“Come in, dear…”
Retvik hadn’t even knocked on the door as it swung open. Then again, that was to be expected, since Litvir was a powerful telepath and instantly knew Retvik was standing outside. He also knew that everyone else on board was asleep, aside from Tenuk, who was in the cockpit keeping an eye on navigation.
Doing as he was told, Retvik stepped into Litvir’s personal quarters, and the door behind him promptly but gently closed itself. The room was small, complete with a wooden desk and a cupboard to one side and a large chest at the end of the bed, which was haphazardly stuffed with pieces of armour plating. It was enough for one brutish, heavily armoured monster, but with two Rethans present, everything felt a bit tight. Still, Retvik didn’t mind too much. The bed was just about enough.
Speaking of which, Litvir was lying in said bed, tapping on a transparent digital tablet. He had taken off his foot-platings and pauldrons, but was still wearing his stomach wrap, armour across his thighs and lower armous and one of his familiar, flowing capes. Around Litvir’s upper arm was a golden band with three spiked studs embedded in it, a piece of gear reserved for Rethan Generals, which Litvir still wore despite neither of them being Generals any more. Not that it mattered, as far as both Retvik and Litvir were concerned, they were the last of their kind.
“Is something troubling you, dear?”
Retvik grunted as he sat down on the edge of the bed. They both knew what Retvik was thinking about, but Litvir was trying to be polite and not pry too much.
“I am somewhat upset that we as a species are dead…” Retvik admitted. “I have other troubles as well, but that is the one that is bothering me.”
Retvik glanced over at Litvir. He could see that Litvir had switched to a different app and was writing down various calculations.
“Hm…”
“Hm?”
Litvir smiled ever so slightly as he put his tablet down. “Although, yes, as a species, we are essentially dead, between three Rethavok and two Skyavok, there is enough genetic makeup for us to create a hybrid species that could actually become a viable race. As is the benefits of being an intersex hermaphroditic race.”
Retvik didn’t say anything, but really sure how to respond to Litvir’s statement. Admittedly, he had come to Litvir because he was somewhat desperate and rather horny, but the idea of sex for the purpose of laying eggs had put Retvik off slightly. Mostly because, out of the three Rethans who had survived the end of the universe, Retvik happened to be related to one of them. That and the idea of sleeping with a Skyavok did bother Retvik somewhat.
“You considered sleeping with a Ksithan.”
“I did not give you permission to read my thoughts, Litvir.”
Litvir smiled some more, putting his tablet to one side, before sitting up straight and scooting up next to Retvik. “Worse, we both want to sleep with our Missing Third, who has always taken the appearance of a Skyavok.”
“I am blood-bound to Arkay, but I have no emotional connection to either Teekay or Eksi. That is what bothers me. Although that does not bother me as much as the idea of attempting to lay again.”
“Hm?” Litvir gave Retvik an odd look. “I thought you were not allowed to have kids, as part of the Rethianos Tradition?”
“Gath and I… tried, in secret, decades ago. But after a double miscarriage, we both decided it was a bad idea and gave up…”
“Oh…”
Retvik sighed, not enjoying the old memories he had accidentally dug up. However, he calmed down a little as Litvir put an arm around him.
“I will be honest, I do not know what that is like.”
“I would not expect you to, dear…” Retvik hesitated, then nuzzled up to Litvir, pulling him close, but only held him briefly before letting go again. Litvir immediately picked up on Retvik’s uneasiness.
“Are you well, Retvik?”
“Not really, no. I feel like an anxious new parent who has just put their tiny youngling to bed and is expecting something horrible to happen.”
“That is completely understandable…” Litvir frowned. “I feel the same way. I wonder if this is how Galyn felt when he adopted us as Decaylings?”
“Perhaps. I am of the opinion that the majority of Decay Lords are unable to have kids in any way, so they bond a little too easily to beings like us. Most of them probably do not have someone to sleep with either…”
Litvir ran his fingers down Retvik’s neck, forcing an involuntary shudder. “Mhm. But I am unsure whether you want that right now. That was your intention when you came to my room, but you seem to have changed your mind.”
“I do not know what I want…” Retvik sighed. He leaned against Litvir and closed his eyes, ignoring how cold Litvir’s body was. He never understood why Litvir was always so cold, even before they both became Decayons, and he was sure that Litvir didn’t know why either. In fact, there was a lot about Litvir that Retvik didn’t seem to know. “While I feel like I should be using this time to be intimate, I simply have too much on my mind to be able to relax.”
Litvir nodded in agreement and started rubbing Retvik’s shoulders and neck. He may have been a powerful telepath, but he didn’t need that to know that Retvik was stressed beyond belief. And, in all honesty, Litvir was insanely stressed as well. The last couple of months had been… troublesome.
“We can just talk.”
“That would be nice. We have not sat down and spoken in a relaxed manner in a while. I had no idea that maintaining a Decay Lord sect would be so tiresome.”
“Hmph…” Litvir grunted. “That WAS supposed to be Galyn’s job. We were SUPPOSED to be his students.”
“And Arkay was supposed to have been here with us. A lot of things were supposed to happen, but they did not. I do not want to think about all of that though. I want to talk about you.” Retvik moved away from Litvir, then regretted doing so and pulled him close again. “You know all about me. You have been in my mind and seen my darkest secrets, and I have always been a public individual. But you are an enigma.”
“Intentionally so. I am very much aware of my horrible past and fear that, if you knew everything, you would tie me up and abandon me on an asteroid. Deservedly so.”
Retvik snorted, then hugged Litvir tightly. “We both agreed to put our past behind us, despite the horrible things we have done. But I do not even know how old you are.”
“Oh…” Litvir paused. He was enjoying Retvik’s warmth. “Hm… how long have we been deities for?”
“Nearly four years now.”
Litvir suddenly sat up straight in surprise. He reached for his tablet and started tapping away at it. “By the Light! I turn 100 soon! My hatch day is Flevar 29th! That is just a day or so away!”
“You hatched on the 29th of Flevar?” Retvik blinked. “You are one cursed being. Hatching on a leap day of all things. Explains a lot, I guess. Do you want to do anything to celebrate? After all, reaching one hundred is normally a big date.”
Putting his tablet away, Litvir settled back down, pressing himself into Retvik’s side. Retvik responded by putting his arms around Litvir, holding him tightly.
“Hm… Honestly, I think we are both a little too stressed to do anything now, but would you be willing to spend an intimate evening with me? I do not want the Decaylings to know that I am technically old now.”
“Both Phovos and Tenuk are older than us.”
“Still. Phovos has always been a semi-immortal warlord and Tenuk is technically youngish for a Kronospast.”
“Tahvra is in his 40s. Which is old for a Vohra.”
“You are not making me feel better.”
Retvik however just smiled. “It is fine. We are Decayons now. We can grow old together. Well, not old, since we are also technically immortal now, but we will spend this time together. As partners.”
Litvir blinked. “Uh, what?”
Retvik hesitated for a moment, then turned Litvir round so he could face him directly. “Litvir, my dear, we have been together for a while now. We have saved each other’s lives, in spite our storied pasts. We are blood-bound. I think it is about time that we made things somewhat more official.”
Litvir continued to blink. “Did you receive another concussion, Retvik?”
“Uh, no. I… I am not the best when it comes to words. I just wanted to say that I would like it if we spent more time together. Romantically.”
“Oh.”
Retvik let go of Litvir, then apologized. “I am sorry, I am being weird.”
“No, it is fine. I will be honest, I was planning on asking you something similar, once things had settled down somewhat…” Litvir smiled, then snuggled up closer to Retvik. “I would like us to be partners. I think it would make us both happy.”
Retvik smiled back, wrapping his arms around Litvir, before delicately licking Litvir’s cheek.
“Very well, dear. In the mean time, do you… wish to do something fun?”
“Mhm…” Litvir almost giggled as he pulled Retvik on top of him. “I am all yours, dear…”