What it Takes Pt. 03

"Now, you two enjoy! And try not to kill each other by the end of the week."

Frank had clearly joked about that last part. The couple would not even consider it. This Sunday was spent in a much awaited move of Eva from her shitty place to the relatively more fitting studio apartment that her boyfriend had. It was not at all rushed as they had been dating for just over a month.

And what a month. While the two had few dates out in the city, they enjoyed most often coming back here for a moment of privacy, talking openly and having some eager fun. Jack had taken her to just about anywhere they could imagine to warrant a visit. Museum, movie theater, zoo and this convention in another town. All the while, he tried to ask her of how things happened in the Empire... not for his own curiosity but to give his girlfriend some happy reminiscence that brought out that smile. The girl had allowed that since this brought happy little feedback between them... her also relishing in his joy.

While it was fascinating to hear about the many species of animals they had found through the galaxy and she could observe in vivariums, the holo theaters that could make one believe they were in the movie, the never-ending number of exhibits in the Mega Art Installation or the fact that theater was still being done over there with props of which many performers on Earth would be envious of... he valued her experience and the memories Eva had of the place. Things to hold her over on the planet which still did not compare. Every day, the man thought she might finally be fed up and decide to leave... possibly with him... and every day she decided to continue going through this hell. He admired her for that.

But right now they had just finished sorting out her belongings in what spots could hold them. The wardrobe was put to the test, as were the many drawers set around the place, decent separation of their clothes to make sure they were not used by accident. Cosmetics would be right beside his with a bit of spacing, the bathroom cabinets needed an exercise in efficient space employment and her secret box of extra stuff from space would be buried in a cabinet that was hard to open since Jack's PC was in the way, right next to both their sex toys.

"Haaah! Last one!" She said with pride. "Finally! Now we're sleeping together every day."

"Unless we get mad at each other."

The head of family had decided to keep the old place and share a key with Jack... it was to be their place of shame if they needed time apart. He had some confidence that they knew to work through issues, but if some huge one came up... For now he'd foot the bill and let these two share rent for this out of the way place.

"If we do, either we push through or one of the others will try to fix it as soon as possible." Beat. "Possibly by making me jealous or something."

"Feels like we should celebrate. Wanna go out?"

"Meh.... we always have to keep quiet out there. Let's order in or something. Get some ramen from that place you like." Eva also wanted to treat him.

"They don't deliver out here."

"Fuck. I'm kinda disappointed in most options that go out here."

It was the job of the man to think things through... half of the time. Today he did. Half of it.

"I was thinking we might try to cook. Looked up a good recipe online. And you like it already."

"What... you...? Wait.... You made those wings?!"

A week ago, the man came up to her workplace with a tupperware containing some well done wings and potatoes. Baked to goodness, the girl had delighted in them. So few places knew how to do wings all the way through. Burger king had her vote for now just because of that.

"But... I forgot to get more wings. Up to a trip to the supermarket to refuel?"

"This will be fun... and I'm paying today!" She almost insisted on paying for half of everything.

"Fine, but I'll make sure to make it up to you later."

This had been the two of them for this slowly cooling calendar segment. While the first few weeks were filled with a lot of passion and so much more, the rest of it started to be much more quiet. Jack worried that the girl would get bored of him and move on somewhere else, as so many others did, but his alien girlfriend was taught differently and enjoyed the silence just as much as the noise. Eva had silently sat by his side while playing games on the weekend, went on her phone on the other side of the room or proposed a bit of fun to make the day more interesting.

He had called it correctly that she'd approve of his porn collection. While there were some words on remembering the value of reality and so on... afterwards she'd strip nude if she wasn't already so and welcome the man to indulge in his smut while doing the manual labor in his stead. Later they moved on to mutual masturbation while watching. They had different kinks, but could agree on an equal split of airtime.

The two would slip out of the apartment complex to just walk to the nearby supermarket. That was a relative term as they'd have to walk 15 minutes to get there. Backpacks were employed as a greater distribution of weight made them walk faster and they could still hold hands while going there. The sidewalk to the busy road they would follow to the establishment was narrow, requiring them to go single file, Jack's right hand held behind him to be grasped by the girl who was still there. Some might be almost sickened by their sweet love. Others enjoyed it, mostly old people eager to see some hope for the world.

"You know, we'd be still considered in our honeymoon phase!" She had to shout to be heard over the traffic. Cars sometimes came through here at speeds not recommended inside a city.

"I thought we weren't married!"

"We're not! Just the start of it is called that! Most girls get bored when it's done!"

"And you're not most girls!" So many wanted to claim that title, and yet so many followed a stereotype.

Supermarkets have not changed much, except in plenty of brands trying to sell people something via the sensation of aliens. Eva called out the vast majority of it as not being a thing, not being like that or "No, we don't fucking do that!" whispered to not clue people in. Maybe some might have the excuse of being not related to her domain. One thing caught her eye without even needing such advertisement. A pack of coffee.

"Huh, even the sector name is correct, yeah... all of that and... Think this is genuine. Probably sold by one of ours."

It was a sealed bag of coffee grounds grown in the more tropical area of Dawnlight. The price was outrageous, but if the girl's appraisal was correct, that would make some good brew indeed. Jack had once asked why they did not have things far more extensive in some way like having machines to make food of all kinds like that robotic chef he once saw or some oven that could just portion out ingredients and make food without him needing to know. The answer was that such things were beaten by mere humanity. Delivery, home cooking or any other option could outdo machines. Automation was not demonized, merely proved a thing for humanity to overcome. Sure, such things were employed in restaurants seeing a too large volume of people, but more often than not an astorian cook knew to humiliate them.

They almost forgot the actual thing they were here for... the pre-packaged and refrigerated wings as well as some potatoes and onions. Jack had a habit to not buy anything he did not immediately use or had a long shelf life because he could forget about them. Quite often he had fresh food go bad in his fridge because he did not hold through with an idea. The cashier had a mumbled comment about her paying... that the girl caught on and would raise the subject only once they were out.

"UGH! Why do they have to be like that? All fine for women to have their own money and be able to pay for things until they have a man with them and suddenly they have to do it? The privileges of a guy two hundred years ago and all the benefits of women in that time."

"You could go and get her manager to raise a complaint."

"Then I feel like a Karen. Feels like the word 'manager' is a slur now."

"You have reason. But, let's not let the woman ruin the day. I have cooking to do."

"WE have cooking to do." She smiled smugly to the man. "What? I want to help. Yeah, I'm shit at it but can somehow do it. And if you can do it then I can. Plus, we'll be done faster."

"I really don't know at times how we should split our everything." Just when he thought that there was a plan in place, the girl had a new course.

"Hey, if I waited in the other room while you cooked I'd feel like those other women. And this way we can have our nice moment of bonding over normal life or something like that."

It would certainly be more fun with her by his side rather than just putting some music on. Their backpacks filled with more junk food than real produce, mostly because Eva had developed a desire for them to cope with planet Earth. She was thankfully keeping in good shape, even inviting her boyfriend on runs to boost his stamina for their sexual interactions.

"Kinda eager to try that coffee. Rarely tried something you guys had. You use something like that at the cafe?"

"Nah, we're using local stuff to not leave a paper trail. And we can sure try some later with some... WE FORGOT THE MILK!"

They had practically run out, Jack mentioning it only offhand earlier. Eva gained a devilish expression.

"You sit here while I go get it."

"Please don't do something unseemly in there!"

He knew her well by now. Nothing stands in Eva's way. This was an excuse to give that woman something back. Or give her another chance to shut up.

"I can behave."

A deep sigh while the man walked to the edge of the parking lot to get himself a smoke while looking out through the windows for any signs of violence. Something inside him did enjoy his girlfriend being so unyielding to other things. It made him feel protected. A rare treat.

Evangeline intentionally came back to the exact same checkout line with the two cartons of milk to keep up with their combined caffeine addiction. There was a decision to not start anything unless the woman does so. A turning of the other cheek before she'd show the girl how a slapping competition is played. And once she was being rung up...

"Girl, why are you letting him walk all over you?" Was said low, with some disdain.

"Because I'm not some entitled woman like you who thinks all men exist to serve her and she does not have to give back, one who will be with her loyal man forever while you're gonna die alone in your apartment with three cats. Because all men everywhere know you ain't worth even a first date." Beat. "Bitch." Now that was just hitting someone when they're down.

Men fought in different ways... physical, direct... women had other means. That decisive line was said as the girl set the cartons in her backpack to turn around and leave while the cashier tried to not show any emotion despite the devastating strike. She had two cats and had indeed considered a third. Eva exited the place with a big grin while her boyfriend could not make out the internal turmoil of her victim.

"Well, you're not being chased by security, but I'm gonna assume you were harsh."

"Call them out when they deserve it. Defiance with wisdom. Now it made the day!"

Jack considered it better to return home with a happy girlfriend.

*

The aliens have been more than welcoming to the boy, yet the official idea to be part of their group took time. This was truly not something one just pays to get in. Trust has to be won, support has to be demonstrated and just coming along looking for errands they needed doing was more suspicious than assisting. They could at least recognize the honesty of his intentions, but had to turn him down simply because he would make little progress like that.

Frank had considered the situation long and hard. Such was his responsibility. A head of family decides their direction in such matters, though he most often looked to what his community members thought of it. The boy had met almost all of them in some isolated events and was well liked enough for the matter to at least move beyond an idea. But the older man was the protection against the outside and had to make sure of everything.

Sitting in his office, he reviewed everything that Tom had collected on the boy from the so easy to get internet activity, computer contents and the cameras that they had installed in his place. Eva herself did that, the empire-issue devices blending in so seamlessly that she'd need a military issue detector to find them again. They all had cameras in their places... extra security against everything. So easy to take down law officials trying to get into their place without a warrant. People were trying to find them, and the guess was that those people had less than honest intentions.

But so far, the boy seemed genuine. Nothing to indicate any issues whatsoever, just your average decent guy around here... good taste in porn. Frank actually requested some of those for his own viewing. Sometimes their lack of any barriers in these situations was amazing. Still he missed the gyms over on Solaria where everything was in the open, showering with members of all species together, often intentionally aligning those times. This planet was far too prudish for his taste.

His "second in command" deserved an update on the situation, so the man used the link to place the call to Sophie.

"How are you doing, Frank?"

"Well, things are holding well. Though we're still behind on profits."

"Because you refuse to screw people over. Business 101. Accounting hiding it well?"

"On the books, we could have the IRS check us over and they'd have to return to pay us. But, I want to talk about Eva's boy."

"Jack. So far I heard nice things about him from the girls. Vella went on about them for half an hour. You'd think she was also in love."

"Ah, that's just how Tan are. She's more enjoying getting to feel that love they have." The man spoke from experience.

"Never got used to that empathy of theirs. I don't know how one can go with it. But... this is about him joining, hm?"

"It is. So far I can't find reason for worry. I still wanna watch them for a bit longer. Exact thing happened over in Asia with one guy and he turned out to be from the underworld."

"Our other friend assures us that he's legit. But go ahead and take care of your fears." She always had such a nice tone.

"Are you... comforting me?"

"I believe that is my job in our little group."

Every community has two very central members. The head of family and the caretaker. Very much modeled after a father and mother in their roles. There is no gender discrimination on who can be either, with men being caretakers as much as women being heads. But more often than not, if there is no issue arising from unisex species, they are man and woman. Men are just built better for one role and women for the other. And while Frank's role was to decide and protect, hers was to comfort and provide.

In the older times, when the empire was but independent communities following the way of True Family, the head of family was often the leader of a small group while the caretaker was akin to a priest. As settlements grew, they would begin to contain several such groups. The outsider advised them to still keep such groups and never give them up, for they are the first and last barrier. When greater leaders fail them, the community needs to be there to be that means for survival. And truly this has made astorians more resilient than most. None were left behind unless they were a danger. Conflicts arose, but with their teachings they could solve them in a much more peaceful manner.

"You've been doing well. Jasmine looks better now. I was worried for her a bit."

"This place gets to everyone. Especially when people like you take it upfront rather than trying to recuse themselves. But she's a strong woman. I just needed to remind her of it."

And the mission was their last concern. As it always was. Duty is secondary to the Astorians. Community first. Those who take in a task... warfare, exploration, infiltration... do so while thinking of their own. Sophie wished only to restore her smile and not push her to the job. Any of them could quit whenever they wanted and they had no authority to command people. But they followed these two anyway... because they were there for the rest.

"I'll see about giving Jack some chances to prove fears wrong. Boy has been almost hounding the girls for something to do. But he is really good for Eva. And the rest of them. Feels like it's better with him around."

"What was it said for this... we all rise and all fall together. They all feel better since our problem was fixed. Maybe a real one can show up to let you send the boy at it."

"Has to be real, or else we won't trust him. Hopefully not, but feels like we're in enemy territory."

"Even if we're in peace time, this is war. And you are in enemy territory. We're at war with their culture. And so are they fighting back to enforce their own. Let's see which can come out on top."

"Now you're making me feel all patriotic. But I know which one of us is exploring the galaxy."

"Quite a cheap shot. But no mercy given to enemies." She knew them well.

They had a short laugh about it. The head considered Jack's resources, his talents and ability well for what problems he could truly face. Some were clearly beyond his ability, some were asking a bit too much without fair pay... not that he could not offer it back in some other way... but this was never a straightforward event. Joining a community is always difficult. No two situations are the same.

All he could do was watch and wait for something to come up.

*

"We look like a married couple."

"You know that every time you say that it brings up things in me."

"But we do!" Eva could not help but state the obvious. "And I like it."

The music was low in the relatively small kitchen... roomy enough to allow her to peel potatoes on the table while her man took care of separating the chicken bits. That rather intimidating knife made short work of cartilage.

"Do you want to get married?"

"After we make sure, maybe. Still unsure if I'm gonna stay. I told myself I'd give the place another six months. Wanna go home every day."

"Still think they're gonna let me come with you at the end?"

"Yes! But now it kinda sounds you're staying with me just for a green card."

"No way! I'm just thinking how you're gonna go there and not have me. Sure, it sounds better in pretty much every aspect, but I kinda don't care about that."

"Oh, so it's not because you like being able to fuck every woman in sight with my approval?" Eva was teasing.

"I do enjoy it, but it's the last thing on my mind. Don't want you to go over there all mopey that despite it all being so good you can't stop thinking about me."

That made her go quiet, a warm smile on her face. The man got her measure right. Even if she was to go back, odds were that the alien girl would even consider a trip back to this fuckscape of a planet to see him again. The demands of the process made this subject be dropped for a second.

"You mind getting the spice mix done?"

"Sure! I might want to make it myself." The girl rose to get the two bowls for the proper mix-up. She'd portion it as the man dictated.

"Quarter of a teaspoon of ground pepper." Understandable, given to both. "Half a teaspoon of salt." Eva did not believe this had such simple ingredients. "One teaspoon of paprika." She hated online recipes for making her look for exotic stuff. "One tablespoon of baking powder."

"Wait, what?!" She looked at the man as if he was messing with her.