Kurt stood in the
kitchen, his hands resting on the counter, his head hung low. He had never seen Bobby act like this
before. He knew that what Grath had done
to him, to the both of them, and gotten to him, but it had never been like
Bobby to completely shut down like this.
For the first week after
the battle Bobby had seemed okay, but slowly Kurt had watched him withdraw, and
now he wasn’t even getting out of bed. It
was like that whole battle had just ripped the soul right out of him.
Kurt got it. He understood what Bobby was going
through. He had been on the business end
of Grath’s tentacles himself, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. It was something he struggled with every day,
but he moved past it. He knew he had
to.
“Is there anything to
eat?” Bobby stood in the doorway to the
kitchen. His hair was an unwashed mess,
and he was wearing the same pajamas that he had put on three days ago.
“I haven’t gone
shopping.” Kurt couldn’t help it. He smiled.
Sure, his boyfriend looked like hell, but at least he was up and moving. That was a step in the right direction. “I can, though. What do you need?”
“I’ll go.” Bobby scratched his head, glancing around the
room. “I need to get out, I think.”
Kurt walked over to him,
wrapping his arms around Bobby. Gently
he leaned down, kissing him on the forehead.
“Take a shower first,
okay?” Kurt smiled, looking into Bobby’s
eyes.
“That bad?” Bobby let out a half-hearted laugh.
“Worse.” Kurt kissed him.
***
Ashtyn sat behind her
desk, keeping her focus on the computer screen.
She had never expected her inner goddess to be so talkative, and since
she hadn’t yet mastered the art of responding with her thoughts instead of her
voice, communication wasn’t very easy.
She hadn’t told anyone
about Tabitha yet. She didn’t really
know how to bring up the subject. How do
you explain that a brand new, never before seen goddess just pops up in your
mind?
“Well, you tell them
about the Scribes.” Tabitha’s voice rang
through Ashtyn’s head.
“What the hell are the
Scribes?” Ashtyn spoke out loud, and did
a quick double check to make sure that no one was around to hear her.
“The Scribes are…”
Tabitha paused. “Well, I don’t really
know. I mean, I know they made me. They’re the reason my mother and father are
still around, as well. So, I guess you
could say that the scribes are god makers.”
God Makers? The more she learned, the less she
understood.
“Can I ask you
something?” Tabitha’s voice was soft,
inquisitive. Even though she looked like
a grown woman, she had a very limited grasp on the world and people.
“Sure.” Ashtyn’s voice was a low whisper.
“Why do you think about
sex all the time?”
Ashtyn nearly fell out of
her chair. Her goddess was going through
all her personal thoughts, too? How did
Bobby deal with this? Maybe Juktha
understood privacy, or at least had the good sense not to ask questions.
“People have needs, and
when those needs aren’t being met, they tend to think about them more.” Ashtyn could feel her face growing hot.
“Who are you talking
to?” Clare’s voice made Ashtyn
jump.
Ashtyn turned in her
chair, facing her boss. “No one! Myself.
I, um, was just thinking something out loud.”
“Sure.” Clare gave her an odd look. “Listen, I just got a call about a possible
case, and I was wondering if you could hold down the office for a little while. Brittany and I are going to go check it
out.”
Brittany? Really?
“Yes, I know she’s green,
but how is she ever going to learn if we don’t get her out there?” Clare seemed to read Ashtyn’s thoughts.
“Yeah, I can handle
things here.” Ashtyn smiled, trying to
hide the nervousness in her voice. “You
two have fun.”
“Fun… right.” Clare gave her a wink, and headed back to her
office.
Once Ashtyn was alone
again, she took a deep breath. That was
too close. She needed to first, figure
out the whole talking mentally thing, and second, she had to figure out the
best way to explain Tabitha to everyone.
“You could just tell
them.” Tabitha chimed in again.
“It’s not that
easy!” Ashtyn answered her back without
even thinking. “Also, we need to have a
little talk about privacy and boundaries.”
“Privacy?”
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