The door hissed open horizontally as Lucian stepped inside to his quarters on the Rust Burn, his clothes weighing him down, clinging to his frame. He removed and tossed his shirt aside.  His eyes stared out of the viewport, watching the stars and nebulae streak by while the ship moved through FTL, sighing as if he had held his breath for too long. Only minutes had passed after Gosha fished them out of the ocean with the ship, allowing them to leave the planet finally. 

His door remained open, allowing Kazia to step through and slip inside with an emergency thermal blanket draped around her. Though normally used for heat recovery after vacuum exposure, she took it to warm up from the ocean’s cold grip. It was large, even by Kazia’s height, and wide enough to support two bodies, in which she moved quick to share. This contact provided more than enough reason to latch herself onto the Terran, wrapping him in not only her insulated embrace, but that of the blanket.

“That was-.” Lucian sighed, trying to find the words. “Intense.”

Kazia lay her head on top of Lucian’s, her mind still processing the recent events. She shuddered, not just from the cold, but from them both almost losing each other whilst playing back the all too recent memory. 

“I apologized to the captain.” She spoke, disappointment escaping her lips. “I failed.”

Kazia replayed the initial attack, trying to fortify herself against the gravity of her blunder; she was blindsided and frustrated.

“If I were more alert, none of this would have happened.” She muttered, her arms tightening around Lucian’s bare chest. “You wouldn’t have had to step in.”

“It’s not your fault, Kaz.” He spoke, giving her that nickname to soothe her growing anger.

“Why not? I’ve fought in wars. I should have been ready.” She sneered, not finding much weight in the words. “I shouldn’t have been so weak like that.”

Lucian turned, not moving away, but repositioned to face her, looking up into her eyes. “I’m just glad you’re alive!” He stated, frustration mounting in his tone. “I was scared, afraid that I’d lost you.”

Kazia’s brows unfurled, her heart becoming heavy. 

“Hell, I wanted to shoot that asshole myself,” Lucian admitted, a slight chuckle coming out. “And you diving in to ‘save’ me?” He reached up, flicking her forehead with a smirk, causing her to flinch. “Did they not teach you how to swim?”

Kazia remained quiet for a moment, embarrassment settling in alongside the heat of the blanket. “We, um, never went to an aquatic world such as this.” She whimpered, her voice muffled at the back of Lucian’s head. “So we were never taught how to swim. Didn’t know it would have been so cold!” She shivered violently at the thought of the freezing depths. 

Lucian sighed, still taking deep breaths to calm himself. He reached back, his fingers pressed into Kazia’s hair, drenched and salted. She leaned into his palm, and he kneaded her scalp while having her larger body draped her body over him, the blanket spreading addition heat between them. 

“Go use the refresher and clean up,” Lucian spoke, moving to break the connection. “I can check on you after to-.”

“No.” Kazia’s answer was gentle, though her reaffirming hold on him was forceful as she pulled him back into her arms. 

“Kaz.” He wanted to protest, but the Vul’Katahni’s fingertips dug against his flesh, resisting. 

“Join me.” She whispered softly and invitingly. “I don’t want to let you go just yet. So please-.”

Lucian hesitated. The air held silent around them with the ship’s engine, the creaking metal of the hull, and her steady breaths being all that he heard. And outside the thermal blanket, Lucian felt her body, the jacket sagging off, only her tank top still soaked. Her body heat started becoming an odd yet sensational part of her that he started to desire. 

Lucian questioned when he started to want her to the point he would teeter on crossing a line he didn’t think would be open for him, not after the incident that sent him into self-imposed isolation. But yet, this woman shared a space with him for nothing in return. He was curious as to how his brother would react to what came next. 

“Alright, let’s get you cleaned up.” 

Lucian didn’t see her reaction, but felt her body hold him tighter, her lucra giving off a vibrating pulse, which he recognized with their steady, long rhythm as her displaying affection or excitement. He was learning her tics, all the more reason to embrace this moment. He wanted to discover more. 

Lucian leaned back, pressing against her chest, his head to her heart, listening to the thump thump-thump of her heart. She was alive; this was real, and he was satisfied that she was still here. 

———

“The Captain wants us to rest for a bit, but is quite riled up at the fact of losing the shipment, whatever it was,” Lucian informed her. “He’s searching channels, information to locate a gunship piloted by that Baragaan and a Vul’Katahni stealing the cryo pod.”

The water landed across Lucian’s back, the warmth of every droplet an endless torrent that brought relief. Aside from the heat of the sonic shower, a bodily heat pressed against the upper portion of his back. To be specific, Kazia allowed her bare breasts and hip to touch him without remorse. Her arms continued to hold him close, though loose enough for him to properly scrub and clean himself with the pink-bristle sponge lathered in a creamy, cocoa-smelling soap.  

“A Vul’Katahn?” Kazia’s voice brought more of a surprise than a question to the revelation. 

“Our captain spotted them on the ship that belonged to that ‘Sigarus’ guy.” He explained with a half-shrug. “Not sure what that story is, but either way, Captain wants to get back what’s his, and I think it might be personal.”

Lucian’s tone suggested to Kazia his worry, and she understood it. She was blindsided and defeated in a fight, leaving her to wonder how this would all turn out against an accomplished bounty hunter. Whatever dangers might arise from this pursuit between her and Lucian, and even their captain, whom she had come to respect. Lucian had also felt the same, making his thoughts more bold as he considered them. 

Lucian reached behind him and handed Kazia the sponge. “You need this?”

Her hand finally retreated from him,  taking the moment to clean herself as well. The two of them remained under the shower head, a spot wedged in the refresher room. It was mainly used for a single occupant, though Kazia managed to fit in next to Lucian after removing their clothing and discarding them into a drenched heap. 

She stared at him, not with lust in her eyes, but studying the mild muscularity of his form; an odd but welcomed sight for someone claiming to be just a medical practitioner. She watched his eyes cataloging her build more than he had when first repairing all that damage, not just clinically, but sensually as he came across her curves. 

Kazia couldn’t initially help but be hesitant to show herself despite wanting to bathe with him, a teetering balance of embarrassment and boldness. Eventually, her hands had fallen away, leaving her body exposed and defenseless.

“You’re bold for this.” Kazia had managed to maintain her composure despite their nudity, breaking the silence between them with conversation and understanding. “Why is that?” She asked, rinsing herself and absorbing the hot water, shedding away the ocean’s chill. 

Lucian scoffed, leaning against the wall, letting the water collide against him, returning heat to his body. “Let’s just say my family got to the numbers we have by being bold when the opportunity arose.” He smiled, thinking of them fondly, yet distantly. “We come from a military family. Being daring and straightforward is a part of our duty during times of conflict, and even our ways of finding the right partner, as my father and brothers can attest to.” He hesitated before adding to it. “So call it a Milani family trait.”

Kazia nearly scoffed at the thought, but kept it to herself as she reached for a handheld container of soap atop a shelf, pouring a glob of gel onto her hand to lather herself. She poured some for Lucian, who instead began to rub it across her back, making her tense slightly. His hands ran down from her deltoids to her lumbar, nearly in contact with her hindquarters. He didn’t go that far, though he wanted to.

Kazia had frozen at the contact, the feeling of his smaller hands exploring her form with a precision and gentleness as surgical as ever. Her muscles relaxed, quick to recover, but she hesitated to do the same.

“Was this a part of the ritual or just a grand gesture of yours?” Kazia mused to herself openly, more than it was a question. 

“A bit of both.” Lucian shrugged, continuing his application of the soap, managing to build up a few suds to eat away at the salty brine before the sonic shower rinsed it away. “Personally, I’ve always found it intimate and hygienic.” He spoke with the voice of a doctor prescribing medication. “Second,” he continued with a more casual tone. “I once heard from patients that it’s romantic in some cultures. Even across species. I find it very intimate and finally get to try it.” 

“Is that what you want?” She asked, turning around, her front covered in suds, partially obscuring the blue-grey shade of her areola. “For you to accept this,” she paused, searching for the words within herself. “It would mean a lot to me.”

“Doesn’t everyone deserve a partner for themselves?” Lucian paused for a moment with his voice and his hands. “The galaxy is big. Incomprehensibly vast and too much for one person who is constantly running away. Especially after you lose the comfort of another.”

Kazia remained still, even after Lucian stopped soaping up her back. She felt the pain, the loneliness in his voice, and understood completely, despite the varying years and intensity of their suffering and loss. She looked at him fully, no longer attempting to hide herself. 

“I see you for that.” She spoke with a tremor in her voice. “I want that.”

“I want you for that as well, minus the mindless diving into an ocean despite not knowing how to swim part?” Lucian smirked, still finding the gesture amusing and equally endearing. 

“I’d do it again.” She declared, brushing a moist hand to the side of his face, fingers slicking through that curly hair that now draped loosely and unbraided down his face. 

Lucian’s heart sputtered while Kazia looked at him with endearing eyes. His body pumped blood, heating him from the inside. He began to physically stand at attention in her presence, where his mind focused on this woman’s tender affection and how real such a thing finally was. 

Due to the cramped space of the shower or from the rush, Kazia felt the stiff presence before she saw it. She didn’t move away from its warmth, but her breath hitched, the touch growing a smile and a face growing hot while she stared down.

Kazia nearly said something wild, closed her mouth, but continued, wanting to imitate the boldness she had started to enjoy in him. “Do you want me to wash that for you?” Her voice came out slightly nervous, but ultimately sultry.

Lucian felt a primal urge rising that nearly overrode his logic. His heart pounded, heavy thumps that made it all the more exposed and eager. Lucian’s eyes tracked the flow of water and bubbles running along the curvature of her breasts, down the width of her hips, and even along the toned muscle mass of the frame she had been redeveloping since her awakening. Her skin glistened from the steady fall of moisture, light reflecting off her body like an iridescent pearl. 

Lucian somehow managed to turn away. His breath caught, heart still beating out of his chest, his body still ready, though his mind couldn’t bring himself to give in. Not yet. 

“N-no. No.” He breathed, a light chuckle escaping. “No, I’ll handle that. Thank you.” 

Water trickled between their silence, filling the air alongside the rising steam. 

“Do you want me to leave?” She asked.

“No!” Lucian was quick to answer before she could finish, glancing back at her. “No, never.”

Kazia stayed, continuing to wash herself, yet Lucian could still feel her eyes on him, while his glancing kept track of her movements. 

“I noticed you’ve been regaining muscle recently.” He pointed out, noting the muscles in her deltoids and thighs. 

Kazia examined her. “Do you not like them? I know it’s not normal for my kind to appear like this.”

“No.” Lucian rejected her again, but with acceptance. “I like it.” He admitted. 

“That’s all I need to hear,” Kazia assured him, allowing the silence to settle between them again before she took to washing his back in return.

She checked as the soap’s chemical compound tore away at the small amount of accumulated salt, brightening his melanated skin. Kazia moved her hands to spread the soap over the Terran’s body, taking enjoyment in feeling him this closely. Sexually, she took in what she could see and feel, as did Lucian; both of them had taken mental recordings of the other’s growing arousal and surprising resilience to the pressure of pleasure, despite their nakedness and proximity that had them inches apart within the small space. Neither of them dared to cross what was there, what they somehow managed to reach with absolute clarity and sanity. 

——

“Was the shower as romantic as you’d like?” 

The question came out as a tease, but Lucian didn’t hesitate to accept what had happened. This was how Rory approached Lucian, with that familiarity old friends had when discovering something that would be scandalous among any other Terran. 

“Satisfying,” Lucian spoke, the single word coming out more reassuring than he expected. “I’m not going to complain, but-.”He thought for a moment, giving thought to a new word. “Blissful, rewarding, savory.” He tested them with amusement, but didn’t correct himself. 

“Savory.” Rory chuckled, applauding such bravery. “So, is it official, or is she simply needing some relief?” The question came out more serious than her tone suggested. 

Lucian paused partway along the corridor leading to the flight deck, mainly because his friend blocked his path. Rory placed her hand on her hips. An eyebrow raised, head tilted while awaiting a response—the look of a concerned friend wanting confirmation.

“She’s beyond just tolerable, Ro.” Pushing past, Lucian gave the woman a playful pat on her shoulder that wasn’t covered in grease. “In fact, I’m surprised you’re not jealous.”

After wiping her hands on her trousers, Rory slapped the back of Lucian’s head. “She was hella’ tempting me.” Hand her rested on his shoulder, giving comfortable. “But you need her more than I do. That is, until you fumble.”

Lucian’s attempt to kick her shin failed as she skipped away, prompting him to give chase.

“I do not fumble!”