“O-oh. Think I see.” Pengyi looked all around as we walked down West Hsieh Street, his face dyed in kaleidoscopic light from the holograms.

“...Yeah. Easier to just show you than explain.”

The lifelights were sparse in Blisstown, but the glowing signs more than made up for it. The place was crowded: nearly as packed as Port Town, and nearly as rowdy too. People laughed, yelled, catcalled, sweated. Thumping music from the clubs competed with the multitude of buskers playing their disparate instruments for all they were worth. Tannoys and barely-dressed criers touted their wares, pressing flyers and coupons onto passerby. Unlike the docks, though, here the Entertainer’s Guild held sway- and their particular industry was what gave Blisstown its name.

“How your home support such many...’whores’ is the word?” It was hard to tell what Pengyi actually thought of the place. He seemed kind of shellshocked.

“I think ‘prostitute’ is more polite. Or ‘escort.’” I shrugged. “And...I don’t know. It’s like drinking, I guess. Sex is an escape, and almost everyone’s at least a little into it.”

“Mm. But, this is kind of much, right? Like...Nydda jhern’yw! What is even that?” He pointed to one of the very illustrative signs outside a narrow conplas brothel building, demonstrating one of its specialties. I squinted hard at it.

“I, um, wow. I actually can’t tell. Something to do with lit candles? Who the fuck knows.”

For all that they stood out, it wasn’t all cathouses and bordellos here. Plenty of clubs, too, of both the night and strip variety. Plus the host and hostess bars, which to my surprise seemed very popular. These were places where you could go to have a few drinks, and while you did an attractive staffer of your preferred gender would sit with you, refill your cup, act impressed when you bragged, laugh at your dumb jokes- basically, pretend to be your girl- or boyfriend for a few hours. The whole thing weirded me out even more than the brothels did, but apparently I was in the minority there.

We wandered deeper in for a few minutes, with me doing my best to act as a plow for Pengyi. He didn’t actually seem too discomfited, though.

“Man, I know Madame Lejeune’s is around here somewhere,” I told him. “They’re supposed to have good food. And all the servers wear those black and white maid dresses, even the dudes-Aw, shit. There it is.” I spotted the restaurant, a big building of violet- stained wood. Its marquee sprawled over the door in neon cursive, lighting up the crowd of people waiting to get in. We’d be waiting hours if we tried to eat there.

“Well, there goes that plan,” I muttered. “Might be a bit more of a walk, Pengyi.”

“Can ask someone, maybe?” He looked about, his catlike eyes flashing with reflected light.

“Sure.” I headed over to the nearest building, figuring that someone who worked around here would know where the good shit was. It was a bordello called the Inkspot, which seemed to specialize in the heavily tattooed. The woman drumming up business outside noticed us and sashayed over. It was pretty impressive, considering she had on foot-high platform boots that almost put her eye to eye with me. Otherwise she wore nothing but a pair of leather hotpants. Her hair was dyed bright red, up in a high ponytail. Tattooed dragons and cats chased each other up her thighs and around her torso.

“Well, aren’t you an interesting pair?” She grinned at us and I saw my reflection in her extra-long canines, done up in silver. “See something you like? We offer a couple’s discount, you know...”

I coughed a little. She didn’t act at all awkward about being half-naked, though I guessed that around here you’d get used to it quick.

“Uh, no, actually, but there is something else you can help us with. You know anywhere good to eat around here?” I passed her a section of chitcard as I asked. She took it smooth as you please and shoved it into her waistband.

“Well, I’m supposed to tell you to go to Madame Lejeune’s, but just look at it!” she said with a wave of her long-nailed hand at the crowd outside. “Besides, just between you and me,” she leaned close, “total tourist trap. I used to wait tables there, and the state of the kitchen? Yuck.” She shuddered dramatically. “Check out the Green Flame. Two more blocks that way, then turn north on Chatterley Row for another block. You can’t miss the sign.”

“Thanks a lot, jo-san,” I gave her a wave and made to leave.

“Y-yes, thank you,” Pengyi added.

“No problem, Miss Gangster and Miss Gangster’s Friend.” She leaned down impressively low toward Pengyi, who froze. “Make sure you come back if you change your mind. Ask for Kemri.”

“Sure, we will, bye!” I grabbed Pengyi’s hand and pulled him away to snap him out of it. “Kings, dude, I thought you were going to either run away or punch her lights out.”

“No! Not that.” Auburn hair flipped back and forth as he gave an emphatic shake of his head. “Is only culture shock. Yes, culture shock. Northmarch tell me this word.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” I flicked him a sidelong glance. “I think you’re doing well, though.”

“Thanks!” The smile I got in return for the compliment was well worth it.

Finding the Green Flame was easy as Kemri said. It was a little corner cafè with its name spelled out in plasmagram letters that looked like- you guessed it- green flame across the marquee. Something was causing a scene in the street out front. It turned out to be a tiny three-wheeled ricksha truck with one of its rear tires stuck in a massive pothole. The driver was a bandy-legged old man who couldn’t be more than five feet tall, with wild hair and an extra eye on one side of his face. He was currently staring at his truck with a distraught look on his face, shoving his hands back through his wire-threaded hair. I heard him muttering as we walked up: “Shit, shit, fuckin’ piece of junk shit...”

“You need a hand, man?” I asked.

“KINGS!” The guy jumped and spun around into a karate pose. He ruined it by almost falling onto his ass when he saw us. Between Pengyi’s shotgun and my excessive size, I guess we weren’t the most friendly-looking. After a moment he seemed to realize we weren’t there to jump him. “...Wait, are you serious?”

“Hell yeah. Just put the park brake on quick.” Didn’t want the thing rolling away on us. He reached into the cab and set it while I sized the ricksha up. It was loaded, but the cargo couldn’t be too heavy. Reaching under the rear bumper, I curled my fingers around it, sunk into a deadlift stance, and lifted. A few careful steps forward, and I set the wheels down clear of the pothole. I caught Pengyi staring out of the corner of my eye and gave him a wink.

Brushing my hands off, I turned to the driver. “There you go. Hopefully you didn’t bend your axle.”

The oldster gaped at me. “Stride’s bones, woman! I thought you were going to call a friend with a jack!”

“No need. I was a forklift at my old job.” I couldn’t keep a little smirk off my face. Sometimes showing off was fun. “Just tell me one thing before you go.”

“What?” he asked warily.

“They really go through these things that fast?” I jerked a thumb at the bed of his truck, which was loaded down with neatly packaged, well, adult toys. “That’s a lot of silicone.”

Chuckling, he shook his head. “Hon, I just drive the truck. Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime. Stay safe.” He fired up the truck’s ring-ding little two-stroke and pulled away with a wave. I turned to Pengyi, who was still looking at me. “What?”

He watched a moment longer, then burst out laughing. “N-nothing. We go eat, now?”

“Come on, what?” The whole situation was kind of funny, when I thought about it.

He just kept going as we went in. It wasn’t too crowded, so the hostess told us to sit where we like. I shrugged off my jacket and fell into a corner booth, glad to be off my feet. A waiter came by to take our drink orders. When he headed off I leaned back in the booth, a slightly nervous smile on my face.

“I just wanna say...thanks for coming out here, man. No offense, but I was kinda surprised when you said yes.”

He shrugged, looking abashed. “I very used to being by myself. Is nice lots of time, but... sometimes you like to be alone, but you still lonely. Making sense?”

“Tons. I think I know the feeling.”

Our drinks arrived. Iced coffee for me, hot tea for him. The waiter departed, noticing that we hadn’t even opened the menus yet. Pengyi blew off his cup. “I think long about leaving park, coming visit. Hard decision, but once I decide yes-well, no point to come, then be feared and not do anything whole time, right? I decide this too, before I come, and I have fun because I do!” Taking a sip of his tea, he watched me over the rim of the cup. “Seem like you have fun, too.”

Eh? My face warmed. “Well, yeah, what do you mean?”

“Just you look like you have good time, is all.” His eyes flicked nervously down at the table. “What you think I mean?”

Shit!, I thought. “Um, well, just that...” I had no idea what I was doing. Think of something, idiot! “...I don’t know. Just making sure I heard you right.” Nice one, raddy.

“Mm.” Silence stretched for a few seconds. “That truck look heavy,” he said suddenly. “How you get so strong?”

I shrugged, embarrassed now by the display I’d put on. “I always was. Good genetics, I guess.” The understatement of the year, that was. “Otherwise, it’s just progressive overload and eating well. Once you can lift a weight, go to a heavier one, basically.”

“I never meet someone this strong. Tornagena usually like me and Northmarch. Call it... stringy. Um...” He hesitated.

“What is it?”

He pointed a tentative finger. “Can I see?” He meant my arms, I realized suddenly. Whoa.

“Sure.” I rolled up my sleeve and leaned forward, flexing a little.

“Oh. Wow.” I was looking at him as intently as he was looking at my arm.

“You can feel, too. If you want.”

“R-Really?”

I nodded. With extreme care, he lifted a hand and ran it slowly down the outside of my bicep. It sent a shiver up my spine. We were really close, I realized all of a sudden. Close enough I could see the little striations of gold in his irises, feel his breath on my face. A mad idea came into my head, and I spoke out loud before I could lose my nerve. “Do you want to, ah...” I let the statement hang. He knew what I meant.

“Yes. Do.” We stood up as one, I tossed some chits on the table, and we left with our drinks hardly touched. My heart beat quickly as we walked out of the Green Flame, our sides nearly touching. Anticipation shortened my breath. All at once I could hardly stand it.

“You wanna go find a hotel?” I said to Pengyi. “I think there’s one on-“

He took my hand, and I let him pull me into the alley beside the restaurant. “Can’t wait. Unless you-“ He met my eyes, worry warring with excitement on his flushed face. Kings, he was so fucking pretty. It was dark back here, it didn’t smell like piss, and there was even a stack of old conplas crates to hide behind. Fuck it.

Author’s note: Be warned that the next scene contains sexual content. If you don’t want to read that, skip ahead to the next “—“.

Instead of letting him finish I leaned down and kissed him as he shucked off his gun and jacket. My arms wrapped around him, and I ran my fingers across the lithe muscles of his back. He responded eagerly, his tongue darting hot and wet into my mouth. I pulled him closer until his chest bumped mine and he put his arms around me. His hands went to my waist and slid beneath my jacket, following the lines of my physique, sending shivery little thrills through me wherever they touched.

Finally he pulled away, leaving me breathing hard. I could feel his own breath through his chest, his heartbeat. Those green eyes met mine again, filled with-Oh, wow. He actually looked like he was into it. All my insecurities about my looks, about my relative lack of experience- that look in his eyes began to melt them away. After only a moment’s pause he kissed me again on the cheek, the side of my chin, my neck, until he got to the spot where my neck met my shoulder. I jumped at the ticklish pleasure. The quiet little sounds he made between kisses made me never want to let go.

Embracing him tighter, I moved my hands down to his lower back and paused at his waist. I wasn’t sure how far he wanted to go until he told me “Don’t stop,” in the kind of breathy whisper that made me really not want to stop. My hand slid around the firm curve of his ass, and he sighed and wriggled against me as I squeezed. Something hard rubbed against my leg as I slid it alongside his own. That answered my last couple of questions from earlier pretty handily.

Now his hand went to my waist, just touching the hem of my shirt. “C-can I-“

Instead of saying anything I just reached down and pulled it up for him. His fingers trailed electricity up my side, pushed under the elastic of my sports bra. For a little while we stayed like that, feeling one another with nervous, almost desperate energy. His head was tucked beneath my chin, his ears twitching as I ran my hands over his body. I pushed my face into the rich auburn of his hair as he licked my neck. He smelled incredible. Green wood, cut plants, flowers, a hint of sweat and powder smoke.

Then his hand traced down my abs and stopped at my waistband again. He looked up at me, flushed around his freckles. “Are you wanting-“

"Yes!" I didn’t let him finish this time either. He kissed me again, and I put my hand over his as he undid my belt. I guided him into my jeans, past the waist of my shorts. I made a small noise as he reached his destination, squeezing him close as he moved his fingers and sent a wave of pleasure burning through me. Holy shit, it’s been way too long.

I was still getting poked in the leg. I wanted to make him feel good too, make him moan and shiver again. I slid my own hand down his front. “Yes, yes, do it!” he whispered roughly before I could even ask. Didn’t have to tell me twice. I fumbled one-handed with his belt, but it had some kind of stupid military clasp that I couldn’t figure out. I was about to just yank the fucking thing off but he laughed and reached down to help me with it. I pushed eagerly into his briefs and found what I was looking for, hot against my hand, gratifyingly hard. He twitched as I took hold and the movement went all the way down his arm, making me gasp in turn. As I started stroking him he sped up his own movements, our wrists bumping together between us.

“Shar-oh!-Sharkie,” he whispered after a minute. “Want be closer...” With the height difference our position was kind of awkward. So I reluctantly let go of him, put a hand under his ass, and hiked him up- though I almost dropped him as his fingers suddenly slid out of me. He yelped, laughing with surprise. Now he was braced against the wall, half-sitting on my arm with his head almost level with mine and a leg hooked around my thigh. I kissed the smile off his face and got back to it.

I could feel him, smell him, hear his breath come faster and harsher in my ear. The strain in my arm was the furthest thing from my mind. If someone had found us then I doubt I’d have even noticed. All the while my own excitement was rising, filling me like tingling heat. Then he moved his fingers differently, found a spot that sharpened the feeling and sent it shooting through me . “Yes, there, Kings, right there!” I hissed. I pushed against him as he sped up, moving faster and faster, the hot waves crashing through me before reaching their peak. A wordless noise escaped me and I came, burying my head into his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair as I let out a shuddering breath.

I wasn’t going to leave him hanging. I sped up my own movements, moving up to kiss his neck. His breathing sped up as his fingers scraped against my back. It wasn’t long until he jolted and bucked his hips into me, hot stickiness shooting into my hand. I couldn’t help watching his face: ears flattened back, eyes shut, teeth bared in a grimace of pleasure. I’d made him feel like that, me, big dumb ugly Sharkie. Made me real happy, as pathetic as it sounds.

He opened his eyes and grinned when he saw me looking, still breathing hard. I set him back on the ground, brushing a little dust off his shoulder with one hand. We both laughed, before his smile became something shyer.

"I...wow, Sharkie,” he said between breaths. “Magne shan.” His ears flicked.

I swayed back and forth, a little embarrassed. “You’re great too. And just so...Kings, you’re so fucking cute!” I almost wanted to fall back into his arms, to keep going until we were too tired to stand- but he was already way out of his comfort zone just being here, and I didn’t want to move too fast.

His face flushed and he smiled wider at the compliment. “For true? Not too...” He waved a hand at himself. “um, girly?”

“Just girly enough. And some parts aren’t girly at all.” I waved my still-sticky other hand at him, and as he blushed a sudden wicked impulse took hold of me.

"Think I have rag, somewhere..." He quit fumbling around in his jacket when he saw what I did next. Moving with exaggerated care, I licked my hand clean and swallowed, meeting his eyes the whole time. It didn’t taste the best, of course- but it was worth it to watch him blush and squirm, unable to take his eyes off me. I licked my lips and gave him a devilish grin. Sia’s grace, I actually felt sexy.

“Not have to do that,” he muttered, ears flattening to the sides.

I smiled wider and leaned in close. “But you liked it, didn’t you?”

“...Yes.” He looked embarrassed at first, then looked around and grinned at me. “In public, Sharkie!”

Now I was blushing. “C-come on, you started it.”

“And you not need convincing, did you?”

“So maybe I’ve got a thing for guys feeling my muscles. What of it?” I muttered, not meeting his eyes as I buckled my belt. “You still hungry? I don’t really feel like going back in there, but I think I saw an calchilada stand down the street.”

“Yes, still hungry,” said Pengyi. He raised an eyebrow. “Are you?” I wasn’t expecting that, and he laughed at my expression.

“Don’t get too impressed with yourself, Morranne. Takes more than that to fill me up.”

“You find out this from experience?” He laughed harder as I rolled my eyes.

“Shut up or I won’t buy your food. And, uh, you might wanna holster that before we head out.” I pointed, and then it was my turn to laugh as he realized he’d never done his pants back up.

—

After leaving the alley we headed down to the cart I’d seen and got some spicy pork- flavored calchiladas- like an enchilada, but with an extra layer of fried tortilla around the outside so you could hold it. Then, we wandered slowly back to the edge of the Park, not talking much. The atmosphere was a bit awkward, but nice at the same time- lots of shared glances and little smiles. If I was being honest with myself, I had no idea what I was doing; it had been years since I had a date. I also had no idea how Pengyi was taking it, if this was a one-time thing or more serious. Right now, though, I was happy enough to leave those questions for later.

Finally we reached the gravel lot where I’d met Pengyi this morning. “I’m glad we did this,” I told him. “It was a lot of-“

He pulled me into a hug, cutting me off. I was only surprised a moment before I returned it. I could feel the heat of him even through his jacket.

He pulled away slightly, though I kept my arms around him. “You...you want to get together again, Sharkie?”

“Yeah! Maybe-“ I pushed through my hesitation. “Maybe at your place, next time?”

“Fauy!” Another one of those sunny smiles flashed across his face. “Definite, if is okay with you!”

I nodded. “I’ll text you, let you know when’s good.”

“Okay!” He kissed me on the cheek and slid out of my arms. “Goodbye, Sharkie! Will see you soon!”

“Bye, and thanks again!” I couldn’t help laughing a little as he pulled up his mask, winked, and darted off toward the park. I watched until his shadowy form was lost between the trees, a warm feeling in my chest. I still wasn’t entirely sure what to make of him, but most of what I’d figured out so far I’d liked. Just have to see where it goes, I thought. For now, though, I had to get ready. Tomorrow was the Runes meeting.