The Invisible Planet

Part 50: Bonded

Angeline lay back against the damp sheets on her bed, covered in sweat and thoroughly spent.

"Is that better?" Shay asked from beside her.

They had gone at it well into the afternoon, stopping four times for water.

She grinned. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" He pulled her against his chest and kissed her. "I don't think I can keep up." His happiness was infectious. He kissed her again, and then kissed her forehead as he began to get up. "Kita's going to kill me for this," he said as he pulled on his pants.

"For what?" she asked.

"She'll have to fix this before anyone sees." He gestured to his neck where she had left a noticeable purple mark, and at his chest, where her fingernails had left red streaks across his skin.

She blushed. "Sorry."

"No, don't be. It's alright." He sat down apprehensively with a sigh. "There's something you should know. I— well, first off, I apologize for raising my voice with you last time. It wasn't your fault."

"It's fine," she responded.

"It's not. No matter how cross I am, I don't ever want to treat you like that. You don't deserve it." He looked away with a twinge of guilt, and she could swear he was almost afraid. "I bonded with you," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"That night. I fell asleep by mistake."

"Why? I thought you didn't need sleep," she said, confused.

"I don't. I didn't need it. I was relaxed, a bit drunk, and lying there with you was so—" he trailed off, nervously gathering his thoughts. "Guardians have this thing that happens when we sleep next to someone. We call it bonding. Our empathy, it only works in close range. Maybe a few dozen meters at most. Bonding means I can feel you anywhere. Across the planet, even. And if you're close, you can feel me."

She looked at him in alarm as she realized she had been detecting his emotions. "Does it go away?" she asked.

He shook his head. "We're tied like this until one of us dies."

"What if you bond with someone else?"

"Then I would be bonded to both of you. It's not an override."

"What if I leave?" she suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"If I leave Serenia."

He looked away. "Even if you could, it wouldn't break it for me. I would still feel you."

Anger filled her. "You couldn't warn me?"

"I didn't realize I would fall asleep. I haven't slept in decades."

"And you couldn't just stay awake one more night?" She got up anxiously and began to pace the room.

"I'm sorry."

"If I had known that would happen, I wouldn't have asked you to stay. How am I supposed to do anything knowing that you'll feel every emotion I have until the day I die?"

"Nothing has to change."

"It has changed!" she cried, facing him. "You feel everything I feel?" Her chest grew tight and it felt harder to breathe. "When I— when I was with Aster, you felt that too?"

He didn't respond, but he didn't need to.

She held her hand on her chest, gasping for air. "I finally got rid of the ComWatch and now I have you instead," she choked out breathlessly.