Chapter Text
"Are you ready for our date, pet?"
"Yes, my Queen!" Kudzu was rustling in excitement. He had been thinking about this all day. Queen Laydekeri always made their anniversary dates special, and not knowing what Fae had planned had him daydreaming about their previous anniversaries.
"Palanquin," Fae commanded.
He quickly re-wove himself into the shape of a canopied bed with legs, and tipped the front down to the floor. Fae gracefully flowed up into it on Faer eight lower tentacles, and settled into the soft, cushiony vines.
He braced himself for the stares, as usual. Florets would just be confused or awed or both, but other Affini were baffled, offended, or even disgusted. No one ever interfered, and most of the florets wouldn't even pick up on it, but he could read the biorhythms of his kin and feel their reactions pulse against his core. He knew that this blatant show of submission was something they found at best, embarrassing, and at worst, horrifyingly irresponsible.
Over the years a number of Affini had taken him aside and scolded him, telling him that he was abandoning his highest duty by not giving his floret the gift of security under his control. That stung, but not as much as losing so many friends he'd had for blooms. Some of them wouldn't associate with him at all anymore, and of the ones that remained his friend, none would acknowledge him in public. He was an embarrassment.
Luckily his notoriety as a freak had ended up drawing a new set of friends into his life. None had his particular kind of oddity, but they all had some kind of cultural norm violation that set them on the outskirts.
Queen Laydekeri interrupted his reverie by lifting the two vines Fae used to control him and snapping them down lightly. He rose up and moved forward, through the door which irised open for them and closed behind them. As he stepped on to the street and followed Faer tug on the right vine to turn, he could feel his self-consciousness start to fade as the hazy pleasure and thoughtlessness of obedience took over.
He came back to himself as Fae pulled back on the vines, signaling him to halt. They were at the elevators that lead to the other rings on the ship. He idly wondered which they were going to, content that whichever it was would be the right choice, because it would be Faer choice.
They rode the elevator up, and Fae signaled him to exit onto one of the aquatic rings. The amphibious shuttles were only a little ways away, and soon they were in one of the glass capsule-shaped shuttles with angrav rails at the top. Fae tapped in the destination instead of speaking it to the AI, and set the walls to opaque, maintaining the mystery for him. He felt a surge of gratitude at Faer thoughtfulness.
It was a longer ride than he expected before the shuttle slowed to a stop. When its lights faded off and the walls became clear again, he realized they were in a much deeper area. The ambient light was dim enough that Queen Laydekeri's bioluminescent markings had started to glow. He felt proud to be with Faer in Faer original habitat, though a bit nervous as to how his leaves would fare at this pressure.
Fae opened the floor and commanded "batoid." He unraveled into the water and formed a sea-ray form, with a star-shaped ridge on his back for Fae to settle Faer lower tentacles into. He shivered with anticipation.
Aquatic travel was so much more intimate than land. Instead of using vines in Faer hands to indicate direction and speed, Fae used Faer suckers, attached to his vines. A tightening of suckers on one tentacle meant move towards that direction. Tightening a ring of suckers near the center meant move surface-wise, and tightening suckers at the tips of all tentacles simultaneously meant dive deeper. Tightening all suckers at once and holding tight meant stop, fluttering all suckers at once meant speed up.
It had taken a bit of practice, but now all the signals were understood instinctually, to the point where it felt like his body was obeying Faer commands without even consciously choosing to.
Queen Laydekeri settled onto his back and fluttered Faer tentacles. He started swimming without a direction, and Fae indicated a quarter-turn. Fae quickly indicated half-turn, dive slow, spin, rise fast, quarter-turn, rise slow, dive fast, turn, running him through his paces and settling him deep into obedient headspace. When Fae was satisfied, Fae set him a direction and indicated fast-fast-fast-fast. He rippled his fins as quickly as he could, building up speed enough that Fae had to lean forward and press Faer upper body to him. He could feel Faer joy in Faer biorhythm and it made his core sing.
It felt too soon, as it always did, when Fae indicated to stop, and dismounted. Fae gestured to Faeself, and he shifted into an Affini approximation of Faer shape. He was much larger than Faer, so his extra mass went into four absurdly long tentacles that trailed behind him like a train. Fae took his webbed, clawed ocythoen hand and lead him into an aperture in a massive, latticed, vase-shaped "building" that he knew from past visits is called a venus' flower basket. They swam to the central atrium and perched on an outcropping.
It didn't take long before a shrimp-like sophont swam up to them and deferentially handed Fae a tablet without even glancing at the affini next to Faer. He'd never get used to how easy it was for aquatic species to know that Fae was his Queen. Fae ordered for Faeself and a nutrient tube for him. Fae took such good care of him.
The Kyphida server returned with their order and he absorbed his nutrient tube almost immediately, but Fae took longer to eat, shredding Faer fish with Faer fanged maw and lazily swallowing small pieces. He waited in silence, enjoying the bioluminescent pulsing of color in the siliceous spicules around them, pleased to be in the company of his Queen.
Once Fae finished, Fae signed that he was allowed to converse. When underwater and stationary, they always communicated in Faer native sign. It was part of the reason he took on a similar form to Faers. Without the long, webbed fingers, flexible arms, and additional tentacles, it was impossible to communicate more than a vague approximation.
(I'm so pleased to be at our eleventh year, my pet (pride, pleasure)) Faer antennae curled into spirals, and Fae wrapped a possessive tentacle around his waist.
(I'm grateful that you continue allowing me to serve you, my Queen (humility, gratitude)) He flattened his antennae around his face, indicating submission.
Queen Laydekeri smiled and laid the tip of a tentacle against one of his, pressing sucker to sucker. Despite years of practice, his best ocythoen form only had a few dozen suckers at the end of each tentacle, but that was enough for a caress.
(We were lucky to find each other (warmth)), Fae signed.
(Bless that app (amusement)), he signed back.
When he searched the Affinity app eleven years ago, he didn't expect to find a floret who actually fit his yearning. He expected to have to settle for a floret who could be molded into a service top. There wasn't even an option to search for a dominant floret.
He'd searched the "special considerations" field for the word "unique" on a whim, and come across Faer profile. He was incredibly excited to see that Fae mentioned a need for a "unique Affini" who would be interested in long-term, full-time submission to Faer. The profile was a few years old, and he almost didn't send a message, thinking surely Fae had been snapped up by some other secretly-submissive Affini. But thank the everbloom, he took that chance and messaged Faer.
Or more accurately, thank Vetivert. His once-owner had insisted... better not to open up that memory though.
The tips of Queen Laydekeri's antennae flicked from side to side as Fae responded to his comment about the app. (I almost deleted that profile so many times (near-regret, relief). I kept getting messages from Affini wanting to cure my feralist streak. I did worry that I was risking forcible domestication just by admitting I'm dominant.)
(That has happened. I think it was lucky for me that you lived at a depth most Affini dislike going to. (fear, relief))
Fae stroked his antennae, a gesture so dominating that it would have made him shiver even if he hadn't formed them from vines connected directly to his core.
Fae ended the strokes with a pat and continued signing. (It meant so much to me that you came to my home, you know (adoration))
(I'm glad, my Queen (worship)) His long tentacles curled and flexed against themselves.
(Even though you shed all your leaves on the way there and arrived looking like a seaweed tangleball (amusement, mocking))
((embarrassment) I had hoped that my aquatic grafts would be enough to keep me presentable, but even they lost their leaves.)
(Speaking of which, you're starting to swell (arousal, malice))
Kudzu looked down at himself. His vines were getting waterlogged and swollen, and most of his leaves had dropped off. Since they decided to live on land for the sake of his non-aquatic floret, he had shifted to all terrestrial grafts, and very few of his leaves could tolerate salt water. He felt embarrassed at his naked, turgid state.
Fae caressed his body with several tentacles and signed (my little sponge-boy).
Kudzu would have blushed if he could. He signed (my Queen! (embarrassment, arousal, embarrassment!))
Fae smirked and signed (let's go home before you split open (lust)). Faer antennae flattened straight back as Fae signed this, filling him with a mixture of excitement and dread.