“I don’t think you’re alone in that opinion,” Jude said gently with a smile, and did his tone sound…fond? Al wasn’t sure if that was the exact way to describe it, but he did know that he enjoyed being spoken to in that voice. His cheeks became warm again, and it took him a beat to remember how to formulate words with his new unfamiliar tongue.
“Um, I-I was speaking about… about where I come from, yes. I come from Greece.” He had to physically restrain himself from adding the additional locations. “You and I became known to each other because I broke my vehicle—”
“Al, I told you already to please just say car.”
“But I have seen several of the machines you call cars and they look all so different. Vehicle sounds more correct. And more truthful! Ididbreak my vehicle, and you said lies are better when they are true, which I do not understand the logic of, but vehicle is the better, more true word.”
“I said lies are better when they’recloseto the truth, not when they’re true. See,thisis why I had you repeat the plan. Call. It. A. Car.”
“Hmph,” Al pouted. “You came to know me because I broke mycar. Sufficient?” Al attempted to glare at Jude, but it appeared to have the opposite effect, as he burst out laughing.
“Sorry,” he said, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m not making fun of you. It’s just, even looking likethatyou’re about as intimidating as a baby kitten. It’s the eyes, I think. They’re too nice.” He shook his head. “You really don’t have a malicious bone in your body, do you?”
Al considered this.
“I hope not,” he said. “I do not believe I would enjoy being malicious. Assuming that was a metaphor, and you were not speaking about malicious bones literally.”
Jude chuckled. “No, I was not talking about malicious bones literally. You know, it’s crazy to think that there are people out there who would lock you up just because you’re something unfamiliar to them, when in reality, you’re just some sweet guy whose car broke down way far from home.”
“I do not drive a car, Jude.”
“It’s annoying when someone calls it the wrong thing, huh?” Jude said smugly. Al did something very strange then, and rolled his eyes. It was a decidedly human gesture that he had witnessed Jude perform once or twice. Already he was finding himself mirroring him, the way one did with someone close to them.
“Do you have satisfaction that I know what my backstory is?” Al asked, aiming for haughty, but even he knew he didn’t pull it off.
“Not at all,” Jude said, still grinning, “but let’s go inside anyway.”
The inside of Jude’s home was marginally better than the outside. Not in terms of quality, necessarily—there were water stains on the ceiling, scuffs in the wood floor, and in order to close the door Jude had to ram it with his hip to get it to fit the crooked doorframe—but the decor was aesthetically appealing. Al enjoyed how all the furniture was mismatched, and how cluttered it was with objects that he was excited to learn by name.
As predicted, Jude’s roommate was awake.
The man was sprawled out on a cushiony, blue piece of furniture. In front of him was a short table covered in objects, the most notable being a contraption made of colorful glass, which had a bulbous bottom and a spout at the top. There was a television—Al had learned the word during his conversation with Jude on their way out of Bumfuck Nowhere, and was now able to put an image to it—which was playing at a low volume, and while Al had a deep desire to sit and watch it to see what entertainment was like on Earth, he knew that now was not the time.
The sound of them entering the home caught the man’s attention, and he peered over his shoulder to look at them. He was stockier than Jude, not fat but sturdy, with darker hair and eyes. He had his hand inside a bag that crinkled loudly at the slightest touch, and from it he produced a handful of thin crispy food items that he popped into his mouth.
“’Sup?” he said upon swallowing.
“Hey,” Jude replied. He was fiddling with his keys again, which Al was coming to learn was a nervous gesture. He resisted the urge to reach out and steady his hands in reassurance. “Um. Al, this is my roommate, Ezra. Ezra, this is my, uh, friend, Al.”
Ezra raised one of his thick eyebrows and looked Al up and down. He muttered something that sounded like, “Yeah, I’m guessing you two are about to be real friendly.”
“What was that?” Jude asked pointedly.
“I said ‘nice to meet you, Al,’” Ezra said, louder this time. He held out his hand—the one he hadn’t been using to collect food from the crinkly bag—and waited expectantly for Al to take it.
Al hesitated for a moment, remembering what had happened earlier when he and Jude had touched. His reaction to Jude had been so intense that it had almost felt like a breach of privacy, and he wasn’t sure it would be right to repeat it with Ezra. That said, this appeared to be a human gesture of greeting, and he didn’t want to come off as rude. He also had to admit that he was curious to see if his reaction to Jude had been an outlier, or if it was simply what happened when his species and humans made contact.
Seeming to sense Al’s hesitation, Jude began to say, “You don’t have—” but stopped when Al stepped forward and took Ezra’s hand in his.
The touch was… unremarkable.
There were slight pinpricks of sensation, and Al could pick up a trace of Ezra’s emotions—mild interest, a general sense of calm—but it was an overall average experience, not noteworthy for a touch telepath. It was nothing like what he had shared with Jude.
Interesting.
Unsure of what that implied, and also not in a place to discuss regardless, Al shook Ezra’s hand and said politely, “Hello! It is nice to meet you, dude!”
“Likewise,” Ezra said, pulling his hand back. He nodded at Jude and asked, “How’d you two meet?”
