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thelunadrop · 2 years ago

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Oh my poor heart can't take this 😭💖 I want moooooore ☄️

Such a good read honestly 💖

The Unexpected Human Problem - Part 19 (Yautja x Human)

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Summary: The night her abductors die, Rayelle finds herself running for her life. She doesn’t know where she is, what is following her, where to go. All she knows is she’s not on Earth any longer and the thing chasing her has the capacity to kill.

Tai'dqei never anticipated finding a human when he took the job of tracking and subduing a small contingent of smugglers. It was only when the human attacked and fled fled, Tai'dqei - hopped up on the euphoria of a successful hunt - gave chase, instinct burning at his center.

Will sense return to Tai'dqei before he catches Rayelle? Or will Rayelle be subjected to the yautja’s natural inclinations?

And what happens afterwards?

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CW: I don’t think there’s anything major.

Tag list: @ajarofpickledtears, @boogeysmoth

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Part 18 is already available on Patreon!

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The time spent on Tai’dqei’s ship passed by with agonizing speed. Rayelle couldn’t help but wonder if there was yet another time anomaly happening, but she knew the truth. She was enjoying her last cycles with Tai’dqei. Now that the heightened hormones that caused such a burning need were under control, they weren’t struggling nearly as badly.

Though she still couldn’t help but tease and mildly flirt with him. Especially whenever he seemed to tense or act awkward. It was kind of cute, how this massive beefy killing machine could be undone by a suggestion word or innuendo. Of course, she did keep everything masked in two layers of obfuscation.

She also supposed that her renewed sense of control helped the situation. Before the visit to the clinic, she had felt like she was being pulled along by the nose.

In the scant time they had together, Rayelle jam-packed it with as much as she could. They watched movies and conversed and played a few games. At one point, she had a sudden hankering for pancakes. Which Tai’dqei was able to humor with some basic supplies available onboard. Even though he ate and said he enjoyed them, Rayelle wasn’t entirely certain he was being sincere.

Just as she wasn’t certain about leaving him.

Rayelle sat in a passenger row behind Tai’dqei, staring at the space station floating mid-screen. A little off center and behind the station, a blue and green planet hovered. Apparently, they couldn’t land directly on the resort planet.

The sudden realization their time was up sent a nervous prickle through her body.

She had focused on the station in the holoscreen. It was a large spherical structure with an outer ring. Rayelle watched as a ship left the far right side as they approached.

Tai’dqei didn’t seem confused about being restricted to the station, so Rayelle tried to convince herself it was alright. There wasn’t anything to worry about. She presumed the resort simply didn’t want humans - unused to space travel and ships criss-crossing the sky - to be continuously bombarded with unfamiliar sights, especially during such a stressful time.

This place was designed to be an oasis of familiarity, an effort to shield time-displaced humans from too much novelty, advanced technology, or non-human interaction.

It made sense, but she obviously wasn’t a usual case, considering she had spent plenty of time with a non-Terran species. Hopefully, Detective Gorgiel had relayed that information to the counselors on Rerli 3. Hopefully, they understood that Tai’dqei had been one of the only constants, and her protector, during her time-space jaunt.

The hopes smacked of wishful thinking. Realistically, or pessimistically, this was it.

The mounting agitation over her inevitable separation from Tai’dqei clung to the back of her thoughts. It was like a tick, burrowing deeper and deeper into her synapses.

Phantom tears burned the back of her eyes, but she took a deep breath, trying to alleviate the pressure. While the immense sadness burrowed in her, an irritation flared at herself. This was silly. She was being silly. In the grand scheme of everything, she barely knew Tai’dqei and was only clinging to him, because he’d become someone familiar.

But they were going to easily move on with their lives, once they parted ways.

Rayelle jolted as the metallic sound of something clamping, of gears whirring, of hydraulics hissing echoed around the ship. Tai’dqei stood, drawing her eye to him and his pilot’s chair. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip as he stretched his arms over his head, his full armor glinting in the lights. Even though this was heavier armor than his usual, his skin peeked out between the plates and pieces.

Rayelle’s fingers itched to touch him, to feel the thick leathery skin under her fingertips. Time was running out to solidify the sensation in her head. Then her attention flicked to the chair, faint memories tickling her thoughts. His hands on her. His fingers inside her. The growling, clicking vibrations that sunk to her bone marrow.

Good luck forgetting any of that, she told herself.

Abruptly, she unbuckled and stood before her imagination could marinate in the recollections.

Tai’dqei watched as Rayelle fled the bridge, his mandibles barely flickering. He was trying to rely on auto-pilot to get him through these final moments. It was becoming increasingly hard, though. As it had over the last cycles with her, the desire to touch Rayelle crept over his hands. Now, his skin burned with the need to touch her. A hug, a brush of his fingers over her cheek, any physical touch to memorialize.

He refused himself the nicety. The fewer sweet memories he could dwell on, the less it would hurt. Or so he hoped.

They moved to the mess - which was really a lounge, she thought, since it had a couch and screen - as a counselor from Rerli 3 boarded. Introductions flew around, the counselor’s tone one of tooth-aching sweetness.

Jezika Alpha appeared human, with neon blue hair cut in a bob and wide brown eyes. Her bright blue lipstick accentuated her unwavering smile. There was something about her that seemed off to Rayelle. Too smooth skin with little to no aberrations. Eyes that didn’t blink quite enough. A stiffness to her movements that seemed awkward.

Or maybe Rayelle just wanted something to be off with Jezika Alpha. Looking for any reason not to leave the comfort of her known companion for an unknown.

“You will love it at Rerli 3's resort, Miss Brooks!” Jezika chirped, rocking on her heels, her hands moving as she spoke. A sudden flash of memory, of old animatronics at eateries and amusement parks, tumbled through Rayelle’s thoughts. “We have everything you could ever need.”

Rayelle knew almost all of the amenities, having perused the pamphlet during moments when Tai’dqei had been busy with piloting or training. Honestly, she didn’t doubt Jezika’s claims. The enormous resort had different areas, separated by decade. Each wing had their own community kitchen, equipped with appliances and available foods of the time; a library with books from their era and an area to do crafts; pool and gymnasium, again with equipment from the time; and other period-appropriate entertainments.

For Rayelle, 2020s entertainments were a theater-style area to watch movies or having ‘streaming services’ in her personal room. Also, access to a computer that somehow accessed her era’s Internet, though she couldn’t post, share, or comment on anything. Just scroll and play some ‘ancient’ games.

Though, Rayelle still had a question. She motioned to Tai’dqei, who resided on the far side of the room from her. “Can Tai’dqei come down with me, until I get settled?”

Tai’dqei stood stiff and straight, ignoring how something in his chest jumped as Rayelle asked a question he’d been struggling over breaching. He had chosen to wear his full armor today, just in case they had allowed him on-planet. The helmet obscured his face and the armor mostly obscured his form, which meant those humans not familiar with his kind might overlook him. The fledgling hope he’d be able to milk a little more time with Rayelle flared.

“I am very sorry.” A frown actually flashed across Jezika’s lips as she tilted her gaze to Tai’dqei before looking back to Rayelle. “Many of our guests are humans from eras ignorant of non-Terran life and culture. Those who are familiar with non-human life have minimal and unsavory knowledge of the yautja.”

At that, Rayelle raised her eyebrows and shot Tai’dqei a questioning look. What kind of experiences had transgressed between humans and the yautja? If Tai’dqei knew, his body language didn’t betray it.

Though, he did know. At least in rumors and stories. Ironically, the yautja and humans had a score of interactions recorded in their respective histories. He didn’t really want to discuss that, if this was going to be his last moments with Rayelle.

Thankfully, Jezika continued on with a renewed smile, barreling over any curiosity in Rayelle. “We strive to cause as little conflict as possible within our patrons.”

“Ah.” It made sense, Rayelle told herself, as she grudgingly shelved her curiosity about interactions between yautja and human. There was no time to discuss past transgressions or diplomacies.

She didn’t like that the strict ‘no outsiders’ policy made sense. The ache to spend more time with Tai’dqei burned, distractingly. Rayelle had hoped to blunt it by weaseling a few more hours of time out of Tai’dqei.

Although, she wasn’t ready to admit that to anyone. Rayelle was barely ready to admit it to herself. The entirety of their time together had been one miscommunication and misstep after another, dolloped with a helping of confusion and conflicting baggage. Untangling the threads of how she felt took time.

But there wasn’t any time for that now.

“I suppose this is it.” Rayelle turned to Tai’dqei, limbs both heavy and twitchy with anxiety. She clasped one hand around her wrist, in front of her thighs, to keep from fidgeting. A small voice at the back of her head held its breath, hoping for Tai’dqei to say or do something to prolong their companionship.

He disappointed her by giving a nod and affirmative grunt.

Her lips pressed tight together, trying to find any small sign he didn’t want her to go. Reading his face was hard enough, the mask made it impossible. Rayelle couldn’t fathom why he had worn all his armor.

A part of her mused he was going to fight to keep her aboard. Or maybe he was anticipating having to protect her from hoards of other aliens, once more.

Or maybe he had a new assignment already lined up. That thought made her stomach twist and she wondered how much of his time she had wasted, how many potential assignments he’d missed.

At the same time, a flare of mournful annoyance nipped at her thoughts. Rayelle felt as if she was about to be crossed off his To Do List and completely forgotten. He had only done all of this - from carting her around space to providing her the ear worm and gauntlet - out of a sense of duty. Rayelle couldn’t really ask for any more from him.

Trying to keep that in mind, she forced a smile to her lips. It wasn’t an insincere smile, but she fought to hide the wave of sadness that lapped inside her. “Thank you, for everything.”

Rayelle’s heart stuttered as Tai’dqei suddenly lumbered toward her, though he stopped an arm’s length away. He reached a large, clawed hand out, palm up as if he was expecting some sort of payment from her.

Oh. The gear, she realized, suddenly feeling the metallic heaviness on her wrist. Not entirely sure how to remove it, she held her wrist out to him. Her free hand clutched at the hem of her shirt, bottom lip worried by her teeth. She tried not to think how this was yet another thing being taken from her, on top of everything else that was happening.

Instead of hitting a button and the gauntlet falling free of her, though, Tai’dqei took another step closer. Rayelle tensed, his body heat sinking into her. His grip was firm and gentle as he tapped through the settings and options with is free hand.

Quietly, under the counselor’s gaze, he instructed her how to remove the gauntlet - something he had avoided telling her when she had a habit of running off - and how to send him a general communique.

“Contact me if you need anything. If it’s urgent, press this here.” He tapped another button and, almost instantly, his own gauntlet gave a repetitive alarm. Tai’dqei released Rayelle’s arm to silence the message. Then he tilted his face toward her, expression unreadable beneath the mask. “I will find you, no matter what.”

Heat snapped across Rayelle’s face as she averted her gaze, her gauntleted wrist held against her chest. He didn’t mean that, she thought. An uproar of thoughts churned through her head, rippling through her chest. He was just being polite. They barely knew each other.

Still, it was a nice thought and she couldn’t keep the slight smile from her lips. “Thank you. Again.”

Tai’dqei gave a terse nod, posture painfully straight and stiff. “Take care. I hope you can see your kids again.”

At the mention of her Elliot and Skylar, Rayelle’s heart lurched. Here she was, wanting to prolong her time with Tai’dqei, despite what he wanted and what her children needed. It was such a selfish desire, Rayelle realized, her thoughts taking on Evan’s voice.

Her words stuck in her throat and a pang in her chest threatened to spill tears from her eyes.

Struck by an urge to do something, to convey the mess of emotions, Rayelle suddenly grabbed for Tai’dqei’s wrist. He allowed her to move his arm, probably struck by curiosity or surprise. She turned his hand over, bringing his bare palm to her lips and pressing a kiss to the center. Tai’s fingers twitched and tension coiled up his arm.

Unbeknownst to Rayelle, a prickling sensation knifed through Tai’dqei’s body, landing deep inside him. Breath caught in his lungs, his eyes widening at the affectionate display.

As rushedly as she grabbed him, Rayelle hurriedly dropped his hand and turned away. She snatched up her backpack and duffel bag - both stuffed with things he’d bought her - and reminded herself of what she could keep from their time together. There was, admittedly, a lot of little things. Books and clothes and fidget toys. Plenty to remind her of Tai’dqei.

None of it was him, though.

“Goodbye, Tai’dqei.” She couldn’t turn around to face him, to be met with that blank mask and be unable to discern what he felt. Consequently, Rayelle didn’t see how he still he stood, mask inclined to his hand, frozen in the spot she had held it.

If Jezika thought anything awry, it wasn’t made apparent. She simply followed Rayelle out, after beckoning a chipper thank you and goodbye to Tai’dqei. The two women traipsed out the ship and into the docking port, before the door closed behind them.

It wasn’t until the two were well gone that Tai’dqei realized he hadn’t said goodbye. All the better, he thought, as he fisted the hand Rayelle had kissed and allowed it to drop.

His other hand reached up to wrench off his helmet as he headed to the cockpit. A spark of unaddressed frustration had him flinging the helmet into a passenger seat, where it bounced down the row. Thankfully, it didn’t clatter to the floor. Though he was only half-aware of that fortune.

His mind was focused on other things. Namely leaving before he did something asinine.

If he lingered too long, Tai’dqei feared he’d go after her. The burn to touch her still seared at his hand, made worse by her kiss. Instead, he used the computer to scan the area for any points of interest. Thankfully, a bounty outpost wasn’t far. There, he could find his next job, restock supplies, and maybe have a destined-to-be-unsatisfactory stop at a brothel. His mind sloppily listed a number of to do’s to shove thoughts of Rayelle further away.

She got to where she needed to go. The proper authorities would handle it from here, whether that meant sending her back to her time or finding her a nice human settlement to live in or sending her back to Earth. Tai’dqei honestly didn’t know what the protocol was, if a human couldn’t be sent back to their time.

But, there was never going to be a message from her. No matter her flirtations or friendliness over their last hours together.

Tai’dqei’s mandibles flexed with agitation. No, this was a short, eventful chapter that was now closed. He steeled himself until he received clearance to leave. A swell of something leaden and heavy settled in his chest, as he maneuvered away from the docking station, away from the planet.

Away from Rayelle.

—

On the jumpship - cloaked to look like a cloud - from the dock station to the resort, Rayelle watched a light flash from the suspended station and disappear into the atmosphere. She presumed it was Tai’dqei’s ship. Something in her chest twisted, thinking of how he had left so soon.

Looking away from the sky, she turned her gaze to the gauntlet still on her wrist. The sensible part of her told her to remove it. She didn’t need it any longer.

Another part of her wanted to test his claim. Would he really come if she sent an urgent message? Even if they had just parted? Her fingers hovered over the contact button.

“You will absolutely love it here, Miss Brooks!” The counselor twittered, seated beside Rayelle. She ticked off what Rerli 3's resort had to offer, all of it simple repetition from what Rayelle had read. “We have all sorts of fun things to do. Books to read, old media to ingest, kitchens to cook, a spa and pool to relax in. And so much, much more!”

“Sounds wonderful,” Rayelle intoned, feeling a little hollow at the words. She closed out the communication app, forcing herself to forget about messaging him. At least, not urgently. She had already taken up so much of his time. Maybe in a week or a month or a year, she’d reach out to him. See how he was doing and reconnect, if she was lucky.

Well, if she was still in this time, she supposed. Faintly, Rayelle wondered if the gauntlets would work out-of-time. If she sent a message from 2022, would it bounce around the universe until he received it in this time? Her lips pressed tight together at the unlikely scenario.

“Oh, it is wonderful!” By this point, Rayelle felt like Jezika was a broken record. Faintly, she wondered if the woman did, indeed, have more in common with technology than with Rayelle. Unaware of Rayelle’s thoughts, the counselor continued on, “It will be so nice after space-hopping with a yautja. They can be particularly difficult.”

Rayelle offered a half-laugh at that, unable to deny that sentiment though not liking the tone. Again, her heart twisted. She wasn’t sure if Tai’dqei was necessarily more difficult between the two of them.

As Rerli 3 came closer into view out her window, Rayelle picked out trees, hills, rivers, and buildings. It looked very much like Earth, she was surprised to realize. That was likely why this planet was chosen for displaced humans, she thought.

She pondered what the resort was like, if she’d be the only human in the 2020s wing, and other inane little details. Meanwhile, her brain fought between the pros and cons of reaching out to Tai’dqei, how soon, how often, if she ever should.

Frustration mounted the longer her mind split her attention. With fists clenching in her lap, Rayelle glared out the window, not really seeing Rerli 3.

She was not going to live each day, pining away for an alien that couldn’t wait to leave her behind. Not to fault him, of course. She had put him through the hormonal ringer while he tried to tiptoe around her emotional baggage.

It was just obvious, with how fast he left, how eager he was to be done with her.

Firmly deciding she wasn’t going to waste any more of his time, Rayelle forced her thoughts to focus on Rerli 3 and hopefully returning to her home-time.

—

Five cycles passed.

Tai’dqei had languished an outpost on Vh’oi for three of those. Supplies replenished, regular ship maintenance acquired, and a visit to the local brothel undergone. All the while, quiet thoughts of Rayelle bubbled at the back of his mind.

How was she doing? Had she befriended anyone? Had she gone beyond friendliness? Was she already back home, in her time with her kids? Did she ever think of him?

The thoughts got louder and the crowds on Vh’oi became harder to stand. On the fourth cycle, he decided to take off to a small nearby planet to camp and hunt. To be within the quiet embrace of nature and to settle the frenzy in his head.

It didn’t do much good. Much of the fauna on the planet was small, unchallenging, and sought to flee rather than fight. As such, he mostly hunted for sustenance and not honor. Which was fine. There was a pit in his chest that made it hard to imagine celebrating a good hunt well commenced.

Sitting half-dressed in the balmy light of day, his ship nearby and the sun high, Tai’dqei stared out over the expanse of flora and trees from his spot on a cliff. He was avoiding thinking, since the effort tended to roll around to Rayelle.

A comm chimed into his gauntlet and, lazily, he glanced at it. He’d kept Ah’ke apprised of the situation. Aware or simply intuitive, she had uncovered his own conflicting emotions easily. Likely, she was checking up on him, making sure he hadn’t done anything poorly thought out.

Tai’dqei’s eyes widened as he realized it wasn’t from Ah’ke.

With mandibles flickering with sudden unrest, Tai’dqei opened Rayelle’s message.

#MY POOR HEART #it huuuuuuuurts #I want to cry 😭💖

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