Title: Beautifully Broken
Author: E.E. Kelley (topsell)
Summary: Without Christopher to keep him hidden, Wikus was quickly found by the MNU and forced back into captivity. The transformation too far along, there was little the officers could do but allow it to complete itself. Yet, even after he has become fully Prawn, they keep him around, determined to use his existence to find a way to use the alien weaponry. When Christopher returns in three years time, he returns to find the shell of the man he left. Will he be able to fix him before leaving with his people once more or will he have to take the broken soul with him?
Rating: R+
Pairings: Christopher/Wikus + CJ adorableness
A/N: I am horrible for leaving you all hanging for so long! New chapters coming at more regular intervals. Your reviews do keep me accountable, knowing that there are people waiting! Once more: Suggestions are LOVE! If you have any ideas or want to see something small implemented into the fic, I'll try my hardest to fit it in!
I'm REALLY displeased with this chapter! Hopefully the next few will be better.
Chapter Eight
i.
Kreh'te finished his session, checking ship diagnostics, double checking what his young Entite's had plotted so far for their joinery home. But all through his work, he couldn't truly concentrate. The back of his mind was a buzzing, almost as if someone had invaded him. He could sense Wikus and that was a startling thought. A potential bonding was very rare between all but the most intimate of mates. Even then, the creation of such a link was difficult to confirm. Yet, Kreh'te was nearly convinced that the sensation was at least a miniature version of such. Incomplete, but still very much real.
Ordering Xa'In to finish checking the diagnostic sheets, Kreh'te hurried back towards his quarter, not paying attention to where he was going. He nearly barreled over Rhem, who was standing in front of his door, expression stern. Kreh'te huffed angrily, but said nothing, only stood in front of his old teacher, waiting for him to move. Which he did not.
"You are blocking my path. Is there something I can do for you?" he finally tried, keeping his voice even, trying to control the nervous clack that sometimes came to the end of every word when he was agitated.
Rhem nodded, but said nothing otherwise, just appraised Kreh'te as though he was once more a child.
"Would you move, please, teacher?" he kept his tone under control, though it was threatening to be undone. Kreh'te had barely kept himself from scurrying back to his quarters during his shift, and now that it was over, the buzz at the back of his mind was becoming unbearable. His antenna twitched, a nervous tick that he had always hated. It gave away his emotion, let known that he wasn't as controlled as he attempted to be.
Rhem cocked his head, finally speaking. "I have heard that you sent for language PADS. Your reas-"
"Wikus was kept in near confinement for over three years. He is developmentally perfect, but language is not something innate to any species - including our own. He is unable to properly communicate." Kre'hte spat, not letting his teacher finish. He didn't have time for this.
Rhem looked taken aback, but quickly caught himself, face switching to a curt smirk. "And you have not decided to merely (meld) with him?"
"That would not be wise."
"If he were any other Poleepkwa, would you have not merely initiated a meld so that the information could directly be transfered? You forget I have been around your friend, and know that he is of the same rank as you, Kreh'te." Rhem scolded. "What is it that holds you back? Is it that you are not yourself certain that his human mind isn't still in control? Is it that-"
Kreh'te leapt forward, a fire behind his eyes. Taking the elder by his shoulders, he moved Rhem aside and unlocked the door. His teacher began to speak again, but Kreh'te cut him off, growling low and feral. "You will not speak of him again like that. You know very little about the current situation and have no right to interfere. You are my teacher still, and I will respect your wishes when it comes to advice on matters of the academic nature. But this-" Kreh'te caught himself, caught his voice as it began to rise along with the low growl. He continued in an even tone, staring down Rhem with eyes dark and cold, "This is not your problem."
"It is you who will not speak in such-"
"Wikus is no longer human and little if anything remains of that human mind. I have touched it once before. Leave. You have no right part in this. You will not interfere with Wikus."
The door slid shut with a whir and Kreh'te stood for a moment, staring at the smooth, brown surface, letting his heart settle. To defy a teacher was a bold move indeed. To defy a teacher for the sake of an outsider was unheard of. And yet, he did not see Wikus as an outsider. Not anymore. When he caught his breath and the beat of his heart, Kreh'te figured it was time to place these events in the back of his mind, to deal with more immediate situations. Even then, the buzz at the back of his mind would not quiet.
Kre'hte saw the food he had ordered his Entite to bring Wikus hours before untouched on the table. He had expected as much. Only because his presence was necessary kept Kreh'te from spending the entire duration of this pause in their journey at Wikus' side. The trembling form amiss blankets and scattered data PADS made Kreh'te wish he had...
"Wikus," he cooed, so soft it sounded like a purr.
Something beneath the blankets moved, but only for a moment. Soon, there was only the sound of the whirring air filter filling the silence and absolute stillness on the sleeping alcove. Kreh'te stepped forward, placing his data pad and pack on the middle table and moving to the edge of the bedding. He moved one of the stay PADS from the edge of the alcove to the floor, afraid that it would slip and fall, damaging the technology in the process. Reaching for a second, a hand shot out of the bedding, latching around Kreh'te's wrist in an unsteady, trembling grip...but only for a second. The hand released Kreh'te and went to slither back beneath the blankets.
Kreh'te caught the hand, gentle but firm, and reached to find the rest of Wikus hidden within the nest. Moving away the fabric, Kreh'te finally found the trembling form of Wikus, curled in on himself as though trying to be as small as possible. The smaller Poleepkwa looked up at him, mismatched eyes alive with fear.
"Chriss-" he drew, word muffled with unneeded clicks and chatter. It was as though Wikus had only partial control of his new mouth.
Kreh'te nodded and maneuvered himself so that he was seated next to Wikus in the nest before he said anything. "I am sorry for being absent so long." he apologized, trying to appear as sincere as he felt for leaving an injured friend alone for so long, "It will not happen again. I have rescheduled my shifts so that I will have more spread out but shorter periods where I am gone. You should-"
"He's right." Wikus said, words unbroken.
Kreh'te stared at him, not knowing what to make of the phrase.
"Wikus, I do not know what you mean-"
"Himm. Be'efor." He drew, motioning to the door with his claw, the one still marred from injury. "I'm. Not. Worth. It." The words were separate but whole, said with such strength and sincerity that Kreh'te for a moment could say nothing in reply.
"You do not mean that Wikus!" he nearly shouted, suddenly close to hysteria. The sensation that was coming off the other in waves was unbearable. He felt it in part at the very back of his mind, evidence that there was something growing between him and the younger Poleepkwa.
Wikus shrugged, looked as though he were trying to blend in with the nest, head hunched low, legs bent twice and pressed against his chest. He fiddled nervously with the seam of a piece of cloth, stared at it with absolute focus as though it were the most interesting thing on this planet. Kreh'te reached over, taking the blanket gently from beneath Wikus' fingers. He moved his hand, maneuvering Wikus' head so that it was turned up, so that he had no choice but to stare at the other Poleepkwa.
"He was not correct, Wikus." Kreh'te said with absolute sincerity, keeping eye contact. Wikus tried to look away, but when his head was held firm and only silence remained, he looked back up at the other alien.
Antenna pressed flat against his head, Wikus opened his mouth to say something but, as though deciding against it suddenly, closed it again without a word.
"Stop iit!" He ground out suddenly, trying to shake away the hand, Wikus refused to look back up. "Do'nt lie!"
"I am not lying Wikus! He was not correct and I am certain of it! You have to understand that -"
Wikus pushed him away, the full force of it, sudden and surprising, knocking Kreh'te from the nest. He toppled from the alcove and onto the floor, pulling a blanket with him. Before he could stand back up, though, Wikus had dropped down from the nest and was on the floor next to him. Wikus was making a soft trilling noise, the sound of a sob.
"Didn't mean to! Soory. Soory!" he cried out, voice muffled further by the sound of his own crying. He reached out, as though ready to check Kreh'te over for injury, but caught himself and pulled back before his hand touched anything but air. Looking up, Wikus saw a pair of golden eyes staring back and scurried away backwards, hands before feet until he was a short distance from the other alien, against the curved wall. Bending both joints in his legs, Wikus brought them up to his head and hid his face, covering his head with his arms, trilling still.
Kreh'te sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do. After a moment, though, he moved the short distance and sat right in front of the Poleepkwa, battling with himself, unsure of whether or not to act on his hunch. When the smaller realized his presence, Kreh'te waited no longer.
Moving Wikus' arms out of the way, he moved limbs away until the smaller aliens head was visible. Taking that head within his hands, Kreh'te brushed antenna up, moving them first with his fingers and then with his own antenna, careful of the sensitive appendages. Wikus cried out when he realized the intrusion, but Kreh'te gave a short sound, like the purring of a cat, and Wikus calmed, moving in a little to the touch. Wrapping his own antenna around the other aliens', Kreh'te moved closer, slow enough so no to spook the already frightened Poleepkwa. He softly stroked Wikus' antenna with his own and with a free hand, moving up and down the wispy things, comforting Wikus. Only when the smaller set of antenna touched did Wikus give a startled chirp. Kreh'te hushed him once more, rubbing the back of Wikus' head, knowing that if he couldn't keep the other Poleepkwa calm, this would be an impossible process.
Kreh'te moved intimately closer, allowing the smaller set of antenna to touch, to move against one another. And suddenly, he was flooded with a visceral light, a sensation that snapped him back into reality all over again. Wikus' mind and his touched, this time while both were conscious.
He heard Wikus cry out, but the sound was distant, as though in another reality. Kreh'te worked quickly, trying to keep himself focused, to keep himself from getting lost in the others mind. He found the knowledge in his own mind and transposed it, allowed it to shift from one to the other, falling into place in the other aliens' mind.
He tried to work as quickly as possible, to ignore his own, pleasure-filled purr, but it was hard to. And when he was finished with his task, it took all Kreh'te's strength to keep from tallying in the meld. He stayed just long enough to witness the white hot pulse of a bond between the two of them. The link was still very small, and could potentially be severed by a professional, but Kreh'te only acknowledged the growing bond and slipped from Wikus mind.
ii.
When he came back to, Kreh'te had slumped against the wall, pinning Wikus who was still unconscious. The smaller Poleepkwa was not awake, but for once did not look pained or troubled. Kreh'te let himself stay like that, cherishing the others presence for reasons he could not understand. He had done it, had proven his teacher wrong. But, was it a wise decision? Should he have allowed that tiny bond to grow further without Wikus' knowledge? Shouldn't he have lain out what was going on so that the younger male could make his own decision?
He had transfered language, but with the meld the bond strengthened. With too many melds, it would be unbreakable.
Wikus stirred a little, reaching out as if to grasp at something. When his claw met Kreh'te's shell, it seemed to settle, to press lightly against the smooth surface in a comforting gesture. Kreh'te took the claw in his own, and Wikus released a soft purr, squeezing the other hand and moving towards the warmth.
Picking Wikus up, Kreh'te held him close to his chest, making sure that his movements were steady. When he placed the smaller alien on the sleeping alcove, Wikus was still holding tight to his hand. After a half-hearted struggle to shake off the grip, Kreh'te mearly sighed and crawled into the nest as well. Sitting on the far side, he leaned against the wall, letting Wikus settle and sleep.
Kreh'te was himself nearly lost to sleep when he felt Wikus climb towards him, and settle into the others lap, nestled into the warmth with their hands still laced together. Kreh'te smiled and couldn't help but purr as he drifted off.
I DID WANT TO ASK: DO YOU PREFER SHORTER MORE FREQUENT CHAPTERS OR LONGER WORD COUNT WITH A LONGER WAIT IN BETWEEN?
Tell me via comments. I'll take it into account!
I apologize for Wikus' horrible speaking capabilities. Yes, it bothered me too. Yes, it's supposed to be bothersome. But isn't it a relief that it's over and done with now?
