Skurdulka's House (a LGBTQ chosen-family thriller)

Part 30: Bystander

Looking into the standing mirror in their room, Ari pulled down the collar of their buttoned shirt, examining the bullet wound scars in their chest. Two pink stars marked their shoulder, and another near the center of their chest. That third mark killed them, or nearly so. Ari still wasn't sure which.

"Are you all right?"

Ari glanced and looked into Willow's reflection as she stepped closer. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ari asked.

"I had to be sure." Willow—Makala Ekwene—ventured a bit closer, standing behind Ari. She wore the silver amulet with the purple stone around her neck again. It was an ancient symbol. Even Ari didn't know it. Like so many things about her.

"Sure about what?"

"That you were Skurdulka. That you were like me."

"How did you find out?"

Willow tilted her head, smiling, with a silent really?

Ari turned to her. They opened their mouth once, then stopped. She looked back, her expression unreadable. Ari shook their head a bit. "I have so many questions."

"Have you never met another one of us?"

Ari's eyebrows rose, surprised. "I... No. There's... What?"

Willow chuckled at their bewilderment, but stopped when she realized. "You've never known someone like you? How long have you been alive?"

Ari took a breath. The new shock and joy found the loneliness that had lived in their heart for so long. The feelings twisted in their chest. It was hard to breathe. "Six hundred years." Ari swallowed. "I've been alone for six hundred years."

Pain filled Willow's eyes. She pulled them into her arms. "Not anymore," she whispered to them.

Clutching her tightly, Ari cried against her shoulder. "I can't believe it. All this time..."

Willow ran her fingers through Ari's silken black hair. When Ari's breathing evened, Willow took their face in both hands. She wiped away their tears with her thumbs. "It's not just that. The way we are, I mean. That's why I came here. But it's not why I stayed."

Ari searched her face, silent.

"You must know what I'm about to say." Her smile weakened at their silence.

"I do love you." Ari gently took her hands in theirs. Their eyes fell. "But, I... I don't know if I can give you what you want."

Willow shook her head. Ari wouldn't look at her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not—I, I never have been... um." Taking their hands back, Ari ran a hand up through their hair. "I do love you. I love being close to you. But there are some, um, desires that I don't have."

"About me?"

"About anyone."

"Ari, are you trying to tell me that you don't have sex?"

Frowning, Ari nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." She took Ari's shoulders. "I love you the way you are. I don't want you to change, or apologize. And, if you still want to be with me, I want to be with you."

Ari looked up. "Really?"

Willow slid her arms around Ari's neck. "Yes." She stepped closer, her chest against Ari's. "Can I still kiss you?"

Ari took a breath, slipping their hands around her waist, and nodded. Willow pressed her lips gently against Ari's, a soft touch that still felt like electricity. Her fingers wound through Ari's hair as she kissed them. Ari held her tighter, sighing softly. The taste of her lips, the electric thrill and the warm closeness, was unlike anything. They hadn't kissed anyone in years, and never felt a kiss like hers.