“It's—the equipment is—” Greg's voice dropped to a mortified whisper. “Functional. Technically. But it's not something we—I've never?—”
He stopped. The red had spread all the way to his neck.
Dustin grinned. “You've never?”
“There's noreasonto. We don't reproduce. We don'tform attachments. We exist to serve the natural order, not to—” Greg gestured vaguely, helplessly. “—indulge.”
“So you've got all the parts but you've never taken them for a test drive.”
“Must you phrase it like that?”
“Yes.” Dustin picked up another fry, watching Greg track the movement. “Absolutely I must.”
Greg was quiet for a moment, still flushed and flustered. Then he said, “I want to ask something too.”
“You want to know ifIfuck?”
“No. I mean—that's not—” Greg took a breath. Steadied himself. “Why do you have so much metal in your face?”
Dustin blinked. That wasn't where he'd expected this to go.
“It's very distracting,” Greg continued, not quite meeting Dustin's eyes. “The lip ring especially. What's it for? Is it decorative? Functional? Some kind of human mating display?”
Dustin ran his tongue along the ring inside his mouth. So Greg liked his piercings, did he?
“You think it's a mating display?” Dustin repeated.
“I've read that some human adornments serve to attract potential partners.” Greg's brow furrowed. “But metal through the face seems like it would be a deterrent, not an attractor. It looks painful.”
“It wasn't that bad.”
“Butwhy?”
Dustin opened his mouth to give his usual answer—because I wanted to, because it looks cool, because fuck you that's why—but something about the absolutely puzzled look on Greg's face gave him pause.
“Because I like how it feels,” hesaid instead. “The needle, the healing, the weight of it after. I like taking control over my body and the way I look.”
Greg was quiet, processing this.
“Also,” Dustin added with a slow smile, “it drives people crazy.”
“What kind of crazy?”
“The good kind. The kind that makes youwant.”
Greg's blush, which had started to fade, came roaring back.
“That seems manipulative,” he managed.
“I'm not manipulating anyone. I'm advertising.”
“Advertisingwhat?”
Dustin grinned. “Would you like to find out?”
Greg's mouth gaped open as if he were a fish.
No sound came out.
