Since I was familiar with the land, I brought him to a secluded nook below a grassy overhang, where a natural curve provided a barrier on most sides. It offered protection from the cool night air—that is, if being pressed close to my body was not warm enough.
Upon arrival, Assistant 23 looked around nervously. “Yeah, this seems fine. I don’t think anyone will see me.”
“Except me,” I pointed out.
“R-right.”
“And Kookee.”
He snorted, a brief sound of amusement. The furry Pandar would have to remain with us for the night since I could not leave Assistant 23 alone in the wilderness, and he did not want anyone in the village to see his torn-up suit.
Only I had that privilege.
Kookee huffed, then hunkered down. It was tired from its adventure.
I knew Assistant 23 must also be fatigued. But selfishly, I did not want him to fall asleep yet. I wanted to spend more time with him.
“Um…” The human rubbed his arms. As the sleeves moved up and down with the motion, I caught another tantalizing glimpse of his pale skin through the holes in the fabric. “I can’t do it. I know my suit is falling apart, but I can’t take it off yet, not tonight.”
A tightness in his voice indicated frayed nerves and fear. My flash of disappointment was overpowered by my sympathy.
“I understand. Do whatever you prefer.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad?” I asked, my feelers flashing with shock.
“S-sorry. I dunno, forget I said anything.”
He got on the ground beneath the overhang and curled up in a ball, like a spooked pill insectoid trying to escape the conversation.
I ignored the urge to press my body flush against his.
“Would you like me to stay awake and keep watch?” I offered.
He turned his face toward me. Moonlight caught in the cracks in the shield, splintering into an array of white shards, and he looked beautiful.
“N-no, I can’t ask you to do that,” he said. “Besides, aren’t you tired?”
Again, he thought of me. My fondness for him swelled.
“I am many things, and tired is not one of them,” I replied.
Perhaps I implied too much. But I could not help myself. Or, more honestly, I did not want to hold back my feelings for him. I wished for him to catch on, so he could do with my emotions as he wished.
Assistant 23 let out a small sound, then paused to take a long breath. “Um… Farr’vye?”
“Yes.”
He was quiet again as if cobbling the right words together. Eventually, they spilled out in a big, frustrated language glob. “Ugh, it’s weirder if you stand there staring at me all night, so can you just… I dunno, come lay down beside me or something?”
My heart felt close to bursting.
I took his invitation and draped my longer, larger body near his back, so I was not face-to-face with him. I kept my mane of feelers pressed down, and I was glad he could not see them pulsing uncontrollably in frenzied patterns and colors.
He was small. So unbearably small.
I wanted to put my arms around him. I struggled not to give in to the urge.