Gravity (Male x Male)

Chapter 16 - The Peacock

I was much calmer as I walked through the hanger, away from Mia and towards Keleon's room.

Talking to Mia had helped me to understand Keleon better. It helped that I'd had some time to recover from the initial shock of my earlier discovery. Keleon wasn't who I thought he was, but I had concluded that that wasn't a good reason to discontinue what we had.

What he'd looked like in the beginning had had an influence on me, of course, but was that what mattered in a partner? If I were to list the qualities I'd want in my boyfriend, they would include honesty, kindness and reliability. Someone who would do their best to be a team with me. I had someone like that, and I needed to appreciate that, rather than which planet they happened to be born on, or whether they looked a certain way all the time. I needed to stop being so shallow and start making this right.

I knocked softly on Keleon's door, and when there was no answer, I knocked a little louder.

"Keleon?" I called, but there was no response.

I opened the door enough to put my head round, and then wider when I couldn't see him. He wasn't there. Disappointed, I closed it behind me and walked down the small corridor back to my room. Helen walked around the corner as I approached my door.

"Damon," she said cheerily. "Keleon gave me the disrupter module, and I was just coming to catch up with you about it."

"Um, can it wait a little bit?" I asked. "I actually need to find Keleon. Do you know where he is?"

"Sure, it can wait, no problem," Helen smiled. "I saw him go outside." She pointed to the northwest hanger door.

"Thanks, Helen," I said, kissing her on the cheek. "I'll catch up with you later!"

I jogged towards the door and made my way down the little path that Keleon and I had followed before, leading north of the hanger. The air was just as crisp as it had been the last time I'd come down here, and I slowed down and picked a couple of the orange fruits that were hanging from the bushes and snacked on them while I made my way down the worn path.

I arrived near the water and gently parted the vegetation so I could look around. The scene looked somewhat familiar, the two moons glowing a pretty pink in the early evening sun. I turned my gaze to the mossy bank where Keleon and I had been together before. The person meditating on the mossy bank was wearing a shimmering aqua-blue outfit, 'her' long green hair spilling down the sides of it. 'Her' eyes were closed, but I knew they'd be deep blue if they opened.

My heart sank and my stomach twisted. Not because of what Keleon looked like, but because of what it implied. There were limited reasons why he would shift into a Kikorangi girl, and none of them looked good for me.

"If he ever decides he's no longer interested in you, you'll know,
because I suspect he won't look like your fantasy anymore."

Shit, I hoped I hadn't messed this up beyond repair. I knew now that it took effort to shift, and apparently Keleon had reason to make that effort. I hadn't even made contact and it felt like I'd been rejected already.

I walked so that I was close by, but quietly so that I didn't disturb 'her.'

"Damon."

'She' opened her deep blue eyes. I supposed Vacillators must have good hearing.

"Sorry, you're meditating. Am I interrupting?"

"No, I can take a break if you need something."