Thankfully for once since my fur is pink it should be able to hide most of my embarrassment…
"W-w-wealy?!!? A-ar u sur i can???" Inv Stutters asking me.
"Y-yeah go ahead…" I say to him.
I watch as Inv slowly moves one of his hands down from the air and slowly moves it towards my puffed-out chest. Seeing the arm more clearly now it literally looks like a stick with 3 more tiny sticks at the end of it which I can only assume is his paw or hand? I genuinely don't know.
Feeling Inv's hand finally touch my chest I feel a shiver travel through my spine. When I touched him, it felt like thousands of spiders were crawling over my hand. Feeling his touch now it feels like a bunch of centipedes are crawling all over my chest!
I can feel my heart race feeling his touch. I'm not sure if it's due to the strange feeling his hand evokes or if it's because this is the first time I've been physically touched by someone else in so long…
"Woaa… yur fur so soff" Hearing Inv say this my face is starting to feel extremely hot right now.
"T-thanks" I stutter out loud towards Inv's compliment about my fur.
'What have I gotten myself into? This cycle started out so normal… Now I'm having my chest rubbed by the first slugcat I've come across…'
Even though I'm thinking like this I still can't help but feel a small smirk forming from my lips. I would hope my fur is soft! I do take care of it when I can!
I look at Inv trying to keep my face as calm as I can. Looking at him, I see the shifting colors of red and blue, but I can also see a new color… which is pink?
I wonder what pink means? So far, I've noticed that blue is his natural color. When he turns red that most likely means he's embarrassed so seeing a new color a new thought pops into my head.
'Does his emotions reflect what color he's giving off?'
So, in this case he's feeling embarrassed and… something else.
After a bit more time of letting Inv rub my chest I'm taken out of my stupor state when inv abruptly takes his paw (ima call it paw) off my chest. I look up at Inv feeling a little disappointed…
'Wait, why the hell do I feel disappointed?!'
Sure, overlooking the feeling of centipedes crawling all over my chest, I was kinda enjoying the feeling of being touched by Inv…
…
I swear I'm normal!
"H-hol on!! I-if u tuched me an i tuched u… an yu didn say nu tu becomin mates…" Inv says this putting one of his paws under his chin as if thinking really hard.
Then as if a light bulb went off in his head his eyes widen in a way that I wouldn't think was possible.
"T-ten dos dat meen wer mates now???!" Inv Says with excitement while jumping up and down.
Hearing this I can feel my face feel overheated. I mean I haven't said no but… can I really commit myself to being mates with Inv? I just met him!
"H-hold on Inv! I never said yes to becoming mates!" I say while waving my arms in front of me. I can't just say yes off the bat! I'm not that easy!
When Inv hears me say this I can visibly see him deflate towards the ground. No literally, it's like I just watched an oversized slugcat balloon deflate. The pink and red colors I saw on him earlier have disappeared, replaced with a deep dark blue mixing with his natural blue. Almost to the point of it becoming black.
"A-a-awwww… t-tat ok… c-can e stil be fwiends at lest???" Inv says while looking up at me with a very sad look. I feel a pang of guilt just by seeing him so sad by what I just said.
I didn't mean to make him sad like this. I just didn't want to say yes immediately…
To be honest at this point I genuinely wouldn't mind becoming mates with Inv. It's been so long since I've interacted with another being that I can communicate with that… I'm sort of desperate for some form of connection. Being alone in a world like this fucking sucks. If I can at least experience it with someone else, it would make it a bit more tolerable. Even if it's some eldritch looking slugcat.
Looking down at Inv and looking at his sad eyes, I make a decision. I don't want to be alone anymore. If Inv wants a mate, then I'll be his mate.
..
Wait… didn't he just ask me if we could be friends?! Am I seriously about to get fucking friend zoned by Inv?!
Fuck being friends! I don't need a friend! I need a damn partner! 2 is better than 1!
"Sorry Inv I don't want to be friends I-
I'm abruptly cut off as Inv stands up near instantly somehow. The dark blue color from earlier has completely turned black now.
"T-tat ok… i-i won boter u anymor… t-tank yu fo not hurting me atlest…" Inv says to me in a voice that sounds completely defeated. I watch as he turns around and goes back into his deflated form and starts slowly moving away from me. Somehow, he's moving without moving either his legs or arms. Is he rolling away?
Wait, never mind that!
I immediately chase after him. Since he hasn't moved very far away yet I'm able to pounce on him before he can fall off the ledge towards the pole that leads down.
"J-J-Joey?!" Inv stutters my name in surprised confusion.
Not thinking of what would happen if I pounced on him, I find myself mounted right on top of him…
I'm basically sitting on his chest right now looking down at him. Seeing the red quickly creep back up on Inv's face. I also feel extremely embarrassed by the position we're in right now. Feeling his fur brushing against mine… even with the feeling his fur gives off my entire body shivers. Not in disgust… but in a good way...
'I really am desperate, aren't I?'
"Inv! You didn't let me finish what I was about to say!" I say while looking down at him.
"B-b-bu u sad tha yu don wan tu be mates or fwiends…"
"Yeah! That's because…" I stop myself before I finish what I was about to say.
I don't want to admit that I lied when I said I didn't want to be mates…
Quickly thinking of an excuse, I come up with something that should rectify what I said earlier.
"I said that earlier because I want to be more than friends or mates…"
"H-h-huh??? M-mor ten mates??? W-w-wats abov mates???" Inv asks me, his face fully red again.
Hearing this I push myself even closer to Inv. inching my face closely towards his. I find myself surprised by my actions but feeling a living… breathing… being so close up that isn't trying to hurt me… I can't help but crave this physical contact right now.
Putting my face closely up to Inv's I look him directly in the eyes. Before, I had trouble looking at his eyes but now I can see them clearly. They are so unique… I feel like I could never get tired of looking at them…
"Joey?" I hear Inv peep out my name.
"You see Inv… I don't want to be mates nor friends… no…" I say in a half-slurred tone while getting lost in his eyes.
…
"I want to be Partners"