13. Buonanotte Bello

Lupo reengagedhis human needs protocols. After seeing what Ophion could do, he no longer felt it mattered whether he was asleep or awake—the Keth was more than a match for any human in hand-to-hand combat, even a synthetic one.

Besides, he was beginning to trust the alien. Not that he felt it mattered—the computer had detected nearly three dozen toxins in his bloodstream from the spider's injections and was slowly doing its best to whip up antidotes for each. Still, the process took time, and each hour was a struggle for the lizard's survival. Ophion's breathing was labored and weak, and when he wasn't at his bedside, Lupo roamed the halls of the Fortunato aimlessly.

They were scheduled to arrive at Thestle the following morning, not that Thestle had mornings, and Lupo's thoughts had grown darker and more anxious as the reality of confronting Bartie grew nearer. The fantasy of revenge, he knew, would be nothing like the struggle of enacting it—and he wasn't sure what he'd do when he finally arrived at the chance to get even.

"Care to join me for dinner?" Auren's voice cut into his wandering thoughts.

The interjection caused Lupo to lose focus on his game briefly enough for the invaders to bypass his defenses and take out one of his last few cities. He cursed bitterly, shutting down the holo. He missed playing it with Ophion.

"Or… not?" Auren added, eyeing him apprehensively from the doorway to the galley.

Lupo looked up from his game, guilty that his temper was drawn so short.

"Sorry, bit of nerves about tomorrow. Dinner sounds great. Shall I whip us up something from the dispenser?" Lupo offered in an attempt to smooth things over, though for once he wasn't really looking forward to more synthesized food.

"I actually, um, made food in the stateroom," Auren said awkwardly, and Lupo remembered that the nicer accommodation had come with a kitchenette.

"Well, well, isn't this fancy?" Lupo grinned.

His spirits lifted at the thought of real food. He forgot the game and his prior mood entirely.

"It would be my pleasure," he said gladly. Lupo got to his feet and followed Auren back to the stateroom.

Within, the cabin's table was set for two, a decanter of red wine sitting ready for them. The lighting dimmed as Lupo took his seat and the ship speakers piped in the sound of a twilit woodland, the occasional hooting of an owl, and the song of crickets enchanting the space.

"On Obila, we don't really eat meat," Auren explained, setting a dish of colorful starches and steamed bean curd before him.

Lupo marveled as he took in a delicate broth of mushrooms and sea vegetables. It was steaming, the smell aromatic and appetizing. He hadn't expected Auren to know how to cook—and he felt himself melt at the gesture. He had only ever cooked for Bartie, and rarely had the favor been returned.

"This looks incredible," Lupo said.

"I had to fudge some of the ingredients; the dispenser could make most but not all of them," Auren finished, sitting down to his bowl and digging in heartily.

Lupo began to eat.

The meal was excellent, and Lupo shoveled in more than his fair share, enjoying the feeling of satiation his synthetic frame still allowed him.

"This was simply amazing," Lupo said, leaning back in his chair as Auren refilled his wine.

"It's the least I could do," Auren offered modestly. "Are we going to talk about the kiss?" he asked after a while, taking a sip.

"We certainly can," Lupo allowed.

"I…" Auren trailed off.

The silence pooled out between them as Lupo waited for him to continue. But the younger man was blushing down into his wine now, unable to go on.

"Good talk," Lupo teased. "You what? You can say it. I'm sitting right here, and nothing you say is going to change that. Go on."

He'd felt guilty all day for the intrusion of the kiss, but Auren stirred something deep within him. His attraction to him was primal, human, and it struck him as profound that such an artifact of his soul had been transposed into his new body. He clung to the idea of it.

"I never imagined having these feelings for another…" Auren started again, still struggling to get the words out.

"Man?" Lupo inquired archly.

"No, not that," Auren laughed.

Auren sipped his wine and then flashed him a roguish look that, combined with Lupo's own alcohol consumption, reduced him to a puddle.

"For another person is what I mean. I've tried to find them before; it just never happened. I'm sorry… I've got to take things slow, probably slower than you'd want or expect…" Auren trailed off, his charm unwavering even as his look grew distant.

"I don't expect anything at all," Lupo assured him, reaching out and grasping one of Auren's hands.

His flesh was cool and smooth. Lupo regarded him evenly, hoping he could put him at ease in some way. "Today was a lot. All of this has been a lot."

"What's waiting for us at Thestle?" Auren asked.

"I'm… not sure exactly," Lupo admitted. He wished he had a plan. But he had no idea what Bartie had been up to in the years since he'd been murdered. He'd only ever gotten as far as imagining himself barging into wherever Bartie was holed up and screaming at him furiously, preferably with the option of the Keth rifle at hand in case he was feeling as murderous at that moment as he had when he'd awoken in his first android body.

"Well, I'm here for whatever comes," Auren said. "Hey, I'm sorry to do this, but it's getting late…"

"It is indeed," Lupo agreed, fighting the urge to crawl across the table and have his way with the shorter man, whose chestnut coloring and sharp features had only grown more attractive as the night blurred on.

"Stop looking at me like that." Auren blushed bashfully, his face crimson even in the dark of their artificial woodland sanctuary.

"Like what?" Lupo asked, wrapping his leg around Auren's under the table.

"Like you want to eat me," Auren scoffed, batting Lupo's advances away.

"But what if I do?" Lupo murmured.

He leaned across the table and took Auren's head in his hands. He pulled him in for a kiss.

"It's getting late," Auren repeated into his lips, withdrawing finally from their shared passion.

"Does that mean I'm not staying over?" Lupo said halfheartedly, his throbbing boner aching convincingly against his flight suit as Auren pulled away from him.

"As much as I want you to, I don't think I'm ready. Not yet. Not after all the other things that happened," Auren admitted.

"Hey, I understand. I want to do this your way; let's go slow and see where things take us," Lupo said, doing his best to suppress his lust.

In subjective time, it had been over half a decade since he'd felt a human touch, and Auren's lips against his own had been a singularly soft and sweet pleasure. He rose and headed to the doorway, bashful at his juvenile-feeling advances. Auren crossed the space between them and stood on his tiptoes, kissing Lupo briefly on the cheek before whispering, "Get out of here, you bastard, before I change my mind." He slapped Lupo's ass playfully and pushed him from his room.

"Buonanotte, bello," Lupo laughed as he stumbled into the hall.

"Goodnight," he heard Auren say as the door slid closed behind him.

Lupo leaned against the wall in the Fortunato's hallway. His thoughts were on fire, and the cool ceramic panel felt grounding against the back of his head. He couldn't get the image of Auren's face or the feel of his lips out of his mind. He had to fight every instinct to crash back through that door and make fierce love to his companion so that they might both feel alive once more. Lupo thudded his head gently against the cold wall a few times before heading off to check on Ophion one last time before retiring to bed.

If he could have dreamed, it would have been of Auren.