Page 64 of Cozy Prisons
“Oh, Falkie!” Kamie said, flying around the table and grabbing the healer in a fierce hug, trapping his arms at his side. “We’lltotally stay. Feelings don’t need to be logical to be valid. You’re worried about losing us, that’s understandable.”
She let go of him and rushed over to an information square sitting on a table near the door. “Let me contact Decard. He owes me for working out that kink in his neck.”
Falkilm looked at him. “Falkie?”
Kiran shrugged. “I guess Kamie’s given you a nickname.”
To his surprise, Falkilm sounded a short burst of excited rattle. “Nicknames are a sign of affection! I’ll treasure it, but only you and Kamie are allowed to call me Falkie. I don’t feel the same about anyone else.”
Kiran fought not to smile and gave Falkilm a solemn nod. “I’ll make sure everyone knows.”
Kamie
After Decard agreed to bring some stuff over, she turned to face Falkilm and Kiran. “Okay, Falkie! Let’s get a nest ready for story time! And we’ll need snacks. Good stories always require snacks.”
Kiran tried to slide off the table, but Falkilm sounded a forceful, negative rattle. “Remain here, I’ll see to creating a nest, then carry you there.”
“I’ll stay with him," Kamie said, skipping across the room.
Falkilm sounded a rumble of agreement. “I’ll be quick.”
As Falkilm rushed from the room, Kamie hopped up on the hard, metal exam table. All the rest of the tables were covered by a soft mat, blankets, and mounds of pillows. Instead of one of those, Falkilm had set Kiran down on the most uncomfortable spot in the entire place!
She winced and wiggled a little, trying to get comfortable. “Ugg.”
Kiran tapped the table with a fingernail. “Why do I get the one bare table?”
Kamie leaned her head against his shoulder. “Because this spot is next to all the best equipment.” She rolled her eyes up to see Kiran’s confused expression. “All the other beds and exam tables only have handheld scanner units; this one has the more powerful wall-mounted unit, and it’s the closest one to the medication cabinet. Falkilm wanted to get you painkillers fast. Remember the first vial he poured into your mouth? He did that before he even asked the others a single question. You were his first priority."
“Huh, I didn’t notice any of that.”
Kamie chuckled. “Well, you were being manhandled at the time, and Cassius was still being obnoxiously loud, so it was a little chaotic. Falkilm only stepped away from you after he’d medicated, scanned, and seen to yourgrievous wounds.”
Kiran laughed at the way she exaggerated those last two words. “Is that why you felt like you could push him?”
She huffed. “Of course. I wouldn’t have been so forceful otherwise. You know me better than that.”
“I might not understand why you do some things, but I never doubt you." He let out a long sigh. “Can I admit that I’m tired?”
She pulled an arm out from where it was squished between their bodies and rubbed a hand over his back. “Only if I can do the same. Maybe we can rest now that we have Falkilm.”
As much as they loved each other, they were both a lot. Kamie tended to become obsessed over things, and Kiran would jump in with her. They both had a horrible sense of time, so there were nights when they both stayed up until dawn and were nearly useless the next day.
They were also disorganized, dramatic, and forgetful.
“He isn’t Denel,” Kiran said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
A deep longing rose up in her. “I know that. No one will ever be Denel.”
A slow, sweet love had developed between her, Kiran, and Denel. They went from being friends and drinking buddies to all living together, and finally, in a relationship that none of them could imagine life without.
Then Denel died.
It had been devastating. She and Kiran put up a good front, flirting with people and continuing to be the entertaining couple they’d been before. It was all fake. Most nights, they held each other and mourned.
Now, finally, they might have found another third that would balance them out again and appeal to both of them. She really wanted this to work, almost as much as she wished she could bring Denel back.
“What does Falkilm smell like to you?”
