Symbiote Boyfriend: Sonata (complete)

My father was once a very popular local musician. He had a chance at the big time, but instead he decided to open a small restaurant with my mother. There was a small stage in the restaurant where bands could come play and maybe get their own start. I never understood why my dad gave up his chance at stardom for the small kitchen he and my mother work in daily.

I work part time at the restaurant as well, although my parents want me to focus on school. I’ll admit, I got a sort of late start in terms of college. I’m one of the oldest people in my class, aside from the teacher. When I left high school, I put off college when my dad got sick. For a while, it didn’t look so great, so I stayed home to take care of him as well as help Mama run the restaurant. After he got better again, Papa insisted I go to college as I had planned, and even helped me pay my way. “Julio,” he told me, “you are destined for great things in this world. You may not see it, but someday you’ll look back and know what you did mattered. I want to be able to give you that start. That’s what I’ve always wanted.”

I wanted to become a music professor. I’m not quite as talented as my father, but I know music like the back of my hand. I can play several instruments, and have been writing music for longer than I can remember. Teaching feels like the best way to be connected to my craft. I don’t know what else I could do with it that matters.

One night, I’m sitting on the porch, playing my guitar like always. It’s dark, and my parents are already asleep. My latest project for school is to write a song to be performed at a benefit concert. I haven’t been able to think of anything. The idea of actually performing my work terrifies me. I sit back and look up at the sky. There’s still a slight tint of pink on the horizon, illuminating the tops of the mountains in the distance. I lean forward a bit, sighing to myself as I lament the day. Everyone else in my class is already showing off their notes and progress on their songs, and meanwhile I have nothing.

I strum my guitar while gazing into the distance. “Julio, you are a fool. What are you doing? Julio, this isn’t how it goes. You started late, you never date, you wait on tables, bussing plates. Julio, you truly are the fool. You stay at home and grow jealous of the starlight. You sit around when other people move. You sing these songs that are not long, your voice doesn’t carry a tune. Julio, you truly are the fool.”

I hear a rustle, and turn to see a small cat slip out of the bushes to sit on the railing. We’ve been having this stray appear around our house a lot lately. Its face is mask-like, completely white with small eyes, and the rest of its coat is black with swirls of grey. 

I strum my guitar again as it watches me. “Do you like my music?” I ask it. “Or have you come to yell at me to stop yowling into the night?”

The cat leaps down and trots over to me, plopping down at my feet. I smile at it, setting my guitar aside so I can pet it.

“You are a pretty thing, aren’t you?” I cup the top of the cat’s head and find it sticky. I try to pull my hand away, but it’s stuck. I struggle, trying to yank myself free, while the black fur starts turning bright orange right before my eyes. The orange mass flows up my arm and forces me down onto the ground. The cat’s neck elongates, and the mask-like face turns me. I start to scream but the orange goop covers my mouth.

“Please, be quiet!” The cat whispers. The mask tilts to the side as it looks at me. “I don’t mean to scare you, but I need your help.”

I struggle and keep trying to scream.

“No! No! Please!” The ooze is turning from orange to blue. “I don’t want to hurt you at all. I didn’t want to scare you either, but I am desperate. You have to help me.” I feel the mass of blue creep up around my neck, like I’m sinking under water. I gasp for breath, and then I wake up. I sit up in bed, watching the slow spinning of my ceiling fan. I blink a few times to make sure that I’m not dreaming anymore.

There’s a knock on the door. “Julio, are you still here?” my mother asks.

“Yes, Mama,” I sit up in bed. “I’m up.”

“You left your guitar outside last night! Someone could have stolen it!”

I lift my hand to rub my eyes, but something is wrong. My palm is completely covered in a vinyl-like substance, which moves across my body in swirls of grey, spreading up my arm and across my chest. I leap out of bed, hopping in front of the mirror to look at myself. I’m entirely encased in this substance, with a blank mask over my face. My eyes glow bright purple, and the color covering my body shifts from grey to purple as well. I cup my hands over my face, feeling the edges of the mask.

“What the fuck?” I whisper under my breath. I rush into my bathroom, taking soap and hot water to my skin. I scrub and scrub, trying to get it to come off. It’s no use!

“That hurts.”

I whip around at the sound of the voice, holding out my loofah like some sort of weapon. “Who is that? Who's there?”

I feel the skin squeeze around me, then relax. “It’s me. It’s us.”

“This isn’t funny!” I’m about to cry. “Come out now, or I’ll...”

As I say this, this skin floats off of me. Part of it wafts in the air and swirls around until the mask-like face turns towards mine. “I’m sorry,” it says meekly. “I’ve been so tired and alone. Last night was the first time I’ve felt safe since I got here.”

“What are you? What do you want?”

The ooze slips over my mouth again.

“Don’t yell, please. It scares me,” the creature says. “Can we just talk?”

I stare hard at it. The ooze slips completely away from me and forms a small mass on the countertop. The glowing purple eyes look up at me, small and terrified. I slam the loofah down on top of it, and it cries out. “What was that for?” it whines. I hit it again with the loofah, and it whines again. “Stop that!” Tendrils shoot from the mass and wrap around me and the loofah. It yanks the loofah from my hand, then throws it back in my face.

“Ow! My eye!” I yelp.

“See?” the creature scoffs.

I press the heel of my hand into my eye. “Okay, fine. What do you want?”

“You,” it says.

I step away from it. “To eat?”

“No! To be with.” It rises from the counter. “Outside my own home, I need a lifeform I can be with in a symbiotic way.”

I scowl. “So you’re a parasite!”

It wiggles back and forth. “Not like that at all!”

“Your home,” I murmur. “So you’re some sort of alien? How can I trust you’ve not come here to take over earth?”

“Because my planet thinks earthlings are stupid and weak,” the creature scoffs. “I fled here because I thought it’d be safe for me to hide.”

My back is against the wall. I know I can’t run the risk of opening the door and unleashing this thing on my parents, so I’ll stay in here as long as possible. “Ran away? Are you some sort of space criminal?”

“The opposite, really,” it murmurs. “More like I quit my job without notice.”

I chew my lip nervously. “What was your job?”

“It was awful. I hated it so much. I hate myself because of it.”

I release my lip and try to stand tall. “But why would you need to hide here?”

“Because I’m rare, and I’m a weapon.That’s why I came to you.”

“I’m not...” I shake my head. “I’m not a soldier or a weapon expert or anything, so I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“Your music!” the creature exclaims as it begins turning yellow. “I heard you play, and it made me so happy.”

“Seriously?”

The creature wiggles up and down.

“My music?”

It wiggles again.

I take a long-held breath and watch the thing. “So, you like music?” I ask uncertainly. “But why mine? It’s not that special.”

The creature rises up again. “It has potential. It has hope. That’s what attracted me.”

I hear my mother come into my room, and I quickly step in front of the bathroom door. “Julio, you’re going to be late!”

“Thanks, Mama!” I grab the creature and shove it into the pocket of my hoodie. Then I walk out of the bathroom and grab my things, keeping the goop creature tucked deep into my pocket. I kiss my mom on the cheek as I rush out of the house. I run down the street, but as I do I feel the creature slip up my arm under the fabric. It pops out at my collarbone, peering out from between my chin and the zipper. “Where are we going?” it giggles.

“Don’t take this as any form of consent, pal. I just needed to get you out of the house and away from my family,” I grumble. “I have to go to school.”

I stand at the bus stop, keeping my distance from the little old lady sitting there. The creature starts to spread over my body. I feel it adhere to my skin, growing cool and soft as it does. It tickles, and I jerk and spasm from the sensation, making stifled snorting sounds. I could never stand tickling. The little old lady is looking at me like I’m crazy.

“What are you doing?” I whisper from the corner of my mouth.

“This is much more convenient!” the creature sighs. “You’re so warm too. I couldn’t resist. You feel so nice when I wrap around you.”

I cough, and the little old lady scoots away from me. “Don’t make this sound weird!”

I look down my hoodie to see the thing has turned yellow with pink swirls. “How do I feel?” it asks.

I slap my chest hard, then get onto the bus as it pulls up. I go all the way to the back, scrunching myself up into the corner. I feel like everyone there can tell I’m hiding something, that I’m wearing a living, breathing gimp suit under my clothes.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” the creature whispers. “I’m Sonata.”

“Seriously?” I scoff.

“I know you’re Julio,” it says.

I fidget in my seat, unsure if the feeling of Sonata on me is pleasant or weird. To be fair, I barely feel it. Every now and then, I feel it shift or move, and sometimes there is a ripple down my back. But really, Sonata just feels like my own skin.

“What is your school for?” Sonata asks. “Do you teach?”

“No,” I huff. “I’m a student. I’m studying to be a teacher.”

“How fun!” Sonata moves my arm, grabbing my guitar case. “You bring your music with you to school?”

I yank my arm back and try to control it. “I want to be a music teacher.”

Sonata gasps happily, turning bright orange and neon yellow. “How exciting! Now I am really glad I chose you.”

I punch my chest again. “Keep it down, okay?”

“Sorry. I’m just so excited to have a partner like you!”

I grimace and look down. “I haven’t agreed to that yet. I just needed to get you away from my family.”

“I mean no harm to humans, you don’t need to worry about that.”

Once the bus stops, I quickly hurry off and head towards campus. “Just keep quiet. Once school is over, I am dealing with you.”

“I promise! I’ll behave in class, Julio.” Sonata squeezes around me. “I’m so excited to see what it’s like.”

Sonata keeps its word, and through my first few courses, it’s quiet and I almost forget it’s there. But when I go into band class, I become aware of it again. it shifts and flows over my skin, growing warm and almost velvety. It gasps, rising slightly above my hoodie as I walk past all the instruments.

“Are we going to play?” Sonata asks excitedly. 

“Shh,” I hiss as I take my guitar out. “We have a performance coming up soon, we have to practice.”

“Oh, yay! Yay!” Sonata grabs my guitar for me and pulls it up to my chest. It begins strumming and playing the guitar, playing songs I know but I’m not very good at. Sonata is giggling happily as we play, and people have started to turn and stare at us.

“Stop it!” I hiss. “Sonata...” We’re playing better than I ever have before. I can barely believe it. “Sonata, stop!”

Sonata strums the last chord, and those watching applaud. “Julio, when did you get so good?” a classmate asks. “Have you been hiding that from us this whole time?”

“I… Well...” I clear my throat. “You see, uh...” I feel Sonata at the back of my neck. “Just practice, that’s all. I’ve never been a show off, so...” I drift off, smiling as Sonata begins to play again, gently and quietly. 

After class, I go into the bathroom and unzip my hoodie just enough to see Sonata. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” It rises slightly from my chest.

“Play the guitar like that! How did you do it?”

Sonata shifts so the mask appears. “I just did what was natural to you. I couldn’t have done that with anyone else.”

I shake my head. “I don’t play like that. I’ve been average at music my whole life!”

Sonata tilts its head to the side. “I told you I chose you because of the potential.”

My mouth opens, but no sound comes out. 

Sonata inches closer to me. “That talent is inside you, Julio. I can feel it. I never would have been able to play like that if it weren’t true.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “But where has it been? How could you pull it out?”

Sonata giggles and presses its face against mine. “That’s why we make such a great match, Julio. We bring the best out in each other.”

I look in the mirror, and I’m covered in Sonata’s form. Then hear someone scream and bolt from the bathroom door. 

“Oops,” Sonata peeps. 

I leave school, deciding to walk to my parents’ restaurant so Sonata and I can talk along the way. I cut through the park, knowing we won’t come across many people. To those we pass, me talking to myself wouldn’t seem so weird. “We’re doing this on a trial basis,” I warn Sonata. “If, at any point, I come to hate being with you, that’s it. You’re on your own. Find someone else to leech off of.”

“It’s symbiosis, not leeching,” Sonata scoffs. “And that’s great! I promise you’re going to love this.”

I frown to myself. “Why me? Why not someone who is like, I don’t know, famous or cool? What do I have to offer?”

“I don’t want that sort of thing,” Sonata answers. “I just wanted something peaceful, something cozy. I saw you and your family and I wanted to know what that is like.”

“Don’t you have any family?”

“Not really,” it murmurs. “I’m a one-of-a-kind thing back home, and I’m treated more like property than anything.”

I reach the fountain before taking a seat. “How come?”

“I don’t want to scare you. I don’t even like myself because of it. It won’t hurt you at all, I promise.”

“You don’t have to talk about it now, but soon I’ll want real answers.” I look up to the sky. “So you came from another planet.”

“I did, from a planet called Heltith. It’s dark there, but very hot.” Sonata murmurs. “Not like here, where it’s bright and warm.”

My cell phone rings with a call from the restaurant. “Hello?”

“Julio, are you on your way here? We have a bit of an emergency,” my dad says.

I stand and start walking. “Yeah, I’m on my way. What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“Our entertainment for the night hasn’t shown yet, and we already have a restaurant full of people expecting live music. Could you play for a bit tonight?”

“Yes!” Sonata pipes up. I quickly squish it back down.

“Oh! Wonderful! Thank you, Julio. I’ll start getting things set up for you.”

I hang up my phone, then grab at Sonata under my hoodie. “Why would you do that? No one is going to want to hear me play!”

“Maybe they’ll want to hear us playing,” Sonata says hopefully. “Give us a chance, Julio. You’ll see.”

That evening, I’m sitting on the stage, looking out at a crowd that couldn’t give two shits about me. I swallow the lump in my throat and reach for some water, gulping it down. The amp squeals, and I get nasty looks from the crowd.

I step closer to the microphone and fumble with my words. “My name is Julio, and I’ll… Well, I’m the music.” I grimace at myself while Sonata begins to play. He strums the chords to the first song my dad ever taught me. We both begin to play, and while I didn’t plan on singing, all at once my voice comes out. It doesn’t feel like my singing voice - it feels better. As I sing, I realize it’s not me, it’s us. Sonata and I are singing together. 

All at once, Sonata and I become a sensation. At school, several of my classmates ask me to join their bands. My dad starts asking me to play more music at the restaurant. As Sonata and I perform more together, the more we become in demand. We start playing in other restaurants and bars. Eventually, I’m offered private jobs for parties and events. I turn down the offers, wanting to continue on with school and the restaurant. I decided that’s good enough for me. I’ve come to understand why my dad didn’t take the path to stardom - he just wanted a home, my mom, and eventually me. That’s what makes him happy. 

One evening as Sonata and I play the guitar, I feel a sense of peace wash over me. Sonata glows pale yellow and pink, and a rumble rises up through him like a purr. 

“Julio?” he asks softly.

“Yes, Sonata?”

“My trial - is it over?”

We stop playing and I sit up in bed. “I forgot about that.” I think back on the days since I met Sonata. Months have passed, almost a year. I chuckle to myself. “How funny, I forgot I even said that.”

“So, can I stay?”

I nod, running my hand down our chest. “I would like you to.”

Sonata squeezes around me, glowing bright pink. “I’m so happy! You really like me? You really want me to stay?”

I wrap our arms around ourselves, holding tight. “Of course I do, Sonata! You’re wonderful. You’ve made me so happy. I can’t imagine being without you now. I love you.”

Sonata rises away from me for a moment, facing me with hot pink eyes. “I love you too,” he whispers. I feel the sound on me like lips. I reach up, stroking our face as Sonata wraps tightly around me. We lie back on the bed and I arch my hips from the blankets.

“You’re getting so warm, Julio,” Sonata moans. “Your skin feels so soft. You taste sweet.” He squeezes all around me, wrapping me up in a loving embrace and constricting around my thighs and groin.

I start to pant, taking everything in as much as I can without losing my breath. I moan and coo, running our hands down to feel everything. “Sonata,” I pant excitedly. “What’s happening?”

“Love,” Sonata whispers.

Our hands reach down to touch, feeling our shaft growing and thickening. We thrust into our palm, gasping for breath as a bead of wetness slips from the tip. Sonata clenches around the base of our penis, causing a deep throbbing to shake our body. I moan and arch my back while Sonata slips around my skin. It feels like something is sucking me, moving up and down, up and down, swirling around the entire length of my prick.

“Sonata, oh god!” My mind is swirling. I can barely focus.

“You feel so good, Julio,” Sonata breathes. “So hot, it makes me melt.”

I tremble, opening our mouth. Our tongues hang out, two of them, splitting down the center and hanging out each side. We rise up, bending over and taking the shaft into our mouth. The tongues wrap around, and we hunch further, taking our cock into our throat and moaning in deep pleasure. Every inch of us feels like the skin is melting away, leaving the exposed flesh liquid and sticky. The heat, the liquid sensation of moving, it all feels so good. 

We lift our head, our tongues still wrapped around the shaft. My thighs ache, and Sonata trembles. We both shudder, bucking and groaning as the moment peaks. We come together and cry out as one. 

Our fingers slip through the pearly mess on our chest and belly. Sonata coos, purring even more than before. “Are you happy?” Sonata asks.

I chuckle and break into a grin. “I’ve never felt like this before.” I lift our hand to look at the come stringing between our long fingers. “Never so deep, or exhausting.”

Sonata snuggles up into the crook of my neck. “I’m glad.”

“Are you happy?” I murmur.

“Of course. I have you, I have my partner. I’ve never felt so relieved.” Sonata whimpers and tears come to our eyes. “Thank you, Julio. Thank you!”

“It’s okay,” I whisper. “Don’t cry.” I wipe our face. “We’re together now, and everything is going to be fine. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Sonata blubbers.

A few days later, Sonata and I are out shopping. The mall isn’t too packed, but I keep getting the feeling that I’m being watched. I can’t shake it as we walk around.

“Julio, I’m scared,” Sonata whispers.

“What’s wrong?” I place my hand over my chest.

Sonata tightens around me. “I don’t know why, I just can feel it.”

I look around. Behind me, I see a girl in a wheelchair looking at a rack of keychains. I leave the store, heading towards the bathrooms. I go inside and sit down in one of the stalls, hoping the feeling will go away. But then someone else comes in while I’m sitting and stands before the stall.

“Julio,” Sonata trembles.

“Come with me if you want to live,” a woman says.

I frown in disbelief.  Just as we’re getting ready to leave, the door opens and a woman wearing a black suit comes in. Then she shoves us through the tinted glass of the bathroom window, and runs with us as fast as she possibly can. She sprints, jumping before throwing us into an abandoned building.

“I’m gonna throw up!” I heave.

She sets us down and opens a hatch. “Hurry. Get in there before he shows up.”

I glare up at her. “Who?”

“Rabid.” She looks towards the windows, and then all of a sudden she turns invisible. “Hurry! Get down there!”

Sonata wraps around me and pulls me down. “Let’s do what she says! If it’s true, you don’t want to face him.”

We climb down into the hatch, slipping into a room lit with Christmas lights. There’s a bed with blankets and pillows, and in the corner I see a wheelchair.

The hatch shuts and the light turns on. The woman reappears. “My name is Ghost,” she says. “Who are you?”

“Julio,” I answer.

“And Sonata.”

Ghost’s mouth opens wide, revealing the girl from the wheelchair. “I’m Arsinoe. We want to protect you.”