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Have you ever tried to snuggle up to something three times your size? Neither had Dion- until today, that is.
“I have a proposition for you, Ms. Everend.” Is how it had started earlier that week, in one of the random break rooms among the facility.
For the majority of her internship so far, due to an odd string of events, Dion has had to spend most of her time with the most hazardous being upon the Del-Delli: the Failed Queen, Subject 107. Something about her.. docile nature towards Dion… she didn’t quite understand it yet. In the name of science though, she’d do almost anything.. if it meant advancing in the company, that is.
“Yes?” Her voice is soft, curious; it's her usual tone, actually.
Hearing Dion’s acknowledgement, Audler Tan, or, as he’s known in the station, Lead Researcher Tan would continue. He would hesitate before speaking, clearing his throat to start. Something about the disposition of his voice seemed.. nervous.
“You are allowed to decline, but.. I’ve gotten the go-ahead from our higher ups to start booking you for some.. experimental sessions with Subject 107. By this I mean, overnight sessions.” The timber of his older voice, just as it seemed before, is slightly.. off. Dion can recognize that.
But his words.. well those would make Dion pause, seemingly trying to figure out what Audler meant by that, other than the obvious meaning of his words.
“Overnight sessions? You mean-” She responds, before getting cut off with-
“Yes, you’ll be placed in the Queen’s cell for a sleeping period- or possibly periods .”
He walks to the table Dion was sitting at, pulling out a chair and sitting down, before looking around the breakroom to make sure no one was close enough to hear their conversation. A briefcase is placed onto the table and is then unlatched, showing a series of documents that were soon to be taken out- 3 of the 4 being informational and the 4th being what seemed to be a pass. He slides them over to her, before starting to explain the page atop the stack.
“Ms. Everend, you must know that before I start to explain this, you will be under NDA, even within the company. You mustn’t talk to anyone but me, or the leaders about this- is that clear?”
The sternness of his voice is a great juxtaposition to how he usually talks to her, so it catches her off guard. A finger moves to press down on a signature line, signaling the hesitant Dion to sign.
“Oh- uh, yes, yes sir.” Quickly, her shaky hand comes out to pick up the pen and scrabble away a hasty signature.
Once she does, Audler breathes out, flipping the page over.
On the other side of the sheet is a small diagram of, to Dion, what seems to be the Queen’s isolation chamber, along with some scrawled out paragraphs in barely legible writing.
A soft sigh leaves Audler’s mouth, his hand scratching his grey stubble, before he clears his throat yet again. “Alright.. can I tell you something?”
She nods, curious as ever.
“Ms. Everend- you seem to have a.. unique bond with Subject 107, and the data you have been able to achieve from only a few simple visits has been.. How do I say this..”
Expressed by his tone, he almost seems a little embarrassed. And, of course, by the red that’s slowly growing on his wrinkled ears.
“..more substantial than anything I had managed to log for over more than a decade.”
At this, Dion grows a little bashful, a soft red sparking onto her cheeks as she gives a little proud smile. It wasn’t often she was complimented by people of a higher authority than her, so it felt really good after years of silent acknowledgements. Audler, feeling her positivity, also smiles softly, before going back to a stern disposition. This must actually be that serious.
“So, seeing this excess of what you’ve provided us, the officials and I have put our trust in you, and are moving forward with plan, ‘Diobond.’”
To punctuate his sentence, he shuffles the stack of papers to the last one, the pass.
“This is a full access pass to the 15th layer, you will use it only after notifying the main office, and only on your scheduled times, unless stated otherwise. Any breach of conduct will result in immediate termination from the station.”
Her eyes widen at this- an immediate termination? It was awful to think about.
“All of this is stated on both page 1 and 3 of these documents. Please- do not break my trust. I worked very hard to gain even the officials’ trust on this, so any breach and it is a detriment to my career and your own. But..”
He continues, shuffling through the documents once more- almost like a fiddle for nervousness. “.. You still have the option to decline if you so wish-”
Cutting him off as he had done before, she quietly yells, “No! I’ll do it.”
This leaves him slightly surprised for a moment, before a small chuckle leaves his lips and he pats Dion on the back. The action almost makes her flinch, as unexpected as it was.
“I knew you’d be up for it- you always seem to want to get more opportunities here, so I can see this as your best chance. Thank you, Dion.” As he finishes his words, he moves to get up, the chair slightly squeaking behind him.
Though the use of her first name is a little unprofessional, Dion doesn’t mind all too much. She’s much too focused on reading through the documents sprawled out in front of her.
Turning to the leaving Audler, she asks, “So.. when is my first session..?”
Thursday of that same week, or, today in other words, Dion finds herself with a poorly sized futon tied in hand, wearing a nightgown, and mentally bracing herself to step inside of the Queen’s cell. Deep breaths, in and out. It’s not like she hadn’t been in there alone before, but the circumstances were different- VERY different.
Firstly, it was way late, about 22:10 on the universal clock, so her colleagues had traveled back to Ghirah-II by now. Secondly, she was missing her coat, which carried most of her defense tools just in case something were to happen. Thirdly, she has no idea if the Failed Queen is a cranky sleeper.
That last idea is funny to think about, like a tired dad after a long day at work.
No, no, she has to stay vigilant, she can’t be getting distracted by silly thoughts like that. If she gets distracted at the wrong moment, it could mean her job, or her life.
Another deep breath and she’s scanning her pass to enter the Queen’s chambers, the door sounding with a beep as it slides open. When entering, her eyes immediately set on the sleeping form of the giantess.
‘How odd.’ She almost giggles as she registers what the Queen looked like. She’s sleeping on her.. back, her arms sprawled out around her, remaining in the nest she had constructed herself, made of soft things like blankets and pillows. ‘All provided to her by the institute, surprisingly.’, Dion remembers.
Her crest, overwhelmingly huge, is bent against the ground of her nest, the cartilage of the edges parallel with it. The Queen almost sleeps like a human, interestingly. This is the first observation Dion etches into her notes, before taking a few photos with a disposable camera, all provided to her as written in the contract.
Though.. as she steps closer, the Queen shifts, a soft hissing groan echoing upon the chambers walls. The giantess slowly awakens, her gaze casting upon Dion, tense, before her guard immediately goes down. A thought passes Dion’s mind, ‘Still surprised about that..’, before her body, too, untenses.
Though the Queen is relaxed, she doesn’t seem all too happy, which actually proves the intern’s point about her being cranky. Dion awkwardly smiles, sort of apologetically.
“I didn’t mean to wake you up, sorry.. I’ve just.. wait..” Her voice is quiet, but still so loud in the quiet chamber, not even the buzzing of the fluorescents sounding due to their darkened state.
Another thought seems to pass Dion’s mind, leaving the Queen waiting patiently for her to voice it, as she had cut herself off. Did NDA pass over to subjects? Wait, the Queen wouldn’t even be able to talk about it anyways, what is Dion thinking..
“Sorry, what I mean is.. you’ll probably be seeing me a lot more often down here- even during the night now, haha.” Surprisingly, as she looks back up at the giantess, who had officially stood to her full height from the ground, there’s a feeling of.. positivity surrounding her. Was she excited to see the intern more? Interesting.
Stiffly, the futon she had is placed on the ground, before she drops to her knees to try and get it set up. It’s.. difficult to say the least, the futon is almost as stiff as she was in that moment. Though, soon enough, the Queen stomps over, one of her giant hands reaching down and immediately flattening the makeshift bed in one fell swoop.
Though flinching due to the unexpected motion, Dion soon looks up at the Queen currently leaning over her with a halfway smile. If the giantess hadn’t helped, she probably would’ve been stretching that thing out tirelessly for the next 30 minutes. For a lady that would like to go to sleep soon, she would rather not get sweaty and gross.
“T.. Thank you, Queen.” A friendly hiss echoes in the air, with the Queen stomping away back to her padded nest. Seems she wasn’t all too stoked on staying up talking like they usually would. Or.. at the very least, Dion talking to her and gauging her reactions. That thought makes the intern chuckle to herself, before sleep hits her, a soft yawn leaving her throat.
Setting an alarm for midnight, Dion settles down, laying down upon the tough futon. It’s not comfortable, but it’ll do. As her eyes start to close, and she starts to drift, she envisions Xenomorphs jumping over fences, counting them one by one.
The first thing she feels when she wakes up is not the tough futon, but a soft padding under her slightly aching side. Soft.. then cold.. then just a bit sweaty. Wait, is that sweat? No, it doesn’t smell anything like it.
A floral-like musk fills her nostrils when she starts to realize her surroundings, and.. the soft but firm pressure surrounding her entire body. What is going on? She was in the Queen’s chamber, she could see that, but sleeping on the harsh futon, she was not. Actually wherever she was sleeping now was quite comfortable- it almost made her want to drift off again..
Wait, no, this isn’t right, focus! What is surrounding her? Looking down, she finally realizes what it is. The Queen’s six-fingered hand, in all its largeness, was wrapped around her entire body, softly pressing into her, but never too tight.
Harsh breaths start to form in Dion’s lungs, actual sweat starting to form on her brow. Everything was so blurry, her glasses- they were still over at the futon!
Looking behind her, she realizes she is pressed up against the Queen herself, against the rows and rows of ribs presented on her body. The Queen, she’s usually cold, but so warm in this moment. Though.. the wet nature of her skin is.. a little iffy to the touch.
Slowly, Dion calms down, before trying to move. It was obvious the giantess had possibly.. accidentally.. picked her up when the both of them were asleep, almost like a teddy bear, due to their sleeping positions being close enough for her arms to reach. But, when she starts to move her legs, she soon understands.. she can’t, really.
Her legs.., looking down even more, are basically tied together by the Queen’s jagged tail, wrapping all the way up them to her hips. It was.. almost comfortably secure, like a weighted blanket that was centered on parts of the intern’s body. Though, not being able to move at all was the part that was.. discomforting, to say the least.
(if you cannot see the image, here it is! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_2XxNTeP1UohbI_QfbW2v8pxstTep7QQ/view?usp=sharing)
“Queen, Queen!” Soft whispers go unheard to the sleeping Queen, who was, interestingly enough, a deep sleeper. Gentle breaths leave the jagged mouth of the giantess, her chest rising and falling, moving Dion just a little with each subtle stir.
Her body, pressed against something of Subject 107’s size, well, it makes her actually feel like a teddy bear in comparison. But.. was this really so bad? Sure, it would be quite embarrassing if someone were to find her like this, but.. she was so gentle.
Maybe.. maybe Dion could let herself have this, just this once. So, curling up closer to the Queen, she does. Her originally conflicted state relaxes, her breaths slowing and calming, her body untensing. Being held like this, so softly, so nicely, it had never crossed Dion’s mind how nice it actually was.
Her mind, slowly drifting, starts to imagine those Xenomorphs again, the runners jumping high over hurdles, the drones- though some stupidly trip- follow behind them.. and in the background, is the Queen, watching it all proudly. Maybe, she’s the shepherd- and the others are her sheep.
But, it’s almost sad to think about, as Dion drifts and drifts, she can’t help but imagine the Queen has been.. almost separated from them, her sheep. And then, though having conflicting thoughts, darkness fills her eyes and her mind.
The next morning is embarrassing. Funnily enough, the thing to wake her up is.. not her alarm, but a wet glob of Xeno spit landing on her cheek. Her eyes immediately shoot open, before the spit can drift down into her mouth.
“Eugh, w.. what-“ She soon realizes where she is again, her surroundings still blurry, but the spit on her cheek being very real. Immediately, her hand goes to wipe it, the stickiness only spreading.
Looking up, the Queen’s head, now balancing on her crest, is right above her face, almost close enough to touch. What a sight to wake up to in the morning. Speaking of morning, what time was it? When trying to move to get her phone, her predicament is.. similar to last night. Though, this time, with it being the Queen’s body, as many joints as it has, curled around hers, the intern’s feet touching one of the giantess’s thighs.
“Well, I don’t think I’ll be moving any time soon.” She deduces, before looking back at the Queen. She’s.. quite cute in this moment, to say the least. Maybe Dion could get a few more hours of sleep, and do those notes later.
Though, as she drifts back to sleep, two things are, despite her perceptive mind, unrealized by Dion. One, the Queen was fully conscious when she picked the intern up and held her. Not having visible eyes does seem to help in hiding that.
And.. two.. Audler, to check on her after the night, to make sure the Queen hadn’t done anything, had come down to the 15th layer after she fell back asleep. Immediately flustered by the scene of them.. seemingly cuddling, he’d run back to the elevator immediately- well, as fast as a 60 year old man could. This is.. a secret he’d keep to himself, and his logs.