Starfish

9.2

Ardus shut the door behind himself as he entered his office, where Athe was straightening a set of books on one shelf. Athe dusted the ancient leather covers with a soft cloth before lining them back up precisely to better display their carefully preserved spines.

"How is she?"

"Fine."

"Does she need anything?"

"No."

"Did she say anything?"

"No."

"Can you speak in sentences that are longer than a single word?"

Ardus shot him an ugly glare. "There is nothing to say. I brought her back to her apartment, she fell asleep on the way, I left her there. I will check in with her tomorrow after she has rested, Nia said she needs to rest more than anything else."

"I can go tomorrow if it's not convenient for you-" Athe offered, but Ardus cut him off sharply. "No, I will go. It is your day off tomorrow."

Athe shrugged, tapping a book into place. "Ah, right. I'll just stay out of your way while you tend to Doctor Nina. I'm sure she needs quite a lot of tending." He turned and smiled too widely at Ardus, who glowered in return. He wasn't about to tell his personal assistant how he'd let himself in by pressing Nina's finger on the bioscan lock, how he'd gingerly laid her down on the Dreen-sized couch and uttered a soft "shh" when she'd seemed about to wake, and especially not how he'd brushed some of her long, soft hair out of her face and watched her for a long moment while she settled down. Nothing had been on his mind, he'd just looked, and left before anything could cross his thoughts.

Walking back towards campus was when the thoughts appeared, crowding in from the corners where they'd apparently been hiding all those long years he'd been dark. Kicking at sand dunes, Ardus had thought about going back and sitting down on the other end of the couch, just far enough away that he wouldn't touch her accidentally, and perhaps reading one of the books on the low table while he waited for her to wake. But then what?

Sitting, throwing Athe a glance that told him to leave him and his desk alone, Ardus pulled up acquisition forms for the upcoming trip from the university's common files, mentally cataloging the things he knew he'd need for the field. And then he merely stared at them for a while, typing and deleting and typing again, realizing he was pretending to look busy while Athe kept glancing at him with a smirk. Finally, he'd had enough. "What are you smiling at?"

Athe shook his head and said nothing, that sly little twist still in the corner of his mouth. Ardus ignored him. Whatever you are thinking, I do not care for it. He drummed his claws on the glass desktop. He rolled a stylus between his fingers. He glanced at Doctor Nina's empty desk. He thought about her, how light she'd been, how easily he'd lifted her, how well she'd fit in his arms. Nina was about the height of an average Dreen child of seven or eight years, right before they hit their growth spurt, but her weight was greater. Because she is an adult, he reasoned. Nina is an adult woman, she has stopped growing and her body is fully developed. She has more dense body mass than a child. There had been other mass as well. The back of her thigh for instance, had settled into his hand easily, soft skin filling and molding to his palm. He flexed that hand, watching the play of tendons and muscle under his thick skin. Dreen have no subcutaneous body fat; we are not soft. But Nina is, and warm as well. And she smelled sweet. What is that scent? I have seen her put a salve on her hands, perhaps it is that. But her apartment had smelled the same way, cool and clean and floral. Could it be her scent? Could she just smell that good? What other fascinating secrets did she hold? What other textures, scents, flavors –

He shook himself, the beads in his barbels clacking together. This needs to stop, I have work to do. He looked up and Athe was staring at him. "What?"