Sparrows Need Engineers Ch. 03: Lost

"You'll wait for me?" he felt his voice about to crack, "Right?"

She raised her line of sight, looking into his eyes, taking a second to sort her thoughts, "Yeah, right here."

Craysar slowly turned, beginning to walk while looking over his shoulder, then jogging. Moving into a run as he began to pant, gulping air as he pushed himself into a sprint, wincing at the pain in his side.

......

Jop walked to the door of his shop that was about to close, looking outside and seeing someone running down the street. He opened the door, feeling the cold night setting in as he heard the person gasping for air while they sprinted towards him. "Are you in danger!?" he shouted.

"Jop!" Craysar yelled.

Jop watched as the human almost plowed into him, barely keeping his balance as he stopped, "Craysar-"

"My robe!" Craysar yelled, "My robe I need it back, I need it back right now!" he pleaded.

Jop was in shock over the demand but nodded, "I just finished it." He turned and went back inside, hearing the panting man behind him, he went around the counter and into the back. "I believe I have it near perfect, I replaced a few of the buttons and redid the seams. Would you like to try it on-"

"No time!" Craysar blurted as he bounced at the counter, on the verge of tears, "Please, Jop. I need it!"

"H-Here-" Jop said, quickly handing it to him.

"Thank you!" Craysar yelled, running back to the door, "and goodbye!" he bust out of the door sprinting down the sidewalk.

Jop went to the door and watched, biting his lip as he saw the man running with all his might. He pulled the door closed, slowly flipping the lock and sealing the door shut, then turning off the 'open' sign. He walked back to the counter, picking up the phone and chewing his lip for a moment.

Craysar ran with all his might, the robe fluttering in the wind as he rounded a corner, 'I'm coming, almost there-' his foot kicked the sidewalk. Tripping and slamming his knees into the unforgiving concrete, his palm tearing open as he braced himself and scrambled to his feet. Not letting the pain touch him as he felt the air scorching his lungs, he saw the port, gulping and pushing himself to the limit.

Running through the entry gate and looking for the shuttle, his mind racing and trying to remember where she landed it.

'I remember a yellow one, she parked near a yellow one.' He thought, feeling his eyes beginning to burn.

He ran down the row of them, seeing green and red shuttles, gasping for air as he tried to search through the line. Dipping to try and see past the row he was in and wondering if there was more behind them, he began to feel dizzy from ducking and sprinting.

Tripping over himself, dropping his bag only to desperately scramble to his feet.

"Yosha!" he screamed.

Spinning to look behind him, the night getting darker and darker while the world seemed to get more frigid.

"YOSHA!"

......

"Jop said he was running and frantic, and he looked like he was alone." Jerec said as he went down the street.

Tuegrin pursed her lips, "You think he was running back to the port?"

"Yeah." Jerec said somberly, "You were worried, right? Remember, the busted gullet?"

Tuegrin thought back to her conversation, feeling her heart sink as they made their way to the port.

*

Tuegrin slid into the booth with Yosha mirroring her on the other side, "Jerec and Craysar will probably be free soon, the tailor likes to talk though."

Yosha nodded, looking at the time.

"Jerec has more clothes if Craysar needs them though." Tuegrin said with a smile.

Yosha looked at her, "I'm sure Craysar would appreciate that."

Tuegrin leaned closer, "Where you two going next?"

"I don't know, he'll probably jump another ship to wherever Galaxara wills him." Yosha said.

Tuegrin paused, confused over the statement, "What? But I thought you two were kind of, um, together?"

"What?" Yosha asked with confusion.

"Well," Tuegrin narrowed her eyes, "He came with you, he's staying in our home, he's-"

"He's a Galaxara traveler, it's not his way to stay still, why would he?" Yosha asked.

"Well, I just assumed, you two shared a bed-"

Yosha cut her off, "What, last night? No air mattresses do that thing where it bounces you around if the other person moves. No, Craysar slept on the floor."

"You made him sleep on the floor?" Tuegrin asked.

Yosha gave her a perplexed look, confused why that was odd.

"Yosha, you slept with him, on your shuttle."

Yosha tilted her head, "Well we had separate bunks, he slept in his own."

"You fucked him, Yosha, you had sex with Craysar." She hissed under her breath.

"Yes, but never slept together."

Tuegrin was dumbfounded, not able to think of what to say as she could see the man was completely smitten with her. "Have you talked about this with him?"

"What? It was four months on a shuttle with just the two of us, so what? We had sex once, but it wasn't anything serious, we were board and stuck in space." Yosha remembered how she felt some kind of tenderness and care after she had sex with him. But after tension had been building for so long, who wouldn't feel slightly romantic after fucking on the floor of the ship that was like a prison cell. That was no reason to plan an entire lifestyle change by assuming he would never leave, how could she be expected to handle that?

She remembered hoping that tender feeling would go away soon after it appeared, remembering the way he pulled at her after she finished inside of him.

"We had sex, but that doesn't mean I have to take him with me like some sad puppy, he probably won't even want to stay."

Tuegrin winced at the statement, feeling her phone ringing she fished it out of her pocket, flipping it open to read the screen. Seeing a call from Jerec, looking back to Yosha and saying, "Hold on, and don't think like that."

Yosha shook her head, "Why, it's just how it is." She said while leaning back in the booth of the small restaurant they entered, wondering when the waiter was going to come by.

Tuegrin finished her call and went back to talking to Yosha, worried about how the future for the two would pan out.

"They on their way?" Yosha asked.

"Yeah, said they're about a block away, I'm going to order a drink for him, you know what Craysar wants?" Tuegrin replied.

"How should I know?" Yosha answered as she looked for the waiter.

Tuegrin bit her lip, thinking of the best way to speak her mind, "Yosha, he seems to really care about you, and by the looks of him, I'd say he's not one to do this often."

"So I popped his cherry, but he had been doing butt stuff in the shower the entire time. He had an itch, and I was able to scratch it, it was fun, but now we move on." Yosha said.

The waiter approached, Tuegrin too blindsided to order right away, shaking her head and getting out. "T-two gin and tonics, rail gin- uh, please."

Yosha looked at the waiter, "Blue draft on tap, tall." She watched them leave, wondering what was on the menu of the place. Looking at Tuegrin and seeing her give a look that showed concern but had pity mixed in with it, leaning forward and putting her elbows on the table. "What about Jerec?"

Tuegrin rocked back slightly, "What about him, he's my boyfriend."

"You're dating your pilot?" Yosha asked while raising her brow.

Tuegrin leaned forward now, "Yeah, we're together-"

"You trust him?"

Tuegrin glared slightly.

"Do you know anything about him, like his past, why are you content with the engineer spot on a sparrow." Yosha asked. She felt concern her friend was throwing away her dreams for a piece of ass that wiggled the right way for her.

"Yosha, I like where I'm at, I can go to an Oak class in the future if I wanted, but right now. I love this spot."

"Love?" Yosha scoffed.

Tuegrin felt anger boiling, "Yeah, love, Yosha."

"Do you know him, really know him?" Yosha hissed.

"What the fuck are you trying to say?" Tuegrin growled.

"The Tuegrin I know is smart, you blew the engineer exams out of the water, you aced self-preservation exercises for space flight emergencies. The Tuegrin I know was too proud to settle for anything less than what she set her mind to," Yosha lowered her head and spoke through her teeth. "The Tuegrin I know wasn't afraid to take a piece of ass and move on, she didn't get fucking tied up with some piece of fuck meat that'd been gaped by every dick on the station."

Tuegrin glared at her, barely registering the drink the waiter put down in front of her.

Yosha thought she might be pushing it, she took the beer the waiter put down, leaning back and changing her tone. "All I'm saying, you need to take a serious look at where you're at, versus where you could be. I heard shit about that guy, Jerec, do you know what he used to do-"

"Fucking drop it." Tuegrin growled, feeling a presence approach her, she felt someone slide into the booth next to her. The smell of tobacco with sweet affection gracing her as she tried to get her heart to calm down.

*

"I fucking knew this would happen, I fucking knew it." Tuegrin murmured as she followed Jerec. She watched him quickly walking to the port, noticing he didn't grab his smokes as he left the apartment. She wondered if his hand would reach for the pack, becoming upset that he'd forgot them.

She watched his hand move, wondering why she was so focused on it at a time like this. Coming back to take hers in his grip, squeezing it tightly, she looked up to see him looking both ways at the crosswalk.

Jerec glanced back to Tuegrin, "You good?" he asked with anxiousness.

Tuegrin nodded, "Yeah, lets hurry." She said, squeezing his hand as she quickened her pace, seeing the lights of the port still shining bright.

The lights did little to help with Craysars ability to see the page of his journal, his vision blurry as he tried to hold the waterfall back. Looking around and hoping he was wrong, that he would hear her angered sigh as she asked him, 'what the fuck are you doing?'

But nothing came, the silence hanging like judgmental eyes from a disappointed elder. He looked down again, the pen working to print to paper, but the drops of water causing the ink to swirl and let loose. He gasped and clenched his chest, not wanting to let the whining cry free into the night.

He tried to use the proper grammar, to follow the Galaxara way and eloquently speak to paper of his trials and hardship. But his mind refused to work, the letters jumping and laughing in the few clear grants of vision he was able to grasp. Only three words becoming visible as his hand worked the writing utensil while his waning mind vomited the words.

'I am lost.'

Jerec came into the port, looking around, about to call out when he heard the small whine of someone needing help. Looking to his left and down he saw him, his robe pulled over him and the buttons open, the shirt he had borrowed still underneath. The shuddering breaths as he tried to wipe his eyes, swallowing as he breathed through his mouth. Trying to suck air through his nose and hearing the stuffiness the tears brought. "Craysar."

Craysar winced, looking at the soft voice and shivering, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around himself. "Uh- Jerec, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, really you did nothing wrong." Jerec said as he approached.

"What she said, um, she-" he looked around.

Jerec took a deep breath, "Where is she?" he watched Craysar look down at his knees he hugged himself, he could see the man trembling. He sat down next to him, putting an arm around Craysar and rubbing his back.

Tuegrin watched Jerec try and comfort the man, so proud of how kind he could be, she went to the other side of Craysar. Sitting and doing the same, hearing the man begin to sob as he buried his face into his knees and wrapped his arms around his head.

......

Tuegrin pushed open the door of the apartment, going inside and waiting for him to follow. She could see Jerec still hugging his shoulder, the affection doing little to comfort the man.

"You can stay here, for as long as you want." Jerec reaffirmed to him, squeezing his hand to grip Craysars shoulder. "Don't worry about anything, I've got enough to support us and you're more than welcome in our home."

"We've got more than enough to share, Craysar." Tuegrin said, trying to put on a reassuring face as she wanted him to be comfortable.

"I'm sorry-" he murmured with tears.

Jerec hugged him, "No, you did nothing wrong, you're my friend and I want you to be here."

Tuegrin nodded, turning to go to the room the two guests had been using before, opening the door and stepping in. She looked at the air mattress, the blanket pushed to one side with one pillow askew on top, then looking next to it. Seeing a small bundle of coverings with its own pillow on the floor, she grit her teeth, cursing herself for not noticing that Yosha could be so neglectful.

She grabbed the blanket and pillow Yosha used, bundling them up and throwing them in the rooms closet. Then taking the pillow and blankets from the floor and putting them on the mattress, making sure they were still good for him to use. Doing a cursory glance around the room for anything she might have left, not wanting to weigh Craysars mind anymore than it was.

She exited the room, "The rooms yours, you're welcome here for as long as you'd like to stay."

Jerec was looking at Craysar, holding his shoulders and nodding, "Ok, if that's what you want."

Tuegrin furrowed her brow with worry.

Jerec turned to look at her, giving a pained smile, "Tuegrin, this is our new roommate, Crames."

Tuegrin was confused, looking at the man and wondering why he was being called that.

"I would like to take a break from travelling, I fear I'm just-" he tried to get his emotions under control.

"Crames is staying with us, taking a break from travelling as Craysar with the Galaxara. He's making sure he's in a good place." Jerec said.

Crames looked up to Jerec, his eyes full of pain, feeling too embarrassed to say that he hoped she would come back. Returning and finding him there, rather than leaving it to fate to bring them together.

Jerec understood, pulling him to himself and hugging the man.

Tuegrin let the two men talk, listening to the soft whimpers of Crames as he mumbled about not understanding. She almost let her own tears fall from seeing how hurt he was, she watched Jerec break down with him.

Tuegrin finally saw Crames ask for sleep, his mind frazzled as he wanted to go to bed and let his exhaustion take him. She guided him to the room, closing the door behind him and silently walking back to the room she shared with Jerec. Stepping inside and closing the door, she didn't want to look at the time, knowing it was late and the morning would still come with little care.

"Lets go to bed." Jerec said somberly, pulling off his shirt and letting it drop to the floor, his pants following next before getting under the covers.

She followed suit, hesitating to turn off the light as she wanted to see him still. His eyes closed as his long hair flowed around the pillow.

He could feel her watching him, opening his eyes to look at her, waiting to see what she had to say.

"Say it, please." She whispered, remembering his lesson before Yoshas tirade.

Jerec pursed his lips, "I'm sorry, if your ashamed of-"

She grabbed his arm under the blanket, scooting closer, "No, say it, say it to me."

Jerec pushed his face into the pillow, one eye barely being able to hold her gaze as she refused to blink. Finally gaining the courage to put the words in the air.

"I love you."

Tuegrin slid to him, taking his chin and pressing her lips to him, kissing him. Breaking it for a moment, only to say, "I love you."

Jerec felt tears in his eyes pulling her to himself, "I love you." He kissed her, feeling himself beginning to sob as she held him tight to herself. Both exchanging the three words back and forth in whisper and panting breaths.

......

Crames laid on the floor, looking at the empty air mattress, curling in on himself as he remembered the feeling from before.

That fearful thought, right after she finished her rut with him on the shuttle floor, pushing off of his carcass and letting her cock flop from his rear. Looking back down at him, worried she may dump him out of her shuttle in a seed glazed mess, robe torn and legs shaking.

He balled up the blanket in his trembling hands, his eyes refusing to shut, the hope in his heart shining like a light house as he waited.

Hoping she would come back.

......

Jop huffed the chilled morning air, walking towards the bank and looking at the front of it, seeing the large scrolling text on the display above the door. Reading October first scroll across, followed by advertisements for financing options related to shuttle and home.

Jop wondered if Jerec was able to find the Galaxara follower last night, sighing as he walked into the bank and looked around. Smiling as he saw his friend and client, happy to see her wave him over, glaring at the bag he carried. "Rappashae, how have you been."

"I've been great, is that the dress?" she asked, her eyes about to set the bag on fire as she glared at it.

Jop raised an eyebrow, "Rappashae, you're doing it again."

Rappashae, blinked and looked at him, realizing what he was talking about and making her face relax. "I'm sorry, it's from my childhood, I promise I'm not angry, I just can't help but glare at things I really want."

......

To be continued.

--Authors note--

I couldn't put this in the beginning as I didn't want to give it away, but let me say.

I planned this from the start, as I said in a comment on the second part, I've already planned the third and forth one.

I read the comments of the second one, and I was conflicted, seeing so many people enjoy those two together. I almost didn't do it, but I felt that wouldn't be fair to myself, so I stuck to my original plan and continued as I saw fit.

I am sorry that this one didn't hit the erotic mark you probably were expecting, and instead was more story driven. But this was how this story had to be written, it happened like this, because this has happened. 'Pause for dramatics.'

When I was in the military, we would go on four and six month deployments. In those four months, your whole world would seem to change indefinitely. I was on an air base as a diesel mechanic, we didn't see combat, (lucky for us, sorry for those who did. Seriously.) so we had this little town where it was its own world. I saw marriages end, families break apart, people missing the birth of their child and some going home to be at their childs funeral. It's somber but it's the truth, in those 120ish days you would see whole worlds begin and end.

I saw unfaithful spouses, I saw engagements, I saw flings, I saw promises that were kept and broken. And as this is now my hobby, some of it makes it into my writing as it's easy to put to paper and spin it correctly. So for me, it was easy to see that this could be the result, I heard people telling me "No, we're serious, when we get home we're gonna marry." Only for them to be ghosted by that person as they were stationed on different sides of the country.

The deployment would end, you'd go home, and for everyone else it was just the blink of an eye. "Oh sweet your back, can you fix this?" You were just expected to get back to work, to not dwell on what happened there. Not because people didn't understand, but it's because everyone went through it, literally everyone had to live this experience. 14 hours a day humping a hot diesel engine as we changed out broken parts and burned through tax payer money. Only to go back to the dorms, drink your allotted two alcoholic drinks and listen to your buddy cry about how his dog died and his partner left him.