Alien Boyfriend: Crikos (rough draft)

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. After all, you basically work and live in your home, the Serena Station, so free time is a strange thing to learn here.

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

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

One day as you’re melting away with the music, the piano begins playing. Stopping suddenly you see there is someone behind the piano playing, you can’t see them as the lid is opened.

“Aww, why did you stop?” The voice sounds strange, heavily accented, and sort of echoing and vibrating at the same time.

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, then they emerge out. It’s a Elmmerrick species of alien, a sort of amphibious race that had recently joined the Galactic Front. They were shiny gray in color, but with slight rainbow sheen as they moved. Their long tentacles made up the lower half of their body with a train of them in the back. They narrowed at the waist, almost looked cinched. Their chest was barreled out, and they were wearing a dark green uniform top that had a collar that rose up around their very long neck and touched their cheeks. Their jaws were sharp and angular, but very narrow, with mandibles tipped in sharp silver fangs. The cheeks were angled as well, sharp and jutting out with hollow eyes inside. A second set of smaller eyes set above them with nostrils holes above between them. The rest of the face was smooth and nondescript, aside from the holographic like sheen to the skin. The back of the head swoops out in two smaller tentacles that kept pressed to the back of the neck.

“I heard music as I was making my way to my new quarters, and I decided to have a peek.” They shrug, tentacles coiling and releasing. “It’s been quite a while, but I still remember how this odd thing works.” Several tentacles hit keys to sounds like ‘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,” they huff. “Horribly boring, but I did take up a fancy to the music scene there. Made an Earthling chum who taught me about earth music and showed me the piano.” They tap a few more keys.

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

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

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

They lift a hand and wave it around. “Who the hell knows? All this degree does is assure me 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 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 one of the oncall emergency doctors, as well as a student. I’m part of training study, i get taught about alien medicine, I teach about Earthling medicine.”

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

You grimace then 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 about families who have gotten sick from close confinement with one another. It’s a wonderful chance to study, but at the same time, it’s exhausting, and breaks are far and few between.

You’ve been working for what feels like hours, when you finally get a break. The ships have been docked for a few days 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 you sit down with coffee, a some sort of snack with flames on it. As long as it was spicy, you were happy.

As you’re enjoying the peace and quiet, someone walks in from the hallway, they seem to be in a rush, but once they close the doors they slouch. He then rises and pulls his tentacles forward, turning to look in your direction.

“The violinist,” he exclaims. “Now, I do not mind seeing you.”

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

“Crikos is correct.” he sits down beside you, tucking his tentacles up 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?”

“They are overeager about having sex with me,” he grumbles irritably.

You nearly spew your coffee everywhere, but manage to choke it back. You take your nap 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, afraid a spit take would be unavoidable now. “You have a reputation or something?”

He leans his head side to side. “Us Elmmericks were once used as companions for neighboring planets and that became a lingering story about us. It is no longer something we adhere to, but 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. “Will 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 one of too 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 to you. It’s bad enough on me, but to have you been 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 keep moving in closer and close 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 always waiting.”

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

You pat his back. “You okay?”

Crikos sits back up and holds their head between their 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 similarly plotted, 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 even 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 have gone often to the music hall to play. He’s able to play two pianos at once, something which steals your attention from playing.

“So tell me, since we have been dating for a few weeks now,” you tease, “what do Elmmerick’s 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 and find compatibility. 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 the 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.” 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 gorey details, but it’s not that pretty. I cramp a lot, back before I got on some 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 am 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?”

“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 go to bid him farewell. Both as his friend and his pretend partner. You embrace him and kiss his cheek, there is a slight pang in your chest as you part, and you stay until the ship has taken off.

It was a few days after Crikos left and you were feeling lonesome. You had gotten used to his companionship, so now, the moments you had away from work seemed even more empty than they did before. You barely even felt like practicing your violin, because looking at the piano without him there made you miss him even more.

That’s when the emergency transmission came through. There was an accident on Earth, and your mother and sister were in critical condition, there was also a chance your sister could need extensive surgery. You were granted access to leave to take care of them.

You kept trying to send Crikos a message, but it wouldn’t go through. The colony he was on must have had bad reception. You then went to his dorm quarters and left a message there, hoping he would get it when he returned from the study trip.

Everything was a rush and a blur after that, the trip home took a while, but once you reached Earth nothing else mattered. Your mother was doing well, but your sister’s injuries for much more extensive. She also needed a kidney donation right away, so you offered to donate one of yours.

Before the operation you helped your father get the house ready, preparing the bedrooms and grocery shopping to stock the house. Finally, the day came for the surgery. You laid in the hospital bed taking deep breaths. You knew how to do this operation, you knew you were in good hands, still, it was scary. You knew you would do it over and over again for your sister though.

As you’re reminding yourself of what is going to happen and why it is happening, there is a sudden jolt that goes through your spine and to the back of your head, almost like you were 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 just remember getting the news that both operations went well, your sister was 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 check on her condition. Once you recover and get a clean bill of health, you’ll be returning back to Serena Station.

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

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

She cocks a brow. “Is her Greek?”

You laugh and shake your head. “No, actually, he’s an Elmmerick alien.” You check the stitches on her forehead then sit back down. “He plays the piano when I play my violin.”

“What’s he like?”

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

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

I sit back in my bed and take out my 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. “Do not make me laugh, it hurts too much!”

You frown at her. “What’s so funny?”

She gives you a grimace. “This whole stupid set up 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 quotations. “I’ve never seen you smile like that when telling me about your other lovers.”

“I was-” You hesitate and frown. “He’s not-” 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 to 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?”

She nods.

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.

It’s there you notice your door is unlocked. You know you locked it when you left, and no else had a key except for Crikos. Your heart leaps as for a split second you believe he will be there. You hesitate though, it could be cleaning people, could be your supervisor preparing things. You open the door and step inside, finding noting 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 go to lay 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. You finally make it, hearing the piano being played even before you open the door.

As you step inside you see Crikos at the piano, playing two at once. You hold your breath and walk in.

“Why did 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, 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 a warmth blossom in your chest and flow through you. He then pulls 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 upon your cheek. “I want you as my partner, but I do not want to lose the 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 are 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 up 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 peeks out, pressing then 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.”