“Wow,” Thomas said, looking in awe.

The city he and Javqua had landed in, L’raester, looked so...similar, yet different.

It was a city alright, with towering skyscrapers and buildings, but unlike the cities back on New Britannia and other human worlds, there was so much more nature.

Lush trees, bushes, grasses and ferns were littered everywhere, and not just for decoration or shade - they were just...part of the city. Thomas could tell that Kravenka truly was a forest world.

The buildings, like Javqua’s room, were also hues of green and brown. It was a wondrous change of scenery from the endless white, gray and silver buildings of his homeworld and Clevin 4.

“This is amazing!” He exclaimed.

“I know.” Javqua said, her eyes filled with excitement. “Come on, stop standing there, I have so much stuff to show you!” She exclaimed, before grabbing his hand and practically dragging him from the landing station’s doors, to who knew where.

Thomas stumbled from Javqua’s much longer, energetic strides, and barely managed to keep up with her.

He followed Javqua around a corner, and Thomas’s mind was blown once again. The streets were filled with people - and by that, he meant Krakovak’s.

It was so off-putting, seeing only one species since he was used to the vast diversity of his school. Everywhere he looked, there was Kravovak. Talking, laughing, walking, running - they looked...happy. So different from Javqua, who avoided everyone but him, her tail wrapped around her body.

But now, Javqua looked happy too; tail outstretched and eyes bright, as she glanced back at him. He felt a pang of joy seeing her so happy; it was crazy to think that they had bonded so much in barely three weeks. Technically, it was four; as they had spent another week together in FTL, but the two of them had slept through most of the boring trip.

As they continued walking down the busy street, Thomas noticed he was getting lots of stares. He didn’t mind the curious citizens, doubting that any alien species willingly went to Kravenka, let alone one that looked as small and weak like him.

Before he knew it, he was being dragged in and out of stores, selling anything between arrays of meats and shelves of toys.

Once again, Thomas felt that Kravenka’s interiors and exteriors gave off a different vibe than Cleven 4. Ironically, the ‘wilder’ environment had a strange homey vibe; it just felt as though you could relax, without worry. Maybe it was the plants or all the wood-looking furniture.

As time went on, he began to realize that Javqua was subconsciously handing him everything they bought, adding to the massive pile in his hands. He smiled and chuckled inside his head at how similar the mannerism was to humans; doing things subconsciously.

Javqua hadn’t felt this happy in a long time. Not only was she finally home and able to relax, but she also had Tom by her side; the little human was one of the nicest and funniest people she had ever had the pleasure of meeting, let alone making friends with.

Thinking back, she only now realized how depressed she was before he showed up. She never talked to anyone or felt happy. But now? Now she had the best friend she could have ever wished for.

He just always seemed to give off this emotional warmth whenever he was around her: and then there was the literal heat that he radiated from his body; that just seemed to spread in all directions and beckoned her towards him. He was a tiny beacon of hope, warmth and happiness. That was why she loved him so much. Wait… do I?... no, I....maybe. Wait...

Now that was a shocking realization. But did she really feel that way about him, about Thomas? She wasn't entirely sure and had no clue when she would be.

Looking over at Tom, she realized that he was carrying everything they had bought; his arms full of all sorts of items. She doubted a being of his size would be physically capable of carrying so many things, and yet, here he was - lifting everything with ease.

As she stared at him, her mind went back to those thoughts. She knew she felt something for him. Something more than just friendship, but she didn't know if it went that far. Even if she did like him in that way…would he even like her back?

Surely not. She had seen pictures of human females and she looked nothing like them. But then again, realistically, she shouldn't feel any attraction towards him either, for the exact same reasons. But she did. Aaaahhhh!!! This is fucking with my head! Just stop thinking about it for now - you can do it later when you're alone in bed or something.

With that, Javqua was finally able to get her mind under control, and in the nick of time at that, as they had just arrived at her house. Without any fanfare, she walked up to the door, braced herself, and knocked.

To be completely honest, for the amount of stuff he was carrying, Thomas didn't feel strained or fatigued in any way. Then again, he had been working out a lot recently, the gravity on Kravenka was slightly lower, and the materials used in the products were pretty light.

Before he could ponder on it any further, he noticed Javqua knock on the door. Less than two seconds later, the door flung open, and a small blur of green flew out, slamming into Javqua.

In all honesty, Tom thought it was an attack until he heard childish laughter emanating from the now visible Krakovakian child clinging to Javqua’s chest.

“JAVI!”

Looking over to Javqua, he noticed a big toothy smile on her face. That explains why she tensed.

“Hey Ora.” Javqua groaned as she stood up, her younger sister still clinging to her. A small smile made its way onto Thomas’s face, but deep down he knew it was a bitter-sweet one.

“Where’s mom and dad?” Javqua asked Ora. There was a pause before the little girl beckoned Javqua to follow her inside the house. As Javqua was about to move, she realized Thomas was still standing next to her with piles of stuff in his arms.

She held the door for him as he awkwardly shuffled inside, making sure not to break anything.

“Where to now, ‘Javi’?” Javqua just knew from Thomas’s tone that he had a shit-eating grin behind the mountain of boxes and bags he was holding. She wordlessly placed her stuff on top of the pile he was holding, ignoring his muffled protests as she formed a shit-eating grin of herself.

Ora passed the kitchen and living room, leading her upstairs to mom and dad’s room. Javqua frowned. Where was everybody? Then, Ora stepped aside, gesturing towards the door.

Javqua grabbed the door handle, pausing. She looked back at Thomas, who was now carefully putting down all the items they had bought down on the ground. Ora still hadn’t noticed him yet, looking at the door almost...eagerly?

She opened the door and found herself staring directly into the barrels of several glitter cannons, held by none other than her family members. Javqua ducked down, watching as streams of glitter sailed over her head… directly into Thomas’s mouth.

The first thing to enter Thomas’s mind basically boiled down to the fuck!?.

One moment, he was standing back up from putting down the last of his and Javqua’s stuff, and the next, he was choking on some shiny, grainy substance - and a lot of it.

He looked at the several surprised faces looking at him, Javqua’s family, no doubt confused on why a human was in their home. In only a second, all these thoughts rushed through his head; and then, he began frantically trying to clear his lungs.

Stumbling around, he began spewing out what seemed to be glitter. He recalled seeing a kitchen downstairs - and if there was a kitchen, there was water.

Thomas rushed towards the stairs, only to trip on one of the many boxes laid on the floor. He braced himself as he fell down the stairs, only to find out that...it wasn’t that bad?

A combination of the slightly lower gravity and luck left him mostly unharmed, besides a couple bruises and a damaged ego.

“Thomas!” Javqua leapt down to him, landing neatly on her digitigrade feet in front of his sprawled out body.

“Thomas, are you alright?” Javqua grabbed him and sat him up, shaking him around.

Thomas wordlessly grabbed her arm, stopping her from shaking him, before coughing up a large mouthful of glitter.

“Yeah I'm fine, just… you know… sparkly and sore.” He exclaimed humorously, trying to laugh, only to end up coughing up more glitter.