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"Were ru noww?" the message asked.

At the store, picking up dinner, got off work early. Jack typed out the same on his phone. He glanced at the bags in the trunk, sitting next to a set of boxes that had come for him today at work.

"What 4 dinner? :):):):)"

He rolled his eyes and tapped out a response. "Chicken." A warm breeze drifted past, carrying the odors of the supermarket. The odd mixture of food, cardboard, and cleaners drifted over the parking lot while he watched people haul off their last-minute purchases before they speed towards home to enjoy those few free hours before another work day. Jack glanced at the phone again, not budging until he got the text.

"GRT!!! XD!"

Sigh. He let Lys know that he was on the way so she'd quit messaging him every two seconds. While he still had the phone open, he checked for other messages, all clear. Allison hadn't sent anything in the two months since he went back to work, since that wonderful, awkward night. Not that he was surprised, he might have resolved it on the surface, but arguments of that magnitude tended to stick around long after the "forget it"s are said. He'd done a disservice to both her and Lys, or so he felt. Lys got quiet when he mentioned it and Allison would chew on it, stew on it, and blow up at him half a year down the line. Or just never talk to him ever again. A groan slipped past his lips, it felt nice not to have someone fretting over everything, but he made a mental note to toss out a feeler soon.

He turned the key, the engine coughed to life, and the tired old Chevy rumbled. He made a last-minute check of things, seatbelt on, phone in pocket, disgusting gum in mouth. Chewing on the way home became part of the weekday ritual and one of the few high-notes, the nicotine let him focus for that last leg home and he'd long since grown accustomed to the nasty flavor.

Dodging go-home traffic, he took the usual side roads that cut through the corn fields. It took longer, but he didn't enjoy being tailgated by the other working stiffs desperate to shave two seconds off their homeward commute. If anything, it gave him time to think and reflect. Golden rays steamed across the evening sky as the telephone poles whipped past. The rows of ripe corn boxed him in, made it his own private road, perfect for falling asleep on.

"I thought having a little woman waiting at home was supposed to make work more tolerable," he said to himself. Nothing changed: Same warehouse, same forklift, same co-workers, but now there was a distinct melancholy following him around from the moment he stepped out the door in the morning to the time he came home. Lys filled his mind where work should have been. Home was the only time where things felt normal, his port in the storm; he could never wait to get there. The apartment complex came into view and the weight of the day slipped his shoulders. Muscle memory took over and the car glided into its parking spot on its own. The food smelled beyond good and he was hungry, and maybe just a bit horny. In his mind's eye he'd already planned out dinner and then a bit of frisky fun if Lys was willing and she'd never developed a sudden headache yet.

He smiled to himself as the steps creaked out a welcome. Absence made her heart grow fonder, or perhaps lustful. Plus, he had a surprise for her after dinner, sure to knock her over. What he saw at the top wiped the smile off his face and almost knocked him over. He did a double take and then another just to be sure, but the yellow kobold prying at the door to his apartment looked just as real on the third take as it had on the first. Jack spat out his gum, it flew over the guardrail in an arc and somewhere onto the ground below for someone to step in tomorrow.

"Hey!"

The creature bolted into the air, doing a one-eighty before coming down with his back to the door. "What are you doing?" Jack asked. The kobold looked left and right and then bolted towards him with an intent to squeeze past. Jack tossed the bags aside and spread his arms out. "Hold on, I just want to...woah shit!"

It barreled into him, sending him tumbling backwards. Jack wrapped an arm around the guard rail, swinging towards it like a hinge. He slipped a few steps before slamming his back against the hard metal with a pained grunt. The kobold saw an opportunity and tried to race past, but Jack stretched out his leg, blocking his escape. The yellow creature fell back on his rear, banging his head on a step. "Hold on, damn it. Do you know Lys?" Jack asked, still latched to the rail.

Instead of answering he shoved Jack's leg, making him lose his grip. He fell a few more steps before grabbing hold of the one in front of him to stop his fall, gaining a few splinters in his hands during the process.

Why the hell is it that I always get hurt? Pissed off, sore, and curious, he pulled himself to his feet, shifting left and right to block the kobold like a goalie. He kept the yellow scamp from getting away though he questioned the wisdom of trying to stop a creature with needlepoint teeth and sharp claws. "Stop it, goddamn you. Why are you here?" His temper flared and he got ready to deliver a steel-toed kick.

"Jack, what's going on? Rodil? Is that you? What are you doing here?" The two of them stopped and looked up to see Lys standing at the top of the stairs.

"Trying to figure out who the hell this is and why he's creeping around outside my apartment, he won't freaking talk to me." He scowled at the yellow kobold, but then turned his attention upwards. "Why are you out here?"

"I heard someone at the door and thought you'd forgotten your key or something." She took a quick peek around and then focused on the other kobold. "Rodil, what are you doing here?" she asked in a hushed tone.

The yellow kobold tilted his head slightly towards Lys, but he kept his eyes on Jack. "Rodil came to rescue Lys once and for all, but this human stopped Rodil, he's trying to kill him." He turned his attention to Jack. "Let me go, pinky skin. Before Rodil shows you his bad side."

"Shut up Roddy. I told you before I'm fine and if you lay a claw on him, you'll need rescuing."

Jack pointed at Rodil while he looked up towards Lys. "Before? What do you mean before?"

Lys ran a claw over the guard rail, she exhaled deeply and winced. "Rodil kind of visited me a few months ago." Both kobolds looked away from him though he could see Rodil's eyes still darting about, looking for an escape. Pain settled into his back as the adrenaline dried up and his hands stung with splinters from those damned wooden steps. He eyed both of them, no happier for the explanation.

He flung his hands up, making the yellow kobold cower. "What is this bullshit about rescuing?"

"Human kidnapped Lys, Rodil is here to save her even if she's too stupid to know it!" Rodil shouted. "Let us go."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "What? I didn't kidnap anyone and don't call my wife stupid or I'll show you my bad side."

The yellow kobold turned his scaly lip at Jack's words and he looked like he wanted to say something. His claws twitched in a way that pissed him off. He started imagining what that sneering lizard would look like with his work boot buried in his snout.

Lys came partway down the steps and laid a claw on the yellow one's shoulder. "Roddy, it's really sweet that you came back to rescue me, but I'm fine."

"But..." He tugged at his horns, wearing a mixture of confusion and worry.

"Look, just get the hel-- "Jack started.

"We were about to have dinner. Why don't you come inside and we can talk about it?" Lys asked with inflection deep enough that people on the other side of the world could get the hint.

"Now wait a minute-- "The suggestion made Jack turn his scowl on the green kobold, but she avoided his eyes, deliberately.

The yellow kobold perked up. "Rodil is...pretty hungry," he said in a hopeful tone.

Jack looked on at the both of them with slumped shoulders; his back seemed to hurt a lot more all of a sudden. He wanted to tell this little bastard off and confront Lys for keeping this a secret, but all this commotion was an invitation to looky-loos and if people weren't already staring out of the windows they soon would be. For once in his life, he was grateful that shouting and stomping about was a regular activity around here, but Jack didn't want to press his luck.

"I guess...Jesus." He leaned against the wall and shook his head. "Come on, let's get inside." He pointed at the grocery still sitting at the top of the steps. "Lys, get the bags and ask Rowdy Roddy Piper here to help you, I need to take care of this," he said while looking at his hands.

"Name is Rodil," the yellow one said with a glare.

"Whatever, come on." The yellow kobold looked at him one last time and then trod up the steps in a hurry.

So much for the nice, quiet evening.

***

Any hope of having leftovers for lunch tomorrow vanished down the yellow kobold's gullet. Jack struggled to keep his cool while the scaly breach of trust at his table continued to stuff his face. How many times did he warn her not to answer the door, not to let anyone in, not even to look out the window? It made him feel like Lys was more kid than kobold and it was obvious she had no intention of telling him about Rodil's first visit. First visit, how many times had this guy even come around while he was at work? Once? Twice? The soda can in Jack's grip crumpled slightly.

"So, where do you know Lys from?" he asked, trying to escape his brooding. The yellow kobold took a deep drink and when it became obvious that there was no escape, he set it aside and cleared his throat while his tail curled behind him.

"Known Lys for a long time. Live together, survive together."

"Steal together?"

Lys shot him a nasty look.

"Sometimes," Rodil said. "Do what it takes to survive. Rodil doesn't get to sleep in a nice warm building like human."

"Jack." He emphasized his name with a growl. Rodil sunk back in the chair looking more like a frightened animal than a sentient being. His dirty sweater looked as if it began life as a hoodie, but the sleeves had gone missing and a mess of tattered fabric hung about the collar where a hood might have been. Denim jeans crudely koboldized into shorts covered his legs with frayed threads wafting about his knees. He carried that pungent aroma he'd first smelled on Lys when he brought her here and thought about burning the chair Rodil was sitting on after he vacated.

"Well, that's in the past," Lys said in a hopeful tone while she kept giving Jack the stink eye.

"For Lys it is, for Rodil it's every day."

"You ever thought about trying to find a job?" Jack asked.

Roddy snorted. "Don't want us around and Rodil isn't willing to become a pet." Lys raised her claw to protest, but Jack beat her to it.

"Ok, look. If you suggest something like that again you're going out the door, tail first. Capiche?"

Rodil leaned away from him, but then he cocked his head. "What means cap...cappy."

Jack groaned. "Just say you understand."

"Ok, ok. Rodil understands."

"And it might help if you talked like a normal human being."

"Jack..." Lys said in agitation.

"Rodil isn't human being, Rodil is Rodil." He looked towards Lys while gesturing at Jack. "Lys's mate looks like he's getting chafed under the hide."

"Oh, he's just being grumpy after a long day of work, aren't you?" she asked like he was a naughty dog. His lip curled, but he grunted the affirmative. "And I think you might have come a bad time."

"Was there a good time?" Rodil asked.

"No," Jack answered.

Lys swatted him for that one. "Will you please stop?"

He wanted to say no, wanted to be obstinate, petulant, and cranky.

"How have you been doing, Roddy?" she asked, trying to move the conversation forward.

Rodil looked at his friend for a bit like he needed to mull it over. "Do ok. Friends often have things for Rodil to do and he gets food."

"Friends," she groaned. "You're not still hanging out with 'them' are you?"

Rodil nodded.

"Those guys are bad news, why do you think the cops came after us in the first place?"

"Well, what else is Rodil supposed to do? Starve? Hum--Jack said 'get job' yeah? Rodil does have one job," he said with a sense of pride. Jack perked up, interest in knowing who'd hire a dirty looking yellow kobold to do much of anything trumped his anger, for the moment. "It is...what do humans call them? Odd jobs? Strange old lady who lives alone out in a field. Funny story."

Lys cocked her head in that usual fashion. "Go on."

"Was creeping around out at her house..."

"To steal?" Jack asked.

"Yes, to steal," he barked at him. "Got caught."

"So, she gave you a job?" he asked with disbelief.

The yellow kobold blinked at him before he made a pleading look at Lys and she gave Jack another stare of doom. He shrugged and took a drink while gesturing for Roddy to go on.

"Old lady caught me out back, trying to pick food out of garden. Was so excited to get something fresh that Rodil didn't pay attention. Very quiet lady, strong grip too." He held his shoulder for emphasis. "Says 'the hell you doing? If so damn hungry then just ask!' Rodil tells her to let go and that Rodil is kobold and nobody gives to kobolds. She say 'bullshit' and then say something like 'we're all god's creatures', Rodil doesn't know which god and doesn't care, but she said if Rodil wanted food, he could work for it."

Jack thought about it, it didn't seem quite so far-fetched as to be unbelievable. "What's she got you doing then?"

"Cleaning up around yard, move heavy things. Pushing a mower thing across the grass, hard work." He looked down at himself. "And then she pinches at Rodil's cheeks and treats him like a hatchling. Stuff like 'Good boy' and 'Nice job'." He tried to sound upset, but Jack didn't buy it. "Two days a week, get enough food for those days, but Rodil should eat every day."

"Well, you ate today."

Rodil prodded at his empty plate. "Tomorrow?"

"Is what you make of it."

"Make very little then," the yellow kobold said in defiance.

"I'm glad something is going well for you Roddy. Humans aren't that bad," Lys said.

Despite everything he just said the yellow kobold didn't look convinced and Jack didn't like the sideways glances he kept casting at them. This was his apartment, his castle, and this little pipsqueak was trying to rescue a princess who didn't need saving. Something he needed to make sure wouldn't happen again. "Speaking of bad humans, you said you came here to rescue Lys?"

Rodil shrunk back and tugged at his horn again. "Yes."

"Am I so bad that she looks like she needs saving?"

His eyes darted back and forth between him and Lys until it seemed like they might fall out of his head. "No. Jack seems a bit angry, but no."

"You did almost shove me down the stairs."

"Rodil is sorry, but no idea what Jack was going to do and he yelled at Rodil."

Jack apologized and some of the pressure seemed to dissipate though now he felt guilty for thinking about kicking him earlier. Still, he wasn't thrilled in particular with Lys about hiding it.

"B-but how can Lys be with a human?" Rodil asked.

The green kobold still cast a nervous look at Jack. "Because I love him, most of the time. Roddy, I like your concern, but I'm okay, I'm better than okay."

"But-- "

She leaned across the table and looked him in the eye. "Okay?"

"Okay," he said, slumping his shoulders. He went back to glancing at the two of them. "Lys is...lucky. Very lucky." The yellow kobold looked across the table and out the window. "Getting dark and Rodil is sure he's here too long."

"Maybe you should ask that lady if she's got more to do," Jack said as they got up from the table.

Rodil plodded towards the door, looking lost in thought. "Maybe. Don't want to ruin good thing."

***

Jack stuck his head out of the front door to make sure the coast was clear.

"Be careful out there Roddy," Lys said as she hugged him. Jack watched their tails twine and couldn't help but feel jealous for lacking a tail of his own. Then came the last goodbyes, the well wishes and the front door sliding against the frame. The subtle bang rode through the nearby walls and lingered in the air. Jack stared down at the green kobold, her face still turned to the door, claw on the handle. He pursed his lips, listening to the sound of clawed feet going down the wooden steps. "When were you going to tell me about this?"

She tilted her head, looking smaller than ever. "Jack, listen."

"Don't listen me, I told you not to answer that door. It's just too risky."

"I know, but-- "

"He's your friend."

She turned about, staring at him with claws clinched. "Yes, he's my friend damn it! What was Lys supposed to do? Let him sit out there pounding away at the door calling out my name?"

"Did it occur to you that someone might have seen you?"

"Yes!" She yelled. "How stupid do you think Ly--I am? I wasn't going to let him sit out there getting attention and I wasn't going to let him come out here for nothing. Don't say you wouldn't do the same for Allison."

"That's different."

She nodded in agitation. "Yes, it's different. It's always different when it comes to me. You know what? I don't care if someone sees me anymore, I'm tired of hiding in this place."

He folded his arms. "I can't control what other people think and if the wrong person sees you, we could lose this place. I took the taser for you, didn't I?" He winced at his own words, that was just reaching.

She mimicked him, folding her arms across her chest. "You should have thrown her out after that. You just stood there while she said all that nasty trash."

"You didn't look like you needed help and you told me to be quiet, remember?"

The kobold flung her claw out in an agitated gesture and her tail struck the door behind her. "That doesn't mean you can't speak up."

He rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, shaking his head. "Oh my God. Say one thing, but mean another, you're not _that_different."

"No, just different enough. Different enough to let her say those things."

"That's not fair and you know it." Jack ran his fingers through his hair before he gripped and tugged. "I was walking a tightrope, Al is my-- "

"Friend," she said with a smug look on her face. Jack's grip on his hair became tighter. She was right and that was the last thing he wanted her to be at the moment. His back pain flared up again while he stared at her, trying to figure out what to say. Those reptilian, yellow slits stared him down from an angry scaled face, nostrils wide and eyes narrowed. She stood in place, swinging back and forth enjoying her victory. "Al may be your friend, but I'm your mate, aren't I?"

He didn't like where this was going one bit. "Don't even...of course you are. I wasn't going to let anything happen. Al is my only friend though, or was," he lamented.

"Well, Rodil is my only friend. The only one to try and find me and the first kobold I've seen in months." She waved him off and groaned. "You humans just don't understand and you never will."

Jack's jaw dropped; he blinked several times looking at her completely dumbstruck. She clapped her muzzle between her claws, looking surprised herself.

"'You humans'? I'm 'you humans'? How can you even begin to say that? Sweetheart, I know I'm not exactly batting a thousand for handling conflicts, but how in the world can you possibly say something like that? How can you even suggest I don't understand?" The sting of those words made him forget his anger and a cold, black void filled him up. His arms fell to his side with a flop, emotionally wounded. She couldn't have chosen two words more repudiating, more damaging if she'd tried. Lys continued holding her maw as she looked on with moistening eyes.

He shrugged loudly. "Whatever. I need to go take a shower; I've got work in the morning." He went off to the bathroom in a huff. It made him feel immature, but maturity wasn't in his frame of mind at the moment. An overwhelming sense of betrayal and indescribable bitterness drove him, and he needed to take a shower anyway, no matter how he felt about it.

***

Thick plumes of steams rose up around him like a sweet caress and some of the tension slipped away. The blast of hot water across his face felt too good, but it did little to wash away Lys's friend or what she'd said. He leaned against the wall, hanging his head beneath the shower.

You humans.

He snatched up the Irish Spring and started scrubbing, but not even springtime in a bar could wash away that kind of stain. Anger made people say things, but that was small consolation. Anger let those feelings hiding underneath come out, the things people kept bottled up inside. It'd been there, lurking inside of her and that was enough to make him feel wretched. He never fit in so great with humanity and his relationship with Lys reaffirmed that he was an outcast. The disassociation he had with the world grew stronger, but he felt better for it. He knew where he stood for the first time in years, he had direction again and a will to see it through. Hearing her say those words made him feel inauthentic. "Overreacting," he said to the bathroom tile, but it thought better of giving him council.

Overreacting or not, it didn't sit well and to complicate matters more, he worried about that yellow pipsqueak. He could already see Rodil becoming a constant feature, sticking out like a big, scaly sore thumb with horns and a tail, trying to bum handouts and free meals. Not like he didn't want to help though Rodil certainly hadn't caught Jack at his best, but he wasn't made of money.

Money, he thought about the packages in the car and grimaced. He wanted to surprise Lys and intended to do so before he got a special delivery on his doorstep. "Really couldn't have come at a worse time. All I wanted was a nice, quiet evening."

The sound of the bathroom door knob turning spooked him, the clattering sound of the soap banging against the tub irritated him and he checked his feet to make sure he wasn't about to slip. Not as if he needed to look up to know who was walking in on him.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked it plain and gazed towards him.

"No."

"I didn't mean what I said."

"I know. It just...hurt like a bitch," he said with a slight laugh.

Her tail drooped. "I'm sorry."

"Are you now?"

She doubled back, looking a bit surprised, but then she noticed his smile. "Maybe you should make it up to me," he said.

She tilted her head and flashed a comely look, eying him up and down as he stood behind the shower curtain. Her scales were already glistening from the moisture, giving them that emerald shine. Her claws slipped down to her waist, clutching her (his) Children of Bodom shirt tight. Turning it into a striptease, she lifted it just above her waist and held it there; then inched it upward to her flat, scaly chest like she was flashing him. Lys figured out somewhere along the way that her exposed chest did something to him, or for him.

With a pull she hoisted it above her horns and then bent over, letting it slip off her arms while her tail curled upward towards him. What came next got him going. She tugged at her shorts in awkward fashion, bringing her tail down along with them before inching her way out of the leg holes. At last, she stood up, bare, save for her shorts hanging off the end of her tail as it lazily drifted back and forth. The green kobold let her claws rest at her hips while her tail swayed back and forth with her shorts at the end like a flag. It ended with her flicking them against the back wall. Jack watched as they stuck for a second and then fell.

"Damn, where did you learn that?"

"That's my secret," she said. Jack watched her struggle with the overly high lip of the tub. "I hate this thing." Rather than risk her slipping, he leaned over and lifted her the rest of the way inside. Lys bent down and picked up the soap and Jack lamented that she wasn't facing away. Tossing the bar from claw to claw she eyed his naked, wet body playfully. "Should I clean you up then?"

"I kinda already did."

With a snap motion she tossed the bar up at him, he caught it out the air just before it connected with his nose. "Then you can clean me."

"That I can do." He motioned her closer to the shower.

"Mmm." The warm, soothing water affected her much the same way it did him. She lifted her head up into the stream and let it soak her. It seemed a shame to spoil the view of water rushing down her scaly back and off the end of her tail, but she looked back and brushed him with her tip. Jack knelt down at the invitation and paused to kiss her shoulder before he started rubbing in the soap which regained much of its refreshing quality.

"What was that you said earlier?" she asked as he worked.

He took his time with her neck and shoulders. "Which earlier? I said a lot of things earlier."

"Back outside. You were yelling at Roddy."

He groaned. "Do you really have to bring him up right now?"

"He's not important, what you said to him was."

"What did I say, then?"

"You were defending me when he said I was stupid." She frowned at the thought.

"Hmm? I just told him you were my mate."

She shook her head, almost poking him in the face with her horns. "No, that isn't what you said. He called me stupid and you said not to call your wife stupid," her voice cracked, just a bit.

"Oh." He reached around and scrubbed at her chest with circular, salacious intent. "Wife, mate, same difference. I prefer mate." He kissed her between the horns. "Sounds passionate."

"I like wife. I like it a lot."

"You wanna go steady, is that what you're saying?"

"Steady?" She looked confused for a split moment before her features hardened. "I'm going to need to look up all these words I don't know. Anyway, I'm serious."

He wrapped his arms around her from behind, soap still tucked in his hands and nuzzled into her. "Well, I don't think we could make it official. Imagine the look on the minister's face."

"Minister?"

"Do you know what a wedding is?"

She tried to look back at him and gave his cheek a good poke. "Of course, I know, I've seen a few, from a distance. People all dressed up walk out of a church, crying and hugging and get into a big car and drive off."

"That could easily be a funeral," he said, laughing.

"I've seen some of those too..."

"Well, to get it in writing we'd need to get married in a church. Mom and dad wouldn't have it any other way."

"Mom and dad. You still haven't said anything."

"Not a word."

"What are you going to do?"

"Oh, spring it on them. Hope the shock confuses them so they don't ask what went wrong with their son."

She ran her claws over his hands a few times, stopping to rub his knuckles. Water continued to pour over them both with just enough steam to cloud everything around her. "Nothing went wrong. I have dreams about it sometimes." Her tail brushed into his legs in a slow, stroking movement. "Wondering what it would be like to be part of a family."

"We're family."

"You know what I mean."

"I know. It'll be fine."

"How can you be sure?"

"Trust me, it'll be fine, maybe not right away." She couldn't see his smile and the sound of rushing water hid the giggle he made while he watched the suds sink into her hide "But it'll be fine." She made the mundane things of life magical and he hoped that she always would. He took his soapy hands away and moved down her back, rubbing her thighs with rich lather. A gentle thrum worked its way from her chest as he paid undue attention to her backside, inching his way down her tail. He held the end of it in his hands for a moment before he started creeping along the underside. A grin formed on his face as Lys's thrum turned into a growl.

She jolted as his fingers brushed past a certain spot. "Ahh! Why do you always do that you freak?!"

"Because I like the way you react."

"I've told you not to. Do you know what comes out of there?"

"That just makes it hotter."

"How would you like it if I stuck my claw up yours?"

"That might be hot too, want to try?"

She turned about, laying her hands on his shoulders, unable to hide her own smile. "For someone who's clean you talk pretty dirty." Before he could respond she pressed her snout to his lips. While they kissed, he lifted her up, bracing her legs above his arms. The water went cold before they were done.