Page 66 of Secretly Abducted
"We have an empathic bond. I can literally feel your emotions. What more trial could we need?" I squeeze his hands. "Unless... unless you don't want—"
He kisses me, cutting off my doubts. When he pulls back, his eyes are bright.
"Of course I want to live with you. I just didn't want to push. You've been alone so long—"
"Too long," I correct. "I've been alone too long. And then you crashed into my life with your human intensity and your terrible swimming and your determination to thank me for something I thought was a failure, and suddenly alone feels like loneliness instead of safety."
"Vel'aan..."
"Stay," I say again. "Please."
"Yes." He kisses me again, softer. "Yes, of course. But I really don't have anything to move in."
"We'll get you things. Make spaces that are yours." I pull back, suddenly uncertain. "Though I don't know what humans need. Special furniture? Technology? I don't even know what foods you actually like, I just know you'll eat horrifying slime pods to impress my parents—"
"Hey." He stops my spiraling. "I don't need stuff. But... there is one thing I've been craving. Comfort food from Earth."
"What kind of comfort food?"
Instead of answering, he leads me to the synthesizer, programming something with quick efficiency. A few minutes later, he produces something I've never seen—a long pale fruit split lengthwise, covered in white cream and various colored sauces, topped with preserved fruit.
"Banana split," he announces. "Ultimate human comfort food. At least for me."
"It's very... elaborate."
"It's perfect. Come on." He grabs two spoons and heads for the deck. "Best enjoyed while watching a sunset."
We settle on the deck, the bowl between us, our feet dangling over the water. The sun is just starting to sink toward the horizon, painting everything gold and pink.
"Try it," Alex urges, offering me a spoon.
The first bite is overwhelming—sweet and cold and creamy with the strange texture of the banana. But the second bite is better, the flavors making more sense together.
"Do you make this often?" I ask.
Alex is quiet for a moment, taking his own bite. "When you sent me away. After that first morning, when I moved too fast."
My chest tightens. "Alex..."
"I went back to Tev'ra's place and realized I'd fucked up the best thing that had happened to me in years. Maybe ever." He takes another bite, not looking at me. "I couldn't sleep. Keptthinking about how I'd scared you off by being too human, too forward. So I made one of these ate the whole thing while planning how to fix things."
"I wasn't scared," I protest.
"You were. And you had every right to be. I came on way too strong." He finally looks at me. "But this... this reminded me that good things are worth waiting for. That just because humans move fast doesn't mean we can't slow down when it matters."
"Is that why you came to help with the zhik'ra?"
"Partly. Also I just wanted to be near you, even if you never touched me again." He offers me another spoonful. "This became my comfort food. Made three of these that night."
"Three?"
"Stress eating is a human tradition." He smiles, but there's sadness in it. "I thought I'd ruined everything before it even started."
I set down my spoon, turning to face him fully. "Sending you away that morning was nearly the worst mistake of my life."
"Nearly?"
"The worst was spending ten years thinking I'd failed you. But sending you away that morning..." I touch his face. "I regretted it immediately. Spent the whole day in the fields thinking about you. About how you looked at me, how you made me feel. How empty everything seemed without you there. I was terrified of how much I wanted you to stay." I trace my thumb along his jaw. "One day and you'd already changed everything. Made me want things I'd convinced myself I didn't need."
