Cosmic (Ace Frehley x Reader)

Chapter 3

"Here you go." Ace set a tray down in front of you. It held a bowl of soup and a cup. "I had to do a little research. I hope soup is okay."

"It's okay," you said. "Thank you."

The two of you were in a small dining room. Earlier you mentioned about being hungry so Ace took you to the dining room, where he gave you soup. You didn't know why you got hungry all of a sudden, considering you ate at the bonfire. But you did.

"How did you get soup, anyway?" you questioned, tasting it. A little hot.

"Over there." He gestured toward a black screen on the wall. Underneath it was a few buttons.

"The soup came from that thing?"

"Yeah, there's a little opening."

You furrowed your brow. "I don't understand."

"It's okay. Jendell has more advanced technology than Earth, so I get it." He sat down, smiling.

You blinked. "Jendell?"

"My home planet!" He laughed. His laugh was something you've never heard before. It was really unique. "We're all friendly."

"So, what exactly are you?" you inquired. "You seem human, but I'm guessing you're not."

"Nope. I'm a spaceman," he said with a grin.

You stared at him. "A what?"

"Spaceman! You know."

Spaceman.

You thought back to the comic book Bennett had bought, Spacemen in Space. Back at the bonfire you didn't believe in them nor did you believe Bennett. But now seeing Ace, was it possible? Did spacemen exist?

"But spacemen aren't real. Or spacewomen. Or . . ." You scratched your head. "Well, whoever else is out there. Aliens?"

"Plenty," he answered.

Silence.

"Are you going to take me home?" you asked.

"Do you want to?"

"Very much."

He didn't respond, too busy looking the floor instead. Whenever it seemed like he would say something, he never did. Unfortunately.

You tried again. "Ace, what you did wasn't good. Just taking me like that . . . it's not right. It's extremely bad. And since I'm gone right now, everyone might start wondering where I am, you know? They'll get worried if I don't return. So, can you please take me home? Back to Earth?"

Ace bit his lip. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Y/N."

Your heart dropped. "Why not?"

"There's a reason why you're here, Y/N. A big reason. So, it's really important that you stay here until it's all over."

"Until what is all over?" You didn't like where the conversation was going. What could possibly be the reason to prevent you from going back home?

"My mission," Ace replied. "You see, Jendell is in trouble. Aliens from another planet are trying to take over our planet. For weeks we've been trying to negotiate with them to save it. And finally, they said they'll leave us alone if we . . . give them a human."

By this time, you were eating your soup, however, once you heard the last sentence, you released your spoon immediately. You jumped up from your seat. "You're sacrificing me?!"

"What?" He stood up with a surprised expression on his face. "No! Never! We didn't want to do that so we came up with a secret plan."

You grew curious. "What kind of plan?"

"Well, first we have to trick them. You know, trick them into thinking we'll give them a human. But we won't."

"And then?"

"We didn't get very far. The aliens interrupted our conversation after that. Then I was told to get into my spaceship quickly." He lowered his eyes. "We'll have to come up with our own plan."

You went quiet as you sat down, taking a moment to comprehend everything. Ace also sat down, propping his elbow and resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

It took awhile for you to take Ace's words in. You didn't like the whole thing at all, but what was there to do? His planet was in trouble.

Yet it was also scary to think about. What if something goes wrong? What if the aliens get their way? That will mean they would either get a human or take over Ace's planet.

Or both. You didn't know what will happen if they did - and that was scary, too.

"I guess you and I will have to come up with a plan," you spoke up.

Ace looked at you, surprised. "You're going along with it?"

You shrugged. "What else is there to do? I don't want anything to happen to your planet. So, yeah, I . . . I'm in."

He smiled. That's when you noticed he had twinkling brown eyes. "Thank you. And nothing is going to happen to you. I promise."

"Promise?" you asked.

"Promise. I won't let anything happen to you." He paused, then tilted his head. "Are you still mad at me?"

"For what?"

"For what I've done? Because I didn't mean it to be like that. Abducting you. It's just that I had no idea you were standing under my spaceship. Like I've said, I was trying to test teleportation and then you showed up. And when I found out you were human, I figured it was best to bring you along and complete my mission." He sighed. "Anyway, I'm really sorry, Y/N."

You stopped eating your soup in order to study him. He appeared to be genuinely sorry for what happened. He even sounded like it. There was no way he could've been lying. If he did, well, he was really good at it.

So could he be telling the truth? You wished you knew the answer to that question. But you knew the only way to find out was to actually trust him.

"I'm sorry," he continued. "I really am. Once all of this is over, I'll take you home. First thing."

"First thing?" you repeated.

"First thing." Ace stood up. "I need to go back to the flight deck. Will you be okay by yourself? Can I trust you?"

"Of course. I won't anything. But what do I do with the bowl and cup?"

"Oh, you just put it in that machine over there." He gestured toward a white machine that stood in a corner. "It'll take care of them."

You stared at it. In fact, you were still staring at it when Ace left the room. The door slid shut behind him.

It was going to take you awhile to get used to this.