Pierre wasn’t stupid.Nobody ever said he was.He was a sleaze, but boy, he could run fast when he had to.With the bird flapping and screeching on his head, Ernest, as the elephant went stomping down the driveway, his big ears flapping, as Pierre ran screeching in front of him.
The man didn’t even bother to make it to the front gate, leaping over a fence, cutting across another field, before he jumped another fence to get out onto the road.Ernest made his way to the end of the driveway, and he and Toby watched as a definitely rattled Pierre went scurrying down the road as if his pants were on fire.
I think we did that well, don’t you, my mate?Ernest sent through their bond as he lumbered back up the driveway again, trumpeting his success for all to hear, with his bird standing tall on his head.
We make a great team.Toby’s sweet voice came through.I think we deserve another slice of cake for all that work.
As they approached the house, Rick started clapping, his face split with the widest grin Ernest had ever seen.“Such a shame you didn’t do that a year ago,” Rick said, “but it was worth the wait.I’ll go and put fresh coffee on and grab a couple of blankets.I’m not getting run over by an angry elephant just for seeing his mate naked.”
Toby hopped down from the elephant’s head.“You are incredible in this form, too,” Toby said as he shifted, leaning against the elephant’s leg, reaching on tiptoes to stroke its ear.“I don’t think we’ll have any problems with him again.Do you?”
Ernest didn’t care.He felt empowered for the first time in a long time, and it was all because of the sweet man who was stroking the side of his leathery face with a caring hand.
Chapter Twenty-One
Toby
The giggles made it hard to relay everything that had happened to Morty and Niall who both were staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed.“He stomped all over the car, basically flattening it as I squawked my encouragement.”
“What a waste of a car,” Niall said as his shoulders shook with his laughter.
“Never mind the car, what happened next?”demanded Morty, the dough he had in his hands completely forgotten.
Toby blushed profusely at how his body reacted to the visual that popped into his mind of his mate charging and trumpeting after Pierre.After Rick had left, Toby had shown his appreciation to Ernest three times with how hot and bothered he had gotten at the show of power and strength.His mate was a powerhouse in and out of the bedroom.“Ernest chased him off his land with me sitting on top of his head squawking and flapping, encouraging him to go faster.It was like the wacky races,” he snorted gleefully.“I’m sure those fancy boots of his weren’t all that comfortable after he jumped the fence and legged it down the road.”
Morty nodded, his smile dimming.“Why would anyone carry on acting like that after you’d told him very clearly Ernest was your mate?That’s just mean.”
“And disrespectful,” added Niall.“He’s clearly got issues if he doesn’t see the value of true mates.”
“Exactly, that’s why I don’t feel in the least bit guilty at encouraging my mate to try to stomp on Pierre just a tiny bit.I mean, the man pawed at my mate's chest, right in front of me,” Toby muttered crossly, building up another head of steam for an entirely different reason.
“Who did what in front of you?”asked Hector, walking into the kitchen with Kaya in the favored rainbow baby sling.
Morty removed his hands from the dough and went to his mate, who quickly took a step back when Morty went to fuss with the position of the sling.“Your hands my love, you need to wash them.”
Toby bit his lip at the initial confused expression Morty wore before he noticed the sticky mess his hands were in.“Oops.”He pointed to the left shoulder.“You need to raise that a little higher to support Kaya’s head.”
Hector did as he was told, and Kaya, who was nestled, made a noise of protest.“It’s alright pet, Daddy was just making sure your head is correctly supported,” he explained in a soft voice.
“Isn’t it a little early for your walk?”questioned Niall.
“Kaya was unsettled, so I’ve switched about my meetings so we can head out now and go visit Lional.He rang saying he had some news to share, so we thought we’d take a walk to his house, didn’t we, Kaya?”
The baby made a gurgling noise, and Hector beamed at everyone, like she’d actually spoken.He was sweet.
Would Ernest be like that when we have a baby?
The thought slipped right in and waved at him as it struck just how presumptive he was being.They’d barely been mated for more than a minute and lived together for less than that.They’d talked about their families, Ernest’s were dead, so Rick was the closest thing to family he had.
There’s nothing wrong with thinking about having cute chicks.
What’s to say it wouldn’t be a baby elephant?
Toby glanced down at his slim body and frowned working to imagine his belly big and round with an elephant.
Probably best not to think about that.
Toby realized he’d not answered Hector, who moments later kissed Morty before heading out the back door.“See you later,” he called, the door closing behind him.
