Illusion is Reality
Chapter 139
-Without my help-
The boy's night continued with getting banned from the potato restaurant ("BEGONE DEMON!" "Yeesh! I restocked your supplies!" "BEGONE!" "Why is it that literal demons are too afraid to openly defy me, but Karens and minimum paid work establishments are?" "Bill, Karens don't give a shit. Retail and service workers are already wishing for death." "Ah, true."), tossing a tickle bomb into the local Federation Enforcer building ("Shit! They spotted us!" "You'll never take us alive!" "HAHAHAHA STOP YOU FREAKS! HAHAHAHAHA!"), spending a whole hour on the endless slippy slide at the teleporting Escher Carnival ("Um… Bill? How are we getting off this?!"), building giant penises on my Minecraft planet ("I've learned more about your anatomy today than I've ever wanted to know…"), shaping clouds into ponies and accidentally creating a new religion ("I'm just happy there are more Those Little Pony fans now so I can actually talk to someone about them!")- and finally ended with me taking us all to the edge of the current known multiverse, well, known to the Federation at least. Someplace where there weren't very many settlements or people living anywhere for a few lightyears. "Hey, wanna see something cool?" I told everyone. They were rather tired (exhausted from all the running we had to do) and I figured one last bit of fun before bed would be a nice way to end this boy's night out.
They watched as I waved my hand and made the stars off in the distance begin swirling. It looked cool, and it looked like it was all happening in slow motion, but in reality, the stars were churning at super high speeds towards each other. I checked on the area beforehand, no one lived anywhere near there. And yes, this was going to throw off a lot of star-maps, but I liked playing with stars. It was so much fun to watch them swirl. They swirled and swirled until it all looked like the Starry Night painting. Everyone gasped and clapped at the display.
"It's beautiful…" Lilie breathed, leaning against Teeth's side. I serendipitously watched the way Teeth wrapped his arm around Lilie and leaned back against him. Awww they're so cute~
I felt an urge to make all the stars explode. I suppressed it, for a moment. I floated over to Hectorgon. "Would it be bad if I made the stars explode?" I asked. He sighed. "Yes, that would be bad. Please don't do that." I nodded, gotcha. I pushed the urge away, with a bit of effort. Don't ruin the pretty scene. We admired the view for a while before I waved my hand to put the stars back to where they were before.
Once things were set back to the way they were, I turned to my friends. "So, how was this boy's night out?"
"The slide was fun until Kryptos vomited disks everywhere." Keyhole elbowed the compass with a grin. Kryptos glared, nudging Keyhole right back. "You hurled a few ingots over the side too! I saw you!" the two slapped inefficiently at each other until Kryptos noticed me watching and put his hands down, blushing.
"Yeah, it was actually fun." Lilie laid his long neck over Teeth's head. "Maybe we should do this again sometime." Teeth grinned, giving me a thumb's up. I chuckled. "Alright, lets all get home." and I Blinked everyone back to the Death Star.
After we materialized in the livingroom, Hectorgon bid us all good night and hopped off. 8-Ball gave us a wave, "I need to go see if Toobie is in bed yet. He gets really grumpy if I don't sing to him." Well, 8-Ball's singing was more like a rough yodeling, which was… surprisingly pleasant to listen to. I guess Toobie likes the low pitch vibrations of his voice. Lilie and Teeth were nuzzling as they made their way to Teeth's room. Looks like Lilie was spending the night.
...that made me miss Ford...
Well, no issue with going to sleep and heading over to see him. I sighed dreamily just thinking about it. I heard a thump and looked over to see that Keyhole and Kryptos had passed out on the couch, flopped over each other. PaciFire chuckled. "Looks like they're too tired to make it to bed."
"Do you think I should let them sleep here or bring them back to their rooms?" I floated closer to move Keyhole so he wasn't crushing Kryptos. Awww look at them. PaciFire hummed, reaching over to gently pick up Kryptos. "I'll put him to bed, you can get Keyhole."
"Don't trust me to take Kryptos?" I commented lightly, picking up Keyhole as he whined softly in his sleep.
"Don't trust Kryptos not to try anything in his sleep." PaciFire rumbled. "Truthfully, I would feel better if that bubble was still up, but I also feel like shit for wanting to put him there." PaciFire looked down at Kryptos in his arms. "He's not a bad kid. But I don't think you giving him everything he wants, did him any favors." I twitched. "What should I do then?"
He didn't respond for the longest time, so long in fact that I thought he didn't have any advice at all. "This is something Kryptos needs to learn himself. And it's not as if you gave him everything he wants. His pride wouldn't let him accept it. That's a good thing." PaciFire noted. "Have you considered letting him be more independent from you?"
"He went off to live at his dorm for a while, for school."
"And you continued to go and visit him." PaciFire pointed out. I looked away. Yeah, well… that was my fault for being possessive. It was bad of me. Needed to stop doing that. "I'm not saying cut him out, but give him some space. Maybe he'll finally meet someone. I know he wanted his own space for a while, when he was getting older and probably didn't want you mothering him." PaciFire snorted. "Probably hoped you'd stop treating him like a kid."
I winced. "Is it bad that I keep thinking of him and Keyhole as children?"
"Maybe. But how you feel is how you feel." PaciFire shrugged. "Just keep in mind that they are adults. Don't belittle them or baby them anymore."
"...they grow up so fast." I said wistfully. PaciFire chuckled. "It's been a few million years."
"That's a very short time for me!" I whined, hugging Keyhole to myself and nuzzling him. He grumbled and pushed at me. "Gnnngh…"
"Hey Bill," PaciFire told me before we had to part ways when he got to Kryptos's room. "For what it's worth, I don't think it's wrong for you to want to take care of us, and give us what we want." he gave me a gentle look, the type I knew he wouldn't let anyone else see. But the Ks were asleep and I already knew that he was a big softie, so he allowed this moment. "But sometimes, what we need isn't the same as what we want. And… for Kryptos… he wants you. But that isn't what he needs."
"And what is?"
"More confidence in himself for one." PaciFire looked down at the compass. "And perhaps… some power of his own, so he wouldn't covet yours so much."
I wasn't going to just give Kryptos power. Too easy for him to get drunk off it and do something stupid. He'd have to gain it himself. Still, it was something for me to think about.
I said my good nights to PaciFire and continued onto Keyhole's room.
Keyhole's room was a bit of a mess. I saw scrap metal everywhere, along with some books and blankets. He just had tiny blankets tossed randomly around the room. I could so easily picture Keyhole walking by with his blanket wrapped around him. Then he would toss it on the ground or over a nearby chair and just leave it there until I came by to get his laundry for the wash. We didn't wear clothes all that often, so most of Keyhole's laundry was blankets and various rags he used for cleaning his tools. I came by to take his wash once a week. There was a bin near the door where he puts them. That was the only thing I was allowed to mess with. His room was his and I didn't touch his stuff without asking first. I could see his workbench in the middle of the room.
There were pieces of his work scattered everywhere. What was he building? I know he was getting into mechanical engineering after working at that construction firm and the factory. They had him on as some sort of safety inspector, checking all the equipment for various defects and such. And he started learning to fix them. And now he was building his own. A thing I've noticed is that Keyhole's sense for the elemental structure of metals has been improving over time. As has his ability to produce keys. He can modify them now, essentially meaning he could look at a lock and produce a key FOR that lock. Took a while for him to do so (around a week or two), but it was something he'd been practicing. I feel like half the reason he could was from the metal heavy diet he now had. I made sure he got all the nutrients he needed, and none of my friends ever went hungry. I wondered if other Lockins could develop such an ability provided they had all the proper nourishment?
"Between you and Ammy, I bet you'd make very good thieves." I put Keyhole in bed. "But I do hope you all use those skills for good. Only go after the rich who hoard their wealth without helping the poor with it." Was that incredibly selfish of me to think so? I pet Keyhole's head as I grew more hands to tuck his blanket up around him.
Then again, with how many of the 'civilized' dimensions doing almost everything with electronic locks, Hectorgon could break into anyplace he wanted as well. Weird how so many of my friends had the skills for such things. Or maybe it wasn't so weird. They were meant to be criminals in Canon. Led by a Bill who just wanted to party and have fun. Well, Sebastian's past life Bill had simply broken so badly that he wanted to take down everyone else with him. And Blue says he wanted to make a better world, but his idea of that was to impose/change reality to be a Game where he could set the rules himself. And maybe that worked in his 'Set. But my set wasn't a game. Neither was Seb's. I had a bad feeling about what would happen if I really did make it so everyone could come back to life as whatever they wanted, building their own 'characters' as it were and just materializing as whatever they wanted without having to be born. They would live their lives doing whatever they wanted, because nothing would matter. That was what I was worried about happening if I ever made such a system.
If death didn't matter, then what was the point of it all? I was immortal, and I got tired of it. I have to constantly find reasons for me to continue to care, just so I wouldn't become numb to everything. I mean… I didn't want people to die and leave me. But I also didn't want to inflict my own curse upon them without consent. I still felt kinda bad for doing that to Xanthar and the others without fully asking them about it. But I'd been desperate.
And I still left them a way out. Because I knew how much it sucked to live forever. I… didn't want to put anyone else through that if they didn't want it. But… I was still going to ask Zach and Zoe if they wanted to stay with me forever, once they were older and could think this over properly.
And the longing I felt inside probably meant I was going to be heading over to Seb's set and staying for a longer visit. I went off to find Xanthar and found him in my room. Up in the penthouse. He was cuddling with my Spare vessels. I kept them on shelves here, for emergencies. I floated over to bury myself face first against his side. "Hey, sorry for leaving you alone today." I told him as he slept on, dreaming of cotton candy trees. "Sometimes I wish you could talk. Sometimes I wish you could tell me everything you wanted." I wrapped my arms around him, feeling him relax into my embrace. "I always feel bad for wanting to leave and go to Seb's side. It almost feels like I'm abandoning you all." I know he couldn't hear me, but I needed to get my thoughts out.
"I could say it's because they're mortal, and I want to enjoy them while I can, but that's not the full reason." I sighed. Never just one reason. Even when I do things on impulse. I always have reasons. Even if they don't make sense and are just a result of my emotions telling me this is something I wanted. "They're humans. Humans like the ones I remember from my past life. My own Earth is still in development. It's something I love, but it's not familiar to me. I MISS my old home. My old Earth. And Seb's place is so much like it, even the bad parts." I grumbled, thinking about the racism and hate and oppression.
"Except now I can DO something about it." I whispered. Because as much as I truly did want the Pines to live long happy lives, and wanted to fix their world for the better for the sake of all the suffering people, a big part of it was because I had the power to do what I wanted there, and I relished it. The children that died in the camps in my world were alive and happy in Seb's. The families struggling to pay rent could now live in the homes I provided for them. I was pouring myself and my powers into that world to try and make a difference. And it was selfish, it was wish fulfillment. But it made me happy to know that at least in one world, people would be alright. In one small dimension, out of literally infinite ones, I could make a difference.
I couldn't save the people back in my old world. But at least I could do something here.
I settled into Xanthar's arms, closing my eye to sleep and head back there once more.
I admit, I took a very long break over in Sebastian's 'set. Well, I say break, but I had a delivery company to run, Islands to build, people to kidna-help. Also, I had some more sessions with Linda. I don't know if I was making any progress, but Linda seemed hopeful. "A lot of mental health is learning better ways of expressing your emotions, like instead of… I don't know, blowing up a planet or something, you could punch a pillow."
Tried that. Pillow punching doesn't really do it for me."
"We'll go over a list of different things you could do instead." Linda said patiently. Truly this lady was so desensitized to the amount of cosmic horror around her that she didn't bat an eye at my confession of planetary destruction. It was… nice. I mean… not having her get mad and immediately telling me that I was a bad person for losing control of my temper, and instead trying to give me other options of what to do when I needed to let loose because I was upset. That was nice. No 'you should just hold it in and not do that' and more 'here's stuff you can do instead'.
Also, I know I'm a petty bitch and having people criticize me for having emotional outbursts and being unable to control them only made me angrier. I wonder if Linda had picked up on that. Shrewd woman that she was, I liked that about her.
It was Sebastian's birthday, which meant it was also Ford and Stan's birthday! I had fun with my human family and then pulled Ford aside to spend the evening with him. "I can't really top the boat I gave you all last time, but I think there's another thing that might be a great gift for you~" I sang while nuzzling against him in my Xin form.
"O-oh? And what's that?" Ford blushed as I pushed him onto his bed and laid on top of him.
"You have the rest of the day to scientifically study me to your heart's content. Within reason." I told him. And he let out a shuddering moan at that. Wow. Neeeeeerd~
"You're… serious?" He asked as we laid there, nose to nose. "I don't want you offering to do this for me just because it's my birthday and you feel you owe me or-" I lightly placed a finger to his lips. "I'm limiting you to just my Xin form. And… well…" I blushed faintly. "So long as you're not sticking stuff into me, I'm fine with… with you… touching me."
Ford chuckled a little, the vibrations in his chest rumbling against my own. "A full examination isn't the same as a petting session, you know?"
"I know. But hey…" I tried to pretend I wasn't as nervous about this as I was, "...I do have a thing for a hot guy in a lab coat…"
"Are you getting off on the idea of playing 'doctor and patient'?" Ford raised an eyebrow. I huffed, laying my chin down on his chest. "Not in the way you think. I want to know what you think of me, scientifically speaking. Also, you enjoy learning and categorizing stuff, so I figured your little nerd brain would love an opportunity like this." He chuckled, reaching up to cup my face in his hands, brushing his thumbs against my cheeks. "You are correct, I would love this opportunity to study you." I shuddered at the jolt of something going up and down my spine. It felt good, but I couldn't quite identify it. "Because I'm so scientifically interesting?" I teased him.
He smiled, brushing my bangs back with his fingers. "Because you're beautiful and amazing." And shiiiit~ the jolt was much stronger this time! I shuddered, curling my tail in the air. "Since when did you finally learn how to flirt." I demanded. Ford laughed, "I'm simply stating facts." He lowered one hand to push himself up until he was upright and I was sitting in his lap with my legs wrapped around his waist. "Xin, you're beautiful." I shuddered, feeling my face flush as he kept caressing me with his eyes. "Ok what is this about?" I asked directly. Ford shrugged. "Well, as someone with low self esteem, I was told by my therapist that getting praised and complimented would help. And I have noticed that I felt really happy when I do get praised. And well," he blushed a little. "I love you. And I want you to feel happy. So I figured I could try praising you too." He paused. "If its uncomfortable, I could st-"
I wrapped my arm around him. "Don't stop." I pressed my face into his chest. "It makes me very happy." If that building warmth inside me meant anything. "But I thought I was supposed to be making you happy today." I whined. Ford laughed. "I don't see why we can't make each other happy. Come on, you can praise me too."
"You just want some praise, you handsome man." I purred, wiggling against him. Oh? So he wanted to get praised huh? I raised my hands up to his head, threading my fingers into his hair. "I feel safe around you." Which was the highest praise I could give someone. Feeling safe. There weren't many people I could say that to. Not even my dad. Not with all the doubts in my heart, as much as I tried not to think about it.
Ford's eyes went wide. "Really?" I laid my head down on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. "Yeah." I closed my eyes, relaxing on him. I could feel the way he laughed, "Thank you, for trusting me."
"Thank you for loving me." I responded. His expression softened and he wrapped his arms around me. "Thank you for loving me back." Then, boldly, while looking like he was somewhat unsure, he leaned down and kissed my forehead. It tingled, but it wasn't bad. I grinned up at him and kissed his chin. He laughed at that. "Ok. Ok." He said, mostly to himself. "I guess this much is ok?"
"The cheek is also fine." I wagged my tail. "Or my hand. Or my shoulders~" I purred. "And possibly others. Just not my mouth. Germy germs!"
Ford laughed outright at that. "Got it. Same for me, I suppose." He moved his hands onto my hips, "Well, where do you want to do this examination? Here? The lab?"
"Well, as much as the idea of being bent over your lab bench appeals to me, I think I like your bed more." I said matter of factly. "If you need any of your equipment, I can bring them here."
Ford nodded, carefully lifting me off his lap and putting me on the bed as he got up. "Should I wash my hands first?" he joked.
"Yes." I said immediately, making him raise his eyebrows. "What? You're gonna be touching me all over." I huffed. Ford nodded. "Alright. I'll be right back." and he left his room to head to the bathroom to wash up. While he was gone, I debated if I should change into an examination gown or let him undress me. I wiggled at the thought. But Ford was so easily embarrassed, and this was his birthday. I should keep the teasing to a minimum. I flicked my fingers and shifted my clothes into a simple gown. I stretched out on Ford's bed, absently cleaning and sterilizing it as I rolled around.
I heard a knock on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." I moved to sit over the side of the bed, hands in my lap. The door opened and my eyes widened.
Ford had changed into a white lab coat and had his journal in hand. He grinned. "I'm documenting all of this. Is that alright?"
"I don't mind." I said as I purred, looking him up and down. Ford flushed a little at the intensity of my gaze. "You really like looking at me that much?" He asked, walking forward and opening his journal. I shrugged. "You're aesthetically attractive to my tastes, and I like looking." He rubbed the back of his head, blushing so adorably. "W-well." He grinned. "For what it's worth, I like looking at you too." It was my turn to blush now. "Me as Xin or…" I wiggled, my tail brushing back and forth across the blankets.
"Xin, Yun, William…" Ford listed off. "...and I wouldn't mind Bill." I paused at that. Ford sighed, sitting down and taking my hands. "I'm fine with Bill, if it's you. It is you. You're Bill." he told me. "Don't think I haven't noticed." he was gazing at me so intently. "You want to be acknowledged as Bill Cipher. But you're afraid of us equating you with the local Bill."
I looked away. "It's not an unfounded fear." I muttered. Ford sighed. "You're not him. And frankly, I don't believe you'll ever be him."
"You don't know that." I wilted. "What if something bad happens to me and I completely lose it? What if I'm just a terrible person inside and once you're all no longer here to make me be on good behavior I'll just-?" Ford pulled me against his chest, holding one hand behind my head and the other on my back. "I won't say you're a good person." he started, "But I don't believe you'll ever be anything like my Bill, or Blue."
I shivered. "But what if…"
"Then your own set of Pines would stop you, just as we stopped our own Bill. That is how this works, correct?" Despite everything, that actually made me feel better. I relaxed. "I guess so… maybe…" I shrugged, "If you… really are okay with my triangle form… I might… sometimes… be Bill, but just with you." The local Bill was an ass, I didn't want to be mistaken for him one bit. Filbrick's equation of Sebastian with the local Bill was already bad enough.
Ford took this time to squeeze my hands, turning my palm face up and pressing around along my wrist. "You have a pulse."
"This vessel has a heart. And a circulatory system." I explained, watching him write this down. He looked up, "Can you get me my aneroid monitor?"
"Blood pressure squeezy check pump that goes around my arm, got it." I flicked my flingers on my free hand and the squeezy arm wrap thing appeared. Ford rolled his eyes. "Aneroid monitor."
"Sure it is Fordsie." I giggled. "Now what do you say when someone does something for you~?."
"Thank you." Ford rolled his eyes but he was smiling. He took the items and put them on himself and me. I held still while he wrapped the thick part around my arm and put the stethoscope part against his ears. "Relax. Breathe." Ford said gently as he began squeezing the pump to tighten the wrap around my arm.
I felt my heart begin to race. I was trembling.
"Xin?" Ford's eyes widened and he quickly turned the knob to release the pressure. I felt him wrap his arms around me. "You're ok. You're here, with me. This is my room and we're just having a basic check up." He began stroking his fingers through my hair. "Come on, breathe in and hold your breath. Then breathe out, slowly."
I just realized I was gasping for air much too quickly. Ford leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine. "You're safe. You're with me. I'm right here." It felt difficult, but I calmed, I wrapped my arms around him, closing my eyes and just feeling him there with me.
After a moment of just holding each other, Ford apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't think." I shook my head. "Not your fault. I wasn't thinking either. I didn't think it would..." I hadn't thought something this simple would...
"Do you want to stop the exam and just cuddle for the rest of the day?" Ford suggested, brushing a hand along my cheek, cupping my face with his palm as his fingers brushed against my ears and the feathers behind them.
I shook my head. "We just won't do the squeezy thing."
"...alright. No squeezy thing." Ford leaned back to kiss my forehead, making me smile at the almost ticklish feeling. "Are you sure you want me-"
"Yes Fordsie." I grumbled. "Ok how about this, I can even give you a blood sample, no needles required." I curled my fingers into the back of his shirt. "Please just… enjoy yourself! I wanted to make you happy today!"
Ford sighed, holding my face in his hands. "Every moment with you makes me happy. You don't have to worry about that."
"Seriously what's with all these romance novel lines?" I blinked at him, even as I felt all fluttery inside at his words. Ford coughed sheepishly. "I… erm… asked my brothers about dating advice and ah…"
"Say no more, I get it." I managed a laugh.
"Is it too weird? Should I stop?" Ford seemed quite flustered, it was adorable. I shook my head. "Nah, it's kinda cheesy but it makes me feel nice."
Ford relaxed. "That's good."
"But seriously, I wanted you to enjoy yourself tonight. Just us." I laid my head against his chest. "Don't let my trauma get the mood down. I'm fine. You… you actually talked me through and out of it before it even got that bad. That's a good thing!"
"I'm still disappointed in myself for not thinking that would be a problem."
"I didn't think of it either. It's neither of our faults!"
"I know, I just feel bad."
"Don't feel bad! Today is your feel good day!" I whined. Ford let out a short. "Alright I'll try." He paused. "So… If I get to examine you however I want…" He trailed off. I stared in anticipation. What was he gonna do? What was he gonna ask for? Was he gonna ask me to undress?! I had to hold back a hysterical squee at the idea. I might have read too much erotica.
"Can I take measurements of your dragon form?" Ford asked eagerly. I blinked. "Oh~? So you're more interested in my dragon form?" I teased. Kinky.
Ford nodded, eager as could be, "Yes! I want to know how you work. What your skeletal structure looks like- your anatomy! Feathers, scales and hair! Are you more genetically similar to a reptile or a bird? Are you like a dinosaur?" He gushed with little hand wiggles as they came up around his head. I was distracted by his wiggling fingers for a bit, they're like little worms. "Well." I blinked, tearing my eyes away from the wiggly, "You're gonna need a much bigger room."
"Are you going to transform right here?" Ford blinked, looking up and around.
"I can make your room temporarily bigger." I shrugged. Spacial expansion was easy. Ford thought about it. "That would be fine. Oh, can you transform slowly? So I can see how it works? As in which parts change first, or what parts don't change at all…"
I looked down at myself. "Should I undress for this? So you can see everything?" I tried not to let on how much the idea was working me up. He could probably see my blush, he must. Ford nodded. "If you're comfortable with the idea of it."
"Pffth- naked it is." I shrugged, reaching up to pull the gown over my head. I shivered at the cool conditioned air on my bare skin. I blushed harder when I realized the cold made my nipples stiffen. Seriously?! And Ford saw it too! Ahhhhh!
Ford was already writing in his journal. "Sensitive to changing environmental factors. Temperature to be tested at a later time." he motioned for me to stand up, pulling out a tape measure from a lab coat pocket. "I want to mark down your height and the length of your antlers and tail." I almost wanted to ask if he wanted to measure anything else, but I chickened out, feeling almost self conscious now that he was staring at me so intently. I shivered as I stood there while he measured my antlers, loving the way his fingers brushed through my hair as he parted them to see where the appendages were protruding from my skull.
"Stand on this please." Ford put one end of the tape measure against my toes. I stood on it while he stood up, stretching the tape out and measuring it to the top of my head. Then he measured my shoulders, my legs, my tail- I let out a soft sound at the feeling of his hand stroking down the length of my tail as he gently pulled it out straight. It took him a bit to get it straight since I kept twitching it, the feathers on the end bristling as I shivered.
"Are you cold?" Ford asked. I shook my head. "Well, a little, but your hands feel nice." Ford blushed. "I could get you a blanket or?"
"I'll be fine. I'm naturally warm, so everything feels cooler by comparison." I squeaked when Ford wrapped the tape measure around my waist, brushing his hand along my butt. Oooh~ "That feels sort of nice." I commented.
Ford paused and, in a move much bolder than I ever thought possible from him, deliberately placed his whole palm along my hip and brushed down along the curve of my butt. I let out a pleased sound, wiggling in place. "You like that?" Ford asked, sounding a little amused.
"It's quite pleasant." I wrapped my tail around his back. "Touch me, please?" I tugged at him with my tail. Ford laughed, only a little sheepish. "Well I have more measuring to do, I'm sure I'll be touching quite a lot of you."
"Please do." I purred. Ford rolled his eyes. "And just who was supposed to be enjoying themselves today?"
"I mean, no reason why I can't have fun in my own way while you're doing your thing." I leaned forward, pressing myself to his chest. "I know you like touching me."
"Well, yes. And your reactions are quite cute." Ford placed both hands on my hips now, rubbing his thumbs in little circles along my skin. "Beautiful, adorable, absolutely lovely~" he continued teasing. I was burning. "F-Ford!" I whined, wiggling as my energy surged inside me. It almost felt like when the Islanders sent me way too much worship. But this wasn't worship, it was subtly different.
Regardless of what precisely this was, I could feel the effects of this energy surge burning through me. I was blushing hard as I tried to keep my humanoid form. It was hard. The energy surge was… intense. Much stronger than I expected from just simple praise from Ford. "A-ah… Fordsie…" I wiggled. He seemed amused by my reaction. "You're cute when you're embarrassed~" he continued teasing.
"This is revenge for all the times I've embarrassed you, isn't it?" I pouted. Ford's smug look answered for me. Well, if he was gonna be complimenting me anyway...
"Fine," I put on a mock haunty air. "Do your worst~"
Ford chuckled even as he continued taking my measurements, checking the length of my arms now. "You're delightful company. You're intelligent, funny, talented..." I huffed. "I know that already." I was maneuvered so Ford could measure my shoulders. "I'm brilliant and also a god you know?" my mouth kept twitching into a smile. Ford rolled his eyes. "Sure sure… quetzalcoatl~"
"Uuuugh!" I could hear the way Ford was stifling laughter at the disgruntled expression I must have. "I'm all for being worshipped, but I still can't believe they thought I was quetzalcoatl."
"Hm. I wonder how they could have thought you were the feathered serpent…" Ford brushed his fingers through my feathers as he chuckled. "Yeah but I'm clearly Asian!"
"Well few people have seen a dragon before, how would they know what a dragon's humanoid form would look like?" Ford crouched down to wrap the tape measure around my waist. He poked my belly while he was down there, his finger sinking into the plush roundness. "Eep!" I covered my belly.
"Ticklish I see~"
"Don't you dare or else I'm going for your ribs." I huffed. Ford actually had the gall to pout at me. "You don't want a belly rub?"
"Tonight's about what you want."
"Well I want to give you a belly rub." Ford smirked. I poked his nose. "Smug bastard."
"So is that a yes or~?" Ford leaned his cheek against my belly, sinking into it. I rolled my eyes. "Fiiiiiine~"
Ford climbed back on his bed, stretching out his legs and patting the space between them. "Come on, sit. I got all the human-form measurements I wanted anyway." I raised an eyebrow, but sat myself down in the space between his legs. I wondered if he knew how this looked. Probably not, considering he hadn't noticed our wrestling thing being an issue. Well, I didn't mind. Still should tell him though. "You know this is a very compromising position." I leaned back against him, tilting my head so I could see his face.
Ford had a faint coloring along his cheeks, but it looked like he was committing to trying to tease me back. Hah. Good luck dude. I've been making fun of people for longer than he's been alive! "Well maybe I just want you in my lap." he said while wrapping his hands around my middle, and it was a little embarrassing to be naked while he was fully dressed, I'll admit that much. I pressed my legs together, letting out a breath as Ford patted my belly. Patting was fine. I just couldn't take poking, that tickled.
"I wonder why your skin's so soft? You'd think it would be harder, like your scales." Ford moved one hand off my belly to pick up my tail, squeezing lightly. I placed my hands over the one Ford had on my belly. "It's just flesh." I pointed out.
Ford pushed my belly up and jiggled it. "Flesh isn't all the same. I know that from being in space. You feel human-ish. But it's softer than human skin." he squeezed, making me squeal and wiggle in place. "Texture-wise, I mean." he explained. "You have pores, correct?"
"Yeah. Though I don't sweat that much. I don't like doing so." I agreed.
"Human pores work like funnels," Ford started. "Oil pores push out oil and dead skin cells so humans can shed off the unneeded excess. Sweat pores are a separate thing." he rubbed my belly, the rough calluses on his fingers felt nice against me. "So you have sweat pores, do you have oil pores?"
"...I don't have oil pores." I said slowly. "I have element pores? I mean, I shed carbon dust, amongst other elements from the food I eat, after I've digested."
"And I'm guessing these pores are super small?" I nodded in response to Ford's question. He hummed, rubbing his thumb up and down along the curve of my stomach. "That could be part of why your skin is so smooth. Smaller pores, less bumps for textures..."
"I wash the dust off too, so I wouldn't feel all chalky." I admitted. Ford's fingers found my belly button and was absently rubbing circles around it. "Why do you have a belly button?" he asked suddenly. "This body of yours wasn't born, you didn't have an umbilical cord-"
"It's an aesthetic choice." I rolled my eyes. "It looks weird if I didn't have one."
"So it's just a little indent of skin? Or does it actually connect to something…" I squealed when Ford hooked his fingers around the edges of my belly button and pulled gently as he leaned over to look at it. "Ford that tickles!" I wiggled while laughing. He was squeezing my belly a little. "It's just a pinch fold! Like I said, aesthetics!" I wheezed through my laughter, kicking my legs.
"Hm…" Ford finally moved his hands off, leaving me panting for air. He laid his chin down on the top of my head. "You're cute when you laugh."
Goddamn why was I so weak to this? I grabbed and squeezed Ford's hands to my chest. The simmering heat going through me surged again. I wiggled my toes, feeling hot and tight and so very fluttery- I let out a whining sound.
"You liked that, didn't you?" Ford teased as he threaded his fingers through mine and held my hand. "When I talk about how cute you are?" I whined again, making him laugh. "You do!" he teased. I responded by poking his nose. Ford laughed again, leaning forward and practically engulfing me in a hug. "You're very cute. Absolutely adorable."
"Uwwuwuwuuu…"
He lowered his mouth to my ear, the sounds tickling my neck and sending shivers through my spine. "The way your cheeks puff out while you're eating is adorable. The way you frown when you're concentrating is lovely." he was definitely doing this on purpose! "And sometimes, when you're really happy, you're absolutely breathtaking."
I let out a gasping moan, shuddering in his embrace and feeling the scales growing along my body. It was taking everything I had to stay in humanoid form but I was quickly losing my grip on it.
"Oh!" Ford's arms were forced apart as I began growing. He stared as I arched my back, falling onto the blankets and writhing on them, my toes stretching out slowly into claws as I moaned. Ford blinked. "But I'm not even worshipping you!" he finally realized what was happening.
I couldn't really speak, too lost in the feeling of my energy swelling and writhing under my skin. I heard my voice distorting slightly into more animalistic sounds as my vocal chords shifted inside my throat. My neck stretched out as the scales continued spreading.
"It's alright, you can let go." I heard Ford say. I gasped out and did so, my form bursting out into scales and feathers as my bulk pressed into the sides of the now growing room. Rather, the room grew as I pressed into it. I groaned, shaking my head and thrashing my tail about me. I felt Ford petting my side. "Are you alright? Do you know what happened? I swear I wasn't worshipping you."
I laid myself back down with a groan, my head taking up the whole bed. "I dunno. But it almost felt like worship." I was panting softly and felt rather worn out, despite everything. Seriously, holding back my energy always took a lot out of me.
"Are you sure you're alright? Do you need anything?" Ford seemed worried, climbing up to my snout and staring at me. I huffed. "I'm fine… I…" I blinked. "I actually feel pretty good." actually, if I hadn't been trying to hold it in… that… well… it felt great. Like, really great. I wiggled. "I like when you praise me." I admitted. "Dunno why there's an energy surge, but it felt really nice."
"Oh." Ford paused. "So should I keep going?"
"Suuuuure~" I purred, nuzzling my snout into his chest. "Though I will say, it's a good thing I Cursed your room to get larger to accommodate me, rather than manually enlarging it. I couldn't concentrate well enough for that." I watched Ford write this down in his journal as well, "Praise is possibly a form of worship, too much of it causes energy spikes that make it difficult for him to think properly."
He looked back up at me. "Alright then, praise is your weakness." Ford chuckled. I huffed at him. "No it isn't!" he gave me a smug look and I pushed him off the bed. "Well I want to test out this 'praise' thing and see how much energy it can make you produce. I'll need my detectors for that... after I finish measuring your current size." He pulled his tape measure out and grinned at me while waggling his eyebrows. I burst out laughing at that.
Good to see he was in a good mood. And to be honest, so was I. "I might as well bring your lab here while I'm at it."
"Oh! Yes! That would be excellent!" his eager face was so cute I could just squish him. I refrained from doing so.
If I had known how embarrassing some of his tests would end up being, I might have.
