Chapter 2

Ethan and Kipexo went back to their quarters: a small room with two sets of bunkbeds that dominated most of the space. To the left after walking in the door was a row of personal lockers so large Ethan could stand inside one and comfortably close the door: a fact he demonstrated for Kipexo the first time he saw them. Besides the lockers and the bunks, the room would’ve been very plain and boring were it not for Sam’s bed. The bright green stuffed hebin, orange sheets, and blue blanket with the small red spaceships on it was the only splash of color in the room.

Sam and Grolpre moved into Ethan and Kipexo’s room on the 4th day aboard the Anamafrid. Originally, Sara and Andrew bunked here, but after the third night being woke by Ethan’s screams on top of the new baby to take care of during the day, Andrew started to look just as rough as Ethan. So, they all agreed to have Sara and Andrew switch rooms with Sam and Grolpre. While Ethan’s sleep didn’t improve with the change, Grolpre and Sam never minded the interruptions, and having Sam nearby often helped calm Ethan down faster after a nightmare.

Kipexo gathered his and Ethan’s small bag of toiletries from their locker while Ethan grabbed two clean towels from the laundry room down the hall. Since the water purifier was damaged as they were escaping Raug, Reethis asked that bathing be kept to once every three days and showers be no longer than five minutes each to conserve water until they reached Frohmire. Showering together, Ethan and Kipexo could wash up in seven minutes. They made it a game to see who could get done first. Being the smaller species, Ethan always won, especially since he usually skipped washing his hair. Kipexo enjoyed that change. Free of the perfumes in the soaps Ethan usually used to clean his hair, he smelled much more natural, more like himself. Kipexo often lost himself in Ethan’s scent, burying his nose in the Earthling’s hair as if he could breathe him into his very soul.

Lost in that thought, Kipexo pulled Ethan into his arms right under the shower spray and held him tight.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked.

“Nothing,” said Kipexo, though he squeezed Ethan a little tighter as he said it.

“I’m ok, Kipexo.”

Kipexo reached down and grabbed Ethan by the ass, hauling him up onto his hips so they were nearly nose to nose. He buried a hand in Ethan’s hair, massaging his scalp until Ethan closed his eyes with a contented sigh.

“You won’t be ok for long without proper rest,” said Kipexo. “I wish you’d reconsider—”

“No. I already told you, I won’t go into cryo not knowing if or when the ship will die in deep space, whether you and the humans will make it to safety, or if I’ll ever wake up again.”

As a last-ditch effort to save Ethan from his nightmares, Reethis offered to place him in the only cryopod aboard the Anamafrid, the one in the cockpit that was reserved for the ship’s captain. It was connected to a small emergency power supply that could last for hundreds of solar cycles after the rest of the ship went dark.

Though the pod was offered as a way to help him rest, Ethan wasn’t a fool. He knew Kipexo would never wake him if he thought for a second the ship wouldn’t make it to Frohmire. Ethan refused to go in the pod without Kipexo’s promise to wake him if the ship was in peril so that they could be together in the end, but Kipexo couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t lie to Ethan, and the thought of waking the boy just to watch him die turned his blood to ice.

Kipexo put his forehead to Ethan’s. “It kills me to see you suffer.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.”

“I can’t.”

Kipexo sighed and put Ethan back on his feet before shutting off the water. They dried in tense silence until Kipexo ruffled Ethan’s hair with a smile to show there were no hard feelings.

“I think my stubbornness is rubbing off on you,” Kipexo said.

“Good.”

“Why is that good?”

“We have a saying on Earth: ‘If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything’. I was really gullible before. But now, it’s easy for me to see what’s right, to say what I want and not back down. I feel brave.”

“You are brave.”

Ethan scoffed. “I’m almost always scared.”

“You can’t be brave without being scared.”

“Says the eight-foot-tall warrior alien.”

“And yet all it takes is a five-foot-tall human to bring me to my knees.”

Ethan’s face twitched as he suppressed a smile. “I’m five foot seven.”

“Oh, do forgive me,” Kipexo said cheekily.

“Only if you kiss me again.”

Kipexo leaned down and gave Ethan a quick peck on the lips.

“Like you fucking mean it, Kipexo,” Ethan said with a bit of a growl.

The words were like a shot of pure adrenaline down Kipexo’s spine, and he picked Ethan back up and shoved him against the nearest wall. He captured the Earthling’s mouth and fucked his tongue in it, taking every inch. Ethan gave back in kind and looped one arm around Kipexo’s neck while he reached down with the other to stroke his master’s hardening cock.

Kipexo pulled away and offered Ethan two of his fingers. “Suck,” he commanded, and Ethan sucked the digits with enthusiasm. He moaned around Kipexo’s fingers, which just about ripped away the last of Kipexo’s self-control. As soon as his fingers were good and wet with Ethan’s saliva, he took them back, reached down, and slid them into Ethan’s ass.

Ethan leaned his head back against the wall with a groan. “I want you.”

“I know.”

“Please.”

“Hush, boy.”

Ethan bit his lip and closed his eyes as his master probed his prostate.

Since being aboard the Anamafrid, Ethan and Kipexo’s physical relationship had slowed to a mere crawl. With Ethan’s mental health in such turmoil, Kipexo insisted they limit their… activities. Kipexo didn’t have it in him to take anything from Ethan right now, not his body, his sleep, his submission, none of it. The boy had given too much for too long. For now, this was all Kipexo could offer: pure pleasure at no cost. He circled Ethan’s prostate over and over until Ethan mewled with each new pass. The Earthling’s fingers dug into the back of Kipexo’s neck, and he let go of his lip with a cry when Kipexo hardened his touch.

“Come for me,” Kipexo urged.

“Not yet,” Ethan said breathlessly, fighting his orgasm.

Kipexo pulled Ethan from the wall and lowered him to the shower floor. He pinned Ethan’s arms above his head, bent the Earthling’s legs up at the knees, and slid a third finger in his ass.

Ethan whimpered.

“You come when I tell you,” Kipexo snarled.

The look in Ethan’s eyes changed as he gazed up at his master. “Touch my throat,” he said with enough force Kipexo narrowed his eyes. “Please, Sir,” Ethan added.

Kipexo obliged, letting go of Ethan’s arms to wrap his fingers around his neck the way the Earthling liked.

Ethan reached up and touched Kipexo’s arm. “Tighter,” he said. He was flushed and breathless with desire.

Kipexo’s fingers stilled in Ethan’s ass. “What?”

“I want you to squeeze my throat, Sir.”

Kipexo hummed thoughtfully. “Not today.”

“Why not?”

“That act requires a proper headspace for both of us. Forgive me, but, with your lack of sleep and my concern for your well-being, I don’t believe either of us has that right now.” Ethan pouted, and the look made Kipexo laugh, lean down, and kiss him deeply. He let go of Ethan’s throat to run his fingers through the Earthling’s hair instead. “If it’s something you still want after your sleep has improved, we’ll discuss it then. Alright?”

Ethan nodded then jumped when Kipexo moved his fingers again, so fast this time that they vibrated deep inside Ethan’s body.

“Now, come for me like a good boy,” Kipexo said, baring all four of his fangs in a half-smile, half-snarl.

“Oh fuck!” Ethan cried as his body betrayed him and quickly brought him to orgasm, spewing hot seed across his belly as his hips bucked and thrashed.

“I do believe that’s what your kind calls the act, yes,” Kipexo said with a cocky grin. He leaned down and licked a few drops of cum off Ethan’s belly. “Delightful.”

Ethan wiped a hand across his face and sat up, reaching for Kipexo’s hardening cock.

Kipexo caught his arm before Ethan could touch him.

“Please,” Ethan begged sadly. “I want to make you feel good too.”

“I would rather focus on you at present.”

“But… what if pleasing you makes me feel better?”

Kipexo raised a suspicious brow.

“I mean it. You’re my master, my Dom. Pleasing you makes me happy, Kipexo. The fact that you won’t let me right now…” Ethan hugged himself. “I feel lonely.”

A rumbling whine ripped through Kipexo’s chest. “I cause you pain by denying you?” If that was true, Kipexo would never forgive himself.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Ethan said in a rush. “We’ve focused so much on me lately, and I appreciate your concern, but part of my heart will never be happy if I can’t serve you in some way.” He rose up on his knees and put a hand around Kipexo’s neck where he still crouched on the shower floor. “I’m a submissive. I’ve accepted that and given myself to you in every way I can. It’s part of me now. You’re part of me.”

Kipexo touched his cheek to Ethan’s. “I know the feeling.”

Ethan leaned near Kipexo’s ear. “I want to taste you. I want your cock in my mouth and your cum in my throat.”

Kipexo groaned with desire.

“May I please you, Sir?”

Kipexo growled and stood. Ethan’s eyes followed him up, full of hopeful expectation. Kipexo grabbed the Earthling by the hair.

“Suck my cock then, boy,” Kipexo commanded.

Ethan sighed with relief, scooted closer, and sucked his master deep into his mouth. Kipexo controlled the depth with the hand still gripped in Ethan’s hair, and he fucked himself down the Earthling’s throat until he gagged. He gave Ethan just a moment’s pause to catch his breath before doing it again and again. Ethan reached around and dug his nails into his master’s ass. Kipexo sucked in a startled breath and immediately came. The noises of eager gratitude Ethan made as he gulped his master’s seed made Kipexo growl.

“That’s right,” Kipexo said as his body shuddered, “swallow all of me, boy.” When his body finally stopped convulsing, Kipexo pushed his cock down Ethan’s throat one last time and held it there. Ethan looked up at Kipexo, his eyes finding his master’s as he dutifully knelt there, stuffed with cock. He gagged once but recovered himself, and his eyes began to water as he waited. The seconds ticked by until finally Ethan reached up and tapped Kipexo on the arm. Kipexo immediately let him go.

Ethan coughed again a few times before asking, “How’d I do?”

“You beat your record by two seconds,” Kipexo said proudly.

Ethan smiled.

Kipexo held Ethan’s head in one of his large hands. “You make me proud every day, Ethan. You have nothing to prove to me.”

“I know, Sir.”

Kipexo contemplated his next words carefully before he said, “I need you to know that, no matter what happens, I wouldn’t go back and change a single thing.”

Ethan frowned. “Please don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Start saying goodbye.”

Kipexo paused at that. Was he being too gloomy? Maybe instead of shielding the boy from his fears, he was allowing them to fester. Take tonight’s gathering, for example. By not allowing Ethan to enjoy the human tradition of sharing frightful tales, was he denying Ethan a chance to distract himself from his own ghosts?

“Of course, you’re right,” said Kipexo. “There’s still plenty of hope of reaching Frohmire. Perhaps I’ve let my pessimism get the better of me. I’m sorry.”

“Now look who’s apologizing too much.”

Kipexo helped Ethan up on his feet then turned the shower back on. In under a minute, he had them both clean and rinsed off once more. He handed Ethan his towel.

“Tomorrow, I want you to participate in whatever activities Sara has planned with the rest of the humans,” Kipexo said.

“Why?”

“Camaraderie is important in times of distress. I’ve alienated you long enough.”

Ethan snorted as he dried his chest for the second time. “Nice choice of words.”

Kipexo smirked. “I thought so.”

They dressed then walked their used towels and dirty clothes down to the laundry room before returning to their quarters. Kipexo turned back Ethan’s blanket and motioned for the boy to climb into bed. Ethan hesitated.

“Come on now,” Kipexo urged. “I’ll sit with you until you fall asleep.”

Ethan relented and wormed his way into the bottom bunk between the thin blankets and sheets. Kipexo yearned to crawl in with him. The beds on the Anamafrid were made for function over comfort, which meant they were barely large enough to fit a single Raugon each. While they were big enough to fit two humans, perhaps a bit snuggly, they lacked the space to allow a Raugon and a human to sleep together. This left Ethan and Kipexo sleeping separately for the time being, Ethan on the bottom bunk and Kipexo just above him in the top bunk. It wasn’t ideal, and Kipexo couldn’t help but wonder if the arrangement wasn’t partly to blame for Ethan’s nightmares, so to help ease Ethan’s anxiety, as well as Kipexo’s guilt, Kipexo always sat up with his boy until Ethan drifted off to sleep each night.

Dex appeared from under Ethan’s bed, hopped up, and curled into a ball at the boy’s feet. Kipexo pulled the blankets up to Ethan’s chin and sat on the cool floor next to the bed, leaning over the boy’s pillow on one arm until his face was just inches away from Ethan’s.

“It occurs to me that I know very little about your family,” Kipexo said quietly. “I know of Erin, of course, but there must’ve been others, yes? You mentioned your mother once.”

Ethan nestled more comfortably into his blankets and pillow and stifled a yawn. “Yeah, we had a mom. No dad though.”

“Why not?”

“He left us when Erin and I were babies. Mom said he couldn’t handle suddenly having two kids instead of just one.”

“Coward,” Kipexo grumbled.

“Yeah, mom gave us the impression it was better he was gone. He wasn’t a very pleasant person anyway. He always paid his child support though.”

“What is child support?”

“It’s money a parent has to pay to the other parent when they leave their kids behind. It’s a way for the absent parent to make up for their financial responsibility to the child. Help pay bills and keep a roof over their heads, that sort of thing. He always paid his on time, but mom just socked it away in a savings account for us. She was determined to pay for the necessities herself and not rely on him for anything important. When we graduated high school, that money went towards college for Erin and me. It got us a car, paid for our books, and allowed us to live in an apartment instead of the shitty campus dorms while we were in school.”

“Your mother was wise not to rely on him.”

“I always thought so. She had to work really hard to pay for everything though.”

“What did she do?”

“What didn’t she do?” Ethan said with a sleepy smile. “She worked at a bank and as a waitress on weekends while she took classes in the evenings. She got a degree in accounting and did that for almost 10 years. She also made pottery and some jewelry in our basement that she sold in a big yard sale every summer. She did people’s taxes every year, at first just family and friends, but eventually, she was referred to their friends and those friends’ friends until she had so many clients, she was nothing but a ball of stress during tax time. We were glad when she finally gave that up. She was talking about retiring soon when Erin and I… when we were taken.”

Afraid Ethan would sink immediately into a nightmare if he didn’t, Kipexo swiftly changed the subject. “So, you and Erin were your mother’s only children?”

Ethan’s eyes were only half-open, and he slid a hand between his cheek and pillow before answering. “Yeah. She never remarried either. She always said we were all she needed. Erin and I talked about it a couple of times. We thought maybe she’d date and meet someone after we left for college, but she just spent her weeks working and her weekends with us the whole time.”

“Perhaps she was right: you were all she needed.”

“But now we’re gone. And Erin… she’s never coming back.”

“Ethan…”

“I know.” Ethan sniffled. “I’m sorry, Kipexo. I just miss her so much.”

Kipexo put a hand on the top of his Earthling’s head, stroking his hair with a soft touch. “Is it the thought of returning to your home planet that brings her ghost back to haunt you? Or is it the Anamafrid?”

Kipexo hated how small Ethan’s voice was as he said, “I don’t know.”

“Do you want to talk to Grolpre about this?”

“Maybe.”

“Think about it?”

“Ok.”

Kipexo’s fingers traced soft lines through Ethan’s hair, and it was no time at all before the Earthling’s eyes drifted shut. Kipexo went on petting as Ethan’s breathing deepened and he started to snore. Even then, Kipexo kept on watching and touching and willing the boy’s mind to keep quiet and let him sleep undisturbed.

*****

Kipexo woke with a start when someone nudged his shoulder. He blinked sleepily up at Grolpre, who held a sleeping Sam in her arms and was looking at Kipexo with concern. He’d fallen asleep on the floor beside Ethan’s bed.

Dex shifted on the bed by Ethan’s legs with a growl at the sight of Grolpre’s hand on his master’s shoulder. Kipexo made a downward motion with his hand, and the hebin stilled and went quiet again.

“Are you alright?” Grolpre asked softly.

Kipexo nodded and looked at Ethan. The boy looked so peaceful in sleep that Kipexo was torn about moving to his own bed. Perhaps staying here would help keep Ethan’s dreams at bay. Grolpre still had her hand on Kipexo’s shoulder, and she gave it a squeeze.

“Come along, Kipexo,” she said. “You need your own rest, and you won’t get it on the floor.”

Kipexo grumbled but knew she was right. He leaned down and gave Ethan the softest kiss on the forehead before climbing painfully to his feet; his thigh had gone stiff on the cold metal floor. He stretched his leg as Grolpre tucked Sam into bed. Sam murmured something and Grolpre lovingly touched their cheek and told them to go back to sleep. Sam groped for their stuffed hebin, which Grolpre picked up and tucked under their arm for them. They were asleep again in seconds. Grolpre smoothed the hair back out of Sam’s eyes then stood.

“Is your leg bothering you again?” she asked Kipexo.

“Not really,” Kipexo said barely above a whisper. “This is the first time it’s acted up in weeks.”

Grolpre raised her databand and took a quick scan of Kipexo’s leg from hip to toes. She read the readings with a scowl. “Your healing enzymes have dropped considerably. They’ve likely been affected by your mood.” She locked him with a stern stare. “You worry too much.”

“How can I not worry?” Kipexo asked heatedly. “My Earthling gets no rest, the others weep in fright more often than not, and even though he won’t admit it, I can see the concern on Reethis’ face as the days tick by; he’s afraid his ship won’t make it to Frohmire. And what if it doesn’t, Grolpre? What if I’ve brought them all to space just to watch as they…”

Grolpre crossed the small room with a single step and took hold of his arms, all four of them. “That’s not going to happen,” she said with conviction. “Everything will be alright.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Yes, I can.”

“How?”

She smiled and looked back over her shoulder toward her sleeping Earthling. “When I look at them, I see nothing but the future. I see the promise of happiness and love, nothing less. I don’t believe for a second that this is where it ends.” She looked at Kipexo again and smiled. “You don’t have to believe it, but I believe things happen for a reason. The Earthlings entrusted you with their lives for a reason. Sam is with me for a reason. Same with you and Ethan. That bigger purpose will keep us going. It can’t all have been for nothing. I refuse to believe that.”

“That’s a nice sentiment. I hope you’re right.”

“Aren’t I usually?” she asked with a smirk. She let him go and nodded toward his bunk. “Now, go rest. Doctor’s orders.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kipexo mumbled as he turned and climbed up into his bed.

Dex hopped up onto Kipexo’s bunk as soon as his master was situated.

“There’s little room for you,” Kipexo told the hebin. “You’d be better off with the boy.”

Dex huffed and curled into a ball near Kipexo’s knees, dangerously close to the edge of the bed. Kipexo sighed and picked the hebin up, moved his legs over, and tucked Dex between him and the wall instead.

“There. Now at least you won’t get kicked off in the night.”

Dex gave a small trill, wiggled for a moment, then settled down with his head on Kipexo’s leg. Kipexo gave the hebin a good, deep scratch and fell asleep with his fingers buried in Dex’s fur.