Chapter 46
Chee
It was a great night. Chee would categorize it as a qualified success.
The others had all wandered from the room, full and happy and seeking their beds for the night.
They were already swinging to their next job, though it would be another day before they swung out.
She was pretty sure they were transporting some rich person’s fur collection.
She was interested to see the fur that would justify their prices and specialty.
She’d get to find out more tomorrow as Tanin had asked her to meet him in the captain’s bridge so he could go over some things with her.
She didn’t know how she’d be able to help, but she was looking forward to trying.
With the others all off seeking their beds, she was cleaning up the remnants of the feast. All the leftovers were going back into the synthesizer to be destroyed.
As much of their parts were going to be broken down and reused as possible, the rest would be wasted.
The dishes would be cleaned and stored automatically.
It was super easy, really. She wished all her clean up jobs could be that simple. The music was off, the others were gone, everyone had a great time.
Chee was so happy.
And when Trove came back in, having returned the rest of his liquors to their place in the rec room, her smile only grew.
“We cleaning this off now?” He asked, reaching for another serving tray. This one had been covered in what looked like fully puffed up, mini dandelions, and they tasted amazing. She wasn’t the only one to think so, as the tray had only a few remnants of the sweet grass left upon it.
“Yeah,” she nodded, grabbing a mostly empty stew bowl. “I don’t like dealing with old food in the morning. Better to get everything cleaned up the night of. You’ll have less work to do later. And I like this time.”
“Hm? This time?”
“This time,” she looked around the empty room, her face warm and happy.
“An empty room that was just filled with laughter and joy and celebration has a different feeling to it. Even though no one is there, it still feels full. It feels satisfying. I like lingering in it. I don’t know. That probably sounds weird.”
“No, not at all,” Trove assured her, offering a kind smile. “I feel it too. It’s heavy. But nice. Like the dimness of my room. It’s a welcome feeling.”
“Right?” Chee beamed, leading him to the synthesizer so it could take back the dirty dishes. It was already humming, hard at work breaking down what she had put in there already.
She already had half the table cleaned before Trove returned.
With his help, it didn't take long at all to get it all cleared off. She finished by wiping off the table as he watched. Spot, Garnet’s beaten up and dented cleaning robot, was happily chugging across the floor, sweeping and mopping up any mess that might have fallen to the artificial tile.
There weren’t tiles there, just the impressions of what would have been tile if any had been laid simply to break up the floor.
All the machines were whirring peacefully, the room was once again set to rights, and Chee was filled with the satisfaction of a job well done.
Yeah. She was happy.
A feeling that only intensified when Trove was suddenly there, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He rested his chin on her head, because he was too tall to do it comfortably on her shoulder. She felt rather than saw him smile as he embraced her.
“Good work,” he praised. “It was a great time.”
“I’m glad everyone had fun,” she said, covering his hands with hers as they slowly began to sway back and forth like the music was still playing. “Even if it looked like Sorbet and Tebros were going to kill you for a little while there.”
Trove chuckled. “Not the first time those two have looked at me like that. Won’t be the last either. Murder is their first problem solving technique. Tanin had the hardest time getting a hold of the two of them.”
“What about Rok? What’s Rok’s deal? That thing about being given a female for his hard work? Is that like a thing for his people?”
“I don’t know much about the baemoth people or their culture, but I do know it was the norm with the people he once worked with. Don’t be too angry with him. He genuinely doesn’t know better.”
“He can learn better,” Chee said. “We are not things to be given away.”
“I assure you, he does not see you as ‘things’.”
Chee grumbled under her breath. She knew he was right. Rok was entirely too nice to not see them as full people with their own thoughts and desires. He certainly didn't treat them like he expected one of them to be given to him.
But then again, there weren’t any of them ‘available’. Technically, both Chee and Goldie weren’t mated to their males. But Chee and Trove simply didn't have the opportunity to go through with the mating fight he needed to complete to seal the bond.
And Goldie…
Well, maybe that would happen soon. Once they managed to build Alred a body.
If they were able to build him a body. And if that body was triggered by her.
If it was even capable of being triggered.
There were a lot of questions in that, but that was to be expected.
They were doing something that had never been done before.
If anyone could do it though, she trusted these guys to get it done.
Turning in his arms, she put her arms around Trove’s neck and smiled at him. He smiled back, the two of them still swaying in place.
For a long moment, they didn't really talk. They just enjoyed this quiet moment between the two of them. No pressure. No secrets. No others to interfere. Just them.
“Why did you return to the guest room?” Trove finally asked. There wasn’t anything accusatory in his voice. Just curiosity. “You’re welcome in mine.”
“Yeah?” She turned her head.
“Was that in question?”
“I wasn’t sure.”
“Why?”
“Well…” She frowned. “Your room is so… blank. It’s empty. Which is fine! I mean, I get it. Some people prefer that whole minimalist look. I just didn't think you’d want my clutter filling it up.”
Trove blinked in surprise, then threw back his head laughing.
Before she could figure out what was funny, he was bending slightly.
He put his hands on her butt and, with ease, jerked her up.
Her legs automatically went around his waist as he held her up.
Looking her in the face, with full confidence that he knew where he was going, he began walking to the door.
“I never really cared to decorate the space. You can do that.”
“Oh, but…” Chee hesitated, unsure what to say.
“But what?”
“It’s your room,” she finally settled on saying. It wasn’t really what she fully meant to say, but it was hard to put it into words.
She was pretty sure that Trove kept his room dark and empty because that’s what he was used to.
Not necessarily from Rik-Vane, but from the days when he was trapped, locked in a basement, probably with nothing more than a bed.
He might not experience PTSD like her kind would, but that didn't mean his past didn't leave its marks on him.
She didn't know if she’d call the dim starkness a comfort, but it was home, in a way.
But Trove gave her a small smile, like he knew what she was thinking.
“I really don’t care,” he reiterated. “I like the darkness. I don’t care about the decoration. My den is an empty room because I haven’t had an adassi to fill it before.”
“An… adassi?”
“That would be you, to me,” he said, squeezing her butt. “You are my nest maker. You are the one who is to make my den a home. Do whatever you want to it. Make it bright. Make it shine. Make it whatever you want. I will be comfortable in it because you made it for us.”
“Oh… Are you sure?” She asked softly as they came to a halt. Somehow, they were already outside of his door.
He used one hand to press the panel, sliding it open, and returned it to her butt as he walked inside.
“You are my adassi,” he repeated. “And I am your domin. I provide a den; you make it into a nest. Change whatever you want. Make it your home. I want that for us.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her heart trembling with excitement.
Not so much because she loved decorating or anything, but the idea of making this room into their home, their nest, filled her with anticipation and excitement.
Because that’s what this was. This blank room was their home. The Vainglory was a big apartment complex where their extended family lived and shared space. It wasn’t what she would consider traditional, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Trove brought them to the center of the room and gently set her down on her feet. She didn’t resist but she did give him a longing, loving look as he stepped back.
And she waited. She knew that face. That was the look he wore whenever he was about to start giving her orders.
And she felt another thrill of anticipation, because his orders always meant great and, usually, repetitious pleasure for her.
She loved following his orders. She loved being obedient to him.
It was wonderful to trust herself to him and think of nothing.
But when he finally spoke, it wasn’t the usual commands she was used to receiving. Instead, he smiled at her and opened his arms.
“I want to make love to you, Chee.”
She blinked, startled. Not opposed, just… confused. “Huh?”
“I want to hold you and kiss you and love you like an ordinary male.”
And she understood. He didn’t want orders. He didn’t want obedience. Right now, he just wanted to meet her exactly as he was, exactly as she was. The two of them touching and adoring each other freely, without permission or consent checks or boundary watching.
Which, in a way, was pushing his boundaries. Pressing their luck. His stages of healing. It was brave of him. It was freeing for both of them. He just wanted to hold her and have her hold him in return without worrying about anything else.
Like a normal couple. Like ordinary mates.
Chee went to him, raising her arms. She slid them around his neck as he wrapped her up in his arms. They met in the middle for a kiss that was slow and tender and deep.
He didn’t flinch when she pulled at the band keeping his hair up, setting the long locks free.
She didn’t stop to make sure that he was okay, constantly thinking about his trauma.
They just kissed.
And for all that it was ordinary, plain and simple, it was the deepest, most passionate kiss they had shared yet.