Civilians were stupid. Avery was stupid. DH was stupid. TO was thinking these things as they headed back down to the living area, but mostly they were thinking about just how utterly, utterly idiotic they themself were. They had wasted nearly two days on these ‘flirting’ tricks and had made no progress. The last tip was the stupidest of all of them. 

 

Tip #6; “accidentally” bump into your crush. Apologize, and say something like “oh, I’m so clumsy when I’m nervous.” or if you’re really feeling daring, “I’m so clumsy around cute people!” 

 

It was stupid. People could get hurt. Did civilians go around running into one another all the time as part of some asinine mating ritual? Did they really do all these stupid, inane things to find a partner? 

 

The species that followed these tips, how did they survive? It was so esoteric and underhanded that it made so little sense how they could find a mate at all!

 

 And how was it that TO was still going to try this idiotic trick?

 

TO remembered all the romantic shows they had watched with DH. Several of them had this thing where the main character runs into what will become their love interest. Often,  they make a mess and that starts a conversation which of course would ultimately lead to their romantic involvement with one another. 

 

Alright; TO could see how civilians might see that and think they could use such a trick.

 

They felt the elevator slow as it approached the living area. They had to make a choice; were they really going to do this? Were they going to ‘accidentally’ run into DH in hopes of performing a successful flirt? What were the other options? 

 

‘Just tell them.’ 

 

‘You need to talk to them.’

 

TO could either do this, talk to them, or give up. At any rate, this would be TO’s last attempt at flirting. This was the last usable tip, and even if they did more research, they just couldn’t do it anymore. Even though all the tips were idiotic, TO’s heart still felt so heavy when they didn’t get the reaction they hoped for from DH. Their stomach felt like it was tying itself into knots and they wanted to hide away. They wanted DH to realize what they were doing! They wanted DH to figure it out and do something!

 

Of course… that ‘something’ could very well be sitting TO down and telling them they had to stop this foolishness. 

 

The door opened. TO took a step out and could see DH coming back from the washroom. They had a split second to decide on what they were doing, and they went for it. They moved quickly, slipping around the corner as though they themself were rushing to the washroom. 

 

They crashed into DH. They didn't fall over, TO had been careful enough not to run into DH that hard, but DH had been carrying a container of something in their hands. They had knocked the container out of DH hands, spilling some kind of greyish water all over TO. Confused, they backed up and looked at the mess on the floor and the gunk in their uniform. 

 

Then the smell hit. It wasn’t as bad as the time TO had gotten doused in sewage back in the training facility, but it wasn’t too far off. They gagged and held their hand to their snout. 

 

“What is this!” TO cried, already pulling their top off. They had to get their uniform off; it stank so bad!

 

“I’m so sorry!” DH said as they helped untie the edges of the shirt, “The computer gave me an alert saying the laundry pipes needed to be drained, and since you do everything on all the other floors, I thought I’d take care of it! I’m so sorry-” 

 

“It’s not your fault.” TO muttered as they removed their dripping shirt, “I bumped into you.” 

 

“Go shower.” DH said quickly, “I’ll deal with your clothes. Just go shower. It smells awful.” 

 

With a sigh, TO stripped off the rest of their uniform and headed to the shower. They were very glad to have an excuse to be alone for a little on the heels of their final failed flirting attempt. 

 

======

 

At the very least, the water from the laundry system didn’t cling to TO’s skin like the sewage had so long ago. With the foaming soap provided from a dispenser in the shower, and with the detachable shower head, TO could feel clean again in very little time.  

 

DH had come in briefly, standing on the other side of the frosted door as they piled clothes into the washer, then left without saying a word. TO wasn’t sure if they were angry or not. They probably were; TO had created a mess because they were being stupid, and now DH had to clean it up. 

 

They’d apologize when they got out of the shower. Though the shower was far smaller than they liked, they were grateful for the privacy, grateful for the ability to be sad for a few minutes without worrying DH, or making them ask what was wrong. 

 

Really, TO knew that they were ‘what was wrong’. Because of these feelings they were having TO knew that they were ruining everything. This should have been the best time of their life; being away from the center with DH at their side. Wasn’t this what they had always wanted? They should be happy.!

 

TO wasn’t happy. They were being an idiot and aching for DH far too much for that. 

 

It had to stop. These feelings were causing all kinds of problems, and TO  didn’t want to have them anymore. They wanted everything to be simple! They wanted to just push their feelings down until they went away and TO didn’t have to worry about them anymore. 

 

‘That won’t work. You’ve tried that, and it didn’t work.’

 

With a groan, TO rested their head on the wall as the water poured over them. They had tried. Well before they even told Avery they had tried to ignore their feelings, and it hadn’t worked. They’d have to tell DH. They’d have to tell them today. Maybe they’d tell them when they got out of the shower? Could they wait until later that night? Tomorrow morning? TO’s stomach clenched and writhed just thinking about it. 

 

First, they had to make sure DH wasn’t angry. Then they’d help clean up after they showered. Then-

 

The ship suddenly lunged. TO was still leaning against the wall, so they didn’t fall over. Still, their unsteady footing on the wet floor caused them to stumble. They pressed their hands against the opposite sides of the wall to make sure that they didn’t fall over. 

 

Had DH changed course? Did something happen?

 

There was a sound; an alarm–high pitched and grating. TO’s ears suddenly flicked down protectively, as though trying to block out the sound. They turned off the water and dashed out into the main living area. 

 

DH was at the console, leaning over and alternating between typing furiously and fiddling with some wires that were sticking out of a panel just over the main console. Their ears were pinned to the side of their head as well, their eyes wide and panicked. 

 

“What happened?” TO shouted over the noise.

 

“I don’t know! I had to calibrate this thing over here-” They pointed to a machine in the wall. “And I must have done something wrong. I have to calibrate this, but-” They yelped as a tube came loose and some kind of gas started spraying out. TO rushed forward, pushed DH aside, and reached up to hold the tube back in place. 

 

“I’ll hold this.” TO said, “Fix the calibration, then we can make sure this is secure. Just stop that alarm!” 

 

“Y-you’re dripping wet!” DH protested, “And you’re naked, and-” 

 

“Does that really matter?”

 

“Arkane has nudity taboo-” 

 

“If they can see me from here, I commend their eyesight. Stop the alarm before I go deaf! 

 

DH was silent for a moment, then reached up and clasped in the tube into place, fitting a thin rubber band back in place. 

 

“I’ll read off the numbers here.” DH said as they sat down in the chair. “You turn those valves until the numbers match what I’m saying.” 

 

With the two of them working, it didn’t take long. After only a few minutes, they set the numbers to what DH said they should be, and the alarm turned off. DH then found their repair kit, and they quickly fixed the tube from where the gas had come pouring out earlier. 

 

“Was that poisonous?” TO asked as they tapped the tube.

 

“Yes, but not to a point where you have to worry about it.” DH said, “We only inhaled a little. We might have a cough, but that’s about it.” They packed up the kit and brought it to the closet across from the washroom.

 

TO heard the ship’s engine rattle as it prepared to take off again. Well, at least that was over. 

 

“I might need another shower.” TO said, “I just got cleaned, and I got that gas all over me.” 

 

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem, but there’s no harm in it.” DH said, “It gas was just-” 

 

TO didn’t hear what the gas was ‘just’. The ship lunged forward again, and TO was once more thrown off their feet. They cursed themself inwardly for having forgotten about that. DH caught them before they landed on the ground, but because of the sudden movement of the ship they both fell down. TO tried to push DH out of the way, but they ended up twisted up before they fell on the ground. TO’s head smacked against the floor, drawing a yelp of pain from them. 

 

“Are you ok?” DH asked.

 

TO had their eyes closed as though they were trying to block out the pain. After a moment, it seemed more like they had just been shocked rather than really hurt. “I’m fine.” TO muttered as they rubbed the back of their head. Their arm hurt, and they felt like they’d have an enormous bruise on their rear by this time tomorrow. “I’m fine. I should have held onto something.” They opened their eyes, “It’s my-” 

 

They trailed off. 

 

DH was hovering over TO on their hands and knees. Clearly they had either fallen just over TO and caught themself before they fell on top of TO, or they had moved over TO in order to check to see if they were ok. Either way, they were hovering over TO, their hands just over TO’s wings on the floor, one knee between TO’s legs, the other just by their outer thigh.

 

There was that moment again - just like that time so long ago in the changing room. The moment where they locked eyes, and it felt like time slowed down. The only difference was this time, TO could feel their heart swelling, and worried that their ears would flush and start doing that odd shivery thing again. Panicked, they broke eye contact with DH and looked away. They didn’t care what they looked at, they just had to look at anything, the wall, the ceiling, DH’s ears…

 

DH’s ears. 

 

They were flushed deeply blue. They were twitching, almost shivering. It was a gesture that TO had only seen once before, but which they had felt many times since. DH’s ears were moving in the same way their own ears twitched when they daydreamed about DH too long. It was the same way their ears twitched when they woke up and DH was breathing on their ears. 

 

It was the way they had seen C12 and Snout's ears shiver that day so long ago, when TO had seen the two of them kiss. Though they had never seen it on DH’s ears before, they recognized the gesture immediately; the clear sign of want. Need. Desire. 

 

Lust.