Chapter Text
Xhan was... Unfamiliar with the concept of affection, to say the least. Her species - or at least, the citizens of her kingdom - had always been a no-nonsense, all business type of place. She hadn't made it like that, of course, it had been like that in every history book she studied. Everyone seemed to keep to themselves, unless the royals hosted some half-arsed gathering to celebrate some sort of victory.
She had always assumed things like hugs, hand holding, and 'promises' were exclusive to humans. She soon learned that this was not the case. Hugs were natural to many species other than humanity, she discovered when madam Fiosa pulled her in for a tight embrace during her birthday celebration. Hand holding was usually considered an act of intimacy between 'romantic' partners, where two would interlace their fingers and lean close to each other.
She didn't understand romance, either. Kisses appalled her (or perhaps she just hadn't found anyone she's be willing to partake in such a strange ritual with?) to no end. She first watched a romantic couple 'kiss' when she sat by Ramona and Carlos at the counter, watching (quite intensely) them heat and cool their coffee with the twin Fire and Ice Stones. "Just right," they had said, leaning into each other.
A part of her yearned to understand, but she had no one to help her. Jo was her pupil, and Kid was... The kid. He would rattle on to everyone about Xhan's newfound interest in romantic affection, though they would all assume it to be poppycock. Did she really just 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 herself with 'poppycock'? She couldn't be that old. She sighed in exasperation as she threw herself back, sinking into the mattress in her motel room at the Oasis.
Flo had been gracious enough to grant her a living space on Earth, as if she understood not wishing to live in the same quarters as people such as 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩, ugh. He was such a pain. She sighed again at the realization that she had let her thoughts trail away endlessly, to the point where she couldn't remember what she was thinking about when she first laid down.
She needed sleep, but her insomnia was terrible. It was a curse, not being able to sleep when it was 2:17 in the morning and everyone else was asleep. Save for Chuck, who was behind the diner doing - something. She didn't know, but he was being quite loud. She winced as she heard the faint shattering of a lightbulb, followed by incoherent curses from a number of languages she didn't understand. She understood 'grop-dammit'.
"Shut up!" Flo cried quietly from her bedroom window. "You're gonna wake up Xhan and Jo!" Xhan sat up, startled at the sound of her own name, although a piece of her was glad that Flo felt the need to yell at people for her. She chuckled into the back of her hand, her bioluminescent glow dimming slightly as she heard another crash, followed by a groan from the room next to her. "Fucking neanderthal," Flo groaned.
Perhaps, she could ask Florence about affection.