“We’ve apparently missed a holiday on Arkane.” TO said that night as they were reading up on the Arkanian news. 

 

“Oh?” DH said as they turned to TO, “What kind? I’m excited for holidays too! We didn’t really have holidays n the training center. Well, I guess the closest we had was when King Decon was giving his speech, but...” 

 

“That didn’t really work.” TO said, “And we’ll be there for other holidays too!” TO would make sure that DH to experience a bunch of holidays; DH looked so excited, and their ears were practically twitching with joy. They couldn’t wait to make them even happier. “But yes, we did just miss a holiday.” To say that they had ‘just’ missed a holiday was a stretch; It had happened a few Arkanian months ago, but time was relative. 

 

“What was it?” 

 

“Uh…” TO acted as though they were looking up the name of the holiday; as though they had not spent the entire evening looking for something which they could casually bring up to suit their purposes. “The Festival of the Afren.” They said, “It revolves around an old bit of folklore that got twisted up with their religious rites.” 

 

 

TO could hear DH’s frantic typing as they started their own research on the holiday. “Oh.” they said after several long, agonizing moments, “it’s a… festival of love?” 

 

“Something like that.” TO said as they felt their ears burning, “It’s not widely celebrated as a religious holiday anymore, but they still enjoy some traditions. Apparently, they give heart shaped symbols to those they wish to… to court.” 

 

“Court?” TO didn’t turn around to see DH’s expression. “You mean... Dating? Like romantic couples?” 

 

Even hearing it from DH’s mouth, it sounded horribly awkward. This was so hard to communicate; there was love between friends, family, and there was romantic love. Why didn’t they have an original word for that kind of love? 

 

Well, Synths did; they had mates. 

 

The last piece of inspiration hit TO quickly. Of course! Mates! TO didn’t have to explain to DH specifically how they felt; they loved DH, and that was that… but if they said that they wanted to be mates, then DH would understand, right? They imagined it perfectly in that moment; sitting with DH in the weapons room, maybe holding hands. TO would take out that little heart shaped crystal, give it to DH, and then whisper just loud enough for DH to hear them, ‘I want to be your mate.’

 

The thought made them excited and terrified at the same time. They were so distracted that it took them a moment to realize that DH had been speaking to them. 

 

“-and we both know how dumb civilians are, anyway. Why would a physical heart have anything to do with romance? It makes very little sense! It’s rather stupid!” 

 

TO felt their ears droop. “Exactly correct.” They muttered as they pretended to be focused on their work. “Civilians tend not to make sense.” 

 

“Right..” DH said as the silence settled over them, the only sound between them the typing on their work desks . 

 

“Civilians are morons.” DH finally said, “Half of the civilian species are obsessed with romance, so you’d think they’d be better at it.” 

 

“They’re bad at it?” TO asked, just happy to have any topic of conversation that would break the thick silence between them. 

 

“Terrible.” DH said. “I read somewhere that most civilians don’t know if they’re being flirted with or not.”

 

DH continued, but once again TO was no longer paying attention. Flirting? TO didn’t know if being unable to identify flirting was bad or not; they had never flirted, and nobody had ever flirted with them! Was flirting something that DH knew about? Had DH’s obsession with romantic shows given them the ability to notice and identify flirting? Were they just commented that civilians were stupid? Or… were they commenting, hoping TO themself would attempt to flirt? 

 

“-It’s a dumb thing to waste time and energy on researching, isn’t it?” DH said as they finished their rambling rant against research on the topic. 

 

“Yes, idiotic.” TO muttered.

 

A moment later, they ran a search through the archives of old Arkanian shows, papers, and magazines, to see if they could find any tips for flirting. It wasn’t long before they had a list of things they wanted to try; things that hopefully would let them know if DH was at all interested in them romantically. 

 

Things that would let them know if DH wanted to be their mate.

 

======

 

Tip #1: Bring attention to your lips. By drawing attention to the lips, the person you’re flirting with will imagine themself kissing those lips! Apply gloss, lick, or even bite your lips! (if you’re feeling confidant, that is.) 

 

TO was not feeling confident. Wouldn’t they look silly if they were just constantly licking their lips? Was this how civilians did things? Honestly, there were so many small little things that it seemed civilians did to try to ‘flirt’ with other civilians, these tiny little signs that were supposed to signal romantic interest… Did Civilians take classes on this? There were so many things that TO would easily miss. 

 

Maybe someone had flirted with them in the past, and TO had just missed it!

 

Well, no matter. They couldn’t waste time trying to remember. They’d try this whole flirting thing, at any rate. 

 

“I don’t think I want to do more of this today.” DH said from their work desk, “We’ve gone through all the major news articles, the minor ones, and now I’m into the celebrity gossip. Why do civilians care so much about celebrities?”

 

“I’ve no idea.” TO said as they turned around. DH still had their back to them. “Do you want to stop early today?” 

 

As soon as the words left TO’s mouth, DH closed all the screens that were hovering over their desk, then turned around, “Yes!” They said, “It’s early, but yes. Let’s watch something before we eat-” 

 

TO was quick. While they were talking, they took their pointed tongue, flicked it out, and licked their bottom lip. Was that right? Was it supposed to be the bottom lip, or the top? Did it matter? Had they done it too fast? Would DH notice?

 

“-So if we want to be productive and still watch something fun, maybe one of the historical dramas the Arkanians have produced? I don’t think they’re as good as the romance shows, but most of them have a romantic sub-plot worked into them. What do you think?” 

 

If DH noticed, they didn’t act like it. “Sounds good.” TO said as they got up, “You pick something. I’ll watch whatever you pick out. 

 

======

 

The show they had picked out discussed the political state before King Decon brought Arkane into the Galactic Kingdom. It had not been a stable time; divided political systems across the planet caused constant strife, rampant corruption, and wars. There were even zealots who convinced the various leaders to go to war or break alliances based on various signs in the sky. 

 

Well, it was a dramatization, so TO hoped that it hadn’t been all that bad. 

 

“I can’t believe that this is what it was like back then.” DH muttered, “But look, you have all the stuff that old civilians leaders did! The luxury of the upper class, the Ego of the rulers!” The documentary focused a lot on the disparity between the upper class and the normal people, everything from how they dressed to how they travelled, and their ability to stay healthy. Of course, most documentaries focused on that.

 

“Well, what do you expect from civilians?” TO muttered, “They care more about themselves than the overall good. If we demanded that they act as we do, they would refuse! They wouldn’t even do it if it helped the entire galaxy!” 

 

“I don’t understand though.” DH muttered, “A lot of the files we have, the people who are part of the insurgency… none of them were listed as being part of the upper class, or having been old, displaced nobility or anything like that.” They glanced at TO. “Why would they be fighting? If they were part of the privileged few who had their excess taken, I could understand that as pure civilian greed. Why would the lower classes be fighting King Decon?” 

 

They were sitting next to one another on the beds, the pillows and blankets bunched up behind them against the wall so that they were more comfortable. They were sitting close, their arms and shoulders against one another. TO had a wing over DH’s shoulders. They looked at their friend, and with a little more slowness than before, they licked their lips. 

 

DH’s eyes flickered down at TO’s lips, then flicked back up. They had noticed, but as TO watched DH’s ears there was no actual reaction from them. 

 

“Well?” DH finally said. 

 

“Well, what?” 

 

“Why do you think lower class civilians are fighting King Decon?” 

 

TO glanced away, their ears flicking down, “I imagine it’s because… Well, they’re civilians.” TO said, “They’re selfish, self-centered, and easily manipulated. If I had to guess, they might fight because of some odd sense of loyalty to the former ruling class. I don’t know though. It’s hard to imagine what animals think.”

 

“You might be right.” DH muttered. “But… GiDi always wondered why they did what they did. I wonder what they would say.” 

 

With the mention of GiDi, TO didn’t want to flirt anymore, at least not for a while. 

 

======

 

TO’s lips were hurting. 

 

They had licked them several times after they had finished watching the show, a few times while they were talking to DH during their supper, and several times while they were doing their last checks of the day and preparing to take their showers before bed. TO was fresh out of their shower and was throwing their uniform and DH’s into the washer. 

 

They didn’t feel confident, but their lips were hurting; the constant licking in the recirculated air of their ship had caused them to dry out. DH had seen. DH had noticed, but they hadn’t reacted in the way TO had hoped. They’d take any sign;  a twitch to the tips of their ears, a light flush… anything. 

 

There was nothing. 

 

“Alright.” TO muttered to themself as they closed the washer and set their clothes to wash and dry, “One more try.” 

 

Confidant or not, they’d bite their lip. 

 

Wings wrapped around their naked body, they left the washroom. As they did, DH turned to them. 

 

“I’m feeling a little sleepy.” They mused, “So I think maybe I’m adjusting to Arkanian time. What do you think?”

 

This was perfect! If DH noticed to bite their lip and was uncomfortable, then TO could try to pass it off as though they were just thoughtfully biting their lip! They bit down in what they hoped was  - as the article had described- a ‘tender and seductive gesture.’ 

 

“OW!” 

 

Maybe they bit too hard, or maybe the tenderness of their lips had made them more delicate, but they bit through the delicate skin of their lips with their fangs and drew blood. The metallic taste filled their mouth. 

 

Blood. Bones cracking. The smell of Disinfectant. 

 

DH was at TO’s side immediately. They brought TO to the medical bed and helped them up on it without a word. 

 

“It’s not bad.” TO muttered, even though they were feeling dizzy. They could smell the blood just under their nose. 

 

“You’re right; it’s not.” DH said quickly in the business-like tone they often used for when they were doing anything related to medical treatment, “I’m not worried about the lip, I’m worried about you; you don’t like blood.”

 

TO reached up to wipe the blood away, but DH took their hand and put it down at their side, “Don’t wipe the blood with your hand. Close your eyes.” 

 

The orders came quick as DH practically barked at them. TO closed their eyes and tried not to think of knives slicing through skin, or the feel of gloves on their hands. 

 

They felt a wet cloth against their lips; the sting told them it was one of the little sanitizing wipes that were in their first aid kit. DH held the cloth to TO’s lips, lifting it occasionally to check if the bleeding had stopped. 

 

If TO hadn’t been so shaken from the memories flooding their mind, they were sure that they’d react. Even in their state, they could feel the slight excitement in the back of their head at DH’s hands so close to their lips. Still, at this point it was an easily ignored excitement. 

 

“There. It’s stopped.” DH said. “You can open your eyes again.” 

 

TO did as they were told. DH had clearly gotten rid of any scrap of tissue which had any blood on it. 

 

“Here.” DH said as they pressed something into TO’s hand. It was a little tube of white plastic. They popped off the top to reveal a little stick of cream. 

 

“If your lips are dry, use that.” DH said as they packed away the first aid kit. “Licking your lips like you’ve been doing all day will just hurt them.” 

 

“Right.” TO muttered, unable to look at DH, “Thanks.”