Out of This World

Krel

He stood looking at her. Or rather, the absence of her, the space left by her after she left. He stood looking at the negative space she left behind, unable to reply to what she had just told him. Then again, she had left before he could have replied, but she had left with the hopeful air of someone who knew or hoped the feeling was mutual.

Krel... Krel didn't know.

Krel wanted to be able to say it back. Krel wanted so badly to tell her that he loved her too. He could say it in his mind but as soon as he opened his mouth, there was some sort of disconnect between his thoughts and his words and he could not say it. The amount of guilt he felt at that was crushing.

She was incredible, there was no doubt about that. But... how do you know if you love someone?

How can you tell?

Krel woke up, rubbing his back, which was bruised and battered from breaking into Area 49B the night before to steal the osmic circuit from Stuart's impounded vehicle. His head felt a little like it was full of cotton, a low throbbing in the back of his skull.

Aja opened the door carefully. "Oh! Little brother! You're awake!" she chirped, bouncing into his room and plopping down on his bed.

"Is the daxial array working?" he asked, leaning forward in earnest.

She nodded enthusiastically. "It is!" she exclaimed. "Stuart and I got it working last night!"

He smiled in relief. "Thank Seklos," he said, putting a hand over his core. Pushing the covers on his bed back, he stood up on shaky legs. He lost his balance a little, lurching forward. Aja lunged to catch him, grabbing two of his arms and helping him steady himself.

"Careful, little brother," she said, letting go of him slowly. "No need to rush."

"I just want to see it," he protested feebly, trying to push past her.

"I will help you," she said. "You probably need some water first though, it would not be surprising to me if you were dehydrated."

He allowed her to help him into the kitchen to get some water, balancing unsteadily on his small Akiridion feet. That was something he had to give it to humans for, they had better natural balance. Their feet weren't ridiculously small for their bodies, and their ankles were defined and flexible.

Soon he was balancing on his own, with only Aja's hand on his shoulder to steady him if he had a lapse in strength. They walked into the engine room, and Aja did a goofy 'ta-da' motion at the finished daxial array.

It was... interesting looking, seeing as it was cobbled together from ramshackle parts of other ships. It wasn't terrible though, it looked to be quite functional! The osmic circuit glowed the moving parts spun consistently. It was fully operational, which pleased Krel immensely.

"You and Stuart did an excellent job putting this together," he said, nodding at Aja while examining it. "Good work."

"Thank you," she said, beaming. "Now, you should go get some breakfast before Lucy finds you and makes you eat," she chuckled.

Krel stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom of the Mothership, gripping the sides of the sink. He had been so wrapped up in being excited about going home that he had totally forgotten it had meant leaving. Not that he was bothered by leaving Earth, no, he was quite ecstatic. He was absolutely thrilled to be leaving this primitive mudball. It wasn't the place he was upset about leaving, it was who.

It hadn't hit him until he had crashed Aja's date with Steve, where she was going to tell him their secret. He didn't think it was wise. It was different that Andy knew, she found out by accident. She wasn't told.

Steve had found out anyway, when the three of them had been abducted by the two remaining Zerons, and Aja's transduction had worn off. It was one of the less favorable moments of Krel's life; he had been having a whole lot of those lately.

No, all of this brought to Krel's attention that leaving wasn't only good. It was also bad. Krel was going to have to leave Andy, and it was tearing him up inside. Since she had said those three words the first time she had said them again and again, and he had never been able to respond. Each time he was caught off guard, each time he didn't know how to answer. Each time he didn't know how she could, would, or should love him, how it was allowed, how it was okay.

It would never fly at home. Aja was under the impression, for whatever reason, that the Akiridion people would be okay with her relationship with Steve. And maybe they would be, if she were not a princess, if she were not the queen-in-waiting of the throne to Akiridion. Maybe they would be if she were anyone else. Krel understood that royals were to marry other royals, or at least people of high standing. When their parents woke up and found out that both of their children had ties to Earth, he knew they would not be pleased.

Now he had to find a way to tell Andy all of this. The very last thing he wanted to do was leave her. He would sooner pull out his own core than hurt her, she did not deserve it. She had been through so much for him, for House Tarron, that he could not justify this.

And yet here he was.

He didn't know how to break it to her.

He ran his hand through his black hair and sucked in a shaky breath, letting it out slowly through his teeth. He walked out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, picking up his guitar and absentmindedly strumming it while lost in thought.

His hands eventually went to picking chords in a specific pattern and he started humming along. Then... it all sort of clicked. This was how he would pour out his feelings, on this guitar. It always made more sense to Krel this way, he was much more able to speak his mind, speak what he was feeling, and convey exactly what he was going through when it was done through music. Andy understood music. At least, he hoped she would understand this.

He began to pen the words he was thinking, making sure they matched and making sure they lined up with what he wanted her to know what he was feeling. It was important he got this right, it was important she knew how he felt. The words he used... were maybe not the best. But how do you tell someone you love them... without telling them you love them?

You can't.