Six hours. It took six very long hours before the Drathanni allowed Shahnaz and Caelan to leave. In that time they were questioned very sharply by three different teams of Drathanni. One was huge, wolf-like and fierce with red eyes and snapping jaws that made Shahnaz's testicles try to crawl back into his body. Those Drathanni had been exclusively concerned with the threat represented by the data module and who might know about it.
That they knew nothing about who had compiled it or who knew about it was not well received.
At least the wolf-like Drathanni left while howling something about hunting Storm to her lair. That was promising even if Shahnaz truly shouldn't wish destruction on Storm. He had no idea what xir role truly was but the way Caelan reacted to xir presence, to mentions of xir, was more than enough to harden Shahnaz's heart against her. He would have to pray about it later.
The second set of Drathanni had been mathematicians and physicists who found Shahnaz's attempts at understanding the Wave drive interesting but ultimately amusing. They looked rather more like sight hounds, long and lean with graceful fur as long as Shahnaz's forearm. Their fingers were considerably longer than the other Drathanni's, nearly like a human's though they used their tail-hands to manipulate things anyway.
He'd managed to get a couple of hints of where to go next on his math, more from their laughter and the flips of their ears, but got no straight answers out of them. It was Drathanni policy not to discuss their science with humanity. Shahnaz knew that. Pity that they were so serious about it because he would have gladly stayed and talked with them about it for years if they'd let him.
Lunch had been gathered off the trees, shrubs and bushes around them. Shahnaz had quietly prayed, missing his prayer mat and designating the other end of the station as 'towards Mecca' because that was where he entered. Tradition did say that it was the proper choice while in space.
His prayers had brought the third batch of Drathanni, sociologists and anthropologists who were quite fascinated to find that humans did have deep religious beliefs. Those Drathanni looked for all the world like terriers, short and shaggy with upright ears and heavily muscled tails topped by tail-hands that looked burly enough to crush a man's arm.
"Don't ask me about religion," Caelan said when Sadorr, the lead Drathanni anthropologist, turned to xir. "I'm Gensyn. We kind of gave up on religion long before contact was reestablished."
Sadorr, a white-furred Drathanni who could have been a sized-up West Highland White Terrier growled at xir. "How am I supposed to learn a thing about your beliefs if you won't discuss them?"
"Xe just did," Shahnaz said, amused that he was snapped at for interrupting. "They have no religious beliefs. End of sentence. Other colonies do. You would have to discuss superstitions and modes of politeness when Gensyn. Their social structure doesn't have a religious underpinning."
Which made Sadorr's ears slowly go clockwise as he thought about it. He jumped to his feet and dashed off to bark something sharp and assertive at one of the taller physicists. That set off a fierce barking, snapping and snarling battle that sent Shahnaz and Caelan scrambling to the edges of the tent. Somehow he hadn't expected that the warnings he'd read about Drathanni biting one's head off to be literal but he could easily see that happening now.
"You can go," Sadorr's assistant, a tan and gold terrier type, said to them. "They're going to be arguing for quite a while. No reason for you two to stick around anyway. We have all the data we can get from you."
Caelan grabbed Shahnaz' wrist and hauled him out of the tent at a near run. He didn't struggle. No reason to. He wanted away from the threat of those teeth and the amusement in those strange bright eyes as much as Caelan did.
The shrubs and trees quickly obscured the Drathanni's camp from sight. And Caelan's chosen path took them towards what, for all Shahnaz could tell, might be a small village. If a space station could be said to have villages. But then Ejiro 12-C quite literally had over six million acres of arable land inside it. Or was it more? He would have to look it up when he could. It could be six billion though that seemed too high. Ayala had mentioned it on the way there but Shahnaz had been thinking about Caelan's new leather pants and how they clung to xir thighs so he hadn't quite marked the actual total.
"Is this a town?" Shahnaz asked as Caelan finally stopped at the edge of the village. "Village? Family grouping?"
Caelan snorted and shrugged, xir smile a little wry. "It's all of the above. My family lives here. They've got offices below but most of the entrances are in people's houses. You just go downstairs and there you are at the office or factory. There's about four families that live here. Most of them work with the Drathanni anymore."
"Huh, I wouldn't have expected that, not with the soil being so deep," Shahnaz said. But elevators would take care of that problem nicely and why not? It made for an easy way of life.
He looked around at the houses, most of which were constructed with no regard for weather. The artificial sunlight overhead was dimming as night swept over the station. Lights shone from the buildings and no one was on the footpaths between buildings though he could hear quiet conversation from inside the closest one. Wide open windows with only gauzy curtains screening the interiors were bracketed by sturdy walls and heavy roofs that looked as though they would stand up to a major explosion. Or an impact from falling debris.
How often did things fall from the sky? It must be frequently if the houses were all designed to take major hits from above? How odd to think of the sky over one's head as being dangerous. Shahnaz wasn't used to that. Even on board a ship he tended to think of up as a place where no danger would come from.
"What now?" Caelan asked.
Shahnaz started badly, so wrapped up in his fretting that he'd all but driven Caelan's actual presence from his mind. Xir fingers tightened around Shahnaz's hand. Xir face was far too pale, eyes too wide. Xe bit her lip as he stared at her for several rapid heartbeats too long.
Xe was asking him? Caelan was asking what he wanted but it should be xir stating to him what xe was interested in. Shouldn't it? Ayala yelled in the back of his mind, or his imagination did.
"Whatever… you wish," Shahnaz said and his face had to be just as pale. "I should return to Vitorin with Ayala but…"
There was no logical reason for them to stay together. Caelan was home, just as xe had wished. The threat against humanity and the Drathanni had been turned over to the appropriate authorities. Shahnaz had fulfilled his promise to Caelan.
Despite that, the very last thing that Shahnaz wanted was to walk away and never look back. He wanted to pull Caelan into his arms, hold xir again as he had after Storm ran away. Once again, he found himself very grateful this his responses to Caelan weren't obvious. As empty as the path was, it was still a public place.
"You um, want to get the Blessed Prayer. Of course," Caelan said with a sad little sigh. "Ayala will take you back, right?"
Xe looked away towards the bushes towering over them. Misery twisted xir lips for a moment before xe squared xir shoulders. When xe turned back, Caelan had pasted on a crumbling smile that attempted to look confident. Xe looked like xe was about to burst into tears at any moment.
"Oh yes, he would," Shahnaz said as his heart skipped a beat. "Always. Ayala is a good friend that way."
This was what Ayala had talked about, what his mother had said when he was young and curious about how she and Father had known that they were right for each other. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as Shahnaz looked down at his hand clasped around Caelan's. No, he did not want to let go. Not now. Not ever.
"When you find the right one," Mother had said, running her hand over Shahnaz's cheek and shaking her head at the faint hints of stubble starting to bloom on his teenage cheeks, "you will know, little one. Your heart will tell you. Your mind, always so fast and logical, might fight with you but your heart will scream until even your mind shuts up. Just listen with your heart and you'll find your one."
Shahnaz laughed, soft and low. How right Mother had been. And Ayala, too. Rather sad that it took to the very end before his heart screamed loud enough that his brain finally accepted what was true the moment Caelan opened xir beautiful blue eyes in that life pod back in Tasma's system.
"Truthfully though, I would rather spend more time with you," Shahnaz said. His mouth was so incredibly dry that he didn't dare swallow. "Ayala was quite forceful about telling me that I had to make my interest in you known. I thought that he was wrong, that you needed more time to recuperate from everything that had happened. Was he correct? I… rather hope that you are interested in ah… courtship? Not that I have the least idea of what courtship looks like among the Gensyn. Does it include books, by any chance?"
Caelan's expression went from one breath away from sobbing to confusion to laughter dancing in xir eyes as xe shook xir head. Xe squeezed his hand and tugged him close so that xe could wrap her hands around his hips, sliding them back to cup his buttocks. He shuddered. Xir fingers were so strong and confident, unlike anyone he'd ever held before.
"No, no books," Caelan said, laughing despite the tears sparkling in xir gorgeous blue eyes. "Though we do have a pretty good bookstore spinward from here. Best one is off by the lake. I can take you there tomorrow but you'll need to warn Ayala about the freight to bring back."
Shahnaz laughed as he cupped Caelan's cheeks. "He cleared out a cargo hold just for books, his and mine. That's not a problem. So what does your courtship look like?"
He blushed at Caelan's suddenly hot expression. And then shivered as he felt xir erection pushing against his hip.
"Oh."
"Mmm-hmm," Caelan murmured. Xe grinned, full of mischief and joy. "Lots of sex. Which… yeah, I'd like that with you but more than that I'd like to understand you. Islam. Need some books on Islam. I'm sure you have to have something on the Blessed Prayer I could read. And, well, sex is just sex for us. It's a way to get to know the other person. To comfort, to settle nerves, whatever. I'm not all that into random sex, not after Storm."
Despite xir words, Caelan leaned closer, eyes on Shahnaz's lips. Xe was so close to his height that all he had to do was tip his head to the side and their lips met perfectly. Caelan's lips were dry, a little chapped, strong. So strong, just like Caelan xirself was. One of xir hands came up to cup the back of his neck. The other clutched his hip as he pushed his hands back into Caelan's lovely curls.
Xe gasped, then moaned as he licked xir lip. Then it was his turn to groan as xe opened xir mouth all the way, letting their tongues meet. Explore.
Time slipped away and all that he could see, could smell, could taste and feel was Caelan. Beautiful strong Caelan who rocked against him like xe wanted to pull him off into the bushes to have sex. He was almost tempted to suggest it.
"Wow," Caelan whispered when they finally pulled back to breath. Xe rested xir forehead against Shahnaz's, breath moist against his chin.
"Agreed," Shahnaz said. "I… Hmm. I don't think I ever want to be parted from you, Caelan. My family will be rather shocked. They gave up on my ever marrying quite some time ago. Though, honestly, if you want to settle on one station or planet we may have a problem. I rather like living on the Blessed Prayer. I don't think I want to settle down."
Caelan burst out laughing. "No, no! We're not going to do that. We're going to remodel one of the bunks into a medical bay and then we're going to sort through your books and get rid of duplicates. Because then you'll have room for more books. And then," xe grinned as Shahnaz stared at xir with awe, "we're going to combine two of the bunks into a proper bedroom and make the control room into a proper library for the books you use the most. Later, in say a decade or so, we'll take the remaining bunk and make that a kid's room. I mean, if you want kids?"
Xe looked so nervous about the thought that Shahnaz had to capture xir face for another kiss that was filled with laughter and Caelan rocking him side to side as if xe couldn't contain xir joy. Not that he could either.
"Children would be lovely," Shahnaz said finally. He heard people talking excitedly back towards the Drathanni camp, also someone in the village, not that he cared. "But when it comes time for children we'll upgrade to a bigger ship so that they'll have room to play."
"Deal," Caelan said.
Xir grin was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. And the most tempting. He leaned in for another kiss only to start and jerk back as a Drathanni, no Sadorr, ran up the path yipping excitedly as he spotted them. Then someone shouted "Caelan's home!" from the village.
Caelan waved to whoever it was and then shrugged. Xe smiled at Shahnaz, rueful and content and delighted and so very lovely that he wanted to push everyone else away. Not that it would work at all. Instead he smiled at Sadorr who ran circles around them in his excitement before nodding to the Gensyn who ran over to all but tackle Caelan from xir feet.
"Easy," Caelan laughed. "Don't knock me off my feet, coz."
"You're home!" the young Gensyn exclaimed. "And you look happy. That's great. Who's this? Sadorr, quit running and start talking. Come on, we've told you that the running thing is very distracting."
"Questions!" Sadorr shouted, not stopping his running at all. "I have so many questions and I have approval to ask them all!"
"Not until you've calmed down," Shahnaz said as he would have to one of his nieces or nephews when they were being too energetic at prayer time. "We'll talk once you've worn yourself out."
Caelan grinned at him. "Shahnaz, this is my cousin Addison Brant. He's here to learn from the Drathanni and to answer their questions. Addie, this is…" xe paused and blushed and then laughed at the weird look Addison gave xir, "this is Shahnaz Assies, my fiancé. He saved my life and we're getting married. Sometime. Probably relatively soonish."
"It will depend on where we hold the wedding and if my family is invited," Shahnaz said. He laughed when Caelan raised an eyebrow. "Mother would likely want a very large, very formal affair. Something less formal here might be better."
Shahnaz reached out and, despite Sadorr dashing around them, Caelan took his hand. As Addison stared and then spluttered welcomes, Caelan pulled Shahnaz in for a quick firm kiss. He grinned, heart near to bursting with joy.
"Come on," Caelan said. "Let's go introduce you to the hoard. Then you can tell us about your relatives and everyone can argue about where and when we get married. If all else fails we'll run away and have Ayala marry us."
He laughed. "An excellent plan. Lead on. I'm ready to follow wherever you wish to go."
Caelan blushed, pulled him close and kissed him again. "Do you always let other people lead your life this way?"
"No," Shahnaz whispered, cheeks going red as Addison grinned and clapped at the two of them. Sadorr crooned something as if he liked seeing them together, too. "Only you. There's only you who gets to lead me, Caelan. Wherever you want to go."
"Home," Caelan said, xir cheeks as red as his. "We'll talk to the family and then we'll go home. Back to our ship."
"Home," Shahnaz agreed. He bit his lip and then laughed because there was too much joy for anything else. "Together."
The End