IncuBUST

Vessel

"You know you are a lot more convenient at this size," I said, winding my arm around Barapha's waist. He wasn't even a foot taller than me. Barapha laughed and replied, "You're not wrong but it takes way too much effort to maintain for more than a day or two."

"How's that?" I asked, watching Octavia and Nikolai drift ahead, stopping to read a plaque in front of an exhibit. Barapha sighed and replied, "It's like squeezing a really tough stress ball. You can squish it down so that it fits in your closed hand, but eventually your hand gets tired, and you have to let go. Somewhere around eight feet is the sweet spot. I can function almost normally in society without feeling like a rubber band that's been stretched too tight."

"Wait, does that mean you're actually taller than eight feet?" I asked and he looked down at me replying, "Um, sort of. I don't have a physical form as such. No elemental does, but life as a force of nature can get a little boring after the first few hundred years. Through feeding on the warmth of living creatures I am able to maintain this vessel."

I stared at him for a long moment as we walked down the path crawling with children and their parents. Finally, I asked, "What are you like without this body?" He stared into space for a moment and in the bright light of the sun shining through the sparse canopy his skin seemed to glitter as if covered with thousands of miniscule ice crystals.

"I don't really remember honestly," Barapha finally said, "It takes more energy to go back and forth than to just stay like this." He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before smiling and saying, "You know that feeling you get when you're flying? That...complete release? You feel like nothing can touch you. That's what it feels like. At least the parts I remember."

"That sounds wonderful," I said, "Why would you ever give that up?" He looked down at me curling his arm tighter around my shoulders and he replied, "I met someone. He was an Incubus like you and for the first time in nearly a thousand years I wondered what it felt like to be touched."

"So, you constructed this vessel for yourself," I said, and he nodded.

"Everything feels different when you are made flesh. Every touch is like electricity. And when he kissed me, I finally understood why people spend so much of their time trying to get as close to each other as they possibly can," Barapha murmured, and I gazed up at him feeling tears burn in my throat.

"You loved him," I whispered, and he nodded saying, "More than I thought it was possible to love anything."

"What... What happened to him?" I asked, watching as Nikolai and Octavia disappeared into the Lied Jungle exhibit. Barapha slowed to a halt at the entrance and looked down at me. His face was somber...sad. I quickly checked myself and said, "You don't have to tell me. In fact, we don't even have to be talking about this at all."

Barapha glanced at the swarm of people clamoring into the building and he pulled me aside pushing me into a corner near the door. My skin warmed at his closeness, and he sighed saying, "He was killed during the early years of the Spanish Inquisition." His gaze met mine and I saw glittering tears shining in the corners of his eyes.

"I couldn't save him, Chase, just like I couldn't save you," he said, "And unlike you, he didn't come back." His bottom lip trembled, and he asked, "Why didn't he come back?" I shook my head and took him in my arms whispering, "I don't know, Barapha. I'm sorry."

He hugged me for a minute before pulling away and swiping the tears out from under his eyes muttering, "Fuck, I gotta stop doing this." I smiled at him and murmured, "I like knowing how soft you are on the inside. I like knowing how much you care."

He smirked and poked me in the chest saying, "Fine, but don't clue anyone else in. I've a reputation to uphold." I returned his smirk and retorted, "Whatever you want, Daddy." His smirk grew into a full-blown grin, and he caught me about the waist. He pulled me close and asked, "Why do I kind of like it when you say it?" I smiled and reached up on my toes pressing my lips gently against his.

After a moment, I pulled away and he sighed contentedly, curling his arm around my shoulders and steering me towards the entrance of the Lied Jungle building.

"We better get a move on before your pets get kidnapped by howler monkeys," he said, and I laughed. He made to open the door, and I touched his hand. He looked at me and I smiled at him saying, "Thank you for accepting Nikolai and Octavia. I know it isn't easy for you and I really appreciate it."

He brushed my hair back with icy fingers and replied, "They matter to you, Chase, and you matter to me. It's as simple as that." I gave him an awkward sideways hug and as we were ushered through the doors by the people behind us, I said, "I love you." He pulled me closer and kissed my temple murmuring, "I love you too."