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Kenny remembered being tired. Flopping down on the dirty, crooked mattress on the ground, head hitting the pillow, zonking out and drifting off to dream, only to jerk awake in what felt like seconds later.
He was strapped down to a bed, a cool and firm fabric around his ankles and wrists. Soft blankets underneath him, he almost thought maybe he was at a hospital, only he was still wearing his actual clothes. Any time he’d been taken to a hospital they made him wear a stupid paper gown.
He tugged at the fabric, taking a quick look around. Everything was softly lit with warm light, the temperature warm but oddly…forced. The walls were dark grey and black, unadorned and a mix of matte and shine. They were oddly curved, like it was built on circumference rather than angles.
A single door, outlined in a bright blue and glowing. A window much the same on the opposite wall, too far away to see anything but the stars outside. It was still night. Was he dreaming? Like a weird kind of dreaming, one that felt insanely real and had him freaking out on the inside?
The door retracted, and someone stepped over the threshold.
A redhead male with blue marks painted on his face, wearing colors much like the rest of the room, blacks and greys and a stripe of glowing teal on his boots and overcoat. He was holding what looked like a piece of glass.
Kenny tilted his head. Definitely attractive, pretty cheekbones and a slim body, even if his hair was a mess of frizzy curls. Very cute.
Yep. He’d definitely seen something like this in porn before.
“Sup,” He said, uncertain now if he was asleep or awake. This was definitely something weird enough that he’d conjure in his mind, especially after a particularly stressful month like he’d been having, but the guy was so clear, so detailed.
The boy- or man, his age was hard to judge but he didn’t look very old, looked up at him.
His eyes were bright green, vivid and almost harsh, and they narrowed.
“Are you calm?” He asked, a light but forceful voice, resonating with derision.
“Uh, yeah?” He couldn’t conjure a cutie with a sweet attitude, could he? He was leaning back towards some kind of warped reality. He couldn’t even crack a joke, this was starting to get weird.
With a strange crack, the fabric let him go. Kenny immediately sat up, watching the boy run his fingers over the glass.
“What’s your name?” The boy demanded, as if this was all routine.
“Uh…you can call me Kenny,” He draped his forearms over his knees, swinging his legs over the bed as he tried to assess his situation. “What’s going on?”
“Kenny,” The man murmured as he ran his fingers over his piece of glass again. “Alright. Family name?”
“Where am I?” Kenny fought instead. “Answer some of my questions before we get chatty, dude.”
The boy looked up again, those bizarre green eyes focused. He slowly tucked the glass under his arm, shifting on his black boots.
“You’re on my ship,” The redhead said easily. “I’m part of a research team sent to your region.”
“Ship?” He asked, and the boy raised an eyebrow and gestured towards the window he’d been unable to see out of and Kenny whirled.
He stood on his toes to look outside and his stomach nearly dropped to his feet.
He was well above the ground. He could see his little mountain town in it’s entirety. Below them. Way below. Like…unable to see his house below, while they hovered stationary. In the sky. Way up in the sky.
He whirled around, slamming his back against the side of the…the ship. Spaceship. Fucking spaceship.
“What the fuck?!” Kenny managed to get out, blurting word vomit left and right. “I’ve had some fucking weird shit happen to me, but this is- you’re aliens? You’re an alien? I’m on a spaceship?”
“You can call me an alien if you want, but that always sounded rather derogatory in your language,” The redhead commented, looking very unaffected by Kenny’s mental mindfuck. “Whatever makes you comfortable.”
“Comfortable? I’m on a fucking space ship, about to anal probed or be impregnated by space babies or whatever shit real aliens do!” Kenny stared back down at the abyss, looking away quickly at the guy staring at him. “I mean hey,” He started laughing, nervously, voice beginning to raise in pitch. “You didn’t even take me to dinner first, oh God, I always thought I’d be okay with something like this, I totally saw this kind of thing online once, kinky, right? Nope! I didn’t get to choose this. I’m not okay with this. I just got off work, I’m tired and I just wanted a nap, man!”
The alien boy continued watching Kenny like he was afraid he wasn’t quite alright.
“Would you like sedation?” He offered cautiously. “We can calm you if you have some kind of anxiety issue.”
Kenny wasn’t sure what to make of this. “I don’t want Space Drugs,” He said, voice dropping to an incredulous whisper. “I don’t have an anxiety disorder. I was fucking abducted!”
The redhead furrowed his brows. He looked at his piece of glass again, pursing his lips.
The next moment, he took a step forward, offering his hand like they were at a business meeting. Kenny stared at the offered hand.
“You can call me Kyle,” The alien told him firmly. “I’m here with the research team on a peaceful observation.” He arched an eyebrow, waiting. “So shake my damn hand.”
Kenny reached to meet him, giving the guy a handshake before crossing his arms and watching him closely.
“Kyle is a weird-ass name for an alien,” He said, wondering if he should wipe his hand on his shirt to get rid of whatever Space Bacteria the guy had.
The boy scowled. “My real name you wouldn’t even be able to hear,” He snipped at him. “So you can call me Kyle.” He took a breath, straightening again so suddenly his boots clacked together.
“As I said previously, I’m part of a research team,” Kyle took on the snobbish tone from before. “We gather information from speaking with and observing the residents of your planet. We’re familiar with your biology, which differs barely from our own, and require no further understanding. I’m simply here for conversation.”
Kenny’s first line of defense was typically deflection. Humor. “So. You’ve got a dick?”
The alien closed his eyes, moving to touch the glass again. He opened them and spoke brusquely. “Anyway. I’m just going to ask a few things and you can get back to sleep. Understand?”
Licking his lips, Kenny moved to sit back on the bed. He wasn’t…entirely sure this was real. I mean, his life was one big fucking joke after another, but aliens? He had to at least get some information here, he was dying.
“But I want to know stuff, too,” He protested, legs feeling numb. “How about I ask you a question for every question I answer?”
Kyle narrowed his eyes, but begrudgingly nodded his head. “Satisfactorily,” He said simply.
“What?” Kenny didn’t follow.
“You may ask me a question for every satisfactory answer you give me,” The boy decided. “I won’t have you answering me with yes or no. You humans are a tricky bunch.”
“Fair,” Kenny replied, drawing his legs up to sit cross-legged. “Hit me, E.T.”
He swore Kyle grit his teeth.
Interesting. So he was up to date on- or Kenny guessed at least knew old pop culture?
“Your family unit consists of five, correct?” Kyle was looking at his glass again. “Names?”
Whoa. Nope. Kenny’s heart jumped right up into his throat.
“Can I not answer that one?” Kenny interjected. “I don’t want you messing with my family, alright? Leave them alone.”
“I did,” He retorted immediately. “And if I get answers from you, I won’t have to ask them. So what are their names?”
Fuck. Kenny narrowed his eyes. “Uh, Stuart, my dad. Carol is my mom, Kevin’s my older brother and Karen’s my baby sister.”
Kyle nodded, watching the glass. It didn’t glow, didn’t have words on it. Kenny wanted to ask about that first, but other things were pressing.
“What are these questions going to be about?” Kenny asked him.
“Family units,” Kyle answered, looking back up at him with his pretty green eyes. “And everyday life. Nothing interesting for you, we’re just seeing how it differs from our own lives.”
Kenny nodded, slowly, still watching him warily.
“Who would you say you’re closest to in your family?” The alien sounded like a therapist. “And why, if you don’t mind. Simplify it or go into detail. Whatever you like.”
“Ehhh…” He scratched his cheek. “My siblings, probably. And I guess out of them, Karen. I love them all, though.”
Kyle nodded again. Kenny finally broke.
“Hold on, I’ve changed my mind,” Kenny interrupted. This was too weird, he absolutely couldn’t go through with this. “Look, I’m- are you here to hurt anyone? Why research? Why me? Why dumb things like what my family is? Who are you people?”
Kyle looked annoyed. “I’m not required to answer anything for you,” He told Kenny. “I’m not sure I need to.”
“Look, you can’t just trap me in a room and demand shit,” Kenny started, but the alien interrupted him immediately.
“I agreed to your stupid terms!” He snapped, before making a growling noise. “I’ll answer some questions. Change your mind if you want, I still really need my answers.”
“Just tell me who you are, first,” Kenny was afraid if he stood, he’d be all noodle-legged. This was the weirdest situation he’d ever been forced into, and that was saying something. “Just…You’re called Kyle, but I wouldn’t be able to hear your real name? Why?”
The alien narrowed his eyes. His hand tapped absently against the side of the glass, and he didn’t look like he was about to concede. So. Kenny upped it a little.
“It’s kind of wild for me to meet you, ya know,” He wheedled, shooting him a smile. Were aliens gay? Or wait, they might not even have the same genders. Not that it mattered, he was…swung all ways, all teams were played for, what was in your pants didn’t matter.
Real question was could aliens be flirty? He looked enough like Kyle to be at least somewhat appealing, right? Look how sweet and cute Kenny was. You wouldn’t want to kill a poor, dirty, blue-eyed cherub, right? “I just want to know more about you. Okay? No big deal.”
The other rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, but he slapped down the glass on a table.
“My language is unable to be heard by humans,” Kyle said snobbishly. “So: I’m Kyle to you.”
“Maybe I’m special,” Kenny protested, shooting him his sweetest smile. “Try me.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. His eyes flit between Kenny’s, shocking green and fierce.
“And now you know you can’t hear it,” Kyle said coolly. “I told you so.”
“Hold on, wait,” Kenny scooched forward on the bed, leaning forward. “You didn’t even move your lips!”
“You can’t understand mindspeak,” Kyle said irritably. “Are we done now?”
Kenny’s bewildered expression seemed to spark Kyle’s need to lecture, because he offered the next bit of information unprompted.
“My personal dialect is not words,” The alien explained. “Mindspeak, it’s less primitive and can be used over distance.”
“Personal…” Kenny was lost, mind reeling, but Kyle was still going.
“I am not the only one of me,” Kyle explained, picking up his glass back again rather forcibly. “There’s others, back home. More of me.”
“More of you?” Kenny picked up on the self-deprecating tone he was using. He lightly jabbed, “Your planet must be gorgeous.”
Kyle looked up, raising an eyebrow. As if he didn’t understand. Kenny tried to be a bit more blatant.
“Y’know, because you’re a pretty guy.” He took a moment to pause before realizing he didn’t actually have any idea what was in his pants. “Uh…guy. Is that- what you are, or okay to say, or-”
“It’s fine,” Kyle snapped, but with much less fire. He sighed, relaxing. “And there’s a lot of beings on my planet. There’s no direct word for what my race is or what my name is. But there’s people, in units, much like your family units. Only they’re…yourself.”
Kenny considered that. Having to grow up living with yourself. This was…weird again. So of course he opened his mouth.
“Damn,” He said, feeling the tension in the air and trying desperately to bat it away. “What if you were attracted to yourself? Like is it biologically the same, or like family so it’s weird, or if someone were to do themselves is it masturbation or-”
Once again, Kyle interrupted, looking concerned at Kenny.
“Cloning, it’s like cloning,” He sputtered. “They are me. Mostly, with some things edited. They’re the same age, same height, same basic features.”
Kenny’s brows furrowed. “So, real, genuine question,” He said seriously, “Utter curiosity only. Do you have alien parts or human?”
“Are you kidding me?” Kyle asked, throwing his arms outwards.
“Nah, no, not at all,” Kenny reassured him, grinning. “You were the one who talked about similar biology. Think of all the movies I watched, always wondering if aliens had dick, tentacles, or nothing down there, and if they would reproduce asexually or in labs or-”
Kyle looked pained. “It’s the same procedure used on Earth. Satisfied?”
Not even close. But he was genuinely looking uncomfortable now and he kinda felt a little bad. He was mostly just trying to make himself comfortable, which made him feel like a grade-a dick. Time to switch tactics.
“Mostly,” Kenny drew his legs up onto the bed. “So you didn’t get along with yourself, I’m guessing?”
Kyle scoffed, a sneer creeping on his face. “We don’t all have the same personality.”
“Ah.” If they’d been friends, he’d joke about wanting to know which one had the sweet personality. But. “You seem alright to me. Thanks for answering.”
That caught Kyle’s attention, and he looked up in surprise. Aww. Cute.
“You’re welcome,” The redhead murmured. He shuffled with his glass again, and Kenny pushed his luck yet again.
“You keep touching that,” He pointed out. “Is it like a tablet, or what?”
“Similar,” Kyle ran his thumb over the sides. “It’s not quite so primitive.”
Excuse me. “Primitive?” Kenny took offense. “Dude. I don’t even own one.”
To his surprise, the alien clenched his jaw before looking at him again, suddenly determined. He rounded the room to sit on the bed next to him, one leg under the other, pressing the glass into his hands.
“You can try to activate it,” He said urgently, taking one of Kenny’s hands and pressing it against the glass. “It takes almost no effort. Words, a picture. Whatever you need to remember.”
Kenny’s lips twitched slightly as he stared at the boy next to him. He couldn’t help smiling stupidly at the boy, who was trying to adjust the glass within his hands.
Kyle’s expression was so earnest. His eyes flashed and he kept rambling instructions and it just…
Pure. So utterly fucking wholesome. This loser was a nerd doing research and was excitable now as he tried to explain to the Earthling how to use his tech. Like a kid with a new toy to show his friend. Fuckin’ adorable.
Kyle looked up sharply, likely catching onto the fact that Kenny was not listening, but Kenny wasn’t exactly thinking much at the moment. Those blue marks on his face were uneven, sloppy slightly on one of the edges, which made him think they might not be normal.
Kenny reached, pausing to realize that poking an alien in the face was probably a dumb idea, but Kyle merely stiffened his shoulders and narrowed his eyes.
Kenny brushed his fingers over his cheekbones, tracing the elaborate swirl down to his jaw.
He brought his hand away, catching a tint of blue on his fingertips.
“Is this makeup?” He asked, curious.
“Somewhat like makeup, yes,” The alien said with a lift of his shoulders. “More unisex. More colorful.”
“Makeup can be unisex,” Kenny realized with dismay that he might’ve gotten most of his knowledge from media and movies and that was fucking terrifying. “Dude. Things aren’t so black and white in the world-”
“They vary by person,” Kyle smacked Kenny’s hand away from the glass. “This isn’t my first time to your planet, and we aren’t so different, remember? I have my own damn personality, even if I am a clone.” His eyes flit between Kenny’s. “Now wipe your hands before you touch that.”
Kenny silently wiped his hand on his jeans and glanced at him for approval. He looked at his tablet, see through and cool to the touch. He pressed his hand against the glass, like he’d seen Kyle do.
Nothing.
Kenny shook it.
“Oh, stop that,” Kyle took it back. He actually looked disappointed. “Of course you wouldn’t be able to use it.”
“More weird mind fuckery?” Kenny asked, leaning back on his arms.
“Sort of,” Kyle said uncomfortably. “It can be…difficult to explain to you I f you don’t even have the basic understanding of how my world works.”
“You should make a pamphlet,” Kenny suggested teasingly. “Hand it out to abductees when you grab them out of their comfy beds.”
The alien shot him a look, but more like he was about to smile than any actual anger. “Right. I’ll get on that.”
Oh! A joke. Kenny grinned, still marveling a little at the closeness. “So your kind has a sense of humor?”
“We do if you’re funny,” Kyle snarked at him, looking appeased when Kenny laughed. “I’m at work, technically, are you expecting me to be a friendly, chatty bastard?”
Well, he kinda was a chatty bastard now, but Kenny wasn’t sure how he was supposed to bring that up. The boy…alien…guy…was sitting next to him, leaning back now on the bed as they talked.
Well damn, if this was what aliens were like, Kenny was all about a takeover. Cute, enthused, fiery. He could crush on this guy easy. He leaned back as well, smiling over at him.
“So you abduct people for a living?” He asked, getting comfy. Let’s make the most of this. “Cool, cool. How long you’ve been doing it?”
“It’s not really an abduction,” Kyle began, but Kenny wasn’t having that.
“Dude, you grabbed me out of bed and took me out into the skies!” He pointed out. “That’s totally an abduction!”
“I’m going to put you back,” Kyle insisted. “It’s not…I’m not keeping you-”
“Aw,” Kenny interjected, but Kyle talked over him.
“It’s like tagging sharks!” The alien’s voice went higher as he tried speaking over Kenny’s giggles. “Sharks! I’m going to let you go on your merry way, thank you very much.”
“So I’m a shark?” Kenny grinned, using more of his teeth than he normally would. “Are sharks considered cute on your planet?”
Kyle shoved his face away from him. Kenny watched him smile, wrinkling his nose at him.
“You look almost exactly like us,” Kyle pointed out. “And yes, I find my own species attractive.”
“So you find me attractive?” Kenny was just tossing things left and right to try and get some fun reactions out of him, and honestly this was just becoming fun.
“You’re a handful, you realize that?” Kyle flipped over his glass without looking at it, fidgeting in his hands.
“Oh, I’ve been told,” Kenny said, making sure the waggling eyebrows got his stretch of an innuendo across. Was he getting it?
“I meant,” Kyle tried again. “You’re a pain in the ass!”
Kenny’s grin grew. Broadly. He saw the regret on Kyle’s face.
“You’re immature and a bastard,” Kyle said carefully, face tinging pink under blue swirls.
“Actually my parents were married,” Kenny said, and Kyle lightly smacked himself in the head with his piece of glass.
“Oh my god, Kenny McCormick,” He said, and Kenny’s heart fluttered in his chest. “Are you serious?”
“Deadly,” He said with a smile. “Are you telling me you don’t have puns or innuendos on whatever crazy space rock you’re from?”
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Kyle said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “We are not much different from you, I think I’ve said that, what? Six times by now?”
“Well, then, distract me from the puns and tell me something real about yourself,” He said, leaning closer to the guy. “I’m so terribly curious about you, you are a fascinating, intriguing, beautiful person-”
“Alright, you don’t have to try and be flattering,” Kyle said, batting at him. “I don’t…know what to tell you.”
“Well,” Kenny said, drawing his legs up on the bed, “Tell me…what’s different about us. What’s something that’s special about you?” He was actually, desperately flirting at this point. He wasn’t even really…he was just interesting, alright? And he was cute and a little sweet and hey, an alien! Who knows what cool shit this boy’s seen?
Kyle tsked his tongue, also drawing his legs up. “Well. Family units, for one. And how we’re assigned careers.”
Interesting. “They tell you what you’re gonna do?” Kenny asked, curious.
“More or less,” Kyle said, back to tracing his tablet. “There’s multi-tiers of work, of course, like here. Normal jobs, that wouldn’t affect anything major, are what my set was assigned.”
“Set? You mean your clones?” Kenny brought back, still fascinated by the prospect.
“Correct,” Kyle said approvingly, like Kenny had answered a question right in kindergarten class. “I wasn’t supposed to move up this far.”
“Nah?” Kenny said, leaning back to watch him.
“Nah,” Kyle lifted his chin. “But fuck that. I worked for this, and here I am.”
“Tagging sharks and probing butts,” Kenny interjected for him helpfully. Kyle rolled his eyes but said nothing, already getting used to him. “Nice. Other guys back on your planet?”
“I’m now the first and only to make it off the crust,” Kyle said smugly. “And I’m not going back, either.”
Nice. Kenny could respect someone who moved their ass and worked their way up. “That’s really cool, man.”
Kyle smiled to himself, going back to touching the glass, and Kenny watched him closely. Funny. He wasn’t anything like what he’d think of if someone said space alien. Kyle looked like a human, spoke normally, acted with human feelings and wants and it was just really cool. He was really cool.
“You’re really cool,” He said, and Kyle damn near dropped his tablet.
“Whatever,” He said, looking ridiculously pleased. He was just about glowing, avoiding Kenny’s gaze to brush his fingers against his tablet repeatedly. “You’re hardy, for a human. You’re taking this really well.”
A compliment. He had a feeling Kyle was trying to be nice. Which was pretty fuckin cute. But how do you reply to that?
“Thanks,” He said finally, deciding being nice in return was probably his best policy. “I’ve got some weird shit going on in my life. You’re not even the weirdest.”
Kyle shot him a smile at that, a tilted, assured smile. “No?”
“No,” He promised, thinking of his last death via school soda machine. “Not. Even. Close.”
That piqued Kyle’s interest. He could tell, but Kenny was suddenly uncertain that he wanted to go that route. He nonchalantly tried glancing at the window, at the world below, quickly switching topics like a master.
“Are we just kinda hovering above the city?” Kenny asked, easily. “What if someone looks up and calls the government or something?”
“They can’t see us, we’ve been here a month already,” Kyle rolled his eyes, and then regrettably got off the bed. He did pause, however, gesturing. “Come here a second.”
“Sure,” Kenny said, standing to follow as the doors opened for Kyle. He was actually going to get to look around an alien spacecraft. He was nearly bouncing on his feet after the redhead.
The rest of the ship was also black, and even the hallways was curved, and Kyle led him through the tight pathway.
“Where’s the rest of your crew?” Kenny asked, feeling like he was walking abnormally loud for someone who didn’t even have shoes on.
“This place is bigger than you think,” Kyle mentioned, eyes on the tablet and not ahead of him. “I don’t think anyone else is conducting interviews tonight.”
“You make it sound like I’m applying for a job, not being abducted,” Kenny mentioned, and the rest of the sentence was forgotten.
Kyle led him to some kind of living-room-penthouse type deal, if the penthouse overlooked the town and Colorado countryside at a 45 degree angle.
“Are we…tilted?” Kenny asked, feeling suddenly dizzy. Kyle tucked his glass under his arm to grab Kenny’s shoulder in what he probably thought was a steadying manner. Actually, it just kinda hurt.
“There’s artificial gravity in place,” He reassured him. “You won’t fall. Come take a look.”
He stepped closer, almost reluctantly. His fed held to the ground no problem, and the view was incredibly cool. He could see the lights on at Stan’s house, Butters’. He could see the junkyard where his shack stood. His old schools.
And above, pinpricks of light, purples and pinks and blues like he’d never seen before, like someone dumped glitter onto velvet and called it a sky.
“What’s…” He wasn’t really sure how to ask, but tried anyway. “The sky doesn’t look like that.”
“Oh, the windows enhance what you see,” Kyle said easily. “Your view of the galaxy is utterly breathtaking. I’ve slept up here most nights, just to see.”
Kenny took it all in, just millions upon millions of stars and planets and wisps of light.
“Holy shit, this is cool,” He said, honestly, trying to resist the urge to press his hands and face against the glass. “Just…holy shit.”
He shot Kyle a grin, and caught the boy trying to fix his makeup in his glass. Kyle brought his hand down, hair still an awry mess and face covered in sloppy blue swirls. He looked content, like he was enjoying watching Kenny freak out. Bizarre, almost freakish green eyes and perfect skin.
“Weird to think,” Kenny said, meeting Kyle’s gaze. “I never really gave a whole lot of thought to aliens, not as an adult, anyway. Guess it answers that question.”
“It’s a little egotistical that it’s any debate at all,” Kyle scoffed, flipping the tablet in his hand. “Of course you’re not the only existence in the universe. Pathetic.”
Kenny’s eyes started to widen at the implication. “Is there more?” He started, but Kyle switched topics immediately.
“You said I’m not even close to the strangest thing you’ve ever seen,” Kyle was suddenly focused now, like this was his prime objective, his eyes flashed unnaturally. “Does it have anything to do with the weird state your body is in?”
Kenny paused. Took a long moment to stare at the boy, trying to understand what he meant. But all he could really focus on was the fact Kyle lied about checking biology, which bothered him more than made sense.
So he mentioned it in the stupidest way possible.
“So you did stick something up my ass?” Kenny asked, grinning a little frantically.
“Don’t be an asshole,” Kyle continued quickly before Kenny could attach a pun to the words. “Of course I checked your vitals before I woke you. I wasn’t going to say that while you were having a mental meltdown!”
“I wasn’t having a meltdown!” Kenny protested.
“Yes, you were, I nearly had to sedate you before you crawled up to the damn ceiling,” Kyle argued, ready to forgo the conversation in order to be right. Kenny would appreciate that if he hadn’t said something that startling.
“What’s wrong with my body?” He demanded, and Kyle pressed his lips together.
“You’re a young adult,” He mentioned, setting his tablet aside for the moment. It hung, in the air, causing Kenny to stare at it as Kyle walked around him. “But your body is…it’s new. Brand new. And yet there’s trauma, just under the surface.”
Kyle reached, long fingers pressing against his chest, and almost seeming to push in, almost as though he moved Kenny’s skin aside.
Slowly, Kenny’s skin began to light up. Marks, long, short, round, jagged, straight. His body lit up blue, just briefly, in the span of a blink, before he staggered back and Kyle set his jaw.
“What is this?” He asked, no nonsense. “What are you?”
Kenny gaped, staring down at his own skin. “That’s something I was never able to figure out,” he stammered, gradually finding his voice again. “What was that?”
“Your body is traumatized,” Kyle said, taking Kenny’s hand and holding out his arm, this time his skin stayed normal. “It’s been broken, marred, burnt, crushed. And yet you don’t have a sinle fucking mark on your body.”
Kenny was still staring at his arm. “So, uh…how close did you look?”
Kyle let go of him like he was molten steel. “Jackass, answer my question. What are you?”
“I just said I don’t know!” Kenny said, staring back at the alien form. “I…” His body internally cringed out of habit. “I die. But it’s temporary. I come back. That normal for your race or something?” Oh god, if he turned out to be an alien, everything suddenly made sense.
But no, Kyle was looking at him like he was insane. “No.” He said firmly, no added explanation.
Kenny’s heart fell. “Course not,” He grumbled, slumping against the wall. “That’d be too easy.”
Kyle picked up the tablet again, holding it in both hands as he looked outside. Silent.
The ship didn’t have any noises, Kenny realized. It made the whole thing eerie.
“Would you like me to find out?” Kyle asked suddenly, turning with the brisk manner of a businessman.
“Huh?” The blond was just so eloquent today, honestly.
“That’s what I do, after all,” Kyle said simply. “I’m a researcher. Specializing in your race. It’s what I do. And I can do things, know things you don’t.”
He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the offer.
“Are you serious?” Kenny said, looking between his eyes. The genuine strike in his voice seemed to unnerve the alien.
“Well you morons are clearly too primitive to do anything about it,” Kyle snapped, as if Kenny couldn’t see his cheeks darkening. “Just…you only get to talk to me. I’ll work with you, one-on-one. It’ll be our project.”
Dude. Kenny’s smile spread over his face with incredulous delight. He was actually serious about this. He meant it. Someone finally actually did.
“I mean, hey,” He said, nudging him. “I wouldn’t have you being jealous, Kyle. If you want me all to yourself, I’m yours.”
He made sure to make himself as obvious as possible, and Kyle looked like he was going to have an aneurysm. He was bright red at this point, almost as vivid as his hair, and Kenny was beyond delighted.
“Great,” He said flatly, sounding like he was forcing the words out with bravado. “Fine. I…I need a good project anyway, things were getting boring.”
“Yeah, well I’ll try not to be boring,” Kenny smiled at him, still having trouble tearing his eyes away. So he wanted to help. Whatever the agenda, Kenny would take it.
“I doubt you could be,” Kyle said, and it sounded so sincere Kenny’s heart leapt as he continued, far more formally. “Do you want to go back, then? I’ll see you soon, so. There’s no reason to stick around.”
Oh.
Kenny was struck by the odd feeling that he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to wake up from this and find he’d made it all up, out of his sad, lonely little head. Aliens, redheaded space cuties, and genuine care. Definitely something his mind would fabricate.
Not that he’d admit that. That would sound stupid.
“Uh, sure.” He said instead, taking one more look at the stars. “Send me back, then. Or put me to sleep. Whatever.” He didn’t want to.
Kyle was watching him oddly. His eyes narrowed, into something almost sympathetic.
“You know I’ll see you soon, right?” He said, and for one weird moment Kenny thought he might be able to read minds. I mean who else knew what aliens could do?
Oh. He could work with that and sound less like a dweeb, actually.
“Hey, it’s not every day I get to meet an alien. I didn’t even get to ask you everything I’d want to know,” He pointed out, lightheartedly. “Be a shame to just wake up and find it’s not real.”
“It’s real,” Kyle said wryly, “And I’m already getting annoyed with the whole humor-over-feelings thing.”
“Damn,” Kenny said with a click of his tongue. “Got me pinned already, Kyle? How closely have you been watching me?”
“Stop proving my point,” Kyle motioned. “And sit. You’ll just go back to sleep and wake up tomorrow.”
Kenny moved, sitting cross-legged on the reflective black floor, still tilted dizzily towards the earth. He didn’t want to leave. Even if it was real, what if Kyle left? He wanted to ask, like a child, for Kyle to promise he wasn’t going to leave. Which was dumb. He wasn’t a kid, and it didn’t matter if he left.
Kyle moved to sit as well, close enough to touch even if he didn’t. He was watching him again now, in that analytical way.
Slowly, Kenny felt shivers run over his limbs. Something pressed heavily, almost sensually, (definitely intimately) against the front of his brain. Something slow but purposeful, like a fat-bellied snake. A curious, confident touch, that tapered into something soft, delicate, detailed and strong as spider silk.
Reassurance filled his chest like someone poured liquid into it. Warm, strong. Of course Kyle would be back. He could feel the reflection, the same intrigue, appeal, desire for more, in a way where more meant more, in a way Kenny couldn’t quite understand.
Someone cupped his face and Kenny blinked, coming back from the confusion and befuddlement in his head.
“That,” Kyle said, looking absolutely and utterly pleased with himself, “Was mindspeak.”
Kenny was frozen, lips parted, and he just went for it.
He kissed Kyle on the lips, knowing it was fine, having felt that it was fine, oddly enough feeling almost like he’d asked and gotten permission.
Kyle certainly let him kiss him, and pressed back softly, with the curiosity of someone who wasn’t quite used to the sensation of kissing-
Because of course he wasn’t, he lived with himself, and he just got free and smooching on someone was a little more primitive, more private, than Kyle was willing to share with people he only met recently and didn’t know-
-But you don’t know me-
-But I’d like to.
The jumble was honestly kind of nauseating, and nothing like barfing on someone you were mashing faces with, so Kenny drew back before it made him sick. Kyle looked both thrilled and a bit confused, by the way he was watching Kenny he felt like the redhead was waiting for him to say something.
“Bet the yahoos back in your set never kissed an Earthling before, right?” Kenny said, because of course he did, and Kyle choked before laughing, so hard it was ugly.
He loved it.
He was beaming, feeling lighter than he had in ages which probably had nothing to do with the fact he was existing with artificial gravity. They weren’t near high enough to need it, anyway, this all had to be aesthetic, to watch the stars.
-It’s important to my kind-
-Of course it is, Kenny lovingly thought, taking another good look at the blue swirls on his cheeks.
Neither said anything, and Kenny honestly felt dizzy and a bit sick but incredibly, mind-numbingly happy.
“Yeah, I’m good to go, man,” He said, feeling that warmth still residing. The promise. A...a research base. On location.
Kyle nodded, slowly. He took Kenny’s hands in a way that he suspected wouldn’t actually help the process. He waited for something important from Kyle’s lips, something profound or heartfelt or hell, maybe absolutely smutty, (a guy can dream, okay?) but instead he got three words said lightheartedly.
“See you tomorrow,” Was all he remembered, and then Kenny crashed entirely.
And jerked awake.
Kenny froze, staring up at his ceiling. His boring, cracking, non-reflective-or-sleek ceiling.
He took a breath. That reassurance was gone, empty, leaving something cold in his chest.
He jumped when he heard a loud noise, realizing he woke to the sound of Karen rapping at his door.
"Get up, lazyass," His sister lovingly told him. "Some kid's here to talk to you."