Now he was on a mission to figure out the Mystery of the Disappearing Kraken. He had it all recorded in his notebook, in a mix of secret codes, sexy sketches, and notes, so he could track his progress. He flipped through quickly while he made his plan for the day, amused by his own drawings. He could definitely turn this into an installation series in a gallery somewhere.
Day 1: This one was an overlapping montage, heavily featuring Geir’s muscular shoulders and centered around the loaves of bread they’d baked together in the morning. In the first image, Declan was sitting in Geir’s lap under his favorite tree, where he’d dragged him to keep him company while he sketched. In his other, non-secret sketch book, of course. Then they’d gone “swimming” together, which involved an awfully lot of tentacles slithering over the page. In the evening, Geir sat in the kitchen while he cooked. The picture of him sitting at the table was Declan’s favorite. Strategy: flirting and begging. Robot time: 0 hours. Mission status: Success.
Day 2: This time, Declan got serious. He had put on a fashion show, now that he had all of his clothes back, and drew himself in various half-completed poses. None of them could capture how Geir had watched him with hungry eyes, tentacles exploring the lace and satin while Declan danced away. The day continued on the next page, where they’d dug up most of the garden. It was sweaty work, and Geir had taken his shirt off, his muscles gleaming in the sun. When they got back inside, Geir had given him a massage and fed him grapes and bits of cheese on the couch, because he was the best Daddy in the world. He’d decorated the air around them with little cartoon hearts and clusters of grapes. Geir finally slipped off for a bit in the evening, shown in a gray cloud of question marks, but he’d come back for dinner. Strategy: stay busy. Robot time: 2 hours. Mission status: Not bad.
Day 3: Geir took off in the early morning. Declan followed him, sneaky like a spy. He’d perched on a log a little ways off to watch him do nothing. It would have been boring as fuck, except that it gave Declan plenty of time to sketch Geir’s broad shoulders and then other fanciful and imaginative things he hoped they could do. There were a lot of tentacles, on a lot of pages, but otherwise nothing useful because Geir just sat there.
When Declan was starting to feel bored and sleepy, he had a breakthrough. He drew Geir high above the clouds, looking down at the Earth and all of the minuscule people below, like the brothers had in the story. Declan remembered that feeling of distance and apathy that the Guide had shared with him. Was that how Geir felt? Like the whole world was removed and irrelevant?
He hated to think of Geir that way, though he knew on some level that it was true. So, he’d crawled into Geir’s lap and demanded to be taken home and fed. Eventually, they’d gone grocery shopping, which was a fun and flirty experience without any bad guys. He drew Geir pushing him down the aisle while he stood on the end of the cart. Strategy: observation. Robot time: 4 hours. Mission status: Information acquired.
Day 4: This was another full day. Ro and May came over after lunch. Declan was kind of hoping that May could be his secret weapon, so he drew her tiny kitten form surrounded by lots of glowy explosions. Kitten power! Geir didn’t seem to care much whether Ro was there or not, but he was clearly warming to May. They’d played tea party together, with a little set Declan had picked up at the grocery store. He’d drawn the tiny teacups in May’s small hands and Geir and Ro’s giant ones.
On the next page, Declan had asked Geir to show May his tentacles, which had taken a ton of convincing since his grumpy kraken thought they would frighten her. Instead, she shifted into her kitten form and pounced and leaped as he dangled them in front of her. These sketches were definitely at the top of his list for cutest things ever.
After that, they’d gone back to the garden to plant some of the seedlings Ro brought over. Declan might have played up flirting with Ro just a little because it made Geir snap him up with his tentacles, right there in broad daylight. Fortunately, May was off chasing butterflies. It was almost dinner time when they left, and he thought that Ro and Geir were starting to get along pretty well once they started talking about plants. He drew them standing together in the garden, looking intently at a tiny seedling. Strategy: kitten power! Robot time: 0 hours. Mission status: Success.
Day 5: Declan had asked Geir if he could sketch him. It was a combination of letting Geir sit still for hours and being together. They chatted the whole time, or at least Declan chatted and Geir asked a few questions and laughed when Declan was being particularly funny or whimsical. They’d spent almost the whole day down by the lake, and Declan had even convinced Geir to try some sexy sea monster poses, like climbing up onto the dock with tentacles menacingly outstretched. He’d added comic-strip style sound effects. Of course, one thing led to another after that, and Declan got very acquainted with the sea monster. Then, they’d watched the sunset while Declan sketched for a bit longer in his other book. Strategy: Posing for sketches. Robot time: 0. Mission status: Success.
So, now he was on to day six. He was thinking that maybe it was time to bring Geir over to meet everyone in the tribe, though he wasn’t quite sure how to ask for permission to come over. Maybe he’d check in to the office and ask for Ro?
Declan changed out of his pajamas—Geir’s enormous t-shirt and a pair of pink briefs—and set himself up to look good. He needed a haircut, but he could manage that with some product. He went for a soft pink for his eyes and lotion that left a glittery glow all over his skin.
He knew that Geir didn’t like the taste of lotion and make-up on his tentacles, but the way he devoured Declan whenever he was wearing it suggested that it was worth it. Plus, it came off pretty easily in water.
He put a butterfly clip in his hair, shaped like an actual butterfly with gossamer wings.
Then he headed into the woods, a bit to the left of the path that would lead down to the water. It took a little bit of wandering, but Geir wasn’t too far away, sitting on a large rock and watching something in the forest. A flash of movement revealed a deer, who bounded away when Declan made too much noise.
Maybe Geir had been a bit more alert today, which was a nice thought. Was Operation: Geir starting to have some longer-term effects?
Geir turned around on the rock, smiling widely when he saw Declan. Like Declan was the most remarkable being on the planet and Geir was happy just being in his presence. “Hello, Hummingbird.”
His whole body felt warm every time Geir called him that. He’d never made anybody so happy just by being himself. Sometimes it felt like his own life turned on and off, too, depending on Geir’s presence.
He didn’t hesitate, climbing into his man’s lap and lifting his chin to demand a kiss.
Geir tangled strong fingers in his hair, holding him in place as he devoured his mouth. He got lost in the sensation of Geir’s soft lips. His thrusting tongue. His warm hands that snuck under Declan’s shirt and pinched at his nipples that were still just a little sore from last night.
Declan explored Geir’s muscular arms and ran fingers through his hair, delighting in the opportunity to touch him since he was usually bound. They kissed until he was breathless and panting, his hips rocking in need against Geir’s broad frame. God, just a little more and he would come, helplessly and embarrassingly in his jeans.
It would be perfect.