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Garin shifted to watch Sazahk’s back as the scientist prodded a mushroom, making it light up and send a blue glow spider-webbing up the wall.
In retrospect, he wasn’t surprised Sazahk knew how to play a man’s body. He was a brilliant biologist, after all, and what was sex but biology in action with a dash of observational ability? But still…Garin shivered in an inappropriately pleasurable way as he remembered the magnitude of Sazahk’s focus on him.
This was all a Garin problem, though. This getting caught up in the memory of how Sazahk’s hands had felt on him was not a mutual thing. Sazahk had moved on to glowing fungus before the cum had dried on Garin’s stomach.
Which was well within his rights. And a blessing, really. A bit of a ding to Garin’s ego, admittedly, to be so smitten with a man who didn’t care, but still a blessing. This would be unbearable with another person making it as awkward as he was, or worse, lashing out and resenting him for the whole thing.
This was better.
Sazahk’s indifference was better.
“Does your map say which way to go?”
“What?” Garin yanked his head up from Sazahk’s boots, which he’d been staring at in an effort to avoid staring at his long braid and elegant throat. Sazahk had redone the braid while Garin slept, though not nearly as well as it had been done before.
“Does your map provide any information that might be useful in deciding whether to take the left passage or the right passage?” Sazahk gestured in the two directions. “I’d read it myself, but I don’t know how. I have a preference, but you may have insights to contribute and an opinion of your own.”
Since when did Sazahk care about Garin’s opinion on their travel direction? Since he’d made Garin come on his finger? Garin shoved that thought away before his cock perked up. Besides, he shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Instead, he looked past the qesh to see a branch in the tunnel. The left darkened and widened while the right had more glowing growths but narrowed.
He pulled out his tablet and brought up the maps. “If one of them gets us any closer to an exit, we should take that one.”
Sazahk didn’t argue and Garin glanced at him. He’d told himself to be grateful Sazahk wasn’t making things awkward, but this felt weird. Days arguing and now this?
“Within reason, of course,” Garin muttered as he oriented himself on the map, playing both sides of the argument despite himself. He panned around for a few moments, then put his tablet back in his pocket. “The left leads to more large caverns, but the right brings us closer to the exits I want to aim for.”
Sazahk perked up with a yellow like sunflowers bursting across his nose. “Perfect. We’ll go right.”
“Perfect?” Garin eyed the narrow tunnel lined with mycelium filaments. It was large enough for a broad-shouldered man to walk through without touching any of the fungi, but just barely. Neither Garin nor Sazahk were particularly broad-shouldered, but that still didn’t leave as much room for error as Garin would have liked. Mind-blowing orgasm aside, Garin had no desire for a repeat fungal spore experience.
“Yes, the mycelium is clearly thicker in this direction and potentially originating from it.” Sazahk all but skipped into the narrow fissure. “There may be an energy source stimulating its growth, possibly geothermal in nature.”
“So, we’re heading into a forest of poison mushrooms fed by exploding, boiling water.” Garin stepped around every glowing thing and placed his boots carefully onto lifeless, gray stone as he followed Sazahk.
“Unless, of course, that’s too much to ask of you, given your recent and quite possibly traumatic experience.” Sazahk stopped abruptly and turned to face him, the bright yellow on his nose morphing into a gray specked with brown. “I understand if the concept of another close encounter with the fruiting body of this particular fungus might be overwhelming to you.”
Garin stumbled over his feet at the sudden force of Sazahk’s full, earnest attention and stopped short of bumping into him. “No. No, I’m fine, I don’t mind another encounter—that is—” he blushed hotly “I don’t want another experience like that, but I’m not afraid of some glowing mushrooms.”
“It wouldn’t reflect on your fitness for duty or your commitment to our mission if you were afraid, considering the possible mental effects of what you went through.” Sazahk scanned Garin’s face and posture.
“I’m not afraid, and even if I was, I wouldn’t want my fear to hinder your curiosity about weird things.” Garin waved at a bulbous yellow fungus the same color Sazahk turned when he was happy.
Sazahk glanced at the mushroom and light green streaked across his cheeks, but still he frowned. “And I don’t want my curiosity to stampede over your fear.”
Garin’s blush returned, but it was the warm bloom of something pleased and sheepish instead of the hot sear of mortification. “I appreciate that. But I’m not afraid, so…we can continue on.”
Sazahk nodded with a small smile. “Okay then.”
Garin returned the tiny smile. “Okay.”
They stared at each other.
Sazahk really was very pretty, but Garin had a greater appreciation for the level head and quick thinking hiding under the fine-featured exterior after finding himself so vulnerable and helpless in the man’s elegant hands.
His brilliance, Garin had never doubted, but he hadn’t anticipated the way having the full focus of that brilliance turned on him made his heart race. Dark green and brown curled up from under Sazahk’s collar. Green meant curiosity, but a green that dark Garin had only seen directed at him. And what did that brown mean?
Sazahk broke eye contact and spun on his heel. “If it makes you feel any better, we have no reason to believe the fungus will release any spores when not agitated.”
