Pumpking

Issue 18

"It must have some unusual abilities, correct?"

"Control over certain types of plants. Oh, and I can make pumpkins explode." Which as powers went, was pretty crappy.

"I see," He nodded, "And for the future?"

I looked down at the ground below us, watching the occasional car whoosh by, "What about it?"

"You are young, yes? When you finish university and have a proper job?"

"I don't go to university. I never even finished high-school. And as for a proper job- cleaning and gardening are 'proper' jobs. Where do you think the morning paper comes from? Who do you think mows the lawns and darns your clothing when you rip it? Cleaning is honest work; it's not easy, it's not pretty. Just because I don't sit in an office and staple things all day, my work is any less important to the city?"

He held up his hands in defeat then, "Very well; I admit a poor choice of words and an assumption about a rose which I did not yet know."

Oh—I sipped my coffee a little and shifted my feet, "Well, alright. Sorry, I didn't mean to rant at you. It's just, life works out how it works out. Sure, I might have been something else, but I am not really good for anything else."

"You should not sell yourself short," He swept a hand across the expanse of city below, indicating to the horizon, "For a long time I thought such similar things; all I can do is this; all I am good to do is this thing. But if you limit yourself, who knows what you cannot achieve. If you fight those limits, who knows what you can achieve?"

On impulse I let my head rest on his shoulder then, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and shifted closer. He was really warm; like the cold wind didn't bother him at all. We sat like that for a while, quiet, peaceful, watching the night unfolding around us, sipping coffee and not speaking.

I must have drifted off because I woke with my head across Daystar's lap, one hand was in my hair, the other across my stomach, tickling the symbiote lightly with one finger.

I hadn't remembered falling asleep, but he must have been toying with the symbiote for some time because I was like a furnace, my whole body flush with heat. Warmth pooled between my legs, wetness soaking my underwear. The symbiote vibrated with sheer euphoria; so much it was flooding my brain.

I grabbed his hand and scrambled up, minding the edge of the building. I was standing, my knees trembling, "Jesus—don't do that!"

"It seemed to like it..?" He leaned back, innocently holding his hands up like I was over-reacting.

I squirmed, gripping my shirt; my whole body was on fire, the sensation of my bra against my nipples was delightful; I wanted to rub myself against the seams. My sex pounded with desire. How long had he been teasing the symbiote like that? "Yes- it does. But I don't!"

"But I thought what the Hem'Skaar liked, the host does too?"

"Yes—and it really likes that," I knocked my cold coffee off the edge as I put some distance between us, knowing my face was red And trying not to meet his eyes, "Really likes it."

"Oh," He looked me up and down for a moment before glancing back at his hand like it had been the offender, not him, "So I was..."

"Nevermind, do you know the time? I have to be at work by six."

"We took the liberty of calling your employers and informing them that you were on leave for the next few days."

"I can't afford to take time off work."

"Paid leave."

"I need that leave, what if I get into an emergency and have to have time off?"

"Such as your life in danger and a serial killer hoping to make you a target? Besides, Phantom has decided to pay you a consulting fee."

"I'd almost forgotten about him," I'd tried anyway.

"Oh," He didn't say anything more, merely stood in a smooth motion, "Well it is late. Perhaps we should let you get some sleep?"

I had to admit, I was feeling run down. All the adrenaline had left me totally drained. And the heat rushing up and down my spine wasn't helping. I rubbed a hand over my stomach, scratching at the symbiote to get a little less of the euphoria from it. My knees trembled as it sent a small spike of discomfort straight to my groin. Damnit.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"F-fine."

"You look feverish."

"I need a cold shower."

"Oh," He covered a small smile, but it spread before he could totally cover it. Mirth shook his shoulders, "I am sorry; I didn't realize that I was doing something so lewd, I thought it was like patting a cat. It was purring..."

"Don't laugh; I imagine you would be quite flustered if a woman rubbed your..." Alien penis? Oh god, did he even have a penis? Was he even the male of his species? "-symbiote until it purred you would be feverish."

He cracked up then, leaning on the railing support at whatever mental image I had given him, "I am sorry... I am sure. I am sure that I would not enjoy someone doing that without my permission. Forgive me?"

He really was hard to stay angry at. I sighed and shrugged, "Yeah, just, you are a little grabby, you know. You could give a girl the wrong impression, okay?"

"And what impression do you imagine I am trying to give?"

"You know you answer most of my questions with a question, right?"

"Yes," He wrapped an arm around my waist and stepped us off the roof like we were lifting on invisible stairs.

I held on to his sleeve, but he turned us so that I was pressed against his stomach. I shivered realizing that there was... something between his legs. I was probably only hyper-aware of it because I was aroused but- oh man, I could tell it would be quite long, judging by his height and weight... and the size of his hands... I mean, if he even had one. Maybe he had more than one? Oh man... I shifted ever so slightly and realized too late it wasn't the direction for less bodily contact.

"You shouldn't seek revenge while I am flying; I am not good at concentrating on two things at once and we will crash."

Right, dangerous driving or something like that, "I'm sorry—I didn't realize I was."

"Don't apologize. Very few women elicit any such distraction," He inhaled slightly and shifted against me so I knew what distraction he was talking about. Yowzah. Chou was not hearing a lick of this, "If I might be honest and up-front with you to the point of sexual harassment, I was starting to worry I could not be distracted anymore."

Oh man, I was getting dizzy. Or my ego had leaked all over my head, "I... uhm, will take that as a compliment and not sexual harassment."

"Thank you. I think it is your hair, I'm afraid. I have always been partial to that sunset red; and the way you puff it up at the back. Hm. On my homeworld when women did that--- well, I beg your forgiveness; this is not a professional topic."

"Maybe you should get your girlfriend to do it. It's a simple hairstyle."

"I do not have a girlfriend, Dion," He was quiet for a moment, "If I did, I would tease her to the extreme, and then take upon her the very meaning of the word surrender," He muttered something in French then, "Your English does not have the words for it, but the act of total submission to ecstasy is the essence of my meaning."

Holy shit I needed a cold shower, "That is definitely too much information." I agreed.

"Forgive me?"

"I do not think forgiveness means what you think it means."

He chuckled in response to that. We landed on a balcony but he didn't remove his arm from around my waist. I didn't move either. Oh man, was he really hitting on me? I mean, it was pretty obvious that he was hitting on me; I couldn't possibly be misreading this, could I? Not like last time- no, that was a thickness pressing against my lower back. His hand on my stomach rose slowly like he was about to grope me.