Caspin and his lovers had a wonderful time exploring the port. The Vulpan saw it through new eyes as Phenner exclaimed over every small miracle and Adrian commented on everything that interested him. It was a delight. They shopped, ate, drank, and talked to interesting people from amazing areas. Caspin was impressed at how well Phenner was adjusting to life in space. Adrian's people were more technologically advanced, so his acceptance of the things he saw was less surprising. Phen, however, showed wonder and amazement but also quick acceptance of this strange new world he was thrust into. It humbled Caspin while making him want to show his mate and his new lover everything he could.
They bought more clothes than they would ever need, including things for Caspin. Cas and Phen were even able to sneak away from Adrian for a bit to buy a few risqué outfits. They giggled while imagining Adrian's reaction when he saw them wearing such naughty things.
"Sometimes I think Adrian likes to watch almost as much as he likes to participate," Cas giggled, holding up a transparent thong.
"He wants to watch us play in our spirit forms." Phen prompted as he held a tiny skirt to his waist.
Caspin hunched his shoulders. "I...I want to try, I think."
Phen kissed his lover’s flushed cheek and tossed the mini-skirt in the basket.
Adrian came across a 3d printing booth that hosted several materials and textures. He sketched up a soccer ball for the merchant and chose the texture that felt as close to a real soccer ball as possible. When the merchant returned with the ball. Adrian grinned as he held it and tested it. He bounced the ball off his knees and his head. "It's perfect!" He stated as he envisioned teaching his little loves how to play the game in the future.
As they returned to Caspin's ship, the trio were excited at how much larger it looked. Cas had explained that since space was mostly vacuum, it really wouldn't take much more fuel even with the increase in mass. The air scrubbers and other life supports as well as the water system was upgraded. Caspin had never really worried much about money before. When it was just him, most of his money went into savings. The money was good in his line of work. Most Vulpans and Kaynens didn't want to wander far from home, and the same was true for many other species. They paid top dollar for data and maps on available resources. The Vulpan now found himself glad for his sizeable nest-egg and continuing income. It was nice being able to provide for his new family without worry.
It also meant he could afford some extravagances. Many extravagances, if he so wished.
Caspin grinned as he took Adrian's hand. "Close your eyes, I have a surprise for you!"
"Oh?" Adrian wondered as he kept his eyes closed. "A surprise for me?"
Cas bounced on his heels. "Yes! I think Phen will like it too."
Phen clapped his hands in excitement. Everything had been a wonder to him. He was sure he'd love any surprise that the fox might have.
Caspin led them into the new area of the ship and down a few halls. It still had that new ship smell. Cas was delighted. He opened the door into a huge open area.
"Okay." Caspin whispered. "You can look."
Adrian opened his eyes and peeked into the massive room. It was about the size of a football field. On one side, there was a pool and a Jacuzzi.
"I thought Phen would love the hot water in the Jacuzzi!" the fox said with a grin. "And the pool and hot tub are filled with a liquid similar to water. However, it won't evaporate and if we lose artificial gravity it won't go flying everywhere. Try not to swallow it, though. They said it will give you a tummy ache."
Phen immediately ran over to dabble his toes in the hot swirling tub. Adrian only had eyes for the other part of the room. The human walked over to where the sturdy hard flooring gave way to what appeared to be real grass. Spread out before him was half a soccer field, including a goal. Surrounding the soccer area was a track. There was more exercise equipment in another area.
Caspin sidled up to his mate, toes curling in the soft grass. "Do you like it?" the fox whispered timidly.
The human was so touched by the gesture that he couldn't even speak for a moment. When he finally found his words, he rushed over to lift the Vulpan by the hips and spun him around. "Caspin, this is absolutely amazing!" He cried. "Thank you so much!"
Caspin beamed as Adrian set him down. "You guys go ahead and play. I'm going to set our coordinates and then put some of the clothes away." He kissed Adrian's cheek. "Have fun, love."
Adrian immediately began to test out the new ball on the field with absolute glee.
Caspin scurried happily to the command room. He got clearance to depart, set the auto to take them out, and set their coordinates. Once they were away from the port traffic, the Vulpan headed toward his quarters. There were a few new doors with the add-on to the ship. He was passing one when it slowly fell open.
He was about to just close it when he thought he heard a noise from within the room. Caspin's eyes were wide as he slowly crept into the dim room. The space was empty except for a bed. The fox tiptoed in, ears perked and twitching. He flung open the closet door dramatically, but there was nothing inside. He heaved a breath but then stiffened as he heard something from the bathroom.
He poked the top of his head in so just his lambent green eyes showed over the jam. The majority of the room was visible to him. The toilet and shower were empty. The tub was hidden by a curtain.
Caspin crept toward the tub, muscles strung tight and arm outstretched. He held his breath as his fingertips brushed the fabric. The fox took a fortifying breath and whipped the curtain to the side.
Falorios was calmly waiting for take-off. Some of the newer ships took off so gently that one couldn't feel the turbulance even when they were already launched into space. So, he was biding his time. The moth swiped along on his tablet contently, every now and then giving a deep hum of appreciation for some of the different species that were sprawled onto contrasting silks. He was so engrossed in his digital dirty magazine that he didn't even notice that he was no longer alone. When the curtain was pulled back so suddenly, his shocked face shifted into an easy-going smile of greeting. "Hi, how you doing?"
What the moth didn't expect was the strange popping sound that went off a second before a loud thunk was heard from the edge of the tub. Rios held his breath as he saw it all happen in slow motion, his adrenaline having spiked. One second, an adorable Vulpan was gaping at him, and the next, a fennec fox appeared in mid-air and, as it fell down, its little head bonked right onto the edge of the tub. The fine hairs on the back of Rios's head stood up as the weight of the tiny fox landed on his lap, unconscious.
"Caustic cosmos!" He yelped as he dropped his tablet, the dirty magazine forgotten. His large, golden brown eyes glanced frantically from the fox to the open door and to the fox again. "Fuck!" A moment later, he cradled the fox into his arms as he scampered onto his feet and leapt over the edge of the bathtub.
"Fuckity, fuck fuck fuck..." He hissed under his breath as he waddled down the hallway. He caught the sound of thumping and headed over in that direction. A tall man, a rare species, was kicking around a ball in an artificial field. "You!" He called out as he rushed over with the fox in arms. "He, or it, is not moving! I swear I didn't do it! He just POOF! Transformed in mid-air and bonked his head on the tub!!" He rambled.
Adrian was startled, at first, to see the stranger running towards him. But, his focus immediately shifted to the unconscious fox. He snatched Caspin right out of the man's hands and rushed over to the MedBay. He laid his little mate down carefully and took a few deep breaths.
"Calm down, calm down..." The human urged himself. "You can do this, you've seen him do it...first..." He began to input the commands in the order that he had seen before and pressed his hands against the pane of the tube as the MedBay began to scan the fox.
"Come on, love," The human whimpered, fighting down his panic. When the screen dinged, he desperately pulled up the information and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Just light bruising...thank goodness. Nothing the MedBay can't handle." He let out a shuddering sigh of relief before rounding onto the stranger. "As for you," He stated in a clipped tone of voice. "Just who are you?"
Falorios's shoulders hunched as he curled into himself a bit, feeling waves of danger rolling off the taller man. "Buddy, calm down, I meant no harm." He began as he took a couple of steps back. Unfortunately, the dark-haired man followed those few steps forward. "I mean it! I was just hitching a little ride to space for a little while in order to get someone off my trail."
"You have yet to answer my question," Adrian insisted, his patience running thin.
"My name's Falorios!" The moth squeaked. "But, people call me Rios. I am- was, I was a messenger man back on port." He continued. "...at least until they tried to get me to deliver something questionable. So I handed the package over the authorities and ran before the mafia could get to me!"
The human observed as the stowaway took deep, heaving breaths. The guy could pass as a human with his soft brown skin tone and golden brown eyes, but the pale green hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes gave him away as another species. "What, exactly, are you?"
When Rios felt the intimidation finally starting to simmer down, he let out a soft sigh of relief and straightened back up. "Well, I don't normally do this, but..." He said as he took his hat off, revealing a pair of long, white antennae. He then slowly unfurled his large, pale green wings. "My people are the Alano. I'm a moth, see? A luna moth, if I hafta be specific."
Adrian tilted his head slightly as he tried his best to not appear as impressed as he really was at the display. "My name is Adrian. And I'm a human." He motioned towards the MedBay. "The love of my life is in there. What do you plan to do in order to make amends for this?" He questioned sharply.
Rios dropped the hand holding the hat down and raised the other hand to the back of his neck as he rubbed it, feeling rather sheepish about the situation he found himself in. "Listen, man, I'm sorry about all this. Like I said before, I meant no harm." His gaze flickered to the fox in the Medbay and back again. "When the tyke wakes up and you feel like handing me over to the authorities, I won't fight it. I just ask that it's the highest authorities in the galaxy. The mafia'll find me fast if it's anything less."
Feeling rather weary and drained in such a short span of time, Adrian took a deep breath. "Just...come have a seat on the couch until the MedBay clears Caspin. We'll decide what to do together when he wakes up." He then urged the moth to sit in the couch while he sat on the recliner nearby, keeping an eye on him and keeping his ears trained on the MedBay.
::
(a/n: Many thanks to the lovely Butterflywish from Deviantart for her renditions of these four boys!)
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