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“How did you hide your tail?” she asked, once she had cleared her throat for some reason.
“What?”
“You didn’t have a tail when you came to the pub earlier, I’m sure of it.”
Meaning she had stared at his ass back then. Strangely, that made warmth bloom in Dargus’ chest.
He answered while he was placing the meal in the laser oven. “My tail was wrapped around my leg in my wide pants. It was quite uncomfortable but it couldn’t be helped.”
A hint of a smile appeared on her face before she hid it. “I can imagine.”
“As for my face, I used a device that hides certain features and modifies others. It causes intense itching, unfortunately.”
Her lips curved even more this time before she managed to school her features.
Dargus opened his mouth to tell her about the stripes-covering cream that tended to give him a rash, but the oven chose that moment to beep.
“Ah. Food’s done.”
“Already? That was insanely fast!”
He pulled the large baking dish out with a satisfied smile.Best crust ever. “Yup. Two minuionas is all it takes with this oven model.” Dividing the meal into two plates, he kept talking. “It cost me three bounties but it was worth it. I even got one as a mating gift for my brother.”
“Uh-huh.” Dargus saw confusion on her face when he headed her way with the two plates. “So, you work as a… bounty hunter?”
He placed the plates on the table, one in front of her and the other in front of his seat, before heading back to get the replicator’s creation and two glasses of sweet hal’peris. According to the info on Terrans he had read, females became more favorable towards males’ demands when presented with sweets. And his demands were significant.
“Bounty hunters operate more… on the fringe of intergalactic law,” Dargus told her on his way back to the table. She was eyeing his dish suspiciously, while Cubbie was already asleep in ball form in her lap. “My brother, Bargus, works as one since he’s not into being a law-abiding galaxizen like me.” Sitting next to her with his tail in his lap, Dargus added, “I’m a freelance police officer. Now eat up, before it gets cold.”
“Uhhh… Is that a slug?” Lia was pointing at the dish he had cooked.
Judging by the description his translator provided for the uniquely Terran animal, a slug was something similar to a gebaworm minus the four antennae.
“I’m sorry, it’s not something as delicious. This is a mumbian larva harvested at its very first stage of formation.”
“I see.”
Something in her peculiar expression told Dargus she was not excited at the prospect, so he quickly specified, “It’s not a living thing yet at that stage, so you’re not actually eating an animal… You know, if that matters to you… But the larva does taste similarly to meat and is rich in protein, so… yeah.”
“Mhmm… I’ll try the replicator’s dish.”
His heart sank closer to his stomach, but he forced a smile. “Sure.”
Why did it matter to him, anyway? As long as she got some food in her system – any food – Dargus should be content. And the less fresh ingredients he had to spend on her, the less he would have to restock at a space market.
But she could have at least tried my cooking, right?It wasn’t like the larvae were all there was in her plate! A simple apology for pushing his dish to the side right away would also have worked for him.
Dargus sucked not one but two mumbian larvae into his straw and chewed with some irritation. He could feel her eyes on him throughout but forced himself to not look her way. She had been rude by all intergalactic standards, so let her stew in his silence for a bit.
Lia huffed in exasperation.
Dargus immediately turned her way to see what was bothering her.
He nearly burst out laughing when he saw the deep frown with which she was regarding the feeding straw, as though it was the most complex device she had ever seen. She had already succeeded in spraying cumya sauce all over her part of the table, and had a piece of varzian root… in her cleavage.
“Hey, my eyes are up here!” Lia snapped. Then Cubbie rose to catch the root with his tongue, and she turned that enticing shade of red again. “This is beyond ridiculous! I can’t even feed myself in space, let alone help you in whatever you’re doing!”
Before he knew it, Dargus was caressing her hand on the table with his tuft.
