"Can you see anything?", Luca whispered quietly. Pressed against the boulder, he glanced at Ulgar but did not dare to turn his head around. Any motion might give them away.
The beast was still on the other side of the shrubs, moving slowly as if to purposely scare them. The hard rain worked in their favour, dulling the animal's senses. It had not noted them. Yet. Ulgar was on his knees, trying to peak through the shrubs. He did not know where he took the courage to move forward from, but if the two had to defend themselves, any knowledge about the beast would increase their minuscule chance of survival.
As the animal was in his sight, the black-haired teen was taken aback by its size and monstrosity. It was better for Luca not to see this; he only shook his head to answer the other's question. A motion that took all his effort as fear paralysed him. The monster was about three metres tall, long razor-sharp claws on his paws and his mouth ajar, exposing two rows of deadly teeth and large fangs. From its anatomy, it could be a cat or a bear, Ulgar guessed. The skin was like that of a Horfant, a likely adaptation to the acidic rain, making it as unkillable as a consequence. Not that he would have tried. Packed with muscles, the beast would tear him apart in an instant.
Ulgar wondered why the animal was moving sluggishly until he discovered a large wound on its left flank. Blood dripped to the ground, mixing with the rain and leaving a dark trail behind. The mark of claws. In this woodland, there was something even more dangerous than the beast. Something that had managed to wound it.
After what felt like an eternity, the animal was out of his sight, heading into the opposite direction of them and more importantly, away from the Astra. It took another eternity until Ulgar and Luca relaxed. "We need to warn the others as soon as the rain stops", Ulgar said finally, slowly regaining his ability to move.
Luca nodded, although there was no sign of the rain calming down. "Thank you", he said then. You didn't want my new clothes to get stained so you risked damaging your cap." He had a tear in his eyes. Ulgar had changed so much, from being a selfish loner to putting Luca before himself. Maybe he had been truly accepted as a friend.
"Never mind." Ulgar looked at his friend absent-mindedly, still thinking about the beast. Luca had been quick to recover, but he had not seen it after all. "You must have put a lot of work into them and, plus, they look good on you." The black-haired teen had no idea what had made him say this, but he blamed the beast that still had a grip on his mind. Not used to complimenting others, he shifted his gaze towards the wet soil. It was true though, the pale blue complemented Luca's hair far better than his normal uniform or the crust suit ever could.
"I'll make your new clothes when we get back", Luca promised. For a moment he thought that Ulgar had complimented him but decided that he must have misheard. The rain had not calmed down and its noise, as well as the sounds of the woodland, made it harder to focus on the other's voice. Despite the rain, the woodland slowly returned back to life. Leaves rustled, strange animals cried out to one another and from far away, they could even make out the sounds of the Horfants. The tension in the air had dispersed and with the rain surrounding them, it was like they were in a separate world, underneath two giant leaves on a foreign planet.
"Not needed. I brought my casual clothes anyway", Ulgar responded, more focussed on their immediate survival. The black-haired teen still struggled to find the right words to describe the beast and the danger they were in. Yet seeing Luca smiling at him made his mouth feel dry and his lips closely sealed. There was only one name for a monstrosity like the one he had seen: terror. A nightmare turned reality. Finally, Ulgar understood the meaning of the planet's name. The others had dismissed it as a bad joke in their naivety.
Nemesis. How fitting.
Luca's smile was a stark contrast to their surroundings and this hell. And suddenly, that mesmerising smile was dangerously close to his face. "Is something wrong?" Questioning eyes looked into Ulgar's. Luca had turned around, their faces now on the same level.
Ulgar noted how big the other's eyes were, grey and reflecting his own. "What are you doing?" Nobody had ever been this close to him. They had to stay alert, their little realm hidden by the leaves was not safe. But Luca did not know. And somehow, he found calmness when looking at the other. That monster. The Astra. Luca in front of him.
Luca did not understand the other's troubles. He looked at Ulgar's face, trying to find a hint as the other did not speak. The purple-haired teen wanted to share the Ulgar's feelings but found himself in front of locked doors. He moved further forwards, ever closer, not even knowing himself what he hoped to find. Then, all of a sudden, he ran out of space. Centimetres from Ulgar's face, his world moved in slow motion. Luca could see his friend's confusion, the widening of his eyes as their lips met. He would not be able to explain his actions and was unable to predict their consequences but for a moment it did not matter. His world had come to a standstill.
Before any of them could say anything and try to comprehend the situation, there was shouting. A second later, Kanata emerged from the underwood, gasping for air and a big metal plate over his head to shield him from the rain. Why was it that he only was reliable in these situations? Ulgar thought he needed to tell Kanata to shut up but his mind was hazy and his lips tasted of Luca.
xxx
After having showered and being safely back inside the Astra, Ulgar thought about how to tell the group about his discovery. They had had a meagre meal for lunch made from fish Kanata had caught and were now sitting out the rain inside the Astra. Despite the harsh weather and their dwindling food supply, everyone was still cheerful and sure they would find plenty of food tomorrow. And how could they not? Their journey had been too easy thus far.
And Luca, Ulgar's thoughts shifted to his purple-haired friend as he stood in the lounge like a tree growing in the wrong place. His friend's teasing had reached a new level. Having always kept others at a distance, this had been his first kiss. Stolen by Luca. Strangely enough, Ulgar did not even mind. Luca, without knowing, had been his anchor to reality, having dispersed his fears without a single word. How was this even possible for a person he barely knew?
"Hey." Luca, the object of his thoughts, had suddenly appeared next to him. Cheerfully, not the least embarrassed about his bold move. Or at least that was how the purple-haired teen wanted to appear. "You're still gloomy? Should I ki-"
He did not get any further as Ulgar swiftly covered the other's mouth with his hands. They were alone in the lounge, but what if anyone would hear them? Found out that they had … kissed. "Stop teasing me like this!" What did the other think who he was? While Ulgar could not say he knew much about friendship, he was sure there were boundaries. Boundaries that Luca had blurred like his gender.
"Anyway", Luca quickly changed the topic. He had not been teasing but lacked the words to explain that, for once, he had been completely serious. Ulgar would never believe him and the lively teen had no one else to blame than himself. Instead of fighting a lost battle, he held out a measuring tape. "I'm going to make your clothes, let me take your measurements. Also, give me your cap so I can fix it."
Ulgar was taken aback. Clothes were not on his list of urgent things that needed to be addressed. "I don't need any, I told you."
"You'll be the only one still wearing your uniform. I just finished taking Kanata's measurements—wow, were his abs hot", Luca recounted before changing his voice. "By the way, the girls were also fine with me taking their measurement. Are you more of a drama queen than them?"
Ulgar hated how easily Luca was able to provoke and manipulate him, leaving him without choice. He knew that Luca was out to make him feel uncomfortable again but the black-haired teen would deny him this satisfaction. Instead, Ulgar focused on maintaining a neutral face, hoping the other would give up soon. Gosh, Luca's fingers were as slim as a girl's. Suddenly his self-discipline was crumbling, growing weaker every moment.
"As expected from someone training to kill my father", Luca noted, measuring Ulgar's arms. The purple-haired teen was surprised. Despite Ulgar's arms always having been exposed, he had never realised how muscular the other was. Of course, Kanata beat them all when it came to raw strength, but it was also evident that Ulgar had not spent his life slacking.
"I already said I'm sorry", Ulgar muttered angrily, trying to stay focused and motionless. He wished the other would hurry up, but Luca seemed to stop at every inch of his body, visibly enjoying himself. "What… what are you doing now?" His face dark red, he jumped back. Luca's hands had been in a place they should never touch.
"I'm taking your measurements", Luca replied innocently with a voice sweeter than ever, only reluctantly letting go of Ulgar's groin. "How can I make your trousers if I don't know the length of your inner leg?"
"That's it, I'm out of this!", the black-haired teen replied angrily. Upset about Luca's continued invasion of this privacy, he stormed into his room and slammed the door. Leaning back against the cold metal, now calmer, Ulgar shook the head.
He was used to Luca toying with him, what had shocked him was the reaction of his own body. The hot flush in his lower abdomen spoke for itself. How on Earth could it be that he felt sexually attracted to Luca? Luca who never missed a chance to tell him that he wanted to be treated like a guy.
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