Whateversheimaginedmealtimeswith Xexis and crew would be, she was sorely mistaken. After she dressed, she was led through the halls of hismassive spaceship!Xexis kept his stride slow for her. It was the first time she walked more than a few feet. It felt delightful to stretch her legs.
They entered the belly of the beast, and she froze. Not in fear, but sheer awe. There were large sections like training areas full of equipment and weights.Training hunters, right. Then she found science labs much like her own but the people in the labs were uninterested in her and focused solely on their work. Xexis led her through a maze of halls and beings until they reached a gargantuan mess hall. Filled to the brim with tables and bar stools underneath them. The walls lit up with little balls of color like Christmas lights hidden under glass. Other hunters and beings, not all of them like Xexis, put trays and bowls under slots in the walls. There were languages floating across the walls, indicating which slot fed what. Some she recognized from her work and the main station’s library. There were some she couldn’t parse even if she wanted.
Xexis led her from station to station, using one of his four arms for his tray and one for hers. He explained all the slots as different items came out. Her heart soared to find they had a slot for baked apples. Actual cinnamon sugared baked apples appeared in a bowl on her tray. She was too hungry to complain about the mixedmatched foods. He put a small steak (she wasn’t going to debate him if it wasn’t actually steak; meat was meat at this point), baked apples, some hot and herby scented greens, and what was probably a potato on her tray.
And they sat at a table with only four stools at the very back. Xexis placed her on the stool and sat directly next to her with an arm behind her the whole time.Having four arms comes in handy, pun intended, he always has one to spare.Aphrodite devoured her food.
They didn’t have silverware; they had washing stations for hands and many napkins that were deposited in compactors that burned soiled items.Efficient. She picked up her steak, hamburger style, and chewed the warmest, juiciest, most flavorful meat she’d tasted in a long time.Meal packs suck, end of story.Her belly warmed and the ache in her sides eased.
They munched, and crunched, and moaned happily about food until she was sure she would waddle back to the room. Graciously, Xexis walked at her speed as she leaned on him. Realization returned to the front of her food coma skull. They’d bathed, he’d fed her, and now she recalled they were headed in the direction of his chambers. Her insides quivered. “Xexis.”
“You are uncomfortable, my mate, but I am missing context.” He slowed to a stop, allowing her to rest.
She put her hands to her hips.Fuck it. Aphrodite learned a long time ago not to ask questions if she wasn’t ready for the answer.But I am ready for the answer.“Xexis, I am hesitant about copulation.”
“Hesitant?” He bent to be at eye level with her and arms folded softly at his stomach.
“Right, as hunters you probably never hesitate,” She grumbled under her breath. Aphrodite took a second to search for the right terminology and found her words lacking. “Uh, I am…not terrified-scared, but am confused-scared?”
She winced as he eyed her with confusion.Fuck, I am not explaining this right.She opened her mouth to speak and found nothing came out. Then, like a light bulb, he lit up with a big smile. His pincers writhed out, exposing his inner mouth. “Ah! My mate does not understand how it would work between our species, am I correct?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s a little bit of it,” she wheezed.Well, it is true I am curious how it would logistically work.Her eyes flickered to his hips where his belt hung against his torso. Xexis was built like a human if the designer of his species had only heard drunk stories about humans. First off, he didn’t have nipples or a belly button. His body was sturdy and thick, his torso triangular with his four arms. He had bulging muscles down his arms, but his torso was solid muscle. His legs, for all she could see, were two regular shapes vaguely with knees and shins and thighs. However, it was his joke from earlier that left her a bit confused.He called it a trunk. Her insides twisted up as she returned her gaze to him.
He furrowed his heavy brow, “There is more to your confused-scared?”
“I am not—” she gasped for air as it all welled up. The affection, the kindness, the sweet whispers and words, it bubbled with her alongside the terror, the dead bodies of her crew, the confusion. Tears welled in her eyes as she tossed her arms out to the side. Xexis immediately dropped to his knees, his four hands cupping the outside of her legs. Her mouth flapped open, making noises but unable to speak until she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She blurted out, “Just tell me why? Why you had to kill them, whyyou chased me, why you didn’t just introduce yourself to me! Why did you do that to me, Xexis?”
His eyes scanned her, searching every inch of her face. There was a pain reflected in his large orbs. She realized as he realized, they were both missing context. He breathed, “My mate, what are you talking about?”
“The ship! Why would you bait us with the ship?” She started from the beginning, trying to find where the disconnect was.
“It is tradition. The mate who comes to the knowledge of their mate first, it is their responsibility to provide the hunting ground for our mating hunt. You are a scientific person, I studied your habits. You were gathering information, and you were a studious person. So, I found a ship that was for science. I thought you would prefer the hunt somewhere you enjoy. A broken ship for you to run through and try to fix or fight?” His hands stroked the outside of her legs sweetly.
She burst with a sudden laugh, “You thought it would be…romantic? To chase me through a research ship?”
“Romantic! Yes! I spent much time perfecting the hunting ground, ruining the tech for you to fix or battle. And I waited for it to be a space where no other beings would intervene. When you entered the ship, that meant you accepted my mating, that you accepted me.”
“Ididn’t know that, Xexis.” Her throat tightened as her hands fell to his shoulders.
“But…then why would you board if you did not intend to mate with me?” He cocked his head.
“Because humans are stupid, and I tried to tell my crew that the ship was fucking haunted, and they wouldn’t listen to me, and we went on the ship to see if there were any survivors!” She trembled, purposely brushing him the wrong way to feel the prickles. He shivered, sliding his knees closer to her feet.
Xexis blinked slowly before speaking softer, “So then, those ship people, you did not bring them with you as a live distraction?”
“What?” she barked.
“I had thought you wanted to test my prowess. It’s not unheard of for mates to try and test their hunters thoroughly. I am Kannatch, I was under the knowledge that you wanted to test how truly superior of a mate I was. I thought it was a challenge. And when you kept…my mate, you kept engaging with me, I misread the situation. I believed you knew, for you kept fighting me, you kept looking at me.” He hung his head, pressing his forehead into her stomach. They both exhaled shaky breaths. His fingers burrowed into her sides. “My mate, I have made a deadly error.”
Aphrodite tugged on his face, pulling him from her stomach. He glanced up at her, obsidian pools wavering with pain and anger…but it wasn’t at her. She smiled softly, slipping to her knees in front of him. Her hands cupped his cheeks. Thumbs tracing the edges of his mouth, her gaze fell to the way his pincers moved. She’d come to understand every flicker of his face. When he smiles, they spread and joyously wiggle. When he is confused, they pinch and curl inward. When he is proud, they flare and stand up straight.His pincers were soft, almost reaching out to her.
“Xexis,” she sighed, “does this not mean we’re mates?”
“Of course, we are mates, but it means that I owe you a true, honorable mating hunt. I can not lay with you until you are given a fair hunt. One where you know you are being hunted andchoose to hunt with me.” He squeezed her legs again. “Much of the missing context from your reactions makes more sense now.”
She sputtered, nodding. This was her chance. She could say something.Do something.She could possibly go home. Aphrodite stood at the precipice where Xexis felt bad, if she wanted to leave…if she wanted…to leave.
Did she want to be his mate?Despite the terror and confusion and madness… Was it madness if the answer was yes?For her whole life, she was Aphrodite Kerso, human. Just a woman in STEM. Just an engineering student. Just a technician. If she went home, she’d be just another technician on the station, one in a thousand. Just. Just. Just.
