(A/N: this is a flashback from Reihana's fast: a happy memory from a past not-too-long-ago. Expect my apologies and other words at the end)

Love and Burden
by The Great Red Dragon

Chapter 17

On a small, bustling spaceport that orbited the planet Yalun (an extended distance from Turo), a mid-sized yellow spacecraft lay docked, along with many others, next to a gigantic, spike-shaped building. This building was not uncommon to architects; it was the intergalactic design.

The 'spike', from afar, seemed to be dotted with tiny specks of light, which turned out to be several thousands of windows. The base of the spike was linked to the 'parking lot' by way of an artificial air-tunnel that people could walk through. This way lead into the lobby of the giant structure, which happened to be a hotel.

Up in one of the higher, middle-class rooms, Reihana sat at a desk, in front of flat-top computer. Her fingers tapped over the keyboard energetically as she finished the final lines of an e-mail letter.

After another minute, she sat back, remarked at her poor grammar, took another minute to correct her mistakes. Lastly, she proof-read her message:

"Dear 411,

hey, you haven't written in the last few days…is something up?

Well, forgive me if I immediately pull the subject upon myself selfishly, but I'm feeling so incredibly good right now that I have to share it with somebody!

Remember when we talked about how much we wanted to see the ringed moons in the Vedos system? And the Noktel gardens in Mikatu? Not to mention all of the overly-exotic and most exciting places you'd ever want to visit?

Well, guess what: I'm actually going there! Each and every place!

I really wish you had decided to come with us; I'd enjoy talking to you much more than I do writing in this stupid device…then again, I don't think Nago would like any 'intrusion'…

I won't go into details, but I think that I've got just about the best man in the entire universe. Nago's the one who's gonna take me to all of these places (duh), and you wouldn't believe just how good he is…y'know, when it's only me and him around, he becomes a completely different person. It's a bit hard to explain…but what the heck; he's too good to share! :p

He went out for a while to get some supplies and stuff (probably something to eat), but he said he was gonna be back soon, so forgive me to cut this message so short, but…you understand, don't you?

I promise to write again soon…but why aren't you replying at all? Send me some reply, so I know that you're alright, okay? Don't worry me!

I hope to hear from ya soon, 411…

Love,
Reihana"

Satisfied, she hit the 'send' button, the website's trademark tune jangled annoying, and a computerized informed her; "Message sent".

No sooner had she done this was there an electronic buzz of the room's doorbell. Reihana jumped up excitedly from the chair and hurried over to the door. She pressed the 'open' button and the door whizzed open sideways: surely it had to be Nago-

"Your car keys, miss."

Reihana was hit with major disappointment. It wasn't Nago…instead, a short, round-bodied and grey-skinned creature held out the glittering silver keys of Nago's spaceship model. He was wearing a company-distributed suit, which looked obviously awful on his type of species. He was taller than her, and held them down for her reach.

"Oh…thank you", she said to him, quickly trying to hide her disappointment.

"Sorry it took so long", he apologized in a strong foreign accent.
"Every place was filled up; I had to blow somebody else's ship up to make room."

By the way that he pulled forth the side of his coat to display a hand-held cannon, Reihana knew he was barely joking…and she was very glad that Nago had insisted on only the highest tips in such a grandiose place.

The creature smiled and turned to leave. Reihana stepped back, ready to close the door, when a familiar voice grabbed her attention;

"Hold the door!"

Her face brightened instantaneously as she heard the voice, and she looked back out into the hallway in glee.

Nago hurried towards her, looking as fine as ever with his attractive dark-orange fur, and badger-black furred eyes and ear…the fact that he was carrying a large bag of groceries didn't tarnish his appearance.

Reihana stepped further inside so he could as well, and he pressed the door shut behind him. He had barely turned around to set down the bag that he was hugged warmly around the neck by Rei, causing him to almost drop the bag.

"Hey-!", he objected in instinctive protest, but quickly forgot any negative feelings when he remembered who was showing him such love.

Reihana nuzzled his neck lovingly as he gently wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her in his embrace. She purred as his muzzle found her neck as well, and he kissed her soft, tranquil fur and squeezed her gently.

"Hey, baby", he cooed into her ear, and followed it with another kiss.
"How've you been?"

She lifted her head from his shoulder and his nice-smelling fur, and pecked him gently on his lips.

"I missed you", she replied quietly, with a small smile.

"Aww…", he replied playfully, stroking her neck.
"I was only gone for fifteen minutes…"

"I still missed you", was her reply, as she rubbed herself against him as much as she could.

Nago cooed softly again, and gently moved his face close to her's. He found her lips, and carefully parted them with his own. Reihana willingly accepted his offer, and she felt a shiver of warming, infinite goodness move up her body, as she returned her mate's love.

They kissed for several minutes…long enough for any other couple to have thought it enough. But the fact was that Rei and Nago were unable to get 'enough' of eachother. Every time Reihana's lips were met Nago's, she felt an extreme abundance of warmness, so pleasant that she was ready to succumb to him completely. And whenever she snuggled against him, and he embraced her with his strong, conditioned arms, she felt safe, protected, warm, harmonious, and loved. The same was true for Nago, who had resolved his life to protecting and loving his mate. He would be ready to overcome any obstacle, create wonders of the universe, and even die for her. Needlessly said, the same was true for Reihana.

When their kiss finally ceased, they stood and held eachother close in a warm embrace, nuzzling and cuddling the other as much they could, still entranced in their own love, and deeply loving eachother.

"I love you…", Reihana whispered quietly to her lover, her head resting on his shoulder.

He nuzzled her and kissed her neck in reply.

"I love you too, baby."

He squeezed her lovingly for a few more seconds before releasing a bit of his grip, so he could bring his head up and admire her. He looked down at her from his taller height, and she too raised her head from against his body.

Nago looked down at her and smiled, and she did the same; God, she loved him so much.

"How're you doing, baby?", he asked her kindly, still holding her close.

"Okay", she replied
"Now that you're here."

Nago gave her a tiny kiss on the nose and took her hand to lead her into the apartment further, carrying the bag in the other hand.

"I went out to get some food", he told her, and proved true her previous assumption.
"Now I can cook you some dinner."

"I'm going to cook tonight", Reihana insisted in return.

"…You?", Nago asked her slowly, as if he didn't believe her.

"Sure; why not?", she persisted.

Nago cringed, and sought his words carefully as he set down the bag of food.

"Well…remember when you tried to cook a few months ago while I was gone, and you started…a fire? You almost died…"

"I did not!", Reihana protested playfully.
"And there was no fire!...just a little smoke!"

Nago cocked his eyebrow at her.

"And we were thrown out of the hotel because of a little smoke?", he questioned slyly.
"We had to sleep in the ship that night, remember?"

"I don't remember you complaining", Reihana retorted.
"When I made you that sandwich then, which you said was the best you ever tasted."

Nago smiled and laughed good-naturedly.

"Okay, I'll give you that, Rei…"

He pulled her back into a hug and pressed a kiss against her lips.

"But please let me cook tonight…I have something special planned."

"Oooh!", Reihana wowed in surprise.
"What's it going to be?"

"You shouldn't ask", Nago warned playfully.
"It spoils the surprise."

Nago had many amazing qualities. His Experiment-given powers included greater-than-natural strength, speed, and agility, and an advanced, strategic mind. Other than that, he enjoyed video-work and writing poetry; when he had been in Jumba's lab, he had borrowed a camera to act out the storyline of one of his longer works.

But, probably most surprisingly, he was an amazing cook.

His style resembled the crazy, swinging Cantonese, but he also relied heavily on spicing and hand-perfection of all courses.
His cooking amazed Reihana. He often asked her to step out of the kitchen when he would begin heating up the stove, and she believed that it was his fear for her own safety. Nago hardly made a mistake or spilt a drop while cooking, but Rei believed he had this frightening vision of a fork or a knife going flying…

So now she sat on a bench several feet from the kitchen door, which was slightly ajar, and allowed her a vertical letterbox-view of what went on inside. Nago whipped and flashed across her view frequently, handling boiling, spitting pots and pans expertly, and throwing bits of meat, vegetables, and spices to their destination. The hissing of angry fryers was quite alarming, and fine smoke engulfed the small kitchen like a fire-tent. All was accompanied by the constant, mild cursing of Nago; the cries of a cook who was fighting for perfection.

Then, suddenly, all of the sounds and noises of a bustling kitchen immediately ceased: the angry spitting, frying, clanging, fizzing, and shouting fell silent in a single second.

Reihana got up from her bench and carefully made her way over to the kitchen…she poked her head inside, and found only the quite tranquil image of Nago grinding fine pepper and garlic over a fully-prepared dish.

"It's ready!", he informed her.
"Go set the table, would you please?"

Reihana nodded, noticing the absolutely delicious smell, and hurried to the small dining table and removed all the clutter from the top of it. She had enough time to grab and set down a pair of glasses and silverware before Nago came, loaded like a waiter, carrying four different plates in each of his hands.

He motioned for Rei to sit down, and when she did, he placed a filled plate in front of her on the table.

"Oh, it looks wonderful!", she remarked honestly, as the aroma filled her again.
"…What is it?"

"Lonian lobster with a cream sauce", Nago answered, setting down the other plates.
"Spiced vegetable-medley and a Turian frommage'…and I made crusts and ice cream for desert."

He sat down on a chair close to Reihana and pulled a bottle of white wine out of the nearly-empty grocery bag.

"I tried about four different other things, but I ruined them…I finished them, but I don't think they'll taste the way they should…"

Reihana suppressed a giggle at his need for perfection; the previously-made food would taste great as well, but Nago saw more negativity in his own work than anyone else's; he was a perfectionist.

She took a forkful bite of the delicacies on her plate, and wowed in how absolutely exquisite it tasted.

"This is great!", she complimented him.
"Wonderful! I love it!"

Nago smiled discreetly and folded his arms on the table top.

"I'm glad you like it", he replied kindly.

Reihana ate several more bites of her food before she realized that Nago wasn't eating at all; he didn't even have a plate of his own.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?", she asked him, amazed that he wasn't already digging into such a great meal.

"I'm not hungry", he told her, shrugging his shoulders.

"Come on!", she insisted.
"You outdid yourself with this great stuff! Eat some!"

"No, thanks", he told her, showing another smile.
"You enjoy it."

Reihana tried to persist, but Nago only filled her glass with sweet, white wine and then his own. He told her playfully to be quiet and if she though the food was so wonderful, she should eat it herself before he changed his mind.
Reihana wasn't offended by this, but she felt a certain suspicion that this wasn't all just for nothing…

Nago was very romantic, and despite that all his love and affection was forever unceasing, she had known him to invite extra special behaviour during…special occasions, or if he wished to make a special occasion of his own…

She finished her meal, and decided to wait.

It was some time later. Reihana had finished the meal, and she and Nago had both finished the home-made ice cream. They were both lying on the sofa, and the television blared an inter-galactic comedy sitcom that they both enjoyed, and they laughed occasionally.

Nago held Reihana against him, in a belly-to-back position, both of them lying down. It was comfortable, Reihana thought, especially with her love holding her close.
She snuggled herself against his chest comfortably, and put her hands on top of his.

"I love you…", she whispered quietly to him.

Nago replied without any words. Instead, he leaned up and pressed a kiss against her neck. And another…and another.
Reihana closed her eyes blissfully as Nago speckled the fur on her neck and cheek with his constant, loving kisses, and sighed at the good feeling. She felt as Nago began rubbing her belly seductively, and his kisses slowly trailed to her shoulder and upper arm. His other arm stroked her cheek lightly, and she nuzzled her face into his palm.

She knew what he was searching for.

Carefully, she turned herself onto her back to face up at him, and he smiled lovingly at her. He lowered himself to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down into a long-lasting kiss.
His hands massaged her back gently; he was careful not to hurt her with his claws. She trusted him, and leaned into their kiss as deeply as she could. Once they broke apart, Nago stared down at her, with the love, care, and passion in the world.

"Do you want to…?"

She knew what he meant…she had known ever since he had started.
Reihana leaned back up and pressed another smooch against his lips, before replying quietly;

"Yes, I do…my love."

A smile slowly widened on his face, and he returned the kiss in fullest. They cuddled for another several minutes, allowing their love and passion to rise before they eventually took to the act.

Soon, Nago stood up from the couch and gently pulled Reihana to her feet. He smiled warmly at her and kissed her again before taking her by the hand. Reihana squeezed his palm in anticipation as he led her towards the bedroom; she really couldn't wait.
Nago took her inside and closed the door behind them; it seemed to give him a sense of security.

He turned back to Reihana and pulled her close.

"Are you sure you want to?", he asked her gently.
"Because it would be alright if you didn't…"

Reihana smiled and kissed him on the tip of his nose.

"Of course I want to", she assured him.
"I love you…love me now, okay?"

Once again, Nago had no verbal reply. He simply lowered himself to his love's level so he could share yet another kiss with her. As always, she accepted his love openly, and returned it with all her heart.
Nago gently eased her onto the soft, warm bed, and crawled up on top of her. He covered her body like a warm blanket, and in her bliss, felt only the eternal love she held and would always hold for him.

"I love you, my Reihana…"

"…I love you, too, Nago."

It was several hours later. Night had inter-galactically set in, and the majority of the hotel windows had turned dark. Several employees had turned down for quiet-time…in fact, most of the hotel had turned quiet altogether.

Reihana lay in the bed, next to Nago. Their apartment was now dark, like most of the others. Her mate seemed fast asleep, and faced the other opposite direction she was. He was on the opposite side of the bed as well.
It was warm, and Reihana only held the covers up to her stomach. She could barely see in the dark, but her expression very sad.

Nothing bad had happened between them. They had gone through with the blissful love-making with all love instead of lust. They had cleaned eachother tenderly, and were both more than willing to go to sleep.
Nago had fallen asleep with her in his arms.

"I love you, Reihana…", he said told her, before he drifted off.

Reihana would have loved to escape consciousness and have gone to sleep to…but, unbeknownst to her lover, it was after every love-making that her mind became occupied with such thoughts and emotions that allowed her no rest or true respiration.

She reached down and rubbed a hand across her stomach. She felt the unexposed skin under her sleek, perfect fur, and did her best to suppress a tear:
Her belly was flat; attractively flat, with no excess weight or skin. It was easy for her to maintain.

What was in stomach? Nago's breathtaking dinner, probably finishing its digestion…and that was all.

They had made love many, many times…a lot more in the beginning than now, but she estimated at a pace at once every month or half-month.

Nago was a great, passionate, and gentle lover; there was nothing wrong with his sex. Reihana loved the way he did it, and how he made her feel during the process…she would then feel ready to give herself completely to him, willingly, knowing that he would never ever hurt or discomfort her, only love her mind and her soul, as he always did.

Everything was perfect about their love…except one thing:
They had been together for several months, and had made love often…but nothing had ever come of it.

Reihana wanted to be a mother. She felt and knew that she was ready to conceive and raise a child of her own. She also knew that she would make a good mother, and was ready to give her love to small pup that she would bear.

Nago, whom she knew could be the only father for her child, had seen how happy a child would make her, and decided that if she would be a loving, caring, and willing mother, he would be a loving, caring, and willing father. If she was ready, he was ready as well.

They had tried many, many times…often, their sex would be for the sole purpose of attempting to create their child…but, to make it a tragedy, every single try had been without success.

They both knew its cause, now; Nago, though physically powerful and healthy, and the perfect mate to conceive a healthy child with, carried an infertile seed. Perhaps it had something to do with the process of which he was created, but whatever it was, he remained unable to fertilize his mate…begin the formation of a pup inside of her.

Nothing they had tried had proved successful. From commercialized and supposedly miracle-working products to medical help, they all had the same, negative result experienced time and time again.

It was finally until the point where Nago had allowed himself to be medically examined, to search for possible ways that he may reverse his in-fertileness. Aside from being astounded by artificial build and Experiment-capabilities, the doctors had all returned to them with a sad frown and the bad news: it was impossible for Nago to become a father.

They continued to suggest that Reihana seek out a donor that could supply her with the fertilization-seed she needed; she could find a strong character that would produce a strong baby.

Reihana had refused at once. Nobody, if anybody, would be the father of her child than her own love…but that, seemingly, would mean that there would never be a child.

Reihana fought against a sob and was unable to repress it. She broke the silence audibly, and then continued to press her face into the pillow to hide her tears.

"Reihana?"

Reihana raised her head abruptly; had she awoken Nago, or had he been awake the whole time?

She turned around, and found his shining, night-vision eyes looking at her in the dark.

"…Are you crying?", he asked her worriedly.

She knew it was useless to lie to him.

"…Yes."

His supposed worry was immediately replaced with the actual worry. He blinked quickly.

"…Oh", he replied quickly.
"Oh, oh, oh…what's wrong, baby?"

He hurriedly moved over to her, and she willingly snuggled into his arms as he wrapped them around her warmly. He nuzzled her face as best as he could, and kissed the top of her head.

"Reihana, baby, what's wrong?", he asked again, as he cuddled her in his embrace warmly.

She allowed herself to cry for a while before nuzzling his chest in return and looking up at him.

"…Remember…remember how I always wanted a child?", she asked him quietly.

He exhaled in an extended "Oh" in realization of what she meant, and pressed his muzzle close to her's gently.

"Reihana…my love…my baby…", he whispered to her softly as he squeezed her in his arms.
"Please don't cry, Rei…"

Reihana sobbed as she had done before and nuzzled him back, in both of their consolation.

"It's just that…it's just that…", she stammered and repeated.
"It's just that…I really want to be a mother…but…we…"

Nago silenced her gently;

"Shhh…its okay…"

He kissed her gently on the cheek and nuzzled her once more.

"…I really wanna be a father, too", he told her.
"But if anything, it's my fault that I can't be…it has absolutely nothing to do with you, Reihana."

"I know…", Reihana whimpered.
"I know…"

She found nothing to say, and tried to calm herself by snuggling as deeply as she could into Nago's arm, using his fur to suppress her tears.
After a while of quiet-time cuddling and much hugging, she could feel Nago building up to say something…she raised her head to look at him.

"…I know that this must weigh the harder on you, between the two of us", he confessed to her.
"And that, without any of it being your fault…just me and my faulty engineering, that won't let you receive…what both of us want."

He squeezed her gently and kissed her head once more.

"Y'know", he told her.
"If you decided to, I wouldn't mind…well…if somebody else would be the biological father."

Reihana looked up at him in immediate surprise.

"…What?", she asked.

"It wouldn't matter to me; I'd still love him or her like my own…", he continued, approaching the subject she was so fully decided about.

"No", she cut him off, stronger than one might have expected.

She looked him straight in the eyes and made clear the point that she had so fully resolved herself to.

"You are going to be only father of our child, and the only mate for me", she told him.
"I don't want anybody else…just you."

Although her 'outburst' had been short, it was enough to surprise Nago…and even to suppress her.
She felt that she had shamed him speaking to him like that…and she tried to turn away from him.
But he held her tight, and manoeuvred until he managed to meet her eyes again.

"I understand", he told her honestly.
"I really do…and now I agree; no one else will touch you besides me."

His words, even though dominant, somehow made her feel better and more secure…so good that she returned to his embrace and against his chest, where he held here close once again.

When he spoke again, it was in a much softer, gentler voice that she knew.

"I'll find a way", he promised her.
"I promise right here and right now; I'll find a way to make it happen."

Reihana looked at him in disbelief.

"…But how?", she asked him, immediately ashamed that she had revealed her own doubts.
"How can you?...how could you?"

He stayed still for several seconds…then, showed her a smile that did wonders to suppress her worry.

"I'll find a way", he told her again.
"I promise that I'll find a way to give you a child…that'll be my own child as well…even if I have to do something as drastic as knock on God's door and demand that he change me."

Reihana burst out with a tiny giggle.

"I thought…I thought you didn't believe in God", she said to him.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't believe in religion", he corrected her.
"But that doesn't believe that I don't believe in God."

He exhaled deeply.

"But that's not the point", he told her, returning to the subject.
"I don't care what I have to do, or how I have to do it…but I promise that I'll find some way to make it happen…to give us a kid."

He continued;

"I know that it's the most important thing to you, and so it is with me, too…I'd love our child as much as I love you, and it'd another step towards making you happy…to making us happy…I promise that somehow I'll get it done."

Reihana didn't know how to respond to this impressive resolution her lover had just made. She didn't know how to say anything in return…aside from that even though she had no idea how this was possible, or how Nago would even be able to do it…but she believed him.
She knew that in words and ambition, it would happen…for he had never ever broken his promise or let her down.

Without anything she could think of to say, she simply nodded against his chest and snuggled back against him. Nago gave her a gentle squeeze and kissed her cheek tenderly. Reihana turned her face towards his, and lured him softly into a kiss. She closed her eyes blissfully and allowed herself to be entranced in their kindled love, and purred in pleasure as he began to rub her back again, and she pulled herself as close to him as she could.

"I love you, Reihana", she heard him whisper to him when they broke away.

She rubbed her head affectionately against his neck and chest.

"I love you, too, Nago."

They snuggled and cuddle together for a few more minutes, when Reihana finally settled herself in a comfortable position against her mate. He felt her tiredness, and decided as well that it was time for some shut-eye.

His arms encircled her lovingly and possessively and he settled himself against her: a loving, willing protector.

"Good night, my love", he whispered to her.

She replied not with words, but kissed him lightly on his nose, before settling herself back into her comfy position.

Minutes passed, and she felt Nago's breathing relax to the rhythm that ensured that he was sleeping.
Reihana laid quietly in the dark, eyes open, and listened to his peaceful, tranquil breathing. Once again, she was alone in her consciousness, in the dark, with her mate fallen asleep…
But, this time, she felt no sorrow, and no sorrowful feelings filled her.

She kept on thinking and rethinking about what Nago had said to her…his pledge and promise to give her a child.

She still had no idea how he would ever be able to accomplish this…but she found comfort in his solemn words that kept away any sadness or worry.

For once, her conscious solitude was there not to snare her in dismay, but to give her a chance to reflect on the many good things in her life…
Nago, their love, their freedom, their life, his cooking, the adventures he gave her…all of it was so much more than she could have ever imagined, and so much more wonderful.

She wondered how she would ever be able to repay Nago for all the attention, understanding, friendship, protection, and love…how could she even harness the ability to give the same amount back to him?

Nago's voice seemed to drift into her head, as clear and loving as ever;

"Just say that you love me, and be happy."

Reihana looked up at Nago's drowsing face and smiling. She kissed him on the nose again, and settled back into her position. She closed her eyes, and for the first time in a long time, felt good after the loving.

"I love you, Nago…good night, my love."

"I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only one time wanted to see you laughing
Only want to see you laughing in the purple rain"

Purple Rain,
Prince

(A/N: as I sit here and write this, I feel extremely guilty in knowing that I have neglected this fic and others for a shamefully long time…and I'm sorry for it.
The last time I updated was about two months ago, and that's more than a strain for readers to wait, especially if they are anxiously anticipating the next chapter…I hope you all can accept my apology, and deem me still worthy a writer. If it's any consolation, I believe that my streak of laziness is about over…I'm really going to try to get the next chapter done sooner…a lot sooner. I believe that's possible, now that I can a good morale from showing progress in school…I hope I'll also have an even better morale when it comes to writing.

Once again, I'm sorry…

Also, I'd like to stress that this chapter is certainly more…'sexual' than any others that I have written, and I want to point out strongly that none of this was ever meant to go in the direction of anything explict.
I don't approve of hentai or NC-17/X-rated writing, so I did my best to keep all of the 'thematic' elements unrevealing and not at all passing the PG-13 line.
At some time, I thought I would explore a bit into the more foreplay-like parts of what happened after Rei and Nago got on the bed…but I felt in immediate danger of contradicting my 'nothing-explict policy', and really focused on showing the love instead of the lust.
I think that's important for all people…

Anywho, I'm going to get started on the next chapter as soon as I can, which I hope will be pretty soon…
Thank you all for your patience, and your wonderful attitudes about my stupid personal situations…I'll try hard not to disappoint you again)