“Hey, Kuta.”
“Hello, Arkay.”
Kuta looked and sounded miserable, and Arkay completely understood why. There had been a lot of delays, and Kuta was still stuck in temporary housing and their insurance money still hadn’t come through, meaning Kuta hadn’t been able to go out and buy new belongings. Sure, Arkay had bought Kuta a few armour pieces, some stomach wraps and a new cape, but Kuta clearly missed living in a normal home.
And to make matters worse, Arkay had been stupidly busy lately. Sini had detected multiple Corruption break-ins, which Arkay had to deal with, and he’d also had to waste a huge amount of time travelling along the universe’s edge, sealing up any micro-tears, where Sini believed the Corruption was getting through. So he hadn’t had any time to spend with his boyfriend, and Arkay felt bad about that.
As an apology, Arkay had bought pizza and drinks. But Kuta hadn’t really moved and was just lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“You alright, Kuta?” Arkay asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
Kuta glanced at Arkay, then tutted. “No. Not at all. I have a lot on my mind. And some of it concerns you.”
“Do you want to talk about it all?”
Kuta hesitated, then sat up. They took one of the boxes of pizza and opened it up, taking a slice for themselves. The pizza was particularly meaty, with no vegetables on it.
“I do, yes. Because I am absolutely torn up by what I have been told today. And I… I hate to say this, but I feel we are both to blame.”
Arkay sighed. “Are they going to fire you because they think our relationship is getting in the way of your duties?”
Kuta took a bite of pizza and quickly swallowed it. “Hah. No. That would be too simple. And I would immediately sue for unfair termination, because you cannot demote someone because of their romantic interests. It is a protected right, you cannot be removed from a duty because of it, same with religious beliefs and physical appearances.” Kuta trailed off, tutting to themselves and eating more pizza. “This is far worse than that.”
“I don’t know how much worse it could get.”
“Hmph!” Kuta hissed, eating more pizza. It was pretty clear that Kuta was stressed out and genuinely angry, but, like most Rethans, they were hiding their anger as best they could, for fear of lashing out. The majority of Rethavok knew they were big, dangerous creatures, but they buried that danger underneath their desire to protect others, and becoming angry would get in the way of that. “You will be upset.”
Arkay shrugged. “Try me.”
“I do not want to upset you. But…” Kuta grunted. “I need to tell you.”
“I won’t get upset at you. This is clearly not something within your control, is it?”
Kuta shook their head. “The way things were explained to me, I am not sure how much choice I have in any of this.”
Arkay edged closer to Kuta, but Kuta edged away, feeling uncomfortable. So Arkay backed away, giving Kuta the space they needed.
“I had a meeting with the High General and the Master of Generals today. While I was told that they are both happy with my work, despite recent setbacks, General Vaksavar wishes to form a new legion, which they want me to be the general of.”
“What sort of new legion?” Arkay asked.
“A Legion of Godly Affairs. They want me to abuse my connection with you to help keep track on what our four deities are doing. We are aware that the Temthans, Spasts and the Torr have departments that deal with you deities and what you do, and, considering what happened with the earthquake, General Rethais is concerned that we might anger the gods further, even though you have offered us protection and assistance.”
“Huh…” Arkay didn’t really know what to say at first. “I mean, I can definitely see why Rethais would want something like that.”
“You seem insulted.”
“Insulted is the wrong word. I totally understand the Rethans wanting some kind of accountability or at least an early warning system. I’m just upset that Rethais and Vaksavar are taking advantage of you, and I’m angry at myself for not thinking this would happen again.”
“A-a-again?” Kuta blinked.
Arkay nodded, helping himself to some pizza. “Yeah. When I stopped dealing with mortal politics about three hundred years ago, the Skyavok and the Ksithans got fidgety and both set up their own departments to monitor godly activity, but it never went anywhere because I kinda… abandoned you all. Not by choice, but I did just disappear.”
Kuta sighed. “I feel like this is an abuse of our relationship. But the thing is, General Vaksavar offered me… a lot… to take this new job. Time off whenever I want it, a pay raise, less hours, and I get to pick out three captains to work for me. I even get to keep my position as a Below Twenty General, with the General of External Affairs being renamed as the currently empty 9th Legion and Hidden Internal affairs being moved to the 10th Legion. I feel bad about this though, even if the offers are very appealing. But when the Master of Generals made this offer, I told them that I needed to speak to you first. For obvious reasons.”
“Well, it’s not your fault in any way what so ever…” Arkay trailed off, lost in thought, and eating more pizza. “I’m sorry, Kuta.”
“Hmph. I accept the apology, but it is my own fault as well. I should have considered this happening. Perhaps I should have kept things more secret.”
“I did a bad job of keeping it secret too…” Again, Arkay trailed off. “Alright, this is going to sound really selfish of me, but if you take this job, will you get more time off work, more time you can spend with me?”
Kuta wished they hadn’t just taken a massive bite of pizza. After an awkwardly long moment trying to swallow that bite, Kuta nodded. “Yes, I would get a lot more free time. I would also be ordering a lot less staff around too. No more than fifty individuals, compared to the one thousand in the 11th Legion now.”
“So things would be better?”
“I… I guess… But I feel this would infringe on your privacy. And possibly anger the other deities.”
Arkay didn’t seem too bothered. “The Temthans already have a whole department that tracks Sini whenever she enters their territories, and the Spasts have a system that warns them whenever a deity gets too close to their home world. Which I like to trigger constantly by going in and out and fucking with their satellite systems.”
“That seems mean.”
Arkay shrugged. “It’s harmless fun. But in all honesty, there’s literally no one better to run a Legion of Godly Affairs aside from you. The only problem is, I don’t want the Rethavok to be hoarding this information. I’m honestly willing to supply you with bits and pieces, but I want you to share it with our allies. So that means talking with the Skyavok, Ksithans, Banikans and Lanex-“
“Lanex?” Kuta interrupted. “You seem very insistent that we remain allies with the Lanex, despite them joining the Union of the Whenvern.”
“I don’t trust Kairos to treat the Lanex the same way he treats the Spasts, the Thraki and the Athrens. Plus, I admittedly kinda like Lanex. The Rethavok and Skyavok are their closest ancestors. But yeah, I actually don’t mind too much giving you bits and pieces about my fellow deities, as long as you share it discreetly with your allies.”
“Hm…” Kuta didn’t feel so bad now. “I suppose I could do that. I do not mind talking with other races, and…” Kuta lowered their voice. “I like talking to Skyavok. I think it is because of you, but I find them much friendlier and more agreeable than I should. Either way, I should be able to convince General Rethais of this… alternate idea of yours. Especially if I phrase it as it all being your idea. Which it is.”
“Does Rethais not like you?”
“Rethais only tolerates me because Lysar and I are somewhat friendly, and I am very much aware that Rethais and Lysar have a… thing. I am surprised that it took you forcing Rethais to put in the paperwork to end the Rethan Bloodline Traditions when Rethais has been held back from their true desires because of said traditions this entire time.”
Arkay shrugged. “Rethais is an odd one. They’re always trying to keep up appearances, fearing that they look weak or power-hungry, and wanting to avoid any and all comparisons with the old High General… So, you cool with this new job offer?”
Kuta smiled, the first time they had smiled all day. “Now that I have your blessing, and will get a lot of bonuses, yes, I feel better about it.”
“Good…” Arkay smirked as he moved the pizza to one side, and inched closer to Kuta. “Do you… wanna snuggle?”
“Of course!” Kuta’s smile turned into a grin as they wrapped their arms around Arkay. “Who am I to deny snuggles?”