“Things are still rather chaotic.” Azizi said as they led TO and DH down a long, dimly lit hallway, “So, right now we’re just putting people where we have room. We’ll organize more tomorrow and get more permanent housing for people staying here longer than others.”
“That’s fine.” TO said. They could have pointed out that their accommodations in the last few weeks have ranged from isolation to overcrowded ships to a fairly decent room and bed, which was located within the ancient sewers of Arkane. Whatever Scraprock offered for them would be better than that.
“Here we go.” Azizi said as it stopped by a door. Quickly checking its communicator, it said, “This one should be empty, so Dhana-“ They looked purposefully at DH, as though reminding them of their new name, “You can go in here, and Tihona, you’ll be-“
“We’ll be together,” DH said. From behind their head, TO could hear the way DH’s hand gripped on the rubber of the wheelchair. “We’re not going to be separated.”
“That’s fine.” Azizi said, “But it may be a little cramped-“
“We don’t care.” DH said, their ears pinning back as though ready to argue the point.
“That’s really not a problem.” TO said, “We’ve gotten used to crowded living spaces. But, there’s another issue: There’s a child that’s supposed to be with us. Her name is Constance, and she-“
“All children are accounted for. I can say that much.” Azizi said as it quickly pulled up more information on its communicator. “Constance Clora Skimmer. She’s listed with you on your new identifications.” It glanced up. “You organized all the paperwork, I understand. It was exceptional. Made my job easy.”
“Thanks.” TO said as their ears flattened out, “But where is she?” A trickle of panic began seeping into them. They didn’t know where Constance was. That was ok before when they were on a ship and there weren’t many places she could go, but now they were on Scraprock and TO had no idea what dangers were hidden on this makeshift planet, and she was their responsibility!
“She’s only six.” Azizi said, “So, she’s in medical. Most children don’t leave their home planets before they turn ten unless there’s a good reason, so most don’t receive their general off-planet vaccinations until they turn eight or nine. When they get here, we give them the vaccinations and monitor them overnight at least. If you like, I can have a notification sent to you once she’s ready to leave medical.”
“Can I speak a with her?” TO asked, “Is she alright, I -“
“Normally, I’d say that it wouldn’t be a problem, but I think it’s far later than you realize it is. It’s basically the middle of the night for her. The vaccinations often make them sleepy as well, so she’s most likely fast asleep by now. Still, I’ll make sure you’re notified as soon as she wakes.” Azizi reached into their pocket and pulled out a small card, “Here, keycard for your room. Press it to the reader on the inside of the door to lock it, and do the same to unlock. The light over the door will turn red when it’s locked.” It gestured over the door to a small panel light which was currently off. “I’ll see about getting you a family room tomorrow. Might be crowded while we’re getting people where they need to go, but we’ll get it organized.”
“Shouldn’t I check on her, or-“
“I did.” DH said, their hand brushing against the back of TO’s neck and causing their ears to warm, “I was in medical most of the time, remember?”
“Of course I remember.” TO snapped as their ears flushed deeper. “I just didn’t connect those facts.”
“A long day.” Azizi said, the crystals on their forehead glittering in a mixture of purple and pink, “You rest. I’ll make sure you’re informed when Constance wakes.” It put a note in its communicator, closed it, and then gave a quick type of bow with their neck before turning and heading down the hallway.
“Well.” DH said once they were out of sight, “Let’s see what this place has in store.”
As they entered the room, they realized that while Azizi called it cramped, and while it might have been sparse compared to the nicer places they had stayed, it was practically a luxury compared to what they had grown accustomed to. The room was round and the darker, slightly green walls absorbed much of the light from the warm, toned LED lights. Every surface was matte, and with the warm, dimmer lights and darker walls, everything was just easy to look at. As the door slid closed behind them, a comfortable quiet overtook them and, for the first time in ages, it was like the constant array of noise all around them faded off.
Yes, the translators in their ears blocked out much of the din, but it wasn’t the same as proper quiet.
“The walls.” DH said as they looked around, “Look, they’re sound proofed.”
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
TO looked, focusing in the dim to see the texture of the wall. Indeed, the wall had a repeating, uneven texture, and seemed to be lined with fabric of some kind. TO willed their chair forward, looking around at everything in the room. There was a table at the perfect height for synths, a single screen in a wall which was currently covered with a curtain to prevent reflection, and another door on the far end of the room. When TO when to look, their heart seemed to flutter as Inside, was a proper bath. It wasn’t as large as the one in the hotel they had to stay back when they used the wormhole, or even as big as they had in training, but it was a proper bath. It had jets for massaging muscles, and unlike the ‘baths’ in the old sewers, it was properly clean. The walls were clean, and despite being clearly waterproof, they were still matte in texture. The sound still seemed to get absorbed into the walls, and the lights overhead were dim and comfortably warm.
“These rooms were made especially for synths.” TO said, speaking just as they realized this fact. The round room would make it harder for sound to bounce about in such a way that would cause their ears to ring, and the material of the walls also helped by absorbing some sound. The matte surfaces prevented any harsh reflections and glare, and even the lights themselves were quiet, the warm tone proving easy on the eyes.
“I know.” DH said, “Come here, I found the bed.”
TO backed away from the small washroom and turned to see what DH had found. They hadn’t seen the bed at first and didn’t even know where one would go as the room at its widest point might have let TO and DH lay down on the floor, their heads touching and their feet pressed up against the walls. However, when they looked, they saw that the bed had been set into the wall, covered by a panel. When the panel pulled away, it revealed a pod much like the kind they had slept in back in training. It was so similar that TO expected to see the same thin mat, the thin blanket, and the tiny speakers set in the corner. None of that was true: The sleeping pod opened up to show an area twice the size their pods in training had been. It was deeper; the pod sinking down about a foot above the sleeping mat, and when DH pushed down on it they could see their mate’s hand sink down showing the softeners of their new sleeping area. There were more pillows than they needed, visibly thick blankets, and the thing that was most different was that the pod was rounded, not rectangular.
“The walls in here are screens.” DH muttered as they reached out and touched the wall. As their hand pressed against it for a moment, the area around there had suddenly lit up, and a set of options asking if them to sync up a chip or a communicator came up. “And it’s better for our wings.” DH said, looking at the rounded pod, “We can stretch more. Honestly, we could fit three or four of us in here if we wanted to. One of us could sleep with our wings stretched out.”
“Maybe I’ll be able to fly in my dreams.” TO said with a chuckle. Even thinking about it made their wings feel itchy.
“And the roundness will make sound easier on our ears, and look-“ They ran their hand over the pod’s walls, “It’s soft. More like fabric than a wall. The screen must be projected.”
“It absorbs sound.” TO said. “These rooms they were made for us. They were made to absorb sound and light, and keep things at a level that keeps up perfectly comfortable.”
Rooms made specifically for them, and designed with more than simple stark functionality and efficiency in mind. It was a room designed with the intent of giving them somewhere comfortable to rest.
A room for NuChilacians.
======
After taking baths that were far too long than they needed to be and stripping off their now worn and dingy clothes, the two gratefully flopped into the sleeping pod. DH helped TO first, of course, who stretched their wings out as far as they could go. While their wings couldn’t stretch out all the way–they didn’t expect to find that in any bed, at least not one in space–they could stretch out their full body, their toes only just touching the edge of the pod. They revelled in the space for a moment until DH flopped in after them, shaking the bed before they turned in towards TO. Without a word, they wrapped their arms around TO and pulled them in close.
“I missed this.” They said, nuzzling the back of TO’s neck. Ears flushing, TO nodded and shifted back into DH. The ability to have DH embrace them, to feel their breath on their neck and wafting past their twitching ears, to have DH’s skin against their own, had almost become foreign to them.
“Me too.” TO finally whispered back. After another moment, they relaxed into DH much like they had into the bath, reveling in the warmth. They hadn’t even pulled the plush blankets over themselves yet, and TO felt entirely comfortable.
“Your leg is healing well.” DH murmured against TO’s neck. “Does it hurt?”
“Surprisingly, no.” TO said. In truth, they didn’t know if they were just getting used to the pain and relegating it to background noise in their body or not, but even so, the pain in their knee wasn’t bad.
DH ran their arm over TO’s side, draping their hand across their stomach before letting their fingers drift down, fingertips brushing against TO’s hip bones to make their body shiver and their ears warm as the sensation slowly drew that distracting heat which the pain and stress and cramped quarters had pushed aside. It suddenly struck them how long it had been since they and DH had been together like this, since they had an opportunity to be together.
A moment later, their hands dipped lower. TO inhaled sharply, their eyes widening at DH’s uncharacteristically bold touches. “DH?”
“If you don’t want to-“
“No! I do!” TO said, groaning and pressing their hands to their face at just how desperate they had sounded in that moment. “I do. I just... You’re not normally so-“
Their voice cut out, a discordant chirp replacing comprehensible speech as DH kissed the back of TO’s right ear. With agonizing slowness, DH kissed up the length of TO’s ears, their lips cooling TO’s flushed ears until they got to the top where they gently nipped at the edge and drew an embarrassing mix between a gasp and a squeak from TO’s throat.
“No, I’m not normally ‘so’, you’re right” They whispered as they kissed back towards the base of TO’s ears, “Is that a problem?” they tightened their embrace on TO, their hand pulling TO’s hips back as another searing hot kiss pressed just where their ear met their head. The pooling, desperate pressure and heat spiraled in them, and they leaned their head back against DH, cursing softly.
“Never a problem.” They said, their voice soft and mewling, “Please, don’t stop.”