Chapter 12
Back to Business as Usual
Lily
“Lily, you always go for the bad boys. That useless guitarist in high school. The biker guy at university. That ripped guy from the office. I swear, even in kindergarten you liked the boy who pulled your hair… I swear, it’s the abs.”
Lily’s sister, three chrono-years ago
Khar had only been away from work for a few chrono-cycles, yet Lily was already bored.
And lonely.
She had crammed all the work waiting for her into the first two cycles, and now she had nothing left to do. No tasks. No conversation. Not even Vegrun had checked in, and he usually liked to ping them about his beloved space cruiser, just to make sure everything was running smoothly.
She cursed herself for how quickly things had changed. Nearly two chrono-years alone aboard Helios, with only brief excursions to space stations, had never weighed on her like this short stretch of solitude did now.
At least the sexy dreams had stopped.
That really would have been too much.
She did not know where Khar lived on the station, and she could have messaged him through Vitro, but she had no real reason to do so. Instead, she searched the public IMPERIUM database for information on the Divani.
She learned a great deal about their social hierarchy, which was essentially a meritocracy based on strength and combat capability.
Their biology. Their history. The material was informative but dry, although she quite liked some of the older Divani sayings, like “The horns that arch highest bear the greatest burden,” implying that the strongest were responsible for acting in the interest of Divani society.
Only one unusual line stood out in the free database, and she could not quite make sense of it.
“The Divani are not only highly sought after in military and law enforcement roles, but are also valued for their potent reproductive capacity. See Divani imprinting.”
There was no further information available.
Lily assumed it referred to the fact that many advanced species struggled with declining birth rates, something the Divani apparently did not. She briefly considered subscribing to the expanded database, but in the end she could not bring herself to hit purchase.
When Khar finally returned after a week away, Lily was not sure whether it was just her starved-for-company brain talking, but he seemed more attractive than ever.
She could not pinpoint what had changed. She just knew she could not stop watching his face whenever he was not aware of her gaze.
The only obvious difference was his skin.
It had darkened completely, now a deep, absolute black from the tips of his horns to every inch of skin visible beneath his uniform, right down to the ends of his claws. His ominously glowing eyes stood out even more starkly against the ebony tone.
She loved it.
And did everything she could to avoid making him uncomfortable under her attention.
It was not as if Khar had become gentler. If anything, he seemed exhausted and irritable, like he was not quite at ease in his own body. Combined with his usual severity and mood-dependent silence, this should not have been attractive.
Yet Lily found herself quietly relieved just to have him back.
He also ate constantly.
Not proper meals, since that would have been impractical during work, but he kept tossing calorie spheres into his mouth.
Lily used them too. They were individually calibrated to contain all necessary nutrients and were practically free on most stations.
No one went hungry in space because of them, though real food was far more expensive.
“Lily. Let’s go eat lunch in the central plaza.”
She snapped her head up at the unexpected suggestion. Not because Khar wanting food was surprising. Lately, that seemed to be all he thought about. But because it had not occurred to her that they could leave the ship during work hours.
“I would love to!” she said. “But is that allowed?”
“Of course. Come on. I cannot eat another calorie sphere.”
She nearly bounced as she walked beside him, so pleased by the idea. Their work rations included Vitro’s generated standard menu, but it had grown monotonous. For Khar, who had been on the ship much longer, it must have been unbearable by now.
The central plaza was one of Lily’s favorite places on the station. Artificial weather patterns were generated there, and she loved feeling them on her skin. Vendors lined the space, and in the center stood tables and seating adapted for different species, making it easy for them to eat together.
They quickly agreed on a vendor that sold non-spicy food and joined the long but fast-moving line.
As they made their way through the plaza, Lily noticed far more attention than usual. She was used to drawing stares, but this felt different. It did not take long to realize why.
They were not looking at her.
They were looking at Khar.
Her face burned when she overheard two feathered aliens, likely female, whispering nearby.
“Do you see that Divani stallion?”
“Incredible. That black coloration.”
“I wish he’d mount me.”
“You? Dream on.”
Lily almost spun around to give them a piece of her mind, but Khar seemed so utterly indifferent that she decided against escalating things. When they finally got their food, Khar carrying triple her portion, she could not hold it in anymore.
“Those beings are so rude.”
Khar looked at her with those glowing eyes that increasingly felt like they could see straight through her, his expression blank.
“What beings?”
“The two feathery ones who were talking about you like you were a sex object.”
His brow furrowed between his horns as he replayed the last few minutes.
“Oh. That.”
He chewed thoughtfully before responding.
“For Divani, that kind of attention is not insulting. We consider it appreciation. Acknowledgment of potential.”
Her anger evaporated, replaced by confusion.
“You enjoy being sexualized?”
“Yes. It is like having your strength recognized. If something is exceptional, it should be valued. It is not offensive.”
They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the artificial sunlight and breeze. Even manufactured, it felt wonderful on her skin.
What Lily said next could not be explained by the pleasant weather or the few lonely chrono-cycles she had endured.
Perhaps she just wanted to cheer up her friend, whom she had missed more than she wanted to admit.
Or spending so much time without proper social norms dictated by humans and being alone in space completely dissolved her self-control.
“I had a sexy dream about you.”
The table jumped violently as Khar slammed his knee into it.
For a moment he looked as though he might speak, but no sound came. The silence stretched long enough that Lily almost believed they could pretend none of it had happened.
Then he cleared his throat, and when he spoke, his voice was rough.
“What did you say?”
Lily buried her face in her hands so she would not have to see his expression and rushed through her answer. By the end, her courage had evaporated and she was barely whispering.
“It just happened. It was not important. I do not mean it was bad. Or deviant. It was a totally normal sexy dream. Like with a human man. I mean obviously you were bigger and better.”
She peeked through her fingers, already preparing to bolt if Khar looked disgusted or disturbed.
She would never have said something like this to a human coworker, and now she regretted every word.
Two chrono-years without real social interaction had apparently destroyed every internal brake she used to have on her thoughts and on what escaped her mouth.
But Khar only looked at her with a perfectly neutral expression, his tone calm and conversational, as if they were discussing the weather.
“How did it work?”
Lily blinked.
“What do you mean, how did it work?”
“What is the usual mating configuration among humans? Is it always two participants, or more? One male and one female, or are there other sexes?”
Relief washed through her. Whatever this was, it was not horror or rejection. Khar sounded like he was asking about spiders or some unfamiliar species.
“Usually two,” she said. “Usually one man and one woman. But there are variations depending on individual preferences.”
Khar nodded, then immediately followed up.
“Are the females larger and stronger among humans?”
She stared at him, confused.
“Why would you think that? No. I mean, some women are strong, obviously. But on average men are a bit taller and physically stronger. Women tend to have more endurance.”
She took a sip of her drink, grateful for the shift into statistics and dry facts, far away from the territory of erotic dreams.
“It is because you said bigger and better in your dream,” Khar said. “Do human females enjoy sex? Do they go into heat?”
Lily choked on her drink.
So that was where they were now. Her dignity was gone, her modesty nonexistent, and they were back to her personal preferences. This was entirely her fault.
“I meant that you are obviously bigger than me,” she said hastily. “And you know what? I do not want to talk about this anymore.”
Khar continued eating as if nothing had happened, while Lily endured the seventh circle of embarrassment.
“That is fine,” he said. “I believe humans carry some shame around sexual matters. Then tell me more generally how humans choose their mates.”
At that point Lily would have preferred to discuss the way the paint was wearing off the table, but she accepted this compromise.
She was about to launch into an explanation when a thought struck her.
“Wait. Why are you even interested? You never pay attention when I talk about Earth.”
Khar stopped eating and straightened, clearly offended by the suggestion.
“That is not true. I remember everything you tell me.”
That, unexpectedly, moved her.
Not knowing what else to do with that feeling, Lily began outlining the general framework of human dating and family formation.
Khar listened attentively, interrupting only occasionally with precise questions.
He had more food anyway, so they finished around the same time, even though Lily had done most of the talking.
“So monogamy is a personal choice.” he said.
“Yes. It is preferred, but not everyone wants it. Some people choose celibacy.”
“And you, Lily?” he asked. “You chose celibacy?”
She laughed.
“Since being taken from Earth, it has not exactly been a choice.”
Khar took her empty plate and tossed it into the designated container along with his own.
“I see. Let us go back.”
She was relieved to escape the awkward topic, but at the same time she regretted the end of their time away from the ship. Even with all her embarrassment, she felt better after this short outing than she had during her elegant lunch with Horos.
“It was nice talking to you, Khar.”
He acknowledged it with a rare smile.
“Likewise. Until you ruined everything with your strange human sex topic.”
She punched his shoulder. Khar dodged with a grin, but the impact still surprised her. It hurt more than last time.
She almost snapped back with an insult, something like calling him a space stallion the way those alien women had. Instead, she just growled.
“What is wrong with you anyway? Why are you eating so much?”
Khar only shrugged.
“Call it a growth phase.”