“You sure it’s alright to leave Tenuk with them for a few hours?” Arkay asked as four chocolate milkshakes arrived at the table. One for him, one for Kayen and two for Psiksi, because Psiksi had stomach ache and was under the impression that only sweet, milky goodness could fix the problem. The three Skyavok were sitting in a small ice creamery popular among both Skyans and their larger Rethan cousins, but for reasons Kayen didn’t understand, the bulky Rethan behind the counter was giving them odd looks.
“Of course!” Kayen replied reassuringly. “Tenuk’s a big boy. He can handle a Temthan, a Falena and a Thraki for a day if we want.”
“Yeah but… You know, things are kinda…”
“Kinda what?” Kayen was rather bubbly today. “And why is that Rethan looking at us?”
Arkay glanced over his shoulder. “Hm? Oh. That’s Iseer. I once ate his whole stock of ice cream. Back when I was drugged and trapped in my own home. Although… the last time I was here was when I was with Kai… Voltiidro, and I kinda hid outside. Either way, he knows I’m not really a cute yellow Skyan so it’s pretty safe to talk here.”
“Why are you all calling him Voltiidro anyway?” Psiksi butted in, drinking one of the milkshakes almost in one go, then immediately regretting it. Not because he now felt sick, but because the coldness had gone straight to his head. “Like, Sini and Ebania are names I get, but Voltiidro… where did that come from?”
“I have no idea, to be honest…” Arkay grunted, returning to his drink. “Phovos and Lokmahro suggested a long list of names and that’s the one he picked. But are you two both sure…”
Psiksi suddenly slammed his hand on the table. “For fuck’s sake, Arkay, they’re fine!”
“Sini sneaked out last night…”
“Yeah, so what?”
“They…”
“They’re all thirteen billion years old, stop trying to fucking baby them!” Psiksi snapped, clearly even more irritable now. “If they fuck up, it’s on them!”
Arkay sighed, closing his eyes. “You don’t get it. We don’t know the limits to this ourselves. What if…”
Kayen smiled, putting an arm around Arkay. “Having met your mum, I don’t think she’s stupid enough to let anything serious happen to the universe should one of your siblings do something retarded. Worst case scenario, your sister gets pregnant.”
“But-”
“But what?” Psiksi grunted. “They’re old. Way older than you. They can deal with being mortal for a bit. Your babying of them is pissing me off royally.”
“I thought you were pissed at me for moving back in with Tenuk.”
“I live with Kass now, I don’t give a fuck about Tenuk’s place. Although it was pretty ugly seeing Sini prancing around with one of my wraps around her fanny. That one’s never gonna get worn again.” Psiksi seemed to have calmed down a little. “But seriously, Arkay, you really need to chill out. They’re retards but they’re not as stupid as you think they are. Phovos got them jobs, you got them a place to stay, Tenuk has extra money if you all need it, it’s all fine.”
Arkay sighed, fiddling with the spoon in his drink. “Sorry…”
“And don’t apologise!” Psiksi tutted. “That’s all you do, you apologise for everything. You’re sitting here saying sorry when you should be looking at Kayen and asking him whether you want to fuck each other or not.”
“You don’t need to say it that loud…” Kayen muttered. “But Psiksi is right. You wanted an excuse not to do your job and now you have one. Even better, you’re a mortal with money, so you can treat yourself! And there’s a cute little Skyan who has been eyeing you for ages.”
Arkay sank in his chair, feeling more and more awkward. This wasn’t how he expected this chat to go. “I’m… not ready for that sort of thing yet.”
“When will you be ready?”
“I don’t know…”
Kayen put his arm around Arkay again. “Eh, it’s weird for you, I get it. But in the mean time, you really ought to be, well, just chilling out and stuff. I mean, stress kills, you know?”
“I guess…” Arkay sighed, finally drinking his drink. “But it’s still… really weird…”
“Ah, get over it already!” Kayen beamed. “Just enjoy yourself for once!”