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<09/13/2011 - 22:10 | 1010 Link Street, Marietta, GA, USA>

Even though it was already getting late, I managed to enjoy the pace of the night. I considered the control of everything to be perfect, getting just enough work done in enough time to shower at the end. As I made my way into the bathroom with a towel in hand, I started stripping down in front of the mirror, forgetting to account for one tiny thing...

"Nice! You have a nice body for someone who hates workouts."

"Wha— Lumina?!" The shock of her presence made me wince, my eyes still in the mirror reflecting myself. She waited until I was completely naked to let me know she was still around. I had somehow forgotten that Lumina was passively hanging out with me in the background, quietly enough for me to not notice. All I could do in that moment was maneuver both my hands to cover my body from the front, but the shyness in me portrayed in my expression. "What are you doing?!"

"What's the big deal? You told me I was free to hang out with you longer."

This isn't what I meant Lumina! Oh, why did I have to let her see me naked like this? No girl I've ever dated saw this much of me before. Doesn't she see what's wrong with this picture? I averted my gaze from the mirror, realizing I could solve this problem by turning around and panning my gaze up to the ceiling. With my view askew, she can't see any part of my body if I'm not looking at myself.

"Oh come on! That's what you're so worried about? I've already seen you naked before."

"You can't just—" My voice trailed off, considering the weight of her own confession. "Wait, you have? When? How many times did this happen?" I certainly remembered the time she surprised me during a shower, and another time when I was on an adult website, but those moments were still so different. In both instances, I wasn't standing in front of any reflective surface, so Lumina didn't see too much.

"Oh, plenty of times. There were a couple of times I saw you before the purge, when you were fondling yourself..."

"What?!"

"Then a couple of times after the purge, then that one time in the shower... Oh, and then that time I popped in on you when you were on that website."

Okay, there are two memories I've already accounted for, memories I've come to terms with. But I thought she couldn't know anything about me like that before the purge, so how in the world did she see me doing something like that? When? "Aaagh! This is so not happening right now!" I was almost shaking from the thought. I'm already so embarrassed about the current moment, but I couldn't handle the thought of her catching me masturbate in my years back.

"What...? Oh, I get it now." Just then, Lumina's voice turned highly provocative, making my heart beat much faster. "You want to get back at me for this, don't you? Now that I've seen you, you must want to catch me off guard, to see me naked?"

"You— You mean... I can?" Wait, what am I thinking?! I shouldn't ask such a thing from Lumina. It's too weird! I've never seen her naked form before, and I shouldn't tell her that's what I want to see, not right now.

"We're together now you idiot! Of course we can."

"What a ringing endorsement... So then, none of this is new to you, is it?" I let the silence build, feeling Lumina nod up and down slightly, confirming that my body was no mystery to her. I tried not to panic or freak out, to hide my trembling arms, knowing what I was about to do without enough thought. I turned my head again, facing downward towards myself. I told myself twenty times over in the same second that Lumina has already seen me without clothes before, especially since a few seconds ago, and it was the only thing that made this okay, momentarily. There I was, starting at my own crotch with Lumina's eyes linked into mine, for but a single second.

"Wait a minute!" Backing out of whatever I was doing, I quickly tuned the focus in my eyesight so that everything would completely blur, while turning my gaze away from myself once more. As much trouble as I was having thinking straight, one important detail caught up to me again. "Before the purge too? Why were you watching me do that to myself when I was younger?"

"I still had my clairvoyance before the purge. I watched over you a lot, and eventually found you doing that to yourself. It's nothing to be ashamed of; most boys start that young I think. But that's one of the aspects of clairvoyance; it's got the same risks as barging into someone's private locked room at random. We don't know what we're about to see before we invoke the skill. For what it's worth, I didn't ask to see you naked like that when it happened."

"Clairvoyance is a scary power..." So the skill that lets Scions like Altiri remote view any person, in theory it can be used to spy on them even in private capacities? It's always been the case; I just never thought about it before until now. My face was already burning red at the thought, as this was enough explanation into how exactly Lumina caught me mid-masturbation a while back, when I was still discovering it was a new thing. I don't think I could be more humiliated than right now.

"Plus, sometimes, there have been times where you've wanted me to phase out the connection for a few moments at night on school nights to do homework. But from what I've put together, I can tell that the real reason you ask me to phase out is so that you can do those kind of things when you get online to—"

"Ack! I get it already!" Doesn't she realize how bad this is? Or is she enjoying tormenting me like this somehow? Who cares?! Lumina already knows what I've been up to on those other nights. I ask her to phase out for a while so that I can get the privacy I need and get her back when I'm done... I thought I was being sneaky enough. "I just wasn't prepared to hear all of that, coming from you." I don't know what to do now. This is too awkward!

"Honestly Reed... I do understand what the feeling of embarrassment is... But I'll never understand what that emotion has to do with personal nudity. It makes no sense if you ask me."

I should have known. She's not doing this to get back at me. She's doing this because Lumina is in all aspects a space alien. Her very own version of biological nudity even differs from humans in a few ways. She doesn't understand why this is embarrassing? It's because... It's because... Well, trust me, it just is. I don't have to know why right now. "It's a bit complicated Lumina." When is she going to just let me shower in peace?

"Are you okay?"

I had to let out a long sigh, whatever it took to calm me down again. "Yeah..." I shouldn't have overreacted though. Lumina and I are together after all, as she said. I'll have to teach her about some of this one day, that is, when I figure out the exact reason why humans are embarrassed to be naked. "Just be patient with me, okay? I guess I'll be okay at least if you insist on staying here while I shower." I only mentioned it because I knew that's what she was thinking.

"It's me you're dealing with Reed. You should at least be fine knowing that I've already seen you."

I crossed my arms, failing to see her logic, but gave up again realizing that she hasn't entirely grasped the concept of nudity. "Yeah, whatever."

"Look, how about I let you get even with me then? I've seen you a number of times now, so it's only fair that you see me naked at least once, right?"

"Wait, I—"

"Or does the idea kind of gross you out?"

"No! I mean, no it doesn't, I mean..." Come on, idiot! Think straight! "I mean, I don't mind, I guess... But only if you're totally okay with it. Seriously, don't feel compelled to show me your body." I was nervous because of what Lumina was asking to reveal to me. Curious as I've been about Altiri nudity, I never asked Lumina to present it to me because I've been polite. It's just not something I would ask her out of the blue. However, I can't say no anymore. If I do, she'll think I see her as some disgusting space monster whose nudity is too horrible to describe in words.

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With the connection already stronger from the temperature dropping outside, I was easily able to see through Lumina's eyes. She stood up in front of her own personal mirror, showing me her entire body, currently as normal as it always was, censored by the strange space suit that was her natural skin, her outer layer of skin if I remembered right. Only the face, upper neck, hands, and scalp of an Altiri person are exempt from this second outer layer of skin. The interior layer always has a pale color, on count of them being creatures adapted to extreme cold and lower blood circulation speeds. Lumina told me once that Altiri have the ability to pull back large portions of their exterior armored skin to reveal the layers beneath it without hurting themselves, simply with the power of their will. It would enable the possibility for instance to shrink off the armor to her forearms, revealing her softer, unprotected, and hairless arms to me. The thing is, Lumina is preparing to pull back that exterior layer of skin hiding some of her more defined body parts!

"Don't worry Reed. I don't mind... This is what I look like when I'm naked." Right there in her own announcement, Lumina did it. By using some strange alien trick I would never yet understand, she caused all of the exterior armor of her natural body, on her chest and lower thighs to recede away from their target areas, all in some circular area of effect.

In what took about four seconds, I watched as her textured space suit skin moved on its own with some ever so slight noise of moisture, revealing Lumina's pale but smooth under skin. I took from this moment, to the background detail of my thoughts - to observe the fact that Lumina wasn't able to recede the exo-skin entirely, not very far at least. It seemed like she was holding in a breath or something just to be able to perform this strange technique of will, as it indicated that Altiri are not capable of complete receding of this armor at once.

It was only the background thoughts, because my eyes and mind were more blown away by the sight of real breasts and her nude crotch in the flesh. Despite some distance factor from telepathy, this felt far more real in front of me than any online porno. Without thinking, I imprinted the image of her into my mind like this forever, initially out of curiosity since I've never seen this happen before. My eyes didn't linger up top, since I was never really impressed by anyone's boobs. As I came to realize that I was staring directly at Lumina's crotch, the rest of me, which had been mesmerized by her beauty woke to process the situation. "Lu— Lumina! You know what you're showing me, right?!" I idiotically tried to shut and avert my eyes, but it did no good since I was using her eyes to see instead of my own.

"Yeah, I already said I would show you. Here, let me turn around."

I tried to return to a normal mindset when she said that, but I didn't understand the implied meaning she had when she told me she was going to turn around. Lumina's gaze never left the mirror, so she ended up revealing all of her glorious ass to both of us, having uncensored that part of her body as well. "Oh, wow..." I didn't mean to say anything, but was helpless after being shown the other side of her. Booty is one of my weaknesses, so Lumina's display was more of a critical hit to my resistance of personal arousal.

I told her absolutely nothing, but my panic hinted to her how I felt in the moment; I was totally screwed now. I kept my eyes off my own body, but I wasn't sure how long I could hide this boner from her now.

"You— You're not too freaked out by how I look, are you?"

"No, no!" I don't know what to say. She really has zero concept of this whole arousal thing. For the moment, I was thankful that Lumina took her eyes off her own mirror to await my response, finally allowing me the chance to return my vision to my own world. "I just didn't think you would ever show me that so suddenly..." At last, what little detail I tried to set aside for later crawled back into my mind, making me consider the strange prospect of Altiri skin versus human skin. Based on what I just saw, there certainly wasn't anything too creepy or gross about it. It's strange to know that an Altiri cannot be entirely naked like a human can, based on biological restrictions. Yet after what I just saw in Lumina, I instantly knew that I didn't have a problem with the way she looks... My mouth and brain were too frozen to tell her anything though.

She laughed a little, almost nervously, while returning her skin to its original state, causing the receded exterior skin to expand back to where it was, all without moving her legs or hands. "I hope in the near future, you'll get a little more mature."

"I'm mature now." I told her in a tone indicating I was mature enough to not be called immature. After what I just saw, that goes double.

"No, not with everything... Not with this. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you nervous. But I know that someday, you'll be able to take some lead into this."

Right, I can't hide my own nervousness either, due to telepathy. "I'm going to take a shower now." For the moment, I was thankful any potential arousal didn't transfer through. Lumina is hotter than I realized, but I don't want to admit it to her yet.

"Go ahead. I've already just shut off my physical senses in telepathy. I do it anytime I hear or sense water in your world."

"That's right. I forgot that you're a cat."

"I am not a cat!"

"Meow!"

"Just get in the tub before I scratch you!"

See? Just like a cat. I finally let myself smile in the calm this tangent brought me though. At last, the subject was changed in my favor. After setting up the shower, I waited for the lukewarm warmth before steeping in, curiously crediting Lumina's ability to not feel the water as a benefit to herself. However, it was all the same reminder that I was taking a shower with Lumina in full synch with me, doing so on purpose I should say.

"See? It's not a big deal."

"I suppose you're right... It's just weird to me sometimes."

"Weird?"

She's really going to make me spell it out for her, isn't she? "I'm talking about the perspective of this moment. Think about it. If I were casually showering naked with any other girl here on Earth... Well, there would be nothing casual about it."

"... Yeah, your heart would probably explode."

So she does understand? No, arousal and attraction all make sense with her, but the humiliation and embarrassment aspects do not. I don't know how to ever explain that to her though. "I'm not that weak Lumina. But it would still be an awkward situation, assuming we're strangers."

"Then I only see it as a good comparison. It tells me that you're already fairly comfortable around me, even while naked."

Am I comfortable? I can't lie to myself about how I feel. She's only partially correct. The thing is, there's another reason I would promptly freak out if Lumina were any other human; and that's from the factor of physical proximity. Maybe by default, I feel less awkward around Lumina in this situation, because I already know she's countless light-years away. "You do realize that my heart rate is still somewhat elevated, right?"

"I forgot. Was 100 beats per-minute an elevated number for humans?"

"Elevated starts at 90, unless it's some dude's resting heart rate. But 90 beats per minute is where mine is right now." The more important thing to note is why I felt the need to tell her that in the first place.

"I see..."

"Why? What's the normal heart rate for Altiri?"

"About sixteen. I think our highest when in action is in the lower thirties."

"That's a really slow heartbeat." Do the Altiri just have a slower biological system? Slower heart rate, slower breathing rate, and slower aging rate?

"I guess that's just what are bodies decide is normal over here. I don't know why."

"Whatever. The difference in our heartbeat doesn't matter." I was finally able to start washing myself while speaking to her, as if to ignore the new detail that we're showering together.

"It doesn't?"

Is she still hung up on the alien vector? "Lumina? You are not a creature. You are a person, and I intend to treat you like one. If I only focused on the whole alien aspect to all of this, I would have lost my mind ages ago, and that's saying a lot. It doesn't matter to me whether or not you are an alien, biologically speaking. You could look like a hideous horse and I'd still be madly in love with you. Of course, for the record, you don't have anything to worry about regarding appearance."

"Oh... Thanks... I didn't think that you thought I worried about that stuff though, because I didn't."

"I never thought about you in that way, as some strange creature I could never connect with on a personal level. However, I never knew that I felt that way until I confessed my true feelings for you. And so, I do mean it Lumina. Even if things were completely different, if for instance you were born down here as a normal human instead, I'd still be completely in love with you. Even if you weren't as physically attractive as you are now, I'd still fall in love with you. It's proof that I love you for who you are. There's nothing material about our relationship. And, well, I just wanted you to know that, if you didn't know it already."

"I knew... But thanks for saying that anyway." I heard how happy she got after getting the chance to reply again. "I know it means a lot coming from you. You usually mean what you say."

Lumina couldn't be more wrong, about how I normally don't get the same words out that I want to in thought, except when I'm with her. I don't ever jumble up my words with her, or get too nervous to say anything. Okay, today was a small exception, but can anyone blame me? "After I'm done showering, I'm going to finish up my work and go to bed. You can still stay with me as long as you want, but I have to sleep soon Lumina."

"I know..." The disappointment from within was so obvious to hear.

"I know that you don't like waiting eight hours just to see me again. So play with your sisters while I'm out, okay?" She should find something to do on that massive space ship of hers. Lumina is lucky to have the family she does.

"Okay. I'll do that then."

When I finished my shower, I still had to gradually process everything that happened today. Strangely enough, nothing felt too far out of the ordinary or extreme. Maybe it was because I trust Lumina so well these days, or maybe because I know I'll still enjoy another day with her more normally when the night is passed. Even I could start to see the change within us both. Little by little, Lumina and I were starting to enjoy every single second of our shared telepathy, leaving no moment or opportunity to waste. I wasn't upset to realize this, nor was I surprised. After the last summer that stole so much time away from us, every moment was more precious than ever, including the awkward ones.