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Erebus didn't sleep that night. As a xenomorph, he didn't need much to begin with, but he could still rest when he wanted. But there was no rest for him. Only pain. He tried desperately to figure out what had gone wrong.

It was his own fault, he decided. His own. He had been too eager to have sex with George. He had made George upset. He hadn't read the mood right. He had said something wrong. He'd probably said many things wrong. It was all his fault, and the human didn't like him anymore. The human would want him gone now. Maybe he'd put the xeno in a cage and never see him again.

Erebus didn't care. He didn't think he'd care about anything ever again. His chest ached. His dome hurt. He wanted to scream and wail in agony like George. But he didn't make a whimper. He just sat, curled up with his dome between his legs, and waited for something to happen. He felt like he was falling; falling down a long dark tunnel with no end.

He wasn't sure what time it was. George had stopped crying a long time ago, but his breathing was still heavy; he hadn't gone to sleep. The human was just lying on the bed up above, unmoving.

Erebus could also hear the light breathing of Barns, who had pulled his feet up onto the bed and apparently gone to sleep at some point, probably because he had mistakenly believed that George had gone to sleep.

The xenomorph suppressed a moan of pure misery, his body growing cold as he descended into the darkness.

---

George didn't sleep that night. He needed it, of course, but he didn't get it. He couldn't sleep after what he had just done. It agonized him.

The death of his comrades had hurt. A lot. But his anguish only lasted a couple of hours. One good cry later, with Barns's company, George had come to terms with his new reality in that area. His squad was basically all gone. End of the story, time to move on. He had tried re-order his reality around that fact in a logical fashion., with mixed success.

To be sure, he wasn't over it and he wasn't fine about it. He probably would never fully recover, and he knew that. This would be a sore wound forever. But now he did accept the basic fact of it: his team was gone. That was reality now. He had to move forward and build anew, as hard as that would be.

So, by the time that Erebus was going through the process blaming himself, George's unhappiness about his squad was down to manageable levels. But it had been eclipsed by something much bigger: The xenomorph under the bed.

The medic's stomach was tied up into a knot. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut, and he knew who had done it: he himself had. His squad; his friends and comrades in arms, were dead. It had been right to feel agony and sorrow over that. But he had also blamed and pushed away one of his friends who was still among the living.

'Oh god, I'm so sorry Erebus.' George sniffled, his eyes beginning to burn.

He couldn't help that his squad was dead; that was beyond his control. But he had no one to blame but himself for pushing perhaps his best friend in the world away like he had. That was entirely his doing.

The human began to loathe himself. Erebus had tried to comfort him, and what had he done? Tried to push him away, tried to prevent him from touching him, had literally turned his back on him. When the xenomorph had done the thing he best knew how to do and tried to snuggle with George to soothe him, he had pushed his friend off the bed.

George began to cry again; tears running down the same worn tracks on his cheeks. He felt like garbage. Utterly worthless trash. His insides were coiling back into agony.

What could he do now? Apologize and hope all would be forgiven? George considered himself an optimist, but even he knew that loved ones didn't just forgive you after you had abused them. And he had definitely abused Erebus.

He knew full well that the xenomorph was emotionally fragile. Erebus himself has made that clear when he had confided in George about his insecurities in dealing with human society the day before. He was impressionable and surrounded by strange things, in an environment he had no experience with, surrounded by creatures he was used to killing and had to learn to not be hostile to.

And right in the middle of all that, George had rejected him and physically shoved him away, leaving the xenomorph with no one to turn to.

The human sobbed louder, wallowing in pity for himself and his friend. Erebus hadn't deserved this. Even if the xeno had killed one or more of his squad-mates, which seemed unlikely given that he had been chasing George from almost minute one, then the human couldn't even blame him for doing so. Erebus had just been working with what he knew. Every human he had ever encountered up until that point had been malicious towards him, and the marines were shooting at him.

George gulped. And then after they'd met, Erebus had been so brave and curious and kind. He'd spared George, carried him to safety, and then left his home; everyone and everything he had ever known, behind. Just to see the universe and to be with him.

The medic tried to swallow and choked. He felt indescribably guilty and ashamed. Look how he'd repaid the xenomorph's kindness. Grouping him in with the others who had killed his friends, and then pushing him away and rejecting him. George wanted to scream at himself, to slam his head against the wall until his skull burst. A fresh wave of tears poured down his face.

'You could still fix this.' A small voice said in his head.

'Fix it?' George sniffled again, 'How do you fix something like this? What, if I just go and apologize everything will just be all better and hunky-dory again? No way. Erebus probably hates me back now, and he should. I just emotionally abused him for no real fucking reason.'

'If you don't do something, you'll both continue to suffer. If you act now, you might be able to patch up the relationship before the divide becomes permanent.'

'And what if it doesn't work? What if he hates me now?'

'Then you will have tried, and no one can or will fault you for it. But you have to at least try.'

Logic. It was something George loved, and tried to live his life by. But it was hardly comforting at a time like this; when he was being driven almost entirely by emotion. The voice was right; it always was.

The human imagined looking down at himself from up above, the closest he could get to an impartial viewpoint at the present moment.

He looked very small; pathetic even. A sad little man curled up naked on his bed, idly fretting and wallowing in self-pity while his most devoted and loving friend suffered wordlessly just underneath him, in a strange place far from home with no familiar faces like Barns to comfort him.

George's feeling of worthlessness deepened.

He looked down at the mattress, now soaking wet with his second round of tears. He had to fix this. He had to try, at the very least. He owed it to Erebus to try.

---

"Erebus?"

The voice was soft, almost inaudible to the human ear, but the xeno heard it perfectly. He uncurled a little, pulling his head out from between his legs so he could see clearly.

George's head was hanging upside-down over the edge of the bed, looking at the xenomorph with a profoundly unhappy expression on his face.

'Stupid human.' Erebus thought instinctively. 'I could stick my little mouth through his head when he's upside down like that, or drag him under the bed and eat him alive-' The xeno abruptly cut off that train of thought. This was George he was thinking about. He'd never do anything like that, even after all the misery he'd been put through. He was silent while thinking this, making it look like he was just staring at George impassively for several seconds.

The human took a deep breath and slid the rest of his body off the bed, lying down on the floor flat on his stomach and looking at the xeno earnestly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you away. You haven't done anything wrong."

Of all the things that Erebus was prepared for, that wasn't one of them. "What?" He asked in disbelief.

"I said I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you away, and I shouldn't have shamed you or rejected you because you're a xenomorph. You haven't screwed up or anything and it's all my fault I was dumb and stupid and mean and angry and I'm so sorry Erebus please forgive me I'm so sorry!" George's speech had steadily deteriorated until at the end he was babbling and blubbering almost incoherently, a fresh round of tears pooling in his eyes as his face flushed with shame and embarrassment. He was breathing heavily, almost gasping for air as he caught his breath. Finally, he reached his hand out toward Erebus, holding it half-way. "Please forgive me." He pleaded quietly.

Erebus was very quiet. He was thinking. He stared at George impassively, his emotions unbetrayed by his neutral countenance.

It had hurt, being pushed away. Erebus had thought that that was basically the end of his life, he had had no desire to continue living after losing his best friend. Just to wait and see what fate was to be his, and if nothing came, then he supposed he would have starved himself to death. Every moment had been agony.

And now, now George was trying to undo that. To undo all the pain that he had caused, and be friends again. He was sorry, most certainly, Erebus could tell by his scent, even though his tears and tone were more than enough to convince him.

The pain in the alien's head intensified as he tried to think. Could he forgive this? It had hurt more than anything, even what the scientists on the base had done to him, when George had rejected him. But he still cared about the human nonetheless, and as he realized that, a cascade of emotions and sensations poured into his mind. Compassion, desire, empathy, friendship, joy, and underneath it all, something even greater. The same thing he had felt for George back on the Costaguana

Slowly, cautiously, Erebus reached out a hand from the shadows under the bed, into the light beyond. His fingers brushed George's, and warmth began to flow back into him, down his arm, through his shoulder, and flooding his entire body. He felt alive again. Alive, and with direction and purpose. The pain in his dome suddenly abated, shattering into a million shards, then dissolving into smoke.

He smiled earnestly at George, who did his best to smile back. Then the xeno took a firm grasp on the human's outstretched arm and yanked him under the bed, George gasping with surprise as he was pulled into a warm, tight embrace. Erebus breathed in deeply; filling his lungs with the wonderful happy-sweet scent of his friend. The alien's limbs wrapped around him, as the long tail coiled around his waist, pulling him deeper into an affectionate hug.

---

George's breath caught in his throat as his friend suddenly pulled him under the bed. It was an instinctually negative experience, a child's worst nightmare, to be grabbed and dragged into some dark recess by a terrifying, toothy monster.

But the only emotion the marine felt as those long black limbs wrapped around him was joy. Overwhelming, overpowering joy, as his head slipped into place beneath the alien's dome. He wrapped his arms around the xeno's midsection and squeezed tightly, savoring the feel of the smooth, rubbery skin against his own. The tears that had been welling in his eyes spilled forth, running down his face and over his pained smile as he squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't help the tears, he was just so happy!

But the joy was tinged by shame. He had very nearly destroyed his friendship with Erebus. And despite their embrace, he knew the damage would last; it always did. Nothing time and care couldn't heal, but it would take some doing.

He felt something warm and wet against his face, and he cracked open an eyes to see Erebus's long, black tongue dutifully licking up and clearing away the tears as they ran down the marine's face. When they were all gone, the appendage retreated back into the alien's mouths, and he smiled at George. "Better?"

The marine sniffled, and then smiled back. "Yeah."

They were both silent for a few seconds, sharing their embrace.

"Hey, Erebus?" George said quietly. "Are you ok? After what happened?"

The xenomorph was quiet for quite some time after this. George could tell that he was considering the question.

"No. I am not." The alien said after about half a minute. "What you did hurt me, George. It hurt worse than anything the scientists did. It hurt worse than the rebar, and it hurt worse than when you healed me. I trusted a human, and was able to have complex conversations for the first time in my entire life. When I left the hive forever on the transport, you were everything to me. Everything. And then, when you did that thing last night… I didn't have anything or anyone left.

"And I told myself that it was my own fault, and I felt terrible. I couldn't care about anything anymore. Nothing mattered." Erebus shook his head. "Please… please please please don't do that to me ever again. I couldn't stand it. Please George."

"I never will." The human replied solemnly. "I swear, Erebus, I'll never do it ever again. No matter what you do or what comes between us, I'll never push you away." He snuggled in closer to his companion, who snuggled back.

After a few seconds of mutual cuddling, Erebus concluded: "So I guess no, I'm not ok. It hurt a lot, and it still does a little, because you betrayed me, and now I need to learn to trust you again." He took a deep breath. "I have to tell you that I'm also a bit mad at you. I understand that you were in pain because you lost your friends, but that's not a good reason to push away the friends you still have, especially not the ones who are trying to help you. That's mean!"

George blushed. "You're right, Erebus. You're absolutely right. My emotions got the better of me, and I acted without thinking. I'm sorry. I just…" The human trailed off. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't be a lame excuse for his abusive behavior. "A lot of emotions came all at once, and I had trouble dealing with them. That doesn't excuse me for how I acted, but it is an explanation."

"I understand." Erebus replied immediately, surprising George a bit. "When I first got free on the base, my emotions made me do really bad things to the humans. I was evil, George. What I did to them was evil and mean. But it felt so good, because I finally had power over the people that had wronged me. At least, that's how I saw it. But now I understand that it was bad and wrong. Because not all humans are evil. You and Thomas are very kind to me. I almost killed Tom, but now I think he likes me, even after what I did to him. We both need to learn to stop our emotions from making us do things."

"Yeah." The human agreed. "So… can we be friends again? Will our friendship ever get back to where it was before…?"

The xeno nodded. "As time passes, our friendship will heal."

"Thank you." George's voice lowered to a whisper. "I… I still want to be your mate. I still want to have sex with you sometime, if that's ok. Do you still want to?"

The alien looked at him incredulously. "Yes, silly!" He whispered back excitedly. "Of course I do! You're still handsome, you're really nice to me most of the time, and when you aren't, you apologize. We can do it whenever you want, and I'll be happy." He smiled.

"We'll see, ok?" George grinned, his shame and regret finally receding into the distant background of his mind. "Barns is above us right now, and he can't know, so we at least have to wait until he leaves."

In truth, George actually didn't mind the idea of his comrade watching them. He imagined the scene in his head, of him bent over the bed as Erebus bred and fucked him deeply, with Barns sitting a few feet away and stroking his cock.

The other marine was not, so far as George knew, attracted to men in any sexual capacity, but they had fooled around sometimes back in boot-camp, often engaging in mutual masturbation to let off some steam, and Barns had at one point told George that he did enjoy anal sex, albeit with women and not men.

The medic had a sneaking suspicion that, if given the opportunity, Barns would quite happily jack off to the sight of either the xeno or the human getting pounded. He would at the very least stick around to make lewd jokes and playfully tease George for being such a slut.

George huffed in amusement at the image.

"What's so funny?" Erebus asked.

"I'll tell you after Barns leaves." George whispered.

He felt the xeno's head nod in acknowledgment. Then the alien said "Hey, so, this floor is rather comfy, but I like the bed better. Can we move up there, or would that disturb Barns?"

"Barns is a heavy sleeper, we'll be fine. Follow me."

They crept out from under the bed, George in the lead with Erebus following behind. The marine felt a heavy and not-at-all subtle breath on his ass, and looked back at his companion, grinning cheekily. "Like what you see?" He whispered.

"Yeah, but I wish I could see it better." Came the quiet response.

"Later, later." The marine stuck out his tongue playfully. Carefully and quietly, he pulled himself up onto the bed, being careful not to disturb his comrade. Looking back at the xeno, he motioned for him to follow, and then scooted over to make room.

The alien climbed up in a rather spider-like fashion, the movement of his arms and legs being rather uncanny. It didn't faze George at all, but a less seasoned observer might have gotten the willies.

When they were both lying side by side, the human reached down and gingerly pulled the covers over them. Long, black arms pulled him into a spoon with the xenomorph, and he snuggled as close as he could to his friend, grateful to be in his arms once again.

With his troubles now sorted, and as close to dealt with as could be, the marine's mind felt wonderfully clear. A nagging fog that had settled over it ever since their escape was finally lifted, and he could see the whole universe clearly again. But right now, he didn't care about the whole universe. All he cared about was the wonderful, brave, caring creature who had his arms around him.

The human's eyes burnt, like he might cry again, but this time no tears came. He shifted against his friend, feeling the familiar, soft, rubbery texture of his skin against his own pinkish flesh. He felt right again, and he was indescribably grateful to the alien for forgiving him, even though he hadn't deserved it.

"Thank you, Erebus." George whispered.

"Of course." Came the reply. "I'd do anything for you, George."

The tears finally came, but this time gentle, a mere few drops running down the human's cheeks as he smiled. And with no terrible convulsions or worries to keep him awake, he promptly fell asleep.

---

Erebus held the sleeping human close, feeling his light, gentle heartbeat. He was so happy; too happy to even describe, really. His friend liked him again!

But there were other emotions mixed with the joy. The obvious ones, a tiny bit of fear that this was a dream or a delusion, and bitterness that George had rejected him at all in the first place. But there was also some mental reorganizing happening inside his dome.

Erebus shifted slightly, cuddling George closer. It was obvious to him now that the human wasn't perfect. Which in hindsight seemed obvious, no one was perfect. But Erebus had idolized him quite a bit, and had assumed George would always do right. Which was obviously untrue, as the xeno could now attest to.

He decided that he should have seen something like this coming; that it was really rather apparent that his friend wasn't perfect from the beginning. He remembered when George had held a gun to his head, but hadn't pulled the trigger. He hadn't been able to fully understand everything the human was saying back then, but now it was clear that George had been disappointed in himself for not being able to go through with it.

The alien shuddered a bit, and held his friend closer. To think that George had almost killed him. To think that he'd almost killed George. Several times. They had come so close to never truly meeting…

Erebus shoved those thoughts away forcefully, refusing to dwell on them. They didn't matter now. All that mattered was George, and the fact that the xeno was free now. Free of scientists, free of the queen; free! And he owed it all to George, the human who had been brave enough to heal him.

If Erebus could have cried, he would have. Tears of joy, like his precious George had shed. Nothing came, of course, so he just cooed happily, reveling in the sensation of his human's skin against his own. He felt like a spring was uncoiling inside him. He relaxed, and let himself slip into a happy, dreamless sleep.

---

Erebus awoke to a scream and a loud thump. He sat up immediately, curling an arm around George protectively and pulling back his lips to bear his teeth and hiss at the source of the sound.

The other side of the bed was empty, and after several seconds Barns scrambled to his feet, breathing heavily. He pointed at Erebus "You… you scared the shit out of me."

The xeno flicked his tongue out to taste the air. "It doesn't smell like I did."

George, who had been suddenly woken up by the scream and by being jostled by Erebus, laughed loudly at that. "I wish I'd seen the look on your face!" He wheezed.

Barns relaxed a bit, and began to smile. "It was… it was something. You should've heard the sound I made before the scream; it sounded like I was having a fucking stroke! Eurgiegle!" He made an imitation of the noise. "My eyes just about popped out of my head!"

George was cackling madly by now, rocking back and forth in Erebus's arms; the xeno himself starting to smile.

"I see you're in better straights this morning than you were last night." Barns observed when George had finally calmed down.

"Yeah… it was a rough bit, but I think I'm through the worst."

"I'm glad." Barns smiled gently. He climbed back onto the bed and waddled over to George on his knees, then wrapped his arms around his fellow marine and squeezed tightly. "I cried too, George. I miss them."

"I still have you, Barns. And now I have Erebus too. I'll miss the squad, but I still have friends to turn to. It'll get better from here."

Erebus felt George shift to hug his comrade back, and, not wanting to be left out, wrapped his arms around both marines and squeezed gently, purring with contentment. He felt Barns's shoulders tense slightly as he touched them, but after a few seconds of contact they relaxed again. He felt the other marine's arm come around and hug him too, and he purred louder. "Barns? Do you like me?"

The marine hesitated for a second. "Yeah. I mean, you still startle me, because I've been told to be afraid of xenomorphs for my entire life, but that'll go away as I get used to you."

They hugged quietly for a few more seconds.

"I like this." George said quietly. "Being hugged between my two favorite guys."

"Yeah, I bet being naked between two men is something that you really like, huh fuckboy?" Barns teased, making George snicker.

"What's a fuckboy?" Erebus asked, finally letting go of George to sit back on the bed in a relaxed position.

George scooted up again the headboard, propped a pillow up between his back and the cold wood; the naked marine leaning back with a relaxed expression, which admittedly didn't fit quite perfectly with the tear-stains that still streaked down his face. "It's vulgar slang for someone has a lot of casual sexual partners. Vulgar means 'rude', before you ask."

"Rude?" Erebus turned to look at Barns, frowning. "That wasn't very nice of you, Barns."

The marine in question cast a slightly apprehensive look at the xenomorph, looking him up and down in a way that Erebus interpreted as a threat-assessment.

"I mean, I'm not going to do anything to you, Barns, but still, you shouldn't be rude to people."

George looked on with an amused smile. "Erebus, I think I should explain something about insults; sometimes they're given as compliments, or as a joke. I know, it's really kinda silly, but when Barns called me a fuckboy, he was making a humorous comment about something that's true about me. He was trying to be funny. When a friend says an insult at you in a certain tone of voice and in a certain context, it's meant to be taken as a joke. Learning when and how that happens is a long process that takes humans a long time to pick up, so it's totally ok that you don't understand it yet."

Erebus took a long second to process this information, and then to grasp the deeper meaning of what had been said. "Barns, when are you going to leave?" He asked.

The marine frowned at him. "Have I overstayed my welcome?" He sounded slightly upset.

"No…?" Erebus was confused. "I'm just asking when you're going to leave. Or, did you not have a time to leave planned?"

George facepalmed.

"Ok, well, I can tell when I'm not wanted." Barns got up off the bed. "I hope you're feeling better George, I'll see you later, alright?" The marine started walking towards the door.

Erebus was just about to ask why he was leaving, when Barns stopped dead, and then slowly turned to face him with a look of realization on his face. "Oh… you were actually asking, not being passive-aggressive… Because you probably don't know what that is…"

"No, I don't." Erebus confirmed.

"Ok, so, here's another English lesson: Passive-aggressiveness is when you're trying to make people uncomfortable, upset or force them into doing something, while also trying to look like you're not doing that. Like, when you asked me when I was going to leave, passive-aggressive people say stuff like that as a way to just tell people that they should leave."

Erebus winced. "I'm so sorry Barns!" He got up and walked over to the marine, enveloping him in an affectionate hug. "I didn't want you to go away, I was just asking… In fact, I want you to come back." Sweeping an arm under Barns's legs, Erebus picked him up in his arms and carried him back to the bed.

"Woah!" The man in his arms cried out in surprise as he was suddenly lifted off the floor.

The xenomorph climbed up onto the bed again and set Barns down on the other side, then retreated back to his own side, laid down on his flank, and did his best impression of a friendly smile at the marine. "Sorry."

Barns smiled back. "No problem. You know the nice thing about yourself, Erebus? When you make a mistake you say sorry and try to fix it. I know too many people that just ignore their mistakes."

The alien cocked his head. "What would ignoring my mistakes accomplish? Usually the longer I ignore something the worse it gets."

Barns looked at him for several long seconds, then he said, "Erebus, you are very logical. That's not an insult or a compliment, it's a fact. You say what you know to be true, and you say it without bias or hesitation. Be warned: most people are not like that. Most people's idea of truth is influenced by their worldview." He said all this in a flat, unemotional tone; speaking plainly and clearly.

"I don't think I have a worldview." Erebus confessed. "Not yet, at least. I don't know enough about the world to have a view about it. I mean, I don't know enough about the universe to have a view, since I think 'world' refers to planets specifically."

"'World' is a word that is both metaphorical and literal," George explained, "a world can mean a planet, but a person's world usually refers specifically to the objects and ideas that are important to them, since most people don't own entire planets." The medic turned his head and smirked at Barns, "And what was that you were saying yesterday about Erebus and I getting a room? Why don't you two get one; you're chatting it up like philosophy professors over there."

Erebus, now knowing what that phrase meant, looked Barns up and down, analyzing his physical appearance; he flicked his tongue out to taste the other man's scent, which was like George's but a bit duller and deeper, less defined. "I think I could have sex with you, Barns. You look good and you smell healthy." The xenomorph was only half-serious this time, and he showed it by sticking out his tongue playfully. He understood that George was joking now, but it had been a good few hour since he's cum last, and a few days since his last proper sex, before the marines had arrived on the base.

If Barns actually said yes, well, he certainly wasn't going to turn the other marine down.

Barns laughed. "Oh boy, you're excitable! Sorry Erebus, but I don't have sex with males; I'm straight."

The alien made a disappointed whine. "Aww! But that's so limiting! Why wouldn't you want to have sex with other males?"

Barns looked over at George questioningly "I take it that you haven't explained sexuality to him yet?"

The other marine shrugged. "It hadn't come up." Which was true; despite all the talk about sex, George had yet to explain how sexuality worked to the alien.

Barns turned back to Erebus, who was sitting patiently and expectantly, waiting for the explanation he by now knew was coming.

The marine looked at him for a moment, blinked, and then turned back to George. "You know, it would probably be better if you were the one to explain it, seeing as you're the one with the big fancy doctorate and everything. And you're probably the one who spends the most time thinking about it, out of the two of us."

George looked at Erebus. "Essentially, sexuality is what gender you primarily want to have sex with. I am homosexual; which means that I am basically exclusively attracted to humans of my same gender; men. Barns here is heterosexual, which means that he is basically exclusively attracted to the opposite gender; women."

"I like to have sex with both males and females." Erebus said, "So what does that make me?"

"Bisexual. It means you like both."

"Is that common among humans?"

"No. It is not. Most humans are straight; only mating with someone of the opposite gender."

Erebus frowned. "Homosexuality and heterosexuality seem rather boring. Wouldn't people get bored of the same thing eventually?"

"Not really." George said, "Even the most sexually active humans rarely have sex more than just once a week on average. Unless you've got a dedicated partner who you spend a lot of time with, it takes a while to find someone you think is attractive and set up a time and date with them to meet up and actually get down to it. Human lives are busy, actually being able to put aside a few hours to have sex is a treat, even if it's with the same person or people."

Erebus absorbed this information thoughtfully. "I think I will have to see human society myself before I can have enough information about it to have opinions, then. No offense, but you can't seem to give me enough information all at once."

"That's fair." George admitted.

"Yeah." Barns looked at the bedside clock. "Listen, I gotta go if I want to get any breakfast before my shift starts, so I'll be seeing you guys later." The man stood, accepted his companions' good-byes, and saw himself out.

Erebus waited for the door to close, then turned to George, several questions swirling in his mind all at once. "Is it normal for humans to be naked in the company of other humans?"

George appeared unfazed by this question. "No, not except for sex, and a few other reasons, but mostly no."

"Why was Barns ok with you being naked?"

"Several reasons; he and I are close friends, for starters, and in the military people have to get naked in front of each other more than usual, like for medical exams and public showers and stuff, so we're used to it. And Barns and I have jacked each other off before, so seeing each other naked isn't really very shocking after that."

Erebus cocked his head. "Didn't he say he was straight? Why would he want to be jacked off by another male then?"

"There aren't as many females in the military as there are males; so his options for sexual relief were rather limited. I should also explain that sexuality isn't set, per say. There aren't just three solid positions; sexual orientation exists along a scale. Some people are mostly straight, but open to sex with the same gender if they meet just the right person; things like that."

The xenomorph accepted that information and processed it. He asked what a "scale" was, got a satisfactory answer, and kept thinking. Finally, he said "So, would I be in the middle of that scale? If heterosexual is at one end, and homosexual is at the other, and I like both males and females, I would be in the middle, right?"

"Yeah, about." The marine confirmed.

Erebus smiled. Not because he was happy to be in the middle, but because he was happy to know where he was at all. He liked this; learning more about himself. It made him feel more comfortable in his own skin. He looked back up at George, still smiling. He didn't think he was quite ready to get up for the day yet, so… "George? Do you want to snuggle for a while?"

The human smiled. "Sure!" He moved the pillow back down and beckoned Erebus to join him as he lay back down on the mattress.

The xenomorph made a happy cooing sounds and scooted over to the human and gently wrapped him up in his arms, pulling himself close as he felt the marine pull the covers up over them, wrapping them both in warm softness.

Erebus was silent for several long minutes, mulling over another thought thread that had formed in his mind during their conversation with Barns. It was insidious, and left him feeling a tiny bit… unstable. "George," he said at last, "when Barns made that joke about you having lots of sexual partners, and then I asked him when he was going to leave; what I wanted was to know when I could have you alone to ask something."

"Ok, ask away."

The alien hesitated, then spoke his mind. "Do you have lots of sexual partners?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm pretty promiscuous; I like to sleep around a bit. Why do you ask?"

"Am I special to you?"

George was facing away from the alien; allowing himself to be spooned, so Erebus couldn't see the expression on his face. This worried him somewhat when his friend didn't immediately answer. After a moment's hesitation, there came "… Yeah. I can safely say that you're the only xenomorph who I've gotten to know on a personal level, and the only one I've ever even thought about having sex with. Is that what you mean?"

"… No." The answer was very quiet. "I mean, am I special to you out of all the other people you've slept with?"

George turned in the alien's arms to face him then, and Erebus was relieved to see that the unknown expression on his face was in fact an amused smile. "Erebus…" The human seemed to be almost holding in laughter, "Are you insecure about your relationship status with me?"

"If that's the proper way to communicate the feelings I have, I guess so…" He replied cautiously.

"I think that's the proper way, unless I'm really off in my reading of the situation. Here, if it makes you feel better, you should know that you're easily one of the most special, kind-hearted, wonderful people I've ever been with, in any capacity; be it friend or sex partner."

That did make Erebus feel better, but it still wasn't quite what he was looking for. There was something strange and new he was feeling towards George; he had felt it once before when crawling through the ventilation of the enemy ship, but hadn't been able to put a name to the emotion. He still couldn't, in fact, but now seemed about as good a time as any to start asking about it.

He took a deep breath, and started explaining himself. "When we were on the enemy ship, and I was crawling through the vents to get to you, it occurred to me that we might really die there, if things didn't work out. And I didn’t hate that idea. I thought of us being together, and it made me happy. I wanted us to die together. Then I realized that it wasn't death specifically, but just being with you. I wanted to be with you, wherever we were or whatever was happening. I felt such a strong attachment to you. It was like… very big friendship." He finished lamely. "I don't know a word for it. Is there a word for it?"

George's smile had faded, and he was looking up at the xenomorph with what was very clearly forced neutrality. Under that he seemed more than a little uncomfortable. "Love." He said quietly, breaking the alien's gaze and instead staring at the lithe, black chest in front of him. "I think the emotion you're referring to is love."

Erebus was pleased that there was indeed a word for what he had felt, but he didn't express his happiness. He had gotten much better at reading the room over time, and he could tell that something was bothering his companion. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

The human sighed and gently rested his head against the alien's chest. "Love is a very special emotion. People usually don't tell other people that they love them until the are already several months into a relationship at least. It's a very strong emotion, and it makes people do all kinda of silly things. It's serious, is what I mean. And, if I understood you correctly just now, you told me that you love me." He lapsed into uncomfortable silence, as if trying and failing to think of a follow up to his explanation.

"Is it bad that I love you?"

"No, but it is a little early in our relationship to tell me. I'm not upset with you, and you're not at fault or in trouble. I just haven't told you anything about this part of human society yet."

"… I am not supposed to be feeling this emotion about you yet?"

George stared down at the bedsheets, looking conflicted. When he spoke, it was slowly and with measured tone: "It's an emotion that society expects you to feel, but not tell the person that you feel it for about for a while."

Erebus stared at him. "Why?"

Again the same measured pace and tone: "If I had to guess, it's because when people rush into relationships mistakenly taking good first impressions for true love, those relationships often end in heartbreak and emotional trauma. So society as a collective has decided that it is wise to withhold declarations of love until further into the relationship, so that said heartbreak and trauma won't happen as often; so that people have enough time to sort out their feelings and decide if it's really love, or just a good first impression. And I say 'guess' because I don't really know, that's just my rationalization of it. That's how I think it happened. All I actually know is that withholding declarations of love for at least a few months is what society expects."

Erebus cocked his head. "Why are you talking like that?"

This time George spoke faster, as if he was on more stable ground. "I'm trying to avoid saying things that I don't actually know for certain, which is hard when talking about something like love, because there's a lot of talk about it but not a lot of information of knowledge about it. It's a very nebulous concept that means different things to different people, and so it's kind of hard to talk about in a professional way. At least, that's how I see it. And I don't want to give you the wrong ideas about it, so I'm trying to be careful with what language I use."

"Ok…"

George's serious exterior broke down and he tried to suppress a laugh at the alien's hesitant, deadpan tone. The creature was clearly not overly excited by the explanation of love he had just been given.

"So, since I just told you that I love you anyway, now what do we do?"

"I'd recommend pausing it there and leaving the topic to rest for a few months while we get to know each other better; see how fond of each other we really are before going into a more solid commitment."

Erebus was quiet for a moment. "Ok." He said, in a voice barely above a whisper. He felt more than a little rejected. He was hoping that George would feel the same way about him, or that he would at least like what the xeno had said, but it didn't seem that either of those was happening.

"… Are you ok?" George asked, concern showing on his face.

"I think so. I was just kinda hoping that you'd feel the same way about me."

The medic sighed. "I like you a lot Erebus, but it's a little early to call it love. I know how you feel; it can hurt when other people don't immediately reciprocate your feelings for them."

"Reciprocate?"

"To do for you what you have done for them. For me to reciprocate your feelings would mean that I would tell you that I loved you back."

"And do you?" Erebus asked pointedly.

George looked profoundly uncomfortable. He looked away, breaking eye contact to stare at the mattress. "I think we're very good friends, and someday in the future we could very well be lovers. But right now it's too early to say."

"When will that be?" The xenomorph pushed.

"I don't know, ok?" The human was starting to sound a bit exasperated. He grew quiet, and his voice softened. "But just because we can't be lovers yet doesn't mean that we can't be close."

The xenomorph stopped pushing, realizing that he might be going a bit too far. He reached out and took George's hand in his own. "It doesn't really matter, I guess." Which was a lie; it did matter to him, very much in fact, but he pushed that down. He could and would look past it. "As long as we're friends, and we trust each other, and we care about each other, I'm happy. I just want to be close to you, and whatever we call it is fine. If it's friendship, so be it."

The human looked up at him with a small, guilty smile. "Thanks, Erebus. I want to have that with you too. I'm glad we're friends, and I'm glad we met." His hand gently gripped the alien's, and they leaned together to hug. It lasted a good while too; Erebus feeling the human's fingers gently splaying out on his back, as if really trying to feel his skin and carapace.

"I'm sorry about what I did yesterday." George murmured. "I was horrible to you, and you didn't deserve any of it."

"It's ok. I forgive you. You were hurting and weren't thinking right. It's fine now." Erebus reiterated comfortingly. He gently cooed in George's ear. "We're still friends."

"Thank you." The reply was quiet, and Erebus felt the fingers clutch at him a little.

The moment dragged on into minutes, as they relaxed into each others grip. It was George who finally split the hug apart. He was still smiling though. "I'd love to continue that, but my legs are getting a bit numb after sitting in this bed for so long. Want to go out and see the ship?"

Erebus smiled back. "Sure!"

George went to get dressed, first stopping in the bathroom to wash his face, then going to the wardrobe and pulling on his combat uniform; a shirt with a strange pattern of various shades of green, and a pair of pants with the same pattern. Erebus had seen it before, but didn't understand why the colors were like that.

"George?"

"Yeah?"

"What's that pattern on your clothes?"

The human looked down at them. "Oh, that's what you mean. It's camouflage. It's supposed to make me blend in with my surroundings better when I'm deployed in the field and fighting; make me harder to find. This variant is supposed to make me blend in with trees and bushes."

"Oh."

George finished getting dressed and then walked over to the door. He opened it, and Erebus followed him out into the hallways of the ship.