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05 - Absence, Hearts

Thanks to the good care of the girls, Alain recovered quickly and the only effects left of his ordeal were stiff muscles and scars on his shoulder from where the bullet had entered and exited. He stayed with them in their pod until he was fully healed, and felt some regret when he returned to his own but he still had a job to do.

'Did you do anything with the guys we trapped?' he had asked and the girls shook their heads. 'I'll go and take care of that first then.'

'We'll help.' said Asitha.

Alain gave her a gentle smile. 'No need, I can handle this on my own. You have dealt with enough already so I won't burden you with this.' Asitha opened her mouth but Alain stopped her before she could speak. 'Don't worry.'

She nodded a little and Alain set out for his pod and the Walkurea.

Even though there was no need, he still drew his gun before he opened the door to the secure room in the warship. The two suits hung motionlessly in the vacuum. With a line attached to each suit, Alain pulled them along to an exit and pushed them into space.

The view he got at the next group they had trapped wasn't as serene as the first. Blood drifted through the corridor and stained the walls and the bullet-riddled suits. Alain suspected the men went over the edge when their air supply went out and turned on each other. Careful not to touch the floating blood, he used the line again and set the suits adrift into space.

Although he hadn't mentioned it, he went to the Lady Wind and assessed the situation. He almost found satisfaction in the shredded faces of the men he found at the airlock and the one in a corridor towards the engine controls. He shut down his mind before it imagined the carnage and what the men must have gone through. Although there were plenty of practical reasons to keep the ship and most of its contents, he had no desire to keep mementos of those murderers. Restoring drive control was a simple task after he turned off the probing program running through the radio connection, and set an automated course towards the sun.

He went back to his pod, executed the command remotely, and watched the ship's thrusters firing and manoeuvring the ship towards its final destination.

The girls come over later after their work shift and Asitha gestured at where Lady Wind used to be. 'Did you?'

He nodded. 'I got rid of it.'

She averted her eyes as tucked in her tail and flattened her ears. 'You saw?'

'Yeah.'

Tiness fiddled with her fingers but Alain took their hands in his. 'How about some human junk food? It goes well with drinking.'

Asitha chuckled once. 'Yeah, sounds good.'

Alain went to work with Asitha while Tiness set up the rest and went looking for something to watch, avoiding anything with violence this time. The comedy series and the joy of eating something bad but so very tasty helped relieve the stress and soon they were in stitches when the captain of an explorer vessel had another public row on the bridge with her ex-husband and first officer. Asitha giggled at a scene where she rewarded him by petting him like a dog. She nudged Tiness. 'That reminds me of that time when Alain pet your head.'

Tiness's eyes went wide and she blushed while Alain blushed as he glanced at her..'It was more or less an automatic reaction.' he said.

'It helped though.' chuckled Asitha. 'I bet she'd be skipping around if circumstances were better.'

Tiness hit her playfully on her arm. 'I'll bet you'd get jealous and demand the same treatment!'

'Hey, I'd at least demand a treat for letting him pet me!' said Asitha and smirked.

Alain laughed. 'You sound just like what we expect from a cat. Us humans exist to serve them and as a reward we get to look at them and on occasion touch them, even worship them as royalty.'

Asitha grinned mischievously at him. 'Really? That's a great idea.' she said and held out her glass. 'Fill me up and maybe I will let you pet my head once.'

He laughed again and rubbed his cheek. 'Hmmm.. I grew up with cats so I'm not easy. I demand at least an additional stroking of your tail.'

Asitha narrowed her eyes. 'You are tough indeed.' she said and looked at her glass. 'Only if you throw in more of those, what were they called, bacon crisps?'

Alain folded his arms and looked gravely. 'All right then. You have a deal this time.' he said and hopped out to the storage closet to grab another bag of snacks. When he returned Asitha had scooted over to his seat at the side of the couch and pat on the middle seat between her and Tiness. 'Just to give Tiness room for her own negotiations.'

He laughed, sat down, poured their drinks, and handed Asitha a bowl with her payment of bacon crisps. 'There you are, your majesty.'

'Very well, human, you may pet my head and tail once.' she said and laid her tail across his lap.

'Thank you so very much.' he said and stroked her soft fur on her head once and ran his fingers through her fluffy tail. 'Your fur is really nice.'

Asitha felt a nice shiver going through her and giggled. 'You've done well, human.'

Alain bowed his head to her. 'It was my honour.' he said and noticed Tiness had laid her tail on his lap as well. She looked into her glass. 'I want some of those crisps as well.'

Alain smiled and filled a bowl for her. 'Your majesty.' he said as he handed it to her.

Tiness giggled and blushed. 'Thank you.' she said and leaned her head towards him. He stroked it gently and ran his fingers through her thick tail. 'I had been wondering but I never imagined your tail was this soft and bouncy.'

Tiness blushed. 'Thank you.'

Asitha put up a pout. 'Are you saying her tail is better than mine?'

Alain chuckled. 'I'm saying you both have fur that is soothing to stroke.'

Asitha grinned. 'All right, you may touch it more if you want to, just for today.'

'Mine too.' said Tiness.

Alain smiled. 'How could I refuse such an offer?' he said and stroked their tails while they continued watching the comedy series.

All three stood at the airlock lockers at the end of their break and Asitha turned around to Alain before she stepped into her suit. 'I'm really glad you're alive.' she said and hugged him tight.

His heart skipped a beat at the sudden affection and he hugged her back. 'I'm glad you two are alive.'

Tiness hugged him after a slight hesitation. 'Tell us if you ever get hurt like that again. Don't make us worry.'

He smiled softly. 'I will.'

The girls stepped into their suits and Alain watched them until they were out of sight crossing the impact zone.

***

'The fuckers!' grumbled Alain when he read the latest message he received some time later.

'Bad news?' asked Asitha over their channel.

He sighed. 'I just got word that an inspection drone is coming with the next cargo drone. As if sending me here to get me out of their hair wasn't enough, now they want to keep a tab on what I do.'

'You were in their hair?' asked Tiness.

Alain chuckled. 'It means I was a bother to them.' He went over his current situation in his mind and what he should hide from the drone because he knew the higher ups would try to take away the few good things he had here.

'Alain? Are you all right?' asked Asitha.

He put his thoughts on hold for a moment. 'Yeah, but I'll need to do a few things before the drone gets here. I'll tell you when I see you later.'

***

Tiness looked at the written lists on the table in Alain's pod. 'What's all this?'

'Things I need to do to hide how well I'm doing here.' he said. 'If my boss finds out he sent me to a better place than I worked at he'd make sure to ruin it for me.'

'Is he that bad?' asked Asitha.

Alain leaned back in the couch. 'He's rather vengeful. This whole thing started because things were a mess at work and I had a heated discussion about it with my incompetent manager. He tried to get rid of me, but I was too good at my work to easily replace and they couldn't fire me just like that, so they ignored me as much as they could. But then they had word about negotiations for dismantling these warships and realised they needed to send someone who was both capable and expendable. The perfect choice was me.'

Asitha let out a tired chuckle. 'Same story here. You probably know how strict our society is when it comes to how males and females behave.' she said and slumped in the couch next to him. 'I didn't like what they expected of me. I don't submit myself to any male, they're not better than me. I was bullied while I grew up but I fought back and had them acknowledge me as one of the best engineers at school. Just in time for me to be assigned to this job.'

'Same story everywhere.' grumbled Alain.

Asitha looked at Tiness. 'Want to share how you got here?'

Tiness sighed. 'I don't deal very well with males either, ever since I was little.' she said and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. 'I worked at a company with ties to the government and I knew there were many males who took interest in me because of my looks, and the director was one of them. One day when I worked late and alone at my desk, he made advances while he'd clearly been drinking too much, and I pushed him away. Unlucky for him he tripped over several cylinders lying on the floor and broke his ankle and I had to call for medics. Not much later I was assigned to this work, telling me they needed capable people, but I know the project leader is a close friend to the director.'

'Sounds like he wanted to shut you up before everyone found out what he did to you.' said Alain.

Tiness nodded.

He sighed and went to the drinks closet. 'Let's drink to the selfishness of people in power, after this I need to decouple this pod.'

'Decouple? Why?' asked Asitha.

'If they find out how cushy I made it here, they'll invent regulations to take it away. I'll need to make them think I have it worse out here so they'll feel smug and won't bother me again.'

Asitha nodded and her ears drooped slightly. 'Then we won't talk for a while.'

'Yeah. The drone will probably monitor all channels so we can't use ours without them finding out.' said Alain and slumped into the couch with a bottle and glasses. 'Better enjoy what we have while we can. I'll make an extra rich meal for us today.'

***

Alain was grateful for Asitha's and Tiness's help in decoupling the large emergency pod from the crew pod and storing it into a corner of a small cargo bay nearby, just in time before the inspection drone arrived. He cycled the airlock of the pod to let the fairly oblong and standing straight up drone moving on six spider legs inside. The main body of the drone came up to his hips but it had a swivelling cubical head on an extending pole housing the cameras, which reached up to his shoulders.

'Greetings.' it said in an emotionless synthetic female voice. 'I am Cassandra and will monitor working circumstances to comply with regulations falling under sections 73-B and 112-F of working in space.'

"At least it's not an annoyingly cheerful AI like some drones are equipped with." thought Alain. He looked straight at the camera head. 'I am Alain Moreno, 853-887-254-676.'

'Identity confirmed. I will begin monitoring for the next ten standard days.'

"Ten days." Alain thought and looked at the date clock on the wall. "The list I made with the worst jobs should help make time pass quickly." He took the order list from the side table and held it up. 'The day begins with making the list of parts and the place they might be recovered at.' He spent some time going through the blueprints to confirm locations and put on his suit when he was done. 'Time to get to work.'

The location of the circuit on the list was at one of the worst damaged sections and he needed to crawl through a crumpled corridor to get to the compartment. The drone barely managed to follow him and it watched as he forced panels open to find out the circuit was smashed. 'This one's a goner.' he said as he held up a few burnt pieces for a good view. 'This is the state of a lot of the systems in and around the impact zone.'

He led the drone around all day and at the end he leaned back into the corner seat of his pod while waiting for a random food container to warm up in the oven. He had recovered enough systems to match his usual recovery rate and below that of the expected rate as set by the company. He'd have to give up some sleep for the time being but it was necessary to complete the picture he wanted to portray. He ate quickly and the drone went into mandatory privacy mode when he went to sleep.

***

Tiness sighed while she stirred her food.

'Not hungry?' asked Asitha.

'I feel sorry for Alain. While we have enough of the good stuff for a while, he's stuck to eating the boring food.'

Asitha nodded. 'Still, it's better than what we used to eat so it won't be as bad for him.'

'It's not just that, it's also the fun to cook and eat together.'

Asitha smiled a little. 'Yeah, I miss that as well.' she said and chuckled. 'It's funny how quickly we got used to being around him. A human on top of that.'

Tiness giggled. 'Maybe because he is human. I can't imagine a Silth male like him.'

'I'm sure there are but they're very hard to find.' said Asitha and took a bite and chewed. 'You might have to go to remote places like in a forest to meet any.'

Tiness chuckled. 'I think I can imagine him living in solitude in the wilderness.'

'Oh, like that man in the movie where he rescued a woman who was chased by people trying to kill her?'

Tiness chuckled. 'Complete with wild animals for friends.'

'If it were us he wouldn't need separate animal friends and women to rescue.' Asitha said and the image stuck in her mind, as it did for Tiness. She cleared her throat. 'But then we likely wouldn't need rescuing.'

'Yeah.' said Tiness. 'I hope the drone won't pester him for long.'

Asitha nodded lightly. 'We can only wait for it to leave.'

***

Alain trudged along the hull, Cassandra following him as it did since its arrival. He really felt the tiredness from the lack of sleep getting to him but he had to keep up the act of working most of the time to give the impression to his old manager that he was worse off, and thus ensure his leisurely life afterwards when they would no longer bother him. He made today interesting by seemingly getting lucky when all tasks were easy, that way he could show he used the leftover time to get extra rest. Asitha and Tiness stepped out of their pod in the distance and he wanted to greet them but he had to ignore them to hide his contact with them. The sight of them did make him feel a little better and the thought of being together with them later sent a shiver of excitement through him. He chuckled silently and glanced at the probe floating next to him while he wondered how much of a shock it would cause if both sides found out how well they got along.

'He looks really tired.' sighed Tiness.

'Yeah.' said Asitha, 'He doesn't move with his usual energy.'

'I wish we could cheer him up somehow without that probe finding out.'

'Not much we can do. We can't even leave a good meal because the probe would record it.'

The girls moved on towards their scheduled jobs until Tiness grabbed Asitha's arm. 'But there is something we can give him without anyone finding out but him!'

***

Alain returned to the pod after another shift, did the administration in a roundabout way, ate, and called it an end before heading into his small crew quarters to sleep. He undressed, slipped under the bed covers, and yanked his foot back when he touched something hard and cool.

He pulled away the covers and stared at the bottle of tequila. 'Did I put that there while I was drunk?' he muttered. The nutty brown colour of the liquid inside didn't match the label and it puzzled him even more. The cap seal was broken and he unscrewed it to take a sniff at what was inside.

He clamped his mouth to stifle his sudden laugh. 'You girls.' he chuckled and took a swig from the mushka. The burn went down his throat and filled it with warmth. "If you were here I'd kiss you." he thought and sat down on the edge of his bed staring at the bottle. "I really do want to be with them, heh. How weird is that?"

He took another swig from the soothing liquid and crawled under the covers to sleep.

***

Alain slumped back into the seat of the Silth pod. 'It's gone. Finally.'

Asitha chuckled and put a full plate of the best food they had in front of him. 'I have to admit I'm glad it's gone as well, it's just better when it's the three of us.'

He chuckled. 'Yeah, I missed you two.' he said and sniffed the scent of the fried meat. 'And after that, decent cooking, good liquor, and watching movies on a good media system.'

Tiness giggled. 'At least we come first.'

He smiled. 'There's no way you wouldn't come first. Besides, if I make you hate me I won't get to use that fantastic shower of yours.'

'Jerk!' said Tiness and hissed playfully at him.

Asitha hit his shoulder. 'Just so you know, we only tolerate you because we can use your kitchen.'

Alain sniggered. 'Sounds like we're already the best of roommates.' he said and took another bite. 'Might as well hook up my pod to yours so we don't need to cross the ships each time.'

Tiness imagined the situation and excitement filled her stomach. She liked the idea of the three of them hanging around together in their free time without the hassle of going back and forth. She glanced at Asitha and knew she'd been thinking along the same lines. Asitha tapped one claw on the table. 'Would that even be technically possible?'

'Hmm?' said Alain. 'I saw hatch adapters on the Walkurea to link between our and your ship's airlocks and hatches for boarding purposes, I'm sure there are some on the Amaroth as well.' He gestured at the crew pod side and the opposite side. 'Both of our pods have opposite hatches that can be linked with such an adapter. Power systems aren't compatible but since they're redundant there's no reason to connect those. If needed we could always wire up a connection from one side to the other.' He looked up in thought. 'The whole thing is actually quite easy to set up now that I think about it. If there are cross sections on board as well it's even possible to connect four pods together.' He drew with his finger on the table. 'Hook them up in a cross with an adapter if needed and two can be used as bedrooms to separate sleeping from the rest. One could create a whole community home by linking pods through these cross sections. The possibilities are nearly endless because they can also be stacked and you can go up and down along the ladders inside them.'

Asitha looked at Tiness. 'I think four will be enough. That would give each of us one pod with private space for ourselves when we keep Alain's for everyday use.'

Alain nodded. 'That would cover all our needs, yes.' he said and took another bite, then almost choked when the meaning of her words became clear. She pat his back until he swallowed his bite and breathed freely again. 'You'd like to hook our pods together and build a shared home for us three!?'

Asitha grinned. 'You said it yourself, there are advantages to living together.'

Alain looked at Tiness, who nodded a little and blushed. 'I was only thinking of the technical aspects. Doing it means we'll live together as two different species.'

'Aren't we already living together in a way?' said Asitha. 'You come over here to relax in the shower, we come over to cook, eat, and relax on your couch.'

Alain looked at his plate. 'Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm so used to the current situation it doesn't feel like the life altering decision of going from living on my own to sharing a home.' He chuckled. 'I guess it won't make much of a difference apart from eliminating the current inconveniences.'

Asitha leaned back in her seat. 'All right, let's find out if we can find two more suitable pods and build a new home for ourselves.'

***

The three went around together on the warships and found another suitable emergency pod on both the Walkurea and the Amaroth, and the cross sections with several hatch adapters. To create a sense of neutral ground and keep things easy for everyone, the four large pods were connected like a four leaf clover above the wreckage of the impact, with the two original crew pods on top of them connected through the two cross sections at the centre. Alain fixed the nearby connections to the Walkurea for backup power and air supply while Asitha and Tiness did the same on the Amaroth for backup power.

Asitha inhaled deep in their newly built home. 'This is so much better than the synthetic scrubbers.'

'Definitely.' said Alain. 'I'll show you the two gardens that I revived to get this naturally fresh air later.'

Tiness chuckled. 'You won't have to smell our animal scent everywhere now.'

'Oh, I didn't mind.' he said. 'I even thought it was somewhat comforting, reminding me again of my young days with the cats around the house.'

She blushed and Asitha sniggered. 'And now you have once again a home with two large cats.'

He grinned. 'Yeah, life is good.'

***

'Home again!' said Alain when he entered the living, as they decided to call it, days later.

'Hey.' said Asitha while she updated the inventory for their cargo drone. 'Had a good catch?'

'Just one set of valves that gave me trouble because all the high pressure pipes were bent and put force on them, the rest was easy. I had plenty of time to tend to the garden but now I'm covered with dirt.' he said and chuckled at his black fingernails. 'I never imagined I'd be digging in the dirt in space.'

Asitha chuckled. 'You can use my shower, Tiness is returning soon.'

'Thanks.' he said, picked up fresh clothes from his new personal pod, and went to the pod formerly used by both girls and which had been turned into Asitha's personal pod. He entered the shower and relaxed in the weightless mist of water.

Tiness climbed down the ladder later. 'I'm done.'

'The two circuits?' asked Asitha.

'Stored in the cargo pod. The container was full enough to load it.'

'Good work.'

'I'm going to freshen up.' Tiness said and headed for her pod. 'I'm getting hungry.' She took a quick dry air shower where streams of air blew through her fur, then began brushing herself.. 'Shaz!' she cursed when the handle of her brush came loose. She pushed it back but it came loose again, laid it aside, put on a fresh shirt, and went to Asitha's pod. 'I'm going to borrow your brush, mine just broke.' she said to Asitha.

'All right.' said Asitha while she calculated the yield from the Amaroth for the period. She looked up at once when she realised what Tiness did. 'Wait! Alain is in the shower!'

Tiness didn't need the warning any more when Alain stepped out of the shower. He covered himself quickly with his towel. 'Not again.' he sighed.

'I, was just borrowing Asitha's brush.' Tiness said as she blushed. She picked up the brush quickly from the shelf next to Alain, and hurried out.

Asitha almost bumped into her and chuckled at her embarrassed face. 'I guess you just found out what I saw that time before.'

Alain walked out of her pod. 'Don't blame me for any nightmares you'll get.'

Asitha sniggered. 'Who said we'd get nightmares? Maybe it's you who has to worry about that.'

He grinned as he passed her. 'Being seen naked by two pretty female creatures won't give me nightmares. That only brings me pleasant dreams.'

Asitha chuckled but blushed just as much as Tiness while she returned to the couch.

His remark came back to him when they were lounging after their meal and he realised how easygoing the girls had become around him. They laid their tails across his lap for him to stroke and casually leaned against him as if they had always done so, and it had felt just as natural to him lately. Coming back to their shared pods after work on the Walkurea had really become coming home for him and the girls were an important part of it. He glanced at Tiness and Asitha giggling at the animated superhero getting stretched to her limit and the stronger pounding in his chest made him aware of what had sneaked up on him. He couldn't deny that he'd become very attracted to the both of them. He took a gulp from his drink deciding he'd just wait and see how things would unfold over time.

***

Alain hummed at the mess inside a first aid medical bay in the Walkurea. The control systems he had to retrieve were located at the back wall but the corner where he needed to be was full of equipment thrown there by the impact. He was glad it was the last task on his list and he put his tool case aside and began clearing the debris to reach the panel in the wall. Many smaller items like desk equipment, sample holders, small cases, and handheld scanners went flying through the medical bay when he pulled larger equipment away But didn't get in the way of doing his job and he returned home by the time he'd expected.

The soft sound of grating glass caught his attention when he stored his tool case and he opened it up. 'Crap.' he said at the shards of a vial in one corner. "Must have drifted into the open case while I was busy." he thought and cleaned up the box before going down.

Tiness smiled when he went to the kitchen corner, lured by the smell. 'I found a stew recipe in one of the cook books and wanted to try it with what we have.'

He took a deep whiff of the scent from the large pan. 'I'm sure it'll taste as good as it smells.' he said and chuckled. 'I almost feel sorry for all the men who miss out on this but I'm selfish enough to want to keep these things for myself.' He stole a slice of tomato. 'And Asitha of course. I don't think I would have left our solar system if I'd met you two before at my home town.'

Tiness smiled and continued while Alain went to fill out his report for the day. "I might have not left either." she thought.

***

'That was delicious.' said Alain after wiping his bowl clean with a piece of space bread. It wasn't exactly like real freshly baked bread but it was close enough and it could be preserved for a long time, which is why it was used in space where there was no access to the ingredients to make the real thing. 'I'm looking forward to the next thing you'll try.'

Tiness giggled. 'I don't know if it'll turn out good again.'

'You spoiled us with this so it'll have to.' he said and gave her a wink.

She chuckled and poked his side. 'Better watch out you won't turn into a large blob.'

'I don't mind as long as I can eat this well.'

'What was that movie called again? The blob from outer space?' asked Asitha and smirked.

'Don't diss culturally important movies!' said Alain and grinned, then remembered one item he'd packed when he left Earth. 'I just remembered something.'

The girls watched him gather their dirty dishes, dump them at the kitchen, leave for his pod, and return not much later with a small blue box. He pulled a data disk from the box, inserted it into the media system, and gave each of them a pair of gloves and short socks.

'I was reminded of one of the first games that I played many a night until the morning whenever I could.' he said while he donned his gloves and pulled the short socks over his feet. 'It's a fantasy science fiction game and one of the monsters you need to defeat to level up are slimes. Those space blobs come in small and large sizes.' He noticed the blank stares at him. 'It'll be easier to explain by showing you.' he said and activated the game. 'I'll skip to the moment where we as a group begin our adventure. The intro tells you you're on your own, or in this case one of a group of friends, who are hunted because they'd been sent an ancient artefact by a father who hasn't been seen since childhood. The goal is to evade the hunters while growing stronger and gaining weapons by performing tasks for the lifeforms we meet during our travels through a giant maze world. Eventually we'll learn the truth and what we need to do to save not just ourselves, but more.'

The screen flashed to a dim, steel hall with broken equipment and components from electronics and machinery strewn around and the view of three figures in casual clothing. Alain shuffled his feet and the middle one moved forward. 'To walk, you just need to press forward with your feet as if you're walking.' He leaned forward and reached out to the floor. On screen the figure picked up a piece of pipe. 'The gloves control the hands.' He made a throwing motion and the pipe flew forward. 'Go ahead and try it. This is a safe spot to try out moving and when you get the hang of it, I can show you how to change your character to any of the species available in the game.'

Asitha and Tiness moved around and quickly found out they could throw stuff at each other without the character getting hurt, and laughed out loud while trying to defeat Alain, who evaded and tripped them easily.

He grinned wide when the girls gave up eventually and panted slightly from the effort. 'All right, looks like you got the hang of using the controls, now we can customize our characters.'

The screen split in three views, one above the other two side by side, and he guided them through the options, and Tiness chose a slender, fair skinned alien species with seductive curves and a tight black outfit, while Asitha chose a clunky buff robot, its dark paint job faded by time, rust, and grime, and Alain chose a humanoid species with a half canine face, large pointy ears, and a long, thick tail. The shape of its chest underneath the tank top left no doubt about the gender. 'You play a female character?' asked Asitha.

'Of course.' said Alain while he chose shades of blue for the character's furry legs, arms, ears, and hair. 'I told you I prefer looking at females. They're much cuter.'

Asitha chuckled. 'Even my character?'

He smiled. 'This robot species is genderless, but even then, knowing it's you behind it makes it much better.'

The robot on screen moved as she punched him playfully against his shoulder. 'Just as long as it's female, eh?'

He shrugged. 'I'm not complex.' he said and chuckled. He looked at Tiness. 'Why this species?'

Tiness smiled a little at her character. 'She's completely the opposite of me and I wanted to be like that in the game.'

'I see. Although I don't think cute and sexy are opposites.'

Tiness blushed but before she could say anything, Alain activated the first scene and armed troopers in black rushed on the screen. 'It's impossible to fight these, so run!' he said and quickly shuffled his feet to make his character run.

Asitha and Tiness quickly followed and fixed their attention to their characters as they fled the scene and ran through narrow corridors, stairwells, and watering systems.

***

'I can't hold out much longer!' groaned Asitha while she pinned the four-legged, elephant sized and white creature against a wall.

'Just a little more!' panted Tiness as she restrained the four chubby limbs growing out of the wailing creature's front with her coding magic forcefield.

Alain jumped up via thick pipes running along the wall towards the flat head with two eyes on each side of the hole that was its nose, and rammed his short, black carbon sword into the top of the creatures skull with a loud, sickening crack. The girls jumped back as the creature's wail faded and slumped forward, and Alain jumped away just before it struck the floor with a deep and dull thud.

'We did it!' cheered Tiness and hugged Alain tight. 'We beat it!'

'That was exhilarating!' said Asitha and slumped against the both of them in a tired hug. 'First that battle against those nimble and deadly service droids, then this monster.' She stretched and groaned. 'It's been a long time since I moved this much, even if we did most from the couch.'

Alain chuckled. 'I know how you feel. I think this is even more strenuous than using the exercise harness. The game entices you to get up more from the couch with each challenge.'

Tiness sighed. 'I will definitely not wake up before the next shift.'

'I'm sure I'll feel all my muscles later.' Alain said while he stroked their backs. 'But the fun's worth it.' He chuckled. 'It's even more fun than when I found the loophole and blasted through the game with an overpowered character.'

'I vote we do this more often instead of the mandated exercises.' said Asitha. 'This is much better as well as more fun.'

'I agree!' said Tiness. 'It won't be long before I feel more fit than ever before if we do this daily.' She looked up at Alain. 'Can we?'

Alain smiled. 'This game can generate a crap load of different opponents so there's plenty to fight. Even then, I have several more games that will get your body moving.' He looked up. 'And this is a nice motivation as well.'

Asitha and Tiness pondered for a second before they both realised what he meant. 'Is that so, eh?' said Asitha and hugged him tight. 'You want more?'

He laughed as he tensed to counter her tight embrace. 'I give! I give!' he said and grinned when she let go. 'At least until I gain a bit more strength.'

She poked his chest and smirked. 'That sounds like a challenge.'

Alain chuckled. 'I'll go train for it right away. I might just like that more than gaming.'

She smiled deviously and stretched. 'This is it for me though, I'm going to enjoy a very good sleep.'

Tiness yawned. 'Same here.'

'Then I bid you lovely partners in this adventure sweet dreams.' said Alain. 'If you] re attacked by drones or monsters though, you know whom to call for help.'

The girls giggled and went to their pods while Alain poured himself one last drink to settle down while he still felt their embraces and tried to block the thought of how their fur would feel against his skin. He downed the drink quickly and went to his pod before they'd see his growing physical condition.

Asitha sat on the edge of her bed and giggled. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid.' she said to herself while she rubbed her thighs, then sighed and rolled onto the bed, giggling softly until she fell asleep.

Tiness clutched her thick tail in front of her as she laid on her back in bed, smiling softly while smelling the faint scent of Alain in her fur from all the stroking he'd done.

***

'There! Don't let it get away!' said Alain to Tiness.

'Got it!' Tiness said while she sent a quantum blast from her hand to the last of the large woodlouse looking creatures that had attacked a group of people.

Asitha giggled at the dishevelled state of her robot frame and the clothes on Tiness and Alain. 'That's some damage we took. You hardly have anything left to cover you.'

Alain stood proud. 'And this is why I play female characters. I have no desire to look at some bulky frame of an oversized male when I can enjoy the one perk of a rough fight.'

Tiness laughed at the stance of the female whose private parts were barely hidden behind the convenient remains of her clothes. 'That just looks so wrong.'

'Hey, I'm not afraid to show off my assets.'

Asitha took a swig from her glass. 'I think you might've been drinking too much during the game.' she said and sniggered.

Alain grinned wide. 'Meh, you're just jealous because you have none to flaunt around.' he said, then noticed the furry pet of the people jumping around merrily in Tiness's direction. 'Watch out! It's going to jump up at you!'

Tiness looked up from her tattered outfit just as the animal jumped at her and filled the screen. She yelped as she tripped backwards from the surprise.

'Ouch!' she said as she rubbed her behind, then saw the shocked stares of Asitha and Alain. She looked down at herself to see her shirt had folded up to her waist and exposed her.

'You're, not..?' said Asitha softly.

Tears flew as Tiness jumped up fast and rushed to her pod.

Alain sat down. "I'm attracted to a.." he thought. "But so much cuteness, it couldn't be.." He looked up at Asitha staring towards the entrance and slowly removing her gloves. 'You didn't know? Not even a suspicion?'

She looked at him. 'No one told me, and as far as I know all Tiness's information states gender as female.' she said and looked at the entrance again. 'They would've never sent a male and female couple here in the first place. Nothing in her behaviour hinted at her secret.'

'What do we do now?'

'Maybe it's better to wait and give her time.'

Alain nodded and stood up. 'Yeah. It's time to sleep anyway.'

Asitha nodded lightly. 'Sleep tight.' she said and went to her pod.

'You too.' said Alain and went to his, pausing for a moment to stare at Tiness's door. He crawled into bed thinking about every moment they had touched each other and could not fit what they'd discovered with Tiness. He also couldn't set aside what he felt for Tiness. He groaned and stuffed a pillow in his face when he knew he he had no interest in men but Tiness still seemed as cute as always to him. He sighed and went over the whole of the game from the time when he had finished it on his own to keep his mind busy until he could fall asleep.

06 - Steadfast Support

'Tiness?' asked Asitha and knocked on her door. 'How're you feeling?' She knocked again and looked back at Alain when there was no reply.

'She wouldn't do something radical, right?' he asked.

'There's an automated alarm when the environmental system detects a sudden change in people.' Asitha said and moved away from the door. 'She likely shut off the door control because she can't face us just yet.'

Alain sighed. 'How do you feel about all this?'

'I'm not sure. I can't say if things feel different for me now.'

Alain stared at the work list in his hand. 'Yeah, same here.'

Asitha looked at him. 'Our males would be furious. You don't feel that way?'

He looked at her. 'I just feel a little lost because I thought I got to know a little about her. Now I don't know how much secrets she has.'

Asitha nodded. 'Not much use sitting around and worrying.' she said. 'I'm going to do some work for now.'

Alain looked at his list again. 'I'm going to get some work done as well. Maybe she'll come out in the meantime.'

Asitha nodded and went up the ladder to get her suit. 'See you later.'

'Later.' Alain said and went to the kitchen to see what he could pick up from the Walkurea on the way back.

***

Alain looked in the direction of Tiness's pod at the end of the next day. 'Still nothing?'

Asitha shook her head.'

'But it's been two days now.' sighed Alain. 'She must be hungry.'

Asitha smiled a little. 'I think I can imagine her shame. Silth like her are shunned and harassed in our world. I'm glad you still call her a she.'

Alain sat back in the couch. 'Well, technically she's not, but I can only think of her as female. Her whole personality is just that, and although in her own way, but I still think she's just as cute as you.'

Asitha blushed a little. 'I think that's part of why she's ashamed and frightened, you are the resident male and even if you're not Silth, she has probably only known hardship from males.'

Alain nodded.

Asitha fiddled with the tip of her tail. 'I'm afraid for her.'

Alain looked at her. 'Why? Could she still decide to do something bad to herself?'

She nodded. 'Most Silth like her end it sooner or later because they can't cope with life any longer.

Alain sat upright at once. 'Then we have to do something!'

'She won't answer the door buzzer. She's likely afraid of our reaction.'

Alain stood up. 'Is there a way to open the door?'

'I'm not sure.'

'What about emergencies?'

Asitha looked up at him. 'Oh! There is an override in case of emergencies and power loss.'

'Can you trigger an emergency?'

She pondered for a moment. 'Yes, I can trigger a test mode of the controls.' she said and stood up in front of Alain. 'I'll need you to cut the power at that moment to the door and short the lock before it resets.'

He took a deep breath in relief. 'Good. But first we need to do something else.'

***

'Ready?' asked Asitha after she prepared the emergency test mode.

'Good to go.' said Alain at the exposed control circuitry of Tiness's pod.

'Here we go.' Asitha said and typed commands on her tablet. The lights inside her pod went out and a couple of buzzers went off. Alain cut the power relay to the door and stuck a screwdriver between two pins on the circuit board. The zap and tiny flash were followed by a metallic clink and Alain pushed with his flat hands against the door. It slid open with a little effort and Tiness stared in horror at the shadowy figure of Alain in her doorway.

He spotted her curled up on her bed and she pressed herself back against the wall at the first step he took inside. In the light from the doorway he saw her red eyes and the mess of her face. For a moment Alain kept in mind that she might lash out at him in fear but she hid her face in her arms and tucked her tail tight around her as she whimpered softly. 'You've had two days to cry, you're done now.' he said.

Tiness gasped and her heart raced when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the bed. There was little resistance she could put up while her whole being trembled in fear of what was to come. They would punish her for hiding the truth, just like her father and mother had done when they found out her true nature after they discovered her hidden clothes and banned books, and her diary with the things she couldn't talk about. They had thrown her out and it was pure luck that she met others like her on the outskirts of the city. She was relatively safe with them until a raid by young males destroyed the place they lived in and left everyone beaten and badly wounded.

Her fear was painful, but not as much as the guilt for betraying the two people that had trusted her and were her friends. Tears ran down her sticky cheeks while she thought she deserved what was coming to her. She couldn't even ask for forgiveness.

Alain pulled her with him to the couch and sat her down. He went to the kitchen and she feared he'd come back with a knife or anything else to hurt her. She wanted to curl up into a tight ball again but her trembling body wouldn't listen to her.

When he came back he put a tray with a full plate with her favourite foods on it on her lap, and sat down next to her with Asitha at his other side as usual. She turned on a movie and they started on their own meal.

Tiness trembled even harder from the shock of a normal routine getting pushed onto her. They didn't treat her like trash, they didn't yell at her, called her names, or hurt her.

Alain looked at her crying in her fists. 'Hey, I said you're done crying. There's no reason to feel sad or anything.'

Tiness shook her head and a her mouth quivered a smile and the words stuck in her throat. 'I'm happy.'

Alain pulled her head against him and he pet her while she cried until relief flushed all fear from her mind.

***

By the time the movie ended Tiness had finished her meal with some effort because her hands still trembled a little from the stress of the previous days. The comedy had helped to take her mind off of it and she felt like she could breathe again. Asitha poured her a drink and she took it with two hands to prevent spilling it or dropping the glass. The familiar warmth filled her and it calmed her down further. She glanced sideways at Alain and Asitha relaxing like usual. 'Thank you.' she said softly with her hoarse voice.

'Don't thank us.' said Alain and smiled a little mischievously. 'You have kitchen and laundry duty to catch up to. 'And you'd better give it your all on the next retrieval mission we have to undertake.

Tiness almost snorted her drink through her nose and rubbed it as it tingled furiously inside while she laughed. 'Yeah, I do.' She took a deep breath and let it out, and looked down with flattened ears.. 'I wouldn't have blamed you if you hated me.'

'Nonsense.' said Asitha. 'Although I don't have it as bad as you do, as a female I do understand some of how you must feel. I've heard of some of the things that have happened.' She laid her hand on Alain's thigh. 'And Alain isn't at all like our males, he's been very worried about you as well.'

Tiness glanced at him while her heart beat a little faster. 'Really?'

He blushed a little. 'I just can't have dear friends feel bad.'

Tiness smiled. 'Thank you, both of you.'

Asitha took a deep breath. 'I guess it's my turn now.' she said and Tiness and Asitha looked a little puzzled at her and she gripped the hem of her shirt. 'I've been afraid of showing this for a long time but it's nothing compared to what you had to hide.' Her heart pounded and her hands trembled slightly but she told herself she'd better show them now than being exposed later on. She lifted her shirt and exposed her belly.

Tiness gasped as she and Alain saw the wide, white and red scar of burned flesh that ran in a slight arch from her lower abdomen to her left breast.

'I was in an accident when I was young.' Asitha said softly. 'Ever since then I've been bullied and called ugly. Especially by males.'

'Utter nonsense.'

She looked at Alain, who frowned.

'This doesn't make any difference to who you are.' he said. 'To me you're still cute, regardless of this scar or not. Any male that can't look more than skin deep, or in your case, fur deep, is a complete idiot.'

Asitha looked at Tiness smiling and nodding, and blushed and chuckled. 'I hoped I had nothing to worry about.'

Alain looked away. 'But you should still cover yourself, you're a girl after all.'

She noticed his red face and pulled her shirt down fast, blushing even harder. He took a deep breath and grabbed the remote. 'That's enough about that.' he said and pulled up the playlist. 'Since we don't have enough energy to play we'll just fill our time with merry movies.'

Some time later, Asitha and Alain weren't surprised to see Tiness had fallen asleep against him. 'Can you carry her?' Asitha whispered. 'I'll replace her pillows and bed cover.'

He lifted her carefully in his arms but she mumbled softly while he moved to her pod. 'Shhh, sleep, Tiness.' he whispered. She rubbed her cheek against him and Asitha chuckled softly.

'We were really lucky to have met you instead of a couple of males that dislike us Silth.'

He blushed slightly while he laid Tiness on her bed. 'I just think I was lucky that I didn't have to deal with a couple of Silth males not unlike human males.' he chuckled softly. 'I guess we're even now.'

Asitha smiled softly at Tiness while Alain tucked a pillow under her head. They left the pod but looked back for a moment at the doorway. 'Will things change?' Asitha asked.

'Honestly, I don't know.' said Alain. 'A big secret has spilled and we'll just have to go on and see what happens.'

Asitha nodded and gave him a hug. 'Sweet dreams.' she said and stepped into her own pod. Alain went to bed but stayed awake for a while, trying to figure out how he felt about Tiness.

***

'Hey.' said Tiness as she woke up and entered the living and found Alain in the kitchen fixing something to eat.

He smiled at her while he opened a container with fruit. 'Sleep well?'

She pulled on the lower front of her shirt and nodded a little.

He held up the container. 'Want some too?'

She nodded and smiled a little. 'Please.'

He put the container on the counter. 'Don't stand there like a shy schoolgirl, I'm not going to bite or anything.'

Tiness hurried over and made herself a bowl of fruit and meat. Alain chuckled. 'Be yourself, that's all Asitha and I expect of you.'

'I'm not used to this.' Tiness said. 'The only other time where I could be myself was with my friends at home who were like me. Before we..'

Alain watched her smile fade as she stared down. He pat her head. 'That's behind you now. Nothing you can change about that. As far as I'm concerned we'll live comfortably together here with the three of us, and if they decide to stop this project I'd like it if we could find a new place together.'

She looked up at him. 'Together!?'

'If you'd be willing to put with a human and Asitha.' he said and chuckled. 'I'm not really good with people but I like to be around you two.'

She smiled. 'I'd like that.'

Asitha came up behind them and put her arms around their waists. 'What're you talking about and what're you making?'

Alain put a small cut of dried meat in her mouth. 'I said if we ever have to leave this place I'd like to find a new place to live with the both of you.'

Asitha looked at him with big eyes. 'Really?'

He nodded. 'Maybe I just want to keep cute creatures around me for as long as possible.'

Asitha sniggered. 'Trying to be the mighty male like in your movies?'

He shrugged. 'One of the few aspects of the male heroes I can agree with.'

Asitha leaned her head close to Tiness. 'Maybe we should rethink our evaluation of this human male. Seems he does have some resemblances to our Silth males.'

Tiness giggled. 'If it's just that, I don't mind staying with Alain.'

Asitha sighed. 'Then I'd better stay as well to keep an eye on things. Make sure he behaves.'

Alain smirked. 'Admit it, you want to stay for my cooking.'

Asitha huffed. 'Fine, I admit it.' she said and poked his back. 'So you better keep making tasty things.'

Alain handed her one of the bowls he made. 'It's settled then, I'm living out my life with two big cats.'

Asitha growled playfully, Careful, two very big cats can be dangerous.'

'Rowr.' said Alain and the girls giggled as they went to the couch.

***

Tiness gazed at Alain a few days later. 'Are you all right?'

He looked up from his inventory sheet. 'Just a little tired from the debris I had to clear today. Why?'

She narrowed her eyes. 'Your eyes and face look a little redder.'

He gave her a smile. 'I'm thinking of taking a nap after I'm done with this, that'll recharge me.'

She nodded. 'Then we'll see you later. We're working near the rear of the ship this shift.' she said and left for the airlock above.

When she and Asitha returned at the end of the shift they found the living empty. 'Alain?' said Asitha.

'His suit is here.' said Tiness. 'He can't be outside.'

Asitha peeked through his pod's doorway and saw him sprawled on his stomach on the bed. 'Alain?' With no reaction from him she hurried inside. 'Alain?' she said again and touched his red cheek. Her heart pounded at the warmth of his face. 'Tiness! Something's wrong with Alain!'

He groaned and blinked his eyes while Tiness hurried inside. 'Asitha? What is it?'

She frowned. 'You don't look good.'

He rolled onto his back slowly while his muscles ached and a headache pounded against his temples. 'That would fit with how I feel.' he groaned. 'Looks like I caught some space bug.' He chuckled once before his headache stopped him.

Asitha propped him up with extra pillows in his back. 'Where's your medical analyser?'

He gave a nod towards a corner of the pod. 'The medical supply chest over there.'

Tiness retrieved it and strapped the band around his lower arm. The device ticked several times and displayed a short list on its screen. 'Highest probability, the flu.'

Alain chuckled once and groaned. 'Something stupid as that.'

'But how did you get infected?' asked Asitha.

Alain thought as far as he could manage through the jumbled mess of his mind, then he remembered. 'I found shards of a broken vial in my tool box a while ago. I thought it had drifted inside while I cleared a medical bay. It must've contained a pathogen.'

'The device prescribes extra vitamins and plenty of rest.' said Tiness.

'Still the only known remedy.' said Alain. 'Looks like our adventure game's on hold for now.'

Asitha chuckled. 'If that's the worst you're worried about I'm sure things will turn out fine.'

Alain smiled a little. 'Not the first time I battled with this foe.'

Asitha looked at Tiness. 'Except this time you have two partners to nurse you.'

Tiness chuckled. 'Yes, and we know what to do from the movies we saw.'

Alain saw the images of the comedies rush before his eyes. 'Please don't! I want to live!'

Tiness stuck out her tongue. 'Just kidding.' she said. 'I'll make you something nutritious and easy to eat.'

Alain sighed. 'Thanks. I'll try to sleep until then.'

When Tiness returned she sat on the edge of the bed looking at Alain's sleeping face for a moment, before putting her hand on his chest and gently shaking him to wake him up. He rubbed his eyes and smiled sleepily at her. 'Smells good.' he whispered. 'I feel better already.'

She put the tray with a hearty soup and soft bread on his lap. 'I can make lots more if that'll cure you.'

He chuckled once. 'Just not all at once.' he said and carefully sipped from his spoon.

Tiness looked around his room, thinking how despite the apparent mess of different crates, they were all organised by similar content like electronic parts, books and portable media, clothes, everyday items for use in the bathroom, kitchen, and any useful item he had found while going around the Walkurea. She though to mention it to Asitha and do the same on the Amaroth, although there probably wouldn't be much left since the Silth took few belongings with them on a mission, unlike humans who preferred to keep personal items around. She sighed at the memory of losing photos and videos from the people she had met when her portable was destroyed by a group that harassed her before she managed to get her last job.

'What's wrong?' Alain whispered.

She gave him a quick smile. 'Just something from the past. It doesn't matter.'

'Okay, but if you want to talk about things that bother you, I, and I'm sure Asitha as well, are here for you.'

'Thank you.' she said and stood up to counter the urge to crawl up to him and hold him. 'I'll pick up the tray later. There's the laundry waiting for me.'

Alain sipped his soup while wishing he hadn't been too sick to give her a tight reassuring hug.

***

Alain woke up much later with Asitha sleeping next to him. He stared at her sleeping face for a while, then chuckled silently. "What are you doing here?" he thought. "You're really like a domestic cat sleeping with its owner."

He looked at the doorway when he saw movement in the faint light and gazed at Tiness. 'I'm sorry.' she whispered as she came inside. 'Asitha said she'd check up on you before going to bed but she must've been so tired she fell asleep here. I'll take her to her own bed.'

'It's okay, I don't mind.' Alain whispered. 'If she's that tired let her sleep.'

Tiness nodded. 'How are you feeling?'

'Still tired, but I think the headache and fever are lessening.'

She smiled a little. 'I'm glad.' she said, looked at Asitha, and then at Alain again. She pulled on the hem of her shirt. 'I'll go back to my bed then.'

Alain noticed her looking at Asitha again and her ears drooping. 'You want to sleep here with us?' he asked and her ears went up quickly.

'Would that be all right? I mean, you know, I'm not..' she muttered and her ears drooped again.

Alain raised an eyebrow. 'I'm offering, aren't I? Or do you doubt me?'

She quickly shook her head.

He pat on the empty side of the bed. 'Enough room for one more.'

She smiled and laid down next to him. 'Thank you.'

'No need.' he whispered and yawned. 'Sweet dreams.'

'Sweet dreams.' she whispered and closed her eyes, hoping the beating of her heart wouldn't keep her awake.

***

Tiness woke up slowly while realising where she was. "Oh shaz!" she thought while trying to keep her heartbeat under control. "I took his arm and snuggled up against him in my sleep! He won't like that!" She pulled back carefully pretending to wake up clueless in case Alain woke up, and gently pulled her tail that had curled up on his hips from underneath his arm. She glanced at him and was glad he was still asleep, and got out of bed. She looked at Asitha, who'd snuggled up in the same way on his other side. "He won't mind her.' Her chest tightened and she left to get ready for the shift and take her mind off of things.

Asitha woke up soon after and pressed herself against Alain's arm as she stretched, then chuckled silently when she noticed what she had done. She smiled softly at his sleeping face and slipped her tail from underneath his arm. She touched his cheek and thought his temperature had gone down. She would check it later when he was awake and slipped from the bed. She heard noise from Tiness's pod. "Ah, she's awake." she thought and headed for her own pod. "I'd better begin on the meal since she'll take the shift while I stay here with Alain."

Alain slowly let out his breath and pushed himself up while his bladder nearly burst. He just couldn't disturb the girls and wake them up while they slept and he felt so good between their warm and soft bodies. He was also glad he was too sick for the usual physical state to occur in the morning and them seeing it.

He sat on the side of his bed when Asitha came in a little later. 'How is it now?' she asked.

He sighed. 'A little better but I feel dirty and am trying to find the energy to take a shower in my bathroom.'

She sniffed the air. 'Indeed.'

'Don't smell me!' he said and she laughed at his flustered face.

She smirked. 'Don't worry, we're already used to your human scent. Our nose is more refined than yours.'

He blushed at the thought of just how much of him they could small and stood up. 'All the more reason for me to take a shower.' he said and stood up, but his legs disagreed and he wobbled on his feet.

Asitha quickly put her arms around him. 'I'll help you.'

He blushed even more. 'I'll be fine, you don't have to.'

'And risk you slipping in the wet shower and breaking your neck? I don't think so.'

He knew she was right but there was another risk if she joined him. 'I'll feel embarrassed to have you help me.' he muttered as he looked away.

She chuckled. 'You have a case of the human pride?'

The sensation of her body against his reached his limit. 'No, I'm a man and you're a woman and that might make things awkward.'

This time it was Asitha who blushed. She hadn't thought about that but seeing him naked would have obviously pointed it out to her. 'Ehm, yeah.' she said. 'But then you can't get in by yourself.' Her own lingering hesitation to show her bare fur, especially to the one male she might allow into her life was another reason for things to become awkward, but she wanted to help him. 'How about I'll stay at your back so you won't see me and I won't see you?'

Alain couldn't think of another way, especially not while his head was still stuffed and painful. 'All right.'

She helped him towards the small bathroom of the pod and pulled up his shirt, then pulled down the shorts he'd slept in while he held on to the rungs at the side and felt even more embarrassed.

Asitha blushed at seeing him naked again while the memory of their first encounter popped up. She suppressed it and focussed on helping him through his illness.

Alain turned the faucet and jets of warm water sprayed him from the sides, two in front and two from behind. 'Are you okay with the temperature?' he asked.

'It's fine.' Asitha said but the warm water accidentally set too high caused a wave of light-headedness over him and he swayed backwards. 'Alain!' she said and pulled him tight against her.

'It's okay.' he said when the dizzy spell faded. 'It's just from feeling weak right now.'

'All right.' Asitha sighed and loosened her embrace a little, but still kept her arms around him.

Her fur and soft forms pressed against his back and he realised she had taken off her shirt as well. His imagination teased him but he was glad it had little physical effect on him, even if the willingness was there. 'You can let go now.' he said when he gained enough control over his legs to stand on his own.

Asitha let go of him slowly. 'I'll rinse your back.'

'Thank you. I wouldn't be able to reach it now by myself.' he said and her gentle touch moving along his back almost made him wish he could be sick for a little while longer. "I'm more in need of a cold shower." he thought and tensed suddenly when her hands moved down his behind.

'Sorry.' she said. 'Is that painful?'

He shook his head. 'No, just a little ticklish because that area is a bit more sensitive for humans.'

'I'll be more careful.' she said and rinsed him more gentle while he thought that made it actually even worse.

He rinsed his face and front while she did his legs up to his thighs. She bumped her hand lightly against his private parts and he tensed again. 'Sorry,' she said again and blushed.

'Don't worry.' he said. 'Thanks for doing all this.'

She smiled a little. 'Just glad to help.'

She helped him dry off and walk to the couch because he didn't feel like staying in bed, even if he could sleep more.

'I'll go change your pillows and covers.' she said and went back to his pod. She picked up one of the pillows and his scent wafted over her, and her heart pounded harder at once. A flash of warmth washed over her and she clutched the pillow to her chest. "Shaz." she thought. "What's wrong with me?" His scent was irresistible to her and she inhaled it slowly with her nose in his pillow. "He's not even Silth." With some effort she let go, collected the rest, and placed it in the washing machine. Leaning with her back against the machine she sighed and put her hand on her belly. "If he can accept Tiness, I certainly won't have to feel ashamed either, right?"

Alain gave her a tired smile when she returned. 'I'll return the favour to you girls when I feel better, so think of what you'd like.'

She smiled mischievously at him. 'There's not much to do here, but I'm sure we can think of something.'

He chuckled once. 'Just remember, I need to feel better first.'

***

When Tiness returned from her shift she found Asitha reading on the couch with Alain dozing against her shoulder. 'Good timing.' Asitha said and beckoned Tiness closer. 'I need to go but I didn't want to wake him up. Go sit here.'

'Would that be all right?' Tiness said. 'I don't know if he'd like to sleep against me.'

Asitha chuckled softly. 'Get over here, I'm not able to hold back for long.'

Tiness, supported Alain so Asitha could stand up, and took her place with Alain leaning his head against her soft shoulder. She blushed and her heart beat faster while she hoped he wouldn't wake up and dislike being so close to her instead of Asitha. She sighed softly and hoped Asitha would finish quickly and take her place again.

Asitha returned but went to the kitchen instead. 'Aren't you going to sit here again?' Tiness whisper shouted.

'I'm going to prepare the next meal.'

'But, I can do that.'

'It's fine, you relax now. Besides, I need to move around after sitting still for so long.' Asitha said and stuck her head in the food storage to see what she'd make this time.

Tiness fiddled with her thumbs while looking around for something to distract her worries with. She ended up browsing through the media list and eventually switched between two movies, reading the descriptions.

'Outsider's pretty good and features a lot of nature. Twin Hills is more indoors.'

'Ah, thanks.' Tiness said, chose Outsider, and stiffened. 'You're awake?'

Alain yawned and sat upright. 'Yeah. I thought I fell asleep against Asitha.'

Tiness looked down at the remote. 'Asitha needed to go and had me take her place only a minute ago.'

Asitha arrived with drinks. 'How're you feeling now?'

He gave her a sleepy smile. 'Better again. Seems like sleeping while being snuggled up does the trick every time.' he said, then blushed.

Asitha chuckled. 'So, you were already awake before.'

He nodded. 'Yeah, I woke up a little before Tiness crawled out of bed.'

'Sorry.' muttered Tiness. 'I shouldn't have crawled so close to you,'

He chuckled. 'No worries, I was reminded of home again, back when the cats slept in my bed with me. It was comfortable.'

'Seeing how it makes you better, shall we sleep with you again?' asked Asitha.

Alain chuckled. 'If I wasn't sick I'd take your offer the wrong way. But I'll still take it, the memories of moments like that do help me get to sleep.'

Asitha laughed. 'All right, you'll sleep with a couple of cats again and think back on your peaceful young days.'

Tiness looked up. 'Me too?'

'Of course.' said Asitha.

Tiness glanced at Alain. 'But?'

Alain gave her a warm smile. 'More cats, more cosy. Unless you don't really want to?'

Her heart pounded and she shook her head quickly. 'I don't mind!'

'With this you just have to be cured when you wake up.' giggled Asitha.

'Silth, the miracle cure.' said Alain and Asitha laughed while Tiness couldn't hold back her giggle, in part because knowing they'd sleep together again gave her nervous tingles in her stomach.