“You’re right. I know I have a… problem. In here.” I pointed to my head. “I’m just scared. All the time. I’ve always been like this. And I don’t know how to be anything else.”
Farr’vye watched me intently. He still wasn’t taking care of his wounds.
“Hey,” I growled. “I’m doing my part, so take care of those cuts.”
He looked amused as he ran his tongue over his bloody marks, though he didn’t take his orange eyes off me. I felt like a pinned insect beneath his burning gaze. A somewhat flustered pinned insect.
“What will you do? Remain in the suit?” Farr’vye asked. As he spoke, he raised his tongue to his thick bicep, cleaning the thin bloody lines there. His muscle was as big as my entire head.
“Uh,” I said, trying not to get distracted. “Um… Well, I wanted to.”
“Past tense?”
It shouldn’t have been attractive when he noticed little language things like that, but it was.
I rubbed my arms more tightly. The hole in my sleeve seemed bigger each time I touched it. When I looked down, I noticed other rips and tears along the front of my suit. It took the brunt of the damage from the thorns—and if it hadn’t, I’d look like Farr’vye. Or worse.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ve patched it up a thousand times. I don’t know how much more it can take without falling to pieces.”
Farr’vye paused with his tongue mid-swipe across his bicep. He put his arm down. “I will ask a different way. Would you prefer to take the suit off?”
I stiffened. The idea terrified me. But beneath the fear was a mysterious swirl of relief. It felt like Farr’vye was giving me the permission I had never dared to ask for.
A sudden flare of anxiety made me glance over my shoulder. We were alone outside the village in the middle of the night. Nobody was around to see me except Farr’vye. But did I trust him enough to strip?
My pulse quickened, but that wasn’t unusual. I chalked it up to my usual anxiety.
“I… I should probably keep it on,” I mumbled.
“Why?”
I wasn’t used to being challenged. Yet Farr’vye wasn’t being demanding or oppressive. I could tell he genuinely just wanted to know.
“I can’t go back to the village naked,” I explained. “Well, I could. But I don’t want to.”
“We do not have to return immediately. If we remain outside the village, I will protect you.”
Heat rushed to my face. Farr’vye was blunt but patient and compassionate. I’d never met anyone like him.
My skin prickled beneath the suit, warm and oddly sensitive. I hadn’t felt comfortable with another living soul for a long time. So why did I feel comfortable with the idea of stripping in front of this creepy alien?
“I don’t want to be a burden,” I said.
Farr’vye growled. Like, actually growled. I almost jumped, thinking it was a nearby predator, before realizing the sound was coming fromhisthroat.
“You are not a burden,” he countered, his eyes flashing in the darkness. “You are a weak and frail human who I must protect.”
I swallowed. My heart beat faster, as if I were about to have an anxiety attack, except… it was different this time. It felt nice instead of foul, filling my chest with warmth instead of ice.
What was happening to me?
6 /Farr’vye
When Assistant23 agreed to stay outside the village with me, my body grew light and airy, as if I were about to float away in the wind.
I tried to remain calm, but it was difficult. The object of my desire was right in front of me, and I had him all to myself tonight. In my mind raced comparisons of myself to a ravenous beast ordered not to devour the delicious fruit dangling in front of my mouth.
But my desire was secondary to his safety. The most important thing was to find a secure location for us to sleep for the night. Although I doubted I would get much rest with his prone body next to me.
