“Iris…” Curtis quavered. “W-who is this?”
“Oh, this is Cass's little brother,” she lied. “He came to get some help with his outfit.”
“His name is Vincent. Vincent Asteras.” Khazmine eyed Byxx with the utmost intensity that demanded his compliance. “My little brother.”
Byxx broadcast the most satisfied grin she had ever seen at the admission. For once, Khazmine needed something from him, and he could exact a huge favor for his obedience. A quick look at Iris informed him of her mounting anxiety over this whole charade. For her sake, and the future favor from Khazmine, he would happily play along.
“That’s right, friend.” Byxx confirmed with enthusiasm. “Iris is a marvel with that sewing machine of hers, right? She promised to help fix me up when Khaz told me she could sew.”
Khazmine shot a quick glance over to Iris and Curtis, to determine if they had heard Byxx’s bungle of her name. Iris winced slightly at the gaff, but Curtis was still stunned from surprise. Byxx rolled one of his shoulders to test the fit on his tailored gambeson, which spread his musky, masculine scent into the air.
“Fits like a glove, thank you!” Byxx cheered.
“Look at what we got you at the mall today.” Iris chimed in. “…It’s for your game. I got the right one, yeah?”
Her eyes begged Byxx to go along with her lie. Iris trembled softly as she held out the black shirt, and Byxx clasped her outstretched hands in his immense grasp. His warmth helped steady them, as their palms danced against each other through the thin cloth.
“I love it.” Byxx smiled warmly down at Iris while catching Curtis’s eye. “Thank you.”
“And here’s some more of that makeup you use.” Khazmine insisted. “You know, for your costume stuff.”
“Ah, thanks.” Byxx finally caught on to the ploy. “I’d been looking for more of these. I’ll, uh, get you some scratch for them when I get out of this.”
Curtis couldn’t help but wonder how far down Vincent went with the makeup for this “Byxx” persona. Did he stop at the neck and sleeve lines, or did the makeup trail down throughout his impressive figure? He caught himself daydreaming about what color Vincent might be under all that exquisite makeup, and if he bothered dying his chest hair to match the blonde wig he wore. Byxx caught him staring and decided to play with him a bit.
“It’s real, you know.” Byxx teased Curtis, who reddened unexpectedly at being called out for staring. “My hair, that is. Go on, give it a good ruffle.”
Curtis audibly gasped when Byxx closed in on his personal space with a friendly bow to bring his head low. Byxx watched Curtis’s gentle eyes boggle at his vibrant honeyed stare, and tried to place the strange emotions Curtis was stifling. This wasn’t anger or fear, but something else, something he needed to hide. Byxx tilted his head inquisitively before drawing backwards to his full standing height. Curtis felt the radiating warmth from Byxx recede as he backed away.
“No?” Byxx gave him an amiable smirk. “Maybe next time, then. Say, Khaz. What’ve you got there?”
“It’s a present. For you.” Khazmine struggled to smile and look more natural. “For your costume.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet of you.” Byxx poured on the charm. “Be a dear and help me put them in, would you?”
Khazmine was grateful to have her back turned to Curtis, who would be unable to see her seething grimace. Byxx drank in the Augment’s frustrated ire, and played up his little brother shtick to maximum effect. By the looks of it, Byxx was very convincing as an affectionate little brother. Curtis’s expression softened at the display of sibling cooperation.
“Thank you. They’re lovely.” Byxx grappled Khazmine into a playful hug and she repressed the urge to destroy him. “What a thoughtful gift.”
Iris took advantage of the confusion and slinked back to the spare room with her bags of clothes and presents. She creaked open the door to toss the bags in, only to find Zayzann sprawled out on the floor in a pool of sweat. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with him, so she crept low to the carpet to check him over.
“I’m all right.” Zayzann mumbled in a low, quaking voice. “I heard him come in while I was exercising. It just caught me off guard, that’s all.”
She brushed his fluffy brow and tamped back his crest of cranial feathers to comfort him once she confirmed he was only startled. Iris leaned close to whisper to Zayzann, and his feathers grazed her nose and cheek.
“Hang in there, Zay,” the caress of her breathed words tickled his split ear. “He’ll be gone soon. Just a little longer, okay? I’ll come back for you when it’s okay to leave the room.”
Zayzann remained on the floor, exhausted and unable to prop himself up. It would have been fine if this had happened earlier, but he was spent from another prolonged session of practicing his transformations. He was so close to getting caught when Iris had opened the door…
Soon. I’m almost there. Just a little further.
Iris strode back into the living room to find Byxx regaling Curtis with tales of his glory days on the battlefield, much to Khazmine’s visible distress. Khazmine perched uncomfortably on the guest chair, trying not to aggravate the situation. Curtis sat beside Byxx on the couch with rapt attention, soaking up the details of his stories.
“…And that’s why they call me the ‘Hero of the Carmine Delta.’ Impressive, eh?” Byxx boasted amiably.
“Iris, did you know about this?” Curtis asked emphatically. “Are you a part of his campaign?”
Iris looked to Khazmine and Byxx for insight on what Curtis meant, but found no explanation on either of their faces. Then it hit her. Curtis must be thinking Byxx was talking about role-playing games, and was asking about her involvement in them.
“Oh, uh, no. Not really. Sorry, Curtis.” Iris admitted. Those games were more of her sister’s interest than her own. The only things she knew about them were from cultural osmosis, which is why she bought the shirt for Byxx. “Lily tried to teach me once, but I’m no good at those games. I wouldn’t want our team to lose.”
“Oh, don’t say that.” Curtis pleaded. “Besides, it’s not like a ‘win or lose’ kind of game. You just have fun with it. Come on, Vincent, back me up here.”
She had only been gone for a minute or two, and already Curtis had shown great interest in Byxx and his adventures. Iris had forgotten how excitable Curtis was about those kinds of games, and wondered what would become of this train-wreck of an evening. Curtis waited earnestly for what Byxx had to say, staring at him with eager eyes.
“Well, that is…” Byxx fumbled. He had no idea what Curtis was talking about, but he did like games, so he decided to go for broke to convince Iris. “I’d be proud to have you on our team sometime.”
“There, you see? We can teach you as you go along.” Curtis grinned. “We could start our own game. What do you say?”
“What? No!” Iris croaked. “Don’t you have to play like every week or something?”
“It doesn’t have to be every week. We could do once every two weeks.” Curtis begged. “Come on, please? I haven’t been this geeked in ages. Please, Iris?”
“I’m overwhelmed,” she eked out a smile and raised her hands in protest. “Give me a chance to think about it, okay? Kha-Cass? Would you want to join in a group activity?”
“…I am unsure.” Khazmine faltered. “I would require a demonstration before committing to anything.”
“There, see?” Curtis beamed as if it was already decided. “This is awesome. I haven’t played in a campaign since college. I’m just so excited.”
The roommates eyed each other with varied degrees of bemusement and confusion, but Curtis seemed happy about it, so there was that. He got up to find the bathroom before heading out, leaving the perplexed assembly to sort out the aftermath.
“Old gods and new, what was that about?” Byxx startled in a hushed voice. “Some sort of dice game?”
“Ho boy, I have no idea.” Iris confessed. “There’s lots of rules, and math, that’s all I remember. He seems rather set on the whole idea, if I’m honest. I don’t think Curtis will let this go.”
“I do not object to participating.” Khazmine declared. “However, the rules must be thoroughly explained. And I do not like to lose…”
The whole group clammed up and stood from their seats when Curtis raced through the hallway to rejoin them. He strode right up to Byxx and grabbed one of his huge, warm hands into a firm grip. Curtis shook Byxx’s hand vigorously, taking him by surprise with his forceful enthusiasm.
“It was a real pleasure meeting you, Vincent.” Curtis smiled up at him.
“P-please, call me Byxx,” he stammered to keep composure, but managed to smile at the excitable human. “I don’t like my human name all that much.”
Byxx shot a passing glance at Khazmine, who frowned at his offhand commentary on her name choice. Iris blinked several times, mostly to confirm that she could believe what she was seeing just now.
“Sure, sure. Oh, I probably shouldn’t shake all that much.” Curtis released Byxx’s hand and checked over his own. “Don’t wanna smear your, uh…”
“It’s fine.” Byxx shrugged. “Pleasure to meet you, Curtis.”
“Likewise, and thanks!” Curtis turned to head for the entrance, with Iris trailing behind him. “Goodbye!”
The door slammed behind Iris as she loped after the invigorated Curtis. He made it halfway to his car before turning on his heels to thank Iris.
“Oh, I’m just so… Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve been in a campaign. This is fantastic.” Curtis grabbed Iris into a hug. “I still think your roommate is kinda weird, but her brother’s super nice. I wonder what he does when he’s not doing the, uh, costume stuff.”
“He’s in the military.” Iris spoke without much thought. While it was true that Byxx was a commander of his own forces, that didn’t exactly mean the same thing on Earth as it did in the wastes. “Captain, I think.”
“So cool…” Curtis fawned. “Do you, d-you think you could get me his number? F-for the campaign. We’ll need to hash out some details before the first session.”
“Oh, uh, sure. I’ll ask.”
“Excellent. I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Take care now!” Curtis waved at Iris before taking off in his sedan.
Iris thought she saw his wide, contented smile in the reflection of his rear-view mirror as he drove away. She shook her head in disbelief and climbed the stairs to her apartment door. She shut and locked the door behind her, sighing about forty percent of her soul through a deep exhalation. Upon entering the living room, Iris plopped down next to Byxx on the couch, interrupting the heated conversation between him and Khazmine.
A familiar sound of heavy footsteps came sauntering through the hallway. Zayzann approached the bewildered roommates and plopped down on the carpet next to the coffee table. He brushed the sweat from his brow before asking the all-important question.
“Anyone care to explain what’s going on?”
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