Berries and Greed

My knee bounced nervously as I waited for Greid to get out of the shower. I turned on the TV to distract myself, flicking to the celebrity gossip show I sometimes watched. The sound of the TV drew Greid’s attention when he finally emerged from his room, appearing in the doorway in his onesie with his wet hair pushed back from his face.

“Shit, sorry, did I take too long? Is dinner already done?”

I shook my head. “No, I just… Um, I wanted to show you something first.”

“Is it a pizza?” He made his way over to the couch. “Like, as an appetiser to the stir fry?”

I chuckled. “Nope, sorry. Better resign yourself to eating my stir fry tonight.”

“I’m just kidding.” He sat down right beside me, shuffling as close as possible and wrapping his arm around my waist as he kissed my cheek. “I like your food.”

I gave him a distracted smile, reaching over to palm his thigh. “So, you know I went to a store earlier that Corva recommended?”

“Yeah. Wait, what store was it again? I can’t remember.”

“Well.” I cleared my throat and said brightly, “It was a sex store.”

I could feel Greid staring down at me. “A sex store, huh? Okay, you definitely didn’t tell me that earlier, because I definitely would’ve remembered.”

Chuckling, I leaned over the side of the couch to grab the bag. “I got some stuff.”

“Can I see?” he asked immediately.

“Of course.” I laughed, reaching into the bag. “It’s stuff for us, Greid.”

I pulled the handcuffs out first and glanced up at Greid. His eyes went wide for a second, throat bobbing, before a big, filthy grin spread across his face as he took them from me. “Nice. I like the pink.”

“I knew you would.” I nudged his arm with a sly grin. “So, want me to handcuff you to the bed?”

“Yes, please,” he rasped, long fingers sifting through the pink fluff lining the cuffs as his ears fluttered.

Pulse leaping, I pulled out the strap-on. “Want me to fuck you while you’re tied up?”

Greid froze. I looked back up to gauge his reaction, seeing his yellow eyes wide and fixed on the strap-on in my hands. He let out a shaky breath.

“Fuck. I… Y-yeah. Yes.” His mouth opened and closed wordlessly a few times, before he hoarsely repeated, “Yes.”

“Is the dick too big?” I looked down at it critically. “I got a smaller one in case—”

“N-no, it’s… It’s not.” He swallowed. “It’s a, uh, demiurgus one, huh? It’s got…”

“Barb-like bumps, yeah.” I fisted the dildo and stroked it a few times, the fake barbs abrading my palm, but not in an unpleasant way. Greid let out a croak.

“So you… Corva recommended this place?” His shoulders hunched as I looked over at him, ears fluttering with anxiety. “Did you… Did you tell her…”

“No,” I rushed to reassure him, letting go of the dick to thread our fingers together. “No, Greid, I didn’t tell her anything. I wouldn’t. That’s private, between us. No one else’s business.”

He swallowed and nodded. “I know. Sorry. I know you wouldn’t. It’s just…”

When he trailed off, I squeezed his hand and gently asked, “What?”

“It’s just that—” He cringed, releasing my hand to scrub both of his over his face. “Fuck, I don’t want to keep bringing her up. I’m sorry.”

Okay, so this was about Agma. I shook my head. “Greid, it’s okay. It’ll help me understand, so I don’t mind at all. Okay? I promise.”

“Okay.” He sighed and rubbed his face again. “When Agma and I split up, she told her friends… stuff. About what I, um, wanted. So it just… It got pretty awkward whenever I bumped into them after that.”

Murderous rage swept through me. “She did what?”

“Yeah.” He picked at the front of his onesie. “A couple of them made some gross comments when I saw them at the grocery store not long after we broke up. Made it pretty clear they… knew.” He shrugged, but the movement was jerky. “I’d gotten somewhat friendly with a few of her friends during our relationship, but that ended after that. So. Yeah.”

Suddenly, him going to the compound made a lot more sense. I’d already been able to tell that he’d been lonely, but this was why he’d actually done it. He’d been ostracised. And his social anxiety would have made it even harder for him to go out and make new friends, especially without knowing who knew what about him in the local demiurgus population.

My hands were clenched into tight fists. I was practically vibrating with fury. Letting out a slow breath, I forced my fingers to uncurl so I could clasp his hand.

“That was a really, really shitty thing for her to do.” I was trying not to squeeze his fingers too tight. All I wanted to do was wrap him in my arms and never let go. “She had no right to tell anyone personal stuff about you.”

“It just sucks because I… I know I shouldn’t be embarrassed about what I like. It shouldn’t feel shameful. But… that doesn’t mean I want random people knowing, you know? And among demiurgus, being submissive is… It’s not that common. I don’t think, anyway. We’re just kind of built to be domineering. It’s what’s expected. But I’m just… not. I never have been.”