"Vi! In my office. Now."
Sergie's call rang through the office building like Cerberus' bark when he smelled the scent of sin through the gates of hell. Vi had been bouncing her leg with hands sweaty for almost fifteen minutes now following, what a competent business person would call, a bastardized mockery of a client meeting.
Very rarely did the claws of authoritative scold have any effect on Vi, but this time, they gripped tight. Never before had Vi so butchered an attempt at keeping a wealthy benefactor of the Honey Distribution branch of the Bee Kingdom, and depending on the boss' reaction, maybe never again. Ever since the exploring gigs started falling through years ago, Vi hadn't found a job that payed so well and let her travel so much, until this job as a traveling salesperson. The only thing Vi could be certain of is that her boss could never be as vicious as the stock market that took all her savings as penance for impulsive trading.
Her limbs were molasses now. Limp, numb, and of low viscosity, Vi slowly and anxiously dribbled her way towards Sergie's office.
"Sit down," Sergie said. In his tone, professionalism was the dam and fury was the river.
"How."
"How… what?" Vi asked, feigning dumb naivety.
"How does a charitable, wealthy, true benefactor and proud constituent of Honey Distribution Corp. turn his back on a reliable company after ONE CLIENT CHECKUP!?"
"I mean, well… the guys' crazy, y'know? Midlife crisis? Redistributing assets…"
"I don't care what it is, Vi. Caring what goes on inside the brains of people with money is YOUR job, and you did your job exceptionally poorly today."
Vi stared down at her hands now. The boulder that had been steadily rolling down the hill for fifteen minutes was about to squash that ambling, lame hope that was all but crippled by her poor performance today.
"You're fired, Vi. Pack your things."
And just like that, a switch flipped inside of Vi's brain. The bureaucracy, the professionalism, the office-place courteousness that had been so carefully chiseled in spite of that fire in her soul, had just come crashing down.
"FIRE me!?"
And Vi, surprising even herself, started laughing. Sergie was quite surprised too, and he stayed his reaction just long enough for Vi to begin yelling again.
"I'm one of the best god damn sales workers the hive has seen in years! Hell, EVER! Who do you think got that client in the first place!?" She laughed even harder now. Before she was so worried about having nothing to give in repentance towards her work, but now, she had nothing to lose.
"You backwards buffoons hire me for two years, barely recognize me beyond the paychecks, and yet I STILL work my ass off convincing old people to buy your shitty product. You know what? I'm GLAD you fired me, because if I had to work in this god damn sweat shop for another twenty minutes, we'd all be out of a job by the casualty of an arson!"
Vi stomped out of the office with eyes ablaze and face flushed. Out of the corner of a vision, a tall potted plant grabbed her attention, and that furious part of her decided it would be a perfect outlet for her anger. She twisted her hips in anticipation, and when the moment seized her, her leg left the floor in a swift, calculated, and deadly motion as it knocked the tree clean over. To the janitors it may be a moderate inconvenience, but to Vi, it was a statement. She didn't even think to look at the reactions of her coworkers when she left.
The next day Vi would learn quite a lot of things. But the first thing she learned was that when the compound you live in sits right next to the one you work in, you should probably avoid causing drama.
"DIdn't she help save the world or something? She should lead a better example…" said one passerby.
"That's Vi alright. Can't keep the fire down forever," said another.
"Do you even know what you just did, you idiot?" was Juane, who began scolding VI within about two minutes of meeting her in the residential area.
"I know what I did. That place sucked to work at and I'm glad I'm rid of it!" Vi retorted with the passion of a martyr.
"That place is our goddamn home Vi! What's the queen going to think of this? Hell, word's gonna get around you know! People are going to hear about how 'lady snakemouth' lost her mind at a Hive official!"
"Oh, how goddamn rich!" Vi started to get flustered again. "Lady Snakemouth!? We were promised livelihoods from that quest! We thought that saving the world would maybe let us be professional explorers for the rest of our lives with no financial worries, but nobody told us how inflation would make the berry too worthless to wipe your ASS with!"
Juane got even angrier at her sister. "Do you even care, Vi? About the hive's reputation? About our community?"
"Well maybe our community isn't worth caring about!" Vi shot back.
It was at this time that Vi, unlike the last incident, started to realize a number of people were existing concurrently in the space she was arguing in. Murmurs started spreading around the senate of bees like the spread of a quiet fire. Vi knew this feeling all too well. Like that time long in her past, when she was just a child, she realized it might be better to leave the hive for a bit, because the people in it may not be so kind to her.
Like any bar worth getting wasted in, Doppel's hadn't changed a bit in the ten years Vi knew of it.
Younger bugs laughed a bit too loudly. At this hour, only the scant group of all-night partiers were finally weaning down their craze, as the sun was well beyond risen.
"Been a while, Vi. How are you doing?" Doppel approached Vi and started some polite conversation. Vi was fine with conversation, but she wasn't quite in the mood for politeness.
"Terrible. Fucking awful even. Everyone fucking hates me again, the economy's terrible, and aside from the two centaberies I brought, I'm flat broke and out of a job."
Doppel hadn't seen Vi in many a moon, and still her bluntness didn't catch him off guard.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"No." Vi resolved. Not everybody has to know her business. She may be a bit of a celebrity, but that doesn't mean everybody is entitled to hear about every detail in her life. But Doppel knew she would change her mind in about fifteen seconds.
"It's just so unfair, man… I mean obviously I'm not entitled to be rich or anything. But a decent shred of respect would help, right?"
"Oh man, I understand that…" Doppel chimed in while scrubbing a mug.
"Things have just changed so much. Like, people used to treat the workers they hired with respect, y'know? I was quite the hothead when I was starting my exploring gigs…"
"Was?" asked Doppel with a smirk.
"Oh, shut up, man…" Vi let out a chuckle.
Vi and Doppel bantered for a bit. Patronage was running thin; most of the partiers left to sleep away their day off, and the ones that remained had seized control of the jukebox, which they used to play Mothiva's new single on loop. The slightest bit of sunlight broke through the bottle-cap entrance and illuminated part of the ale-stained carpet. To Vi, an hour passed like it was only a minute.
"It's been great talking with you, Doppel. I should probably head out, try to pick up some of the pieces in the disaster I caused in my hive."
"Yeah, good luck with that, kid. Thanks for the conversation."
Vi pushed herself off the stool and started walking towards the exit. She prepped her wings to fly up through the exit; she may not be drunk, but the bouncing mushroom might not be great for her stomach after the considerable amount of grapeale she consumed. It wouldn't have made the impact hurt any less, though. Had she paid more attention, and not been fiddling with her berry purse as she ascended the exit, she might have dodged the large green beetle falling with direct trajectory toward her head.
A smack, grunt, thump resonated throughout Doppels. The remaining partiers started cackling.
"Are… you ok?" asked the green beetle. "You should probably check the exit before you try to…" The beetle cut himself off. Could it be…?
Vi tilted her face towards the familiar bug and away from the floor she so gracefully smacked into. "Kabbu!?"
Immediately they stood up now. Whatever pain they felt was no match for the rare, beautiful feeling of unexpectedly running, or colliding, into an old friend. They shared a laugh, a hug, and the attention of Doppel, who was in fits laughing.
"Wow," Doppel said. "It finally happened. After telling you for moons and moons to watch the exit before you flew up. You two alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine," Kabbu started, "but Vi, I'm surprised I didn't break your neck!"
"You're not catching me complaining. How are you? It's been years, Kabbu!"
The two labored their way to a table.
"I've been doing well! Work in the north has been rewarding. I just got promoted! I'm a detective now. What about you, Vi?"
Vi replied impulsively. "Oh, I just got fired because my boss is an asshole."
Kabbu laughed incredulously, even after knowing her for all that time, he still gets caught off-guard by her bluntness.
Kabbu moved away from Bulgaria to a far land of the north about six years ago, and it took the two a few seconds to see how they changed. Aside from letters, the two hadn't communicated at all, let alone seen each other. Kabbu noticed that Vi hadn't grown an inch, but filled out a bit horizontally. Her eyes changed too, not in way of their initial appearance, but one familiar with her younger self would notice a potent easy, yet crisp undertone that develops in the calaced, but sturdy soul of one who shed their skin of naivety long ago. Kabbu, too, shared a similar aura. What replaced his previously bulky frame was the look of a bug who lives life to the fullest: still tones, but subtler.
"So… what happened? I'm guessing the anger built up a little too much?"
"Yeah. But hey, in my defense, I was doing my job just as I was told to. I don't wanna talk about that right now. You say you're a detective now?"
Conversation flowed out of the two like water. Once they regained their strength, they left Doppels and began their trek to no place in particular, visiting the outskirts, the desert, and even checking on the deadlands, chatting. The two had been talking for hours by the time they were making it back to the ant kingdom.
"...and that's when I found the secret compartment in the pantry."
"No way… it was the cook!?" Vi was completely enthralled by Kabbu's northern police force tales.
"Yeah but get this; the knife that was the murder weapon? He stole it, because he knew that if he was missing a knife from his own collection, it would have been suspicious! He had the brain of a roach. Not fast enough though…"
"That is fucking awesome. I wish I had your job, damn!"
"Vi… someone was murdered. But yes. It was unexplainably satisfying."
Vi rested her back against a tree. Kabbu passed around her right side, and leaned similarly. The sun was high in the sky now, about noon time.
"Wow… I really wish I had your job." Vi lamented.
"Vi, do you need to talk? You know you can always talk to me, I know I haven't been the best at keeping in contact-"
Vi interrupted him. "Do you want to know why I got fired, Kabbu?"
"Why?"
Vi took time for a long sigh and to rub her forehead. "Man, I don't even know where to start. You remember Yel?"
"Of course I do! He's one of the richest people in the world, in no part due to his food review business."
"Yeah. Well he's got his own food manufacturing company, right? He buys honey from my hive, and I used to be the salesbee that would make sure clients stayed in business with us.
"Yesterday I was tasked to go to Metal Island to talk to this dude and make sure he didn't drop us for some other hive. Which should be the easiest task in the world, the next hive over is way up in the north, hours away, right? But I still screwed that up somehow.
"Yel is a weird dude. He doesn't talk business like a normal bug. He likes making a whole day out of it, right? So usually I love those outings;. He takes his boyfriend and I out to different obscure restaurants and treats us to dinner. Love the guy, honestly still do, even after this.
"But this time was different. He didn't want to take me anywhere. I got him talking like friends do, and he said he was thinking of breaking his engagement to pursue his business full time. He's clearly overworked himself, hes fucking exhausted, so we sit down on a bench in the middle of the island.
"We talk onboarding for a bit, I tell him the cost of our goods, and no surprise to me he says he'll buy it. I think it's a quick fifteen-minute meeting that's done, and then I fuck up. You wouldn't believe it, Kabbu, but a baby midge landed right on top of his head!"
"Oh that's adorable!" Kabbu cooed.
"I know, right? That's what I said! I said 'Things like that are what makes life worth living.'"
"Oh, I see where this is going."
"Yep. Saying that lit some sort of spark in this guy. Like, I made him realize what his existence means in the world or some bullshit. And immediately; you know what the dude says?"
"He's backing out of the sale?"
"Yep! Like a sociopath! He immediately sold his entire company and is probably off with his now husband on a private island. Like I'm honestly happy for him, sort of, but he kicked me out of my goddamn job!"
"I mean I'm glad Yel put his striders in a row, but that's not fair to you. I'm sorry, Vi."
Vi and Kabbu exchanged glances. Vi received one of honest empathy, and Kabbu received one of surprise, caught off-guard even, yet still pleasant.
"You ok, Vi?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you Kabbu, those words actually really mean a lot."
What happened to that green beetle in the years since they interacted? Kabbu was a sweetheart the moment she had met him, but she knew every rose had its thorns. A younger Kabbu might have scolded Vi for worrying about her job, or waxed poetics about how giving a man his means of finding happiness is more important than a job. Despite being only about four years older than her, Kabbu thought himself a sort of teacher back then. He called it a duty. Vi called it arrogance. But whatever it was was gone now; Kabbu instead gave her a listening ear and an empathetic heart. Trust. Respect. A level of equality she looked for in partners… Vi didn't dwell on that.
"I'm guessing the hive didn't take it well."
"Not after I blew up at them. Twice."
"Hey, there's no blame coming from me. You poke the Pumpling enough…"
The sadness had left Vi like the sun evaporates dew buds off the grass. She laughed.
"Kabbu!? Vi!?" A third voice called from a few feet away. The two stepped away from the leaning tree to identify their summoner.
"Maki! Hi!" Vi called back. The two made their way towards him.
Compared to the first time the gang met Maki, he was far more affectionate. Fist bumps and "wassup man"s were traded between him and Vi. Kabbu got an affectionate hand on the shoulder.
"Kabbu… I heard about what happened with Neo. I'm so sorry man."
"I probably should have seen it coming. Thanks Maki."
Vi was completely blindsided. Something happened with Kabbu and Neo? Last time she checked up on them, they were set to get married in about a year. She probably should have noticed, in Bugaria the new tradition was to wear an engagement band around one's left arm, which Kabbu decidedly didn't have. Vi summoned all of the strength she had, all of her willpower, not to impulsively ask Kabbu about what happened.
"What have you two been up to? I bet it's great to run into each other again."
"More like 'fall into'. But yes! I've missed that bee a lot, we've been catching up for a while now. She's still splendid company."
"I missed that sap too. Glad I found him, I needed a win today."
"Well hey," Maki began, "I can't really stay and chat. But are you two going to make it to the Golden Festival today?"
"No way, that's today? Damn, I haven't been to one in forever!"
"Sure is. You and Kabbu should go together. They'd love to see you again down there! You should probably get a hotel room too, festivities are going to go late tonight."
"That sounds incredible, Maki. I'd love to go, you too, Vi?"
"You'll see us both there," Vi answered.
"Oh and Kabbu… Neo's going too. I think he wants to talk to you." Maki added.
Kut's knives were working over time as he prepared food for Golden Festival patrons. Strings of lights, a jukebox, and even rides collected power from the hive power plant. Yumnum was setting up fireworks for later in the festival, for Venus' arrival. Children screamed, juice drinkers laughed and celebrated. The Golden Festival was underway.
And under those lights, Vi and Kabbu made their way through the attractions. After playing some games, drinking a bit with some old friends, and eating a complimentary Queen's Dinner prepared by Kut, the two found their way to the fortune table. The resident fortune teller shuffled tarot cards passively while he waited for more bugs to captivate.
"Vi! We should get our fortunes read!"
"Kabbu, c'mon. You know that stuff's B-S, right? It's just a party trick."
"Oh stop being cynical. Don't remember him from our adventures? He helped us get, like, five crystal berries!"
"Right. And this was with his clairvoyance, right? Not just, like, listening to rumors about where they were?"
"Alright, Vi, your loss. I'm going to go see… the future!"
The two made their way to the table.
"Ah! Team snakemouth! I'd foreseen your coming to this festival! Maki told you about it, right?"
Vi seemed a bit flabbergasted; Maki wasn't even here yet. Kabbu bumped her elbow with his and whispered, "Told ya so", which Vi responded with an affectionate "Oh shut it, Kabbu."
"So who wants their fortune read first? On the house."
"You go first, Kabbu," said Vi, to which Kabbu responded "Gladly."
The fortune teller shuffled the deck several times, until pulling out three cards: The Lovers, The Locusts, and The Crystal Berry.
"Oh Kabbu, you have a bit of a conundrum following you today."
"Umm… how so, fortune teller?"
"Well, as the cards foresee… you're looking for something. Something very special, something you dream of, something you don't know if you deserve. And like many things in life, you'll find it if you keep your mind open. But beware; behind a close corner lies death to those dreams you cherish so."
Kabbu stood silently for a minute, facial features a mixture of confusion and dread. Vi noticed and was confused herself.
"Kabbu, you good, man?"
"Yeah, I… do you want to go check something else out Vi? Thank you, fortune teller."
"Careful treading, beetle." The fortune teller replied ominously.
The pair walked in silence a bit. As Kabbu was taking in the scenery before, he was caught in his head now.
"Kabbu, seriously, are you ok man? Is this about…"
"Neo. Yes. It is about him."
The pair sat on a rickety wooden bench on the side of the path, and talked while they watched passerbys.
"Kabbu, tell me what's going on. What happened with Neo?"
"It's nothing really. I don't want to bore you with…"
Vi put a hand on Kabbu's shoulder now. "Kabbu," Vi said with an uncharacteristic softness, "you can talk to me, man."
"Neo left me, Vi. I really screwed up. I want to try to make it up to him… and I'm really nervous about seeing him again today."
"What did you do?"
"That's the thing. I don't really know. But his attitude really changed about me. I still love him though. And this is the last chance I have to try to convince him to try again."
"And what the fortune teller said…?"
"Vi, what if it goes wrong? Horribly, horribly wrong? What if I'm making a mistake? Is there something I'm not seeing? Is it stupid for me to ask for him back?"
"Kabbu! Kabbu! Dude. The truth is that you can't control what he does. That's the thing with love. No matter how much you love this motherfucker, you aren't a psychic! You can't read his mind, you can't control his reactions. At the end of the day, he's still going to be his own person. And if he really wants to pass up a catch like you, then that's his decision and his loss."
And then Kabbu remembered one of the many reasons why he cherished Vi so much. Vi was that special kind of person that saw the truth; the actual truth. Even in times of distress, Vi showed Kabbu that reality wasn't, and never was, as bad as Kabbu sometimes thought it. He wished, for a moment, he could spend his life with a person like that, like Vi… but he shook that off.
"Thanks for that, Vi."
"Hey man, the Bugaria bisexuals gotta stick together. Besides, I know more about this stuff."
"How so?"
"I get way, way more game than you do." Vi poked Kabbu playfully. "And look over there! Speak of the devil…"
And there was Professor Neolith. Carrying a bag of chips in one hand, he was about to walk right past Kabbu.
"Go shoot your shot, king." Vi said, then she jogged away before Kabbu could change his mind. Part of her was a bit disappointed… but she didn't really know why.
Vi would run into a troubling person of her own. This time literally. Vi was not lucky today when it came to physical contact with others. At least, not yet.
Vi was half running excitedly when she bumped right into her sister, Juane, who spilled half her berry juice on the ground. Vi's stomach suddenly felt like a bag of rocks. The mature thing to do was to apologize, but after this morning, she needed an escape plan, and fast. But Jaune's lightning reflexes were too keen for Vi to slip away unnoticed. She looked at Vi just as she was backing up, already angry. Vi managed to piss off Jaune again without even saying a word. But Jaune's expression turned from anger to… excitement?
"Vi!"
Vi was lifted off of her feet by her much taller sister in a hug, incredibly confused.
After Jaune relinquished her control of Vi's body back to gravity, Vi asked "Jaune, aren't you pissed at me? What's going on?"
"Not anymore! Vi, you should have told me more details! Here, some other people wanna see you." Jaune put a hand on Vi's back and pushed her toward her company, of… Queen Bianka!? And Professor Honeycomb? And tens of others… almost the whole hive was there! Notably, except Sergie.
And when Vi arrived in their company, they all clapped and cheered. Even Queen Bianka, in all of her prestige, paid her respects to Vi.
"I'm so confused guys!" Vi said, incredulous but beaming. "What's this fanfare for?"
"Vi!" Queen Bianka exclaimed. In another context, Vi would think the queen was mad at her, and there was a hint of anger, but not for her. "You should have told us how terrible Sergie was!"
"Hey mom, we warned you about outside hires! There isn't anybody else who knows how to have that Bee Kingdom spunk!" Vi exclaimed in characteristic informality.
"Vi, seriously, we're really sorry. Apparently there's been complaints about that asshole for weeks. We should have listened to you, even if you were angry," Juane said, far kinder than she was that morning.
Just before Vi started partying with the colony, she caught a glance of Kabbu and Neo in her periphery, laughing, chatting and getting along. He seemed about as happy as she was.
And Kabbu was happy. It had been an hour at this point and Kabbu's anxiety was finally getting to let up.
"It's so great to reconnect with you Kabbu… I'm so sorry things went so badly last
time."
"Me too, Neo. I've really, really missed you…"
They stared into each other's eyes. This should have been a romance-novel moment for them. Kabbu should have looked into Neo's eyes and got reminded of their beautiful depth, sharing a kiss. They should have mutually remembered the good times, the time far gone that they had just a chance of getting back. But Kabbu didn't see that. Instead he saw an anxiety of its own in Neo's. He saw into Neo's soul and wished he never did… but Kabbu was fooling himself. He was letting that damned fortune teller get in his head. Why can't he just ignore things like that?
"Hey, do you wanna get some food?"
"I'd want nothing more," Kabbu said with half-feigned enthusiasm.
The two made it over to Kut's. They got a table outside on the patio with a view to the ceremony; the moon was almost completely up. It shone uncharacteristically bright, drenching the valley in a light that was too bright to not be called uncanny.
"I think I'm going to get an aphid egg salad! I hear they're really good this time of year," Neo said.
Kabbu had to shake himself out of his own head again. "Yeah, I think I will too."
And that's when Kut himself came to take their orders.
"Alright, two gourmet Aphid Egg Salads, coming right up. And you, Neo, is it? I
have your extra Mushroom Leaf sandwich ready whenever you leave." Kut left the two alone to chat.
"So Kabbu, tell me about your job! What's it like working up in–"
"Neo, aren't you deathly allergic to mushrooms?" Kabbu interrupted him.
"Oh! Um, uh… yes, I am! I have this… for someone else."
"Who is it?" Kabbu asked with an air of suspicion. "Who are you getting the sandwich for?"
Neo refused to answer, he was a terrible liar. And that wasn't the only suspicious thing; Neo's arms had grown ever slightly tan from a day outside in the Golden Settlement. All except a suspicious engagement-band shaped pale spot on his left arm, that only a seasoned detective like Kabbu would have noticed. And that's when Kabbu wished he wasn't quite so good at his job.
"Neo oh my venus, are you trying to cheat with me? After what happened with our relationship?"
"Kabbu, no! Don't be neurotic. You know I'd never–"
"Neo, that's why we broke up. We broke up because you cheated!" Kabbu was furious in spite of the tears welling up in his eyes. "And you're doing that to someone else? Someone else you're engaged to?"
"It was a mistake, Kabbu! I should have never cheated on you back then, but things just weren't going well, especially not on your end!"
Kabbu's face began to flush red. "Neo, you can't be fucking serious!"
"Listen, it's not like you were emotionally available! Ever since that damn moth that followed you around got…"
Neo already wasn't batting a thousand with this argument, but bringing up Leif was putting the final nail in his coffin. He should have remembered the rules; no one mentions Leif around him.
Kabbu stormed out of the restaurant, crying in his anger. He didn't mind the concerned bugs he passed by, he didn't even react when the official festivities started. Head down and arm half covering his eyes, he made his way to the hotel, which didn't go unnoticed by Vi.
Knock knock knock…
It was probably Neo. If there was one thing Neo was, other than being a cheating bastard, it was insistent. Kabbu ignored the knocking.
Knock-knock-knock…
"Go AWAY, Neo! I'm not talking to you!" Kabbu shrouded from his bed.
"Don't worry," shouted Vi from the other side of the door, "I'm better company than that asshole."
"Vi? What are you doing here?"
In his haste, Kabbu forgot to lock the door, so Vi walked right in. Kabbu wasn't a pretty sight, sitting up slightly in his bed, pillows stained with his tears. Vi didn't hesitate a bit to climb up and sit on the bed, facing him, legs crossed.
"I'm here to make sure you're ok, stupid. What else?"
"You should be reconnecting with your hive! That's more important than the bullshit I'm dealing with," Kabbu said between sniffles.
"I disagree." Vi said, plain and simply. She moved her position now, and she moved snug up close to Kabbu. She put her head on his shoulder, and grabbed onto his hand, which she started rubbing.
"That bastard tried cheating with me." Kabbu said.
Vi shot up now. "Are you fucking serious!?"
"YES! He admitted it and everything. He had another fiance at home and he was trying to hit on me."
"Dude oh my god… did you see that coming?"
"Well admittedly a little bit…" Kabbu said sheepishly. "He cheated on me when we were engaged, which is why we broke up. But that's kind of my fault…"
"Kabbu, don't you dare tell me you blame yourself for that."
"But it was my fault! And I don't know why it was my fault, but it was, and he started hating me because I wasn't emotionally available after the whole Leif incident, and I could have been a better boyfriend? Maybe I should have talked to him more?" Kabbu was spiraling.
The moment happened with so much fluidity. As natural as water falling down a waterfall, a flower growing from the ground, as dew falls from the grass. Neither Vi nor Kabbu questioned it, nor fought it, nor even had to try when they did it, when Vi climbed on top of Kabbu and kissed him, kissed him with the passion and love deeper than that of friendship, deeper than that of even romance. So deep that they were one, one being that was healing itself from its wounds with the power of the love it emanates.
"Don't you ever dare blame yourself for the actions of a scumbag like that. I wouldn't trade someone like you in for a fucking kingdom, anybody with any sense would think like that. Neo is a loser, Kabbu. You're too good for him."
They kissed again. And again, and again. Vi shifted to Kabbu's side, and Kabbbu rolled over. Eventually they started grasping at each other, feeling every inch of each other's body like they were trying to reach that impossible level of closeness, a unity that existed so potently only because it couldn't be reached. But it could be reached, and Vi knew that there was no person she trusted more than Kabbu in that moment to reach that place with.
Vi pulled away, just for a moment. "Hey Kabbu," she said, blushing. "Can I do you a favor?"
"What of, Vi?"
"Well, I mean, you seemed pretty on edge earlier…"
"Yeah?"
"And well, I know some really good stress-relief techniques…" Vi's hands glided gradually down in between Kabbu's legs to find his dick fully erect.
"Oh my venus, Vi, yes…"
Vi shifted herself once more. Now she faced a much more sensitive area on Kabbu. She laid her stomach on Kabbu's parallel to him, so he too had access to the part of her that best loves. After playing with it in her hands for a few seconds, she slid her mouth on his shaft, licking it, and taking little bits in at first. Her excitement didn't let her tease for long, though, as she couldn't help but take in the whole thing. Kabbu let out a moan of approval.
Kabbu wasn't so selfish as to not reciprocate, either. He bent forward to put his mouth near her pussy. He began to lick it. A surprised Vi let out a euphoric "Mmmph!" as Kabbu, slowly but precisely, moved his tongue around inside of her. And the two stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other like an experienced drinker enjoys wine, taking in and tasting every part of the other partner.
Suddenly, Vi took her mouth off of Kabbu, panting and sweaty. She moved yet again to put her face next to his. "Kabbu, fuck me…"
"Are you sure you want to, Vi? If you're feeling like this is going too fast…"
"Do you want to?" Vi asked.
"Well of course, yeah. But you don't have to do this out of pity–"
"Pity? Hell no! Kabbu, you've one of the sweetest, kindest bugs I know. And I'm sorry Neo doesn't see that, but you know what? I fucking do. Even when we were both idiot kids, you were one of the only people I knew who I could talk for hours with. And maybe that didn't mean much back then, when we didn't know any better. But now I want to love you, Kabbu. I want to love you because a connection like this can't be wasted."
Something changed in Kabbu when she said that. There wasn't any sadness in his eyes anymore. Instead, when Vi looked into his eyes, she saw trust, love, confidence, and most excitingly, lust. Kabbu grabbed Vi and began kissing her again. He rolled her under him, and Vi let herself be putty in his hands. He kissed her one more time, and when he was done, slowly, he inserted himself into her.
Vi sighed with pleasure. She concerned herself no longer in controlling her reactions to Kabbu's love. Her eyes rolled back slightly, her eyelids closing a bid. And with each of Kabbu's subsequent thrusts, she let out a quiet moan, of ultimate satisfaction, more than she had ever felt with her previous partners before.
And like that, they had each other for a while, all the while Kabbu became less controlled. He couldn't help himself but go faster and faster, feeling every part of Vi that he could. Eventually, neither of them could hold in their satisfaction any longer. Vi's legs wrapped around Kabbu's waist, Kabbu's head drifting to the side of Vi's, they finished with each other. In close-to unison they moaned, Kabbu released into Vi, and Vi climaxed likewise. The two layed next to each other, kissing and staring into each other's eyes without need of exchange of words until they fell asleep.
Kabbu woke up feeling like he was hugging a pillow. A very fluffy Vi was still asleep at his side, his arm comfortably around hers, their legs crossing over each other. Wind blew peacefully outside their window, and the sun shone in subtly but with great warmth. Kabbu was so unbelievably calm, so equanimous, that he thought his heart might stop.
He almost fell asleep again, but then Vi started rustling next to him.
"Good morning," Kabbu quietly whispered into her ear.
Vi kissed Kabbu. "Good morning, Kabbu."
The two sat and enjoyed the fine notes of silence in the room. Vi was the first to break it.
"That wasn't… a mistake, right?"
"Didn't feel like it to me," Kabbu said.
"Good. Me neither."
Vi buried her head under Kabbu's chin, her antennae bending back and to the sides.
"Last night was incredible, Vi. I needed it."
"Likewise," Vi said. "It's crazy, y'know?"
"What?"
"Talk to me six years ago and you would've been the last person I would think to do this with."
"Likewise," Kabbu said with a grin. The two shared a laugh.
"What do you think changed? About us?" Asked Kabbu.
"Everything. But that's the thing, I don't think a person is really the same day by day, let alone after years."
"Fair enough… I don't know if I think of you as that different, though."
"Uh oh, that's bad news for me," Vi said playfully.
"No! No, I mean… I know we both changed a lot, but… it's like we got more true to ourselves I guess. Like a tree growing more branches. I don't know."
"I see what you mean. I like that."
The two got up in tandem and stretched their limbs. Vi took the hotel's
complimentary comb and began brushing her fluff, and Kabbu splashed some water onto his face. Eventually after they finished their routines, Kabbu sat back on the edge of the bed and Vi on a leaf-textured chair.
"So what now, Vi? Did you get your job back?"
"I guess I did, but I don't know if I want it." Vi said, nonchalantly.
"Why not? I thought you at least liked that job."
"Not really. Honestly it was just kind of a bill payer. I tried to trick myself into liking it, but it just wasn't close enough to exploring for me. I just don't know what I'd do now."
"Well, I could get you into training for my place. I could use a sidekick you know, and the force is really desperate for some detectives right now. You do have quite the resume."
"Really? Oh my god, yes!" Vi said, giddily. "When do I start?"
"Depends if you want to follow me up north or not. I'll probably get lost so you might wanna get there some other way."
"I'd follow your navigationally challenged ass anywhere, Kabbu. What's the pay like?"
"Good, but probably not up to your standards."
"Kabbu, you know me. No amount of berries is up to my standard."
Vi started laughing again. She threw herself on the bed and next to Kabbu.
"What are you laughing about?" Kabbu asked as he pushed Vi away flirtatiously.
"We are so old! Oh my god, I'm almost in my thirties, you've been in 'em for a year, we're talking about real jobs and shit…"
"Yeah, but you know. Change is good I guess, even if it means we're going to be jaded adults. I barely feel like one sometimes," Kabbu said.
"I would want nothing more than to change and grow older with you, Kabbu…"
Immediately Vi cringed at her own impulsive cheesiness.
"Oh my venus, you're getting sappy! I never thought I'd live to see the day!" Kabbu bantered.
"Hey, your emotionality is rubbing off on me. That's on you!"