Page 20

Derek

The water feels different now. Warmer, somehow, even though I know it's the same temperature it was an hour ago.

We're floating together in the center of the pool, the artificial lighting dimmed to something softer, more intimate.

Kav'eth's hand drifts near mine underwater, and when our fingers brush, neither of us pulls away.

I can't remember the last time I felt this.

.. quiet. Not tired, exactly, but settled in a way that's completely foreign to me.

Usually after sex I'm already thinking about the next workout, the next meal, the next thing on my schedule.

My brain's constantly running optimization algorithms, how to improve, how to perform better, how to get the most out of every moment.

But right now, floating here with Kav'eth's bioluminescence casting gentle patterns across the water, I don't want to optimize anything. I just want to exist in this moment.

"This is nice," I say, my voice softer than usual. The words feel inadequate for what I'm actually experiencing, but I've never been great with emotional vocabulary.

Kav'eth turns his head to look at me, water lapping gently around his shoulders. His golden eyes are calm, curious. "You seem... different. More relaxed than I have observed before."

I consider this, watching the way the light plays across his blue-tinted skin. "I don't usually do this. The floating thing. The... afterwards thing."

"What do you usually do?"

"Leave," I admit with a small laugh. "Or find something productive to do. Check my macros, plan tomorrow's workout, update my social media. I'm not really a cuddle-and-talk kind of guy."

"But you are here."

"Yeah." I let my hand drift closer to his, our fingers tangling loosely underwater. "I am."

The empathic bond hums quietly between us, not the intense feedback loop of earlier but something gentler. I can feel Kav'eth's contentment, his satisfaction, and underneath it all, something that might be wonder.

"Your people," I say, genuinely curious for the first time about something that isn't fitness-related. "Do they do this? The floating together thing?"

"Nereidans require daily water immersion for optimal health," Kav'eth explains, his diplomatic training showing even in casual conversation. "But we typically perform this function individually, as part of personal maintenance routines."

"Of course you do." I grin at him. "Everything's about efficiency and optimization with you guys, isn't it?"

"It has served us well as a species."

"But not personally?"

Kav'eth is quiet for a moment, considering. "I am beginning to understand that there may be... value in activities that serve no practical purpose beyond personal satisfaction."

"Like floating with someone you're bonded to?"

"Yes."

I study his face, noting the way his bioluminescence pulses gently beneath his skin. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"The bioluminescence thing. Is that... normal? For your people?"

Kav'eth's skin flushes slightly, patterns of light rippling across his chest. "It is a physiological response to strong emotion. Most Nereidans learn to control it during diplomatic training."

"But you can't control it around me."

"No," he admits quietly. "I cannot."

I grin at that, feeling absurdly pleased. "Good. I like it. It's like having a direct line to what you're feeling."

"The empathic bond serves a similar function."

"Right, that." I pause, trying to find the right words. "I've never felt anything like that before. That connection during... you know."

"During intimate contact, yes." Kav'eth's voice is careful, clinical. "It is quite rare, especially across species."

"It's not just the sex thing," I say, surprising myself with the admission. "It's like... I can feel what makes you happy. What you need. I've never been able to do that with anyone before."

Through the bond, I sense Kav'eth's sharp attention, his sudden intense focus. There's something vulnerable in his expression, like he's afraid to hope for something he wants badly.

"Not even with Jake?"

The question should bother me, but it doesn't. Jake feels like a lifetime ago, someone I used to know rather than someone who shared my bed for eight months. I give Kav'eth a sleepy, satisfied smile.

"Jake who?"

The reaction through our connection is immediate and overwhelming, relief, possessive satisfaction, and something deeper that makes my chest feel warm. Kav'eth's bioluminescence flares brighter for a moment before settling back to its gentle glow.

"That pleases you," I observe, letting our fingers intertwine more deliberately.

"More than I anticipated," Kav'eth admits. "The thought of you with someone else creates... unpleasant emotional responses."

"Jealousy."

"Yes. It is not an emotion I have much experience with."

I study his face, noting the way his usual diplomatic composure has softened into something more honest. "What are Nereidan relationships usually like? Before this compatibility program thing?"

"Arranged," Kav'eth says simply. "Based on genetic compatibility, social standing, professional advancement potential. Emotion is... less relevant to the selection process."

"That sounds terrible."

"It is efficient."

"Efficiency isn't everything," I tell him, squeezing his hand underwater. "Sometimes the best things are the ones you don't plan for."

Kav'eth is quiet for a long moment, and through the bond I can feel him trying to wrap his head around the idea.

"Is that what I am?" he asks finally. "Something you did not plan for?"

The question is vulnerable in a way that makes something twist in my chest. I turn fully to face him, treading water so I can look directly into his golden eyes.

"Kav'eth, three days ago I thought aliens were science fiction.

Now I'm floating in a pool on a spaceship, bonded to a diplomat who glows when he comes, and I've never felt more connected to anyone in my life.

" I reach up to touch his face, water droplets clinging to his skin.

"So yeah, you're definitely not something I planned for.

But you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. "

His bioluminescence pulses brighter, and through our connection I feel the impact of my words. The wonder, the disbelief, the cautious hope that this might actually be real.

"I was supposed to evaluate your compatibility for integration into our society," he says softly.

"How's that going?"

"Poorly. I can no longer maintain any pretense of objectivity." His hand comes up to cover mine where it rests against his cheek. "You have completely disrupted my professional protocols."

"Good," I tell him firmly. "Fuck your protocols. This is better than any protocol."

Kav'eth laughs, the sound surprised and genuine. "You have a remarkable ability to simplify complex situations."

"It's not complex. You like me, I like you, we have incredible chemistry and this weird psychic connection thing. Everything else is just details we can figure out later."

"Just details," Kav'eth repeats, like he's testing the words.

"Just details," I confirm, pulling him closer until we're floating inches apart. "Right now, this is all that matters."

I kiss him then, soft and unhurried, tasting minerals and something uniquely him. The empathic bond carries the warmth of the moment between us, and for the first time in my life, I understand what people mean when they talk about feeling complete.

When we break apart, Kav'eth's expression is soft with something that might be love.

"Derek," he says, my name careful on his tongue.

"Yeah?"

"I believe I am developing what humans call 'feelings' for you."

I grin, unable to help myself. "Just developing? I'm pretty sure I'm already there."

His bioluminescence flares again, and through the bond I feel his happiness spike. "This complicates the evaluation process significantly."

"Then stop evaluating and start feeling," I tell him, stealing another kiss. "Trust me, it's worth it."

We float in comfortable silence for a while, just existing together. The gentle current moves us slowly around the pool, and I find myself mesmerized by the way Kav'eth's bioluminescence creates shifting patterns of light on the water's surface.

"Can I tell you something?" I say eventually.

"Always."

"I used to think that if something wasn't making me stronger, faster, or better, it was a waste of time." I gesture vaguely at the space between us. "This doesn't make me any of those things. But it makes me... I don't know. Happy, I guess."

"You guess?"

I laugh, realizing how that sounded. "I'm not great with emotions. I've spent most of my life focused on physical goals, measurable results. But this—" I squeeze his hand. "This feels like the most important thing I've ever done, and I can't quantify it at all."

"Perhaps some things are not meant to be quantified."

"Yeah, maybe."

Through the empathic bond, I can feel Kav'eth's quiet amazement at the conversation we're having. It occurs to me that this might be the first time either of us has talked about feelings without it being about sexual chemistry or physical attraction.

"What about you?" I ask. "What's this like for you?"

Kav'eth considers the question seriously.

"Terrifying," he admits. "I have spent my entire adult life in service to my people, following protocols designed to ensure the best possible outcomes for everyone involved.

This—what we have—serves no diplomatic purpose.

It advances no political agenda. It should be irrelevant to my mission. "

"But it's not."

"No. It is the most relevant thing in my existence." His golden eyes meet mine. "You are the most relevant thing in my existence."

The words make my chest tight, and through the bond, I feel the truth of them, the way they're both confession and revelation.

I don't say anything, just pull him closer until we're floating pressed together, skin to skin.

"Stay," I admit quietly, my face against his neck. "Forever. Which is insane because I've known you for like three days."

"Time may be less relevant than we typically assume," Kav'eth says thoughtfully. "The empathic bond creates a connection that typically develops over years of partnership."

"So we're basically speed-running a relationship?"

"I am unfamiliar with that term, but if it means we are progressing at an accelerated pace, then yes."

"Have you ever heard of anyone developing a bond this fast?" I ask, genuinely curious.

Kav'eth hesitates, and through our connection I feel something complicated—surprise, maybe concern.

"What is it?"

"Yes," he admits slowly. "My brother has bonded strongly with his mate, as illogical as it appears to be."

"Illogical how?"

"The circumstances were... unconventional. The bond formed rapidly, despite significant cultural and practical obstacles." His expression grows thoughtful. "I had previously considered his situation to be an anomaly, perhaps the result of poor judgment or inadequate professional discipline."

"And now?"

"Now I am beginning to understand that perhaps the bond chooses its own timeline, regardless of what logic would dictate." He looks at me with something that might be wonder. "Perhaps my brother was not as foolish as I believed."

I laugh, the sound echoing off the pool walls. "Only you would make falling in love sound like a diplomatic process."

Kav'eth goes very still. "Love?"

The word just sits there between us, and I realize I said it without thinking.

But looking at him now—this gorgeous, complicated alien who lights up when he touches me, who gets jealous over someone he's never met, who's throwing away centuries of diplomatic training just to float in a pool with me—I know it's true.

"Yeah," I say simply. "Love."

His bioluminescence explodes across his skin in brilliant patterns that illuminate the entire pool area. Through our bond, I feel his joy, his relief, his overwhelming happiness at hearing me say it.

"I love you too," he says quietly.

"Good," I tell him, grinning. "Because I was starting to worry this whole empathic bond thing was one-sided."

As we float together in the gentle current, fingers intertwined, I think about how wrong I was about what mattered. All those months with Jake, I thought we just weren't compatible enough, weren't optimized for each other. But that wasn't the problem.

The problem was that we never had this, whatever this is. This feeling like I could stay here forever and not miss anything else in the world.

And through the empathic bond, I can feel that Kav'eth feels exactly the same way.