We stayed in the hut overnight. We slept in my old bedroom, but it didn’t feel like my bedroom anymore. I’d gotten used to staying at the hospital, I guess. I felt almost like I was intruding on Edie’s space, which was weird because we were still going to be roommates after everything was done with the mutacorpathy outbreak.

Zuran and I shared a bed, but we didn’t do anything. It was strange having him sleep next to me. Even when we traveled through the desert from the hospital to Ka-lik’et, we had hardly slept. In fact, the only time we did was when we came across the hermit’s house and stopped in the town after that. And, when we had slept, it had been separately. This time, we were in the same bed. I felt his body pressing against mine. He was so warm. He was always warm, but he felt even warmer than usual. I didn’t know if it was because I was acutely aware that I was so close to him, that we were in such proximity and anything could happen at any moment.

But, as I said, nothing happened.

I did wake up in the middle of the night to find his arm wrapped around me, but, other than that, we just slept. In a way, it was really nice. I felt closer to him than I had thus far like we were boyfriend and girlfriend. It was strange to think an A’li-uud could be my boyfriend, but I enjoyed it anyway.

We stayed in the hut throughout the next day as well because, like when we had left the hospital, Zuran wanted to start our travels at night. Edie had to go to the infirmary, but she promised not to tell anyone we were there, and, by the time she returned, I was sure she had kept her promise. No one had come to the house, and, as much as she liked to gossip, I didn’t think she would betray my secret.

I gave her a hug when we were ready to leave. “I don’t want you to go!” she whined. “I’ve missed having you around!”

“I know,” I said. “I’ve missed you too. I was wondering why they didn’t put you to the task.”

“And you really can’t tell me the details of this task?” she asked, her eyes widening as if she was hoping I would.

“No,” I scolded. “You know I can’t tell you.”

“Well, whatever it is, I hope it’s done soon. I don’t really like being here alone.”

Zuran took notice of this. “Has anyone bothered you?” he asked.

I felt a surge of admiration and appreciation for him. It pleased me that he actually cared about her safety.

She shook her head. “No, no one’s bothered me. I just don’t like being alone,” she said. “I don’t know how much Phoebe has told you about me, but I kind of like to talk.”

“Yes,” Zuran replied with a grin. “I have noticed.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, a childish gesture but one very Edie-like, and I laughed. She laughed too, but Zuran’s eyes flashed, and I knew that if these two were to socialize in the future, there would be a lot of teasing shooting back and forth. I didn’t mind that, though. It was just like any other boyfriend-girlfriend relationship -- even though I didn’t know if that’s what we were -- in which the boyfriend made fun of the friends.

We left when the sky was pitch-black, and, on this particular night, there weren’t even stars. Clouds had overtaken the heavens above and left us in utter darkness. I could barely see my own hand in front of my face. Luckily, Zuran’s sight was much keener than mine, and he took my hand and guided me.

“You know,” he murmured as we exited my old house. “We are going to have to sneak out, just like we snuck in.”

“You mean we have to do another distraction?” I asked, feeling a little nervous. I didn’t want to have to do anything like wrangling another wild animal.

He tilted his head and considered my question. “No, not necessarily,” he replied. “We may be able to scale a wall where there are no guards.”

“How are we going to do that?” I demanded disbelievingly.

He smiled. “I think it is time you met my parents.”

* * *

Thankfully, maneuvering through Ka-lik’et from the colony to the A’li-uud residences was not difficult. The market way was as busy and bustling as it had been the night before, and nobody seemed to pay us any mind, even though I had taken off the laaka silks and replaced them with clothes I still had in the hut.

“How come these people are able to do what they’re doing without being caught?” I asked Zuran quietly as we walked.

He looked at me with a furrowed brow. “I am afraid I do not understand the question.”

“Well, I mean, everybody out here is doing something illegal, and the guards have to know that. How are they getting away with it?” I expounded.

“Oh,” he replied, understanding dawning on his face. “This is all cover.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the guards know that most of what is being sold here is illegal. The guards know that most of the transactions being done here are illegal. In fact, the guards know that most of the A’li-uud you see right now are known criminals, but part of the point of the night market way is to distract the guards from the worst. As long as they are kept busy up here, they are too bothered to go underground.”

It made sense, but I still didn’t grasp why so many would willingly subject themselves to possible arrest, so I questioned it. “So, all these people are just patsies? They’re volunteering themselves to be arrested to prevent the more experienced criminals from being arrested?”

“In a way,” he said. “Not exactly, though. Most of who you see out here, including the merchants, are involved in only low-brow crimes. Their offenses are so minor that, most of the time, they receive only a slap on the wrist, maybe a month of labor at most. To them, the risk is worth the reward.”

We wound our way through the crowd with ease. I no longer found the faces and muscles and hulking figures intimidating. After last night, I doubted I would be scared of much anymore. It had been so intense and emotionally taxing, I couldn’t imagine bouncing back to who I used to be. I felt changed, strengthened somehow in my trauma.

And I definitely felt more connected with Zuran.

We hadn’t even kissed once we’d reached my bed. We’d slipped under the covers, and I barely remembered lying awake for more than a few minutes. I was so physically exhausted that sleep had come to me like a bullet, speeding and unexpected. It wasn’t until I woke up in the morning I realized I’d spent the entire night next to the Interplanetary Affairs Officer who I’d lusted after for a long time and I still had all my clothes on. I would have liked to credit myself with extraordinary self-control, but I wasn’t deluded. Our lack of intimacy had purely been a product of our circumstances.

Several vendors called out to Zuran in A’li-uud, but he kept his hand tightly on mine and moved past as though he hadn’t heard them. He was even approached by a laaka, who eyed me with distaste and eyed him with honey, but he brushed her off without so much as a glance. I definitely felt like his girlfriend, and I didn’t even know if A’li-uud culture had such a thing.

Finally, the bright glow of the market way started to fade as we rounded the back of the palace and found ourselves in the midst of well-ordered homes. I felt my stomach flip with anxiety suddenly. Just like a normal girlfriend, I was nervous about meeting the parents. What if they didn’t like me? Worse, what if they didn’t accept me because I was human? Even worse than that, what if Zuran introduced me as just a colonist with whom he was acquainted?

We halted before a modest two-story clay home. No lights were visible in the windows, which indicated his parents were either sleeping or away, but he strode right up to the door and knocked. There was a pause, and then I heard a shuffling inside. He looked over his shoulder and flashed me his characteristic grin.

“I should warn you,” he said, “my parents have never met a human.”