Brave New World

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By: Vema

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Chuck couldn't be more grateful to Lem and Neera. He'd been stuck here for years, after finding that the dog's urine had destroyed the control panel on his ship and returning in the pod. He couldn't return home, and he couldn't seem to contact Earth. At first he figured it would only be a matter of time before they sent another ship. Now, he thought he'd be stuck here forever.

Lem and Neera had been married right after Lem graduated and moved into a house near the observatory. Lem was his best friend now, and Neera had more than warmed up to him, so it was only natural to offer him a place to stay when they moved in together. Still, sometimes Chuck felt like a third wheel. Despite all the new things he was learning about their culture and a job at the local university, he found himself becoming more and more depressed.

He'd found friends among the aliens, even ones at work who respected him professionally, but dating had proven...difficult. Lem called his looks "exotic", but Chuck knew the truth. On this planet, he was considered homely at best, or probably more accurately, hideous. The only women who seemed interested were a little crazed. Neera had even tried to set him up with some of her friends, but it was never more than one date. He really just wanted a normal girl (or guy at this point, he wasn't picky) who didn't care that he was from another planet.

That was apparently too hard to come by.

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"Chuck, how are you doing this morning?" Neera asked, setting down a plate of what appeared to be similar to eggs and bacon for him.

"Great. Grand." He stumbled towards her. "Coffee?"

"Sure, here ya go," she said easily, handing him a steaming mug. "Working today?"

"Yeah, classes start at nine... Where's Lem?"

She sat next to him. "He left about twenty minutes ago. An early presentation at the observatory today."

"So this is your second breakfast, huh?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "Sometimes I feel like I have two husbands." They both chuckled lightly, then ate in a companionable silence.

Chuck thought he was very lucky to have friends like Lem and Neera, especially now, when it looked like he would never be making it back home. He wondered sometimes if he could start trying to send messages again soon; the science department at the university was trying to use the knowledge he gave them to create a powerful radio signal to send into space, but he knew the truth – it would be years before Earth received any such message. Decades even. There was no hope.

Neera was watching him pick at his breakfast and think, and she touched his hand. "Chuck, you'll let us know if you need...anything, right?"

"You got it, sweet cheeks!" He straightened his suit, downed another fast cup of coffee, and grabbed his keys and briefcase. "See ya tonight!"

"Yeah, tonight. Let me know if you'll be late for dinner," she said, seeming distracted. Chuck shrugged and took off out the door, leaving Neera to clean up after him.

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When he returned that night, Lem and Neera were huddled together on the couch, talking in whispers. He slammed the door to announce himself. They jumped apart and glanced at him, looking vaguely guilty. "Something you guys want to talk to me about?" he said, feeling hurt.

"No, no," Lem said, jumping up. "We were just talking about something...not important really. Chuck, let's go out for a bit, huh? Have some guy time. There's that cocktail bar in town."

"What about dinner?"

"We'll eat there. Neera has some things she needs to take care of. We'll take my car- come on. See you later, honey." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and took Chuck's hand.

Once they were in the car, Chuck peered at Lem suspiciously. "Are you going to ask me to move out?"

"What? No, of course not! You're like family, you've been with us for four years now." Lem laughed at Chuck's look of relief. "Let's just go have a few drinks."

"You were talking about me though, weren't you?"

"Just drop it! We're not talking about it till later."

Despite Chuck's prodding on the trip, Lem kept his mouth shut and asked about how work was going, mentioned they the roof would have to be redone soon, and made general small talk, which drove Chuck crazy.

Not until they'd had dinner and were sitting in a secluded area, on their third drink of the evening, did Lem finally crack. "Neera and I...we're worried about you, Chuck."

"How so?" He thought he'd been hiding the loneliness well, but his friends knew him better than that.

"You just haven't been your usual self. And...we know the dating hasn't been going well... You're missing something, am I right?"

Chuck laughed. "Well, if you've got a solution to the dating problem, I'd love to hear it. I've been trying to use my charms on everyone, and no one is buying here."

"I...I might. In a way." He took Chuck's hand under the table. "You know Neera and I would do anything for you. You're...a very, very good friend. After all we've been through together, there's nothing we wouldn't do for you."

"...So... you're gonna pay for plastic surgery?"

"What surgery?"

"Never mind. Go on."

Lem shook his head. "What I mean to say is...if you're missing...you know, physical contact, we may be able to help with...that."

Chuck stared at him. "Are you...saying what I think you're saying?"

"I think so. What do you think I'm saying?"

"That you- that you both- are you offering to sleep with me?"

Lem blushed. "Well, it doesn't have to be both. If you're only interested in women or only men, that's fine. I was rather under the impression that you liked both, judging from some actions in the past." He scooted closer. "Also, I found your stash of magazines..."

Chuck blushed now. "So you thought you'd offer me a pity fuck."

"No, that's not- Chuck, we love you." He sighed. "Recently I found that I was thinking of you as less of a friend and more of a partner. Neera feels the same."

Chuck flashed back to that morning. Sometimes I feel like I have two husbands... Lem had no reason to lie to him; if it meant more than a curiosity to him, Chuck couldn't say he'd regret it. "When would you like to try this?" he said, warming up to the idea. He hadn't had any company but his hand in years now, and his two friends genuinely didn't seem to notice his strange looks.

"Neera is getting ready in case you agree right now. To be honest, I thought a couple drinks might help all of us relax for it," Lem said, shrugging.

Chuck stood up. "Offer accepted. Let's go home."

Lem jumped. "Wow, just like that?"

"You're not ready?"

"I can be. Let me pay for the drinks, hold on..."
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TBC