More than Friends
And here Laes was concerned Darden would be the one going around hitting people... he sighed to himself as he carefully tapped a button on the control panel he made.
The chair floated forwards.
Removing the wheels made sense because the ground was pretty broken up. It would have been much quicker getting the chair to roll, but at least this way he hoped he wouldn't have to worry about running into something on the floor and crashing.
There would be plenty of other ways to crash... like not having proper brakes for one but he would worry about that later.
Right now he wanted to check and make sure Lard Nar was ok.
He tapped the forward button again. The chair moved forward. He carefully held the button down and the chair continuously moved forward at a slorget's pace, but he didn't need it to go super fast so it was working well enough.
The other Vortians made room for him to pass by which was kind of nice.
Then the chair stopped moving.
He pushed the button a few times and was a bit worried he might be stranded in the center of the busy cafeteria.
"Cool chair," Veena commented.
She didn't sound like she was being sarcastic, so she probably wasn't.
Laes looked over his shoulder and found her holding onto the back of his chair.
"Oh... um... hey, how's it going?"
"Your Irken friends seem to be causing trouble," she stated, narrowing an eye at him.
"Darden isn't causing trouble," Laes remarked.
He wished he could say the same about Bann, but death really hadn't helped the former Irken become less violent.
"But yeah... Bann and Lard Nar don't really get along..."
Although he didn't actually they would actually punch each other because of it... apparently he was being too optimistic in that sense.
He pointed feebly in the direction he was trying to travel. "Can I go now please?"
She wasn't letting go.
"Why are you so interested in Irkens?" she asked him.
Her voice didn't sound as harsh as it usually did. She actually sounded curious.
"Irkens are usually pretty terrible... but they've also saved my life more than once so..." he tried, hoping this answer would be enough.
Laes decided to try tapping the button again even though the chair wouldn't move with her holding onto it.
"I mean... it was their fault I ended up in life or death situations but..." he sighed and slouched forward, resting his face against his hand. "It's kind of hard to explain."
"You're pretty interesting," Veena remarked as she released her grip on his chair. "Don't get yourself killed, ok?"
Laes blinked, confused.
Was she worried about him? It was kind of hard to tell since her voice didn't sound any different and her expression was not really expressive.
"Oh um... yes... I'll uh... I'll try not to die... although I seem to be pretty good at getting maimed... ha ha..." he responded after a long awkward silence.
Veena promptly left, and he continued floating his chair over to the hallway filled with cots.
Why did he sound so stupid whenever he spoke to female Vortians? Or aliens that appeared to be female?
He kept wondering about it, but no matter how much he thought about it, or didn't, he always reacted the same way.
His parents had dropped whatever they were doing and were standing beside the cot, probably to offer some kind of moral support.
Both of them were really good at putting a positive spin on things, but Lard Nar was kind of anti-positive and seemed to dislike optimism of any kind, so he hoped his parents would tone it down a little.
"That's a nice chair," his father remarked. "Did you upgrade it yourself?"
"Thanks. Yeah, I did," Laes replied.
He looked over at Darden who was standing nearby, but giving both his parents and Lard Nar enough space. The former soldier's antennae were almost flat, and he was scowling.
Lard Nar was lying curled up on his side. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing very softly, but he wasn't sleeping. He was never sleeping.
"Can you give us a minute?" He asked his parents.
"Sure...?" His father responded.
Felara whispered something to him, and he smiled and nodded before they walked away together arm in arm.
Darden didn't need to be asked to leave. He turned towards the cafeteria and found a spot within view, but out of hearing range.
At least the former soldier was reliable.
"Hey um... how are you feeling?" Laes asked as he lightly touched Lard Nar's hand.
He waited for some kind of reaction, but there wasn't one. That had been a stupid question anyway.
After a few minutes of awkwardly standing there waiting for a reply, Lard Nar's eyes fluttered open. He looked at Laes for a moment before he pulling his hand away from his.
"I attacked him first... he was stronger. That's all."
Laes massaged his temples before running a hand down his face.
"Bann was a jerk... I totally get it. He's still a jerk. But attacking each other right now isn't going to help... so I'll talk to him. I'll ask him not to hit anymore people... but can you maybe not hit people too?"
"Yeah... sorry..." Lard Nar spoke in a quiet murmur. He rolled onto his other side, so his back was facing Laes. "I won't cause you anymore trouble..."
"You're not causing me trouble Lard Nar," Laes replied, and he let out a sigh. "You're a good friend ok? Actually you're more than that to me..."
He rubbed the back of his head and looked away.
"This might be kind of a bold thing to say... but um..." he paused for a moment to take a breath.
"You're pretty much like an older brother to me... and I know that probably sounds weird because we aren't actually related and we weren't locked up together for very long... but that's how I feel about it."
Lard Nar slowly sat up and turned to make eye-contact with the other Vortian.
"You sound like your father..."
"Yeah... he's been a pretty big influence in my life..." Laes' eyes narrowed a bit. "Wait... what did he say?"
"Nothing..." he responded, and he glanced at the wall. "Never mind..."
"Did he say you were like a brother to him too?"
That would be weird... then... that would make Lard Nar like his uncle... but they weren't that far apart in age. At least he was pretty sure... shoot... he should have paid less attention to the food during birthday celebrations and more attention to the actual birthdays.
No, he was pretty sure Lard Nar wasn't that much older than him.
Why would his father say that? Well... it was his father.
Lard Nar bit his lower lip, and he bowed his head.
It was difficult getting the former leader of the Resisty to open up about his thoughts and feelings. He was too content keeping everything bottled up inside him.
"I just... I can't apologize enough for everything I put your through..." Lard Nar rubbed the bruise forming on the side of his head. "How can you forgive me...?"
"There's nothing to forgive though. I'm serious," Laes insisted.
He wanted to smack himself in the face, but that would probably make Lard Nar feel worse at this point.
"I was tortured by the Irkens; they were the ones that cut off my hand, and they also crashed us on that horrible jungle planet. You didn't do any of that, ok?"
Lard Nar wouldn't look at him, so Laes moved close enough to grab one of his shoulders.
Laes would have grabbed both shoulders, but he only had one hand... that hadn't changed.
His face was inches away from the ex-captain's...
He really should have figured out this whole socializing thing by now. Personal space was usually very important, but the other Vortian wasn't listening. What else was he supposed to do?
Lard Nar squeezed his eyes shut and tried to shrink away.
"You aren't the one who hurt me Lard Nar," Laes insisted.
How many times was he going to have to say it before Lard Nar finally understood?
"Can you repeat that, or at least say you agree with me?"
"I can't..." the other Vortian murmured. "If I hadn't said your name..."
"I'm glad you did, and I'm not just saying that to make you feel better either..." Laes let go of Lard Nar's shoulders, but he was leaning too far forward on his chair so he was dumped onto the cot.
"Oops... um... sorry about that," he apologized as he pushed himself up.
He was practically laying on Lard Nar, but his former cellmate didn't budge at all. He managed to manoeuvre himself off of the other Vortian, and he sat at the edge of the mattress.
"After you said my name, I could have just said I didn't know you, although I'm a pretty bad liar when I think... but anyway, I could have walked away when they said they would kill you, but I didn't, and if you gave me the same choice right now I would make the exact same choice I did before.
So don't go thinking you're the one who caused me problems. You did everything you could to protect me. You've always treated me like a brother. No matter what happened or how badly I reacted to things you kept supporting me and that's why I just really want to see you happy for a change."
Lard Nar reached out and carefully touched one of Laes' legs near his knee.
"Can you feel that...?"
"Um..." Laes looked at the other Vortian's hand for a few moments.
He couldn't feel it. Saying he couldn't feel his legs was going to make Lard Nar upset wasn't it..? Maybe he should lie about it... but he wasn't very good at that.
"Not right now, but I'm sure some feeling will come back when the drugs wear off," he responded with a smile.
Of course those feelings would probably be pain... He definitely wasn't going to say that though.
"In the mean time I have that," he pointed at the chair that was floating beside the cot. "It's nothing fancy, but it'll work for now."
Without any prompting or warnings at all, Lard Nar suddenly hugged him.
"I don't know how you're able to be like this...You've been maimed and crippled... but you're still smiling..."
His grip tightened a little. Laes could feel him trembling.
"That's because I can't feel my legs," Laes joked, and he chuckled nervously.
Oh shloot. Why did he say that..?
Then he noticed his mother and father were walking towards them.
"Um... my parents are coming back," he told Lard Nar and the other Vortian immediately let go. "I know they act kind of strange sometimes, but you can rely on them. They're good people."
"Don't mind us," his mother said, covering her smile.
"Yeah, we can come back later," Freedo commented without even trying to hide his smirk.
Laes recognized those intentional looks they were giving him.
He glanced at Lard Nar who had decided to lie back down and pretend to sleep again.
"Thanks for the support..." Laes told him in a hushed whisper.
Then he returned his attention to his parents.
"It's not what you're thinking."
Just because he was super awkward around girls and tended to avoid talking to them most of the time didn't necessarily mean he was going to bond with a guy.
It didn't help that people were so quick to jump to conclusions... his parents too. They'd always given him the impression that they would support him no matter who he decided to be with though.
They probably wouldn't care if this person wasn't Vortian too. He had a feeling they'd be overjoyed even if his partner turned out to be the Tallest or something ridiculous, and why would he even think of that?
Nope, just no.
"It's ok son," his father tried to encourage him from across the way. "You can love whoever you want."
"As long as you're happy and they're a good person," his mother added.
Laes buried his face in his hands. "Thanks Lard Nar... I'm totally blaming you for this."
"You're the one still trying to explain yourself," Lard Nar responded in a quiet murmur.
He was even smiling about it. Was he really joking around right now? His timing was really something.
"I just told you I can't feel my legs and you're blaming me? You were the one touching me and hugging me out of nowhere!"
Lard Nar blamed himself for everything else, yet this situation was somehow wasn't his fault? Really?
"Fine. I might as well share this cot with you then since we're apparently together now," Laes teased, pushing the other Vortian's arm. "Move over."
Lard Nar tapped him lightly with his foot. "Get back on your chair."
"Ok ok, I'm going," Laes remarked, reaching for one of the armrests.
Now if only he'd had some upper body strength... He attempted to heave himself onto the chair and ended up tilting it enough that he had to give up and slide onto the floor.
True fact: Most of the time when I overly emphasize Laes only having one hand, it's because I forgot about it while I was writing and caught the error in editing.