Hey, everybody! Time for another advancement in the fic! There may be a couple of weird time lapses now and then, but there are some plot elements I want to add without really dragging it out. Don't want a fic to be too long, right? Anyways, let's begin.
Kira fried up a few Salisbury steaks for both her and Aster. She flipped them a few times and adding some seasoning and Worcestershire sauce to both for a bit of punch.
"Ooh... what is that?" Aster asked, smelling the very welcoming scent of the meat.
"Salisbury steak... basically, a hamburger without the bun." Kira said, now covering the steaks in brown sauce.
"What's a hamburger?" Aster said.
Kira was definitely not bothered by answering his questions. "A sandwich with meat made from cow, animals domesticated for sustenance they provide, and sometime sauces, like this brown sauce, and vegetables, which are plant-based foods." she answered.
She set a plate with three steaks in front of Aster, who was kneeling next to the table.
"Now," Kira began, "if you would like to try out any other spices, I would be happy to add—"
Kira was cut off as Aster lunged his secondary mouth at the plate without him even bothering to use the silverware, and shredded through the steak. Small bits flew around the table, but Aster pretty much ate the majority of it. He had finished within ten seconds, chewing the final bites and swallowing it. He let out a short belch.
"Well... fast eater." Kira said, surprised.
"I couldn't hold myself back..." Aster began. "...that was the best food I have eaten in my whole life! It's far better than the 'protein paste' the scientists fed me... which had no flavor whatsoever. You truly are my best friend, Kira. You've done so much for me."
"That's what friends do. They look out for each other." Kira said.
Aster nodded in acknowledgment. "I don't doubt it." he said.
Seeing as to how Kira had to keep Aster hidden from Weyland, she resorted to spending time at home. It wasn't a big deal; she felt too lazy to anything today, and she had no school projects going on this weekend, having completed them all early.
For the sake of it, Kira decided to let Aster use her shower, and showed him how to adjust temperature, use the soap to clean himself, and drying off with a towel. After a good half-hour under the jets of warm water... his highly-tense body felt extremely relieved. This method of cleaning was so refreshing and enjoyable to Aster, unlike the high-pressure cold hoses they used on him back in the facility.
Kira later introduced Aster to television, movies, the Internet, video games (which Aster had a hard time adapting to, since he found the controllers for the "XBOX Skyline" to be quite awkward, and was nowhere near as good as Kira), and a few board games (which Aster didn't find nearly as frustrating, since Kira helped to explain the more-straightforward rules).
They had been in the middle of a game in the twilight hours of the day.
"Okay, so I'm gonna roll the dice and—" Kira began before being cut off by a sudden sound.
DING DONG.
Aster jumped at the sound and started hissing. "What was that sound...?" he asked.
"It's the doorbell..." Kira said, grimly. "...someone is at my front door! You need to hide, Aster!"
"Got it! I'll hide in your bedroom!" Aster responded before quickly ascending the stairwell before Kira opened the front door.
To Kira's surprise, it was Hailey, accompanied by a guy with dark hair who looked slightly older than both of them.
"Hey, Kira." Hailey said. "We finished up our projects, so we were thinking about heading out to see a movie a bit later. Wanna come with us?"
"No, Kira!" she heard Aster's telepathic voice. "Please don't leave me alone! I feel safe when you're around."
Kira darted her eyes around. "Um, actually... I can't." she said.
"What? Why?" Hailey asked, suddenly discouraged.
"Because, um..." Kira struggled to think of what to say. "...I'm actually still working on my project."
Hailey looked confused. "But, I thought you told me you finished it."
Aster's voice came to her once again: "Just tell them you can't go. Please? For me?"
"Well, yeah, but... I actually changed my mind about a few things." Kira said. "Don't want yours to look too similar to mine, otherwise the professors could get suspicious."
Hailey pressed her lips together. "Guess you're right..." she said. "Sorry, Kira. Maybe we'll go together another time..."
Kira nodded. "Yeah... I would be happy to go out and do something sometime with you and..." she trailed off looking at the guy behind Hailey.
"Oh!" Hailey said, realizing she hadn't introduced him. "Kira, this guy is my new partner in my biology class."
"I'm Kai." the boy said, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you."
Kira shook Kai's hand. "Kira, and the pleasure's all mine!" she said with a bright tone.
"Well, anyways, sorry again that you can't come with us." Hailey said.
Kira smiled. "It's all good! I'll look forward to spending a bit more time with you and Kai!"
"Okay," Hailey said. "See ya!"
"Later, alligator!" Kira called back.
Immediately, Kira went to her bedroom after shutting the front door.
"You could hear everything going on down there?" Kira asked.
Aster nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry about that, but I'm scared. The scientists are probably looking for me, and I don't wanna go back to that awful lab."
Kira sighed. "Listen, Aster, I know you're in kind of a sticky situation, but I have my own needs, too. I've had friends of my own before I met you, and I can't be disloyal to them." she said.
"But I don't like being alone, especially after nearly nineteen years in solitary confinement!" Aster said, upset from reminiscence.
"You have to understand that I have a life! I cannot just drop it all for you!" Kira said. "I'm supposed to hate you. I'm supposed to send you back. But, I just can't bring myself to do so! I don't know how a Xeno's lifestyle works, but you need to respect human social life, instead of just worrying about yourself!"
Aster let out an irritated hiss. "Yes, maybe I AM being selfish! But maybe you should CONSIDER what I've been through! Try to imagine spending every day of your life in fear, experiencing nonstop pain and suffering! How are YOU to cope with that!?" he said in a half-shout inside of Kira's head.
Kira's eyes widened, and immediately she hung her head down and turned the other way. Aster realized the mistake he made, and his anger quickly left him.
"Oh, Kira..." Aster said, putting a hand on his new friend's shoulder. "...I'm sorry I snapped at you like that. I really don't know what came over me just now."
Kira put her hand on Aster's and looked back at him. "It's alright..." she slowly responded. "I know that you must have had a terrible life, day-in and day-out, with all that testing and experimenting bullshit, right? My guess is that it's just fueling your extreme emotions. You may be suffering from a condition known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short."
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?" Aster said, confused.
Kira nodded. "It's a condition that's common among veteran soldiers in our military. PTSD is caused by an event that has had a lasting negative effect mentally, usually through abuse, overwhelming situations, extreme fear, and other psychological responses." she stated.
Aster stood a bit more upright. "So... I think this condition you speak of... has been caused by all of that painful testing." he began. "Is there any way to make it better, or fix it...?"
"Well... it wouldn't be easy, even if you were human." Kira said. "There is psychotherapy and medications, but they cost quite more than a substantial amount of money... but in some cases, it can pass with time."
Aster yawned. "Well, I'm getting too sleepy to think about this all right now. Think we should get some sleep?"
"Yeah, let's get to bed. I'm exhausted... surprising after not doing a whole lot." Kira said.
With that, Kira got into her night clothing while Aster simply curled up on top of the sheets. She turned off the lights and wandered through the darkness to the bed, where she pulled herself underneath the sheets.
"You know, Aster? I never had a friend quite like you." Kira commented. "You really are the most loyal and compassionate friend I have ever had in my life. I'll never want to go separate ways with you."
Kira gave the Xeno a big, long hug before she lay down and closed her eyes.
Once Aster sensed her brainwaves slip into the Theta, almost Delta range, he pulled himself a little closer to Kira and wrapped his arms around her without waking her up... and a green light flashed inside of his chest with a deep pulse sound for a brief moment before quickly fading.
I can't see it any other way, Kira... you truly are the greatest thing to ever happen to me... Aster thought to himself as he caressed his sleeping human friend. ...I will never let anyone take you away from me.
He continued to hold Kira as he slowly and peacefully drifted into a deep slumber.
Well, quite the bond they are forming, huh? Wonder if their relationship could be strained by Aster's trauma? Or possibly WY attempting to track him down? Or worse...? Well, I hope the story is coming along just fine for everyone, and I hope to add even more substance later on to better the plot! See you all later! Keep holding on...