Chapter 3 – Sweater Weather #4
It wasn't exactly a surprise that I fell asleep. It had been a long day, and I'd slept badly, and I was cold, and the shuttle was dark and quiet – hushed and velvety. I drifted in and out of sleep, my arms curled hard around my body as I nestled into that ridiculous comfortable chair.
It was just as I was on the edge of slipping into a deeper sleep that I heard, rather than felt, a tentative touch on the arm of my jumpsuit.
The rustle of fabric, the whisper of fingertips against a cuff.
My eyes snapped open and I blinked at Araxis, who had reached from his seat – he must have come back at some point; I'd been out – to touch my forearm.
His eyes were pinched with worry. "You are shaking," he said in the low lights of the cabin.
I sat up a little, nodding. "I'm just cold," I yawned, rubbing my hands up and down my arms vigorously to try and warm up.
"It was a bit chilly even before we landed, but it's fine.
Nothing to be worried about. Humans shiver when we're cold; it makes our muscles warm up to maintain our core body temperature.
And I bet –" I pressed the backs of my fingers to my cheeks, and hissed.
"Yeah, feel. Blood will leave our extremities and go to our centre to keep our internal organs warm.
" I reached out and offered my outstretched fingers to him.
This kind of thing tended to play well in the den – oh, let's explore our physical differences with lots and lots of touching – but also it was pretty interesting, and I knew humans were a bit of a novelty.
Araxis blinked at me and at my outstretched hand, and I was sure he wasn't coming nearer – but then he swivelled his seat and reached out, taking my palm between his. His mouth thinned.
"Come here. I'll show you. And don't get freaked out; I'm just teaching you about human physiology, promise.
It's not a dancer trick." I gave him a sly smile, and then rotated my wrist and grabbed his hand, pulling him a bit closer as I leaned out of the seat toward him.
I pulled his hand toward me, and I slid the tips of his fingers down past the drooping collars of my sweaters to my collarbone. "See?"
"Is this why you are wearing multiple sweaters?" he murmured, his head leaned so close to mine that I could make out the faint gleam of pattern on his pale cheeks. I could see the smooth skin of his temple give way to the start of his crest, his quills more narrow and supple than I expected.
I nodded, mouth suddenly gone dry. I blamed my sleep-addled brain for thinking this – taking a cute alien's hand and shoving it down my shirt so he could feel how hot I was – was an effective way to not flirt.
"Hm." Araxis slipped his fingers free from the collars of my sweaters as I let his wrist go, the tips leaving cool trails as he withdrew.
He leaned back, head tilting. "I am sorry you are cold, although I am also relieved, Sashen.
I thought you put on your many sweaters because you were concerned that I would steal them while you slept.
As a pirate might." His mouth twitched, and I realized he was making a joke.
A surprised laugh tore from me, and then I rocked back, shaking my head and grinning.
"Okay, wow. You're giving me a free ride, and you thought I got squirrely about these?
" I plucked at the burned cuff of the lumpy top sweater I was wearing, which was pilled, orange, and supremely ugly.
All of my sweaters were like that, a side effect of being able to only afford clothes that were, like, sixth hand.
"Sorry I accidentally insulted you and your fashion sense. "
Araxis trilled, a short melodic sound deep in his throat.
Yeah, that had to be a laugh. The worry had smoothed out from around his eyes and his mouth curled into a smile instead.
"No, I understand why you would guard your sweaters so carefully," he said, the edge of his mouth twitching.
"I particularly like the one with stripes.
I have been coveting it this entire time. "
I grinned at him. That one was black and pink, the stripes running in uneven and unpredictable lines across the sweater in a way that Devala had once described as nauseating. I thought it had maybe once been two sweaters that were combined through some dark alchemy, and I loved it.
"See, I knew you were watching me get changed," I said, before my brain caught up with my mouth and I remembered I was supposed to not be flirting. Whoops.
Araxis's cheeks silvered, just a little, and he looked at me from behind those dark eyelashes. "Yes," he intoned, "I could not tear my eyes away from your scandalous state of undress."
I laughed again, warmth blossoming beneath my ribs. Considering I'd pulled those sweaters on over my jumpsuit, and also he'd seen me half-naked and writhing around a stage for a week –
"There goes my modesty," I sighed wistfully, and then I huffed out another little laugh and pulled my hands up inside of my sleeves to try and stop my fingers from aching from the cold.
I had toed my boots off earlier, so I folded my legs up as well.
If I tried, I could get the orange sweater over my knees so that I had my own little lumpy tent of warmth. It was tempting.
Araxis watched me carefully. "I will be able to run a preliminary scan for the other vessel shortly. I apologize for the discomfort."
"I understand," I said, smiling. "It's your, uh, rivals, right?
" His face went blank for a moment, before I rushed on.
"You know, the evil space pirates. Whereas you lead a ragtag group of good space pirates.
Stealing from the rich, giving to the poor?
Just – never mind." I waved a hand from inside of my sleeve, accepting that my prolonged bit was falling flat.
"The temperature is genuinely not a problem.
But you wouldn't have a blanket or anything, would you?
I can keep myself pretty warm as long as I have some layers. "
Araxis stood, crossing the vast span of two whole strides to the back of the cabin where he opened a long cupboard.
I swivelled my chair around, watching him as he rifled through the insides of a compartment.
When he closed the door, he was holding a piece of black material in his hands, the pink glow overhead glinting off something within the folds.
He stepped back in again, giving the fabric a shake.
"Hey," I said slowly. "I recognize that jacket."
His mouth twitched in a small, self-satisfied smile.
"Yes. You said you liked it." I shifted my legs, crossing them in the seat, and Araxis leaned in, draping the fabric of his jacket over me, carefully tucking it up by my shoulders so that I was covered.
All at once, I could smell something warm and comforting, a plume of unfamiliar spice that was sweet and smoky. Was that what his skin smelled like?
I sighed in contentment, the sound whisper-soft in the hushed air of the shuttle. Araxis slid back into his own seat, careful not to look at me. "Thanks," I yawned, settling in under the weight of Araxis's jacket. "You can wake me up if you get bored. I should at least try to be good company."
"I don't mind," Araxis said. "Besides… the quiet gives me time to think."
I knew I shouldn't be nosy, so I bit my tongue. It wasn't my business. But I did want to know: what was this all about? Who was he hiding out from?
And then, Araxis added, "About how best to thwart my rivals. My ragtag team depends on me."
I laughed, wriggling more deeply under the layers of fabric.
"You're adorable," I murmured as my eyes drifted shut, as easy to sink into as a pool of warm water.
With his jacket tucked up beneath my chin, my hands pulled deep into my sleeves and my arms hugging my body, I could almost convince myself I felt warm.
Or near enough that it didn't take long for me to drift yet again to sleep as the universe slid by outside of the shuttle.