Chapter 36:
A walk to the office
Dean:
What it took for Noah to create a great orange potion with red bubbles, was witnessing his mother’s reaction to the news. We weren’t there, but the boy told us everything.
Angelica broke down crying, when Hugo told her, he is coming home. After the three had dinner, Noah apparently ran to his room, hooked himself to the emotion bottling headset, and called us to tell us the happy news.
He was a babbling mess, when we talked. His tail thumped every so often, and if he could, he’d be jumping up and down. Now, Constantine has the bottled happiness in his bag, together with some other potions, bottled by both him and me.
One of his own orange potions with red bubbles. One pure orange one from me, bottled after the call with Noah. Then there is the orange one with a white glow that Constantine bottled after I did my best to make him scream my name.
Now, the only thing we need to do, is swing by the Manacom building, and take the things that might help us in our self-defense attempts. Personally, I don’t think they’ll help much, if the thief is one of those shadowy beings.
Still, Frederik and Ferenc are adamant that we spend the reminder of the week taking self-defense classes. I see Constantine packing the emotion bottling headset and a couple of bottles of solvent, and I rise my eyebrow at that.
“You want us to bottle frustration?” I ask.
“It won’t be just that,” he tells me, as he shoves another bottle of solvent in the bag. “Aren’t you curious to see what emotions the team has, during the workday?”
“You want to check up on the team?”
I imagine the amused orange, maybe even beige, bottles from Frederik and Ferenc.
The amorous pink one from Rhea. Agafia’s determination is going to result in a brown bottle, I am certain of that. As for Nahndor? Well, I peg him for someone with a beige potion in him. I mean, he likes to come out as serious, but he is a fun guy, when he thinks no one is looking.
“It will be a fun experiment,” Constantine tells me. “Who knows? If our theory that bottled emotions are like books for the shadowy creatures holds water, then with such great variety, the thief is definitely going to risk being caught.”
“Fine, let us do this,” I say, as Constantine swings the messenger bag over his shoulder. He pats it, and then takes out his keys.
“Let us swing by the key shop sometime. You have been here for a month, and still don’t have a key,” he tells me. I can’t help but smile. A key means a commitment. One that I didn’t dare to hope for.
“It is still strange that, with how advanced Ursula 590 is, you still have keyholes, instead of voice recognition, and smart houses,” I tell him, once we get out of the house.
“Those are a right mess. Imagine if you have a cold, and you don’t sound like yourself anymore. No, imagine all that, and that it is raining outside, and you end up locked the entire day, until someone comes and lets you in,” Constantine shudders, and I quirk an eyebrow.
“It almost sounds like your house used to be a smart one,” I say.
“Not mine, my parents’. It made sneaking into the house after a party very hard. Now that I think of it, we should really go and visit them, after the mission is over with,” I blink at that.
Does he want to introduce me to his parents? We are that serious? I voice that question, and he slithers, so he is now before me. Constantine takes a hold of my hand, and brings it over where his heart is.
“Listen,” he tells me. I listen to the steady heartbeat for a while, then I look into his eyes. They are practically shining with unspoken joy.
Am I the reason behind his happiness?
“Must I spell it out to you?” He teases. I chuckle. Just because I need to have this final step made, I bite my lower lip, and make my eyes go wide. He chuckles at that. “Tease.”
“Come on, sweep me off my feet,” I tell him. No, I urge him.
“Daniel Samkiel, you are fun to be around. You make my heart go wild, every time you open your mouth, and a couple of times when you have it closed and wrapped around my...” I place a hand over his mouth.
“We are at a public place,” I look around, mortified that someone might have heard us, and now thinks we are major perverts. Yet, the streets are clear of any pedestrians. There are no cars on the road, either.
He kisses my hand, and I remove it.
“I think I love you,” he says, moving closer to me. “We are different, but that doesn’t matter. I like you the way you are. Do you...like me? Although I have a tail, instead of legs?”
Huh, so he also feels insecure about all this. I close the space between us, and press my forehead to his.
“Most days, I don’t even notice your differences,” I try to assure him, and to be a firm presence to him. A man he can lean on. One on whom he can depend.
A flash snaps in the distance. I see that a woman is holding her phone. She waves at us, and Constantine waves back. Then, she moves off, like nothing happened.
“This is Alexia,” Constantine says, as I stare after the Naga woman. “She owns a dating site. I might have told her that she can use my picture with you, as proof that she delivers a good service.”
“But she didn’t hook us up,” I protest.
“Well, she did point me to the Tor browser, and the sci-fi forum that I wrote on,” Constantine then nuzzles our noses together. “We owe her some gift baskets, and a wedding invitation, at the least.”
I can’t believe that Constantine and I didn’t find each other by ourselves. Did the woman saw in the future, or something? I ask Constantine that, and he has the gall to wiggle his eyebrows at me. Then, he just takes a hold of my hand, and begins to lead me to Roddy’s parking lot for the day.
“Wait, can she see in the future or not?” I ask, as the piece building comes into view.
“Well, maybe,” Constantine says in the same teasing lilt, that he used all the other times, when he avoided the question.
Chapter 36:
A walk to the office
Dean:
What it took for Noah to create a great orange potion with red bubbles, was witnessing his mother’s reaction to the news. We weren’t there, but the boy told us everything.
Angelica broke down crying, when Hugo told her, he is coming home. After the three had dinner, Noah apparently ran to his room, hooked himself to the emotion bottling headset, and called us to tell us the happy news.
He was a babbling mess, when we talked. His tail thumped every so often, and if he could, he’d be jumping up and down. Now, Constantine has the bottled happiness in his bag, together with some other potions, bottled by both him and me.
One of his own orange potions with red bubbles. One pure orange one from me, bottled after the call with Noah. Then there is the orange one with a white glow that Constantine bottled after I did my best to make him scream my name.
Now, the only thing we need to do, is swing by the Manacom building, and take the things that might help us in our self-defense attempts. Personally, I don’t think they’ll help much, if the thief is one of those shadowy beings.
Still, Frederik and Ferenc are adamant that we spend the reminder of the week taking self-defense classes. I see Constantine packing the emotion bottling headset and a couple of bottles of solvent, and I rise my eyebrow at that.
“You want us to bottle frustration?” I ask.
“It won’t be just that,” he tells me, as he shoves another bottle of solvent in the bag. “Aren’t you curious to see what emotions the team has, during the workday?”
“You want to check up on the team?”
I imagine the amused orange, maybe even beige, bottles from Frederik and Ferenc.
The amorous pink one from Rhea. Agafia’s determination is going to result in a brown bottle, I am certain of that. As for Nahndor? Well, I peg him for someone with a beige potion in him. I mean, he likes to come out as serious, but he is a fun guy, when he thinks no one is looking.
“It will be a fun experiment,” Constantine tells me. “Who knows? If our theory that bottled emotions are like books for the shadowy creatures holds water, then with such great variety, the thief is definitely going to risk being caught.”
“Fine, let us do this,” I say, as Constantine swings the messenger bag over his shoulder. He pats it, and then takes out his keys.
“Let us swing by the key shop sometime. You have been here for a month, and still don’t have a key,” he tells me. I can’t help but smile. A key means a commitment. One that I didn’t dare to hope for.
“It is still strange that, with how advanced Ursula 590 is, you still have keyholes, instead of voice recognition, and smart houses,” I tell him, once we get out of the house.
“Those are a right mess. Imagine if you have a cold, and you don’t sound like yourself anymore. No, imagine all that, and that it is raining outside, and you end up locked the entire day, until someone comes and lets you in,” Constantine shudders, and I quirk an eyebrow.
“It almost sounds like your house used to be a smart one,” I say.
“Not mine, my parents’. It made sneaking into the house after a party very hard. Now that I think of it, we should really go and visit them, after the mission is over with,” I blink at that.
Does he want to introduce me to his parents? We are that serious? I voice that question, and he slithers, so he is now before me. Constantine takes a hold of my hand, and brings it over where his heart is.
“Listen,” he tells me. I listen to the steady heartbeat for a while, then I look into his eyes. They are practically shining with unspoken joy.
Am I the reason behind his happiness?
“Must I spell it out to you?” He teases. I chuckle. Just because I need to have this final step made, I bite my lower lip, and make my eyes go wide. He chuckles at that. “Tease.”
“Come on, sweep me off my feet,” I tell him. No, I urge him.
“Daniel Samkiel, you are fun to be around. You make my heart go wild, every time you open your mouth, and a couple of times when you have it closed and wrapped around my...” I place a hand over his mouth.
“We are at a public place,” I look around, mortified that someone might have heard us, and now thinks we are major perverts. Yet, the streets are clear of any pedestrians. There are no cars on the road, either.
He kisses my hand, and I remove it.
“I think I love you,” he says, moving closer to me. “We are different, but that doesn’t matter. I like you the way you are. Do you...like me? Although I have a tail, instead of legs?”
Huh, so he also feels insecure about all this. I close the space between us, and press my forehead to his.
“Most days, I don’t even notice your differences,” I try to assure him, and to be a firm presence to him. A man he can lean on. One on whom he can depend.
A flash snaps in the distance. I see that a woman is holding her phone. She waves at us, and Constantine waves back. Then, she moves off, like nothing happened.
“This is Alexia,” Constantine says, as I stare after the Naga woman. “She owns a dating site. I might have told her that she can use my picture with you, as proof that she delivers a good service.”
“But she didn’t hook us up,” I protest.
“Well, she did point me to the Tor browser, and the sci-fi forum that I wrote on,” Constantine then nuzzles our noses together. “We owe her some gift baskets, and a wedding invitation, at the least.”
I can’t believe that Constantine and I didn’t find each other by ourselves. Did the woman saw in the future, or something? I ask Constantine that, and he has the gall to wiggle his eyebrows at me. Then, he just takes a hold of my hand, and begins to lead me to Roddy’s parking lot for the day.
“Wait, can she see in the future or not?” I ask, as the piece building comes into view.
“Well, maybe,” Constantine says in the same teasing lilt, that he used all the other times, when he avoided the question.
