Freaky Fiveday 5 (Patreon)

This month, @Dan Huber requested that I add on to the Freaky Fiveday story. Sure, it's been a bit since we visited that one! When we last left off, Gormat had taken his daughter and the commissioner down to Krakuntec to spend the night in Yutarenga's apartment, but not understanding how cold krakun society was, he struck up a conversation with the next-door neighbor.

———

“I mean … if you wanted to,” Gormat said.

The next-door neighbor blinked in surprise. “Well,” Ujaoyrenja said, taking a moment to stroke the orange scales down her throat, “I was just going to pop out to grab some ingredients for dinner—nothing elaborate, a chunk of diasko hide, if any look fresh, and maybe some watergrains. If you’d like, I could pick up some extra, and we could get to know each other a bit better over a bite of dinner.”

On top of his head, Gormat could feel the sensation of a tiny krakun-turned-geroo beating her helmet repeatedly against him.

“Oh, wow! That’s so amazingly generous of you to offer,” said the geroo-turned-krakun. “I… I really feel like I should be the one offering to make you dinner, but I’m … well, I’m kind’a a walking disaster in the kitchen. I’m on the verge of nailing all the cabinets shut just to prevent a really tragic cooking disaster.”

The orange krakun honked a laugh and wiped at her eyes. “Goodness! You are a gem! If I had any idea how adorable you are, I would have struck up a conversation with you a millennia ago, back when you moved in.”

Gormat blinked. He tried to imagine waiting a thousand years to say hello to the next-door neighbor and couldn’t. Geroo considered it rude not to help your neighbors move—or at least to offer. “Well, I’m so glad I said something! Should I come by at—”

“Let me go grab some food and get to cooking,” she said. “I’ll just knock when the meal’s almost ready. Sound good?”

“Sounds much better than good!” laughed the janitor. “I can’t wait!”

He waved farewell, then turned his attention to the suited figures riding on his head. “Hey, Yutarenga, you wouldn’t happen to have any wine?” he asked. “I know us geroo up on the ship aren’t supposed to have any, but since we’re down planetside, I’m guessing that would be okay, right? It would be polite to bring some to dinner.”

“I don’t know,” the geroo groaned. “Maybe? You’d need to check the fridge.”

Inside the apartment, the next challenge was trying to get Tys to go into the cleaning crew’s barracks with the commissioner. “But why can’t I stay out here with you?” she whined.

“Because it’s dangerous out here, fluff-fluff,” he explained, lying flat on the floor in front of her. “You can’t take that suit off out here. The air is far too yucky for geroo to breathe. So, you gotta spend the night with Auntie Yutarenga’s friends. Then, in the morning, we can head back up to the ship. That’s the only place that has safe rooms where we can both breathe the same air.”

“But I don’ wanna—” the little furball began to cry.

“Oh, I know you don’t,” her father cooed, “but until the commissioner figures out a way to get us switched back, we don’t have a choice. I wish I could go in there with you, hon, but there’s just no way for me to fit!”

More arguing followed, but eventually, Commissioner Yutarenga managed to walk through the airlock holding Tys’s paw instead of having to drag her.

After that, Gormat spent a few minutes exploring the apartment he’d be staying in. There wasn’t any wine in the refrigerator, but there were two bedrooms: one that Yutarenga clearly used day-to-day, and one that looked like it was reserved for guests. Gormat wasn’t certain which of the two would be more appropriate for him to use.

In one paw, he was the commissioner. His body was her body. Or her body was his body? Whichever. So, it wasn’t like he’d be getting his personal scent all over someone else’s bedding. But in the other paw, he did feel like a guest—and an uninvited one at that. Even if he wasn’t spreading his scent on her stuff, he certainly felt like he’d be invading her privacy.

The strand he was wearing around his neck rang, and he answered it immediately. His daughter’s face appeared, her nose too close to the screen and magnified way out of proportion. “Daddy?” said Tys.

“Yes, fluff-fluff?”

“I hate it here,” she sniffled. “I wanna go home.”

“Oh, it can’t be that bad,” said Gormat. “We’ll go home in the morning. Then maybe I can get my body back and you won’t have to come back here again.”

“It’s awful,” she whined. “The people are all strangers, and they don’t have any beds. There’s just some foam on the floor, and it’s really uncomfortable!”

“They don’t?” he asked in surprise. He rifled through the cabinets until he found what looked like an old towel. “Okay, hon, I found an old towel. I’m gonna tear it up into strips and leave them in front of the airlock, okay? Tell the crew to come out here and drag them into the barracks.”

“A towel?”

“Yeah, a towel,” he repeated. “Your auntie’s towels are huge. Trust me. Just lay the scraps on top of the foam, and I promise it’ll be comfy.”

“You promise?”

“Cross my eyes and thump my tail!” he laughed. “Hang up and give the strand back to your aunt. I’ll see you in the morning.”

# # #

Gormat lounged at the table, grinning wide. “This is so delicious! You really are a marvelous cook, Ujaoyrenja.”

“Oh, thanks. It really wasn’t anything fancy,” she laughed. “And you really are a most unusual dinner guest! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone balance slaves on their head before.”

The janitor opened his mouth to respond, then shut it, not sure what to say. Had it been a mistake to carry his daughter and the commissioner? That was what Yutarenga had told him to do! “Well,” he chuckled, quieter now, “they have such short legs. If you have to wait for them to catch up, you’ll be standing there all day!”

“That’s certainly true!” the neighbor laughed. “Around here, most people transport their slaves in cages. Is balancing them on your head common out in the colonies? Don’t you worry about dropping them?”

“Yeah, it’s much more convenient than lugging a cage around,” he said, trying to cover his nervousness with a smile. “And I got a lot of practice walking around, moving all steady so they don’t fall.” He moved his head back and forth, careful to keep it level.

She laughed some more and put her claw over his. He froze, staring at it, stunned by the simple sensation of warmth tricking into him. Her eyes opened wider at his reaction, and she pulled her claw away—but only a few meters, she left it hanging there in the air. “Oh! Should I not…?”

“No, you’re fine,” he reassured her, forcing a recovery. “It’s just me being broken, I’m afraid. Everyone said that I’d bounce back quickly after losing my mate, but I guess I’m a slow learner…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She put her claw back over his once more. “He didn’t leave you for someone else—?” Ujaoyrenja started to say, but then she covered her snout with her free claw. “I really shouldn’t pry.”

Gormat didn’t seem to notice, he was off in his thoughts. Back home, everyone knew what had happened to Yii. It was no secret. The tragedy had left seven different geroo widows or widowers, and twelve cubs had lost a parent. To Yutarenga, the accident had been only a blip on the ship’s report, but to Gormat, it had been the end of the galaxy. If it hadn’t been for Tys, he doubted he’d even get out of bed.

“No,” he sighed, “there was an accident. A bulkhead tore open. She and six others were killed. I’m sorry. I don’t want to ruin the mood here. It’s just that I’ve been coping by throwing myself into my responsibilities. I don’t know if that’s healthy, but if I keep myself busy, I don’t mourn. I don’t make myself crazy over what I’ve lost.”

The orange krakun tilted her head slightly, listening silently and putting on what he presumed to be a supportive face. She squeezed his claw.

“So, it’s not that I don’t want to date again, it’s that…”—he shrugged, looking for words—“I haven’t tried. I have family, friends, her family have been so supportive too. But I haven’t even tried seeking out new friends, much less contemplating trying again—”

She started to say something, and he waved his claws, trying to stop her. “‘Trying again’ is… That’s a lot stronger term than I intended. I meant something more like, ‘seeking out new friends that I feel attracted to’. Is that okay? Did I just make myself sound super pathetic?”

Ujaoyrenja smiled. She put a claw to either of his cheeks, making sure he looked directly at her. “Of all the many words I’d pick to describe you, ‘pathetic’ doesn’t come to mind.”

Then, she kissed him. Not hard, not passionate, but tender. The kiss was sexier than one he’d expect from a friend but yet simpler than one he’d hope to receive from a lover.

Pushing her plate aside, Ujaoyrenja stood and took Gormat by the claw. “C’mon,” she whispered, leading him away from the table and back to her bedroom, “there’s something I’d like to show you.”

———

Reviewer's link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1swXza7EqAe_LLqKSoLVd90CctsPN_iq4iPBS45o00f0/edit?usp=sharing

Thoughts?