Page 45 of Reluctantly Abducted
The door slides open with a soft hiss. Ry stands there, illuminated by the corridor lights, his blue skin muted in the dimness of my quarters. The bioluminescent patterns beneath his skin are barely visible, just the faintest hint of light, like distant stars seen through cloud cover.
"May I come in?" he asks formally, as if we hadn't spent last night curled together on this very bed, his body fitted against mine in a way that felt impossibly right.
"Of course." My voice sounds strange to my own ears. Too casual for what's about to happen, too strained to be truly normal.
Ry steps inside, and the door slides shut behind him. His eyes scan me from head to toe, lingering on my bare chest before quickly looking away. But not before I catch the flare of blue-green light beneath his skin, that telltale glow that betrays every emotion he tries to hide.
I've come to love that about him. The way his body speaks truths even when his words are wrapped in scientific detachment. In just three days, I've learned to read those patterns like a language all their own.
"I see you're... prepared for transport," he says stiffly.
"Yep. Back to exactly how you found me." I gesture at my nearly naked body. "Minus the confusion and anger."
"That is... good." His hands twist together in front of him, a nervous gesture I've come to recognize over the past three days. "The transport program has been calibrated. Everything is ready."
His hand dips into a pocket in his uniform, and he pulls out a small glass vial filled with what look like colored stones, blues, greens, and something that catches the light like fire.
"This is for you," he says, extending it toward me. "Compensation for the... disruption to your life."
I take the vial, turning it in my hand. The stones inside catch the light, glittering like tiny stars. "What are these?"
"Common minerals from our world," Ry explains. "They're used in children's games and simple decorations. Practically worthless to us."
I look more closely at the stones. They're beautiful, deep blues like sapphires, emerald greens, and some that shimmer with an internal fire like opals. "And on Earth?"
"Their composition would make them... valuable by your standards." He shifts uncomfortably. "It's standard protocol to provide compensation for any inconvenience caused by our research programs."
I laugh. "So you're paying me off with alien gemstones?"
His skin flushes with bioluminescence. "It's not a payment. It's acknowledgment of the inconvenience we caused."
I close my fingers around the vial, strangely touched by the gesture. "Thank you."
Silence stretches between us, heavy with things unsaid. Neither of us seems to know how to navigate this moment. There's no protocol for goodbye when you've shared what we have.
"So," I finally say, "I guess this is it."
"Yes." Ry's voice is carefully controlled, but the patterns of light beneath his skin betray his emotion, rippling blues and greens that can't quite be suppressed. "The assessment is complete."
I step closer to him, close enough that I can feel the subtle difference in temperature his body gives off, slightly cooler than human normal. It's one of a thousand little details I've cataloged about him. The faint scent of something like sea salt and minerals that clings to his skin. The way his eyes dilateslightly when he's intrigued by something. The precise way he folds his hands when he's trying to maintain his composure.
How is it possible to know someone so well after just three days?
"I wish we had more time," I admit finally. "I wish we'd met under different circumstances."
His bioluminescence flares, bright enough to cast shadows on the walls. "As do I."
"But wishes don't change protocol," I say, echoing a phrase he's used several times during our assessment.
"No," he agrees, his light dimming slightly. "They do not."
I close the distance between us, reaching out slowly to touch his face. His skin is cool and smooth beneath my fingertips, the texture unlike anything on Earth, not quite human skin, not quite something else. A universe of difference contained in that simple touch.
"I'm going to miss you, Ry. That wasn't part of the plan."
His eyes close briefly at the contact, and the light beneath his skin intensifies where my fingers rest against his cheek. When he opens his eyes again, I'm stunned to see a shimmer of moisture gathering there, tears forming but not quite falling.
I pull him into my arms, holding him tighter against me. "You're not really going to cry over one human you knew for three days and who couldn't even get your name right half the time, are you?" I tease gently, my own voice rougher than I'd like.
