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He woke the next morning to find they’d gravitated towards each other in the night. They were both in the middle of the tent and one of her hands was resting on his chest.

Thank Vannla she’s still asleep.

He carefully extricated himself and made for the exit. As he grabbed his shirt, he stole a look at her. She was curled on her side, her other hand tucked under her cheek. She looked utterly defenceless.

He knew that wasn’t an accurate image. She was quite capable of taking care of herself and she was as stubborn as a dankar. Yet he couldn’t help feeling a sudden surge of protectiveness towards her.

Letting himself out of the tent, he found dawn had just broken. The two suns were rising, dispelling the early morning mist.

He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the caress of heat on his scales. Vraxians were made for hot climates. He leaned back against a handy rock, his serpetri spread wide for maximum exposure, and closed his eyes.

That’s how Kara found him a few minutes later – basking himself like a lizard. His torso had shaded to the brownish tint of the boulder behind him. She ran her eyes appreciatively over his taut pecs and resisted the temptation to do the same with her fingers.

“Morning, snake-boy. Enjoying the sun?”

“It is rare I can just sit and do nothing. I’m making the most of it while I can.”

“Can I drag you away for breakfast?”

He cracked an eyelid. She had changed back into her absurdly small outfit and was standing with one hand on her hip. He managed not to stare.

“What kind of breakfast?”

“An all-you-can-eat buffet. Come on.”

He put his shirt on and followed her. She checked the traps first – one was empty but in the second a small rabbit-like creature dangled lifelessly. She handed it to Vahn.

“Tie it to your belt. We’ll clean it back at camp.”

She continued on, angling away from the river and deeper into the forest. The light changed as the foliage grew denser. They seemed to be following a path and he wondered how a trail had been created if the planet was deserted.

Then he realized it had probably been made by them.

Kara had tucked a laser-blade into the waistband of her skirt and she extracted it now, holding it loosely in her firing hand.

“Just in case,”

she explained. “We’ve never had any trouble coming this way before but our scent may have faded from the path.”

“Are there many dangerous creatures on Minerva-6?”

he asked curiously.

“Loads. Predators everywhere. One even took me back to its lair once.”

She flashed him a smile. “You killed it with a blaster.”

“It is a miracle we survived. So many dangers.”

“Yes. But by the end of it, we were the apex predators and they started to stay away from us. Ah, here we are.”

A copse of trees stood in dappled sunlight and even from a distance Vahn could see they were laden with fruit. Each tree seemed to bear a different species; there were succulent red orbs, deep violet ovals, and berries of every color.

Their fresh, juicy aroma wafted over him and his mouth began to water.

“The best ones are at the top,”

Kara said as she holstered her weapon. “Last one up’s a slothar.”

She leapt gracefully to grasp a low-hanging branch and boosted herself into the tree.

“We have to climb?”

asked Vahn.

Kara reached up and snagged a fist-sized berry from the branch. She tossed it down to him.

“It’s worth it, I promise.”

He bit deeply. Luscious, sweet nectar squirted into his mouth and dribbled over his chin.

“Vannla’s Sword!”

“I know, right? But they’re even better higher up.”

She began to climb nimbly, feet and hands moving with assurance. “Hurry up, slow-poke.”

He dropped the rabbit-beast to the ground and looked up into the tree, gauging the distance. Then he used his serpetri to vault upwards, landing on a branch above her head. He gazed down at her smugly.

“Who’s the slow-poke now?”

“Cheat.”

Amid amiable banter, they made their way to the top. The berries grew heavier and darker as they climbed, more luscious and flavorful. Finally, they perched on a branch with a birds’ eye view.

“These were our favorite. But the purple ones are good too,”

Kara said between mouthfuls. Vahn ate thoughtfully.

“The taste does seem familiar. Is fruit always this abundant on Minerva-6?”

“They’re especially juicy now because the rains have just ended. Soon they’ll be smaller and drier. But they last a long time, even without water.”

“It is astonishing how things can adapt.”

“Take your shirt off.”

His eyebrows rose at the non-sequitur.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I want to take some fruit back to camp with us but I haven’t got a bag. And this outfit sure doesn’t have pockets. So take your shirt off and we’ll use that.”

Rolling his eyes, Vahn did as he was told. He held his shirt out and Kara piled it high with fruit. Then Vahn gathered the edges together and lowered it towards the ground as far as he could with his serpetri, before letting it drop.

They climbed down after it.

“That was a delicious breakfast,”

he told her. “What is next?”

“We could probably both use a wash,”

she said airily. “So I’m going to take you to the bathing pool. I mean, the river’s okay but there are one or two things in there you do not want to meet.”

Vahn tensed.

Bathe? With her?

“I will pass.”

“We just spent four days on a planet-hopper with a sonic shower. Surely you’d enjoy some fresh water on your scales?”

“I do not wish to bathe.”

Kara pursed her lips.

“Are you planning on spending the whole four days avoiding basic hygiene?”

“Of course not,”

he said uncomfortably. “But I don’t need a wash just yet.”

“You sure about that, snake-boy?”

She reached down and picked up a fruit which had rolled from his shirt. Vahn eyed her.

“Kara, do not even think about it.”

“Think about what?”

she asked innocently. “Think about this?”

She threw the fruit. It landed in the middle of his chest with a satisfying splat.

“Kara!”

Vahn was outraged.

“Oops. Clumsy me. Here, let me clean that up for you.”

She used her hand to smear it over his body even more. “Wow, that just won’t come off, will it?”

“You aggravating little human.”

Vahn picked up not one fruit but four, one in each hand and one in each serpetri. “Let’s see if you can take your own medicine.”

Kara backed off hurriedly.

“Hey, no fair using tentacles!”

“Too bad, vixen.”

With a grin, he sent the fruit hurtling towards her. She managed to turn her back as all four hit their target. Juice and pulp squelched over her skin and hair.

“You bastard!”

She grabbed two plum-like berries off a low branch and chucked them at his face. He retaliated with a shower of fruit that left her drenched in sap and giggling helplessly.

By the time their impromptu food-fight was over, they were both sticky from head to toe and breathless with laughter.

“Sweet Jesus, my sides hurt.”

Vahn immediately sobered.

“I threw too hard?”

“No, dummy. From laughing. God, I haven’t laughed like that since…”

she trailed off, and Vahn knew she’d been about to say ‘since the wedding’. “Anyway, you can’t deny you need a wash now, snake-boy.”

Vahn looked down at himself. Every inch of his chest and a good portion of his trousers were covered in fruit stains.

“No, I suppose not. You win, small human.”

His expression turned serious. “But I warn you, we are only going to bathe. Nothing else.”

She pushed her juice-matted hair off her face.

“Of course. Whatever you say, my alien overlord.”