McArthy laid back on the too-soft pillow, the heat of his head warming his ears as he looked up at the ceiling. The room was quiet, save for the soft breathing of his wife, sleeping next to him with the majority of her backside touching his side.
Her skin was warm against his leg, the flesh of her glute melding to the form of his thigh so satisfyingly. Even after almost a whole decade of sharing a place to sleep next to one another, he never found the feeling of her body boring.
He was half tempted to wrap his arm around her and pull her close, although the way she lay facing away from him would make the maneuver rather tricky and would likely wake her up. It was foolish to disturb his mistress' sleep, especially after the wonderful night he gave her. He snickered at the thought, kicking at the sheets a bit to cool the increasingly warming air under the sheets.
Normally, he would be getting up around this time and leaving his little birdie cold and alone in her nest to open the restaurant, and his muscle memory urged him to hop out and commit his morning ritual.
But to hell with that! He was on vacation! He didn't have to commit to shit! Well, outside of spending time with Mim. That certainly was never a chore. Outside of watching Alf with her. He hated the show, as ironic as the main idea of the show was. But he usually just shut his eyes and laid his head on her lap, and that was good enough for her. It was even better when Hess waddled in and jumped and climbed all over him.
It was wonderful.
"Hess," he quietly said out loud.
He wasn't sure if he loved his daughter more than his wife. Of course, the types of love he felt for both were wildly different, but he wasn't sure which was more powerful. McArthy reminded himself of a conversation he had with Mim a while ago, of how they would both rather see their child survive rather than their spouse if the situation required the choice. He prayed it never came to that.
He felt a rustle of movement and looked down to see Mim slightly awake and looking up at him. He chuckled, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close, eliciting a gentle croon.
"Mornin' my wonderful hen," he said, rubbing her shoulder.
"Good morning…" she replied, yawning before laying her head on his chest.
McArthy craned his neck and planted a kiss on her snoot, receiving a long lick to the face back. He giggled, giving her an even longer kiss, one that was immediately followed by her body crawling atop and laying down on him. His hands found purchase on her waist, gently holding her as he gazed into her amber eyes.
What followed was another one of his morning rituals, though Mim would argue that it was both of theirs. In truth, he never had the same sex drive as his wife, but he could never argue about getting a ride.
She looked down at him in the middle of the process, opening her mouth.
"McArthy."
"Yeah?"
"McArthy!"
He woke up, jerking himself from the plastic chair he sat in. His head swiveled around the reception area before locking onto Mim.
She snickered, rubbing his arm, "You fell asleep honey."
He rubbed his eyes before blinking a bit, sitting back in the chair, "Oh, I did."
She chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder, "I wish I could have fallen asleep instead of waiting so damn long."
"Yeah, and I was dreaming of… heh…" he sighed, moving a hand to hold her side.
She chuckled even more, "Sorry for interrupting then."
"No need to apologize," he turned, placing a kiss on her beak, "I have the real thing right here."
"Well, I'm very flattered, but I was more so worried you might go into a deep sleep before we even walk in." she laughed.
He shook his head, planting kisses on her face. She responded with some light licks, giggling.
"Reservations for the Tols," a voice called for them in the front.
They stopped, looking up at the receptionist with a nod. The receptionist noticed them, and for a second she had a look of bewilderment at the odd pairing, "Yes, follow me."
The two stood up and walked behind the kig-yar, sauntering over to a cloth-draped doorway and walking inside. As they entered, they noted the lockers on either side of them and another curtained door on the far end of the room.
"Strip down here and place your clothes and belongings in a locker. Bathrobes are provided on that rack over there," the receptionist stated before turning around and heading back out into the lobby.
He shrugged, walking over to a locker and opening it, beginning to strip down. Mim popped up next to him, placing her clothes in the locker. He reached back and gave her butt a slap, eliciting a yelp from her, "H-hey! Jerk."
He chuckled, groping it a bit before walking over to the rack, "I had to.'
"My ass."
"That was the idea," he responded with a chuckle, handing her a robe.
She rolled her eyes and took it, slipping it on and tightening the strap, "What do you think they'll do to us?"
"Well," he pondered, "Definitely a massage, perhaps a mask of some sort, sauna maybe."
She shook her head, "My face doesn't have pores like yours, honey."
"So?"
"The point of the mask is for the chemicals to enter the skin and sort of moisturize it. My face is almost all bone hun."
As she said that, she tapped her cheek with a chuckle, generating a small knock. McArthy shook his head and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side.
"Maybe it's a polishing mask, that when they rub off will polish it a bunch. Make you nice and shiny," he chimed as he smooched where she was tapping.
"Eh, I'd rather you make my beak shiny on our own time. Cute couple grooming activity."
He scratched his chin with a giggle, "Maybe, but you never bother shaving my face for me."
"You never asked, I can do it next time. And I also like when you have a beard. It has a certain novelty since kig-yar don't have those."
"Really? Wow, sweet."
As he said that, a rather large kig-yar opened the door with a knock, slowly peeking in, "Are you ready?"
"Yup," McArthy replied, stepping over with Mim.
The masseur opened the door more and ushered them into what appeared to be a rustic room with a large heat spring in the middle. A few other patrons sat or stood around in the pool, and to McArthy's surprise, they were all nude. He quickly averted his eyes to his wife, noting her also averting her eyes to him. He chuckled and held her waist, continuing into another room, this time more resembling a massage parlor.
#
Sil slowly plucked an ascending chord on her nine-string, grunting every so often and adjusting the keys at the head of the instrument. Little by little the notes became more and more clear, musical to Hess' ears. It was simply jaw-dropping what such a weird-looking device could accomplish.
"Woooah…"
The older t'vaoan chuckled as she bit her tongue a bit, "The word you're looking for is freaking awesome."
She let forward another chord, this time with a resounding crescendo that made Hess believe the room was shaking. Her tiny hands gripped her feet as she sat on the bed, the bass of the large amplifiers Sil had set up vibrating her very soul.
The tune continued with a rising chord, repeating over and over, Sil Nodding her head along before opening her beak, "I'm me, be me. God damn, I am. I can, sing and, hear me, know me."
She suddenly jumped up, strumming harder as the song's drop came, "If you want to destroy my sweataaa! Hold this thread as I walk awaaaay!"
"Watch me unravel, I'll soon be nakeeeeed! Lying on the floor, I've come undooooone!"
BOOM
The two birds spun their heads to Sil's amp, now a smoking collection of metal bits and bobs. Small bits of burnt plastic rained on the pair for a moment before the room returned to a relative calmness.
"God fucking– damn this piece of shit…"
Sil hauled herself up and slapped a part of her wall, a fire extinguisher revealing itself before being immediately snatched. A torrent of white fog exited the device onto the fire as it slowly died down into a wisp of smoke.
"That's the second one this week. Who designs this shit?"
She quickly snatched her helm and barked into it, "RUGE! Please design an amplifier that doesn't blow up while I'm playing the most mid song in existence."
There was a sigh over the comms before a strained reply came through, "You're the one who sent me the specs and a technical drawing."
"Well, it's your job to make sure it's all correct!"
He grumbled over the line, "Fine. Don't expect it immediately."
"Thaaaanks!" She hollered before dropping the helm back to its original place, "Men, amirite."
Hess only tilted her head in confusion before shrugging, "I d-dunno."
"Someday kid," she sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder, "But today is not someday. What do ya wanna do now?"
"Uh…c-c-can we shoot s-some guns?"
Sil's heart skipped a beat at the notion of showing Hess her huge armory. She snatched her by the arms, picking her up for a spinning hug, "Now that's a hell of an idea kid."
Sil ran out of her quarters, still clutching a giggling Hess to her chest. She bolted through the expansive corridors of her carrier, bumping into the crewmen on the way, and knocking a bunch of them on their asses.
After a minute or two, she stood in front of a rather large airlock and mashed the unlock button. As soon as there was a crack in it for her to squeeze through, she ran in and screamed at the top of her lungs. "EVERYONE OUT! I WANT THIS PLACE FOR ME AND MY NIECE!"
Five crewmen begrudgingly left the armory, muttering swears under their breaths. After they left, Sil let Hess down on the ground and pointed a finger at the wall-mounted weapon racks. "Go on, pick something that looks cool, I got almost everything in here."
Hess waddles between the racks, filled with all sorts of weapons, some recognizable, some not. Many looked too big to even lift for her, so she opted for something smaller, a plasma pistol, and a magnum.
"I w-wanna try out these f-f-first," She said as she walked up to Sil, showing her the selection.
Sil just stared at her and inside her head, she thought of words noob combo before she shook her head out of the daze. "A- yeah sweety that's great, starting with something smaller. Let's take them to the range."
Sil walked up to one of the booths, and activated the hologram targets."Go on kid, give it a shot, both those weapons are quite weak, just don't hold the trigger on the purple one, without gloves it can burn you a bit." Sil then leaned on the divider and kept an eye on Hess so she doesn't misfire or hurt herself somehow.
Hess aimed down the range but hesitated. After a small pause, she relaxed her grip.
"A-auntie? Why are we sh-shooting humans?"
This confused Sil for a second before she looked down the range. All of the holograms were of human soldiers, imps, and demons. Many of them were covered, with fear in their eyes. It did not help how realistic the holograms looked as if taken moments before their deaths.
I told Ruge to replace these!
"O-oh it's ok sweety, it's just…a running gag between species to put each other as target practice, it's all fun and laughs!" Sil said unsteadily, with a forced laugh at the end.
"That's c-coooool! I wanna shoot s-s-sangheili, they are f-fat." Hess replied jovially, as she took aim once again.
PEW…PEW…PEW
BAM...BAM...BAM
One by one, all of the holograms fell. Then there was an audible click, as the magnum ran out of ammo. "Aww, th-there is one more I d-d-didn't hit."
"Go on, find a more interesting gun, you were using the baby guns until now," Sil said, as she pointed back at the racks. Hess ran off and rummaged between the guns until there was an audible thud. Sil spun around, momentarily frightened that Hess hurt herself. To her relief, she saw her as she was pulling towards her a long-barreled gun, with a huge scope.
"Ugh, a little h-help auntie Sil!" Hess begged her.
"Oh sorry, you just look hilarious with such a gun. This one is my favorite." She said as she crouched and picked the sniper rifle off Hess's hands.
She flipped the bipod and placed it in the booth. She grabbed the cartridges and pushed them inside the rifle. "Hess, this is quite a powerful gun, so we will shoot it together because most likely the recoil would knock you on your ass."
"Don't call me sm-small! I have n-never seen this gun on the internet, I w-wanted to try it." Hess pouted with crossed arms.
"I'm not joking Hess, I've shot it only a few times because of how strong it is," Sil said to the still-pouting Hess, "Plus it's too heavy."
"D-d-didn't you say it's your f-favorite?" Hess said while cocking her head to the side.
"It's less about shooting the gun, and more about who shot it…and oh boy, he shot it well." She said as she slowly ran her hands over the top of the scope. There was a short pause, as her thoughts drifted a couple of years back. She got quickly pulled out of her reminiscing as Hess touched her hand.
"Y-you okay auntie?" She said questionably.
"Yeah," Sil said, as she quickly wiped small tears that were forming. "Just remembered why I keep it, is all" She then leaned down, and picked up Hess, plopping her on her lap as she was sitting in front of the sniper rifle.
"Ok so, you see this handle? Pull it as hard as you can, until you hear a click, that's how you load a bullet in the chamber."
Hess struggled a bit against the stiff charging handle. After the click, Sil shouldered the rifle. "Ok it's primed, now I will hold it down, you just try to move it around to aim at the last target, and just squeeze the trigger when you are ready my dear."
Hess nodded and took aim. After a few seconds, she gently squeezed the trigger. The sniper rifle rocked backward, pushing the seated pair a few centimeters backward.
Hess quickly put her hands on the side of her head. Sil hasn't shot the rifle in years, she forgot how loud it was. After a few seconds, the ear ringing abated.
"Sorry Hess, shoulda told you it's gonna be loud as hell."
Hess stared blankly at her, then squeaked, "What?!"
Sil chuckled softly, then gently pulled Hess' hands from her ears and said, "It's hella loud!"
Hess nodded vibrantly, "Y-yeah, very. I don't w-wanna shoot it again… hurts m-m-my ears. But it was also c-cool! M-maybe if I was bigger, it w-would be my favorite t-too. I see why i-it's your favorite!"
"Kid, you know only half the story…" Sil said solemnly. "Anyway" she quickly switched back to her normal tone. "We should get going, we have been pestering the other crewmen to work shifts long enough. And it's time for your sleep, it's quite late."
"But c-come oooon. I wanna d-do more fun th-things!" Hess whined.
"No buts, feather butt. Your mom would kill me if she knew I let you stay up way past bedtime today." Sil said as she put Hess over her shoulder.
"You s-sure she won't be m-m-mad about the guns?" Hess asked sheepishly.
"She can't get mad if she never knows of it, keep your beak shut unless you want our adventures to end forever," Sil warned.
Together they walked through the corridors, now much emptier because of how late it was. By the time Sil entered her quarters, Hess was already asleep.
"But come on I wanna do more things," Sil said in a mocking tone to herself as she put Hess into bed, and silently left the quarters.
#
"You go first." McArthy whispered.
"What, are you shy?" Mim whispered while bumping into his hip with hers.
"No, not necessarily. Kig-yar don't strike me as good for doing massages." McArthy said as he looked towards the hands of their masseur.
Mim followed his gaze, realizing what he was trying to point out. "Aww, is my squishy husband scared of claws? You don't seem to mind them during bedtime shenanigans with me." She jabbed at him with her words.
"That's different! This is supposed to be enjoyable, I don't want claw marks on my back from some random dude." He tried to raise his voice while still whispering.
Mim held his gaze for a few seconds before looking forward back to the massage parlor. "Alright fine, I will scout it out for you. And here I thought I was the chicken in this relationship. While I'm inside go find a nice spot for us in the pool," She said as she walked inside the parlor.
McArthy looked around the room, at the other patrons and their states of undress.
"Yeah, I'm not doing that." He said to himself.
He walked to the far edge of the pool, as far from other members as he could. He quickly submerged himself, laid his head backward, and closed his eyes. This relative peace didn't last even ten minutes. Soon he heard water move to his left.
"Hello there young one. Mind entertaining the whims of a curious shipmaster?" A raspy, booming voice asked next to him.
McArthy lifted his head to look around, noticing everyone was looking at him, but all quickly averted their eyes. His eyes caught whoever had spoken to him, a sangheili, built like a tank.
"No, go ahead," he said as he turned towards the stranger.
He had a very battle-worn look because of the numerous scars, but most notably disfigured left side mandibles.
"I wish to know your story, at least a shorter version. There aren't a lot of humans here, so far away from Earth. I fought alongside your kind not many cycles ago," the large sangheili spoke in a commanding voice.
"Heh, if you expect heroism, I am going to disappoint you. Just a nameless soldier," McArthy answered.
The sangheili answered bitterly, "Soldiers are who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war, while the leaders just reap the spoils from a safe distance. I learned that much from my years of service in Covenant."
McArthy's blood ran cold after that statement, it was clear that what the sangheili did under Covenants rule wasn't pleasant.
"Very well, my last deployment didn't go well. The Covenant overran us very quickly. Before we even coordinated with the planet's remaining forces, an evacuation was ordered."
There was a small pause as McArthy composed himself not to sound soft in front of the shipmaster, "An unfortunate accident, in the end, turned out to be good. I was shoved into a drop pod, and shot back down to the planet we were attempting to escape. Soon after, the frigate I was just on got obliterated during my descent."
McArthy lifted his eyes to look at his listener, who kept his saurian gaze on him the entire time.
"And yet against all odds, you stand before me. Calling yourself just a nameless soldier is an insult to what you accomplished." The sangheili tersely answered.
"Don't undervalue your strength, many were unfortunate to not survive this pointless war." He continues more solemnly.
"It wasn't just my strength, it's where I met my wife, we got out of that frigid world together." McArthy pointed out to the sangheili, who now has a questioning look on his face.
"Who-" he never had a chance to continue his questions.
"I am gone for a few minutes and you already found a buddy to talk to," Mim said from behind them.
"Hey love, yeah I was just passing time, waiting for you," McArthy answered jovially.
The sangheili looked between them before he just smiled and said, "It seems as though I have taken enough of your time, young one. I will leave you for now, but if we cross paths again, I wish to know the rest of your story."
As soon as he finished, he got up from the pool and left the large room.
"Who the hell was that?" Mim asked
"Honestly no clue, he was just some war veteran from the covenant," McArthy said as he looked in the direction the sangheili left.
"Anyways," Mim said, and then jumped into the pool next to him, "It's your turn for a massage, I have dutifully scouted the perimeter and the enemy, and he is unarmed and completely docile," she said in a mock militaristic voice.
"Alright, fine, I get it. I'm gonna go see how it goes."
With a sigh, he climbed out of the pool, slowly walked to the massage parlor, and stood in front of the door, "Here goes nothing…" he murmured, and pushed it open.
"Greetings, come in come in, I don't bite," the unusually built kig-yar said in an almost uncharacteristically friendly voice.
"Ugh, don't tell me my wife was running her mouth again," McArthy said with minor annoyance.
"Oh yeah, she was going a mile a minute about you, until I put my hands on her."
He raised his brow for a moment before dismissing his thoughts and laying down, "Huh, you must be quite good then."
A moment later, the masseuse placed his hands on his back and began pushing down, exploring his back for a moment before balling his fists and kneading his tailbone.
"Any specific troubles you have Mr. Tol?" The kig yar asked after a few moments of kneading him.
"Lower back, I think I pulled a muscle when I was moving one of the table friers. It's been some time since I really exercised, I am getting soft– Gah!"
"Oh I think I found the spot, that's a muscle knot right there. Grit your teeth, it's gonna sting a little," He said as he started to release it with his knuckles.
First, it was just the kig yar running circles around the spot for some time, just a weak dull pain. But then he felt an elbow being pressed into his side, and the pain started to be much sharper. After a few seconds, it stopped and McArthy released a pleasant sign.
"Well then, that should do it. I recommend laying off heavy work for some time so the damaged tissue can regenerate properly. You may be well built, but you aren't invincible, remember that."
"I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for your work."
With that out of the way, McArthy got up, shook hands with the masseur, left the parlor behind, and walked into the pool area again. His head swiveled around looking through all the members inside. Until he spotted who he was looking for. Mim was laying on one of the desk chairs that were around the pool, and in front of her was…
God damn it not this dude again
It was the kig-yar from yesterday that was pestering her. He was standing in front of her, of course, naked like the others, with her looking in another direction trying to ignore him. McArthy swiftly walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.
He turned him around and pushed him forcefully toward the locker room. As they entered he gave him a proper shove inside and closed the door being him.
The kig-yar stumbled and quickly spun around to face him. "You human again, don't you get she doesn't want y-"
As he was about to finish his sentence, he got a powerful right hook to his face, making him stagger back into the wall of lockers.
As soon as he woke up from his daze and looked up, McArthy grabbed him by his throat and lifted him off the ground, pushing him against the lockers. "And you don't seem to get the memo that she is my wife! So let me make it crystal clear, you will not approach my wife again, or I will paint you red!" He shouted as gave him a jab to the stomach for good measure.
He lets the kig-yar fall on his ass, and afterward storms back into the pool area.
Mim was looking at him as he approached– actually, everyone was looking at him.
"A little overprotective, aren't we?" Mim said as she shook her head with a grin on her face.
"Oh don't you start with that now, if it was some human woman hitting on me I bet you would eviscerate her," McArthy countered.
"Touché," Mim said as he got up from the desk chair. She walked up to him and wrapped her hands around him. "We should leave, just in case he calls security" she whispered to him.
"It's about time, I feel spent from this day," he said as he took her hand in his, and together they walked out
They moved slowly through the corridors of the resort, swinging their hands back and forth, still interlocked. "What's that face you making honey, you seem like you didn't enjoy today," Mim said as she poked his cheek on his frowning face.
"N-no I did enjoy it. I just have a few things on my mind right now." He said as he turned to her with a forced smile.
"So go on, pour your heart out. We got time till we get to our room. Start with the simple things first."
"It's Hess, I feel a bit guilty leaving her behind. Sil will probably teach her another one of her tricks. It's just a matter of time till we learn Hess was charged with tax evasion. She shouldn't be spending so much time with someone, of such caliber to put it lightly, as Sil." McArthy complained.
"You need to chill out about Sil, yes she's a loose cannon, but she's still our family. You don't get to choose a family, you should know that the best. We could have ended up much worse." As she finished her observation, they stood in front of their room.
They silently entered and sat down on the bed. "But that's not all is it?" Mim asked with a hushed voice.
"It's also the kig-yar from today. It made me realize something that I have willfully ignored until now. It's me, being the odd one out on this entire planet. The entire time we have been in this resort, I felt like a goddamn spectacle. Everyone's eyes glued on us permanently, it kept gnawing at the back of my head the entire time." He said with mild anger in his voice.
"But more importantly, I fear for Hess. She's still a child, but how long it will take her to realize what I am? Or better, when other children start to make fun of her. I don't want that trouble for her," He said as he looked out of the window in the room.
Mim thought to herself, trying to pick the right words. "Don't you think we are a little too young to have an existential crisis?" She said with a chuckle, as she interlocked her hands with his.
"Unfortunately for you, you are stuck with me for the rest of eternity. But on a serious note, you can't let one horny kig-yar sour your worldview so easily. I do not share your sentiment, that you are the odd one out. When I first saw you, back on the frozen planet, I just felt curiosity, and nothing changed since then. You can't blame others for acting the way they do. Sil is to blame for that, partially, she brought human technology, from far beyond the stars here. You are something they do not understand, but that's not something to be furious about." She scooted closer to him and wrapped her hands around his torso.
"As for Hess, she doesn't care about you being different. Remember all the times you made her favorite food, the number of times you played with her, and made her happier than she ever could have been if we didn't adopt her. Neither of us had the luxury of having such a childhood. She loves you, I love you, Sil…maybe loves you too," Mim punctuated her sentence by turning his head to hers, chuckling a bit.
"And nothing will ever change that," She whispered and leaned in for a long kiss.
After a few seconds, she pulled away, still looking at him.
"I'm sorry Mim, I feel pathetic for burdening you with this." He said silently.
"What kind of wife would I be if I could not share your burden?" She said with a smile.
He only chortled before giving in to his sleep.
Been a while, huh? I wasn't lying when I said this story would be taking a backseat while I worked on another one. But now Friendly Treachery is finished, and I'm finally working on a sequel to Confused Love. And while I work on that, I will also try and work on this one as well alongside it, with the usual dependable help of quackster, and now a new friend I met on a server of snek addicted freaks.
These guys are legitimately a massive help as I can't help but constantly go way in over my head with stories. With the help of vigorous and quacky, maybe this story will actually be able to post almost as regularly as my next story.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave any feedback, and have a good day or night!