Aura nearly jumped when Adan entered the kitchen behind her. “So, where is he now?” was her greeting.

“I told him to go get a shower.” He sighed as he watched her grudgingly return to her overly angry breakfast preparation. “If you’re gonna be this freaked out about him...”

“You’ll what?” she asked as she continued to keep her back to Adan. “Throw him out of the bunker? Oh wait” she added sarcastically. “Shoot him for the crime of making me feel really fucking uncomfortable then?” she scoffed.

“I know everything about this is weird...”

“But?” she bit out the word as she finally turned to face him.

“But,” he stated as he moved closer to her, placing his hands on her arms, “he’s been in here with us for over a week. And we didn’t even know he was here; while we slept, while we ate, while we showered, while we...” he swallowed and continued, “if he honestly wanted to hurt us, he’s had a hell of a lot of chances already” he stated quietly.

“So you do trust him?” she replied with disbelief.

“Again, there’s a few shades of gray between ‘trusting’ him and thinking he’s about to murder us at any moment.”

She just continued to look at him with a shake of her head. “How were we ever best friends again? You’re so fucking zen about everything! Up to and including being stalked by someone while being locked in a bunker in the middle of an alien invasion! How do you not think that I must be the biggest fucking nutcase on the planet?”

Adan bit back a smile, “when you put it that way, I’m the one that sounds nuts.”

“Yeah, maybe a little” she agreed as she turned away again, only to have him catch her arm, and pull her close to him.

“Wanna hear something else crazy?” Adan allowed a tiny grin.

“Sure, there isn’t enough of that already” she replied sarcastically, trying to ignore the way her pulse raced even more as he held her against him.

“Ilian there thinks I have some magic ability to calm you down when you get all upset like this.”

“Yeah, that is crazy” she replied with the same sarcasm.

“Isn’t it though?” he smirked back at her as he leaned closer and covered her mouth with his again.

As their kiss continued, it somehow led to Adan’s hands finding their way into the back of Aura’s t-shirt. As their tongues continued to tease one another his hands gently caressed her heated pale skin underneath the dark material. She had just, against her own better judgment, moved her fingers to the waist of his pants when they were interrupted by the sound of Ilian pushing open the kitchen door behind them.

“Fucking hell” Adan muttered as the two separated and he turned slightly away in frustration, readjusting his pants as he did.

“I’m sorry but I had trouble with the... shower?” he stated hesitantly.

“It’s a shower!” Adan replied with a bit of impatience.

“I had to explain it to you” Aura couldn’t help reminding Adan, though quietly.

He then looked back at her, appearing wounded by the comment. “Fine, would you like to go explain it to him too then?”

“Me?”

“You’re the expert” Adan returned wryly.

“I’m not gonna help him figure out the shower. You go” Aura argued.

“Me?”

“Yeah, he’s... a he!”

Adan just looked back at that comment and couldn’t help his next. “How does that matter? I’ve had sex with more men than you” he reminded her. Ignoring the look she shot him on that comment, he quickly moved on. “Besides, I doubt he wants me to help him take a shower quite that literally” Adan returned.

“Who knows, with him” she mumbled.

“I don’t have to take a shower” Ilian offered quietly as he looked awkwardly between them.

“God, let’s just go” Adan gave in as he moved toward the door with a huff, Ilian following warily.

“That was strange” Ilian said thoughtfully once Adan had led him back to the bathroom.

“Excuse me?” Adan asked, still frustrated by the earlier interruption.

“You and Aura. You were being... affectionate? Then suddenly angry?”

“That was hardly angry” Adan scoffed. “And you’re one to call anyone else strange” he added in a mumble as he stepped into the bathroom, waiting for Ilian to follow, which he did, hesitantly. “You hit the button with the blue wavy lines, then turn the faucets. Enjoy” he told him with brevity as he gestured to the computer pad and moved to make his way past Ilian and out of the tiny room again.

As he moved past Ilian he caught him looking toward the shower and the computer panel blankly, as if trying to solve a puzzle. Adan sighed and stopped just short of the doorway.

“Seriously, what is you deal, dude?”

“Deal?” Ilian repeated, giving Adan the same puzzled look he had been giving the shower a moment earlier.

“Is English like not your first language, or what?” Adan prodded, his nerves wearing rather thin these days too, no matter how ‘zen’ he appeared to be when placed next to Aura.

“No. It’s new” Ilian admitted.

“Seriously?” Adan furrowed his brow at that admittance. “But your dad is American, right? I mean you do look like part Native American or something, but still. Did you grow up on a reservation or something?”

“Yes. A reservation” Ilian stated flatly.

“OK” Adan continued to look at him curiously. “I guess that would explain your weird way of talking, and why all this shit,” he gestured to the computer panel, “must seem pretty strange to you, I guess.”

“Yes” Ilian agreed again.

“Whatever man. Just take off your clothes and get in the shower. I need to go check on...” before he finished, Ilian had already begun pulling away the pants which were his only article of clothing that morning anyway. “OK then” Adan swallowed as he attempted to turn his eyes away, but couldn’t help letting them linger an extra moment. As he had mentioned earlier, he had had relationships, at least physical ones, with males and females alike. And it was quite difficult to ignore how incredibly attractive Ilian was, despite all that aforementioned weirdness. Especially once he undressed right there in front of him. “Yeah, I’m.. yeah, enjoy” Adan repeated, taking one last glance at him before making himself leave the room, closing the door tightly behind him with a deep breath.

When Adan returned to the dining area, looking a tad flustered, he found Aura having her late breakfast. She looked up at him with an unreadable expression before speaking. “You mean you didn’t decide to stay and help him wash his back or something? You having been with so many men and all.”

“Aura...” he just shook his head, “I said, more men than you, and I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. But ‘more men than you’ could technically mean like two” he had to point out.

“Mmm-hmm” she said as she cast him a look of doubt before taking another bite of her breakfast.

“And I seriously doubt I’ll be reconnecting with any of them any time soon” he added with a sheepish grin.

“Yeah, now you’re just stuck with me. And Ilian” she couldn’t help adding.

“Stop” he shook his head, but managed to hold his smile. “Besides, I know your type. Shouldn’t I be worried about competition too now?”

“Yeah cause I’m so into the creepy stalker man” she stated with a roll of her eyes.

“I didn’t hear you say you don’t think he’s hot though.”

“And was that you just saying that you do think he is?”

“Shut up” he shook his head again with a small chuckle. “At any rate, if we both think he’s hot, then maybe we’ll end up getting along with him really well after all, right?”

“Oh you stop!” she told him with feigned offense.

“Anyway” he smiled again, “I found out that he apparently grew up on a reservation. Which I guess explains one iota of his weirdness, right?”

“A reservation?”

“Apparently.”

“Yeah, I feel completely safe now” she told him wryly.

“And there’s that abuse of sarcasm I love so much again” he teased.

When Aura crawled into bed with Adan that night, he almost immediately pulled her to him and covered her mouth with his. They had gotten into the habit of kissing one another goodnight since the night they had made love. But tonight, his kiss was more urgent; the type that usually signaled the start of other activities.

As always, it was impossible for her not to kiss him back. And as she did, she felt his hand slide under the t-shirt which was her usual nighttime apparel and up her side to begin caressing her breast as he pulled her even closer. Though it was only a few moments before he ended the kiss and looked over at her.

“You’re shaking” he smiled at her as he gently kissed her forehead, awaiting her response.

“I am?”

“Well, it’s not all that cold in here, and it’s not your first time, this time” he smiled coyly, “and I haven’t made you start coming yet, so...?”

“Sorry?” was the only response she managed.

“What is it, Aura? You’re not, like, scared of us doing this again... Are you?” he asked with concern as he moved back from her to prop his head on one hand, and wipe some hair from his face with the other.

“Scared? Why would I...” though she simply averted her eyes.

“OK, so why are you scared? Let me know so I can help alleviate it” he told her gently.

She seemed to struggle more than a moment before finding the strength to give him an answer. “I’ve always been scared of sex, Adan. You know that” she admitted softly.

“Well you’re not a virgin anymore, so...”

“And that fact’s the main reason why I’m so scared right now” she sniffled slightly.

“You’re scared cause you’re no longer a virgin?” he asked with confusion.

“Come on, Adan. You know why I was still a virgin at seventeen. And it wasn’t just because I wanted it to be with... the right guy” she added, refusing to let herself replace the phrase with the word ‘you.’ He already was aware of that fact too.

Searching his brain a moment, he found the answer she was hinting at. The two of them had talked about sex before. They were teenagers after all. But knowing how she felt about him, he tried to avoid the topic with her on most occasions, for reasons of awkwardness alone.

“I mean, aren’t you scared of that happening too?” she blurted out, no longer able to contain her fears after being called on them.

“Of course I am, but...” he was at a loss for how to finish that sentence.

“But what?”

“If that does happen, we’ll figure it out,” he then squeezed her tightly to him again.