“Sylvus,” I laugh, “what is this?”
“A date.”
“Why?”
“I felt like it.”
He sets me in the hammock by the table, and I lean over the surface of the silk, toying with a loose petal.
Sylvus positions himself across from me, then sets a wooden board between us. White and yellow wedges intersperse the sliced fruit.
My eyes widen with delight. “Is that cheese?!”
“Mhm.”
“They cloned the mold?!”
His mischievous grin widens, showing his fangs. “No, no. This isreal, bona fide Earth cheese.”
My eyes widen. “No way.No way. How?!”
He shrugs. “Cheese is meant to keep.”
“No, I mean… Wh… This is…priceless.”
“So are you. And this is only the appetizer.”
“What else could possibly top this?!”
He smirks. “I bet you a day without orgasms it tops this.”
I scoff. “Easy. Deal.”
One of Sylvus’s legs moves forward from behind him.
And when I see what’s in it, I press my hand over my mouth, eyes welling with tears.
It’s my little plush dragon, looking exactly the way it did the day the ICSS took it away: chubby and cute in purple minky fabric, with big green eyes and iridescent wings and horns.
He places it into my shaking hands.
There, on the tag, are my initials in blurry permanent marker.
Emotion overwhelms me.
Sylvus steps around the table and wraps me in his warmth. I hug the little dragon to my chest as I lean into him.
“It’s so silly,” I murmur, tears running down my cheeks. “Why do I care so much about a couple pieces of fabric?”
“You’re allowed to be silly,” Sylvus breathes over me. “You’re allowed to be anything.”
I wrap him in a crushing hug, trying not to cry.
He rubs my back, and when I sniffle, he chuckles softly. “You can cry.”
“I know. But I don’t want to. I want to eat priceless cheese.”
He snuggles his cheek against my head, then leans back and grips my cheek, shaking it gently. “Alright, then. Pull yourself together, Andromeda. You’re on a date.”
