Did you know that feeling when you sneak into the kitchen at 3 AM to steal the last cookie, but instead of getting caught, you find a golden ticket to a chocolate factory?
Yeah...
That is kind of how my night is going. But instead of a cookie, it is a bathtub. And instead of a chocolate factory, it is... well, you will see.
Hi! It is me! Arala!
Or Private! Or the girl with the gusi-gusi that needs hama-hama!
You probably remember me from the command center incident, right? When Ranyan made me scream like a banshee in front of everyone? That was fun. But this? This is different.
I am currently lying on Vice's bed. Yes. That Vice. The scary lady who looks at me like I am a bug she wants to squash but can't because of regulations.
Why am I here?
Honestly? I don't know. My brain was doing the wuz-wuz thing. You know, when everything is loud and scary? Ranyan was hurt. Like, really hurt. I saw the blood. Red stuff everywhere. It made my purupin feel cold and shriveled. I panicked. I ran. And somehow, my feet took me to the one place on the Xeca that always smells like order and discipline.
Vice's room.
I took a bath. Don't tell her, okay? Promise me! If she finds out I used her Bergamot soap, the expensive one she hides behind the towels, she will turn me into space dust. But I had to. It smells like her. It smells safe.
I am naked right now. Just lying here on her sheets. They are so soft. high thread count, definitely. I feel like a little marshmallow floating on a cloud. The air in here is cool, but my skin feels hot. Maybe it is the leftover adrenaline from seeing Ranyan almost die. Or maybe it is just me being a Quarso. We run hot, you know?
Wait.
Someone is at the door.
If it is Vice, I am dead. I am going to have to jump out the airlock. Nice knowing you, reader!
The door hisses open.
It is not Vice.
It is Ranyan.
He stumbles in. He looks... drunk? His eyes are half-closed, and he is walking like gravity is just a suggestion he is choosing to ignore. He is wearing his pants, but his shirt is unbuttoned. I can see the fresh pink skin on his chest where the Krall hit him. Shorty really fixed him up good.
He stops. He sniffs the air.
"Iya?" he whispers.
His voice is so low, so rough. It makes my toes curl. He thinks I am her.
I should say something. I should say, "Hey Ranyan, it is me, your little sister Arala!"
But... I don't. My throat feels like it is stuck with xuxu-xuxu. I just freeze.
He walks over to the bed. He doesn't turn on the lights. It is dark, lit only by the starlight coming from the viewport. To him, I am just a female shape in Vice's bed, smelling like Vice's soap.
He climbs in.
The mattress dips under his weight. He feels heavy. Solid. He wraps his arms around me from behind. His skin is burning hot against my back.
"You smell good," he mumbles into my hair. "You always smell like home, Iya."
My heart is poka-poka in my chest. Is it wrong? To let him think I am her?
Probably.
But his arms feel so different right now. Usually, when we do the clak-clak, he is wild. He is my big brother who wants to dominate his little sister. It is forbidden and spicy and giga-giga. But this? This is gentle. He pulls me closer, pressing his chest against my back. I can feel his heartbeat. It is slow. Steady.
"I missed this," he sighs.
His hand moves up. He cups my breast.
I gasp.
"Shh," he whispers, kissing the back of my neck. "I know. I know you are tired. Just let me hold you. Let me feel you."
His fingers aren't pinching or squeezing hard like usual. They are tracing circles around my nipple. It is soft. It tickles, but in a good way. A kuri-kuri way.
I melt. I literally melt into the mattress. I push my butt back against his hips. I can feel him down there. He is hard. But not the angry hard he usually is. It is a friendly hard. A sleepy, loving hard.
"Ranyan..." I whisper. I try to disguise my voice. Make it lower. More like Vice's scary teacher voice.
"Don't talk," he says. He bites my earlobe gently. "No orders tonight, Vice. Just us."
He shifts his hips. He is dry humping me. The friction of his jeans against my bare butt cheeks is electric.
"I don't need the maid outfit," he says. His voice is thick with sleep and lust. "I was just teasing. I just want you. Just like this. Bare. Real."
Oh, wow.
You hear that? He really loves her, doesn't he? It makes my chest hurt a little. Just a tiny nyut-nyut. But mostly, I am curious. What does it feel like? To be loved by Ranyan? Not just fucked by him, but loved?
I want to know. I need to know. I reach back and fumble with his zipper.
He chuckles. A low rumble against my spine. "Impatient? That is rare for you."
He helps me. He kicks his pants down. He is naked now too. Skin on skin. He enters me from behind.
Spoon position.
He doesn't shove it in. He glides in. Slowly. Inch by inch.
"Ah..." I let out a breathy moan.
It feels... full. He fills every corner of my hama-hama. But he pauses. He waits for me to adjust. He kisses my shoulder.
"You are so tight tonight," he whispers. "Did you miss me that much?"
Yes. I nod into the pillow. Yes, Ranyan. I missed you so much.
He starts to move.
It is a slow rhythm. Like the ocean waves we saw on the simul-deck. In, out. In, out.
Rocking.
He is holding me so tight, like he is afraid I will disappear if he lets go. His hand is on my stomach, pressing flat, while the other hand plays with my breast.
It is not just physical. It is... emotional? Is that the word? It feels heavy.
"I almost died today," he says, his breath hot on my neck. He thrusts a little deeper, hitting a sweet spot that makes my eyes roll back. "All I could think about... was you. Leaving you alone with this mess."
I bite my lip to stop from crying. He was thinking about Vice. Only Vice.
I move my hips, matching his rhythm. I grind back against him. I want to give him what he wants. Even if I am just a substitute. Even if I am just a placeholder.
"That's it," he groans. "Move with me, Iya. We are one. Just one soul."
The sensation is building. It is not the explosive boombastic fireworks I usually get. It is like warm honey spreading through my veins. It is a slow burn. A fuwa-fuwa feeling that starts in my toes and travels up to my brain.
He kisses my cheek. I turn my head slightly, and our lips meet.
His kiss is... oh my God.
It is soft. Tasting of that weird strawberry vodka smell from Shorty's fluids. But mostly, it tastes like devotion. He explores my mouth with his tongue, gentle and slow.
He is making love to me.
Me! Arala!
But he thinks he is making love to the Vice Captain. It is the best lie ever.
"I love you," he whispers against my lips.
And then he thrusts hard. Deep. Touching the deepest part of my womb.
"Oh!" I cry out.
"Come for me," he growls softly. "Let go, Iya. I've got you."
And I do. I let go.
My orgasm hits me like a soft wave that just keeps coming. It is not a spike. It is a rolling hill of pleasure. My purupin clenches around him, milking him.
He groans, burying his face in my neck. He shakes. I feel him spill into me. His hot seed floods my insides, filling me up completely.
"Iya..." he breathes out his release.
We lay there for a long time. Just breathing. His arm is still wrapped around me, holding me like a teddy bear.
I feel sticky. I feel full. I feel... sad? And happy?
My emotions are all maku-maku.
"You don't need to wear the outfit," he mumbles again, his voice fading into sleep. "You smell... perfect. Bergamot... and... Araya? Why do you smell like Araya?"
He yawns before he can figure it out.
"Stay..." he whispers. "Just stay."
And then, he is out. Snoring softly.
I lie there, staring at the wall. The sweat on our bodies is cooling down.
I carefully try to wiggle out of his grip. He grumbles a little but lets his arm slide off.
I sit up and look at him.
And then I see it.
The transformation.
It is starting. It has been twelve hours since his last limit reset, I guess? Or maybe the trauma accelerated it?
His broad shoulders are shrinking. His jawline is softening. His chest... the muscles are smoothing out, and small mounds are forming. His hair seems to get a little silkier.
Ranyan is turning into a girl. He looks so peaceful. Like a sleeping princess. I touch his cheek. It is soft.
"You are an idiot, Ranyan," I whisper. "But you are my favorite idiot."
I realize something now.
The way he touched me... the way he held me... that wasn't just lust. That was the real deal. He really, really loves Vice.
And Vice?
She pretends to hate him, but she lets him do whatever he wants. She keeps her room smelling like the soap he likes.
They are both idiots.
I slide off the bed. My legs are a little wobbly. The clak-clak was gentle, but Ranyan is still an Inquor. He stretched me out good.
I grab a towel and wipe myself down quickly. I need to get out of here before Vice comes back. If she finds me naked in her room with a sleeping, gender-bent Ranyan, she will definitely use her Gatling Rose on me.
I grab my clothes from the floor. I look back at him one last time. Or... her, now.
Ranyan... female version. She is beautiful.
"Goodnight, big brother," I whisper. "Thanks for the... hama-hama."
I sneak out the door, quiet as a mouse. The corridor is empty. I lean against the wall and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
My hand goes to my stomach. It feels warm. I have a secret now. A big, juicy, sexy secret.
Ranyan loves Vice. And I got to taste what that love feels like. It tasted sweet. Like strawberries with a hint of bergamot, and lies.
But hey, in space, you take what you can get, right?
Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go find Xecta. I need to tell someone before I explode, and she is the only one who won't judge me.
Much.
See you later!