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Terry was always attracted to the newest things. Since crash landing on Earth approximately thirty-two hours ago, his world had been nothing but blissful novelty. So far his favorites had been the strange Earth food called toothpaste and the bright blue shirt he was currently changing into. He posed in front of the mirror and admired his reflection. There was a phrase on the shirt in human letters which he couldn’t read, but he didn’t care. It was perfect. Much cooler than his stuffy robes.
Feeling comfortable in his skin for the first time in his whole life, Terry plopped onto their newly purchased bed and breathed a sigh of relief. This felt right. Floating through space all those months, Terry had been worried there would be no end to the nothingness. But here, on this planet, there was so much. He couldn’t wait to explore it all.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” Terry sat up to see his team leader frowning at him from across the room.
“Human clothes!” Terry grinned defiantly. “I know, I look fly as hell.”
Rolling his eyes, Korvo shut the door to the bedroom. The replicants and Pupa had finally gone to sleep after a long day of shopping. It had been an exciting past few days with little sleep, making everyone on the team extremely grumpy. Waking them up was the last thing they needed.
Terry stretched out luxuriously on the bed, pretending not to notice Korvo stripping down to change into his night clothes. He felt his face heat up when he caught a glimpse of Korvo’s spectacularly curved figure. Korvo seemed to have lost all sense of modesty after their months aboard the ship, seemingly unaware of the effect it had on Terry.
“It feels good to finally be off the ship.” Concentrating on the ceiling and trying his best not to sneak any more glances at Korvo, Terry spoke to fill the silence.
“I have to agree. Stretching our legs for a bit will be good while we repair the ship. But don’t get too comfortable–”
“– it’s temporary,” finished Terry. “I know, I know. You’ve said it a million times.”
“And as team leader I’ll keep saying it. Now let’s get some sleep so we can be refreshed for a full day of ship repair tomorrow.”
A deep groan echoed in the room as Terry sat up. Now fully redressed in his night robe, Korvo was standing in front of him. There was a clear feeling of uneasiness in the air. Looking around the bed, Terry suddenly realized why. He coughed self-consciously and scooted over to make room for Korvo. As his partner laid down next to him, Terry could feel his hearts beating a mile a minute.
Normally, Terry was excited to try anything new. Sharing a bed had sounded exciting. According to the furniture store employee, all adult humans slept together. Which of course had led Terry to beg Korvo to purchase the king size bed for the two of them to share. In theory, it had sounded like fun and seemed to be the way things worked here on Earth. But now that they were here, warm bodies just inches from each other, Terry wasn’t so sure.
For a few minutes, they rigidly laid there in silence. Terry could barely hear Korvo’s gentle breathing over his own racing pulse.
“Human beds are comfortable, huh?”
Korvo grunted in agreement.
Terry didn’t dare move a muscle. “I couldn’t figure out how the sheets work though.”
“Hmm.”
“What did you think of those big metal vehicles they delivered the furniture in?”
A deep tone of exhaustion filled Korvo’s voice. “Terry, I’m really tired. Can we talk tomorrow?”
Mentally slapping himself in the face, Terry resisted the urge to curse himself. Of course Korvo doesn’t want to hear him ramble. It’s late. “Yeah, sorry.”
There was a click as Korvo turned off the lamp, plunging the room into complete darkness. Terry finally let out a breath he had been holding. He turned at last towards his partner. In the pitch blackness, he could only make out the silhouette of Korvo’s head which was turned away from him.
“Good night, Korvy.”
The blue alien didn’t respond.
A rustle a bit too close to his face disturbed Terry’s peaceful slumber. It was still dark outside and hard to see as his heavy lids flitted open. Next to him, he felt something heavy and warm.
It took him a second to register that it was Korvo, practically cuddled up against him. As Terry’s eyes adjusted to the dark, he laid there frozen, unsure of what to do. There was an anxious look on Korvo’s face, face tightened as if he couldn’t relax even in his sleep.
Being this close, Terry couldn’t help himself. He reached out and gently pressed his thumb to ease the tension in Korvo’s furrowed brow.
“It’s okay,” Terry spoke in barely a whisper.
It seemed to work. Korvo melted into Terry’s touch, face relaxing and breath steadying. Terry watched him for a minute more, his hand still caressing Korvo’s face.
Just as his eyes were drooping back to a close, there was suddenly an arm around him as Korvo rolled over. Wide awake again, Terry took a second to think of what to do. Korvo’s face against his chest and Terry’s arm pinned underneath his neck. Tentatively, Terry placed his free arm around Korvo's shoulder. He couldn’t breathe. It was hot. It was uncomfortable. But he didn’t want to push Korvo away.
He would take a night of sleeplessness if it meant being close to him.