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**“Guess this makes you one of those ‘human sympathizers’ huh?”** Cassie teased, brushing Serix’s own dark hair from his violet eyes. He smirked at her, “I suppose it does.” Then, her expression turned a bit more solemn, and she looked up at him intently. **“Serix? Promise me something, okay? Promise me that we will both get out of this together.”** “Of course we will,” Serix replied, tilting her chin up to gently kiss her once more on the lips. “I promise.” And he meant it. As strange as it might have seemed, he couldn’t imagine going on in this wasteland without Cassie by his side. The few days they spent together may as well have been years considering how strongly he felt for her. He didn’t want to lose her. After all, they were in this together. Suddenly, he heard the soft growl of Cassie’s stomach. He raised a brow at her, a smile tugging at his lip. After everything they had just been through, it was almost funny how unimportant food seemed. Yet, hunger was what brought them back to the real world from their imaginary isolation. **“Well,”** Cassie laughed. **“I guess we forgot to get something to eat after we were stuck in that room. How about we go grab something before bed?”** “Sure,” Serix said with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. Then his stomach let out a growl as well, making him flush. He scuffed his foot at the ground embarrassedly, “I guess I’m kind of hungry, too, now that you mention it.” Cassie took him by the hand and led him down the hallway, back to the storage room where she kept her food stocks. She grabbed a can for herself and he followed suit, sitting down across from her. He opened the container to find what looked like some sort of cooked meat. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. He bent the lid of the can to form a makeshift eating utensil, and then dug into the food. **“Serix,”** Cassie spoke up. **“When did your feelings for me start to change? I mean... at first you seemed to think of me as some inferior human. And... now we are where we're at. When did it start to shift like that?”** “I never really thought of you as inferior,” Serix replied. He paused to take another bite of food before continuing, taking the time to think his answer through. “Just… _different_. But I never really considered you as anything more than a foreign being until yesterday.” He looked up at her, offering a small smile. “I have nothing against humans, but when I realized you were half Lunairan, I started thinking ‘maybe.’ After that, I don’t know… It just kept getting harder and harder to stay away from you.” He felt his cheeks grow warm and he looked down at his can of food. “When we were dancing, I just couldn’t help myself. You’re beautiful when you dance.” His blush deepened. “I just had to kiss you.” He laughed and shook his head. “I know, it’s an odd reason, but there it is. So… can I ask you the same question?” He looked up again, meeting her blue eyes. “When did you stop thinking of me as just an eccentric Lunairan?”

Serix was sure he had just made the biggest mistake of his life. Cassie would surely hate him now. His actions were completely uncalled for, and he put them both in an awkward position. He just ruined everything with his lack of self-control. She would probably want him to leave, to find someplace else to hide or to return to his own people. Serix was so prepared for her anger, that he didn’t expect her to do what she did next. He froze when Cassie reached to take his face in her hands and lifted her lips to meet his. His mind reeled. She wasn’t mad? And… she was reciprocating his feelings? He couldn’t have hoped for a better response. After the initial shock of her kiss faded, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her closer. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he kissed her back. Nothing else mattered anymore. There were no Scouts searching to kill them, no coming Lunairan invasion. In that moment, he and Cassie were the only two people that existed in the universe. He ran a hand through her soft hair, holding her lips against his, not wanting them to ever part again. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. One minute? Ten? Time blurred into something unrecognizable. After a bit, Serix pulled away, catching his breath. His arm lingered around Cassie’s waist, holding her close to him. He didn’t want to let go just yet. With his other hand, he brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. He stared into her deep blue eyes for a moment, feeling her heart pound against his, then he kissed her once more on the forehead and laughed, “You have no idea how long I wanted to do that.”

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**“N-no,”** Cassie stammered holding up her hands. **“I don’t really know how to dance. I’d just step all over you and make a fool of myself.”** Serix’s unease began to fade when he saw Cassie’s cheeks turn rosy. She was even more flustered than he was. “Come on,” he rolled his eyes. “It’s not that hard, I promise.” He caught her wrists and lifted her to her feet, ignoring her startled protests. In one smooth motion, he repositioned himself so he had one hand on her waist and the other holding her hand out in front of them. Their close proximity set his heart to racing once again, but he covered it up by flashing her a mischievous grin. “Just follow my lead, okay?” Serix said. He started slowly, taking the song at half-pace so Cassie could easily adjust to his rhythm. Using subtle touches and directional changes with his arms, he guided her fluidly through the motions, making gentle corrections if she stumbled. He carried on at this slow speed until he felt her grow more confident, then he steadily increased their pace to match the actual beat of the music. “I’m going to spin you now,” he said. “Ready?” He gave her one four-count to prepare, and then lifted her hand in his, passing their arms over Cassie’s head and spinning her through the arc. He pulled her back and replaced his hand on her waist, grinning at her teasingly. “See? It’s not so bad. Especially if you have someone who knows how to lead properly.” The tempo of the music slowed, so Serix slowed with it. He altered his movements to a more graceful rhythm, adding more twirling to the sequences. Watching Cassie dance gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling. She really was beautiful, with her flowing golden hair and lithe, agile figure. He spun her again, and in that moment, he felt a pang of longing stronger than any of the others he had felt until this point. He wanted her. In spite of everything –logic, reason, understanding– he _wanted_ her. Before he knew what he was doing, Serix pulled Cassie back from the spin and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, closing his eyes and pressing his lips to hers. The kiss was sweet. He trembled, weak with relief. He had closed the gap between them at last… _What am I doing?_ The rational part of his mind took over, smothering his passion. He pulled away, breathless, his cheeks burning and his eyes wide with shock. “I-I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I don’t know what came over me… I just… I’m sorry.”

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Welcome to the Guild! If you have any questions or need a RP partner, feel free to PM me :)

Serix looked at the machine with new interest. It played music? Of course, it didn’t surprise him that the humans would listen to music. They seemed similar enough to the Lunairans that he would have been more shocked if they didn’t have it. What really piqued his interest was the question of what human music sounded like. Would it be the same as what he was familiar with, or would it be completely foreign to his ears? He got up and followed Cassie to the robot hangar, eager to hear what the machine would play. She plugged the CD player into a wall and started it up. After a moment, the sound of lilting music filled the room. Serix crouched next to the little machine, listening intently. The music was definitely strange compared to what his people created, but when he focused a bit harder, he could hear some similar patterns. The song carried a steady four-count beneath layers of polyrhythmic harmonies. He thought back to what Cassie said about her mother’s love of song and dance. It was a very typical passion among Lunairan females. All children were given lessons in dance as part of their schooling, but he remembered how his female peers were especially fond of twirling about with their partners. They were eager to master the art to impress their future mates during courting rituals. The fleeting thought of courting set Serix’s heart to pounding again. Looking back, he and Cassie had already gone through with many of the rituals without even meaning to. They had spent plenty of time alone, they had exchanged stories of their pasts, they had held hands and embraced each other, and they had –briefly– shared a telepathic link. He hadn’t realized just how far their relationship had progressed. Serix glanced at Cassie. She looked like she was still pretty shaken up after being locked in that small room for so long. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. He wanted to do something to help her recover, but he wasn’t sure what. He looked back at the CD player, with its steady stream of music. Maybe there was something he could do. “Dance with me,” Serix said, standing up and holding out a hand to Cassie. He looked down at the ground, fidgeting bashfully. “The style is a little different than what I’m used to, but I can cope. So… will you dance with me?”

To Serix, Cassie’s voice rang with as much uncertainty as his own. But maybe that was his fault. Her discomfort was probably caused by his reaction to the kiss. He hoped he hadn’t offended her in any way. They were finally getting along so well. He didn’t want to ruin that by putting more distance between them again. If anything, he wanted to close the gap completely. But what exactly did that mean for their relationship? Serix felt his heartrate pick up. If he was honest with himself, it almost seemed like he wanted her to be his _mate_. He hadn’t really thought about it before, but leaving the rest of his people meant he was also leaving their customs… prearranged relationships included. He could make his own decisions about who he wanted as a mate. The newfound freedom made him ecstatic, but it also left a weight in the pit of his stomach. Even if he chose Cassie, would she do the same for him? The freedom of choice went both ways, after all. She had every right to refuse him. …But what about her kiss? It definitely seemed like she cared for him in the same way that he did for her. Or maybe he was just seeing it how he wanted. Maybe she really was just showing her gratitude and he was overthinking the whole thing… but there was always a chance it was something more. He wished he had a way to confirm her feelings. He was pulled from his thoughts when the lights came back on and the door slid open. Cassie wasted no time in getting out of the small room. She leaned heavily against the wall and turned to look at him with a smile weak with relief, **“We did it. We’re out.”** “_‘We’_ did it?” Serix echoed incredulously as he stepped out of the room. “I didn’t do anything. You were the one who fixed the wires.” He shrugged, busying himself by looking through some more old boxes in the larger room. “If you ask me, I think I was pretty useless— oh?” Among all of the junk in the containers, he found a strange looking machine. He pulled it out and set it on the floor, looking curiously back at Cassie. “What’s this?”

Serix waited with Cassie in the dark. He could feel her straining to calm her breathing beside him. It was a slow and arduous process, but she was making progress. He continued to support her by pressing her close to his side. He hoped she couldn’t feel his racing heart. While he was somehow managing to calm Cassie down, he was having a hard time of doing the same for himself. In spite of himself, Serix leaned his head against Cassie’s as she buried her face into his neck. Her breath was warm against his skin. He found it increasingly difficult to stay focused on the situation at hand. Even though she was huddled against him, he wanted to pull her closer. The intensity of the emotion frightened him. What exactly _did_ he feel for Cassie? Cassie eventually pulled away from him, just enough so she could meet his eyes. **“I need to find tools... my dad might have packed some?”** she said slowly. She was rationalizing again. This was a good sign, but Serix also felt a pang of disappointment when she put that small amount of distance between them. He didn’t want her to leave yet. _What’s wrong with me?_ he closed his eyes. _I should be happy that she’s recovering. We can get out of here soon and—_ His thought was cut short when he felt something that made his heart skip a beat. Cassie had planted a kiss on his cheek. She murmured her thanks and pulled away from his grasp, leaving him staring, wide-eyed, at the ghost of where she had just been. Serix brought a hand to his cheek where her lips had touched. His face was hot and he realized he was grinning stupidly. He quickly wiped the expression off his face, as if Cassie were able to see it through the pitch black of the room, and stood up to join her as she searched through the boxes of her parents’ things. He had to remind himself that she hadn’t meant anything by the kiss. It was a gesture of gratitude, nothing more… wasn’t it? Maybe it was a normal way for a human to thank someone… but that didn’t make sense. Cassie had always been uncomfortable with physical contact before. Perhaps kissing didn’t mean to humans what it did to Lunairans, then? That was a disappointing thought. He shook his head. It didn’t matter. Neither of them was seeking that kind of intimacy. They just had to survive. “D-do you see anything helpful?” Serix inwardly cursed himself for stammering and laying bare his discomfort. So much for keeping _that_ a secret...