Kai is lounging on the love seat in his room. It's black satin, matching the rest of his room. Lying on the bed is a male inkling, sleeping soundly. Normally, he'd have woken the boy up and make him leave, but he was the last client for the day, and he was feeling generous. His loose tentacles reach his shoulders, they're orange. His eyes are closed, but an hour ago they'd been open, full of lust and excitement, and glimmering like emeralds. Kai takes a swig from the bottle of vodka. He bites back at the taste and swallows. The boy makes a happy sound in his sleep and Kai smiles to himself. The early afternoon sun drifts through the open window. Sweet, summer breeze flows in, warming his body. Kai puts the bottle on the side table and stands, stretching out his limbs.

He walks over to the bed and bends over, leaning on the bed. Lightly, he blows into the boy's ear. He stirs and looks sleepily over at Kai. "Hey, cutie. You fell asleep." The male inkling sits up and rubs his eyes, "I'm sorry, I haven't experienced anything like that, ever. I was drained." His face is flushed just thinking about. Kai finds that endearing. "Can I schedule another appointment in advance?" He smiles up at the octoling with a lovesick look. Kai smiles kindly, "Just go online and pick an available date, and I'm all yours." The boy looks down, blushing. He had a pretty even amount of male and female clients. He enjoyed them both, equally. Either way he was serving to please, and he was good at it.

The inkling left soon after waking, and Kai walks into the kitchen, wearing just a pair of black jeans. His pink, mohawk tentacle falls over his eyes and he brushes it aside. He grabs a bowl of cherries from the fridge and sits down. All the windows in his apartment were open, leaving the space full of fresh air. He pops a cherry in his mouth, and sucks the flesh from the pit. The refreshing fruit is a treat on the warm day. He holds up a cherry between his teeth and takes a picture. Chewing on the fruit, he posts the picture to his website. Instantly his phone starts pinging, a mass influx of people posting comments. Some are innocent and kind, others are lewd. He scrolls through them, working through his bowl of fruit. A text notification pops up from Noir. He taps on it, and reads through the message. It was mostly apologizing for her behavior last night, and asking if things could go back to normal. He replies with a simple "yes," addressing only the last part of the message.

The rest of his day consists of reading poetry. He was infatuated with old human romance poems. The subliminal message of tragedy and miscommunication. Redemption and forgiveness baffled him. The exclusivity of the soul and body that could be shared. When he read the poems, he could swear the world was built for two. He puts down the book and looks out at the sunset. The red hues look vibrant and burning. The sky was on fire, and it was all his to look at. Back in Octo Valley the sun wasn't special, nothing really was. For some reason is looked brighter here.

There's a knock on his door and he looks up, confused. He pulls out his phone and checks his schedule, confirming he didn't have anymore clients. He walks over and opens the door. Noir is standing there, breathing heavily. "Did you... Run all the way here?" The octoling girl pants and rights herself, "Yeah... Sorry... I had to see you. I couldn't say this over text." Kai gets a sinking feeling in his stomach. He stands back and gestures for her to come inside. She walks in and plops down on his couch. He sees her look at the poetry book on the table, but she says nothing. He pours her a glass of fizzy soda and sits across from her. He watches her take a gulp and waits for her to talk.

"Kai, you're my oldest and most valued friend." Noir swirls the ice cubes in the glass with her finger, "But for a while I've thought of you as more than that. You're kind and deep and... sexy." Her face flushes with color and she continues, "If you just gave me a chance, I promise it'd be worth it. You don't have to be alone. I could make you happy." She looks into his eyes and gives him a timid smile, "If you'll have me." Kai stares at her, and for a split second he actually considers it. His rational mind overrules the possibility of a relationship.

He shakes his head slowly. "I'm sorry, you know I love you. I just don't love you like that." Her face is blank. "I can't be in a relationship, please don't be upset." Noir stands and places her hands on the table in front of her, leaning. "What's wrong with me? Am I not pretty enough? Not fun enough?" Tears stream down her face as she yells, "I love you, Kai. Can't you see that? I'd give you everything. I've waited so long to tell you and now you won't accept that?" Kai breathes in deeply and speaks in a calm voice, "I can't offer you companionship. Not how things are now. Please be understanding." Noir stands upright and crosses her arms over her chest, sniffing. She looks out the window and they both sit in a tense silence.

Noir breaks it, choking out, "Then let me hire you. Once." Kai feels a pained expression overcome his face. He'd thought that was just a silly drunken idea. He doesn't say anything and she pull out her phone. She scrolls to his name and taps the screen. On the table his phone lights up and chimes. "You have to. I paid you." Kai stares at her, feeling betrayed and uncomfortable. Noir walks around the table and stands in front of him. He watches as she climbs on top, straddling him. She puts her arms around his neck and puts her face in his neck. She inhales deeply, leaving Kai unnerved. "Noir... ah." He inhales as she nibbles his ear. "Come, on. You're on the clock." She reaches down and puts a hand on his crotch. It feels wrong to him and he closes his eyes.

When he opens his eyes she's gone and it's late. He felt... bad. Just bad. She'd gotten what she'd paid for, and for that Kai felt guilty. He could have stopped her, he could have said no. but instead he caved and let her have her way. Kai didn't hate her for it, he hated himself. He'd seen parts of her her most people hadn't seen; Noir had never sold herself. She had been born into money, and despite her rare ink color making her a desirable good, she'd insisted on staying modest. Kai hadn't understood it, but now he couldn't help wonder if that was part of what made it so weird. She wanted him despite keeping herself exclusive to her personal desires.


Thanks for reading! -shipalltheotps