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‘All day?’ Reece asked, his nose scrunching as he glared at the evidence of their copulation. Was it really sex if their bodies weren’t even touching? Actually, I didn’t want to know.

‘They were just finishing when I walked in, I swear,’ I said, holding my hands up like that would prove my innocence. I didn’t know why I felt so guilty, but the chub in my pants wasn’t helping.

Henrik roared out a laugh. ‘I told you not to go in,’ he teased.

I huffed out a sigh. ‘I don’t even know why I did,’ I admitted.

‘Wait, you walked in on them knowing they were…?’ Reece trailed off, gesturing vaguely towards the glowing, catatonic trio.

‘Did you need something, Dorian?’ Henrik asked, throwing me a lifeline.

‘I was just swinging by to check on everyone…’ I finished lamely.

Reece snorted. ‘And join in the fun?’

I stuck out my bottom lip in a pout. ‘I didn’t know they would be… indisposed.’

Henrik held both arms out as he gesticulated to the room at large, then scrambled to recatch Baldr when he accidentally let him slip through his fingers. The blond boy was laughing and clapping, squealing with joy at the perceived game and it cut through the remaining awkwardness of the situation. I couldn’t help but smile at his innocent little face, and I’d always thought baby laughs were contagious. It was the best part of growing up as one of many siblings.

Large families weren’t uncommon on Gerinium, our impoverished planet lacking the funding for basic healthcare such as contraceptives. I was by no means the oldest or the youngest, so I had spent my life surrounded by babies. My siblings, and my siblings’ children. Babies were kind of my thing, which was why I’d been volunteering in the overturned cafeteria. Technically, I was supposed to be resting to prepare for my next shift, but I’d wanted to check in with my team as we’d gravitated away from one another since leaving Nova Station.

We only saw each other in passing, and only for a moment or two before we were needed elsewhere. I was actually missing these guys, though not enough to watch them have freaky mind sex. That, I could’ve done without, even if the sound of Artemis’s moans still rang in my ears like a siren song.

It was still weird to think of her as a woman, and even more strange to recognise her as an attractive one, but there was an undeniable allure to her that I didn’t know how to process. So, I chose to ignore it. We had far too many problems to keep us busy, I didn’t need to add more to it by following my dick. I could find someone else to get laid, it didn’t have to be her.

‘We’re good,’ Henrik smiled, sensing the direction of my thoughts, though I hoped not all of them.

‘I was just doing the same,’ Reece stated. ‘I don’t really have anything to do, so I figured I’d do some rounds, see if anyone needed an extra hand.’

‘We could always use more volunteers with the kids,’ I offered, but by they way he wrinkled his nose I could tell that was a no-go.

‘I’ve got Cadmus to help me in here, and there aren’t really any injuries or illness that need seeing to so we’ve mostly been twiddling our thumbs.’ Henrik sent him an apologetic smile, but then his eyes lit up with something and he immediately brightened. ‘I know that Artemis wanted to pull you and Addy to discuss your abilities, though. Cadmus wanted her help practicing the new abilities. That’s why they went into the web, to talk to Bromm. You can wait around here until they wake up if you want. Saves her from having to hunt you down.’

‘Oh, yeah. Sure. Okay,’ he said, suddenly unsure of himself as he perched on the edge of the second cot.

I cleared my throat exaggeratedly and moved to leave. ‘Well, I’m not needed for that. I’d better head back to the bunks. I need to get some sleep before I have to wrangle hundreds of kids again in another twelve hours.’

‘You’re a better man than me, Dorian,’ Henrik praised, gesturing to where Bal was clawing at his hair above him with his toes. ‘I’m not a kids person. This guy’s taking it out of me enough as it is. I can’t even begin to imagine being stuck in the cafeteria right now, let alone willingly. It’s bad enough that I need to go through it to get to the kitchen.’

I laughed, throwing my head back as I pictured it. ‘You’re doing a surprisingly good job of babysitting Baldr right now, Henrik. I wouldn’t sell yourself short.’

‘He’s turning my hair into a nest with his toes, and he keeps trying to put himself inside the Kikshrut’s mouth like hewantsto be eaten.’

Reece tried to hide his laughter behind his hand, but the shake of his shoulders and the mirth in his eyes was a dead giveaway.

I turned back when I got to the door. ‘Oh, and if I see Adara then I’ll send her this way, yeah?’

Reece nodded, but Henrik was too absorbed in ensuring Baldr didn’t get into a drawer. I hoped it wasn’t filled with anything sharp, but Baldr seemed to have a knack for being troublemaker. That drawer probably contained needles, or worse, scalpels.

Cutting out before something was cut off of me, I waved over my shoulder as I exited the room and headed towards our shared bunk.

A yawn burst out of me, my jaw cracking with the stretch. I just hoped that when I got there my bed was empty. Sharing was becoming an issue wherethere were so many individuals without a job to do on a ship that wasn’t intended to hold so many passengers. We were all on top of each other, and it was getting old real fast.

Thankfully, the only occupant when I arrived was a snoring Urman. He’d also been helping out with the children, though he’d been assigned a different shift than mine. We’d split the day into four shifts, and he was one shift ahead of me.

I headed straight for the bathroom to quickly freshen up, the most random parts of me somehow sticky, and quickly got ready for bed. I was as quiet as I could be to avoid disturbing Urman, and soon enough my head was on my pillow, my eyes closed, and sleep encompassed me.

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