I show him to the recycling.
“You have to get the food off before you can recycle it, and only if it’s not too greasy,” I explain. “Otherwise it goes in the trash.”
“Where does the trash go?” asks Khesan.
“To a landfill, I guess.”
The two Arshurians exchange a quizzical look. I think it’s the first time they’ve acknowledged one another without hissing.
“I wonder if the Frahma will bring your people vaporization,” Shathar says thoughtfully. “Very useful, a vaporizer.”
Once it’s done, we all head back inside, Shathar trying to edge his way closer to me than Khesan. They both try to go through the door at the same time, bottlenecking them.
“Imbecile,” Shathar huffs as he tries to wedge himself inside the door. “We can’t both go at the same time.”
“I was going through it first!”
They really can’t even go through a door without arguing about it?
“Shathar,” I snap, and the two of them fall still. “You first. Khesan, wait there. Let him go.”
Obediently, Khesan backs up and allows Shathar through the door, glaring at him the whole way. Then it’s his turn, and when they’re both in the kitchen with me, their tails are lying flat on the floor. They both look rather contrite as I cross my arms.
“I do have work tomorrow,” I tell them both firmly, “and I can’t have you fighting while I’m in the office in case I have meetings. Can I trust you alone for a few hours?”
Shathar gapes at me. “Of course you can. We are not animals.”
“You’re acting like animals,” I say, pointing at each of them in turn. “I can’t even trust you to walk through a door.”
Rubbing the back of his head, Khesan says, “I’m sorry. It is difficult to watch him be close to you. My heart knows that you are mine, and he feels like… an interloper.”
Shathar growls. “You are the interloper here.”
“This is what I’m talking about.” I hold up both my hands. “It won’t work if you’re at each other’s throats all the time. We need some kind of system.”
“A system?” Shathar perks up. “What do you mean?”
“I need time to get to know you, but I can’t when you’re always arguing.” I try to keep my tone calm. “So I propose we split off. Separate you two, and then I’ll divide my time between you. That way you don’t have to come into contact with each other any more than necessary.”
Khesan’s mouth opens in surprise, while Shathar is frowning.
“I would have to share you with him?” the older Arshurian asks, sitting forward on the table, his tail rising behind him. “Sit and wonder what you are doing when the two of you are alone?”
Oh, jeez. He’s already thinking like that?
“Hey now.” I raise both my hands in the air. “We haven’t even talked about intimacy yet. I just want us to learn about each other. Establish a… ground-level understanding.”
To my surprise, the two aliens glance at each other, then back at me. They both seem unhappy.
“If this is the way you want to proceed,” Khesan says, his yellow eyes focused on me, “then I will abide by it.”
Shathar snarls, but Khesan shoots him a look that must translate between them, because Shathar sits back down in his seat. His tail lashes the floor.
“Yes, this is how I want to proceed,” I say. “Are we all in agreement?”
Shathar crosses his arms. “Yes.”
Khesan nods. “Whatever my wife wishes.”
