Sang the Stray (Completed)

41. Crimson and Clover

A/n: I recommend listening to the 1960's song by the same name as this chapter title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ-P8Fgfhvk

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I woke up with a niggling sense of disorientation.  Nathan had taken to sleeping with my back tucked close to his front and an arm wrapped around my stomach, which is how I was positioned now, but sweet spice filled my senses instead of cyprus and leather.  As I came awake more, I remembered it actually was Kota spooned against me.  Last night was the first time he had forgone the roll-away and had slept in bed with me.

I felt his breathing change as he awoke and heard him mumble into my hair, "Hmm, it's too early...go back to sleep, Ten."

I did try, but I couldn't quite get comfortable again.  Maybe it was the novelty of Kota holding me so close like this. I wriggled a bit and he sighed, then propped up on one arm.  I shifted to lying on my back and he was now slightly leaning over me.

"I think I could get used to this," he said with a warm smile.

Did he mean that in a friendly way or a romantic way?  So many things the boys said or did were confusing to me.  Holding my hand or pulling me into their laps.  On Earth I had read that those things meant a boy wanted to date you.  But all the Fourth Squad boys did it.  Did it mean something different on Tare.  My thoughts were whirling.

Even in the low light, I could see his expression change slightly, something more intense.  We were already so close, but he leaned closer, eyes dipping to my lips then snapping back to mine.  Was Kota going to kiss me?  My stomach flipped and breath hitched.  He paused only a hairsbreath away and closed his eyes, saying, "Don't look at me that way."

"Look at you how?" I whispered back.

"Look at me like..." He sighed and dropped his head to run his nose along mine. He jolted back suddenly, sitting all the way up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed to face away.  "Time for breakfast, I think," he said and quickly padded to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

I lay, waiting for my heart to slow, feeling more confused than ever.

********
Interface Channel: private
Users: Kota Lee, North Taylor

K: What's wrong? You sent an emergency alert.

N: That's what I was going to ask you.  What's wrong with Sang?  You are with her, right?

K: Yes, she is with me.  She just woke up.  Why do you ask if something is wrong?

N: Her heart rate spiked very rapidly.  Did she have another nightmare?

*Pause*

N: Well...

K: We're fine...I mean, she is fine.

Interface Automated Message: User Lee has ended transmission.

N: Kota, I think we need to talk.

Interface Automated Message: User Lee will receive your message at next log-on.
***********

Nathan wearily dragged himself into the apartment late into second shift.  His reddish hair mussed and dark rings underscoring his heavy-lidded eyes.  His night must have been horrible.

"You look tired," I told him as he collapsed down onto the couch next to me. 

"It was horrible," he complained.  "My head hurt so bad that I couldn't sleep.  And they only let me drink water and eat those horrid energy bars."

"You hungry?" I asked. "I can make lunch."

"Now, don't go spoiling him, Princess," Victor chimed in from across the room where he and Kota lounged, playing some game.  His lightning eyes darted around, following whatever graphics virtually overlayed the room. I was still often amused just watching their intense expressions as they reacted to the invisible gaming environment of the Interface.  

Nathan's face turned earnest, eyes wide and pleading.  "Oh, yes.  I'm starving," he said as his stomach growled, as if on cue. 

"Well, don't be lazy.  At least help her," Victor mumbled, continuing on in the game.

With dramatic effort, Nathan entreated me to pull him up off the couch, then used me as a pseudo-crutch to hobble all ten steps it took to reach the kitchen area.  I pulled out bread and his favorite protein spread to start making a sandwich.

"This remind me of a food from Earth," I told him.  "Spread made from small nut that grow in pairs in pod.  We call them 'peanuts', and the spread 'peanut butter'."

"That's like you. Small and tasty," he teased.

"Tasty?" I giggled.  "That silly. How would you know that I am tasty?"

He grabbed up my hand which had a dab of spread on the pointer finger.  He licked off the spread and chewed slightly on my finger.  Tingles erupted down my hand, the sensation of my finger in his mouth strangely pleasant.  He said something too garbled to understand.

"What?" I asked.

He released my finger and repeated, "Yup, you're tasty, Peanut."

I shook my head, smiling, and finished the sandwich.  I blinked and suddenly a finger hovered just in front of my face.

"Go ahead," Nathan responded to my perplexed look with a wide grin.  "Am I tasty, too?"

I rolled my eyes, then bit down on the proffered finger.  I tried to say that he tasted funny, but it came out more like honey.

" 'Honey'?  Is that another Earth food?  What does 'honey' taste like?" Nathan asked.

I pulled my finger from his mouth and released his finger, then said, "Honey is sweet."

"Aw, you think I am sweet," he said with a smirk, his blue eyes capturing mine. He tucked a loose tendril of hair behind my ear and his gaze softened. 

I swayed closer to him, my hand dropping to rest on his chest, just over his heart.  He placed his hand over mine.  His eyes darkened and the grin melted away. 

"Sang, I..."  A shout from the doorway interrupted and I took a small step back.

"Oy, Trouble what's for lunch?" Gabriel's voice rang through the room. He swaggered in, Luke on his heels.

"Not you, too," Victor said, he and Kota disengaging from the Interface game. 

Kota came into the small space and nudged me over to start making his own sandwich.  "Victor is right.  You don't need to serve us, Sang," he said.

"I do not mind.  You all do much for me," I said. "I like to help."

His emerald eyes shifted to my face, his smile warm. He reached out and took the spread utensil from me, his hand pausing over mine.  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Nathan's gaze harden on Kota's lingering touch.

Nathan grabbed up the sandwich I had made. "Thanks, Sang," he said coolly, moving with stiff, hurried steps to his bedroom.  The door closed behind him with a thud. Kota's brow had creased in concern as he watched his friend's exit, but he didn't say a thing.  He just absent-mindedly moved the spread utensil across the bread slice surface over and over.