Page 29 of Hummingbird and Kraken

Geir nodded.

“Mmmmmmm... I can’t wait! I can’t even remember the last time I had home-made bread.” Declan walked carefully around the truck, trying to avoid stepping on a kitten while carrying the heaping box of blueberries. Geir got the sense that without those restrictions he’d be skipping.

He set down the box on the porch and scooped up the kitten. “Shall we play again sometime?”

She put a paw onto his nose, like she was making some kind of commitment. Even though he cared nothing for the kitten, he had to admit it was adorable.

Declan turned to Rohahen, handed him the kitten, and then gave him a tight hug. That was far less adorable. Declan shouldn’t touch other men. Geir started toward them, but by that point Declan had already danced away.

“Goodbye!” he called as Rohahen set the kitten in the truck and then climbed in after her. “Come back soon!”

The kitten hopped onto the ledge above the dashboard and waved with one tiny paw. Rohahen waved too, then scooped the kitten down to somewhere safer so he could drive away.

Declan seemed so full of life. So gleeful. What could Geir possibly offer him?

He wasn’t fun or outgoing. He didn’t have friends. Or blueberry plants. Or a child who made mud pies. He couldn’t tell stories. Why had he thought he could keep Declan’s interest?

Declan walked up to him, stepping close. “Is everything alright?”

He nodded once. This was his last ray of sun, he reminded himself. For however long it lasted.

“Good,” Declan grabbed his hand and dragged him into the house, bouncing with every step.

Inside, Declan pushed him around until he was sitting on the couch. With Declan’s unsubstantial weight, it was like an ant pushing a mountain, but he let himself be led.

Once Declan was satisfied with his position, he climbed into his lap with his legs flung out down the couch. Geir supported his back, but apparently that wasn’t enough, because Declan picked up his other arm and wrapped it around his waist.

Geir snorted out a small laugh. He still wasn’t sure if he had this right, but it seemed like Declan wanted him to hold him even tighter. Maybe… with his tentacles? Was that right? Even out of the water?

He’d never done anything like that before. Usually people thought his tentacles were terrifying. If they even knew about them. In the water, Geir thought of them as a way to move and sense the space around him. On land, they were more like weapons. When people saw him, they usually drew back in horror or ran away in fear.

Declan nuzzled into him, like he was trying to press closer. Declan had liked his tentacles, both when they’d been intimate and when they were playing yesterday in the lake.

Tentatively, he released his tentacles and made a single loop around Declan’s legs.

Declan shuffled his feet a little, but not like he was trying to escape. More like he wanted to know where Geir was and how tightly he was bound. When Geir added another loop and pulled both tight, he sighed happily.

Geir was glad that Declan’s eyes were closed so that he couldn’t see what he was feeling. Shock. Wonder. Maybe a little fear. Because this was completely different from anything he’d expected.

Declan didn’t just accept his kraken side. He wasn’t putting on a bold face despite his fears. He seemed to really welcome this. He’d delighted in Geir’s tentacles around and inside him. He’d played games, laughingly trying to escape them. Today, he seemed to find them soothing.

There was too much clothing in the way to taste Declan’s skin, so Geir pulled out a bit of his shirt and wriggled in, wrapping the free tentacle around Declan’s chest and over his shoulder.

He reached down and took off his shoes, feeling protective and tender. Then he curled the tip of the other tentacle around his feet. Declan tasted a little sweaty, but he liked the stronger flavor, too.

This felt right. Not just holding the sweet boy in his arms, but tasting him. Holding him so tightly with all of his limbs that they both knew he couldn’t get away.

He felt closer to Declan than anyone else in his life.

He felt closer to his kraken side, too. Like for once they were one and the same, instead of two separate parts of himself that could never meet.

“I’m sleepy,” Declan mumbled against his skin.

“You were dancing a minute ago,” he pointed out. Declan was a marvel. A treasure.

Declan yawned, his voice muffled and slow. “I know. That’s why I’m sleepy. And I picked lots of blueberries. Soooo many blueberries. And I gave May horsey rides.”

“Don’t you want dinner?”