AN: When I first saw District 9, I didn't expect to fall in love with it as much as I did. I fell more in love with a fanfiction on here: Metal Flowers by Meta Bunny which I highly highly recommend. This fic was inspired by that fic but I'm not trying to rip it off. I do suggest though that you go and read it 😊

…..

Assimilation

Chapter One

"I don't think you should come back here," Tania said as she gently placed her hand on Wikus's alien cheek, she spread her fingers hoping that he would understand her emotions since she knew he understood her words. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she wished to divorce him. People had becoming more suspicious lately, people would find him and then he would either be dead or they would torture him in other ways. For his own protection, he had to stop coming here.

Wikus looked at her, his antenna moving with his confusion and his heartache. He had been placing small gifts, usually flowers, on her doorstep for months and, when he felt safer, he had been interacting with her. He knew that she was trying to understand more of the Prawn language, culture, their way of living, but they still couldn't kiss as they once did.

"Why?" he asked through his clicks, the heartbeat being heard in the heavy tone and Tania wrapped her arms around his exoskeleton as her hand held onto his latest and largest project, a vase, a vase made of cans and trash and perfect for all the metal flowers which he had made for her. He anxiously held her aware of his physical strength.

"I believe in you," the blonde woman sobbed. She hated that she hadn't told Wikus that he had a son. She hated that she had kept very important parts of her life – their life – secret so as not to hurt him. "After you've been cured, you can come back."

"Because you can't stand to look at me any longer?" Wikus clicked and Tania felt herself with a painful decision. If she told him the truth then he would argue with her, tell her he was all right and he could continue running and escaping but she needed for him to wait for her.

Tania slowly steadied herself, "I can't stand you coming to me like this," she said and saw Wikus pull back in fright and heartache. She closed her eyes before seeing him run. She needed to continue her work on bringing down the MNU, it was the only chance that she could get.

…

…

After the finality of their relationship and the idea of Tania no longer wanting to be with him, Wikus had fallen into a deep depression. He had still been extremely careful of the laws and rules which he followed now and he hadn't tried to leave District 10 since that night. She no longer wanted him and yet, Wikus hoped that Christopher would return soon and then he could fight for his wife. He could prove to her that he wanted to be with her.

The MNU was losing power and control, everybody knew it. Maybe in a year or so, there would be more equality between prawns and human. Still, that night when he had last seen Tania seemed like months ago, he had seen the slight change in seasons and even felt it through the exoskeleton which he had accepted for his own body.

As he sat by his tent, minding his own business, a black van drove up to him. They had been seeing those black vans a lot recently. Wikus didn't know if it belonged to the MNU or not but he felt that it did. Prawns were often loaded into the van and driven off and they never returned. Wikus stood very nervously as men exited with weapons drawn. He put his alien hands up, the claws spreading as he felt the fear of them. Would this be his death? Would he be driven to a lab and experiment on?

Wikus clicked in fear but tried his best to remain calm. He thought about how the Prawns that he had come for when he had been part of the group stood much better of a chance if they were calm and followed orders. He identified with the Prawns more than humans these days, especially since Tania's rejection of him.

"Do you see his eyes?" one of the men said and Wikus looked between them in fear. His eyes were different than the other Prawns, he still had one of his human eyes. Were they looking for him specifically? "This is the one that she requested, right?"

"Paid premium for this one," another man said and grabbed Wikus's arm looking slightly disgusted. Wikus allowed himself to get thrown into the back of the van. Any good in the life he had lived as a Prawn was over.

…

…

It hadn't been in the way that she had hoped but at least there had been some progress made. Prawns were being allowed into human society…as slaves for the wealthy. They weren't given the same rights as people, they weren't treated as if they were equal with humans, they could only live on the outside if they were claimed by a person. Tania had had to borrow some money but she knew she had to get there fast before someone else selected him.

Tania felt tears in her eyes as she saw a Prawn give out the equivalent of a scream as a heavy metal ring was burned onto his neck. The pain seemed excruciating but she looked at the man who was the Prawn's master grow joyful with the idea of his own personal pet. She had heard him talk about the Prawn as his pet, trying to decide what to name him. This was much different from a dog or a cat. The Prawns were humanoid, they showed more similarities to humans than domesticated animals but Tania had to play along and not object to this. It was the only way to be with him.

The Prawn was barely given time to rest before he was shoved through a door and showed how weak he was, he was trembling and staggering but they still brought him to the room and put him on a leash to give to the man with Tania. He seemed strangely submissive. What had they done to him?

"Ma'am," a man said as he approached her, "Are you ready? The next one's yours."

Tania nodded nervously before going to view the procedure. She put a hand over her mouth as she recognized Wikus's body, his Prawn body. He was drugged as someone managed to strap a mask over his mandibles and jaw and he was gassed. It was only enough to put him to a near sleep. He couldn't physically fight them anymore and Tania saw them lift the metal ring that was glowing orange due to the heat.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she watched them burn it around his neck, joining the metal to the exoskeleton in such a painful manner. She felt that she wanted to vomit but hopefully it would be over soon. She put a hand to the glass before closing her eyes and mouthed the words 'I'm so sorry, sweetheart'.

As Tania squirmed inside, she could see Wikus's antenna moving, his eyes opening with exhaustion as he was shoved and had to stand up. He stumbled and nearly fell making it so Tania covered her mouth with her hand, she didn't want to see him in this pain but at least she could take him home. He would be able to learn about their son. As he was led to the room, she saw his surprise and longing in the way he looked at her.

"Tania?" he clicked and Tania knew that the man who was mistreating her husband didn't know the meaning behind those clicks. Wikus flinched as a leash was put onto his collar and then handed to his special angel. He looked around, "Where am I? What's going on?"

"You know how to handle this monster, right?" the man asked, "He should be able to follow your commands. Otherwise, we can always administer a shock from the metal," he said and Tania took slow breaths.

"I understand," she said before tugging on the leash, her heart twisting as she saw the pain in that action. "Heel," she said before her eyes showed that she still loved him. Wikus nodded before she led him out of the room and the building. Wikus continued to follow her but soon realized that they had arrived at her car. He looked at her in fright. Did they know that she had taken him? Was he putting her in danger? "Get in," she tried to order as she opened the boot of the car. She didn't want to explain how it was illegal for a Prawn to sit on any of the seats.

Wikus looked at her, then at the car, then back at her. He got in and Tania let go of the leash as she let him sit there in the barely large enough space for him to even exist much less sit up. Tania kept looking over to the back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she drove away, knowing that Wikus could hear her. "I'm so sorry. I love you. Please, Wikus, believe me when I tell you I'm doing this because I love you." She cried painfully before looking at the license that she had paid for. It was similar to a pet license and she hated that thought. Still, if this was the only way then she would do it before anyone else could take him. She wouldn't treat him as a pet but that's what he had to become in the eyes of the law, her property.

Wikus attempted to believe her when she said that. He felt the sides of the compartment against his exoskeleton. Due to the exhaustion, he was feeling, he started to fall asleep. He trusted Tania to protect him just as he would always protect her. He let the movement of leaving the building, leaving District 10 lull him to sleep. Whether this was a good idea or not, he didn't know.

…

…

Wikus only opened his eyes when he felt a light cast upon them, he turned to Tania, studying him with the one human eye and the one Prawn eye. Why are we here? He asked with his series of clicks as Tania helped him out of the car. She had the license close to her. She would continually keep at least a copy of it with her at all times. It meant that she could make the choices for Wikus and he wasn't to be taken back to District 10 without her permission.

"Let's go inside," Tania said as she took his three claws in her hand and led him into their home. She saw the apprehension and fear on Wikus's face and knew that there was a lot they needed to figure out. They would be able to do it together. She could see Wikus's antenna moving as he looked around the house in which he used to live.

He stopped at a picture of them at their wedding and moved his hand up to the glass, tapping a claw on it softly. A few tears rolled down his hard shell of a face. Tania unclipped the leash from his welded on collar and gently let her arm wrap around him as much as possible.

"I still see you that way, my love," she tried to assure him. She knew how painful it must be for him to see the difference between the him as a Prawn and the human him. As he caught his reflection in a mirror, the pain seemed to deepen and as Tania stood beside him, she was more aware of the huge differences between them now. She saw Wikus crumble onto the ground, his forehead resting against the wall. Tania immediately knelt beside him. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"We'll figure it out," she attempted to promise him and Wikus looked at her wanting to believe in her words. "We'll figure it all out, I promise."

My special angel, Wikus clicked as he saw her smile, she kissed his cheek and he moved before feeling the strange sensation of her kissing where his mouth should be. As weird as it felt, it still felt powerful and romantic and right. As wrong as it felt, it also felt like they were meant to do that.

"Come into the kitchen with me," Tania requested and Wikus followed her. As he stepped into the room, he gave a slight noise of excitement. There were about three dozen cans of cat food stacked and shaped like a heart on the counter. Tania moved so that she could take comfort in his facial expressions, his joy and love of the item which meant little to him as a human.

Tania didn't care that he was a Prawn. She didn't care that he didn't have the body parts of a human. She didn't care that what she had kissed weren't human lips. She only cared in a positive manner about the way he was so excited by the presence of the cat food. After nearly a long long long year and a half, there were only four words which she wanted to say.

"Welcome home, my love."

End of Chapter One

Thank you for reading