Starfish

10.2

Ardus stood outside her apartment, a sack in one hand and the other curled into a nervous fist. He didn't think that Doctor Nina would still be sleeping this late in the day, but surely she'd be hungry by now. And he would have sent Athe instead of coming himself, except it was Athe's night off and so here he was, shuffling his webbed feet on the mat and clicking his claws nervously. Sea gods drown me! He looked down at his tunic, brushing at imaginary lint and wondering if he should tap the doorpad again. I should just leave. He was about to leave the sack on the mat when the door slid open. Doctor Nina stood on the other side, looking up at him with a strange expression. "Um...hi?"

For a moment Ardus could not speak. She wore what was apparently a casual outfit, a pair of long soft trousers with the ankles ungathered and some kind of grey tunic with short sleeves that looked far too large for her, so loose it hung off of one shoulder. He recognized the emblem on the front as a university seal, but as it was in one of the many human languages he couldn't read it. But her bare shoulder distracted him the most, her bronze skin bright against the grey tunic. He swallowed and tried to say something. All he could manage was a tight "Hello."

"What are you – I mean, what brings you here?" Doctor Nina's eyes were wide, her cheeks pink. "I, uh, I wasn't expecting anyone."

"Ah, well, I..." Even wearing a loose tunic, Ardus could see the rounded shape of her breasts pushing the fabric out from her chest, like perfect little sand dunes. He stared at her face instead. "I...I brought you something."

"More books?"

Ardus cleared his throat, "No, I think you have quite enough to do. I-I thought you might need something to eat. Recovering from sand-skimmer paralysis can be, er, taxing."

"Oh! Well, um, thank you. I was actually just...just thinking about eating." Doctor Nina's eyes traveled down his arm to the sack. He could feel her eyes on his wrist and Ardus fought the urge to drop the sack and run. She looked back up at him, her storm-grey eyes large. "Do you want to come in?"

Ardus fought the impulse to step back, shaking his head. Beads clicked and wires clinked. "Ah, well, I do not want to be any trouble-"

"It's not, I just-"

"I can go-"

"You don't have to-"

He pushed the bag at her. "Here, Athe said you like yellow sea worm." His mouth was so dry, his tongue like wood. "You can bring the dishes back when you have recovered. Good night." He waited until she had her hand on the bag before he turned and very nearly broke into a panicked trot. He only got a few steps before she called out "Hey!" Freezing in place, Ardus waited for whatever came next. He was too anxious to stay, too nervous to run. He didn't think he could trust his legs to not collapse under him. He could, however, turn his head and look back at her. Even his neck felt stiff. "Y-yes, Doctor?"

She was looking into the sack. "There's a lot of food in here."

He turned fully, facing her. His guts felt like a clutch of Meem's red worms. "Ah, yes, well, Athe told me you like Dreen food."

"Yeah, but I can't eat this much." Ardus's heart punched him in the stomach. Of course, she is half my size! She looked back up at him, and Ardus thought his lungs would collapse. She was smiling, her cheeks round and dimpled. "Want to help?"

His eyes went wide. "Do I...?" He hated the way his voice cracked.

"Well, I don't want it to go to waste. Do you have somewhere else to be?"

"Er, no." He could go back to his office and work on acquisition forms, or he could compose his request to move up the fieldwork, or he could go to the pool again and work off more of the excess energy that had been building all day and was now boiling inside him. But it sounded like she wanted him to come in. Should I? She did invite me, I should not be rude. Carefully, not trusting his voice, "I suppose I could, for a short time."