[DCI] Chapter 44 - Old Acquaintances, New Project (Patreon)

Getting under the shower, we took all the time in the world to clean each other up to the tiniest detail. With Levia already done, there was nothing stopping us from enjoying some casual closeness under the hot, steaming stream.

As usual, I helped Aisha with her bountiful hair since she’d only washed the most important parts while in here with our new Witch friend, and she in turn did her best to care for my tail. Naturally, I spared no effort to rub the scales covering hers later and we ended up in a brief tickling war, giggling like two idiots while trying to attack each other’s sensitive spots.

Agreeing to a ceasefire before we both collapsed to the accompaniment of our lovely Pixie’s dances above our heads, we turned the water off and hopped out of the shower cubicle. Aisha threw a towel over her shoulder and started walking away but I hastily grabbed her tail, evoking a sultry moan from my surprised girlfriend as my fingers squeezed the tender appendage firmly.

“Still hungry?” Aisha smirked seductively over her shoulder.

“Mind our new companion a little, would you?” I grinned back at her. “At least for a bit. Please.”

She lightly rolled her eyes and yanked her magnificent tail out of my grasp. “Fine. Even though it doesn’t seem like Levia cares, I will behave. Only for you.”

I caught up to her and placed a delicate kiss on her cheek. “Love you.”

Aisha chuckled softly and handed me the towel. Taking it from her, I obediently wiped her entire body while she enjoyed the sight and sensation of me rubbing her all over with the comfy cloth. Especially when I was below her waist. I could tell that she loved seeing me down there, looking at me from above. It clearly took quite impressive control for her not to grab my hair and pull my face between her legs again.

We threw some decent clothes onto ourselves and paraded out of the bathroom. Aisha declared that she felt like getting herself some tea and headed to the kitchen complex, asking if I wanted one too. Accepting her offer, I assisted her in bringing out the necessary ingredients and continued further, into Levia’s workshop. Rose chose to stay with my draconic mate and I walked past the door alone.

Entering as quietly as I could since I had no idea what Levia was up to, I was greeted by the sight of the short Witch making some rearrangements in the cupboards, drawers, and shelves. It looked extremely adorable watching the blue-skinned lady stretch herself to reach the highest points while wearing my oversized clothes.

Seeing her start raising her knee to climb onto the counter, I cleared my throat and announced my presence. Levia halted her movements and slowly turned her head to glance at me over her shoulder. I tried my best not to stare at her sexy behind, with its perky roundness well-defined by the stretched shorts.

“May I be of any assistance?” I asked with a polite smile.

She put her leg down and nodded faintly. “That would be appreciated.”

I walked closer and moved some vials, containers, and various alchemical appliances according to Levia’s wishes. It was pretty entertaining to watch her set everything up in different places in her reach with movements so automated that it looked like she was recreating an arrangement she had reenacted thousands of times before.

Which, I was pretty sure was not wrong.

“Sorry about earlier,” I apologized quietly so as not to startle her during a less focused moment. “For making you wait in the bathroom and the unnecessary show.”

“There is no need for you to apologize.” Levia glanced up at me with those calm, slightly hooded eyes of hers. “Desires of the flesh are a natural thing. There is no need to conceal them. I do appreciate your concern for my comfort though, Lucas.”

“Thanks, I guess.” I chuckled and went back to assisting the understanding Witch.

We finished a moment later and returned to the apartment. Aisha had made one more tea just for Levia and we all sipped on the hot, tasty drink in the kitchen, standing there in relative silence. At least until my incredible girlfriend broke it by suggesting that they do some shopping for Levia’s clothes and other necessities before we crashed for the night.

They got to the PC after I agreed that it was a great idea and plunged into the depths of hell. I didn’t dare to come any close to them lest the mischievous drakan pulled me into it and forced me to pick lingerie for both of them just to tease me in front of Levia, flashing me her scantily-clad avatar.

Instead, I hopped onto the bed and brought up my phone, escaping into its screen and ignoring everything that was happening at my desk. I didn’t scroll through menus or apps mindlessly, of course, but I actually opened a few of my usual communicators to see if my talented friend was on in any of them, thinking about hitting him up regarding the map thingy that kept coming up.

He was one of the dudes that had been part of the IT team under me back when we still had a job. A nice guy with both skills and motivation, though to the others and especially the management, he’d appeared more often as lazy because he would always finish up his part in a flash and do other, personal things for the rest of the shift. Naturally, he’d always gotten back to it whenever the rest of the team required anything or there was some issue to work out together.

As for our relationship, we weren’t exactly best buddies or anything but we had quickly noticed that we shared quite a few interests, out of which gaming, and RPGs specifically, was the biggest thing. We’d gamed together now and then but he was more of an MMO guy so he spent most of his time with his guildies in whatever game he had been focusing on at that moment.

Just like he did right now.

Thanks to the widget reading the information about his gaming session, I could not only see him being online but also taking part in what seemed to be some grand raid with twenty-four players. Since he had set his notifications to ‘Do Not Disturb’, I didn’t have to worry about fucking up his focus and wrote a simple greeting so that he could hit me up later whenever he wasn’t busy.

To my surprise, my phone played the notification chime the second I closed the communicator, spooking me slightly. I quickly tapped on the pop-up and brought the chat back.

>Sup. Long time no hear.

>That was quick. I thought you were busy saving some poor realm again.

>I technically still am. Half of the party is wiped but the leader insists on keeping it up since he can feel that one so I have nothing to do for a while as I’m kissing the dirt next to the pool of acid created by a failed mechanic.

I snickered to myself, able to clearly imagine his bored face as he scrolled his social media on one of his side monitors while waiting for the wrecked pull to end. It shouldn’t take that long since I was pretty sure that he usually played a healer so his squad was down a quite crucial member. But, from his tone, they might be holding out surprisingly well.

>I’ll get straight to the point, then. I have a production quest for you. Personal request, not B2B. There’s something that has been plaguing me for a while already and you are my best shot.

There was no instant indicator of him starting to type, which he usually did right away, so I was certain that he was considering his reply. It took a minute, but it finally appeared on the screen.

>Normally, I would accept the commission without a second thought since it comes from a good friend but I’m afraid that I won’t exactly be able to do so right now. You see, after our little breakup, I got myself into a new team so my hands are a little tied at the moment. I have to do quite a little bit more than usual to ‘prove myself’ and get back to my previous level of earnings. I’m sure you can understand, the subscriptions won’t pay for themselves and I ain’t gonna step down and fall behind. I need all the extra buck I can get until I’m back where I was at least. No hard feelings man. But, if you ain’t pressured for time and won’t find anyone to take care of it for a little while, let me know in a month or four. I’ll try to squeeze in some hours then.

As expected, even in that short timeframe, he’d managed to raise a mighty wall of text. I could never come close to his typing speed. As for his response, I naturally wasn’t going to push him into anything in such a situation but I did have one more thing to say.

>Unlimited budget.

The second my finger tapped the send button, my phone buzzed and flashed with an incoming call, making me jump from shock. Noticing the caller, I shook my head with a wry smile and accepted it.

“Yo! What are we making?” My friend’s excited voice came in through the speaker.

I snorted at his enthusiasm, which made him sound like a crackhead who had just got a call from his dealer after running out of the good stuff. “I thought you were swamped with work?”

“Shit, man, I didn’t know we were paying!” He chuckled into the phone. “I don’t usually take money for personal projects but if you are offering.”

“Yeah, I am. Regardless of the outcome. I have no idea if and how this is going to work out in the end but you can say that I have some spare pocket change to try.”

“That makes it even more interesting. It’s always fun trying to figure things out as you go while the budget doesn’t weigh you down all the time. There’s nothing more frustrating than working on a complex project and getting stuck unable to reach an efficient resolution because the client doesn’t want to put in a hundred or two more into it. But, you know that all too well.”

I nodded to myself. “True. And I don’t miss that feeling. Even though the things I currently stress about in my new job are much worse in my opinion.”

“So, ignoring the fact that you suddenly got filthy rich out of nowhere, what are the details?” my friend asked.

“I need an app that will be able to use the available sensors to accurately track the movement of the device in a horizontal plane and mark the path on a canvas, which should be able to load any image and allow for its manual adjustment. In general words,” I explained. “It would be great if it had a function to guide you back the same route after enabling some kind of navigation. There are a bunch of other little ideas but they are just a bonus.”

“Hmmmm… That sounds really simple. Is that really it?”

“Here comes the difficult part.” A smile curled up my lips. “I have not a single clue what kind of operating system that device has.”

“The fuck?” I could literally feel his brows knit together. “Is that some cheap Chinese bootleg or what?”

“Quite the opposite. It’s one of the most advanced pieces of technology I have ever laid my eyes and hands on. It works like butter, lasts for weeks, has a zoom like a telescope, and is more durable than Nokia 3310. A true masterpiece.”

“You had my curiosity, now you have my attention.” The creaking of his worn-out gaming chair caught up in the microphone as he fixed his posture. “Where did you get such a piece? Is that some fancy prototype? Does it have a name?”

“I’m afraid that there is none just as there is no name for the OS. I received it. It’s my work phone,” I answered his questions. “Oh, by the way, I have a smartwatch too, most likely running on the same thing. Would be nice to get it on both but I guess we can prioritize the watch first actually.”

“Dude. What kind of company hands out cutting-edge gadgets to its employees as work devices? Do you now suck dick professionally for some bored millionaire?”

I laughed while shaking my head. “This one, as it seems. And no, I still prefer to suck on some tiddies.”

“Good. Looks like all those riches haven’t yet completely eroded your brain. What do you do then?”

“I can’t tell you much but it’s like security. I watch over some quite important CCTVs. Boring gig but pays like crazy. It’s like watching cable but actually somewhat exciting.” I gave him the usual version.

“I can imagine. Who even still has it in the current age?” He snickered. “Alright. So, I will obviously need to take a look at the device at least to even start. When are you available?”

“All the time as long as you let me know earlier. I work mainly from home. “

“Cool. I’ll be there in the morning then, on my way to work. Are you still in the same place or did you move to some secluded island with a fancy mansion in the middle of nowhere?”

“Not yet at that level.” I chuckled. “Besides, I’m quite attached to this place. It would be hard to leave it behind.”

“Got ya. That little nest of yours certainly is nice and comfy.” The noise of a mechanical keyboard echoed through the speaker, tapped at speeds transcending human capabilities. “Gotta go now. They are finally dead. Morons. Told them it was a waste of time. Hear ya later.”

“Sure. Thanks for everything and good luck slaying, Zeke.” I smiled to myself as the thunderous clicking rose by another level. “Ah. One more thing. I have two friends crashing at my place right now so don’t be surprised. They are both—”

“Ya, ya, full chill. Peace.”

And the connection was cut before I could finish. I sighed softly and shrugged. As I raised my face up from the screen, I noticed both women staring at me from the desk, clearly finished with their shopping trip.

“Who was that?” Aisha asked with a raised brow.

“The guy I’ve been mentioning to you every time we spoke about the map. He’ll drop by tomorrow and see what he can do. How did it go on your side?”

“Great. I was waiting for you to finish,” she replied and tapped the order button, evoking the sound of the doorbell in an instant.

We all got up and moved together to get the package. My strong girlfriend carried it to the bed and I handed her a paper knife. Stepping aside, I let the girls bring out all the clothes, underwear, and some beauty and health products by themselves, watching them set those down on the sheets.

From what I could see, Levia had picked simple panties and bras of a pretty, white color. There was no real variety amongst them, but she introduced some of it to her casual clothes, most likely encouraged to do so by my pushy girlfriend. She had chosen a bunch of t-shirts and shorts of different colors, a few one-pieces reaching her ankles, some that ended up around her thighs, and one set of what looked like a gothic lolita dress made of quality black leather and material which included a neat corset too.

There was no doubt that Aisha had talked her into it.

With everything out, I made some space in the wardrobe and cleared one drawer in the dresser so that she could have her own little spot. We transferred all the clothes to their proper places and tidied the apartment up. Afterward, Levia gave me a lazy glance and I quickly understood her intentions, disappearing behind the bathroom wall so that she could undress comfortably and get those panties and bra on.

It was already getting quite late when we were done with everything. Since we weren’t really hungry, we opted out of any additional snacks and gathered up in front of the bed.

Putting my hands on my hips, I looked to the side at our new friend. “Should we quickly add one more room?”

Levia softly shook her head. “I do not wish for you to spend more on me than you already have. I received an incredible workshop from the extremely valuable token and I appreciate it greatly. I do not mind sharing the bed if neither of you finds that uncomfortable. It does look big enough to fit all of us at once.”

Aisha shot me a grin and I squinted at her, making her snicker. Thankfully, she held back properly and jumped under the sheets wearing both pieces of her underwear this time. I followed after her, getting down to my boxers, and shoved her to the middle with my body, forcing her into a position between me and Levia. The Witch joined in from the other side and we were set for the night, not forgetting to pat the adorable orb of pretty pink for goodnight.

In the morning, no surprise, I found myself with a hefty cargo on top of my chest. I disabled the vibrations on my phone, turning the silent alarm clock off, and brushed a lock of crimson hair off the side of Aisha’s face which rested snuggled into the crook of my neck. A few more delicate brushes roused the charming drakan from her sleep and Aisha hummed sweetly while raining little pecks on my skin.

Chuckling quietly, I raised us both to a sitting position and turned to the side to step off the bed. Aisha latched onto my waist so I shook my head and brought her with me as I walked to the kitchen, sitting her on top of the counter next to the kettle, letting my playful mate get a free ride with her eyes still closed. Placing a loving kiss on her soft lips, I set the water to boil and broke free, heading to the toilet.

After I was back, Aisha was already down on the floor and preparing two cups of tea. She smiled at me warmly and we shared a few sips while taking in the cute sight of Levia still napping peacefully while tightly wrapped up to her very chin with the covers, curled neatly into herself. We chuckled quietly and began our toiletries.

When we were done, Levia was up too and we found her standing in the kitchen while examining the kettle from various sides. I got closer and explained how to operate it so that she didn’t have to rely on us whenever she wanted a hot drink. Since she looked even more sleepy than usual, I suggested some coffee and she instantly perked up after tasting the energizing nectar, definitely enjoying the taste.

Just as I was slowly getting dressed, the doorbell rang. Since I was not expecting any delivery and neither had we bought anything recently, the implications were clear. Before I could finish putting my pants on, Aisha grinned at me and sashayed toward the entrance in just her sports underwear.

She flung the door open and leaned on the frame. “Hi there, handsome.”

The expression on Zeke’s face was worthy of a painting. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the unexpected welcome and he checked the apartment number at least like five times while uncertain if he should apologize, say hi back, or just run away before he got involved in something weird.

Catching up to the heinous perpetrator, I yanked Aisha’s tail strong enough to pull her out of the entrance, wondering how it looked to him since I was pretty sure that he saw no tail if all the hypno magic worked properly.

“Yo. Just ignore her and come in. She will give up as long as you don’t humor her antics.”

Zeke gave me a slightly absent-minded nod and hesitantly followed inside as I escorted my tease of a girlfriend further into the apartment. A certain petite, white-haired lady walked out of the kitchen and paraded between us in just her underwear too while sipping on a cup of hot coffee held adorably in both hands, disappearing through the door leading to the storage room. Zeke’s brows rose even higher as his eyes trailed after her lithe figure.

“The hell, dude?” Zeke finally broke his forced vows of silence as we reached the middle of the apartment.

I pushed Aisha aside, mentally begging her to dress up and behave, and turned around to face my friend. Zeke was more or less my height, had shoulder-long blond hair, and could surely steal countless hearts with his quite elegant face if only he went into movies. Especially with the nice and classy slim, silver-rimmed glasses sitting right in front of his crystal blue eyes. They were all the gossip amongst the office ladies.

“What? I told you I have friends crashing in.” I shrugged. “Your fault for not listening to the end.”

He opened his mouth to respond but paused after realizing that he had in fact done that.

I smirked at him and pointed at the desk. “The treasures are over there. I bet you don’t have that much time so let’s get to it.”

Hesitantly peeling his gaze off Aisha pulling up her shorts with a deliberate shake of her hips, he stepped closer to the tabletop and picked up the smartphone.

“First time seeing a UI like this. And damn, you were right, it’s zooming. Things load up instantly.” He soon forgot all about worldly affairs and dove into his passion for technology. “There’s nothing about any name, brand, ID number, nothing. Are you sure it’s okay to mess with it? I won’t suddenly get SWAT after my ass just for touching it, right?”

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “It should be fine. As far as I know, all the devices they gave me lock themselves out of any job-related data when they leave my hands, turning into everyday gadgets. We tested it with the girls. I’m pretty sure that no one will be able to crack that safety. But, I don’t think I can lend it to you since I have only one but a smartwatch should be fine since I got two.”

“I’m scared to even think about breaching it.” Zeke chuckled nervously. “At least the ports look common instead of completely unpatented. I’ll try to get it to communicate with me and see what it can do with its hardware. Give me a day or three and I’ll let you know if humans can even read the language in which this was coded. I’m so curious.”

“There’s no rush. Take all the time you need. And get all the help you require. Will a hundred grand suffice for a start?” I asked.

“What?” He turned wide-eyed once more.

“What?” I looked straight at him.

“You serious?”

“You thought I was joking?” I smirked. “Use it to buy all the things you need, be it software, hardware, knowledge, access, or even people. And don’t forget to pay yourself double your highest rate from back then. If you run out, we’ll talk about the future.”

Zeke clearly didn’t know what to say for quite a while, just staring at me blankly while holding onto the phone. I took it out of his grasp and put one of the smartwatches around his wrist, fastening the strap firmly. Giving him a wide smile, I turned him around and walked him to the entrance while patting him on the back.

Aisha sped to the door and opened it for us, waving at Zeke as I pushed him past the doorstep. “Do come again!”

Giving him a fierce grin, she closed the door to the sight of his still-stunned face. I sighed while shaking my head and smacked her curvy butt before heading back into the apartment.

She chuckled and quickly caught up to me. “That’s quite a few Dungeon Dollars you are going to throw at him. You sure that’s alright?”

“He deserves it. And he will definitely try his best to minimize the spending as much as he can, as usual, even if just out of respect for our friendship. Besides, it just feels good to do something nice for someone.”

I finalized the transfer on my phone and we heard a muffled wail-moan from behind the front door, chuckling together. There was no sound of anything hitting the hard floor so I was pretty sure he hadn’t fainted on the spot.

Then, Levia peeked out of the storage room and we glanced at her. “I would like to take a few ingredients to my workshop and was wondering if you could let me know which ones are available if that is not a bother.”

“Listen, you know much better what everything stored there is so you are free to make use of all our spoils of war to your heart’s content, especially if it’s some minor thing. Just give us a notice before getting rid of anything more important or expensive. Got it?” I raised a brow at her.

“Thank you. I will do so.” She nodded appreciatively.

“Perfect. Now, you can come out since our guest is gone and join us in front of the PC. We need to distribute your stats and talk about your future a little.” I smiled at her kindly. “Oh, and put something on, please. My heart can only take so much.”