Page 32 of The Cerulean Sister
His head is buried in my neck, his gulping breath tickles my skin, but I pull him closer, not wanting this to end. Our entire room is cocooned in amber light and the smell of sex.
We stay silent, but I can feel him thinking the same emotions on repeat as his breathing evens out with mine. Happiness, contentment, and belonging.
I squeeze him tighter and try to hide a sniffle in his skin at the power of the last sentiment. I feel it too, at least my understanding of it. Something I thought I would never have, so unfamiliar.
"Did I hurt you?" He rises to look at me, panicked.
I shake my head and touch the scruff on his cheek. Then he leans in for a deep, all-consuming kiss, his tongue entering in a sweet motion for me to open my lips to kiss me deeper.
I pull away and he adjusts himself, tucking me into his side.
"Being in this room with you . . . it finally feels like home." I bury myself into the crook of his arm.
He pauses his hand and the light stroking of my shoulder, looking down at me with a tucked chin. His eyes roam over my face as he tries to process my words.
I know he has no answer when I feel his tether get stronger, enticing me to latch on and listen.
You have always felt like home to me.
I close my eyes, inviting him to the deep ease that spreads out across my muscles. Even my bones are cushioned and relaxed with each content breath.
Being in here, in this bed, reminds me of the warm reception the first time I entered his mind's eye, how right it felt, how I didn't know I had been missing something until I got a taste of life through him.
99 is still deeply sleeping when I carefully crawl out of bed and untangle my limbs. I tiptoe to the back of the aisle-like room and pause as he stirs, his big chest rising and falling in impossibly long breaths. If I'm not completely silent, he will jolt awake in defensive readiness, as if we are under attack.
I slip on his tunic and take a deep inhale of the smell lingering on the rough fabric as I enter the washroom. It's smaller than the one on the ship by more than half but somehow nicer, with polished black-chrome walls and fixtures. The lighting is an odd hue, and I recognize the control panel that can adjust the settings, but I'm not interested in changing them. I like being in a room that 99 has customized to his wants when he so rarely expresses them.
99 is sitting at the tiny table with his data pad when I come back out.
"Blessed morning." I stretch my arms upward.
He smiles, not taking his eyes off the message on the screen but still extending a hand for me to grab onto and pulling me into his lap. "Morning. Sore from training?"
I flex my hands, testing the muscles. "No."
"Good." He strokes my arm gently, but his mind is so open I can perceive his emotions seeping out into mine, like an affectionate, lingering hope that practicing my light eased the troubles brewing inside me again.
I kiss his cheek because he is so sweet under all that stoicism. "It helped a lot to practice. I can feel it getting stronger every time I use it."
"We can go there anytime you like. You did very well."
I sink into him savoring the praise and look out the small window that looks out into the Viathan pillar-like buildings around us. This little grouping of homes is modest and shadowed by the more important architecture around it, nestled away from the busy market, and I love it.
I select one of the apple-size fruits on the table, examining the round spikes that poke out of the orange flesh. "What is this?"
"Horn fruit. Don't eat the raised parts."
"Oh." I roll it around my hands, wondering how I'm supposed to eat it, even considering it too much trouble than it's worth, until 99 gently takes it, expertly removing the spikes with a flick of his thumb.
"You will like it. It's sweet." He holds it out, now smooth and ready for me.
"Thank you."
"That's yours too," he says with no indication to what he is referring to until he moves the steamy mug closer to me by its oddly shaped handle.
I can tell instantly what type of tea it is. One of the first things we did upon arrival was go to the Viathan herbalist. Neither ofus have a desire for me to become pregnant, and after Crixa’s comments about such a thing, I wanted to make sure I had the preventative tea immediately. Now, 99 makes it for me every time we are intimate without question.
"Thank you," I say and take a sip, leaning back into his bare chest.
