The habitat planet was somewhat cold at night.
However, the male bug, curled up with his mate, felt incredibly warm. A soft, comfortable blanket was draped over them, and the nest was permeated with the scent of pheromones. It was like a rusted longsword plucking a dew-kissed flower; the aggressive, pungent forenote was neutralized by a distant, sweet lingering aftertaste.
Sakedi’s fingers gathered the long white hair, gently dividing it into three thin strands.
He didn't know any overly complex styles and could only attempt a basic braid.
The male bug was very fond of the Monet silk and Secret Crystal ore he had brought back from Camlann, and had packed them along with the fluffy blankets to be transported to the core star sector of the Grey-wing tribe.
For some reason, Gela always harbored a straightforward passion for life. No matter where he was, he happily attempted to arrange his small nest into the most comfortable state possible.
Sakedi had used his spare time to grind a small handful of crystal beads, intending to string them together as ornaments for the other to play with, or to turn them into hanging wind chimes that would make a crisp sound.
After all, humans had always loved "turning beads," and bugs had always loved shiny things; their professional interests were perfectly aligned.
Who would have thought that these magnificent raw stones would find a use in an unexpected place first?
They were embellished along one side of the silk ribbons that had been cut into thin strips.
As it turned out, the dexterous hands of the human Sakedi Salileban were perfectly inherited by this female bug body—except when it came to plastering a cocoon nest.
He had once repaired mechs, piloted starships, disassembled and assembled countless firearms, and had twisted off the heads of bugs in extremely harsh environments. Those were rough and powerful hands; the low-grade smell of gunpowder had seeped into the skin, and the time spent holding a gun far exceeded the time spent giving gentle embraces. His most tender moments had been nothing more than cleaning the outer hull of the Red Taisui.
After obtaining this new body, the thing he did most often was still snapping heads with his bare hands. From low-level species, middle-level species, and core species, to the recently deceased Broad-winged Sub-King, he had successfully become an unmatched "Grand Slam" player in this field.
Now, he focused on threading the beads onto the edge of the silk ribbon. The satin surface shimmered with a soft luster, as if a moon-white river were shedding tiny teardrops.
The ores were about the size of gooseberries, yet they displayed extravagant colors even in the dim light. This was why the Secret Crystal ore produced in the Little Rose Star Sector had always been favored by human jewelers. They were polished into various shapes to appear on crowns and scepters symbolizing power, as well as on the ears and necks of noble ladies representing beauty and desire.
But now, the high-priced stones were turned into ordinary tiny crystal beads, wound around the edges of crudely hand-cut hair ribbons, and braided into a thin plait.
"If only your hair were a bit longer," Gela whispered. He leaned his entire body into the other's embrace, his long, slender scaled tail curling into a cute little circle, enclosing both himself and Sakedi.
"The records say that humans braid the hair of the most, most important person into their own braids."
The Core Species said nothing.
Many places on the Old Earth did indeed have similar customs. Some early Europeans would do this to commemorate deceased relatives or partners, and distant Eastern nations had similar practices to reflect the affection between lovers. This was what his talkative, enthusiastic neighbors had told him back when he was at V217.
These fragments of knowledge had all been categorized under "Old Earth Related Data, High Priority," and thus managed to survive.
He let go of his hands, allowing the finished thin braid to fall.
The tiny Secret Crystals collided with a crisp, pleasant clinking sound amidst the white silk and the pearl-like long hair.
Gela looked back.
In that moment, Sakedi understood that any redundant decoration with artificial traces could not compare to him.
Bitter Adonis and arrogant Aphrodite were far beyond reach; it made one feel as if they had contracted a fever, using urgent words to describe a praise that was hard to restrain.
As long as he was willing to look up and kiss the other, he would be the most tender lover and the most affectionate partner of the night.
As if reaching a tacit understanding that could not be spoken aloud, the remaining light in the nest was quietly extinguished.
The male bug, who had carried genetic defects for so long, stretched his body, and his pearl-white wings slowly opened from behind him.
The tiny crystal beads swayed with his movements, making a clear, spring-like clinking sound, emitting a faint glow in the darkness.
It was as if stars had fallen into his hair.
Also emerging with a faint light were the wings of the Flash-pattern Species.
The spreading bands of patterns began to expand from the connection point of the wings and the body, like the roots of a plant, weaving together a continuous design.
The second pair of eyes, unseen for a long time, quietly emerged, lingering just below the corners of his eyes like damp, reddish tear stains.
Gela grabbed the other's hand and pressed it against his lower abdomen.
It was very hot there; even the respiratory slits on his sides were trembling slightly, and soft pheromones coiled upward.
This was a courtship.
After realizing that his partner did not loathe his body and had even shown affection for it, the male bug was no longer timid, nor was he stingy in making an invitation with the greatest degree of display.
"I've learned," he whispered, sensing Sakedi's unusually hot fingers pressing against his waist and abdomen, sinking into the skin as they tightened, leaving finger marks that were not exactly rough but very firm.
"I won't get it wrong like before."
These were whispers hidden in the night. The semi-alienated male bug lowered his body, his arms encircling the other's neck.
His slender scaled tail coiled around the pitch-black tail whip, which had retracted all its barbs, making an inviting gesture.
"I'm very good at this."
Gela had always been straightforward about such things, and innocent straightforwardness could catalyze desire in certain situations.
He was still fearlessly declaring that cute, pitiful confidence to his partner, speaking a crude monologue learned from who-knows-where: "I will make you ha—happy."
Perhaps such words were too embarrassing; the male bug spoke them very quickly, his breath hot.
He thought he took a careful look at the other, then quickly lowered his gaze.
Desire is a combination of all things beautiful and all things foul.
For a moment, Sakedi felt ashamed of his own emotions. Roxanne still understood nothing; even though he had been harmed before, his heart was full of the belief that doing such things with a partner was simple and natural.
But Sakedi understood.
When he was human, he had seen too many games of sensual hunting among the nobility, and the most violent and chaotic trafficking of goods in the slums. To him, the concept of sex was almost synonymous with disgust and rot, and the subsequent radiation sickness gave him a justified reason to reject all related advice.
Regarding the matter of a partner, he had a moral fastidiousness identical to his attitude toward power. The Red Taisui’s so-called belief that he would remain single until old age was not some baseless joke.
So he and Gela were always like this, one advancing and one retreating.
When the male bug took the initiative, he would withdraw and stand on the high shore; when he took the initiative, the other would stop in his tracks out of fear of pain.
They were like two of the most foolish beasts, pressed tightly together, neither quite acting like humans nor quite like bugs.
However, the difference between him and the male bug lay in the latter's stubborn spirit.
If he didn't know something, he would learn it; if he felt fear, he would overcome it, as if clearly expressing his love for his partner was more important than all of that.
This was an experience Sakedi had never had.
He was used to putting the Empire first, but he had rarely experienced the novel situation of being put first himself.
Thus, when the white bug let out another tender low cry and tentatively kissed him, the Core Species suddenly braced his body upward.
The male bug, who had been sitting on him, let out a small cry of surprise. Before he could fall from the jolting movement, he was already imprisoned in a powerful embrace.
The burning, rust-like pheromones aggressively invaded, forcing the other to go limp and give up resistance.
Even his delicate, cute tail-hook was shrinking back. Gela pretended to be calm as he hugged his partner's neck tightly, still stubbornly talking back through stammers.
"Let, let me do it. I know what the correct steps are. You're not allowed to run."
The very next second, the hand that slid down made him shut his mouth.
The male bug clamped his legs together and began to shake.
The Sakedi before him made him a little afraid. That was the original appearance of the Core Species after shedding all the dust of smoothness and worldliness—a fearless beast from the wasteland.
Rough, savage, possessing a scalding vitality and heat, crushing all resistance like long-lasting lava. Every movement of touch made Gela panic.
The beads polished from Secret Crystals made a jingling clatter as they wound through his hair.
Because those beads were handmade, their shapes were not flawless, but at this moment they pulsed like shattered stars. They meandered deep within the silk-like strands of hair, like falling into a river woven of moonlight.
"Don't be afraid."
The beast with golden-brown pupils lowered its head and kissed the moisture-stained corner of his partner's eye.
Sakedi held the other, feeling the male bug trembling as if on the verge of death due to his actions. So, he let the iron-like restraint turn into a tender and affectionate embrace, speaking words of comfort in a warm voice.
"Don't be afraid, Roxanne."
"I won't really do anything. It's still too early; you aren't ready."
He promised, while his scaled tail tightly encircled the other's tail, rubbing that fragile tail-hook. His deep voice turned into a chuckle at the end, returning the male bug's own rhetoric untouched.
"—Now, I'm just going to make you happy."
This time, Gela truly let out a sob.
"Bad buggie!"
Not daring to loosen his legs at all, the albino bug lay prostrate atop the hot and powerful Core-gene female bug. As soon as he opened his mouth, a chirp accidentally escaped. This caused the male bug to whisper accusations out of shame and embarrassment, crying like a little water bucket.
"Bad bug..."
"I am a bad bug, the baddest, baddest bug in the entire universe."
Sakedi chuckled as he held his cat-bug partner tightly. He coaxed him, but he didn't let him go.
His free hand could even stroke the other's limp little wings while maintaining the embrace.
"Fierce, bad, and unreasonable."
"And I love bullying Roxanne the most."
The next second, Gela, whose brain had briefly stalled, urgently tried to cover Sakedi's mouth while crying. After his hand was caught, he kissed him desperately, and his tail, having broken free from the entanglement, was also thumping and patting.
"Don't say it!"
"You're not allowed to say bad things about him..."
Like a spring river sweeping away the un-melted snow, the Core Species leaned down.
He held the white male bug in his arms as if holding a weeping little star. In such an unexpected moment, he felt an incomprehensible heat burn his eyes, making his voice rasp.
"Okay."
Sakedi responded softly to the other's words, lingering in a long kiss upon that white hair.
"I won't say bad things about him."
***
