Alien Boyfriend: Crikos (complete)

Female Reader x Male Monster

The music hall is empty around this time of day, a fact you discovered by accident. You enjoy coming here when you can, just so you can practice in peace. Ever since you got assigned to this station, you’ve been trying to find ways to spend your free time. You basically work and live in your home, the Serena Station, so free time is a strange thing to have here.

The large space station serves as a rest station for many planets in the Galactic Front, you see many types of people come and go on a daily basis. You work for medical, but the worst you’ve seen on the regular is food poisoning or motion-sick individuals coming out of warp speeds.

Music was always your first passion, and you’ve found that practicing your violin skills helps take you away from the fact you’re on a station in deep space. You can focus on the music, and as you play, you’re able to escape and even forget the world around you.

One day as you’re melting into the music, the piano begins playing. Stopping suddenly, you see someone behind the piano playing, but you can’t see them past the open lid.

“Aww, why did you stop?” The voice sounds strange, heavily accented and flanging.

You stand from your seat. “You surprised me. I’m not used to others being here.”

The person taps a few keys, then rises so you can see them. Tentacles wrap around the legs and side of the piano. It’s a Elmmerrick, a sort of amphibious race that recently joined the Galactic Front. They’re shiny gray in color, but with a slight rainbow sheen. Their long tentacles make up the lower half of the body below their narrow, cinched waists. This one has a broad chest, and he’s wearing a dark green uniform top with a high collar that rises up his very long neck to touch his cheeks. His narrow jaw is sharp and angular, with pointed, silver-tipped mandibles. His two sets of eyes are in deep hollows, with nostrils above between them. The rest of his face is smooth and nondescript, aside from the holographic sheen to his skin. Two smaller tentacles protrude from the back of his head, pressed against his neck.

“I heard music as I was making my way to my new quarters, and decided to have a peek.” He shrugs, tentacles coiling and releasing. “It’s been quite a while, but I still remember how this odd thing works.” Several tentacles hit keys to the strains of ‘Singing in the Rain’.

You smile shyly and hold your violin close. “Where did you learn to play?”

“I took classes at an integrated Galactic blah blah bah school,” he huffs. “Horribly boring, but I did take a fancy to the music scene there. Made an Earthling chum who taught me about earth music and showed me the piano.” He taps a few more keys.

“You said something about new quarters. Are you just joining the Serena Station?”

“I did say that.” He bobs his head. “For the time being I will be here to finish up my curriculum. Then I will become a professor of alien relations for the Galactic Front.”

You smile. “That’s very impressive. Where will you be teaching?”

He lifts a hand and waves it around. “Who the hell knows? All this degree does is assure I can teach legally. It does not guarantee I get a job in my field, let alone any job.” He sighs heavily and sits down behind the piano again. His long, slender fingers barely have to move to reach the keys as he plays. “By the way, I am Crikos.”

“Nice to meet you,” you introduce yourself. “I’m part of the medical team here. I’m a student on-call emergency doctor. I’m part of a training study, so I get taught about alien medicine, and I teach about Earthling medicine.”

Crikos’ dark eyes widen and you can see a hint of red in them. “How horrible for you. Earthling medicine is awful.”

You grimace and nod. “Kind of. It’s a bit behind compared to some of my colleagues’ worlds, but it’s still a wealth of information for those who wish to broaden their horizons.” The communicator in your ear chimes. “I’m sorry, Crikos, I just got called. It was nice meeting you, though.”

“Perhaps we can make music together again.” Crikos bows as you leave the room.

Some cargo and cruise ships will be docking at Serena Station soon, so you’re expecting a rush of activity, especially for medical. Cargo ships have unattended injuries, while cruise ships bring families who have gotten sick from close confinement with one another. It’s a wonderful chance to study, but it’s exhausting, and breaks are few and far between. It’s a few days before you finally get a prolonged break. The ships have been docked for a while now, and ever since it’s been like running around with your head chopped off. You go to the vending machines, which have thankfully been restocked, and sit down with a coffee and some sort of snack with flames on it. As long as it’s spicy, you’re happy.

As you’re enjoying the peace and quiet, Crikos walks in from the hallway. He seems to be in a rush, but once he closes the doors he slouches. Then he straightens up and pulls his head tentacles forward, turning to look in your direction. “The violinist,” he exclaims. “Now, I do not mind seeing you.”

“Oh, hi.” You lick sauce from the corner of your mouth and scoot over in the booth. “Crikos, right? Come and sit.”

“Crikos is correct.” he sits down beside you, tucking his tentacles under himself. “And thank you. I am trying to hide.”

“From what?” you chuckle. “Your studies?”

“No, no,” he sighs. “I am hiding from an overeager classmate.”

You take a sip of coffee and nod. “What sort of overeager are we talking about? Overeager about a project? A show?”

“Overeager about having sex with me,” he grumbles irritably.

You nearly spew your coffee everywhere, but manage to choke it back. You take your napkin and hold it over your mouth. “Okay, well, that is certainly something to hide from.”

“It is most frustrating,” he scoffs. He taps his hands lightly to the table. “It happens all the time!”

“Really?” You push your coffee aside. “You have a reputation or something?”

He leans his head side to side. “Us Elmmericks were once escorts for neighboring planets, and that became a lingering story about us. Stories have a way of staying long after they are dead.”

You bite down on your lip and nod your head. “So your classmate seems to believe that you...”

Crikos’ eyes narrow on you. “Would be the best sex of their life, yes.”

“So sorry about that.” You try not to laugh. “That must be quite agitating to deal with.”

“Like sand between my limbs.” He lays his head down upon the table. “I want to just be left be. I want to study, earn my degree, and teach back home. Yet I always get someone obsessed with the idea that my kind are some sort of sex deities.”

“If you ever need an excuse, feel free to use my name,” you say. “If you want, I can give you my number, and if you ever need an escape just call me.”

“I would not want to be an imposition on you. It’s bad enough on me, but to have you burdened with it too...”

“Nonsense,” you scoff. “Show me you communicator.” Once he takes it from his pocket, you trade numbers with him. “I don’t have much to do during my downtime aside from study. You study, so why not just study together?”

“I appreciate your offer. It is a huge relief.” His eyes light up, looking bright red as the light shines through. “It would be nice to have a friend here I can rely on.”

The next day as you’re waking up, you get a call from Crikos. “Hello?” you yawn.

“My love, are you up yet? You’re late for our date.” He sounds slightly panicked.

“Hello? Crikos?” you say unsurely.

“I’m waiting in the cafeteria, like we planned. For our date.” He clears his throat. “Please, do hurry.”

“Is something wrong?” You hurry to pick up clothes. “I wasn’t expecting a call for soon.”

He fakes a laugh. “I see! You always did love your showers!”

You get dressed. “I’m coming, for whatever it is.”

You leave your chambers and head to the cafeteria. There, you see Crikos sitting with someone who keeps moving in closer to him. As you approach Crikos looks up at you hopefully, and before you can speak he puts his arms around you. “There you are.” He hugs you tight then whispers into your ear, “I am so sorry, please, play along.” He turns to face the other alien. “This is my partner, the one I have been telling you about.”

You’re not sure what else to do, so you just wave. “Hi?”

“The earthling?” the alien scoffs. “You know they’re toxic right?”

“Only if you bite us,” you say out of nerves. “If we bite you it might just itch.”

The alien grimaces at you. “Whatever. When you learn better, Crikos, I’m waiting.”

Crikos slouches and lays on the table. “I have been trying to get rid of them all morning! They snuck into my room.”

You pat his back. “You okay?”

Crikos sits back up and holds his head between his hands. “I am so sorry I had to resort to something so ridiculous as this, but I had no idea how else to make them go.”

“I’ll admit, I was a bit surprised you went with the fake-dating angle. Thought that only happened in badly-plotted movies.”

“I’ve read a few stories. Awful things.” He looks at you and his eyes light up again. “I owe you a debt of gratitude. I don’t know how long I will have to keep up this hoax.”

“I’ve dated worse people before,” you say with a smirk. “At least you apologized.”

Crikos’ eyes flash. “Thank you, I needed that.”

You spend more time with Crikos so he can have peace of mind. He comes to your chambers to study, sometimes just to have his meals without being stressed. He’s wonderful company, and you’ve enjoyed getting to know him better.  Together, the two of you go often to the music hall to play. He’s able to play two pianos at once, something which steals your attention.

“So tell me, since we’ve been dating for a few weeks now,” you tease, “what do Elmmericks do when they date?”

“Most Elmmericks seek out companions, sometimes one, sometimes two or three,” he says. “But we long for companionship. We do not like to be alone, so it is easy for us to drift together. We give gifts and bond through touch.” He raises his long hand and holds it before you. “Touch is extremely important for us. Through it we can heal one another. We can sense pain, we can understand one another. The stronger the intimacy, the more we feel.”

“That sounds beautiful.” You raise your hand. “May I?”

Crikos bobs his head. “I am curious, I must admit.”

You place your palm against his, stretching out your fingers. There is a growing warmth in your chest, and a slight twitch behind your eyes. “Is it bright in here?” you ask.

“A little bit.” Crikos pulls his palm back and elegantly folds his fingers in. “Does your lower abdomen ache?”

Your cheeks flush. “Wow, it worked?” You stand up and dim the lights slightly.

“I’m surprised it did. I did not think earthlings would be receptive.” Crikos sits erect in his chair again.

You sit back down across from him. “It felt kind of nice,” you confess. “Sort of warm right here in the chest.” You place your hand there. “And it was growing.”

Crikos hums deep in his chest. “You and I have become close during this charade, haven’t we? It has been a nice surprise.”

“Is that classmate still trying to bother you?” you ask.

“They’ve started letting go - at least I hope so.” He laces his fingers together. “They still ask a lot of questions.”

“I can only imagine,” you scoff.

“But, let’s change the subject,” he says. “I felt there was a pain for you, and it was growing. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, just the usual aggravation for me.”

Crikos seems offended. “What do you mean?”

“Biology. Unfortunate but predictable biology.” You place your hand over your stomach. “Every month, my reproductive organs like to make me aware that I am not having a child.”

His eyes widen. “How does it do that?”

You shake your head. “I won’t bore you with the gory details, but I shed my uterine lining.  That makes me cramp a lot, and before I got on medication it used to be much worse.”

“If you’re hurting, I would like to help you,” he says sincerely.

You smile warmly at him. “I appreciate that, but I’m used to this. I’ll be fine and dandy in a few days or so.”

Crikos grumbles. “Speaking of which, I have a field trip of sorts. My classmates and I are going to a nearby colony and will be there for some time to fulfill a project.”

You grow a bit nervous. “Will that problem classmate be there?”

“I can’t avoid it,” he sighs. “I will be fine. I wanted to let you know, but it’s been surprisingly hard to bring up.”

You smile and chuckle. “Aww, are you going to miss me?”

Crikos is silent for a breath. “I think I will.”

The warmth in your chest grows.

The day Crikos and his class are to leave, you bid him farewell both as his friend and his pretend partner. You embrace him and kiss his cheek, and there is a slight pang in your chest as you part. You stay until the ship has taken off. A few days after Crikos has left, you begin to feel lonesome. You;ve gotten used to his companionship, so now the moments you have away from work seem even more empty than they did before. You barely even feel like practicing your violin, because looking at the piano without him there makes you miss him even more.

That’s when the emergency transmission comes to you. There’s been an accident, and your mother and sister were in critical condition, and there’s a chance your sister could need extensive surgery. You’re granted permission to leave to take care of them.

You kept trying to send Crikos a message, but it won’t go through. The colony he’s on must have bad reception. You go to his dorm quarters and leave a message there, hoping he will get it when he returns from the study trip. Everything is blur after that, and once you reach Earth nothing else matters. Your mother is doing well, but your sister’s injuries are much more extensive. She needs a kidney donation right away, so you offer to donate one of yours.

Before the operation you help your father get the house ready, preparing the bedrooms and stocking the house with groceries. Finally, the day comes for the surgery. You lie in a hospital bed, taking deep breaths. You know how this operation is done, and you know you’re in good hands, but it’s scary. Still, you would do it over and over again for your sister. As you’re reminding yourself of what is going to happen and why it is happening,a sudden jolt goes through your spine to the back of your head, almost like you’re surprised by something. There is an ache in your chest like you’re sad, but nothing is causing this.

The doctors come and take you to the operating room. After that, there’s not much to recall. You remember getting the news that both operations went well, your sister is safe, and after this she should be in the clear. You’re foggy for a few days, sleeping most of the time. At home you’re able to be with your sister, and you keep a close watch on her condition. Once you recover and get a clean bill of health, you’ll be returning to Serena Station.

“You making any friends up there?” your sister asks with a smirk.

You smile back at her. “Actually I have, his name is Crikos.”

She cocks a brow. “Is he Greek?”

You laugh and shake your head. “No, he’s an Elmmerick alien.” You check the stitches on her forehead and sit back down. “He plays the piano to accompany me on violin.”

“What’s he like?”

Your smile turns soft. “Very bright and kind. He has a tendency to be sarcastic, sometimes bleak, but I think he only does that to make me laugh. He’s attempting to become a professor of alien relations, so he’s doing studies on all sorts of different planets. It’s pretty interesting.”

She shifts in her bed. “How’d you meet?”

You sit back in bed and take out your  communicator to check on messages from the station. “We’ve been pretending to date so he can avoid an overly affectionate classmate.”

She snorts and whines. “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts too much!”

You frown at her. “What’s so funny?”

She gives you a grimace. “This whole stupid setup with you and your boyfriend. I can’t believe you’re that dumb.”

“Hey!” you snap. “I just told he’s not...”

“Yeah,” she mocks, “you’re ‘fake’ dating.” she says using air quotes. “I’ve never seen you smile like that when telling me about your other lovers.”

“I was...” You hesitate and frown. You can’t stop from thinking now.  “Oh no. I am dumb.”

“Ha ha. I are smarter than doctor,” she teases. She waves her hand at the communicator. “Can you contact him?”

“I’ve been trying since I left Serena Station, but nothing has gone through. He must still be on his study trip.”

“Oh man, this just keeps getting worse,” she snickers.

You frown at her. “Those painkillers made you an ass, you know that?”

Once you are able, you return to Serena Station. Your ship docks, and when you disembark you look around, hoping you will see Crikos coming to greet you. You stand there alone for a moment before leaving to gather your luggage and heading back to your chambers.

You notice your door is unlocked. You know you locked it when you left, and no one else had a key except for Crikos. Your heart leaps as for a split second. It could just be cleaning people, or your supervisor preparing things. You open the door and step inside, finding nothing and no one - just your room the way you left it.

“Oh.” You set your bag down and screw your mouth into a tight line. “This is fine.” You go over and sit down on your bed, feeling the urge to cry. You lie on your pillow, and a piece of paper jabs into your cheek. It’s a note. “When you get some rest and enjoy the snack I left for you in your fridge, come to the music room, I have a surprise for you. Crikos.”

You jump out of bed, not worrying about the food or anything. You rush as quickly as you can to the music room without barreling towards it. When you arrive, you hear the piano being played even before you open the door. As you step inside you see Crikos at the piano, two at once. You hold your breath and walk in.

“Why didn’t you meet me when my ship docked?” you ask.

Crikos stops, and his eyes light up as he looks at you. “I was nervous.”

“Nervous?” You walk up beside him, struggling hard to keep your smile at bay. “What’s there to be nervous about?”

“You. Specifically, what I would say and do when I saw you again.” He removes his hands and tentacles from the keys. “We have been playing pretend all this time, and I would not want to scare you away with something that was real.”

“I really wanted to see you though. I tried getting messages to you to tell you.”

He extends his hand out towards you. “My communicator was malfunctioning, I wasn’t able to get it fixed until we returned.”

You take his hand, feeling warmth blossom in your chest and flow through you. Hepulls you close and puts his arms around you, resting his head on top of yours. It feels as though there are two hearts pounding in your chest as you hold him. “I am afraid I must end our little charade,” Crikos whispers. “It has become all too real and it makes me uncertain.”

You look up at him. The glow behind his eyes feels warm on your face. “What do you mean?”

He places his fingertips on your cheek. “I want you as my partner, but I do not want to lose your friendship if that means your feelings are not the same.”

You smile and bob your head. “I feel the same. That’s why I wanted to see you so badly.”

Crikos’s mouth opens slightly. “You would be my partner?”

“Yes.” You break into a huge smile.

He leans down, pressing his forehead to yours. The light from his eyes begins to pool along the rim, and it drips down onto your face like tears. They feel warm and slick as they glide down your skin. “I will be yours,” he whispers. “I will care and value you as long as you want me.”

“My chest feels like it might burst,” you laugh. “I can feel everything you do right now.”

He cups your cheeks between his palms. “Remarkable. I was thinking the same thing about you.”

You both stare at each other for a long time. Tears fall from your eyes, while that liquid light drips from his. “Do you kiss your partners?” you ask.

Crikos tilts his head. “Show me, and I will.”

Rising on tiptoe, you press a kiss to his mouth, although it feels a bit odd. He picks you up, his tentacles at your rear while his hands are on your hips. He presses his forehead to yours again, then kisses you like you did. His soft tongue pokes out, smoothing over your skin. You can feel his excitement boiling over. “What do you do to show affection like that?” you ask.

“I have been.” He presses his forehead to yours, and the light falls onto your skin. “Should I stop?”

You hug your arms around his long neck. “Not yet.”

A low hum vibrates in his chest, and he holds you closer. “I have missed you so much. I am happy you have returned.”

“I missed you, too.” You kiss his cheek and the flat space between his eyes. “Let’s go back to my cabin. Just us.”

“I had hoped you’d bring your violin so we could play, but I suppose we have a long time to play together.” He keeps you held aloft. “As long as I am with you, it doesn’t matter how we play.”