“Hello, dear!” Elkay beamed as he spotted those familiar orange particles. “Did you have fun?”
Teekay yawned, stretched himself out then threw himself into bed next to his wife. As he did so though, Elkay sat him up, wrapped an arm around him then placed something into Teekay’s hand.
“Hi, babe… What’s this?”
Elkay smiled. “Open it and find out!”
Teekay hesitated, then did as he was told. It was a small fabric drawstring bag, and inside was a shard of armour plating. The colour of it meant it clearly came from Elkay.
“What… Uh… Babe…”
Noticing Teekay’s confusion, Elkay decided to explain.
“That is a shard of my plating. From my shoulder specifically. For decades, I never let anyone own any part of me. I had all medical samples of me destroyed, I did all sorts, to protect who I was. Up until Yisini kidnapped me and took everything. I did so because I was scared of people knowing who I was, I was scared of being owned. These days though, well, I belong to you. And a shard of my plating, which can kill Corruption the same way my blood can, is my gift to you. So I am always with you.”
Teekay blinked some more. “That… that’s a really nice gift.”
“Well, today is our two year wedding anniversary, I wanted to get something nice and significant!”
Teekay blinked yet again before finally speaking. “Fuuuuck… I forgot!”
Elkay patted Teekay on the back. “To be fair, I nearly forgot too. I only know because one of Ret’s alarms went off yesterday because it is his hatchday in a few days. I also reminded Litvir for Retvik’s birthday. But with so much going on, I am not at all bothered that we both somewhat forgot.”
Teekay settled down. “I mean, fair. I’ve been super busy.”
“Did you have fun matchmaking people?” Elkay asked. “I am pretty sure you got at least two matches.”
Teekay’s confusion turned into a grin. “Babe, you have no idea! I mean, Eksi helped, Eksi was vital. Psiksi was a bit of a hinderance but he will get there. But we actually got THREE dates!”
“Oh?” Elkay smiled. “I know you got the nice Teliavok to date Rethan Teekay, but I was not certain about the others.”
Teekay swivelled round so he could better face Elkay. “Well, yeah, those two went great. The second one was more of a threesome. We got Vokulunaax out of the closet and gave him the strength to be honest with Saahro and Thassalin. They had fun, and I think Saahro likes the idea of having a polycule similar to what his bosses have.”
“That is good. Vokulunaax must be relieved.”
“Yeah, totally. Kayel also helped a bit, we helped him make sure that Nyssi and that white dragon Temthan dude were still good. But I think the pinnacle of our work was… unexpected.”
Elkay thought for a moment. “So… You actually convinced Elkay-En to speak to Voidblade?”
“Hah! Kuta popped me a message a few hours ago, Elkay-En asked to borrow their bondage gear. They’re still in Elkay-En’s room. Eksi had Soulblade asking about where Voidblade was, and Eksi had to try his hardest not to blurt out what they were doing.”
It was Elkay’s turn to blink in confusion. “I did not know that Elkay-En was into that sort of thing.”
“Eh, he was drunk and had a lot of my horny punch. Like, I was upfront with what was in that stuff and we got through three bowls of it…” Teekay paused, then tutted. “Should have saved some for us. You get ravenous after having horny punch.”
Elkay went back to smiling. “Maybe we should make some more, just for us. I am admittedly quite tired though, from doing guard duty during the after-party, then making sure everyone got to their ships and left properly.”
“Fair. I think most people are gone now. The Blade dudes stuck around though. They’re talking to Elkay-En and Phovos because they want to make a Life Oasis in the Goldtorn Remains.”
“I guess Elkay-En might also want to spend more time with Voidblade as well?” Elkay suggested. “However, Teekay, my dear, I have a question for you.”
“Oh, I love questions from you! What did you want to ask?”
Elkay thought for a moment before speaking. “Why did you put so much effort into matchmaking people during this wedding?”
Teekay sighed. “It’s honestly kinda silly.”
“I am sure it is not that silly. After all, Vikalos got the wedding idea from us.”
“Well… That’s exactly it. I want to matchmake people, because I want lonely people to have a chance at something similar to what we have. We’re so blissfully in love and I wish more people were like us. Especially because I know exactly what it’s like to be permanently miserable and alone.”
Elkay smiled, then patted Teekay on the head. “You are a wonderful person, my dear.”
“I am, and so are you. We’re wonderful together. Also, we’ve been married for two years now and have been together for what, six years?”
“I believe it is seven years, and I am certain we will be together for many, many more!” Elkay beamed as he pulled Teekay into a hug. “We went through hell together and came through stronger than ever. Our love is eternal.”
“It really is!” Teekay grinned back as he settled down into Elkay’s arms. “Still, I wish I could have gotten you something for our anniversary.”
“You do not need to, my darling Teekay. Simply having you here, in my arms, is enough for me.”
“Aw…” Teekay stuttered. “You are such a corny romantic. But I fucking love how corny you can be. I love you, Elkay, more than anything.”
Elkay hugged Teekay tightly. “I love you too, Teekay, more than anything.”
“Together forever?”
“Together forever. Now, give me a kiss.”
Teekay grinned as he turned around and pushed Elkay back onto the bed. “Oh, I’m gonna give you ALL the kisses! Just you wait…”