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“Do you think the stars are jealous of how pretty you are?” Jimmy asked, momentarily catching Scott off guard.
Scott tilted their head at the comment, the jewelry decorating their pointed ears making music like wind chimes with the movement. A warm fluttering grew in his chest as he gave Jimmy his most charming smile, eyes twinkling as he booped the end of Jimmy’s nose. “Darling, I am The Stars.”
“Well, yeah, but, I, well,” Jimmy’s face went beet red as he stammered, shaking out his yellow canary wings. To his credit, he did manage to recover after a moment or two. “You’re the most beautiful star I’ve ever seen.”
He couldn’t help but softened at Jimmy’s sincerity, finding him utterly endearing. Jimmy was a weak spot that Scott didn’t mind having, for the risks were worth it. Pulling their husband close, Scott rewarded the compliment with several tender kisses. They brushed their hand against Jimmy’s sensitive feathers, causing him to shiver at the sensation.
“Scott!” Jimmy gasped suddenly, breaking the kiss. He buried his face into Scott’s shoulder, curling his wings close to his back. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” Scott frowned, pulling his hand away from Jimmy’s wings. “Was it too much? I can stop.”
“No, I liked it, orchid,” Jimmy reassured him quickly, still keeping his head down. “I like it, I do. At least, I usually like it– you know I do– I just… well, it’s sore, like a pinching sore.”
Scott gently guided Jimmy’s head up by his chin so that Jimmy was looking him in the eyes. “I know you prefer to preen with your cousins, but you can always ask me if they need extra maintenance or if someplace starts bothering you in between sessions.”
Jimmy hesitated, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “I- I won’t protest if you want to take a look.”
“Good, because I want to.” Scott led his husband over to the couch before sitting down and gesturing for Jimmy to sit down in front of him. With his back to Scott, Jimmy spread out his wings, trusting Scott with the delicate feathers.
“I just did it with Pearl the other day, so it shouldn’t be too bad.” And he was right, it wasn’t bad! Most of the feathers were in place, and none of them looked old and bent. Pearl must have done a good job, which didn’t surprise Scott. Her black crow wings were usually in fairly good shape. “I think I slept on my left wing wrong though. That’s the one that hurts the most.”
Scott took Jimmy’s direction, gaze wandering over to his left wing. They gingerly brushed their fingertips against the rows, not wanting to undo Pearl’s hard work, but still wanting to find what was bothering Jimmy. He only stopped when Jimmy hissed with pain, observing the area to identify the culprit.
The quill of a broken feather stuck itself into the wing root where it shouldn’t be. It was difficult to spot at first because it was hidden behind Jimmy’s other feathers, but Scott managed to find it. Scott wrapped their hand around the golden yellow feather, ensuring they had a secure grip before sharply pulling it out.
Jimmy yelped loudly, followed quickly by a breath of shuttering relief. He rolled his left shoulder a few times before shaking out his wings so the feathers could settle nicely. “Good void, Scott, thank you. That feels so much better.”
Scott couldn’t help but feel somewhat smug at his success. “You’re welcome, sunflower.”
Before anything else could be said between them, the doorbell to their little cottage on The World Hub rang. Scott and Jimmy exchanged a confused look, both attempting to see if the other knew who that would be. Between participating on game servers and spending time on home servers, they liked to take some time to just be together. Most people didn’t go out of their way to bother them, often busy resting or doing other projects themselves, and, if they did, it was typically over their communicators. Scott couldn’t recall setting up a meet up, either.
The person must have grown impatient, because the doorbell soon started going off several times in rapid succession. Realization hit Scott and he rolled his eyes, knowing exactly who was at the door. “How much do you want to bet that it's Gem?”
“Ohhh!” Jimmy’s mouth gaped as he also came to the realization. “Yeah, no, it’s probably her, orchid. No deal. That would be a bad bet on my end.”
Gem was one of the only people who interacted with doorbells like that and knew where their cottage was. It’s location wasn’t something they casually handed out to everyone. It was meant to be a place of rest, after all.
Lo and behold, when Scott opened the door, there Gem stood, braided red hair, signature overalls, and all. She was bouncing on her heels as she waited, but, as soon as the door opened wide enough, she practically jumped into Scott’s arms to give him a hug. “Scott! It’s been so long! Oh, hi Jimmy! Pearl says ‘hi’, by the way.”
“Hey Gem.” Jimmy used the couch to help get himself off of the floor before wandering toward the two of them. “Is Pearl not with you?”
“No, she’s visiting Grian and Scar,” Gem informed them as she released herself from the hug, kicking the door closed behind her. “We’re dividing and conquering.”
Jimmy draped his arms over Scott’s shoulders, loosely hugging them from behind as Scott and Gem caught up. He must be feeling clingy, but Scott didn’t mind. He was more than okay with the close contact.
“Oh, so you’re not just here to see your big brother?” Scott teased, poking Gem’s side with one hand and placing their other hand on Jimmy’s. “And here I thought you just liked my company.”
“Ha! You wish,” Gem jested in return, but she soon dropped it. “But I did come for a reason. I have both a gift and an invite! The invite is for both of you.”
Jimmy lifted his head from where it settled against the crook of Scott’s neck, his interest perked. “What’s the invite for?”
“Pearl was lamenting about being between home servers and game servers, and we were both getting a little antsy hanging around The Hub,” Gem explained, gesturing with her hands as she talked, “so we thought we would invite our siblings and their partners for dinner and board games. We decided to ask in person as an excuse to leave the house, so that’s why she’s visiting Grian and Scar, and why I came here. Well, that's part of the reason why I came here, anyway. Are you two free Friday?”
Jimmy glanced behind them at the calendar they had hanging on the wall nearby, still curling himself around Scott. “Uhh, yeah, we don’t have anything going on. Sounds fun.”
“Perfect, I’ll let her know.” And apparently she meant right then for she pulled out her communicator and got to typing away.
Meanwhile, Scott was curious about what was in her inventory bag. “You said you had a gift?”
“Oh! Right, right, how could I forget?” Gem tucked her comm away before digging in her bag to presumably retrieve whatever the gift was. “We went to the market the other day near our house and a traveling brewist had set up shop. We hit it off well, and they offered me a discount on potions. I got some feminization potions for myself since I was running low, but I got some masculinization ones for you too.”
The feminization and masculinization potions were designed to make small changes to one’s core code over time so as to not overwhelm the body and cause potential harm. Servers could make these changes quicker, just as they can with hybridity, but those effects were often temporary additions to one’s code, exclusive to that server. For example, Scott and Gem were elves in their core code, and sometimes elves on servers on Empires S1 (a home server), but Scott turned into some sort of mer-fae during Limited Life (a game server) and Gem donned deer features while on Hermitcraft S9 (another home server). As soon as Scott or Gem world hop to another server or back to The Hub, those additions to their code dissipate.
Players were created with the expectation that they will grow and develop in ways unable to be predicted. That meant that the features a Player was given at the start didn’t always suit the Player as they gained experience and developed their unique personalities. To amend that, Players can, and often do, take potions (if temp code doesn’t become perma code on its own) to help modify their bodies to fit who they are now that they know better. Experimentation in presentation is highly encouraged, especially in the form of roleplay servers. Scott even knew some people who have changed or added hybridity to their permanent code after having the chance to live with it, though it is known to be painful if the server in question isn’t willing to fully give it to the Player that easily.
“The potions seem to be working well for you,” Gem observed, eyeing Scott up and down with her hands on her hips. “I remember your body being more curvy than it is. Now I’m the curvier one!”
“Yeah, isn’t it great? Trousers are fitting better on me now!” Scott grinned wide with pride at how his body appearance has changed. While he has always held himself with confidence, he felt much more comfortable in his body since he started going beyond a simple social transition. Scott barely noticed the dysphoria that used to be so debilitating! “And I’m not relying on layers as much anymore.”
“Me too!” Gem’s face lit up, green eyes sparkling with joy. “I wore a sundress the other day and it felt fantastic! A sundress, Scott! It was so wonderful. Seeing you now is weird, though. You’re starting to look more and more like me pre-transition.”
Scott made a face at that. “More like you’re looking like me pre-transition!”
“Nu-huh,” Gem disagreed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Yuh-huh,” Scott responded just as maturely, sticking out his tongue at her.
The back and forth went on for about a minute before Gem flipped Scott off. Before Scott could react, Gem rushed to put the potions on a nearby table. Her back was turned to them, so she couldn’t see if Scott returned it or not– which everyone knows that if one didn’t see it, it didn’t happen.
“Wow, it’s almost like you two are siblings and have some of the same core code,” Jimmy cut into their immature banter, playfully sarcastic. “I never would have guessed you would have similar features to one another. Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind.”
“Smartass,” Scott accused lightheartedly, nipping his fingers with his slightly sharpened teeth when Gem wasn’t looking. If Gem saw, she would never let him hear the end of it.
Jimmy’s breathing hitched for a moment before he retaliated by biting down on the crevice between Scott’s neck and shoulder. Scott’s body tensed as he tried to suppress the unholy noise building in his throat. Jimmy soothed the bite by peppering kisses against the mark.
“Jimothy,” Scott warned in a hushed voice, embarrassed about almost moaning when his sister was right there. Jimmy took the hint and let go just as Gem spun on her heel to face them once more.
“And that is my cue to leave,” Gem announced with a scrunched nose because void forbid Scott acted romantically with their husband. Scott wasn’t offended by her disgust, though. They knew that she was only doing her little sister duties and that they would do the same to her. Besides, he’s teased her more than his fair share about Pearl, so perhaps he deserved this. “I’ll give you two lovebirds some space, but I expect to see you Friday!”
“We’ll be there,” Scott promised, and Jimmy echoed his agreement. When Gem left, Scott turned to Jimmy with a flirty smirk. “Now, where were we, sunflower?”
“Kisses and then cuddles on the couch?” Jimmy guessed, reaching out to rest his hands on Scott’s hips. His fingers slipped underneath Scott’s shirt, brushing against their sensitive torso. “Lots and lots of kisses?”
“Good birdie,” Scott praised him simply to see Jimmy’s face flush, scratching his nails in Jimmy’s blonde hair. A chirp squeaked in Jimmy’s throat as his hold on Scott’s torso tightened. Void, he’s adorable when he’s flustered.
They leaned in to initiate the kiss and Jimmy eagerly met them in the middle. Their lips slotted together perfectly as their hands wandered the other’s body. They were well acquainted with one another and what they liked after years of marriage.
While Scott enjoyed world hopping and exploring new servers, some of their favorite memories came from times like this, time spent with his husband. These simple moments of bliss with Jimmy were very dear to his heart, and he never planned on letting them go.