Chapter Twenty-Two

The weather was warm and pleasant. Summer was in full swing, and everything had a bright, but pleasant feeling. Even Eramore Island felt it, and the mist and rain and cold had abated to give way to far more amicable weather. The smell of fresh grass was heavy in the air, as was the scene of blooming flowers of various kinds, and even a few native insects buzzed and chirped. Yes, it was beautiful. However, all this pleasant calm was the perfect cover for more nefarious goings-on.

Clandestine operations were under way, a small villainous presence carefully looked around as it silently crept forward to wreak its terrible wrath upon the populace, skulking in shadow, darting from cover to cover, trying to evade detection. Sensing no enemies nearby, it crept into the secure area, ready and willing to destroy and maim. Climbing the barrier, it shook with devilish glee as it readied to destroy and kill. In its gloating, it never saw a great champion carefully line up a valiant shot upon the shadow of evil.

"Fire one," Kyle sneered as he shot Josey right in the tail with a shot from the hose sprayer. The rabbit shot into the sky with a screech and glided to evade the rapid shots that followed. Her evasive maneuvers managed to avoid most of the shots, as she fled for the safety of the bushes around the house. Kyle grinned as he stood back up.

Since Josey's little raid on his greenhouse, Kyle had increased his security, which included chicken wire around his plants, some forming cages over raised beds, complete with locking lids. But, his efforts had worked, and while he was not able to protect everything from the little veg-destroyer, he made sure it was enough so that his garden was now thriving. The warm weather meant his small, sweet peppers were growing rapidly, as were the shallots, onions and even the leeks. The lettuce he managed to save from Josey was growing well and was very healthy, as was the cabbage. He was even seeing the garlic starting to sprout. And that didn't even count the herbs, which Josey was thankfully not as interested in. Most importantly, his tomato plants were looking beautiful, and some already had tomatoes starting to grow. Kyle smiled as he watered and fed the plants, measuring some plant food and putting it into a container he then attached to the watering hose, to deliver water and feed slowly. He set it, stood back, and smiled, hands on his hips as a soft breeze blew his blonde locks.

It was then that a deep, resonant purr filled his ears and two large, black arms slid around his chest. He smiled softly as he felt the soft thoughts of Sophie intertwine with his. "How's the lagoon?" Kyle asked. She purred as she hugged him.

Doing well. The clams and Albarr look like they will be big enough to eat, soon. I harvested a few cages of the prawn, so we can cook them tonight," she said as she hoisted up a bucket full of fresh Zerichs Prawn, some still wriggling around. Kyle smiled.

"Great! The garden is doing wonderful. We'll have lots of nice veggies to go with the rest." Sophie purred and gave a positive.

Yes. And our home-grown tomatoes will taste wonderful in your bisque, Sophie said with excitement. Kyle turned to her and nodded as they headed for the house. Josey sat by the bushes, grooming herself, and looking very grumpy. Sophie's couldn't help an amused chuckle. Oh, Josey, won't you ever learn? she mused. Kyle snickered at this.

XXX

Inside the house, Kyle cleaned and cut up some fresh vegetables, while Sophie cleaned the prawn to get them ready. Her sharp claws and tail were the perfect implements to peel and devein with, a task that was tedious at best for normal humans. She purred and hummed as she worked, now and then taking a head or organs and snapping them up with her tongue. She hummed happily as she removed the shells and set them into a bowl to make soup base with later. Kyle boiled some water and dropped in a cube of vegetable bouillon. Soon, the wonderful smell of Eramore Bisque filled the kitchen as it simmered. With lunch and supper cooking, he picked up his PDA and took a look at what was going on in the world.

Thankfully, Zerichs II was a mostly peaceful and calm world. There were no dour front pages of grim news, or sensational headlines. The expected weather was going to be nice, and the Farmer's Almanac had lots of data for gardeners and growers of all kinds. Then, Kyle noticed an image of pink flowers. He tapped the image, and was surprised. It was an ad for a special on gifts for "Hearts & Home Day", their version of Valentine's Day. Kyle had forgotten it was tomorrow, given that Zerichs II had a different year, and its seasons were not in line with those of Earth. He frowned softly, closing the ad. He quickly threw the creeping thoughts to the back of his mind as he turned to watch Sophie adding a tiny dash of sauce to the bisque for a final touch.

"Hey, I'll go upstairs and work on some drawings, okay?" Sophie turned to him.

All right. It should be ready in about fifteen minutes, she replied. Kyle nodded and headed upstairs.

Sophie's mind was more focused on the bisque and making sure everything was harmonizing right, and the heat wasn't too high. Once it was settled, though, she felt an odd feeling. She realized it was from Kyle's mind. A strange discomfort. Curious, she reached out, and while it was brief, she saw a flash of memory and feeling.

Jumbles of memories and feeling, combined into a single block, seen, heard and felt in an instant. She saw Kyle, younger, sitting at a desk, a pink box with a heart taped to the front of the desk. Cards were supposed to be left in it, tokens of kindness and affection. His was empty. She felt the sting of tears in his eyes, as well as a sting in his heart. She saw the concept of the day, that it was supposed to be a day when loved ones expressed their love and affection. For Kyle, it was a lonely day of hurt, made worse by others rubbing it into sensitive wounds. Sophie moaned sadly at what she saw and felt. Sophie knew Kyle's life before he met her was very unpleasant, to say the least, but she didn't pry into his mind, out of respect. But every now and then, she saw snippets of it, and they hurt her the same as they did him. That was one of the downsides of The Bond. The pain of one was the pain of both. She moaned sadly.

This was something about humans Sophie still could not understand, could not fathom. In many ways, their culture, their society, it was as alien to her as she would be to them. She did not hate humans, not by any means. But, there was plenty of things about them she disliked, and she had much damage to her poor mate's mind and heart she had to heal. Her gaze drifted to the PDA. She picked it up, and activated the hologram. She saw the notices about it, the pictures of happy couples, and she understood. For Kyle, it had been hard to see others happy and loved, when he felt so alone. For him, that day had never been a happy one, and he ignored it whenever it came. She felt it, she knew it. From his heart and mind, in a single, compressed block of thought, memory and emotion, shared in the single beat of a heart, even if he hadn't meant to.

Then, she saw an image of a heart with an arrow through it, with names written inside. An idea came to her, a wonderful idea. She gave a soft growl and nodded. Yes, that was it! Yes, that was perfect. She nodded and set the PDA down, turned the bisque down to a very low warm, and went to a more important task.

XXX

Upstairs, Kyle worked on some rough sketches and designs. They were very rough, messy, born of emotion, not vision. He had no intention of making finished pieces, his hands were meandering. Kind of throwing things against the wall to see what sticks, but as much was excising feelings through art, as he had done often in the past. It was his way of coping. He tried to keep his mind clamped down, so as to not upset Sophie. His mind drifted to the amazing love of his life.

Kyle had spent so long simply left alone and ignored, it was still something of a shock how woven she was into the very fiber of his being. Even now, over a year after she had been born, and entered his life and changed it forever, some of his past demons still now and then reared their heads. He felt bad he had forgotten. He should be doing something for her, making her something, showing that he cared! Like nobody else did for him.

Kyle? He jumped at the soft caress of his thoughts as he spun around in his chair. Sophie was at the open door. She always had been silent as a shadow.

"Oh, hi, Sophie. Is everything okay?" he asked, trying to clamp his mind down. She moved forward silently and elegantly.

Kyle, I have something for you. Kyle blinked as she brought her hands up and opened them. Held in them, was an object. It was a stylized heart, with a tiny version of her tail through it. Upon the black and gray surface of the resin, was raised letters. Kyle stared in awe at what they read:

Sophie Loves Kyle

Kyle stared silently as his eyes welled with tears. His hand was shaking as he reached out to touch it. Tears ran down his cheeks as he felt the resin, still warm in Sophie's hand. His lip quivered.

"Oh, Sophie . . . I . . ." Her great arms circled him, as did her mighty tail, pulling him close into a warm, protective embrace. Kyle sniffled as she hugged him.

I love you, Kyle. My sweet mate, my Bonded One. She gently and lovingly kissed him on the cheek as she purred. Her warm and loving thoughts flowed into his mind.

"Thank you, Sophie. I . . . I'm so . . . So sorry. I didn't want you to-" She stopped him right there.

No, Kyle. Never apologize for your feelings. Ever. She gently tilted his face up as she wiped his tears with a thumb. Kyle, you have every right to feel that way, with how they treated you. Your feelings, your pain, they are my own. Please, never hide them from me. I'm not a human. You don't need to hide who and what you are. I always and forever love you. Kyle felt new tears as he snuggled against her. She purred as she tightened her grip on him, delicately lifting him up and carrying him with her. He looked up at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get you anything." She nuzzled him lovingly.

Not true, my love. Every day, you give me the most wonderful gift of all, that all the Credits, all the gold and jewels in the universe cannot buy: Your love. Kyle smiled through his tears as Sophie carried him down to their bedroom.

Inside, she gently sat down on the bed with him. A tray of warm bisque was waiting, with some buttered bread, nice tea, and some of the amaretto cake he loved. She purred as she sat with him in her lap, her special gift held in his hands against his chest like it was the most precious thing in all the cosmos. Once they were settled, she lifted up the bowl, and gently filled a spoon, and offered it to him. Kyle blew gently on it, and sipped. It was delicious. Sophie purred as she took a spoonful for herself, pouring it into the small mouth of her tongue. Kyle smiled and dipped the buttered bread into the broth and took a bit. Perfect. Sophie trilled as she took another spoonful and fed him, her mind awash in gentle, soft and loving thoughts. She could feel his distress flowing away, and was delighted beyond all words. He smiled shyly.

"Thank you, Sophie. I love you so much." She purred.

And I love you. More than anything. She felt Kyle totally relax against her, in body and mind as their feelings and thoughts mingled.

That was how they spent the day. Kyle never left Sophie's strong embrace, spending the day just cuddling with her. This was what Valentine's Day was supposed to represent. What love was supposed to represent. It wasn't always hot romance, kisses, rolling in sheets. It was the small, sweet things. Little, everyday acts of kindness, love and support. It was being there for someone, through good and bad. Knowing all about them, good and bad, and staying by them, no matter what.

Sophie knew Kyle had his scars, but would do her best to help him heal them. Kyle knew he had to be able to trust, to open, drop his mask that so many humans needed in order to survive. They both would learn each and every day, together. With their Bond, it was far easier, and they could share and help in ways two humans never could dream of.

The day passed slowly, but wonderfully. Kyle stayed in her lap, cuddling, hugging, kissing. They watched happy videos, laughed and stayed close. When the sun went down, Sophie had Kyle stay comfy in bed while she made sure everything was safe for the night. She also made sure Josey hadn't been into the garden again, much to his relief. As night fell, they just snuggled close in bed, Kyle's head nestled against her chest, her arms and tail wrapped around him tenderly.

"Thank you, Sophie. This was a wonderful day" Kyle said softly. She purred as she stroked his hair.

You're welcome, Kyle. I'm so glad I could help make you feel better, and share it all with you. He smiled and snuggled closer. Sophie gave him a loving kiss on the cheek as they enjoyed being close to each other, in body and mind. At some point, Josey came in and hopped up on the bed, knowing it was bedtime. With a soft trill, Sophie reached up, turned out the light, and snuggled down to sleep, Kyle already drifting off in her arms. She smiled as she very softly rocked him, feeling his peaceful mind easing off to sleep. She pulled the blankets tight around them, her soft purr lowering into a thrum as she also began to drift off, Kyle safe in her arms, her mind reaching out and intertwining with his, even in sleep. No matter what, Sophie was going to make sure Kyle would never be alone or unloved again. Ever. He was no longer alone, and never would be. She would be the shield for his heart, as well as his body. They were two, yet they were one. Always and forever.

Author's note: I apologize for taking so long to update, but things have been very crazy in life for me.

I have had the idea for a Valentine's Day chapter for a while now, but always seemed to miss it, or had something come up. I hope this lives up to expectations.

As always, read, review, and have a wonderful day.