As he slept, he dreamed.

Another slideshow of his life, but this one was focused, his mind baited around to specifics instead of the random stream of thoughts that Carbon had seen. A few recent events, yes, and lots of older ones. The pattern of how they were arranged, someone else’s thoughts whispered behind them, was familiar.

It was cut short when he woke up, rather urgently having to use the bathroom. Another fun fact he learned tonight: deep wine goes right through his system. He climbed over Carbon and out of bed, squinting at the pale green symbols on the clock sunk into the wall. Was that a three? It was three something in the morning? Whatever it said, it was too damn early o’clock.

He toggled the bathroom door controls and stepped into the entirely too-bright room to take care of business. Gave him a little time to think about those dreams.

The impression left was of someone who was curious, cautious, and most of all they were calculating. It wasn’t Carbon this time, desperate to know if he lived and starved for interpersonal contact. This was Eleya’s handiwork. Even if others had been poking around in his mind, it couldn’t have been anyone else. Each memory was part of an equation, his actions and those around him numbers slotted into variables only she could comprehend.

The dinner with Ed, shopping at Uncommon, the ride to McFadden station, bursts of anger and understanding back on the Kshalv’o, these he understood.

The small party after he graduated with his Aerospace Science degree, consoling his mother at the wake for his great-grandmother, a random dinner from his childhood with his family seated around the table in the dining room chatting away about whatever had happened that day... The reason she’d gone looking for these was less clear. Prying into his family, certainly. But why? There’d been a delicate, mostly hidden feeling of approval laced through what she had seen. Just assurance she wasn’t going to marry some Human psychos into the upper echelons of Tsla’o royalty? Or something else she needed so she could see the path forward?

Maybe he’d ask next time he saw her. Certainly, she wouldn’t mind.

Further rumination could wait until the actual morning. He washed his hands and went back to bed, finding Carbon had rolled over into the warm divot he left, stacked up behind Neya. He took her spot, slightly cooled now, and did his best to get back to sleep. He didn’t dream again that night.

Morning proper rolled around, and so did a rather pleasant wakeup call. He could just barely hear the shower going through the bathroom door, and felt a grin play across his face in the dim light. “I’m not sure we have time for...”

It was about then he noticed the torso draped over his leg was wrong. Carbon was lean and athletic, and this was... fluffy. He panicked a little bit. “Nope.” Realizing entirely the wrong woman was down there and he dug his heels into the bed to give himself a shove away, a rather startled sound coming from under the blanket.

Alex immediately curled up into a ball on the bed, hands cupped protectively over his groin. Surprising someone with retractable claws by yanking things out of their hands was not the best idea he had ever had. “Oh-kay. I did not think that through.”

Neya scooted away from him and pressed her back against the wall, eyes wide and saying something in too-fast Tsla. At least she looked as surprised as he had been. He flipped all his systems on, the guitar strum playing as everything initialized. Took a couple of seconds, but her voice abruptly shifted into lightly panicked English. “-not meant to offend you!”

“I’m sure you didn’t.” He wasn’t ready to check for damage just yet, preferring to remain in the fetal position for the time being.

“I am sorry, I was just... curious.” She collected the blanket around herself in a protective barrier and stared down at her hands, tapping the tips of her index fingers together. Neya had been awake long enough to have put her translator on, apparently. Admittedly, it seemed like it only took a couple of seconds per antenna

“That’s great.” Alex sighed and checked his hands, a wave of relief washing over him. No blood, and everything seemed to be in normal shape. He listened to the shower run as he sorted himself out, sitting up and setting a pillow on his lap, as the last bastion of his discomfort driven modesty - his underwear - was nowhere to be found. “I can understand that, it’s an admirable trait.”

She didn’t look up, voice hurried as she explained herself. “Carbon had said you were, nh... different, and you were very forward this morning.”

“I what? When was I forward?” He was quite sure he woke up to having a detailed inspection done. He’d certainly remember inviting that sort of thing from his wife’s... their personal assistant. Body double assistant soul. Alex wished he’d been about 80% more sober for that whole thing.

“After Carbon got up. You set your arm around me and you were... Very rigid, and comfortable with your exploration.” She leaned into the words, antenna and eyebrows lifting as she made grabbing motions with her hands.

Oh. Oh. “Shit. Sorry. I’m not used to sleeping with more than one other person, and that’s a, uh... automatic response in the Human body, I dunno if Tsla’o have the same thing going on.” He knew the how and why of that before, it had come up in a biology class. Something about the parasympathetic nervous system... The details completely and utterly escaped him right now, though.

She nodded. “The ‘second sunrise.’ I am familiar with it... though your external parts make it much more pronounced.”

“That’s a vastly more elegant term than what I normally call it.” He replied with a chuckle that still felt uneasy, eyes drifting pretty much anywhere that wasn’t her right now. “Alright, so uh... If I do that again feel free to ignore it? Wake me up and tell me to roll over, whatever you need to do to feel comfortable. Boundaries and all that.”

“Oh, no! You mistake me. I was surprised you had become so comfortable so quickly. I had thought Carbon had eased your concerns last night, she can be persuasive when she sets her mind to it. You were very accommodating until you woke up.” She paused, holding up a pale hand to parlay his response. “I had thought you were awake until then. Your responses to my inquiries had been short but positive, and you disrobed without even a suggestion.”

That explained why he was naked. “Alright, well... boundaries for me, then. I think it’s been made clear that I’m still not fully comfortable with this. So, uh... if I do that again, wake me up and tell me to roll over.” That would do for now. There was more to sort out but this was a start he hadn’t realized he would be needing, let alone so soon. “And if you want to give something like that a go in the future... Don’t. At least make sure I’m making eye contact and responding in full sentences before you do.”

“As you command, Alex.” She closed her eyes and bowed.

His word was all that he needed to make it happen. Alex wasn’t really expecting pushback on that, but at the same time he didn’t expect it to be that easy. Maybe a little a nudge towards what was ‘his place’ by Tsla’o standards... though his understanding of that was limited right now, given he thought Carbon was just a normal, albeit highly skilled, Tsla’o a few days ago. Even if she had been, that phrase would still be doing a monumental amount of work in describing what it was clear he had only scratched the surface of.

“Now that you are awake, and we have your boundaries. May I ask you a question?” There was a certain caution in her voice that he hadn’t really heard since sickbay. Not fully setting aside the more relaxed tone she’d used so far, but there was a dose of formality mixed in it now. “My understanding of you, and humanity in general, is limited.”

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“Oh, sure, of course.” That was beneficial to everyone’s understanding of this situation, certainly. He would gladly take all the most awkward questions she had to ask over another morning like this.

“You responded to me while you were asleep. Is that normal for you?” Neya was very focused on this, the fairly friendly countenance she’d worn so far sharpening as she appeared to take asking these questions seriously.

“I don’t know. Nobody has ever mentioned it before, but anything a person can do awake, they can do asleep. Humans anyway.” His mom might know. He’d been a champion at turning his alarm off and going back to sleep without realizing it as a teen, and she was usually the one motivating his ass out of bed when it happened. “I am way behind on sleep right now, too. Might be part of it.”

“Interesting, I will keep this in mind - but will tend towards eye contact to be sure.” A little smile followed that last statement, a hint of humor in her voice. “Last night you said this - having a Zeshen - was alien to you. I get the impression that even a group sleeping arrangement is unusual for humans?”

“Yeah, generally it’s one person per bed, or a couple. I’ve heard about people in poly relationships, no idea how they hash the sleeping arrangements out though.” That wasn’t exactly the situation here, particularly based on Carbon’s assertion that Zeshen are not family, but it was the closest thing he had to anchor this to something he was remotely familiar with for the moment. “That’s in the modern era, of course. There was communal sleeping throughout history.”

Neya seemed almost taken aback by that, sitting up a little straighter. “Not even in youth homes?”

“Is that like an orphanage?” Did they... send their children off to live in group homes? The handful of Carbon’s memories he’d been shown so far didn’t seem to indicate that, but clearly she had not had a normal upbringing.

“No, we would call that a foster home. A youth home is for those who are approaching adulthood, but have not become adults. Allowing them to experience life away from their family while still having guidance of an adult - usually an elder couple will be the stewards. It is a very old tradition.” She used almost the same cadence Carbon had when explaining things.

Alex didn’t want to admit that it kinda creeped him out, so he kept it to himself save for a small shiver. “Not a single thing like that unless you count staying in a dorm for college. Which I wouldn’t, from the sounds of it.” Definitely gave the impression that it was more structured than dorm life, which had bordered on chaotic when he went to university at Hellas.

The shower finally shut off, and the dryer started up a moment later.

“Curious, and enlightening.” Neya pondered that, or perhaps what she would ask next, as she carefully rubbed her teeth together while staring through him. Sharp purple eyes refocused on Alex as she settled on her next question. “Do you consider me attractive?”

Hey look, there was a question he didn’t want to answer. Truth of the matter was that he hadn’t put a lot of thought into it. He wasn’t going to lie to himself - or her, for that matter - he did think she was adorable. The underpinnings of that answer felt very questionable to him, though. “Uh, maybe?”

That caught her off guard, ears and eyebrows lifting. “Also curious.”

“I’ve been avoiding saying this since you all do have a resemblance to some Earth fauna, but you’re adorable. I’m still working the details of that out, but I’m kinda uncomfortable with the why behind it.” That was all he could think of right now, of course.

“I have heard there are some comparisons that are not kind, even if they are somewhat accurate.” She leaned forward, invested in hearing more about the reasons for his non committal answer now.

“Yeah, people love talking shit. So the issue for me, is that you in particular are very fluffy. Everybody else less so, but not, you know...” He gestured at his arms and chest. He wasn’t particularly hairy but it was still readily visible, doing nothing to obscure the tan skin beneath.

“Thank you for noticing, it takes a lot of effort.” Neya seemed pleased with that, a smirk crossing her muzzle. “Though I admit I do not understand what you are reaching for.”

“Alright so everything I’ve seen before that’s cute and fluffy has been a wild animal or a pet, and I want to pet them. Obviously, this is not okay when it comes to a person with, you know, volition and stuff.” That really was the crux of the matter, for him.

She shook her head. “And?”

“What do you mean, and?” There was no ‘and’ there!

“Because I am adorable you feel a compulsion to pet me?” She was very amused by that, tail switching under the blanket.

“I mean, sure. And I don’t like what that says about what’s going on in my brain. I know I’m not just going to up and touch somebody the moment I see them.” Alex assumed all the wild animals he’d ever wanted to pet would also maul him for trying, it was very helpful in regulating that urge. “But I am very uncomfortable with the fact that I see a person and something deep in there compels me, ‘just grab their cheeks and squish them a little,’ like that’s at all acceptable.”

Neya had set her elbows on her knees and cradled her chin in her palms, invested in Alex’s unwinding of his issues. “Of the things Carbon has told me about you, she did not mention any of this.”

“I haven’t told her because this is new and so much other stuff has been going on. First impression of her was actually quite cold. She had a very severe look, which I understand, but it was not inviting at all.” Their first meeting the day before the launch of the Kshlav’o on McFadden station had been, to be polite about it, glacial. Normal crews would train together ahead of time, but they weren’t a normal crew. Traditionally, a crew had a little party the day before launch - for the ship, of course. Another superstition. Somebody in the Civilian Pilot Program had set one up, same day the Kshlav’o arrived at the station, which had served as their first meeting as well. Not a lot of people from the program had turned out despite it being a new ship. Ed had taken a leave to see a dying family member, so it had been just the two of them and a handful of higher ups from the CPP. “It was pretty clear that she was not there to be friendly, and she was not happy about wasting time.”

“Yes, she had been... suffering.” Neya added quietly.

“There had been briefings about what was up, so I didn’t take it personally. But yeah, no desire to reach out and pet her. Probably would have beaten me with a chair if I had tried.” Being separated from that event by enough time, and quite sure that she wouldn’t do that now, he found the idea funny.

Neya lowered her voice, a conspiratorial tone filling the space between them after the dryer shut off. “You could now and she would not mind.”

“I’m sure I could.” Alex laughed, shaking his head. “Still makes me feel weird.”

“We understand why that is now. Perhaps you have a better answer to my question?”

“I don’t know. You look like Tsla’o and... I don’t know what makes you attractive. Like, I didn’t get involved with Carbon because she’s beautiful. I really can’t tell one way or the other.” About halfway through saying all that, the door to the bathroom slid open.

Carbon stood there in her purple robe, humid air pouring out around her into the cool of the cabin. She gave him an inquisitive look, arms crossed over her chest. “I cannot wait to hear how you got to this subject.”

“Hush.” Alex shot her a sidelong glance before turning his eyes back to Neya. “As I was saying. I have heard she’s quite lovely, but I have no point of reference. Even for human beauty standards... I’ve had people tell me that facial symmetry is attractive, but then the same person will say asymmetry is too. What I’m saying is, I fell in love with the heart and mind, the person. Not the face or body. I have no complaints about either, mind you. I’ve become quite enamored with both.”

Carbon smiled and chuckled quietly, setting herself down on the bed between them. She gave Alex a particularly smart grin and leaned over to kiss him, voice low. “I love you.”

Neya seemed pleased with that answer, sitting up with a nod and tenting her fingers. Her head tilted towards Carbon. “Now that you are back, shall I start breakfast? Or shall I continue to assail the prince with questions?”

“No. I will take care of breakfast. The two of you should link, as I suggested last night. An activity I had assumed you would have already begun.” She glanced over her shoulder at Neya, that last remark clearly aimed at her.

“Yeah, we got off to a rocky start this morning.” Alex waved a hand. “Got it cleared up though.”

Neya perked up at the prospect of Carbon cooking, a grin curling the corners of her mouth. “It is as the prince says, and your suggestions are wise as ever.”

“She thinks she can flatter me into making something lavish.” Carbon said to Alex with a smirk as she stood up and stretched, stepping away to rummage through the dresser.

Neya did not dispute that assertion.

“Alright, we can do that. But first, I need some clothes.” He paused as he glanced back over at Neya, half hidden under the covers but still naked. “Everybody needs some clothes.”