Alex sat down next to Carbon on the bench and set his hand on hers. “What’s going on?”

She straightened up and leaned against him with a sigh, switching back into English. “We contacted my father, before word got back to him through unofficial channels.”

“Didn’t go well, I take it?” He laced his fingers with hers and gave her hand a squeeze.

“No. He is...” Carbon petered out and stared at their hands while she decided on the appropriate word. “Furious.”

“I’m sorry.” Alex wanted to say some particularly unkind things about him, but that probably wasn’t what she needed right now. So he stuck with thinking that sanctimonious prick could go fuck himself, for the moment.

“It is expected. I was more surprised that Eleya defended us so fully.” She leaned against him, a soft, warm ear pressed against his neck.

That surprised him, too. “Eleya? Really.”

“Yes. She said that she believed you were worthy of me. More so than any suitors he has ever found.” Carbon sighed and squeezed his hand. “That escalated the conversation significantly.”

“Eleya said that? You’re not joking?” He was a little suspicious, but Eleya seemed to be talking him up to pretty much everybody. That felt suspicious, too. It honestly wasn’t attention that he wanted, but given that the alternative was taking a hike, he’d deal with it for the time being.

“She did. I was shocked.” There was a hint of a frown in her voice. “I did not know he had been finding me suitors, or that she had been shielding me from them. I had not thought... I have not thought well of her for some time.”

Alex nodded with a soft chuckle. “I had noticed.”

She was silent, twisting her hand out of his grasp so she could run her fingertips along his palm. “I still do not know what to make of this. I had never expected to be entwined. My plans had been to remain a Lan for a few decades, then perhaps join the Naval Academy to take on a few apprentices.”

Her description of her future brought a smile to his face and a warm laugh. “That’s definitely my Carbon.”

“Is it? And what of you, atalna? What did your future hold?” Carbon’s head tilted, looking up at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Maybe take a gig in a Trailblazer fleet. A lot of CPP Pilots move into that. Not as rigid as a Navy job, some of the larger ships even have room for families.” Those idle thoughts of his future had never involved a murder plot of any sort, let alone his own. Usually just trying to suss out if whoever he had been dating would be the one. He’d leave that part out. “I kind of figured I’d settle down at some point.”

Carbon managed a sad laugh. “But not like this.”

“Yeah. Not like this.” He disentangled his hand from hers and put his arm around her shoulder. “I expected a lot less stabbing.”

She laughed again, warmth flowing into it this time, a short little snort and nestled against him. “Is it... is it bad for you? Do you not want this?”

“You know if you keep asking me if I want out, I’m going to start thinking you don’t want me around.” He leaned over and kissed her on the head, a smile crystal clear in his voice.

The dark furred Tsla’o huffed and smacked his side with a gentle slap. “I am serious. I do not want you to agree because you feel threatened. I want you to agree because you feel it is right.”

“I used to wonder if it would last once we were off the ship... I think we would. Yes, I’d prefer...” Alex scrambled for the right turn of phrase here, that sufficiently conveyed how fucked up the last few days felt. None of them were very tactful so he put that aside and went with something that felt extremely watered down. “A more conventional courtship process. I’m not going to act like I’m not overwhelmed by all of this, but I stand by what I said in the restaurant. I’m in.”

Carbon smiled and kissed his cheek. “Are you still tired, Alex?”

“Of course.” That was a silly question. “I’m going to be tired for a month.”

“Then we should go to bed.” She ducked out from under his arm and slid around the table, beckoning him to follow.

The bed was built out of the wall, knee-height and sort of leaf shaped, several drawers of storage beneath it. A rich green duvet resting on top looked thick and comfortable, a pile of matching pillows on one by a short, curving headboard made of dark wood with more storage. Best of all, it was easily large enough for a few Humans to sleep on. Sure, Carbon only had one on hand, but he was still moved by the expanse before him. “It’s beautiful.”

Carbon laughed as she wrangled him around and gave him a push, sitting him down on the edge of the bed before tugging his shirt off. She touched his chest, fingertips hot across his collarbone. “But there is something we need to do first...”

Something they needed to do first? Carbon’s statement swirled around his mind for a moment before he got it, grinning as he set his hands on her hips and pulled her close. Maybe he wasn’t that tired. “I’m game, if you’re ready.”

She nodded and leaned against him, closing her eyes as she whispered into his ear. “I believe I am.”

Alex smiled and slid his hands up her sides, still surprised at how hot her body was. He wasn’t sure what had changed, but he didn’t feel awkward or weird about it. He wouldn’t exactly say it felt like it was easy - there was still a lot of alien for both of them to navigate - but it felt much more possible this time, the anxiety he had felt last time just not returning. That was a pleasant surprise.

Carbon exhaled sharply on his neck, a happy noise escaping her as Alex gave her a little squeeze. She steadied herself, hands tight on his arms as she leaned down, taking a shaky breath before she sank her teeth into his shoulder, just below his neck.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Some part of Alex recognized that trying to wrench his shoulder out of her mouth would not work out well for him. He was pretty sure those pointy little teeth would just shred it. Instead, he sucked in a breath and gripped her hips harder, jaw tight against the growing pain.

Her eye opened and she looked at him like she expected him to do something.

“Why are you biting me?” Alex hissed, brown eyes bulging.

She finally released his shoulder with a wet pop, teeth pink with his blood. “It is the final act of becoming entwined.”

Alex winced as he gently probed the narrow u-shaped bite mark, already bleeding down his back and chest. “What? that’s- Can you get me a towel?”

She grumbled and pushed off of him, rummaging through a chest of drawers next to the bed. “Were you not prepared?”

“No! Not for that... fuck this hurts.” He had stopped poking at his injury and stood to keep from bleeding on the bed. “I thought we were going to try, you know....”

Carbon raised an eyebrow, not looking up from the drawer. “I think it is quite apparent I do not.”

“I thought you were intimating you were interested in having sex.” It felt like that’s what she had been getting at, at least.

“Perhaps I was...” She slid the drawer closed hard and looked at him with narrowed eyes, antenna pulled down tight, and gestured towards the stools at the table. “Come, sit.”

His first instinct was to defend his actions and be mad at her for not making it clear what was going on. He was a guy, after all, of course he was easily steered towards sex. He also wasn’t stupid. Completely different cultures are going to have different expectations, and here’s one of them. Just a bit more intimate than the last few he’d run into. Alex shrugged and winced, taking a seat in front of her. “I wasn’t aware of this... biting thing.”

“Neya said you had been reading about our ways. Certainly someone had brought up the unity mark, given what Eleya has done?” She unscrewed the top of a large jar and scooped a finger of thick blue goo out, eliciting another wince as she slathered it over his wound. Carbon grumbled quietly as her eyes narrowed. “They did give you a book other than the logs?”

“No, it was just the weekly records of the First Age Emperors. Made it all the way through the Zherar dynasty. The notes from the scribes were actually pretty funny most of the time.” The goo stung at first, but quickly settled to an almost pleasant tingle.

Carbon clicked her tongue and shook her head as she circled him, dabbing the thick salve onto the back of his shoulder. “Those have no useful information.”

He got the impression he may have gotten Neya into some trouble with that. “To be fair, Eleya was the one who gave them to her. I learned a swear word, too. That’s useful.”

She stopped, mid-smear. “Eleya gave them to her? Really?”

“Yes. Carried one down herself. She made Neya use formal titles on me, too. I didn’t like that.” Alex simply didn’t want to get used to those.

“Curious...” Carbon continued applying the salve, “perhaps she really is grooming you to be active within the royal family. It certainly would cause a stir.”

“I can only imagine.”

Carbon made an affirmative noise and picked up a fresh towel, wiping his back and chest clean. “I do not understand why, though.”

“She said she likes my naivete. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.” It felt like it should be an insult, but Eleya had seemed happy about it. That wasn’t what Alex would have considered a good feature in a conspirator, but apparently he lacked sophistication.

That almost got a laugh out of her, a smile in her voice. “It can be endearing, from time to time. How is you shoulder now?”

“Better.” Alex touched the goo, already hardened into a thick protective layer. “So do you want me to try doing that to you now?”

“Yes.” She put the jar on top of the dresser and tossed the towel into the cleaner before seating herself back on the bed. “I do not know how successful you will be, but it is necessary for you to do it.”

“Uh... I was kind of kidding there. I don’t-”

She gave him a particularly pointed look and patted the bed next to her before she began to take her shirt off, a long strip of cloth that had been wrapped around her the same way Neya had worn it. “It is your obligation, Alex. Unless you do not wish to be entwined?”

“Is this a regular part of being entwined? The biting? Is there any other violence I should know about?” That might actually be a deal breaker.

Carbon shook her head, “just one bite to seal our commitment. No more beyond that.”

“Alright. Let’s do this.” What’s the worst that could happen? He sat down next to her, held her arms like she had held his and leaned in. Jaws opened wide, he set his teeth down on her shoulder and gave it a tentative squeeze.

“Harder.” She rested her chin on his shoulder. “It is to share in each other's pain, to share the essence of our life, not to placate me.”

He didn’t exactly relish the idea, but he gave her what she wanted. His jaw tightened and he felt muscles flex as she flinched. Much to his surprise, his teeth did manage to puncture her skin. He gagged on the coppery taste of her blood, tongue trying to withdraw from his mouth to avoid it.

A moment later she patted his side and whispered through clenched teeth. “That is enough.”

Alex let go and sucked in a breath of air. “Good?”

“More... nh, more capable than I expected. Get the salve.”

He retrieved the jar of goo and dabbed it on to her wounds, a series of shallow punctures from his canine teeth. The thick mixture didn’t even leave a residue on his fingers. “There. Not as complete as the one you gave me, though.”

“That is fine. I would prefer it to be unique.” She smiled and plucked the jar from his hands, setting it down on the headboard. “As you are unique to me.”

“I suppose I am.” Alex shifted further onto the bed and stretched out, closing his eyes. “We’re quite the pioneers, aren’t we?”

“It seems that we are.” She snuggled down next to him, threading an arm around his and holding him tightly. “I think I like that.”

“Good.” He was glad to hear the strength in her voice again, the Carbon he knew returning. “I’m hard to get rid of.”

“You are very tenacious.” She laughed and kissed his arm. “I cannot believe you made it all the way to Zherar in the log books.”

“Seemed important at the time.” Alex rubbed his eyes, the invigorating shock of having been bitten starting to wear off. “And I wasn’t sleeping because of the drugs.”

“They used to make me read those when I misbehaved. There is very little useful information in there, but all royals are expected to have read them.”

“Great. At least I know a couple of jokes now, and it’ll help with my cussing.”

“Oh yes, which word did you find?” She grinned widely and squeezed his arm again.

“Khaeva. Neya said it was vulgar.”

“Not vulgar, in a modern interpretation... too negative. Mmh, salacious might be a better way to put it.”

“What’s it mean?”

Carbon didn’t say anything, though it felt like she was thinking. She shut the lights off with a word and Alex could hear the smirk when she spoke. “I think you will be best enlightened if I show you myself.”