn’t as strong of a leader as His Diamond, and that was a fair point. But he was still a leader nonetheless, and fighting about it wouldn’t help any.

But his white-hot fury told him to scream. To cause a fuss for everyone to see, because how dare this Chalcedony treat him like he was lesser. He wanted to prove a point, to show that he wasn’t a meek pearl, that he wouldn’t take this abuse anymore.

Daniel clasped his hands in front of himself and glared at the Chalcedony. “Tell me, what’s the point of this war?”

They blinked, then let out a huff. “We already know-”

“That doesn’t answer my question. What’s the point of this war?”

He heard a quiet gasp from one of the other gems, no doubt at the simmering anger in his voice. The was the first time he’d ever come close to snapping in front of so many gems.

“To free ourselves from Homeworld,” the Chalcedony muttered, arms crossed in front of themself. In a rush, they also added, as if they wanted him to focus on it, “And stop them from killing more planets.”

“Now that first part,” Daniel said one finger pointed up into the air as he put on a thoughtful look, “what is Homeworld doing that’s so bad? Why do we need to be freed, and not just the planet? We weren’t being killed, so why bother?”

It was a little fun watching them squirm as the pieces clicked into place. They glanced around at the other gems, who all looked away. No one was going to save them from the hole they’d dug.

“Because we weren’t being treated fairly,” they finally answered and shrank in on themself. “We were put into classes based on what we were, and some of us were treated unfairly because of something we couldn’t help.”

“Is that right?” Daniel asked bitterly. No screaming, but he wasn’t going to let them think he wasn’t angry. “Now, what do you think you were doing just now?”

“There’s a difference…”

“What difference is there?” he asked, now heated as he waved an arm to the entire meeting room. “We’re all individuals, we aren’t one way just because of our gems! So take one good look around, and tell me why you chose to put me down for being a Pearl, and not anyone else for what they are!”

They looked around, at all the sizes and colors and shapes of gems. And their mouth opened several times, before they deflated without a single word.

Good. But there was one more point he needed to make.

“What’s your name?”

That made them look up, all contempt on their face replaced with confusion. “Huh?”

Daniel let out an exasperated sigh. “Your name? What do you like to be called?”

“...Ash.”

“Well, Ash,” he said, finally managing a little bit of a more friendly tone. “You can call me Daniel. Now if you're done being stupid, we were in the middle of an important meeting?”

Their cheeks turned red, especially as a couple of the gems around them snickered and poked at their sides. But they didn’t seem terribly insulted, at least. And it was nice to see the solemn mood from before broken, if just for a second.

A deep sigh escaped him, and he went back to business. “Now about the upcoming invasion…”

“Oof!”

“C’mon, Pearl! I thought you were gettin' better!”

Daniel propped himself up on an elbow and grimaced at the taste of dirt in his mouth. That’s what he deserved for getting distracted. His mind had been running wild, trying to figure out how to deal with the Shard Eater. Especially since victories were giving way to stalemates. Soon they’d be facing full-on defeats, and that would be a huge problem.

But he had an idea. He just didn’t know how to bring it up.

Cookie knelt down next to him, and placed a gentle, soothing touch to his shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he muttered, then pushed himself into a sit, legs tucked under his body. The stomping of Mortar’s boots getting closer sent little chills through him, and he couldn’t bring himself to look up. “But I need to talk to you two about something.”

A moment later, Mortar plopped down to the ground and asked, voice gruff, “What is it?”

Okay. Here went nothing.

“Would you two be willing to lead a charge against the Shard Eater?”

Their answers were instant and simultaneous.

“Yes.”

“No way!”

Mortar shot Cookie a stunned look, his usually present confidence shattering into pieces. “We can’t do this, it’s too dangerous.”

Cookie had a small, but firm, frown set in his face. “You fight all the time, Michael.”

“Yes, because I’m fighter, you-”

“Can fight too…”

“But you are soft, if you get hurt-”

“And what about you?” Cookie interrupted again, tears well up in his eyes and hands pressed against his chest. “I worry so much about whether or not I’ll see you again… But now I can make sure you’re okay. We can… We can stay together.”

Daniel really felt for Cookie. “If it helps,” he offered, hoping to sway things in his favor, “I want you to be fused. My plan is to fight the Shard Eater with a battalion of fusions.”

Mortar narrowed his eyes. “Fusions? Why?”

“Because Homeworld doesn’t know what love like that can do,” Daniel answered honestly, thinking back to his first hand experience of how strong a fusion could be. “I figured it was about time they learned the hard way.”

That didn’t seem to fully convince him. And his uncertainty only seemed to grow when Cookie grabbed his hand. The two of them looked at each other, so tender, and Daniel suddenly felt like an intruder on their moment. Especially as that jealousy sprang back up. Soft, tender words were spoken between them, ones that he couldn’t quite hear.

It hurt so much. He wanted this. But he simply gritted his teeth and waited.

Then they kissed, and he almost felt himself telling them to take it somewhere else before a glow washed over them. In the next second, their fusion had replaced them both, eye wide and hands pressed firmly into their lap.

“Sorry!”

“...Excuse me?”

They glanced off to the side, an almost angry pout on their face. “I said I’m sorry. For what I did to you when we first met. Um, Mortar doesn’t really like apologizing, the only time he can really do it is when he’s fused, you know? Oh, and by the way, the name’s Red Velvet!” They let out a giggle. “Since we didn’t get to meet properly and all that.”

“Right, nice to meet you, Red Velvet,” Daniel said slowly, not quite sure if he wanted to believe that. Mortar could apologize? Maybe this was the Cookie talking. “Anyway, I’m guessing you remember what I asked Mortar and Cookie?”

“Of course, silly!” That grin on their face turned into a more thoughtful look as they pressed a finger to their lips. “So, what’s the plan?”

Daniel stared down at all the gems talking among themselves. From the view of the star platform he’d made, he could see just about every last one of them. The couples, the trios, the relationships with even more, the friends who just had really strong bonds. There were so many, all willing and ready to fuse and fight for the Earth. A few of them even pointed him out and waved, clearly excited to be given this chance.

Stunned, he waved back.

As soon as he set foot back at the base camp, Mortar ambushed him.

“Everyone’s askin’ for speech,” he said with a slight sneer on his face. “I don’t do pep talks, and Cookie is too nervous to get in front of so many gems. You’re the one with big mouth, can you take care of it?”

Daniel’s eye twitched. Big mouth? Whatever, it wasn’t that important. So he simply nodded and began mentally preparing the speech everyone wanted.

Half an hour later, he stood in front of all the gems, raised up on his star, arms behind his back, chin held up high. It was habit to speak from this height. Made him feel like things were just a little more… As they should be.

“Thank you, everyone,” he started, quieting the low murmur of the crowd before him.”When I made the announcement for willing fusions to join this special troop, well… We didn’t quite expect so many of you. Purple Diamond would be proud to see you all here, I’m sure.”

That was another habit. Saying that His Diamond would be proud. It was the truth, after all. And it made him feel better.

“This is no doubt the most dangerous mission we’ve taken on yet,” he said, and the air suddenly grew more heavy. Cold. The clouds above blocked out a little more sunlight. “The Shard Eater is our greatest enemy at the moment. Its taken so many of us. And you all are the bravest gems I’ve ever met for facing it willingly.”

Suddenly, it hit him that he might not see half of these faces ever again. A terrible pang went through him.

“But this time,” he said, voice low, but still just loud enough for everyone to hear. But with each word, he raised it, put more passion into it, amped himself up even more and put his all into what he was saying. “This time, we’ll be the ones coming out on top. We’ll strike down that Shard Eater, and when we go home, we’ll be able to tell everyone that the Diamonds are next! We’ll avenge the fallen! Show no mercy!”

The crowd roared with excited energy, and started up a chant.

“No mercy! No mercy! No mercy!”

It was both pleasing and… Not. For some reason, this didn’t feel like something His Diamond would want.

A dark shadow loomed overhead. He tried to pay it no mind, until it plopped right into the middle of the crowd, completely still for just a moment. The countless screams chorused together as it opened its gaping maw.

No! This wasn’t supposed to happen!

He watched, frozen in horror as it ignored all the other gems and made a beeline right for him. Closer, closer, closer. Why couldn’t he move? He needed to go, His Diamond, if their sacrifice was for nothing-

A knife suddenly shot past his head and embedded itself into the inky body of the Shard Eater. As it let out a terrible, pained screech, Red Velvet appeared right next to him, for just a moment.

“Move, dummy!”

Finally, he managed to get a hold of  himself and raise the platform up higher, out of the Shard Eater’s reach. Down below, flashes of color and light surrounded the Shard Eater, fusions taking form and leaping right into battle. It was an absolute free-for-all, every last one going after the Shard Eater as it ignored them and fruitlessly stretched its form up, one clawed hand reaching out to him.

From the edges of the battle, Red Velvet flashed in an out, throwing knives, a sadistically gleeful grin on their face. Other fusions shot out beams of light, slashed multiple blades through the air, fired shots from a distance. Scorching fire, spikes of glass, thorn covered vines. It was so much to take in.

With each strike, the Shard Eater would screech and only try harder to reach him. Daniel could see its body trying to stitch itself back together, and it just barely managed to repair the damage done to it fast enough.

Something else needed to be done. And he was in the perfect position to completely tear through it.

He leaned over the edge of his star and stared down into the pool of black filled with sharp white teeth. From here he couldn’t even see the glimmer of shards and color that he knew were inside. A part of him wondered if His Diamond was in there.

Don’t think about it. Or about how mad they’d be at him for doing something this reckless. Deep breaths. One, two, three.

Then he dove headfirst off the platform.

Sky now below his feet, he created two of his star blades and spun around as quickly as he could. Blues and grays swirled around him, making him dizzy, so he simply closed his eyes and hoped for the best. This would work, it had to, because if it didn’t-

The most terrible, gem-like scream filled the air and nearly poofed Daniel on the spot. But he willed his form to stay, forced himself to cut through more and more the the darkness that tried to swallow him whole. Louder and louder, closer and closer, the noise was all Daniel could think about, until he felt a weak touch against his arm, something that almost felt like a hand.

“Angel!”

That was a word. An actual word, filled with so much sorrow, it resonated deep inside him. Oh no, this thing was…?

Thanks to the Shard Eater, his descent was slowed down enough that he simply hit the ground with a thud when its body was fully chipped away. He sat up, his whole form aching, the screeches still on his mind even in this blissful silence.

“What should we do with this? Shatter it?”

Daniel looked up at Red Velvet, who held the gem that Daniel realized was the Shard Eater’s very own. Red with white melted into its center. Gingerly, he took it, and looked around.

So many shards. Different colors and makes, all surrounding him in the most horrendous scene he’d ever had the misfortune to be a part of. Something inside him lurched. He’d said no mercy for this very reason, but…

“It’ll be okay.”

He glanced over to Snail just in time for them to gingerly take his hand, like he was made of fine china they didn’t want to break. In a quiet whisper, he asked, “How can you be sure?”

They snorted and gave him a toothy grin. “Because I’m gonna kick that guy’s ass.”

Well, if they had one thing going for them, it was sheer confidence. But they hadn’t seen him. The fucker was even bigger than they were. Wide and tall, though Daniel still had just a bit of edge on him in height. Even so, he only managed to get away mostly unscathed because of sheer luck. Something told him that if things went south, Snail wouldn’t be so lucky,

God, this fight was going to be brutal. Which is why he and Snail had decided to wait at the park instead of the house. There weren’t many people around at this time, and Daniel wouldn’t run the risk of having to rebuild his home from the ground up. What a fucking pain that would’ve been.

And all from alien bullshit that could’ve easily been avoided had he just listened.

Snail’s grip on his hand tightened and he saw them perk up. In the next second, they pulled their lips back to show their teeth, narrowed all four eyes dangerously, pupils just paper-thin slits, and began to let out a low, terrifying rumble. It even looked like they stopped breathing, every muscle in the body tense and still, like a bear trap that only needed a single touch to go off.

Holy fuck. Well, Daniel knew what his next nightmare would be about.

He followed their line of sight. Just within the forest line was that bastard alien with his stupid fucking smirk and his predatory eyes that looked like they were undressing Daniel right at that very moment. A shudder went through him at the thought, and he could feel the collar on his neck get even more uncomfortably tight. Only Snail could look at him like that.

“So you really got your old owner to fight for you,” the fucker said, then let out a barking laugh, an almost crazed look on his face. “Alright, more fun for me. Maybe seeing me tear this fucker apart will get my little pet to- oof!”

Snail had booked it over to the alien in about a second flat, a loud roar bellowing out of them as they tackled him to the ground and began wailing on him.

“My pet!” they snarled after their second hit. “Only mine! My Daniel!”

...They were really doing it. Good god, they were holding their own! Daniel almost felt elated, at least until they got easily thrown off and slammed into a nearby tree. A cold jolt went through him at the crack of their skull against wood, and he wished that he could do something to help instead of play the damsel in distress.

Now it was their turn to get it with a barrage of punches and claws. But they recovered more quickly than the asshole alien did, and in the next second the beatdown turned into some sort of strange, animalistic wrestling match. Like something you’d see in a wildlife documentary.

Daniel winced every time he saw purple skin get sliced open, and cheered when it was returned to that orange bastard. But he knew he couldn’t keep watching this. No, at some point he’d start being a dumbass and try going in there to help Snail, and he’d either get hurt or really fuck Snail up somehow.

What could he do?

His heart pounded in his chest as the growling and garbled words of alien language got louder. Damn it, this was too much, and of course he had to be usele-

Wait. Heart pounding. Sensor. Collar. Break the collar!

Easy enough, right? All he had to do was find a sharp rock and try not to stab himself. That asshole was fully occupied by one pissed off Snail, so no one would be able to stop him.

So he got to work and scoured the ground from something he could use. Too small, too round, too big, fuck, there wasn’t a single one he could use? No, he had to keep looking, it was there, he just needed to find it! Even if he had to get on his damn hands and knees, fuck this suit, he could get a new one!

A strange rolling grumble that sounded like his name caught his ear. He looked up and saw that Snail had the fucker up by his throat against a tree, his face almost turning a sickly purple as he struggled for breath. They said something else, too low for Daniel to hear even if he could understand, their jagged teeth just an inch away from tearing into the alien’s face.

Well, that was perfect, in just a second Snail would be able to-

Nope. The fucker hit them with one well-aimed knee aimed right at their weakest point, and the fight only got worse from there.

He ignored the pang of guilt on his stomach and hurried up his search. One way or another, he was going to prove that fuckhead wrong. Daniel Nadiva was his own man and only he could say who he belonged to. And guess what, fucker, he already had an owner!

Halfway beneath a picnic table, he found the perfect rock. It was a little too sharp on the sides, he could’ve easily fucked his hand up if he held it too tight. But it would work.

Scrambling back to his feet- and nearly hitting his head on the table in the process- Daniel held the rock firmly in one hand, and felt around his collar with the other. Right at the front was a hairline crack where the two ends clicked together. His best chance. Even as the rock bit into his hand, he didn’t hesitate as he swung it down against the collar. It didn’t feel like it did much, to be quite honest. Except make the sensitive marks on his neck protest the friction.

A loud cry broke his concentration on the next swing, and he just barely stopped himself from accidentally jamming it into his throat.

The alien bastard had Snail pinned face-first to the ground, one foot on their back, claws digging into their arm as he pulled it back. And Snail looked so tired, even as they gritted their teeth and struggled against him. Even Daniel could hear the little whimpers they were letting out, intermingled with their snarls.

They wouldn’t last much longer like this.

“Hey!”

Daniel hadn’t realized he yelled that until two sets of eyes were on him, one wide with panic and the other cocky. But he swallowed down the lump in his throat and held the rock up for the asshole alien to see.

“You wanna know something, you fucking bastard?” he asked, relieved that some of the pressure on Snail had been lifted.

The alien chuckled. “Pets shouldn’t speak-”

“Shut the fuck up, I’m talking here!”

That, to his utter delight, seemed to stun the alien into silence. So while Daniel had his full attention, he swung the rock down into the collar, and he felt a little more give this time around.

“Stop!” the alien growled, immediately forgetting about Snail to stalk closer to him. “Do that again and I’ll-”

Daniel didn’t even let him finish before he ‘did that again’, only harder. It stung like hell, and he could feel blood dripping down his hand, but he didn’t care. Whether he got this collar off or not, he would at least prove a fucking point to this shit-for-brains.

“You’re not my owner!” he said with another slam of the rock into the collar. “And you’ll never be my owner!”

The alien only got closer, teeth bared and eyes narrowed. But Daniel easily ignored him, too pumped up on adrenaline and hatred.

“Because I’m an Eleven-” slam!- “and you’re just a fucking one!”

Closer and closer, but Daniel had enough wits about him to scramble back, even if he could barely outpace him. He nearly stumbled over an exposed root as he scraped the rock against his collar once again, finally shoving it in enough to try and pry it apart.

“No, a Zero!” he continued, even as he felt his back hit against a tree. “A pathetic Zero of an owner who can only get a pet by stealing from someone a lot more competent than you!”

There wasn’t enough time to try and circle around the tree before the alien was right up on him. Tentacles slowly came out, hovering around menacingly while the alien said through gritted teeth, “You need to be taught a lesson. And I’m sure an Eleven like you can take a lot, can’t you?”

Oh god. This was it. He squeezed his eyes shut and steeled himself. This was for Snail. He’d saved their life, at least, now they could get away while he-

“Don’t fucking touch my boy!”

Daniel barely had time to open his eyes and process what was happening before it was over. Snail had tackled the alien and gone absolutely feral, tearing into him. It was just a flurry of claws and blood, then nothing. They stood over top an barely moving body, looking powerful, victorious, chest heaving with ragged breaths.

“Oh my god,” he said quietly, more to himself than anything. “That was… Holy fuck.”

Snail immediately hurried over, claws digging into the collar as they pressed a fiery kiss to his lips. The low rumble in their chest was less dangerous now, more soothing as they snapped that collar off and dropped the broken bits of metal. Their hands then went to his jaw, cupping against him as the kiss deepened.

Finally, his body kicked into gear enough to happily enjoy the kiss, arms wrapped around them while his heart soared in his chest. And all the panic and worry faded away, becoming nothing more than a bad memory.

When they pulled back, he said between gulps of air, “Let’s get cleaned up.”

“Daniel!” Snail whined as he scrubbed down one of their tentacles as furiously as he could without hurting them. “I don’t know why it’s such a big deal!”

“Are you fucking kidding me!?” he snapped and moved onto the next one, ignoring the four that were trying to get a little grabby on him now. “We’ve been together for how long now, and this is your first goddamn shower! You’ve had your dicks inside me! Your unwashed tentacle-dicks have been inside my asshole! And my mouth!”

“But they’re clean!”

“Bullshit! Now shut up and hold still!”

He continued to clean Snail up, a deep scowl on his face as he thought on how the fuck he got here. Once the two of them had gotten home, Snail whipped out some alien band-aids for them both. Weird bullshit that almost melded perfectly to his hand, except it was a bright purple, the exact same shade as their skin.

And he’d asked, “Can you shower with these on?”

A normal question, right? But their responses was, “What’s a shower?”

Now, maybe they just didn’t know the word for it. English wasn’t their first language, That was fine. So he brought them up to the bathroom and showed them what the shower was, turned it on, pointed to the soaps, figuring they would understand.

But no. Apparently, they’d never used a goddamn shower in their life. Or a bath. Or anything to clean themselves.

So here they both were. Snail thoroughly scrubbed aside from five of their tentacles, and Daniel unable to believe that he’d let this happen. They’d never seemed particularly dirty, but he’d been tricked. And after he spent so long swooning over his strong alien owner, his hero. Only to find they were filthier than the inside of a public bathroom.

He hurried through cleaning the rest of their tentacles, even letting a couple of the clean ones touch on his ass for their good behavior. A stern look at Snail kept them from doing too much, so it was fine. And once he pulled back, he could fully admire his handiwork.

And the ten swarming, wiggling tentacles around him, closing in.

He swallowed thickly, but excitement pooled inside him nonetheless. After everything that had happened today, a good fuck would be a nice little treat, right?

Even though he knew they could see how hard he was already, he scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine. I guess since you defended my honor, you deserve a little something. And what’re pets for?”

A quiet “fuck” answered him as he turned around and basically presented himself. Bent over and placed his hands against the wall so they could really see his ass, right there and ready for the taking. A quiet gasp left him when he felt a tentative hand grip onto his hip, brushing over the little injuries he still had there.

“Are you sure?”

“Just hurry up and fuck me!” he whined out. They couldn’t keep him waiting now, that wasn’t fair! “If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have- oh!”

A tentacle on his dick made his brain stop working for just a moment. It was gentle, almost sweet, as it wrapped around and began to pump him. His hips started going without permission, bucking forward to try and get more of those tortuously good feelings.

But they hitched when another tentacle decided to pay attention to his thighs, giving light touches to his sensitive skin. Another joined the fray, taking over his other thigh with even more soft attention that nearly had him trembling. Fuck, were they trying to tease him? Or was it just that even their tentacles knew how much he needed something softer this time around?

“Good boy,” they managed to say into his ear, voice husky and sweet. “So pretty. All mine.”

“I’d be even prettier with your damn tentacles in me…”

Two tentacles pushed their way into his mouth, and he let out a whine around them. Not what he meant. But he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed having his mouth full as much as his ass.

“Just let me take care of you,” they cooed, thumbs sweeping over his hips as they pressed little kisses into his neck. “You deserve it for being a good pet, don’t you? Wanna just… Just relax and get a nice treat?”

One hand slid up his back to grip onto his hair. He let out a low moan that jumped up in volume as two tentacles pushed their way into his ass without warning. He just barely managed to keep himself up, and after just a moment, they began to fuck him. Hard and thorough, but not quite fast. Like they were savoring it and proving a point all at once.

And he couldn’t help but to moan his approval.

“Love your… Your noises. So pretty. And you feel so good, nice and tight, so perfect for me… Bet you want more, huh?”

He’d just gotten used to the tentacles inside him when two more decided to join. His moans turned into needy whines and whimpers, just barely muffled. The stretch was so good, fuck, but he could barely stand as it was. If it weren’t for Snail hooking their arm around his waist, he would’ve no doubt collapsed right then.

Their lips brushed right against the marks on his neck, and his breath hitched. Proof that he was theirs, only theirs. Some primal part of his brain loved the thought.

The touches on his thighs got more rough as the tentacle on his dick sped up. In fact, everything sped up. Likes suddenly they wanted to really wreck him. Which he didn’t mind at all. He could get more gentle romance some other time.

“You’re mine,” they almost growled out, and suddenly it all made sense. “Only good at taking my dicks. No one else’s.”

Daniel whimpered and nodded an agreement. A jolt of pleasure when through him as they pointedly hit that good spot- no doubt as a reward. If he hadn’t felt like jelly, he would’ve been putting more energy into fucking against them, getting more of their tentacles. The one on his dick, the ones in his mouth, his ass, they all felt so good, he couldn’t get enough.

“Got one more,” they panted out, right before he felt it push its way into his eager ass.

Honestly, he was surprised he didn’t cum right then. Sure, it happened after just a few more seconds of rough fucking and hair pulling, but still. And when he finally did, with loud moans that even their tentacles couldn’t keep quiet, they groaned out their approval right in his ear and filled him up with their cum. Another stake to their claim on him.

Most of their tentacles drew back into them right away, but a couple lingered behind for a brief moment to leave ginger, loving touches to his face. He hummed in delight, especially when they next thing Snail did was scoop him up into their arms.

“I didn’t get the chance to tell you, but your collar got fixed earlier,” they said as they carried him out of the shower and grabbed a towel for him. “Wanna go take care of that real quick?”

He smiled and nuzzled into them. “Of course. But turn the damn water off first, you’re gonna raise my bill.”

Daniel cartwheeled forward to dodge a knife flying through the air, and in return shot out a star. Its blades cut through the dirt as it shot across the ground, shape lost to the blur of momentum, aimed right for Mortar and his stupid cocky smirk. As expected, he leapt out of the way, but Daniel had a new little trick he’d been dying to try out.

As he landed on his feet, he held both his clenched fists forward, pressed together at first, only to split them apart, arms flying back in a wide arc and hands flattening out for flare. To his delight, the star followed his example, splitting into two smaller blades, both going even faster as they drifted into reckless turns and shot back his way.

Mortar appeared right in front of him, grin wicked, knife glinting in his hand, poised low to finish him off.

Daniel only grinned back.

The stars cut through Mortar’s form, and Daniel took delight in the split-second he got to see that stunned look before poof. A quick laugh escaped him- it had actually worked!

But it was a pyrrhic victory, as he too was cut down by his own blade.

Even inside the sanctuary of his gem, he could feel the humiliation plague him. So he hadn’t fully thought that out. But, it still worked. That move simply needed a little tweaking.

His Diamond would be so proud of him.

Daniel popped back into existence with the help of Cookie’s healing aura, nestled in his arms on the ground, a huge grin on his face as he took in the sight of Mortar glaring down at him. The aura lingered, making him feel bold. Or perhaps it was something else? Either way, he had a few choice words that he couldn’t hold back.

“Was that the best you could do, pyrite?”

Mortar sneered down at him, then let out a huff and offered a hand that Daniel eagerly took. Once he was on his feet, Mortar roughly elbowed him in the side- ouch, that would leave a mark- and said, “Not bad for an upper crust. Maybe you’re not as useless as I thought.”

“Michael.”

“Well, ya know what I mean,” he grumbled with an almost pout thrown Cookie’s way. “You’re not as good as me, probably won’t ever be, but not bad. For a Pearl.”

“Michael!”

Cookie turned to Daniel, eyes wide and face flushed, stammered words coming out of his mouth so quickly that he couldn’t quite catch them. Before this could continue on for too long, Mortar grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in for a kiss. Cookie visibly eased, all signs of frustration and anxiety melting away as he eagerly received the kiss. His arms even looped around Mortar’s body, pulling him in even closer.

Daniel watched this as impassively as he could. But a heated bloom sprung up in his gem. Unpleasant. Like it was never meant to be. Like it went against everything he was made to do. Like it was a vile thing he had to hide away, because of course he could never have a bad thought, no, that wasn’t fit for a Pearl.

His Diamond would hate it.

“Anyway,” Mortar said after he took his sweet time pulling away, that stupid smirk on his face as he held a stunned Cookie. “We’re done trainin’ for today.”

“So soon?” Daniel asked with one eyebrow raised, and his arms crossed. His words were carefully chosen to keep the heat inside, but his tone gave him away. “That didn’t seem long enough to fill your sadistic little ‘poof Daniel’ quota.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Cookie cut in as he blinked away the lingering effects of the kiss. A small smile took over his face, and he have Mortar a side-glance. “But… We, um, we have plans today. The human city has a nice little garden, and...”

His lips drew into a thin line.

Cookie’s eyes grew wide. “Unless! Unless, of course, um, you want to train more…”

“No, no,” he said and waved the two of them off casually, nose in the air. “I need to look over reports anyway. Check in with the troops and all that. You two have fun with your plans. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Only when they walked away, chattering, laughing, hanging off each other with so much love in their eyes, did the heat plaguing Daniel start to fade. A dull, throbbing ache lingered behind, and he couldn’t shake it off no matter how hard he tried. Not even when he was left alone, with nothing but the vast sky and the stars above him.

“I’m home, My Diamond!”

The doors slid closed behind Daniel as he padded into the throne room, hands laced in front of himself. He kept a gentle smile on his face, as if the portrait watching him could really see. As if they’d really judge him for showing the turmoil brewing beneath this facade.

“A lot happened today,” he said pleasantly as he took a seat on the throne. “Our troops are pushing against Homeworld’s invasion better than ever. For the most part.”

A wave of nausea washed over him. Against Red or Gray’s troops, the rebellion could easily win over. But that Shard Eater…

“Anyway,” he continued as he closed his eyes, pretending that His Diamond was there with him. Running their hand through his hair, touching on his gem in the perfect way to make him feel all pleasantly warm and safe. “We’re making progress. And we’re going to get you back. I’ve been training as hard as I can. You were right: Mortar is our most adept soldier. I knew I couldn’t have picked anyone else.”

The silence that followed was deafening. And just thinking about Mortar- and by extension, Cookie- made that vile feeling from before flare up.

“I’m surprised he and Cookie didn’t fuse again today. They were all over each other.”

Daniel laced his hands together in his lap. He had to control himself. But these feelings, he wanted to scream. He wanted to yell and cry and just let out how unfair it all was. Except he didn’t know what was unfair about it. And he knew he had to keep it all inside.

“I wonder what it’s like to… To fuse.” His face grew hot, hotter than his gem, and more pleasant. “Or kiss. Or have plans. Nice plans that have nothing to do with the war.”

From here, he couldn’t see the portrait smiling down on the room. So he summoned a star and projected His Diamond’s image onto it. Just as he perfectly remembered. And he sat there for a long, quiet moment while he basked in His Diamond’s radiance. No one could outshine them or snuff out that wonderful light.

But the other Diamonds tried. And now Daniel was alone, stuck halfway in the dark with nothing but the faintest glow to comfort him.

No fusion. No kisses. No plans.

“Why does Mortar get to have all that?”

The question left him before he could stop it, and he immediately pressed his hands to his mouth to keep from saying something else he’d regret. Mind abuzz, he scrambled for some reasoning, a defense that ultimately didn’t matter but he felt compelled to give anyway.

“I mean, of course, not that I want any of our gems to not have someone to love,” he rambled out and stood from the throne, nervous energy too much for him to keep still. He padded over to the window and looked down at the city below. “But, well, Mortar is such a brute, and I just... Seeing him and Cookie- I’m happy for them, but it feels awful and I don’t know why, it- it just makes me so angry.”

He summoned another star and reached into it. His hand closed around what he was looking for, and with a flourish, he pulled his replica sword from its depths. Even though it was forsaken as a weapon, holding it still brought him a sense of comfort. And he needed that right then.

“All our gems have someone to go home to,” he rambled on as the tip of his sword fell to the ground with a sharp clang. “All of them except me.”

That was wrong. Logically, he knew it was. He’d been there for weeping gems, the ones who’d been left behind while their partners went into battle. The ones who had to watch their loved one’s shards return to the Earth. He’d given honors, let those left behind keep mementos and hold privileges that the shattered couldn’t keep.

“I’m not the only one who’s lost someone, I know that, My Diamond.” He pressed his free hand to his face, eyes stinging from his vain attempt at keeping everything inside. “But everyone else has friends to turn to. Someone to hold them and tell them that everything will be okay, it’ll all be fine, we can get through this together.”

Tears slipped through his fingers, and his shoulders shook as he tried to hold back his sobs. “But what about me? I have to be strong. I have to lead. And they all put me on this distant pedestal. I’m Purple Diamond’s Pearl. Just as unbreakable as you are. I have to be.”

Everything hurt, and he dropped to his knees. Pressure, so much pressure. Layering and layering of cold isolation. Duties, obligations, everything that he couldn’t crack under. Each day that passed only made the weight heavier. Thoughts of His Diamond plagued him, bittersweet, unwavering, pushing him through the pain while inflicting most of it. This was who he had to be.

Right?

“I’m just Daniel,” he muttered through his sorrow, too cold to move, tears blurring the kind face of His Diamond. “I’m weak. I can’t do this alone. I… I can hardly imagine you doing this alone. We at least had each other, but now...”

For the millionth time, his last moments with His Diamond replayed in his head. And their final words to him echoed in his head.

“That’s an order, Pearl,” he repeated softly, but with a growing venom with each word. “Don’t even think about disobeying Your Diamond again.”

Slowly, he got to his feet with the help of his sword, using it like a crutch while his form tried to collapse again. A fire bloomed inside him, and he glowered down at the ground, unable to meet His Diamond’s eyes.

“That’s an order, Pearl?” he asked with disbelief. His Diamond never talked to him like that. Not genuinely. But they meant it right then. Truly meant it, that ferocity in their voice unwavering. “Don’t even think about disobeying Your Diamond again?”

His fists clenched at his side. Hold it in, Pearls don’t act like this, he was a perfect Pearl, meek and mellow, unbothered by anything that didn’t go against is Diamond.

“That’s an order, Pearl!?” A flawed part of him swung his sword up, and he pointed it right at His Diamond’s visage as it slowly melted into that glare he hated, haloed by inky black. “What kind of final words are those, Snail!? Why not ‘everything will be okay’!? Or ‘I just want you to be safe’!? No, I’m just a Pearl to you!”

As soon as the word ‘Pearl’ was spat out, he turned and thrusted his sword into the glass pane in front of him. Cracks spread from where it poked through, and Daniel watched in dawning horror. He put his hands over his mouth, stepping back and leaving the sword embedded, with the hope that the window would remain intact. 

Not even a second passed before the glass shattered and showered him in crystalline shards. They sliced thin cuts into his arms as he shielded himself, and he winced at the loud clatter of his sword falling to the floor.

The doors behind him slid open, followed by a familiar, shocked gasp.

“D-Daniel!”

In his daze, he was easily pulled away from the mess as a soothing aura washed over him. He glanced down and finally registered Cookie’s presence. Slowly, his eyes moved over to take in Mortar, still standing awkwardly in the doorway with a tray of… Something in hand.

After a minute, he found his voice as asked, “What…?”

Cookie looked up at him earnestly, concern shining in his eyes. “You looked upset earlier and… Michael and I thought that, um… After our date, we could come keep you company? The humans taught me how to make food, and we thought you’d like to try some.”

Those words were almost inconceivable. He stared, tears still falling down his face freely. Even so, the ache in his gem dulled for the first time in forever. Was Cookie using his power still?

For a brief moment, Cookie looked past Daniel. Then, softly, he said, “You really miss them a lot...”

Daniel’s whole body seized as everything he’d been feeling up until that point crashed against each other. Choking on his words, he just barely managed to get out, “M-More than anything. Everything I do is for them.”  His fists clenched, and his flaws pulled him from Cookie to glare at the image still on his star. “And they left me. The traitor, couldn’t even give me good final words, they... They only saw me as a Pearl right up to the end!”

“U-Um, you don’t know that,” Cookie said in a surprisingly firm tone as he grabbed Daniel’s arm and pulled his attention back toward him. But that confidence quickly drained out of him. “Snail, they… I’m sure they didn’t...”

“You didn’t know them like I did,” he muttered darkly, the tone not meshing well with his pleasant Pearl voice. “You didn’t hear what they said to me.”

Cookie had no reply. He looked lost, shaken, eyes wide and lip quivering.

“...Are ya kidding me? I thought pearls weren’t stupid”

Mortar stomped over, unperturbed by the glare Daniel was shooting his way, or the stressed look on Cookie’s face. He wasn’t quite as menacing with the block of pastel pinks and purples in his arms, but that didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t be argued with right now. As soon as Daniel opened his mouth, Mortar cut him off.

“Snail said all that to protect you,” he bit out in a tone that sure made Daniel feel dumb. “You realize that Shard Eater was dead-set on gettin’ ya, right? I was there, I saw it. I woulda said the same thing to Cookie if it was us. A lil hurt’s better than seein’ someone ya love get shattered. And as if they really wanted to say that ever, ya wouldn’t believe all the gushin’ they did when ya weren’t around.” His voice raised to a mocking pitch. “‘Daniel’ this and ‘Daniel’ that, ‘Daniel’s so great, so smart, he said something real funny the other day’.”

No. He didn’t want to hear it. The pain of knowing that they actually sacrificed themself for him, that was infinitely more unbearable than believing that they’d betrayed themself with those last words.

Cookie chose that moment to speak up, “I… I know it hurts… But I’m sure Snail is real sorry… Wherever they are, I imagine they must be as torn up over it as you are. And when we get them back, you two will be able to, um… Talk about it?”

At that moment, his will shattered. His Diamond. He’d such cruel things about His Diamond. The one gem who meant everything to him. What would they think of him now? Would they forgive him? He didn’t know. And he’d be asking that question indefinitely. Haunted by his own defective feelings until he could finally get closure.

“You and I both know that I’m not.”

“But you look it!”

Clearly he wasn’t going to get anywhere like this. So he took a deep breath, hands splayed out in the air so he could shake off some of this frustrated energy. They were coming from a good place. And look, he didn’t have nearly as much experience with others of their… Kind as they did. So maybe there could be a compromise.

Turning toward them, he flipped his hair back and said, “Alright. If you want me to look claimed, then do it the human way.”

They blinked owlishly, one claw frozen right up by their hair. “Huh?”

“Claim me the human way,” he repeated, arms crossed and hip cocked out. “Give me a lovebite.”

That stunned look didn’t leave their face. In fact, they only tilted their head and looked even more lost, almost like a puppy. It was cute, but he didn’t have time for this.

“Right here.” With a lone finger, he drew out a line where his collar once rested, goosebumps rising up in his skin from the almost too-strange feeling. “Just use your mouth and suck. It’ll leave a mark that’ll last for a good while, and everyone here on Earth will know I’m taken.”

Their eyebrows furrowed together, and they eyed up his neck, a small frown on their face. “Are you sure you want me doing that? I mean…”

For a second, his attention was drawn to their teeth almost glinting dangerously, the sharp, jagged points making his heart skip. He swallowed thickly and recalled all the little nips they’d given him in the past, right above his collar. Quick little stings that felt nice, but also made some deep, paranoid part of his brain go wild.

But really, as if Snail would ever hurt him, even accidentally. Well, besides the many instances of sore ass they gave him. That was different. And it only further proved how wrapped around his little finger they were.

“You won’t be using your teeth,” he finally said in a watered-down version of his “you dumbass” tone.  “At least, not that much. Really, it’s mostly just sucking. Do you want me to show you?”

That was supposed to be sarcastic. Condescending. Part of his Daniel Nadiva Brand Sass™. A loaded question that they’d either scoff or pout at because as if they’d need to be shown how to do something so simple.

But no. They nodded, eyes wide as they stared him down almost expectantly.

His face grew warm. “Really? You know the only way is to just do it, right?”

Another nod. Oh boy.

The heat in his face didn’t cool down as he stepped in close. With a quick kiss to their lips- mostly to cool his own nerves- he said, “Alright, head back, or else this’ll be awkward.”

Their face grew a darker shade of purple, but they obeyed and watched him carefully. He grabbed their chin just to ensure they wouldn’t get in the way and pressed his lips to their skin. High, it had to be high. For no particular reason. No, he wasn’t afraid that maybe someone out there would try to woo his Snail. Not at all.

...Okay, even he knew that was a huge lie.

He started with a gentle kiss, which earned a nice little hum. Then he got to the main event. It was an unfamiliar experience- not necessarily new, but it had been a long while since he’d done this at all. As usual, he preferred receiving.

Oh well. He was charitable enough to give where it counted.

Snail’s soft noises and hums fueled him, and he was happy that they seemed to at least be enjoying themself a little. As the cherry on top, they put a hand to the back of his head, fingers curling through and grabbing his hair. Oh, how nice.

When he pulled back, he let a scowl cross his face. The mark he left was noticeable enough, despite being abysmally small. “Well,” he muttered almost bitterly, “it’s been a while, but you get the-”

Suddenly, he found himself almost pushed against the wall, Snail’s free hand now on his hip, body pressed against him. His breath hitched when he noticed the hunger in their eyes- which were glued to his throat. It was like a switch flipped, their possessive nature taking over with a flash of large, sharp teeth.

Fuck.

“Sir… Are you okay?”

Daniel’s neck throbbed as he typed away on his computer. Emails, emails, emails, so many emails. Fucking bullshit, he hated this. “Yes, Sam. I’m fine.”

“...Are you sure about that?”

“I’m sorry, do you know about my physical condition better than I do?” he asked with a scowl. “Are you a doctor? Was that something you left out on your resume? Please, enlighten me on why I wouldn’t be okay.”

She rolled her eyes and placed a small stack of papers on his desk. “It looks like you got attacked by a swarm of very particular leeches, sir. Giant leeches, at that.”

His face grew hot and he tried, in vain, to pull his collar up over his marks. “Not leeches. Just a very… Very possessive alien. Snail got antsy about me going out again, so I told them about lovebites. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to work today, I’m sure.”

The corner of her lip quirked up for a split-second. “I see.”

He slowly took her in, one eyebrow raised up as he noted something rather interesting. Smoothly, he turned his gaze back to his email, pressed send, and said, “Ms. Samantha Morrison, I don’t believe you have much room to laugh. Perhaps you’d do well to, ahem, touch up your foundation. It’s rubbing off.”

She let out a gasp and her hand immediately went to the crook of her neck. Oh, he hit the nail right on the head. And it was so sweet for all the shit she’d given him. But of course, he couldn’t be too hard on her.

Daniel got to his feet and sauntered over to her, grinning wildly as he continued, “I think now’s a good time for my break. Tell her to be more careful while I’m out.”

Her red face betrayed the impassive look she gave him. “Sir, kindly shove it up your ass.”

“Oh, please, if I wasn’t taken, I’d love to.”

“I’m not surprised.”

He crinkled his nose at her in mock offense, to which she returned with a satisfied smirk. On that note, he took off, ready for a much needed tea break. And perhaps he’d make a note to tell Snail “not so rough” next time.

But that was an issue for Future Daniel. For now, he was ready to enjoy the sunshine, the city sounds, the eyes following his every move. The simple pleasures always made him smile.

After walking a block or so, though, he began to feel… Uneasy. In a somewhat familiar way. He looked over his shoulder, hoping his resting pissy face would deter any creepers trying to follow him. But, to his shock, there was no one there. No one that seemed to be suspicious, at least. Just people going about their business or small clusters of friends laughing as they walked.

Best not to worry about it, then.

Still, he picked up his pace, and took about three or so steps before something wrapped around his waist and pulled him into the alleyway he’d just passed by. Slammed against the wall, stars invaded his vision while rough metal clamped around his neck. His hands immediately went up to wrench it off, but a strong grip grabbed him by the wrists and pinned them above his head.

Once he finally registered who the hell was assaulting him, his blood ran cold.

An alien. Clearly the same kind as Snail- the eyes, the markings, the wriggling tentacles in the air. But instead of purple, this asshole was a sea of reds and oranges. And that predatory grin was almost heart-stopping- full of too-sharp teeth that Daniel actually had to reel back from.

“What a pretty pet,” a deep voice cooed as a single claw traced the curve of Daniel’s jaw. “An Eleven, all mine!”

Hell no!

“Excuse me,” he snapped, practically snarling as he pulled against the hold on him. “But I already have a fucking owner- get this damn collar off me!”

The alien blinked, all excitement replaced by a bored look of disbelief, which even spread to the slowing down of their tentacles. “Is that right? Then what’s your owner’s name, little pet?”

“Snail.”

Eyebrows furrowed, the alien muttered something and brought out a strange device. A snarled word slipped through Daniel’s brain- this stupid fucking language, he’d need to learn it one day- and a holographic image of Snail with some strange text popped up. Then that photo was replaced by one of him, with his name in clear English underneath. After taking it in, he narrowed his eyes.

…Was he sleeping?

Never mind, there were more important things to worry about. Like the fact that the alien had dismissed the image and now had a hand on his hip, claws digging into his skin deeper than Snail had ever done. He bit down on his lip from the pain, and fuck, there was no way the asshole didn’t draw blood and poke holes into his slacks.

“Well, little pet,” the alien said, almost taunting with its low, slow drawl. “Your owner must be stupid for letting you out with no collar.”

“It broke,” he muttered darkly, a sneer on his face. “They’re getting it fixed, and it’s supposed to be done soon.”

“Really? How interesting.” That tone made him feel sick. The alien brought a hand up to poke at the metal resting heavily on his neck. “Well, they sure won’t be able to get their collar on you now, will they? As if they’d even want you knowing that you’ve been claimed by someone else. Claimed and used.”

The swarm of tentacles hovering around drew in closer, and Daniel’s eyes went wide. The surge of panic for his safety mixed with the fear that maybe Snail would hate him after this. They’d told him so, after all, and now by their culture’s standards, he’d been stolen away. He’d been a bad pet, a bad boyfriend, and now he wasn’t theirs.

No!

Every last one of his lovebites ached a reminder. He belonged to Snail by his standards. Their pet, their boyfriend, and nothing would change that. Their ownership ran deeper than anything a metal piece of junk could erase.

Swiftly, he brought his knee up to the source of the tentacles. A loud, rattling roar echoed through the alleyway, and the firm grip on his hands released. In the small window he had, he slipped away from the alien and made it past the threshold, surrounded by light and people and safety.

Daniel turned back to snarl some vicious threat, but was pinned in place by the terrifying glare aimed right at him.

“You better hope your old owner will protect you,” the alien growled, all tentacles gone and hands in place over where he attacked. “Because I don’t like unruly pets.”

On that note, the alien scampered away, disappearing around a corner on the other side of the alley.

Shit. He didn’t have much time. Mind abuzz with too many thoughts, he pulled his phone out and called Sam, legs carrying him back to the studio as fast as he could go.

“Sir?”

“Cancel today’s episode,” he rushed out, words spilling forward without much to reign them in. His free hand reached up to the collar on his neck and tugged, hoping in vain to pull it off. “Something came up, alien bullshit, bad alien bullshit. Tell everyone I got food poisoning or something, I don’t care, whatever it takes, just please, make this happen.”

“Of course, sir, of course. Be safe, and good luck with your alien bullshit.”

“I’ll try. And thank you.”

Daniel’s brain was so frazzled that he sooner tried to kick down his own damn door than unlock it. Foot aching terribly- a wonderful match to go with all his throbbing injuries- he threaded both hands in his hair and pulled just hard enough to get his mind to quiet down, then slapped the touchpad of the stupid, bullshit, piece of garbage alien technology that kept him locked out. After just a second, the little indicator flashed green, and he could finally go in.

“Snail!”

Tears welled up in his eyes, but they appeared in just a second flat, hands cupping his face, soft whispers filling his head with a pleasant lightness. Their lips pressed against his, and he let himself be swept away by the comfort.

Until a low rumble filled the air.

Snail pulled back, teeth now bared, eyes glued to the collar on his neck. Their hands went down to grip at it, and Daniel’s heart jolted with panic. Their growling only grew louder as their claws tried to dig into the metal fruitlessly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered out, unable to meet their eyes. “Some other alien found me and, fuck, I said I was owned, gave your name and everything, but-”

“Are you hurt?”

Daniel blinked, every rushing thought and worst-case scenario crashing into an indecipherable mess. “What?”

Their face was softer. Just the slightest bit of possessive edge remained, but their concern shone through. Slowly, almost sweetly, they repeated, “Are you hurt? Did that bastard do anything to you?”

As soon as he opened his mouth to answer, a touch to his hip made him wince. They immediately reeled back, and looked down at the small smear of blood on their hand. Whatever anger remained drained out, and they went pale. But he didn’t have long to try and decipher that look on their face before they pulled him into a tight hug, one clawed hand in his hair.

“I’m okay,” he tried to assure them, but his shaking voice probably didn’t help much. He rested his head on their shoulder and took a deep breath. “That’s all the asshole did. I was able to book it before...”

A sharp intake of breath. “You… Managed to get away? On your own?”

“Yeah?” He pulled back to give them a curious look that slowly turned into a wry smile. “I know your kind’s weakest spot. Wasn’t that hard to get to with a well-timed knee.”

They stared at him for a moment while the gears visibly turned in their head. Then their eyes widened a fraction before narrowing into a pained wince. Even Daniel felt a little empathetic pang just from thinking about it too hard.

“I did what I had to do,” he said with a grimace. “As if I’d let someone else get their grubby tentacles on or in me.”

That made them purr, the soft vibrations tickling his neck as they nuzzled into him. Daniel let out a breathy laugh. All the weight and fear was gone now, and he could finally enjoy just being in their arms. For the moment, at least.

Once the warm, fuzzy feelings reached their peak, he sobered up a little and said, “The alien was pretty pissed at me. I'm pretty sure we'll be getting a visit soon.”

Snail sighed. “Yeah...”

Daniel frowned to himself and wrapped his arms tightly around them. A thought plagued him: if Snail had to deal with the other alien, it would no doubt be violent. That seemed fitting from what little he knew. Brutal fights to the death over signs of status- the most prominent point of their culture. And it matched with how aggressive they were. Eager to kill for him.

And no doubt willing to die.

He couldn't bear it, wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing he did that to them. They were- fuck, what a revelation to have right now- the love of his life. And they couldn't be the only one doing the protecting.

Was it even worth the risk to have them fight? He was an Eleven. A pet, a valuable pet at that. He wouldn't be killed. Hurt, punished, no doubt tormented in ways that even trying to think of made him nauseous. But not killed. And neither would Snail, if he gave in.

“You can go,” he said quietly, and he felt the hand against his head tense. “So you don't get hurt. I'll be okay, I promise.”

That familiar rumble sprang back up and sent vibrations through him. “No.”

“Snail-”

“No!”

His head was pulled back and their lips smashed against his at the first opportunity. The kiss dominated him, every ounce of fight away, replaced by a desperate need for the comfort they were roughly providing. Soft whimpers bubbled up in his throat, punctuated by a gasp when he could finally breathe again.

“You’re mine,” they panted out, eyes flickering down for a second. Then they put a hand to their neck, the dark blotch Daniel left on them just barely visible between their fingers. “And I’m yours. No one can change that. I’ll crush anyone who tries.”