doggone

[repeatedprayer]

[In the time following his departure from Tabito and Manabu's company, the alias "Grey" has wound up sticking.

Not that everyone calls him that, he's used a few other aliases since then, but it's what he's wound up thinking of himself as. If Grey had taken the time to think about it a bit more he might have picked something with a little less connection to Rezo's name, but it's still leagues better than thinking of himself as "Rez- wait, no, just a copy." And maybe that's why he's felt significantly calmer since he left Sairaag.

By his own standards, Grey has been laudably well-behaved; sure, he's been mostly doing under-the-table psychic work, often on behalf of criminals, but! He's been trying to keep a low profile so it's usually things like clairvoyant spying rather than anything violent, and he's been making a point of not doing anything that directly impacts the galaxy railways.

It would be extremely awkward if Manabu Yuuki had to try and arrest him, after all.

He's found himself frequently thinking about Manabu, much to his annoyance. He has no serious expectations of ever seeing Manabu again, so it's simply a waste of mental bandwidth to find himself wondering what Manabu is doing right now or where he is, or to reminisince over their incredibly brief acquaintanceship. Grey can only suppose that because Manabu was the first reasonably normal person he got to know after leaving Sairaag that Manabu is going to stick out in his mind for a while.

And it's probably because of the real estate that Manabu is hogging in Grey's mind that he's been very aware of every mention of the SDF that crosses his path. He hasn't exactly been tracking the SDF's activities deliberately, but he does pay attention to the news and the SDF frequently winds up in there, even if Manabu's name in particular isn't normally dropped.

Until the day it does.

SDF Officer Taken Hostage By Pirates]

* * *

[It's taken several weeks of investigating, but Grey has been able to track down The Huntress's client, a Dr. Parish and associates. It must be a small galaxy, because Dr. Parish is someone Grey knows. Sort of.

Rather, Dr. Parish was a colleague of Rezo's who collaborated with the man on chimera research (and other unsavory things) in the past. Not only that, the man was an ardent admirer of Rezo's superior psychic prowess, and desperate to improve his own meager abilities.

He'd had quite a shock when Grey approached him in town, but after the initial surprise it had been sickeningly easy to convince Dr. Parish that he was the real Rezo. Grey can only surmise that the man wants to believe too badly to let himself be properly suspicious. It had only taken a day for Grey to be invited to tour Parish's laboratory.

The lab's located on the grounds of a former Marquess's estate, a ways out of town and secluded by trees, a high wall, and a long drive. Grey's done a little recon before, but actually being here is different, especially since he has to navigate by cane at the moment. Grey is doing his best to politely nod and smile as Parish guides him from room to room, explaining their work and occasionally handing him things to examine himself.

But evidently Parish realizes that "Rezo" isn't entirely interested, because he stops partway through an explanation of some stem cell experiments he and a few others have been working on to say "Of course, the really interesting specimens are kept in the basement floor."

Grey already knows this. He hopes his expression seems the right sort of eager.]

Interesting?

["Something along the lines of what we did in the past. Would you like to see them?"]

Nothing would please me more.

[Grey can practically hear Parish's delighted grin. To soothe the surge of irritation, Grey reminds himself that he's going to kill this man before the end of the day and allows Parish to guide him out into the hall and to the basement entrance at the back of the building.]

Comments

[siriusly]

[fluffy but also matted from a half-day of being scrunched! poor thing, all that care to get brushed, now this.]

I don't know...maybe I can do pushups or something. [yeah that'll work.]

[repeatedprayer]

[That earns Manabu a Look.]

...How about we brush your tail first? It looks like it needs it.

[In fact Grey is already getting to his feet to go get Manabu's brush. Manabu may want to take this opportunity to try hiding in a cupboard or something.]

[siriusly]

Ehhh-?! But we just did that yesterday!

[repeatedprayer]

Then it shouldn't take too long, should it?

[Too late. Grey has picked up the hairbrush. He is now approaching. He is smiling. You cannot run. You cannot hide.]

[siriusly]

Gehh...

[he pouts, scooting away toward the headboard, still kicking his pants off. his ears flatten as the brush draws near, face getting red preemptively.] No, but...but it's still weird, right? [and it feels good when he does it? that's weird!]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey crouches on the mattress, getting on his knees and one hand.]

It's only weird because you're not used to it yet.

[Scooting ever closer.]

Now turn around.

[siriusly]

[Manabu's face goes red chin-to-crown at the sight of Grey crawling like that, his tail floofing like a spooked cat; his teeth chatter in lieu of a sputtered response, swinging around so fast he--]

OWHHhuuhhh...! [--he bangs his leg into the wall next to him.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Well good news for Manabu! Grey is so alarmed by that moment of klutziness that he drops the hairbrush onto the mattress. He quickly scooches over to Manabu's side, crouching next to him and peering with concern down at Manabu's legs.]

Are you alright?

[siriusly]

[he whines, rubbing at his shin.] Y-yeah, yeah, just! Jeeeeezhhh...

[he double-takes after cracking an eye open and peering at Grey, his ears perking upright and heart jumping in his throat. so close!!] Really!

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey slips off the bed and kneels on the floor in front of Manabu, reaching out to take hold of the shin that Manabu is rubbing at.]

Is this where you hit it?

[He looks over the skin for any scratches or other breakages.]

[siriusly]

G-Grey, you don't have to do that! [Manabu bristles, gawking at him. the leg is fine, though a bit red where his ankle slapped the wall.] Seriously, I'm not that helpless...!

[and besides, you kneeling like that is kind of...!]

[repeatedprayer]

Hmm...

[Since Manabu is the type who, if he had a bone sticking out of his leg, would probably still try to claim it isn't that bad, Grey doesn't take Manabu at his word and instead takes a moment to grip Manabu's ankle in one hand and gently run his hand over the rest of his shin. He's soon satisfied that Manabu isn't seriously injured, however.]

I see. It's just a bump.

[And then he raises Manabu's leg and kisses Manabu's ankle before finally letting it go.]

Better?

[He looks warmly up at Manabu.]

[siriusly]

Gih-!!!

[Manabu freezes, a tingle surging up his spine to the tips of his ears. whatever annoying pain he'd felt is immediately pushed out of mind as he gawks, gobsmacked by such an intimate and obscene gesture.

his leg kind of drops like a rock when released.]

Wh...what the hell...

[repeatedprayer]

Heh.

[His smile grows more bashful at the sight of how utterly discombobulated Manabu is, even though he's also rather enjoying the reaction.]

That's what people do with small injuries, isn't it? Kiss them better?

[siriusly]

Not...not like that... [his eyelid twitches.] Not without being so...I mean...you're... [the braincell, she is suffering. help.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey can practically smell the smoke coming out of Manabu.]

Well, I'm sorry. [He smiles as he says this, so it doesn't come across as particularly remorseful.] I don't have much experience with this sort of thing, so I'm not sure how to do it properly.

[Grey gets to his feet and moves back onto the bed.]

Anyway, don't think I've forgotten about your tail.

[siriusly]

[there's barely any relief from Grey moving away, because Manabu's still replaying that gesture on a 5x speed loop in his head.

he twitches belatedly when he realizes Grey's back next to him.]

I-I'm getting the feeling you're...just having fun winding me up, you know...

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey picks up the hairbrush and idly turns it around in his hand.]

...Perhaps a bit, but that really isn't my goal here.

[Kissing Manabu's bruises, brushing the mats out of his tail... Sure, it's entertaining to see Manabu fluster and become aroused by Grey's touches, but it really isn't something he's doing because he wants to toy with Manabu.

Grey shifts and moves back behind Manabu, careful not to accidentally sit on Manabu's tail while he's moving about.]

I'm going to start brushing now.

[Manabu has a moment in which he can try to bolt or protest before Grey takes hold of that tail, albeit as light a hold as he can.]

[siriusly]

Sometimes it, it seems that way... [escape? where? if he tried to run, he'd probably just fall flat on his face, or get vertigo again... no, best-case scenario requires remaining right where he is, flustering though it is.

he stifles a little sound when his tail is handled, turning his head away, fists on his knees, legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

it's weird, but...it still feels nice. it shouldn't, but it does!

the tip of the tail reflexively curls around Grey's wrist, twitching a little.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Rather than start brushing immediately, Grey winds up staring down and the tail tip that's wrapped itself around his wrist. The fur tickles his skin whenever it twitches.

God. That's so cute.

There's a moment where Grey is seriously tempted to lift Manabu's tail and give it a kiss as well. Instead, Grey takes a steady breath and begins to carefully brush out the fur. As always, he works as gently as he can, starting from the tip and slowly working his way up to the base.]

[siriusly]

[Manabu eventually leans against the headboard and wall, legs kicking a little out of idle need to fidget. like the hair-stroking earlier, the brushing has a hypnotic kind of effect that makes his eyes heavy. mixed with the pleasant tingling that comes with the gentle care, and it's like...like some kind of massage effect.

without relaxed muscles, anyway.

closer to the base, Manabu tenses up; the sensation is more intense and arousing, and now he can think about getting grabbed during sex and--]

Mmh... [he bites his lip, drawing his knees up to meet his chin.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey bites back a smile at the fidgeting, and hopes that Manabu doesn't accidentally injure himself again. It's still a little strange for Grey as well, honestly. Not so much the tail part, but just that he's so willing to put himself in the position of a caretaker. He'd told himself so many times that that isn't who he is, and yet...

The intimacy of the act means that Grey's pretty in tune with whatever Manabu's body is doing. He notices the way Manabu leans to one side, and the way he tenses as Grey gets close to the base of his tail. But it isn't until Manabu makes a little sound and draws his legs up that Grey checks in.]

Is everything alright?

[Grey's still brushing as he asks, however. That didn't sound like a pained noise.]

[siriusly]

[he nods a little, wrapping his arms around his knees, as if being smaller lessens the impact.]

It just feels... [really good.] like a lot.

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey has his suspicions about what a lot really means, but he decides to refrain from accusing Manabu of anything.]

I'm almost done. Can you bear with it for just a little longer?

[siriusly]

Yeah, it...it's fine. Just kind of embarrassing. [to get turned on so easily, at a touch. but then, Grey didn't need to touch his tail to do that.]