Archive of Our Own

Bright blue eyes.

That’s the first thing Toge sees after everything falls silent. His hands are trembling, desperately trying to grip his thighs from where he’s crouched down, where he’d been hiding. He’d been utterly quiet, barely breathing, and tense to the point that every joint in his body is screaming for him to move.

But moving isn’t an option, hasn’t been one since he’d found himself in this predicament just minutes ago.

Everything had been going fine but things don’t always go according to plan. The shuttle he’d been traveling on had been intercepted by something much more powerful. It became painfully obvious when they stopped moving, instead, feeling the shuttle attach to something else above them.

Time slowed down after that, utterly still to the point that Toge thought he was already dead from lack of oxygen. But that hadn’t happened, no, he remained alive much to his horror. Because it was at that moment when they were intercepted that a force that was anything, but human had invaded their shuttle.

Toge isn’t new to the notion of aliens, extraterrestrial life, or whatever a person may call it. He’s been working for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) since he graduated university. He’s been fascinated with space since he was a child. There’s never been a doubt in his mind that aliens are out there, even if his past classmates and colleagues have denied it time and time again. Thinking back on it, they were the naïve ones for denying it because how could the universe be so vast, so full of other galaxies, and Earth be the only place with life.

But finding out extraterrestrial life existed wasn’t supposed to happen like this. He’s imagined it a few times after reading, watching horror movies about invasions, or playing video games. The situations have usually taken place where humans are on Earth and at least have the upper hand when it comes to being on home turf but looking at it now, having them invade the shuttle he’s on isn’t out of the realm of possibilities. But it’s horrifying knowing he’s in their element, thousands of miles away from Earth. First contact isn’t as romanticized as it seems, not when human instinct fills him with the need to fight or flee when given the opportunity.

Toge is just a payload specialist in the JAXA engineering department. He was chosen for this mission to help repair the shuttle, the satellite, and eventually anything that needed upkeep on the International Space Station, ISS, the station they were headed to for a six month stay. The crew was sent to fix a massive satellite that had been malfunctioning for a reason they couldn’t identify on Earth, but perhaps the reason is the one that’s staring right at him, blue eyes brighter than he’s ever seen on a person. The eyes looking back at him are not human and it's making Toge sweat with terror as he struggles not to make a sound.

There’s someone, something crouching down in front of Toge and vivid blue eyes, the color as clear as the ocean, and reflective to the point that they are blinding as they stare right at Toge. Eyes that command attention and Toge can’t seem to look away from the endless blue pools as they watch him. But these eyes are not human, because they hold no pupil in the center, they’re just blue irises.

Toge doesn’t know what or who he’s looking at, but he knows it’s whatever attacked their shuttle. If it weren’t for the bizarre eyes and inhumanly pale skin, he would think that the extraterrestrial life it—him, is human. But he isn’t, despite the humanoid body that extends into limbs, limbs that are corded with muscle. The boy is large, a lot large than Toge, with jaw-length black hair that frames his face.

There’s something so human about him but so petrifying at the same time. It makes utter despair fill Toge, and he can feel himself begin to shake again. Back when he’d first been hired by JAXA, he’d gone through rigorous training where they’d presented him with every possible situation that could go wrong during a mission and how he should act, how he should stay calm and make rational decisions but none of that could even begin to prepare him for this. No matter how much preparation they were given, absolutely nothing can help quell the fear that fills him as he stares at the creature.

The boy catches the movement and faster than Toge’s eyes can follow the movement, he cocks his head to the side. His bright blue eyes fill with what looks like concern but it’s difficult to tell since he has no pupils.

Toge has never considered himself a timid person. He’s always been one to face life head on and hardly ever shows fear but right now, he doesn’t even recognize himself. He almost whimpers when the boy comes closer, extending a big hand towards him with long, slender fingers.

The boy doesn’t seem to realize he’s the source of Toge’s fear since he moves even closer. Toge almost stumbles back when the sound of low rumbling begins to fill the small space between them. The sound is coming from the boy and it’s so unnervingly animalistic that it makes Toge’s skin crawl with dread at the unknown.

Against his better judgement, Toge decides to shuffle as far back as the space allows and feels the paneling press against his skin through his clothes, but he doesn’t care, he needs to create as much distance between them as possible. He knows he’s trapped but the human will to survive is kicking in full force and he needs to find a way out.

The boy opens his mouth and the sound that comes out is almost aneurysm inducing. Toge flinches so hard he smacks his head against the paneling and hurries to cover his ears, ignoring the throbbing pain to save his ears. There’s a split second where he thinks his ears are going to start to bleed from the screeching.

Then, the lights flicker again, and the boy’s head snaps up as if sensing something Toge can’t. Toge just watches him through scrunched eyes, unable to look away even as his heart pounds and ears ring. There are so many thoughts running through his head. He thinks he’s about to die and he feels tears cloud his vision as desperation sets in.

Are there more of them?

Are they going to eat me?

Where is the rest of the crew?

The boy seems to make a split decision and wraps his unnervingly cold hands around Toge’s wrists, pulling him towards him.

Toge screams once the boy begins to drag him out of his small sanctuary, thrashing in efforts to get away. He knows he’s acting like a crocodile has him in a death roll, but he doesn’t care, he doesn’t want to die, not yet. Adrenaline pumps through him like he’s never felt before but it’s no use. He cries so loud his throat begins to burn. In less than a second, he’s being crushed against the boy’s body, and sturdy, cold arms wrap around him to keep him secure as he keeps writhing.

There’s no moment to process anything or even begin to calm down when the boy suddenly leans down and nuzzles his head in the space between Toge’s shoulder and neck and he bites.

Toge goes rigid as he waits for the pain, for the boy to begin to eat him or rip him apart but none of it comes. Instead, his screams stop, and his eyes begin to drop like all the fatigue he’s been feeling for the last few days starts to catch up to him and drowsiness starts to win. There’s saliva oozing out of the boy’s mouth, filling the bite, and soaking the neck of Toge’s top, acting like a sedative towards him. Toge wills himself to stay awake, he tries to fight it, but the boy starts to rumble again from where Toge’s back is pressed against his chest, and it feels so comforting. The sound makes him feel warm, like he’s wrapped in a thick blanket during a cold night, like he’s back home and not in dead space with something extraterrestrial holding him against his will. Warmth and tranquility start to wash over him, pulling him in deep and holding him there.

They begin to move out of the small server room, with Toge still wrapped in the other’s arms. The shuttle is silent and all Toge can make out as they move is the aftermath of carnage in every corner. There’s blood, dismembered bodies, and broken pieces of the shuttle everywhere. Bile rises in his throat, but the sedative keeps him relaxed even if his mind registers the horror before his eyes. The screams from the crew lasted seconds but this would’ve, should’ve taken longer.

Toge can’t believe what he’s seeing but it’s cut short when his head lulls to the side, leaning against the other boy’s head, who still has his teeth deep in him. The embrace he holds Toge in is almost soothing, like he’s trying to protect him. If things were different, Toge would laugh at his idiotic thoughts but everything that he’s seeing and experiencing feels like something out of a horror movie. Part of him wonders if he is dead, if this is the afterlife, and what he could’ve possibly done in this life or the precious ones to deserve what’s happening to him but soon enough, his eyes close everything slowly fades to black.

The satellite Toge and his crew were sent to repair was brand new, made of the strongest materials possible, aluminum and titanium, having been in orbit for less than a year. Rarely do things that solid need repairing so soon but the signal it kept sending back to Earth was all static to the point that nothing it transmitted was readable. It wasn’t meant to last more than six months at most. They were scheduled to lock on to the satellite’s path of orbit and intercept, fix it there and then move onto the ISS for a routine stay. They’d been trained for this. It wasn’t something out of this world to fix.

But just within a couple of hours after leaving the Earth’s atmosphere and having started the process of intercepting the satellite, everything started going wrong.

Their shuttle had been taken for maintenance before their journey and had been triple-checked before they’d even fueled it. A few hours were all it took for the power to start malfunctioning. They had backup power, but it wasn’t designed to replace the main source. It was meant to last long enough for them to find and fix the issue.

Toge had been sent to check the power system in the server room almost as soon as it started malfunctioning. He’d been startled by the captain with a flashlight shining in his face where he’d been trying to find his way in the dark. He hadn’t even had time to change out of his coveralls they wore during take-off, a dark blue bodysuit before he was being ushered down the shuttle with hurried movements. At the time, nothing seemed life threatening, just a bit concerning at most, but they’d been trained to stay calm. Slowly though, the façade was starting to crack on the crew’s faces the longer the situation played out. No power meant having no way to contact mission control back on Earth. Time was precious in situations like the one they were in.

Power outages, although rare, were not unheard of and Toge had been trained for this scenario at least a hundred times before he’d even been assigned to a mission. But once he was down there, flashlight in hand, nothing made sense. He couldn’t find a reason as to why the power wasn’t working. Everything was intact.

He’d been testing different wires when he felt it. The gravitational force was enough to send him to the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him which made no sense, they were in outer space. There was no gravity here. He hadn’t felt a force like that since they’d left Earth. But whatever had sent him flying had jolted the shuttle.

For a moment, there was only silence after he hit the ground. Leading up to that point, the rest of the crew had been moving back and forth in efforts to try and find the problem to their power outage but then… it was quiet.

Then the screams began. They were blood-curdling and Toge wasted no time in shuffling as far back into the open panel that only lead to a mess of wires where he’d been working. There wasn’t much room, but Toge made do. He was crouching down, eyes scanning the dark area of the server room in search of his tools that were now laying all over the floor. He needed a weapon, desperately.

But he had nothing, and the shuttle was filled with the crew’s cries of pain and fear. They were so loud to the point that they made Toge’s ears ring and stomach churn. His mouth went dry as he pushed himself back further, ignoring the discomfort.

Then, the lights came back on slowly, flicking on and off as the shuttle went utterly silent again. It was just a soundless peace, one that made fear seep into Toge’s bones.  

Toge wasn’t sure how long he stayed hidden until he registered the sound of heavy footsteps coming his way. He didn’t move, didn’t even dare breathe as he waited for the sound to pass except it didn’t. It only came closer and Toge swore at that moment that his heart was about to give out. It was pounding in his chest so hard he was positive he was about to go into cardiac arrest. The fear became almost physical more than mental, with nausea building up in his throat, sweat dripping down his back, and a hard shiver racking over his body.

Suddenly, the footsteps came closer, and the lights came back and stayed on.

It’s the last thing Toge remembers as consciousness bleeds into him. He isn’t sure how much time has passed since he fell asleep. Only the hard throbbing of a headache fills his mind as the nightmare leaves him. Everything is soft around him. The bed he’s lying on is beyond cozy and so spacious. Usually, the bed in his apartment is small with enough room for him to curl up, and the bed, if he can even call it that, on the ISS, he sleeps in is even more cramped. He might be short, but he likes sleeping spread out. It’s not something he gets to do often but at the moment, he’s laid out like a starfish and there’s still room left.

There’s a faint discomfort pulsating in the space between his neck and shoulder that starts to wake him further, but it’s mostly gone. He lays there for a few more minutes before everything comes back to him like he’s been drenched in ice-cold water and his eyes flutter open. He’s softly gasping as he blinks away sleep and lets his eyes adjust to the dimly lit room.

Warm orange light fills his vision. The ceiling above him is tall, higher than Toge has ever seen in a shuttle. He moves to sit up in a hurry and feels his surroundings begin to spin as the dizziness sweeps over him. Suddenly, large hands are on him, trying to carefully steady him.

Horror fills Toge as he remembers who those hands belong to. Instantly, he’s shuffling across the bed like he’s been burned. He crowds against the corner and wraps his arms around himself as he frantically looks around.

The boy from before is there, looking utterly confused and sad as he stares back at Toge. Even in the dimly lit room, his blue eyes shine bright and it’s so eerie.

Toge reaches a hand up to touch where the boy bit him earlier and nothing, but the indent of teeth remains. He lets out a humorless laugh once he realizes the boy didn’t eat him or kill him. He must be going insane.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Toge’s eyes go wide because the last time the boy spoke to him, he couldn’t understand a word, just the screeching sound that made his ears ring. But now, he understands, and he doesn’t know how that’s possible.

The boy must realize his confusion because he gives Toge a small smile and gestures towards the area he bit earlier. “I claimed you earlier, so you can understand me now. It comes with the mating mark.”

When Toge doesn’t respond, the boy moves just a little closer but remains at a distance when he notices Toge’s fear. Somehow, he can sense Toge’s emotions without understanding him and it makes Toge fill to the brim with dread.

“I won’t hurt you,” the boy promises and his expression becomes puzzled when Toge tries to speak but fear makes it impossible to get a full word out. “I can’t understand you; the mating mark doesn’t work like that unless you reciprocate it but you’re different, you can’t, I’m sorry.”

Bite? Toge thinks, touching the space again. The skin there feels sensitive now.

The boy just sighs. “I couldn’t bring myself to leave you there to die… but I couldn’t kill you either. Marking you as my mate was the only way to bring you back with me,” he explains. “They can’t hurt you if you’re mine… for lack of a better word, mates are respected in our kind, for the most part.”

Toge scoffs this time. It’s a harsh sound, full of hatred and frustration. His eyes fill with angry tears as he thinks back to the screams of his crew. He glares at the boy, wanting to let him know that his words mean nothing to Toge. He should’ve killed Toge along with his crew because living with a monster is a worse fate.

“I wasn’t the one who took them out, so, don’t be upset with me, please,” the boy pleads, looking… distraught which doesn’t suit him. He looks and moves like an apex predator, but his personality makes him appear almost nervous. “It wasn’t my decision to discard the others and I wouldn’t dream of hurting you, let alone killing you.”

Toge just looks down, feeling the tears run down his cheeks. As if he could believe that when he saw the aftermath of the slaughter back on the shuttle.

“It wasn’t my choice,” the boy repeats himself, trying to make Toge understand where he’s coming from, but it makes Toge even angrier because how does he know what he’s feeling.

They sit in silence for a few minutes before the boy sighs again when he sees that Toge is still upset to the point of working himself up.

He comes closer, moving faster than Toge’s eyes make out. He doesn’t give Toge a moment to even react in fear, anger, or whatever is bubbling inside of him. The boy has his hand on the bite mark within a second and it makes Toge turn into jelly instantly. The tension leaves him and it makes the boy’s bright eyes pulsate in contentment.

“Humans— you’re fragile,” the boy explains, pressing his cold fingers over the skin in a soothing manner. “I know you’re angry and I’m sorry but don’t make yourself sick with it… hate me if you desire but I’m not sorry for saving you.”

Toge just looks back at him, trying to summon the anger again but coming up empty.

The boy seems pleased with that. “Just relax for a moment, be angry later. There will be more than enough time for that.”

Toge tries to stay alert and not leave himself vulnerable, but sleep takes over him again and he falls forward where cold arms are ready to catch him and bring him closer.

The gentle touch of cold fingers is still pressed to the bite mark on Toge’s shoulder when he starts coming back to consciousness. There’s another touch running through his hair, and it almost soothes him back to sleep but the persistent sound of arguing makes him wake up fully. Still, he keeps his eyes closed. 

He shouldn’t understand what’s being said but he picks up on every word like he’s always known whatever language is being spoken since the day he learned how to speak. The syllables are deep, rough, and seem uneasy for a human to recreate.  

The bite mark, Toge remembers the boy’s earlier explanation, that’s why he understands. His breathing starts to quicken but the touch on his shoulder doesn’t give him the opportunity to work himself up.

“You’re insane.” A new voice hisses, sounding almost exhausted like they’re speaking to a child rather than a full grown—whatever the boy is. “When will you realize you can’t save everything we come across? You weren’t born to become the savior of every dimension, it’s the way of the universe that some are not strong enough to survive and that’s just reality. Destruction is our culture, it’s the reason we exist, to create balance.”

There’s a movement under Toge and it makes him realize his head is cradled on the boy’s lap. He wants to freak out and move away but the soothing touches keep him content so he listens for anything that will help him in the long run. His face is centimeters from the boy’s chest, and it makes Toge realize something else, he has no heartbeat.

“I don’t try and save everyone,” the boy argues, running one of his fingers over the slope of Toge’s nose as he tries to distract himself from the conversation. “I’m not a kit, Maki. I became fully grown a long time ago.”

The other voice, Maki, scoffs as if disagreeing. “You mated him to save him,” they point out. “Do you realize how stupid that was of you? He’s human and you’ve bound yourself to him until your death. For someone graced with so much power and strength from one of the most prestigious clans, you’re still an idiot.”

Mah-key-ee? Maki. The name makes Toge’s nose twitch at the odd sounds that make it up as he tries to make it out in his head.

The boy shifts again and brings Toge closer almost protectively in his arms. “I don’t care, he’s my responsibility now so it doesn’t matter. Captain Gojo can’t hurt him if he’s mine and I won’t give him the chance.”

“When has Captain Gojo ever bent to our will, Yuuta?” Maki demands, almost going soft at the end. “He’s going to go ballistic when he sees what you’ve done. You know as well as I do what he’s capable of. Think back to what happened during our last run on the game reservoir when we came up short.”

Yuuta.

The name feels unusual when Toge runs it through his mind a few times over. It isn’t like any name he’s ever heard before because back on Earth, those sounds don’t exist. Yuuta.

Yuuta must sense his thoughts because his hand stops moving in Toge’s hair for a second before resuming again. “I don’t care, I won’t let Captain Gojo kill him.”

“You disobeyed his orders,” Maki points out, trying to make him see sense. “You were supposed to clear the shuttle and come back quickly.”

Yuuta exhales, this time in pure frustration, and there’s a slight movement coming from above Toge, giving him the mental image of him shaking his head. “I know… but I couldn’t bring myself to do it when I saw him, I couldn’t kill him.”

And Toge knows Yuuta is talking about him now. There’s almost endearment as he speaks of Toge.

Yuuta continues then. “I told Captain Gojo we should’ve just left the shuttle alone. They weren’t bothering us; they hadn’t even seen us, and we’d been there even before they arrived. They didn’t even stand a chance against him when he boarded.”

“Yuuta,” Maki says, softer than before. “The human might look like us but he’s not, he isn’t meant to coexist with us. He isn’t one of us. He can’t bite you back so you’re stuck with a mate who can’t even speak the same tongue as you and one with resentment and hatred in his heart towards you.”

Yuuta doesn’t say anything for a moment and Toge almost stops breathing. Something he’s noticed since he woke up is that the air in this room is warm, like summer without the humidity. It sits easily in his lungs but right now, it’s almost choking him when he considers that Maki has convinced Yuuta to kill him and Toge waits for it to happen. The hand that was running through his hair moves and gently wraps around Toge’s throat. Yuuta’s long fingers feel like an icy weight against his throat as they overlap.

This is it, Toge thinks. This is the end. 

But there’s only soft pressure before the hand moves to caress his chin and a finger traces his lips. “I don’t care about that,” Yuuta whispers. “I didn’t do this for something in return, I did it because I wanted to save him. He’s my mate now and I’m going to protect him.”

Maki scoffs this time in surrender. “It’s been almost three suns since we made the jump to lightspeed and left that stupid shuttle and galaxy behind and you’ve had to settle him for most of the journey because you’re afraid of his anger when he’s awake. Are you truly strong enough to stand to protect yourself, let alone him?”

Three suns? Toge wonders, confused. Just how long has he been sleeping? How long have they been traveling? It’s not felt nearly longer than a few hours.

“He was scared,” Yuuta defends Toge but there’s a nervous undertone to his words as if Maki has finally cracked his façade. “Imagine his fear when we overtook the shuttle.”

Maki starts to say something but stops with a sigh. “We can’t let the emotions of those deemed lower misguide us. They were given the chance to earn the victory, they always are.”

Yuuta clicks his tongue in disagreement. “You and I both know we don’t believe that indoctrination.”

“Fine,” Maki stops arguing. “Just don’t let him out of your sight, there’s always someone around willing to strike, remember that. Mate or not.”

With that, there’s a new robotic sound that fills the room.

Zenin Maki, access granted to main corridor from sector 10, room 12, Okkotsu Yuuta’s room.

Toge isn’t sure how much time passes before he’s laid back down on the bed. Yuuta, with much hesitation, leaves him be, mumbling about having to report to the captain before said captain calls for him. He gives Toge’s upper arm a light squeeze of reassurance that he’ll be back before the room falls silent.

Only the same robotic voice fills the room again.

Okkotsu Yuuta, access granted to main corridor from sector 10, room 12, Okkotsu Yuuta’s room. Please report to main control gate immediately. 

Toge basks in the silence for a full five minutes before he moves to sit up and gives himself a chance to really take in his surroundings, convinced that Yuuta is gone now. There’s a moment of slight peace in his mind before the horror of the situation returns fully. Now, with Yuuta gone, there’s no one to diminish the fear inside of him and of everything that has happened to him since he went down to try and fix the power in his old shuttle.

The room he’s in is softly lit with orange light and aside from the bed, there isn’t much else. The bed itself is different than any bed Toge has ever seen. It molds to his body like every fiber is made of memory foam that melts into soft silk around him. There is also no need for pillows with the material molding around him, but it gives him the feeling of sinking into sand and something about it feels wrong. It feels heavenly but knowing what kind of creatures it belongs to makes it seem more like comfort from hell.

Toge touches the bite mark on his neck again to make sure he didn’t dream anything and much to his horror, the indent of Yuuta’s teeth remains. Instantly, the fight or flight instinct starts kicking in.

Against his better judgment, he climbs off the bed. The floor is cool under his bare feet, unlike the warm light and air that fills the rest of the room. An urge to explore the room and find a way out overtakes him once he’s standing. He feels like a trapped animal, frantically trying to find an exit.

The feeling reminds him of a traumatic memory when he’d almost drowned as a small child. He hadn’t quite learned how to swim yet and his parents hadn’t noticed him walking so close to the pool. And before he knew it, he was under the water, swallowing it as he tried to gasp for air. All it did was make his throat burn. In that moment, the will to survive had been strong, making him frantically move his limbs until his parents noticed and quickly got him out of the water.

Toge feels the same panic now as he crouches down onto the ground, letting his fingertips skim across the floor. It’s strong, like the material space shuttles are made of but ten times thicker. The material isn’t from Earth, it can’t be, with how strong and cool it stays in the warm room. Toge has always been a fan of science and he can’t say he’s not interested in how two different temperatures stay consistent pressed together in one room. It makes him think this would be what duracrete would feel like, if it was real.

Being on the ground makes him feel safer than standing, it lets him get a gauge of the area better.  

The room has no windows, just solid walls much to Toge’s dismay. In almost every space movie he’s seen, aliens always have windows that display the galaxy, but he supposes that’s just human interpretation, this is real life. There also appears to be no door in sight but Yuuta and Maki left, Toge heard them leave. He can’t imagine Yuuta can just move through material. So, he resorts to crawling towards one of the walls and begins running his hands over it, trying to find an indent to reveal the door. The coveralls he still has on provide no insolation from the stiffness of the floor, making his knees protest as he moves.

You’re smart, you can do this, Toge tells himself, trying to focus the best he can on finding a way out. He knows from past experiences if he gets too flustered, his frustration will only weigh him down.

Soon enough, his curiosity and desperation pay off when he puts his hands on another part of the wall and they go through. He stumbles back, landing roughly on his hands as his heart begins to pound in his chest and a nervous smile pulls at his lips at the revelation. He raises a trembling hand towards the wall again and watches in utter fascination as it goes through the material.

Yuuta can’t go through material, material goes through him.

It’s insane, Toge can’t even wrap his mind around it, no matter how many times he tests to make sure he isn’t going mental. It’s like the molecules that make up the material of the door separate to let someone pass through, something so foreign.

He takes a deep breath before standing up again on shaky legs. He’s leaving. He doesn’t know how or what he’ll find but he’s leaving. He refuses to stay waiting for them to strike. Maki was right, he isn’t like them. How long until they decide or convince Yuuta to eat or kill him? He must strike first. Maybe it’s the adrenaline pumping through his veins, but he refuses to stay put any longer.

He glances around the room for a weapon, for anything but there’s nothing that stands out except for the bed. But there must be something somewhere else on this ship, anything out there besides the monsters that lurk. If their walls are this impression, he can’t even imagine their tools or better yet, their weapons.

But he does wish he had shoes on, or maybe better clothes compared to his coverall. It’ll have to do for now.

He lets himself count to twenty before he steps through the material. It’s a slow process, with his limbs starting to lock up but he pushes through. The material feels like cool air when he passes through, and it leaves his skin tingling.

Okkotsu Yuuta, access granted to main corridor from sector 10, room 12, Okkotsu Yuuta’s room.

The same robotic voice comes alive again but this time, it seems to register Toge as Yuuta, letting him through with ease.

The main corridor, he finds, is just a long hallway with no doors on either side. He assumes there must be other doors like the one he came out of, invisible to the eye but still there. It’s quiet in the hallway and that makes his skin crawl because he knows he isn’t truly alone, he knows there are others on board, just lurking. He wonders how many make up the crew on this ship. He can’t let himself bring his guard down even if he feels calm for the moment. If anything, he needs to hurry before Yuuta comes back, or worse, someone else finds him.

Toge decides that the best course of action is to stay pressed to one of the walls as he moves and not walk in the middle, leaving him overly exposed. The ship is clearly built to accommodate height and width much larger than any human, everything seems to dwarf him, and he can’t even begin to imagine the size of the entire ship as he starts trying to map it out in his mind. Logically thinking, a ship of this magnitude is still out of range for humans, not because they lack the want or ambition but because building ships this large takes time among expenses, the knowledge, material that’s durable enough, and a lot of trial and error to get it to even move.

After walking for a few minutes, he starts to conclude that these must be the sleeping quarters because there doesn’t appear to be any equipment or maintenance rooms, nothing. It’s bare. But even on JAXA shuttles, any shuttles from Earth really, the walls are rarely ever nude like this. There are always buttons, wires, and contraptions that line the walls for easy access. But he assumes it must be easier to separate sleep and work when gravity is still on your side in case anything starts to go wrong. Humans still do not have that luxury, clearly.

His thoughts come to a halt when he’s met with a dead end. Testing his earlier method, he runs cautious fingers along it and finds another door. When he steps through, he discovers that the ground begins to slope downward but there are no stairs, still it’s taking him to what he thinks is a lower level. Part of him thinks he should begin to slip or tumble down but the floor is firm almost like it grips him to stay upright.

Okkotsu Yuuta, access granted to observation lab from main corridor.

Observation lab? That could mean anything from a research lab to bay windows.

Either way, he’ll find out soon enough. The further he walks, the brighter the space around him becomes. The lights aren’t quite as bright or invasive as florescent lights, but they seem to help magnify everything here. It’s nowhere near comforting as the warm orange light in the sleeping quarters but this light seems to wake him up.

He puts a hand over his eyes to let himself adjust and slowly he looks around, trying to make sense of the lab. This time, he feels himself go still from disbelief not from fear but more of adoration. The scene before him is unreal, one he’s dreamt of long before he ever took his first trip to space or even began working at JAXA.

The room is long, each sidelined with what appears to be screens. They shine bright blue, vibrant, and very much alive with images. The quality of the screens is unlike anything Toge has ever seen, even at JAXA headquarters. The display is almost lifelike and 3D, even from where Toge stands, he can see everything so clearly like it’s been amplified. There are silver linings on the floor, giving the impression that whatever is down there can be brought up as well.

The room comes to an end with a window made of glass, or what Toge thinks is glass because it’s transparent, giving a crystal clear display of the outside.

It’s dark, they’re in space, but there’s the light of a million small lights, lights that fill the space as they move. They must be stars because Toge has seen pictures taken by satellites before, he knows what stars look like but never this close, never by his own eyes.

His moment of fascination, however, is short-lived when there’s movement out of the corner of his left eye. It’s when he notices that he’s walked out from where he was leaning against the entrance and unconsciously out into the open towards the window to get a better view.

He moves his head slowly, feeling himself go almost immobile from fear when there’s another burst of motion.

“Found you.” The words strike Toge down to the bone because they lack the calming tone Yuuta speaks with or even the neutral tone Maki spoke with earlier. This one sounds almost sinister, like it’s all a game and Toge has lost before they’ve even started. It makes him come to the realization that he’d walked into the lion’s den, almost like he’d been herded here, and foolishly, he’d followed.

Whatever idiotic hope, desperation, or will to survive Toge had before leaving Yuuta’s room vanishes instantly now that he’s faced with someone—something even bigger than Yuuta. It has the same eyes as Yuuta, bright blue but these burn with the predatory glint Yuuta’s lack. Eyes that give the impression that they welcome a challenge of any sort, even one for pure pleasure.

“He truly is an idiot,” the alien says, grinning at Toge and giving him a preview of its teeth, sharp and unnatural. “But he’s never really been one to intimidate has he?” It taunts and Toge doesn’t understand what or who its talking about, or maybe his mind has stopped listening in order to try and find an escape route. The desperation keeps him still but his mind keeps racing at the same time.

“Now, let me ask you something,” the alien mumbles, giving Toge a rather unimpressed look. “Do you think we can lure your mate back the easy way or is he going to play hard to get as usual?”

Toge doesn’t even have time to process the words before the creature reaches and grabs onto him with a vice grip. It wraps its hand around Toge’s left wrist and hauls him up like he’s a rag doll, weightless. The pain is instant, it shoots down Toge’s arm in sharp sparks and makes him scream once the realization that his wrist is broken sets in. But it doesn’t stop there, the alien just lifts him higher by his broken wrist to meet its eyes, dangling Toge off the ground and laughing as if it’s all amusing. Toge feels his bones breaking further, can feel it fracturing down to his elbow. It’s hot and pulsating, unlike anything he’s ever felt before.

“You made it almost too easy, wandering around alone,” the alien taunts Toge, letting him know where he’d gone wrong before pulling him up higher to watch his face scrunch with desperation. “But, maybe that’s why your species is nowhere near close to us when it comes to hunting or intelligence. Fragile, pathetic, things like you crave our ingenuity and skill.”

Toge shrieks, loud and raw, making vomit rise in his throat from the force of the sound. The dread washes over him, realizing he’s at this monster’s mercy. If he thought for a moment looking back, he’d felt fear when he met Yuuta, he was wrong because this kind of fear is mortifying knowing there’s truly no escape, barely any room for him to think of a way out. There’s no compassion, or empathy coming from the creature.

“Ah!” Its voice thrills, full of amusement as it watches Toge wail. “We’ve just started, don’t start crying now!”

It gives him another shake and Toge feels lightheaded from the pain, the vomit in his throat almost choking him. It’s so unnerving, feeling numb but feeling everything. His left arm throbs with each moment, each jerk the alien bestows upon him. And it just laughs, like it’s funny, like it’s all a game, as if it isn’t tearing Toge’s arm to shreds beyond repair.

He’s being slammed against the glass before he can even process they crossed the room.  His body goes effortlessly like he’s just a squeaky toy and he’s being thrashed around by an overly excited dog. The left side of his body collides with the glass and he yells when his shoulder dislocates. The material is resistant and hard, making him think his left side has been hit by a car.

His left arm keeps taking most of the damage and after another brutal hit, his nerves react again causing him to scream with as much force as he can muster. The sound is gut-wrenching, louder than the first one, and wet with blood. His brain is going into overdrive, sensing how close to death he is if the creature slams him again. One hit against the glass alone shattered his arm.

The other chuckles and turns around, facing the doorway like he’s expecting something. Everything happens so quickly. One moment, Toge is about to be slammed again and the next, he’s being harshly dropped onto the cool ground. He turns to lay on his right side when he feels vomit come up again, it’s human instinct driving him at that point, urging him to survive. Once his face is pressed against the ground, he vomits, all stomach acid and blood surges out of him at an alarming rate and almost chokes him on the way out. He feels broken and helpless. It’s too much and he truly does wish for death as he lays there. Everything feels cold, as if the room is below freezing, and his body trembles where he lays. His clothes are ripped and covered in blood and vomit, making the fabric feel like sandpaper against his skin. 

“Todo!” And Toge knows that voice, one he’d feared but now doesn’t sound as scary as the first time he heard it. Except, it sounds angrier than the last time Toge was in its presence.

Yuuta. Yuuta is here. It’s all Toge can think of besides the excruciating pain in his left arm. He tries to close his left hand into a fist and whimpers from pain and frustration when he can’t do it. It’s such a small motion, one he’s done since he was an infant, one he has never had to think about, but now, his hand won’t respond. He can’t do it, can’t even feel his fingers, his hand, or arm aside from the pain pulsating throughout it. Angry tears fill his eyes, making his sight blurred.

The other boy— Todo, is standing in front of Toge, looking delighted that Yuuta has finally arrived. “Took you long enough,” he taunts, looking down at Toge on the floor. “Is this yours because if he is, he’s making a fucking mess on the floor. You know how much Captain Gojo hates messes.”

Yuuta growls, looking between Toge and Todo with eyes burning with rage. There’s also a predatory glint to his demeanor that wasn’t there before.

“Get away from him,” Yuuta threatens through clenched teeth. “Or I will kill you!”

Todo throws his head back and laughs, the sound so atrocious that Toge fears it’ll embed itself into his nightmares for the rest of his life if he survives. “You?” He huffs before losing all amusement from his expression. “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”

Yuuta shakes from anger where he stands, looking at Toge on the floor who looks like he’s about to pass out at any moment. Toge looks back at him with pleading eyes, begging for mercy the longer he has to endure the suffering. He’s never been one to need saving but the pain is unbearable, burning him from inside.

“Yuuta,” Toge whimpers, feeling himself gasp when Todo moves to grab his leg.

Yuuta looks shocked for a second, not believing that his name has fallen from his reluctant mate’s lips, begging, pleading for him to save him. It ignites something inside of the alien and he doesn’t waste another moment. He crosses the room and shoves Todo away with so much force that Toge can feel the vibrations when Todo crashes against the monitors, breaking half of them with his body mass alone.

And Todo just laughs, laughs as he looks at Yuuta and brushes himself off. “Don’t start what you can’t finish, once this begins, there’s no stopping it,” he hisses at Yuuta. “You— You’re nothing, Okkotsu, nothing! They all claim you’re destined for greatness because you come from a pretentious lineage, but you, you’re pathetic,” he spits. “Boring, pathetic, weak individuals like you bore me, Okkotsu Yuuta, especially ones who get praised for simply existing.” With that, Todo jumps, pouncing onto Yuuta. “Our kind is born to crave any challenge bestowed upon us but you, you’re not like us— you’re weak prey, Okkotsu, and today, death comes for you by my hands.”

Yuuta lands harshly on the ground, making indents from the impact.

“See? Pathetic, just like your mate, and I’m going to take great pleasure in making you watch me kill him,” Todo hisses, moving towards Toge again.

“I’m warning you!” Yuuta hisses, hands closing into fists as he stands without hesitation. “Leave him be.”

Todo just grins, looking down at Toge. “Come on, beg him to kill me, little human, beg your pathetic mate to take me on before I kill you. Just one stomp and you’re dead.”

Toge feels his heart hammer in his chest at the threat. He doesn’t want to die, not like this.

Yuuta senses his mate’s fear, pain, and desperation. Toge watches as Yuuta’s suit turns silver, almost into hard armor as the alien goes into a frenzy, growling as he moves towards Todo, faster than Toge’s eyes can register. The blur reminds Toge of a snake or an alligator. Yuuta comes up from behind and wraps his arms around Todo, forcing the bigger alien back down onto the ground with a harsh throw. Sharp barbed blades extend out of Yuuta’s forearms, reminding Toge of katana blades as he looms over Todo.

“Don’t start things you can’t win!” Todo warns, trying to intimidate Yuuta. “You know as well as I do that the winner must earn their victory and you’re far from that.”

Yuuta turns his head over at Toge with a pleading expression. It’s like his anger melts off whenever he glances at Toge. “Don’t look,” he begs his smaller mate before turning back to Todo.

The sounds Yuuta lets out are terrifying as he attacks Todo with the blades, making Toge wince every time he hears them but they don’t stop coming. Yuuta just keeps on bashing Todo’s head against the flooring and slicing the other alien wherever his arms can reach, eyes burning with the intent to kill until white thick liquid begins to drench the floor. Yuuta’s suit moves with his body, almost like a second skin, giving him every advantage.

Todo growls back and aims to create distance between him and Yuuta in an effort to extend his own blades. Yuuta, however, doesn’t give him the chance and just keeps attacking as he tries to keep Todo away from Toge as if he’d sooner die than let that happen.

Toge watches him, closing his eyes whenever it gets too violent. But deep down, he can’t bring himself to feel bad for Todo, he can’t, because it was either him or the alien. It’s either Yuuta takes Todo out or Todo would’ve come back for Toge and that thought alone makes him tremble.

Yuuta looks over at him, sensing the fear from Toge and it seems to urge him on. It makes him break and slash Todo’s arms, shredding him to pieces. It’s savage, the way Yuuta attacks him but he doesn’t stop until Todo isn’t retaliating anymore. They’re fighting till the death. Maki had said Yuuta was too kind earlier and that perhaps that was his weakness. But the Yuuta Toge is looking at right now, he doesn’t hold back and he slams Todo without an ounce of hesitation like he’s weightless into the floor. It’s a short fight and Todo is on the ground motionless in a second.

The room falls silent, and only the sound of Yuuta’s harsh breathing fills the space as low growls escape him. He crouches down and extends one forearm, slicing the blade through Todo’s back, of what’s left of him, and carves a marking into him.

“I win,” Yuuta whispers, standing up as he stares at Todo with disgust.

The fight leaves Yuuta almost as quickly as it entered him once he turns to glance at Toge on the other side of the room. He extends his arms out and the blades retract instantly. His suit becomes soft, losing the armor it had once bore as he slowly walks over to Toge.

Yuuta doesn’t spare Todo a second look before he’s closing the distance between him and his mate. He bends down to get a look at Toge’s left arm. Toge is motionless, just looking at the aftermath of the fight, where white liquid keeps oozing all over the floor. Blood, its blood, their blood, Toge realizes. They don’t bleed red.

Toge looks up to meet Yuuta’s eyes and tries to steady his own breathing when he feels himself begin to convulse. This time when Yuuta reaches for him, Toge doesn’t shy away, no, instead he reaches his good hand out towards the alien, craving the safety and security the other boy offers him.

Yuuta wastes no time, gently scooping Toge into his arms as the smaller boy starts to lose consciousness once his brain deems it safe to let unconsciousness take him in an effort to alleviate the pain.

“You’re going to be alright,” Yuuta reassures him, wrapping tender arms around his mate as he tries to avoid putting pressure on the left side. Yuuta moves fast this time, making Toge’s surroundings blur as they pass by the other parts of the ship.

Toge just keeps his cheek pressed against Yuuta’s chest, right hand gripping the other boy tight. “Yuuta,” he whispers again.

“I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere,” Yuuta promises and Toge believes every word.  

The lights are harsh when Toge starts to wake up. They’re brighter than he remembers any light ever being, on this ship or back on Earth. At first, he thinks he’s dead this time since the pain is gone and there’s just a numbness that spreads all over his body. Everything feels weightless like he’s covered in molasses. He feels safe, comfortable as he comes to.

It takes him a moment to realize he’s still in Yuuta’s embrace. The alien’s arms are tight around him, keeping him cradled, giving Toge the notion that Yuuta is still operating on high alert. Toge starts to rapidly blink his eyes, trying to make sense of the room they’re in. It’s silver, with glass displays that line the walls, each full of small containers as well as monitors. There’s only one bed in the room, the one he and Yuuta currently occupy, probably meant for treatment.

“The arm,” a voice finishes explaining.

Toge feels Yuuta nod as he stays slumped in the other boy’s embrace. “Is that the only way?” There’s a warm buzz against the bite mark on Toge’s shoulder, making him register that Yuuta is grazing his lips against it in hopes of keeping him comfortable.  

The voice makes a noise of confirmation at Yuuta. “Humans are delicate but don’t worry, he won’t feel a thing. The anesthetic is numerously stronger than anything from where he’s from.”

They’re talking about his arm, he realizes. Toge wills his head to turn to look at his left arm, remembering what happened to it. Yuuta must’ve brought him to the ship’s infirmary.

Yuuta senses his movement and helps him turn his head to prevent him from straining himself any further.

The other voice belongs to a female alien, Toge thinks as his eyes try to adjust to the newcomer’s features while she moves closer to him. Her cold hands wrap around his left arm and she begins to assess it with concentrated bright blue eyes, the same as Yuuta and Todo’s. Toge concludes he must have been given a sedative because he can’t move too quickly or even panic. He feels calm and safe. Once he finally lays eyes on his left arm, seeing the skin flushed a deep purple and black, he thinks feeling numb isn’t a bad thing. He also notices that his coveralls have been cut open to give them access to his upper body.

“Please, Shoko,” Yuuta begs, “just fix him.”

The female alien— Shoko just chuckles, rolling her eyes at Yuuta. “You males and your mates, you’re all the same,” she mumbles. “Hold him still and continue soothing the mating mark, it’ll help keep him stay content for this next part.”

Yuuta tightens his arms and tucks Toge’s head under his chin when Shoko moves into place.

Then, Toge watches in amazement and horror as a blade extends out of Shoko's forearm, just like Yuuta had done earlier. She brings the blade closer to Toge’s left shoulder and with quick and accurate precision, slices his left arm clean off.

Yuuta holds him close as it happens and sucks in a breath through clenched teeth until it’s done.

Shoko gets to work right away and stops the blood loss as if she was putting a bandage on him. An amputation like this on Earth would take hours but it had taken Shoko only seconds. She’d brought over a small table full of a combination of tools and white fibers earlier.  After applying what Toge assumes is disinfectant, she brings the strong white fibers up to the wound and they immediately start wrapping around Toge’s shoulder and begin to intertwine on their own. The fibers start to expand instantly, forming the outline of Toge’s missing left arm down to the fingers. In minutes, the fibers attach to Toge’s body and begin recreating the missing arm and connecting it with his nerves and veins. It makes Toge grunt softly from the sensation and Yuuta is instantly putting more pressure on the mating mark to help ease the process.

“There,” Shoko says. “Good as new but give it two suns before he can start moving it normally again. Until then, I’ll put a sling on him to prevent too much movement.”

Toge just observes his left arm with furrowed eyebrows as it lays limp against his body. The arm looks exactly like the arm he’d lost, down to the birthmarks. He can feel it again, but his brain still can’t seem to move or register it.

His moment of fascination and confusion is cut short when someone new enters the infirmary. A new alien, tall, taller than Todo but slender, with shimmering metallic hair and a black cover that conceals the signature bright blue eyes they all sport.

Captain Gojo, access granted to medical wing. The robotic voice announces.

“Mind telling me why my observation lab is a mess?” The alien demands but there’s a teasing tone to the words like he already knows what happened back there.

Shoko and Yuuta instantly lower their heads, both murmuring, “Captain Gojo.”

Captain Gojo just smirks and lets out a charming laugh. “My observation lab, Yuuta,” he repeats his earlier question. “You’re usually pretty depressing, imagine my surprise when I found out it was you who’d had a little fun in there, with Todo out of all members.”

Toge tries his best to tune into the conversation, but the sedative makes it difficult to keep up. But there’s a strong presence to the captain that demands their attention so Toge squints towards him in an effort to listen.

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you learned how to harness your power,” Captain Gojo says, walking over and cocking his head to the side, in that same eerie way Yuuta had done earlier. “Who would’ve known all it took was one little stowaway on my ship.”

Toge knows that if he wasn’t sedated, he would be reeling in fear but for the moment, he just leans against Yuuta. And Yuuta is a solid force against him, keeping his arms around Toge like a security blanket, ready to protect him at any given moment.

“But I suppose it’s a small price to pay if it means one of my strongest subordinates has finally awoken,” Captain Gojo laughs. “From being the small, bullied kit, to becoming unhinged at the first threat towards that little human, who would’ve known. But you’ve always been strong enough to have it, just too weak and scared to take what has always been rightfully within your reach.”

Yuuta doesn’t say anything, choosing to just listen as the captain rambles on.

Captain Gojo grins, all sharp teeth. “You were intense back there, Yuuta, really proving the potential of a captain in training.”

“I did what I had to do to protect him,” Yuuta finally speaks.

“Well, you slaughtered Todo,” Captain Gojo nonchalantly states, putting his hands on his hips. He makes for an intimidating sight with his height and presence. “And here I thought, mates were just hindering things, proved me wrong, didn’t you?” He taunts again. “Just remember, love is the most twisted weakness of all, but it seems like you’re using that to your advantage. It really is about trial and error in the end, huh. Guess I wasn’t wrong when I decided to let it slip when you smuggled him on board.”

Toge starts to fade in and out of consciousness as they keep talking. He feels warm and drowsy. Sleep keeps calling to him like a siren in the water and he’s seconds away from giving in.

Yuuta’s words startle him awake when the alien starts rumbling with an intensity he hadn’t had before. “For him, I would risk anything,” he confesses, words firm and leaving no room for doubt to whatever Captain Gojo had asked him just moments before.

Captain Gojo moves closer and leans forward so he’s at eye level with Toge. One of his hands tugs the black covering up and his pupilless blue eyes fixate on Toge on an uncomfortable level. “Normally, I do not tolerate disrespect or inconveniences, but for you, Yuuta, just this once. Don’t disappoint me.”

He stands and starts walking out, throwing his hand over his shoulder. “And put some clothing on him while you’re at it, he looks like some kind of drifter in those hideous scraps.”

“Are you sure you’re comfortable enough?” Yuuta asks Toge for what seems like the millionth time in the span of five minutes.

Toge just gives him a meek nod, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the alien. Even after everything he and Yuuta have been through, he reminds himself this is still the same alien who slaughtered Todo into pieces earlier. It makes a war ensue in Toge’s mind the more he thinks about it. On one hand, he knows his survival depends on Yuuta, and on the other side, the alien is capable of dismembering Toge within a second if he chose to. But Yuuta hasn’t given him any indication that he would hurt him, no, instead he’s been glued to Toge’s side since they left the infirmary. Yuuta has been patient and eager to please, giving Toge nervous glances every couple of seconds whenever the smaller boy makes a sound.

They’re back in Yuuta’s room and Toge finds himself laid down on his right side on the bed as he starts to recover. He’s been given new clothing, a lightweight suit made of soft material that wraps around his body and molds to what he needs. It keeps his body temperature regulated and injury comfortable where it rests in the sling, and he can’t say he’s opposed. The clothes he’d entered this ship with had been shredded from the fight and by Shoko when he’d arrived at the infirmary.

The sedative is still sitting heavy in his veins and Yuuta had reassured him over and over that Shoko had given him an extra dose for the pain as his arm starts to adjust to his body. Toge just nods every time, not understanding but not doubting Yuuta at the same time The pain of having his arm crushed had been the worst thing he’s ever experienced and if slight pulses in his muscles due to the medicine is the price, he has to pay to never experience it again, so be it.

But, thinking of Todo, it makes Toge’s eyebrows furrow in worry. Captain Gojo had been so relaxed about the fight between Todo and Yuuta. He hadn’t disciplined Yuuta, not that Toge remembers at least. The captain had acted as if fighting to the death wasn’t anything new or out of the norm for them. Toge knows that sometimes members of the same crew fight amongst each other, that’s a given when everyone is trapped in a confined space. Even still, back on Toge’s shuttle, it was against every rule to fight with his crew members, and everyone, no matter their position, was quickly reprimanded whenever it happened.

Yuuta must sense Toge’s internal dilemma because he moves closer, leaning into his personal space as he smooths the furrow of his smaller mate’s eyebrows. “Don’t worry about him, he can’t hurt you anymore.”

Toge holds the alien’s eyes, waiting for him to answer the questions he must sense flooding the smaller boy’s head. Having Yuuta so close still ignites Toge’s human instincts to flee. He can feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up in fear but tries to relax. The sedative makes it easy to calm his hectic heart, but his eyes still track every single one of Yuuta’s movements.

“Our kind,” Yuuta starts to say, hesitating for a moment before continuing as if afraid of Toge’s reaction. “We’re warriors to put it simply, hunters and predators in every sense of the meaning. We exist to fight, to dominate those weaker than us. It’s our way of life and fighting between ourselves is not uncommon. Of course, there are limits and restrictions, like fighting those of a higher rank is considered one of the worst offenses but among those of the same rank, it’s free game; because if we cannot survive against each other, we stand no chance when it comes to real enemies.”

Toge listens, trying to understand. It seems like such a barbaric way to live but Toge can’t imagine weakness helps aliens survive in such a harsh environment.

“Todo challenged me first, so what happened between us was justified. Our kind welcomes a challenge, we are taught to not shy away from one, ever. Todo has had it out for me since we were selected by Captain Gojo to train under him. Captain Gojo doesn’t just take anyone, it’s an honor to be chosen for his team but Todo thought he’d made a mistake when he chose me,” Yuuta explains, looking away to glare at the flooring.

He reigns his anger in and continues, giving Toge a small smile. “When our kind issues a challenge to one of our own, declining is not an option. It’s an honor, so to speak because we do not issue them to those, we do not deem worthy, it doesn’t make for good hunting. We want to fight those who can fight back,” he says, wincing at the words as if he doesn’t truly believe them himself. “To prove we are the superior hunter. Your death means more than your life within our kind if it gives a better end result.”

The confession rattles something in Toge, it makes him feel uneasy. Everything about Yuuta’s kind seems so violent and animalistic but outside of their fighting tendencies, they’re so advanced when it comes to space travel and technology. It’s a strange contrast, one that Toge can’t seem to wrap his head around.

“We travel seeking prey to train against under our captain’s watchful eye,” Yuuta randomly adds, slowly reaching his hand out towards Toge’s limp left hand. When Toge doesn’t make a protesting noise, Yuuta smiles and lets one of his fingers run across the hand. “What happened to your shuttle wasn’t meant to be training, if that’s what you’re thinking, it was more out of annoyance, for lack of a better word. Your kind is light years behind in skill and technology to put it lightly,” he explains, chuckling at the last part. “We’d been orbiting near your planet after a hunt when your world’s satellites kept interfering with our ship, more of a nuisance than a problem but Captain Gojo decided he was fed up when your shuttle came into play. He isn’t very patient. You know what happened after that.”

Toge huffs and closes his eyes as he takes it all in. The slaughter of his crew, five people he’d trained and lived with for months, dead because they’d been an inconvenience to one alien Captain who’d simply been passing through. He really can’t believe it, that their fate was decided so easily by someone who’d deemed them so low, not even significant prey to be hunted.

It makes a new revelation cross Toge’s mind as he slowly opens his eyes and glances at Yuuta who looks nervous where he sits. Yuuta could’ve slaughtered him, killed him in an instant but he didn’t. He’d been sent in to sweep the shuttle and he’d let Toge live, had done everything in his power to save him, going as far as mating him.

Mating is still a strange concept for Toge to grasp. He doesn’t quite understand what it means or the mark on his neck but after seeing Yuuta take Todo down for him, he’s beginning to get an idea.

They stay there until Toge finally falls asleep. Yuuta keeps talking as Toge’s eyes start to droop, explaining his kind’s customs and traditions, anything to help the smaller boy fall asleep faster. And it does help, distracting Toge from the tingling that the sedative causes him every couple of seconds and let him welcome the drowsiness.

“Sleep,” Yuuta mumbles softly in his ear. “So, you can recover and get strong again.”

As time passes, Yuuta stays glued to his mate’s side as he recovers, approaching him slowly and with care every time. However, there are times when he can still sense his mate’s fear and tries his best to keep his distance, when necessary, not wanting to overwhelm his mate. But even through the hardship, there’s the exciting aspect as well of showing his mate anything and everything the longer they spend together. Time has also made his mate more curious and adventurous. He’s starting to show his real personality, one not tainted by the fear and desperation he’d had when Yuuta had first met him, and it makes the alien swoon.

And Yuuta, he’s patient through everything. He knows the situation isn’t ideal or desirable but it’s their reality, all because he couldn’t handle the little human dying by his hand or anyone else’s.

Before, Yuuta’s life had been dull but now, it’s like everything is on fire and has sparked to life. It’s incredible like Yuuta has been filled with a new desire to live. It’s hard to deny the impact his mate has had on him when he feels himself smile at the smallest things, like his mate trying their food and scrunching his nose at the strange tastes. He can’t help but beam when his mate reacts like a kit to everyday things and experiences. It makes Yuuta flood with adoration as he watches him approach things head-on with new determination and so full of life.

Yuuta doesn’t push, just lets life happen at its own speed. They might not be able to communicate but somehow, it works. Through the mating mark, he can sense his mate’s needs and wants, and it seems to be enough for the time being. Humans are fragile, he has learned through this journey, and his mate cannot reciprocate the bite, but they make the best of it.

It’s a random moment when Yuuta feels himself almost explode from affection and adoration towards his mate, more than he thought possible. It happens when the ship is in orbit as they take their scheduled break from interstellar training. He and his mate sit in the same room Todo had challenged him in just a brief time ago, leaning against the window watching a meteor shower.

His mate sits, mesmerized at the sight. His left arm has healed nicely and seems to have connected to his body just fine. Yuuta had been worried since he and Shoko weren’t quite sure how humans would react to that kind of procedure, but all seems well for the time being. There’s a delighted expression on his mate’s face as he watches, purple eyes with black centers Yuuta still finds strange, wide, and full of awe.

Time has been good to his mate. Even if back on his human planet it’s only been a tenth of the time it’s been further out in a different galaxy where they currently are. His mate is stronger, less fearful, and more trusting of Yuuta. No one on the ship dares look at him wrong after Yuuta’s fight with Todo. Yuuta has proven his strength and no one other than Captain Gojo and Maki dares to push his buttons. In the past, Yuuta would’ve avoided any conflict but now, there’s a new reason, a mate for him to protect, and he’s made it rather obvious that fighting or dying for his mate is not something out of the realm of possibility for him. The rest of the members on board know and Yuuta has only kept proving it the more training they endure under Captain Gojo on different planets, coming out either on top of or just a kill or two behind Maki.

“Yuuta,” his mate calls for his attention, pressing one of his hands against the glass as he keeps his eyes on the meteor shower.

Yuuta gives him his attention instantly, looking at what his mate is pointing out. He makes noises that Yuuta guesses are his language. They are sounds Yuuta has come to enjoy hearing even if he doesn’t quite understand what they mean.

His mate continues squawking before Yuuta comes to a realization as he watches the meteor shower.

“You know,” he says, making his mate turn to face him with a concentrated expression that lets Yuuta know he’s listening. “Back home on my planet, we wait for a kit’s first meteor shower to name them. It’s considered good fortune.” He smiles at his little mate before reaching out to hold his hand. “We should give you a name.”

The smaller boy gives him an irked, irritated, or annoyed expression, Yuuta can’t tell before he’s being pushed. It’s a playful gesture, one that barely moves the alien a centimeter, but it makes his eyes go wide. His mate has never engaged in roughhousing but neither has Yuuta, he’d crush the boy with one soft hit.

“What?” Yuuta asks. He’d genuinely thought his idea had been good. His mate has no name, he needs a name.

His mate sits up on his knees and turns his body towards Yuuta. He hesitates for a moment before grabbing the alien’s face to bring it down to his eye level. His purple eyes are intense, and his expression is serious, demanding Yuuta’s full attention which the alien is quick to deliver. He would give the little human anything he desires.

The smaller boy drops one of his hands and presses it against Yuuta’s chest. His hand is small and warm, making Yuuta rumble happily at the feeling.

“Yuuta,” his mate says, pressing against the alien’s chest. “Yuuta,” he repeats, trying to get a point across with a determined expression.

Yuuta swallows nervously and nods. “That’s me,” he whispers.

His mate grabs Yuuta’s hand and presses it against his own chest. Yuuta can feel the little flutter that thumps inside of his mate’s chest. It’s odd, like a soft, consistent rumble but he finds that he enjoys it.

“Doh-geh,” His mate screeches in that soft voice of his, pressing Yuuta’s hand to his chest with more force.

His name, Yuuta realizes he’s telling him his name. His mate. His name.

“Doh-get,” His mate repeats a few more times until it starts clicking in Yuuta’s mind and his brain tries to process the sounds.

“Toge,” Yuuta finally grasps.

His mate, Toge grins, full of small teeth and happy eyes. “YA!” He shrieks in joy this time.

“Toge, you already have a name,” Yuuta acknowledges, buzzing with happiness at the sight of his mate’s content reaction. “You don’t need one.”

Toge eagerly nods and smiles, looking extremely pleased with himself.

Yuuta returns the smile, moving his hand from Toge’s chest to gently wrap around the side of his neck. “You’ve been here for almost a hundred suns and your name never occurred to either of us.”

Toge laughs in that soft rumble of his, one that makes Yuuta swarm with adoration and affection. It’s a happy sound, one he wants his mate to make forever.

After the moment they share during the meteor shower, things start changing even more between them. They become more affectionate, clingier and Yuuta feels like he’s floating whenever they’re together. Toge starts seeking him out, always following Yuuta no matter what he’s doing, even if it's routine maintenance on the ship. Toge seems to enjoy watching that mundane work, finding the structure of everything fascinating, always eager to lend a hand.

But Yuuta’s bubble of contentment comes to a burst when he realizes the ship is close to finishing its journey and things are set to change drastically. He knows it’s inevitable but chooses to not dwell on that fact too much, opting instead to live in ignorant bliss and enjoy his time with Toge for just a bit longer. It’s difficult to worry about what the future will bring when rest comes after a long day of work and training, especially when he finds himself and his mate sleeping snuggled together.

Yuuta just holds him close and tries to ingrain his mate’s presence to memory. Toge doesn’t have a particular smell other than human, not like Yuuta and his kind. But he finds that Toge is beginning to smell like Yuuta. Not that Yuuta minds, it helps soothe the possessive, overprotective instincts inside of him knowing that no one on the ship would dare cross his mate because it would mean dealing with Yuuta in return.

But even in the place where Yuuta feels the happiest, the thoughts of what’s about to happen keep him awake. He knows he has to tell his mate what awaits them in less than seven suns, the sooner the better.

They’re in bed when the unpleasant conversation finally happens, drifting to sleep when Yuuta feels warm lips press against his shoulder. He smiles, threading one of his hands through his mate’s soft hair in retaliation. Toge makes a frustrated noise, moving higher until he’s managed to perch his crossed arms on Yuuta’s chest to get closer to the alien. His expression looks upset since he’s seemed to have caught on to Yuuta’s distressed mood.

“I’m fine,” Yuuta tries to reassure him, hoping to coax his mate to sleep.

Toge huffs and narrows his eyes until Yuuta breaks. Really, he’s so weak to Toge.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” Yuuta gives in, knowing this time is as good as ever.

Toge just nods, encouraging him to continue.

“The ship is going to finish its trek soon,” he explains. “When that time comes…. It’ll be the end of my training and that means I’m ready to enter the tournament.”

Toge’s expression becomes confused, but Yuuta was ready for that reaction. He stretches his arm out and wraps it around his mate, pulling him in close until their faces are only a few centimeters away. Toge’s skin is soft against his own and the feeling comforts him.

“The tournament is the highest achievement within our kind. Very few of us make it high enough in the ranks to be able to participate,” Yuuta describes. “It’s simple. They’ll divide us into random sets, mixing this crew and others who’ve also been training so there isn’t an advantage. Once we’ve been assigned, the tournament begins. Each group will be dropped onto a chosen planet with unpredictable terrain and prey. The objective is simple, we have to prove that we are capable of surviving and hunting down whatever is bestowed upon us before we challenge each other until only one remains on each planet,” Yuuta tries his best to clarify. “From those survivors, new leaders of our generation will rise.”

Toge’s reaction is quiet but the worry he feels for Yuuta bleeds into the mating bond between them. It’s loud distress and unhappiness but Yuuta had anticipated this. He’s learned that Toge considers their traditions barbaric but in return, Yuuta considers humans brittle, so he supposes it evens out.

“It’s harsh, I know, but it’s our culture and if we want to become captains and be given our own ship one day, with subordinates to train and the ability to come and go as we please, it has to be done. We have to prove that we are the best, that we are worthy, there is no room for dishonor within our people,” Yuuta goes on. “The duration of the tournament will seem eternal but back on your planet, it will only have been a tenth of that time, not nearly as long. Even now, you’ve been here with me for a hundred suns but on your home planet, it’s only been ten.”

Toge starts chewing on his bottom lip as he tries to process everything, an action Yuuta dislikes. He doesn’t enjoy anyone hurting his mate, much less Toge himself but he knows it’s only something Toge does when he’s feeling frustrated. Yuuta understands, Toge isn’t from his planet, he isn’t used to their way of living.

“It’s going to happen, no matter what,” Yuuta lands the last blow, pulling Toge’s lip free and soothing it with a swipe of his finger. “I would be killed if I refused to participate but before any of that happens, I need to ask you something…”

This is the part he’d been dreading but he knows he has to ask; it would be unfair not to. “I want to give you the option of what you want to do while I’m away, I could take you back to my planet and have you stay with my clan but… there’s no guarantee I will survive, let alone win, no matter how strong I’ve become. I have no idea who I’ll be up against or what type of prey they’ve chosen,” he explains, avoiding his mate’s eyes. “But if you desire to go back to your own planet and wait for me there, I will take you, I will do whatever you ask of me.”

Yuuta frowns when he sees Toge’s eyes blur with tears, the same angry tears from so long ago that had once plagued his mate constantly. He can feel Toge’s anger, concern, and fear, fear for Yuuta, worry that he won’t come back. They’re bound together, by the mating mark, and by the time they’ve grown closer.

“I promise you I will come back,” Yuuta whispers, pulling his mate closer in an effort to try and soothe him. “I will win, for you,” he swears. “I won’t ever leave you alone, I think, I think I’m far too attached for that to happen. Besides, this,” he runs his lips against the mark Toge’s shoulder, making the smaller boy shiver. “It will always guide me back to you.”

Toge seems to like that and rewards him with a tender smile. He closes the gap between them until their foreheads are being pressed together and he’s making that soft rumble he does whenever Yuuta says something funny or stupid. It’s a strange little sound, but Yuuta adores him either way. He’d give anything for him. Mates within Yuuta’s kind are forever, bound to each other for the rest of their lives, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Nothing could ever keep him away.

They stare at each other for a moment before they’re descending on each other in an urgent kiss as if they’ll both die if either of them waits a moment longer. It’s tender and eager, much like Toge himself. Yuuta smiles against his mouth, loving the soft slide of his mate’s lips against his own, such a contrast of texture but very much welcomed. He keeps his strength at bay since Toge is small and sweet all over, even he’s a little nuisance at times. Yuuta is devoted to him entirely. He will survive and he will come back. Because he’d rather let himself die a thousand deaths instead of ever letting anything bad happen to his mate or let anyone hurt him. Never again.

Sometimes, Toge comes to the conclusion that time isn’t real. Especially after everything he’s experienced over the last few months. At least, he tells himself it’s only been a few months. The time he spent with Yuuta felt much longer but now, he isn’t so sure.

Yuuta had brought him back to Earth or the closet thing, the shuttle that had started it all. They’d jumped at light speed to bring Toge back before Yuuta had to leave It was hard, much harder than Toge had imagined it would be to say goodbye, even if Yuuta kept reassuring him it was only temporary, not permanent, the universe would have to end before that happened.

Toge’s return had been different than when he’d first been taken. They’d arrived near the shuttle just minutes before an emergency one started to connect to it. It made sense that JAXA send one. After all, it had only been ten days since communication with Toge’s shuttle had been lost. It was protocol. He and Yuuta watched the emergency shuttle approach and knew that once it connected to start the rescue, it was time to part. Toge had been dressed in his former clothes, fabric that no longer felt right, just rough, and restrictive.

Yuuta had carefully left him in the ruined shuttle for the emergency team to find. He’d stayed in the shadows until he was sure Toge was safe. The rescue team had been in disbelief that Toge had survived and had quickly pounced on him, eagerly checking him for injuries, not one person taking notice of the extraterrestrial life form standing only a few feet away in the darkness, ready to ambush at the sight of any of them hurting his mate.

Then, Yuuta was gone and Toge felt like he’d been hit with whiplash. The descent back to Earth was strange, everything felt wrong. But he let it happen because Yuuta had promised he’d come back and Toge believed him. Being back in human presence felt strange like he’d gone back in time with how rough the shuttle moved, with how out of date their technology seemed, and how defenseless the people around him seemed now. Toge understood why Gojo had made easy prey of them now.

After they arrived, Toge spent weeks receiving medical attention. Attention he didn’t need, doctors who couldn’t believe he’d survived ten days in those conditions. Psychiatric care that never seemed to end. They deemed him too calm, too alert for him to be fine. But he was fine.

The interrogations started after he was cleared by the doctors. Military and government officials seemed to never leave him alone. But he’d been ready for this. The mission had gone wrong due to an airlock failure, it explained the damage, the carnage, and the power outage. Yuuta had once told him that humans were naive creatures when it came to the unknown, easy to read if watched closely and simpler to coax with resolutions that helped answer what caused them fear.

He’d been right.

A year later, Toge is cleared to go back to work. All the doctors and psychologist have given him the clear. It’s been a long time coming.

He finds himself awake the night before he’s scheduled to board another shuttle for a six month stay on the ISS. He’s been deemed too experienced now to let go, after everything that’s happened.

Sleep is hard to find now. His mother thinks it’s his mind’s way of coping with the trauma of what happened, survivor’s guilt, she calls it, but he knows that’s not it. It’s something else. A lot of the doctors have told him his mind might not remember exactly what happened anymore, in an effort to help protect him from the trauma of it all.

Sometimes Toge can’t remember what actually happened. Half the time, he is convinced he’s going insane because his left arm sometimes doesn’t feel like the right one, making him remember when it’d been reconstructed. It’s a strange thought, one the doctors and multiple tests have disproven, associating it more with his insomnia.

Other times, when he’s sick, scared, or frustrated, the space between his shoulder and neck throbs, willing his mind to remember someone. Someone who was real, is real. They couldn’t have been someone Toge made up when his previous mission had gone wrong. But sometimes, it’s hard to think that person exists when the medication kicks in and pulls him to sleep.

He swears he’s fine, it’s just the sleep deprivation that makes him doubt himself. Still, he can’t help but feel like he’s missing someone all the time.

Morning comes and they all board the shuttle. They’ve been trained more intensely on shuttle maintenance to help prevent what happened last time. It’s been considered one of the worst manned low orbit expedition accidents in human history. JAXA, along with every other country’s space programs have all sworn to train their astronauts better to avoid tragedies like that one from happening again.

Ten minutes later, they’re in orbit. Everything seems to be going well but Toge can’t sit still. There’s an itch inside of him that he can’t quite scratch and it’s making him feel restless. They arrive at the ISS six hours later and get settled quickly.

ISS is just as Toge remembers it being, compacted and routine. He’s been here before once on a previous stay. The layout is the same as he remembers it, but he can’t help but scrutinize the clutter, the exposed wires, and the limited space.

It hasn’t been a full day when Toge’s restlessness gets worse. But just as the crew gets prepared to switch shifts, the power starts to flicker. It’s a reoccurring theme in Toge’s nightmares. They always jolt him awake when everything starts to get overwhelming but this time, he’s awake. This isn’t a dream.

Just like in his nightmares, the power continues to flicker, and gravity hits the space station. The crew all hit the floor with the intensity of the force. Everyone goes quiet as they try to process what just happened. Training wills them to try and find a solution, even if dread hangs over their heads.

It was real, Toge thinks as he clutches his head from the drop. I’m not crazy, those dreams were real.

The crew, better trained this time around, wastes no time in getting up and rushing towards the emergency hatch that leads to a small panic room. It was designed for emergencies, the kind the government refuses to talk about but lives in fear of, first contact. Because nothing else could cause such an impact on the ISS.

The captain is grabbing Toge’s wrist and dragging him up and towards the panic room, all while Toge is still trying to process what’s happening. The rest of the crew thinks he’s going into shock and Toge wants to tell them that he’s fine, it’s not shock, it’s something else. But the captain leaves no room for argument, instead, closing them inside. There’s a small power source in the room, one that allows them the opportunity to send a distress signal back to mission control. The second they went black, mission control noticed, just like when Toge’s old shuttle was hit.

Then, the power starts flicking, off and on until it’s staying off. Everything is silent, only the sound of the crew’s breathing is audible in the panic room.

“Toge!” A yell breaks through the space station and Toge’s head perks up because he knows that voice. It calls to him and urges him to close the distance between them. The voice makes a desperate feeling spread through him and he’s crawling towards the door before he can even process it, he’s moving. The space between his neck and shoulder aches, urging him to move so he does as his body wants.

Hands grab him and hold him back. “Are you insane?!” An angry voice, the captain, hisses in his ear. “Do you not hear the screeching outside, son?! That’s death out there.”

Screeching? Toge thinks, shaking his head and trying to pull away from the hands that restrain him. It’s not screeching, no.

Yuuta. It’s Yuuta.

The realization makes Toge’s eyes go wide as he remembers. It makes him start to struggle even harder and before he knows what he’s doing, he starts shouting.

“Yuuta!” He screams, causing the crew to try and cover his mouth in desperate attempts to silence him. But it’s too late for them to hush him because the door is being ripped clean off the handles a second later.

Before them stands something unrecognizable, menacing to a bone-chilling degree. They all freeze in fear except Toge who thrashes in efforts to escape again, eager to meet his death.

Three additional figures appear beside the first one, silent and standing at attention. Their bright blue eyes pierce through the dark.

Toge can’t believe what he’s seeing, it’s Yuuta. He came back, just like he’d promised. He’s in disbelief, looking at the alien in front of him in awe because Yuuta looks different, more serious but equally returning Toge’s enamored gaze.

“Kugisaki, Fushiguro,” Yuuta orders, looking towards the right then the left at that inhuman speed Toge remembers. “Itadori.”

The three newcomers bow their heads simultaneously, sparing Yuuta a respectful glance before chaos ensues.

He’s a captain, Toge realizes.  

The crew releases Toge in order to cover their ears from the screeching, letting Toge dash forward and out of the panic room, where Yuuta waits for him with open arms.

Yuuta reaches for him instantly, wrapping Toge in his arms and practically smashing his mate to his chest. Toge snuggles in the embrace, feeling complete after a long year of distance. Yuuta rumbles and reaches up to tug the right shoulder of Toge’s coveralls down to press a kiss to the mating mark.

Behind them, the captain has managed to contact mission control with rushed movement. “JAXA, broadcasting one last report, first contact has been made.” It’s in that same calm tone they’re trained to use, no matter the circumstances. Yuuta, however, doesn’t seem the least bit fazed.

“Don’t look,” he whispers in Toge’s ear, covering his mate’s eyes with his large, cold hand as he motions towards the panic room, and three figures dart in. The screams rip through the dark space station as Yuuta leads him towards the airlock where a large ship awaits. “Let’s go home.”