“And I get to tase you or something if you get handsy, right?” Since the threat of arrest wasn’t an effective deterrent, I figured threatening physical harm might do the trick. “It might not knock you out, as big of a guy as you are, but even for you it wouldn’t be too much fun.”
He paused, and I noticed that I could almost see when his brain was processing something new from the nanites. His eyes flickered back and forth, losing external focus as he zeroed in on the unfamiliar word or phrase from me. Since he was a fan of “Earth mating programs,” it was my guess that the word “tase” was what stumped him.
“Deal,” he said finally. “If I become handsy, as you put it, you may tase me.”
With that settled, I took a t-shirt and some boxers into the bathroom to change. When I came out, N’kal was already undressed and under the covers. I prayed that he was wearing underwear beneath those blankets. I really didn’t want to roll into a Xalanite dick at three in the morning on accident.
He left me the side closest to the door, though whether this was on purpose or by some random coincidence I had no clue. Either way, I was in a better position to protect him if someone broke in, so I didn’t complain.
I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin, rolling onto my side with my back to N’kal. It was less to deter any notion of mating and more for safety, keeping my focus on the door in case of an intruder. The TV blared to life, and I groaned as I rolled halfway back to see what he was up to.
“Do you have to crank the volume so loud? I thought you wanted to sleep.”
He flashed me the most innocent look possible. “You do not wish to watch a program together before we sleep?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“Pity.” He shut off the TV and tossed the remote on the bedside table. “The cosplayers we saw today intrigued me. I wanted to watch one of the programs they honored in their dress.”
“Maybe tomorrow, before the con,” I mumbled as exhaustion started to weigh heavy on my lids. “Tonight, let’s just shut everything off and rest. Cons can be overwhelming, from what I’ve heard, especially if you’ve never been to one before. Tons of people, lots of activity. Better to rest up.”
“Very well, Timber. May your dreams be full of sugar.”
“It’s sweet dreams, N’kal. You say sweet dreams.”
I had no idea if he answered me because I was out.
Chapter 8
N’kal
We slept peacefully for several hours before Timber started to moan and thrash. I woke with a start, searching the darkened room for signs of an intruder or threat, but there was none. Timber’s eyes remained closed, her breathing ragged as she flailed in the bed.
I had heard about this phenomenon in humans, though it was much less common in Xalanites, extremely rare even. She must be having a bad dream—a nightmare.
Since I was unfamiliar with this condition in practice, I was unsure how to act. Did she need to be woken? Comforted? Should I leave her alone? I wracked my brain for information on nightmares, probing the nanites to pull up anything connected to them in the data files.
Unfortunately, there was precious little information for the nanites to give me. We Xalanites just didn’t know enough about the condition. All I could access was a piece of data about something called sleepwalking, a condition that shouldbe left alone. Apparently, waking a sleeping walker could cause undo harm to them. Was the same true of someone having a nightmare?
While I scrambled for the right thing to do, Timber continued to fret in her sleep. She turned over and back, her arms waving as she fought off an invisible assailant. She whimpered and moaned, and the sounds of distress finally became too much to bear. This woman had bravely fought her own partner to keep me safe; I had to do something to help her.
I scooted over and wrapped my arms around her, catching her hands in mine and holding them still. She continued to struggle for several moments, but eventually she sank into my chest, panting and gasping for air. Her green eyes fluttered open, and she finally stopped thrashing, though she still trembled.
We lay like that for a few counts of time before either of us spoke. I wanted to give her time to become aware of her surroundings, to realize she was safe and not under attack. Once I was certain she was no longer fighting, I spoke.
“If you wish to tase me for using my hands, I understand.”
Timber chuckled weakly, but she didn’t try to get free. “No. Thank you, though. I haven’t had a nightmare like that in a while.”
Since she was not angry about my touch, I hesitantly stroked her silky amber hair, having seen such a thing done to comfort humans in a romance program. She sighed and moved closer, resting her head against my bare chest.
“It’s always the same,” she said. “I keep flashing back to my first undercover op, my first sting. I had gotten … close … to one of the marks—a stupid, rookie mistake—so when shit went down and he got killed in the crossfire, I guess I kind of lost it a bit. The department made me take leave, see a shrink, but I don’t think I ever truly got over it. Some nights, especially when I’m extratired, I go back there in my dreams and watch him die all over again.”
Some of the words, like “marks” and “shrink,” took some time to translate due to multiple meanings in Timber’s language. Once I had all the words and combined them with the context, I realized what she was saying.
“You loved him.”
“Yeah. I did.”
