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Jack squinted at the crumpled box with one eye. The other refused to be open at this hour and the dim light didn't help. He would have loved nothing more than to sleep all night with Lys in his arms. Yet, there were certain forces in this world even stronger than the bonds of love, nicotine addiction being among them. He gave up and tossed the box onto the counter, how hard could chewing gum be?

His clumsy fingers answered that question. A piece of gum rocketed out of the foil, flying in an arc before it bounced off the counter and onto the kitchen floor.

“Grrrr." Six O'clock was far too early for decorum. Jack snatched the gum off the floor and shoved it in his mouth. A foul imitation of mint washed over his tongue along with a tingling sensation. He tried to keep his eye on the prize, thinking of how upset Lys looked and how this would add years to his life and all that crap. After about five minutes though such lofty goals looked out of reach. He spat the damn thing into his hand and checked the box, reading the instructions this time.

“Park between cheek and gum. Son of a…" He pushed it back into his mouth. It tasted even worse somehow, but at least he didn't have to chew it nonstop. He let out a yawn and dwindled there at the counter, waiting for the gum to do its thing. Little by little he nodded off, almost toppling over. The last time he fell asleep with gum in his mouth resulted in his one (and only) buzz cut. He needed a distraction.

The bedroom door creaked open with a nudge and Jack slipped inside. Lys looked vulnerable on the large mattress by herself. A Jack-shaped impression lingered on the other side of the bed. All the more reason to put up with the gum. He slipped the phone off the nightstand and snuck back out.

Jack tapped out the password on his phone. His finger drifted towards “Corn-Syrup Crush", but then he noticed the large number next to the browser icon.

“Lys, I said not to." He forgot to change his password, but he didn't expect Lys to go behind his back. A loud tap opened up the browser. What he found gave him pause. How-tos on things like using kitchen appliances and making money from home, sites for improving one's vocabulary, and even one on how to be a better lover in bed. He stared at the screen and let out a long, sad sigh.

“Jack?" Lys poked her head out looking around. “Why is Jack up so early?" She walked across the floor with an odd gait.

“Because someone doesn't want me smoking anymore," he mumbled. “I see you can still walk."

“Barely." She pulled out the chair next to his and sat down beside him.

He grinned at her. “You liked it."

The kobold's teeth flashed in a smile and she looked away. “Maybe next time not be so rough?"

“Hey, I was being gentle and I seem to recall getting a lot of help. Wait until you see rough."

Her tail went stiff. “Lys...I don't want to see rough." She looked down at herself and winced, remembering the night before. “Not even eggs make me ache like that."

“Eggs?" For some reason it hadn't occurred to him.

“Eggs," she repeated. “One egg. About every three months."

He felt a bit weirded out. “Three months?"

“Yes, three months. Stop repeating. A new egg happens about every three months. Carry it around for a while and then." She groaned at the thought.

Curiosity got the better of him. “So, what happens if it isn't fertilized?"

“Fer-tal? Oh! Umm, we just…" She tapped her horns and fidgeted about.

“Just?"

“It comes out, mated or not, that's all." She scrunched her muzzle up in disgust. “Some kobolds eat the unmated ones."

“What do you do?"

Her tail spasmed for a moment and she wrapped her arms around herself. “I get rid of them. Why do you care? It's private." Her tone went up an octave.

“Well don't you think I ought to know before you surprise me with an egg in the middle of the bed?"

“I'll take care of it when it happens," she huffed.

He started to smile. “Are you going to lay an egg soon?"

She went wide eyed. “That's none of your business!"

“If I'm your mate then it's my business."

A low growl welled up in her throat. “Okay, it's your business. No, not for a while."

He grinned. “Can I watch when it happens?"

The kobold's jaw dropped, revealing all her teeth. Her train of thought crashed straight into a wall. “No!" she shrieked. Lys curled up into a ball with her tail between her legs. “Why would you want to?!"

“It sounds pretty hot to me."

She grimaced like she'd bit into a lemon. “Humans try to make everything about sex."

“Guilty as charged, but you're telling me kobolds don't find that arousing?"

She shook her head. “It's a special, private thing. At least laying mated eggs is." Her voice became gentle and the expression on her muzzle grew soft and wistful. “A very special thing." The green kobold stared off into some daydream only she could see. Last night she fretted over such things and now she looked like she was planning a family. It didn't seem likely that kobolds and humans were biologically compatible, but he didn't want to ruin the mood.

“Oh yes," he said, waving the phone in his other hand. “We need to talk about this. Didn't I ask you not to mess with my phone?" he said with the utmost disappointment he could muster.

She gasped and her eyes went wide again. He heard the sound of her tail thwacking the chair a few times. “Lys—I can explain!"

Jack leaned towards her with a stern look. She planted her claws in the chair and her face became a panicked grin. He gave her a peck on the snout. “You don't have to. You're a real sweetheart."

“I-I am?" She took a moment to catch her breath. Playing with her emotions seemed a bit cruel, but her expressions made her so adorable. He'd make up for it later, somehow.

“Of course you are," he said. She cocked her head to the side, waiting for him to elaborate, but a few moments of reasoning let her figure it out.

“Thanks," she said quietly with an embarrassed smile.

The tingling sensation in his mouth died away and spat the gum into the trash. Lys watched him and snickered, looking rather pleased with herself. Doing this every 2 hours sounded like a good way to go nuts. “Getting hungry," she said.

“Yeah." He checked out the fridge. “Hey, maybe when you have your egg, we can make an omelet to share between us." He winked at her.

“Ahh! Stop it!" She shriveled up again with a nasty glare on her face. Jack laughed out loud.

Ten minutes of mixing and a bit of cooking got breakfast onto the table. Jack picked most of the meals these days just to see Lys's reaction and her struggle. A sticky mess of syrup covered part of her mouth and no amount of licking could get the it off her claws. “These are really good, but messy. What did Jack call them again?"

“Waffles," he said through his chuckling.

She gave up and went for the sink, not even bothering with the paper towels. Jack watched her tail hook onto the legs of the nearby stepstool and yanked it over. “Next time I want to make breakfast, please."

“Sure, just don't burn the place down." He already knew he'd need to guide her, but knowing how to use the stove would let her cook for herself when he went to work. A pit formed in his stomach at the thought. Vacation time neared its end and the idea of leaving her alone scared the shit out of him. She could take care of herself, but visions of concerned neighbors, the landlord, or even Allison coming around at the wrong time made him sick with worry.

Allison, that reminded him. He checked his phone with a good idea of who'd called him last night. The voicemail asked him if he wanted to catch-up at Rudy's tonight. He hadn't been there since the last meet up he bothered to go to.

“What's wrong?" Lys finished up and dried her hands.

“Allison wants to hang out."

“Maybe you should then."

Not like he needed more reasons to feel bad, but the idea of going out to chat with his best friend didn't give him feelings of joy. The idea of dodging questions sounded more like running interference than catching up. Worse of all he couldn't bring Lys and he was certain half the reason Al wanted to talk was to meet her. The local gas station during a lull was one thing, but a busy, 50's style diner was quite another. He didn't care about being in public with Lys. He wasn't so sure if he cared if people knew he was sleeping with her. Hell, a drunk in the gas station had figured that one out, but Allison was neither a people nor a drunk. The phone felt heavier as he listened to the voicemail again.

“No. Bad idea," he grumbled.

“Why? Jack should spend time with his friends."

“Because she'll ask questions."

Lys hopped off the stepstool. “Questions about me?"

He huffed. “Yeah, exactly. She'll just keep digging and digging and digging until she finds out," he whined to himself. Now he was angry. Angry at Allison for hypothetical questions and angry at himself for being angry at her. She'd stuck by him when he dropped out of college to “clear his head" after making an ass of himself with a crush. A grim memory of an engagement ring clouded his thoughts and he shuddered.

Lys peered up at him. Her tail started flitting back and forth. The sympathetic smile on her muzzle soothed his temper. If only he still had that ring. “What's your friend like?"

“Al?" He shrugged. “She's really patient, but pushy at the same time. Not the kind to 'suffer fools gladly' as people would put it, except for me."

“Jack is no fool."

He collected up the dirty dishes and went to clean up. “You don't know. I've done a lot of stupid shit. I guess I'm pretty lucky to have a friend like her."

“Then why do you look so sad?" She brushed her claw against him.

He shook his head in frustration. “I just don't see her jumping for joy when she finds out my new girl is a kobold and she'll be even less enthused that I'm sleeping with one."

She raised her eyeridges, giving him a puzzled look. “Why is sleeping so bad? Used to sleep with other kobolds for warmth."

The dishes slid into the drying rack nice and easy. Still felt a bit odd doing them right after a meal. “That's a nice way of saying 'having sex'."

“I get it. I don't think my family would be very happy if they knew I was sleeping with you either." Her tail went slack. “I wish I knew where they were." As much as his own parents could be a nag, Jack couldn't imagine life without them. The idea of someone coming in and driving his entire family off felt unthinkable. Finding a specific group of kobolds in a world where they were barely third-rate citizens felt hopeless.

“I wish I could help."

She rubbed her eyes for a moment. “Lys already got one miracle. Would be greedy to ask for two."

Lys turned about and went for the couch and not a moment too soon. Jack had something in his own eye. Saints and heroes deserved that kind of praise, not him. The years of rage and self-loathing still made it hard to believe that someone could cherish him so. A sense of anger came over him and he started writing out a text to Al.

Need to talk.

Everyone had something they didn't want to face. A change they weren't ready to make. He needed to reconcile his past with the present. His finger hovered over the enter button.

“Shit." The phone clacked against the counter where he dropped it and he walked away. The couch springs twanged beneath him as dropped onto it, pushing the couch backwards from the impact.

“What do you usually do with your friend?" she asked.

“Get frustrated," he barked.

Her tail thumped the couch once, hard. “And?"

“And we don't see each other very often anymore."

“That's not what Lys asked."

He folded his arms tight. “I dunno, we usually go to a crappy diner called Rudy's once a month so I can listen to how great Kyle is with his new promotion or who Deb is screwing now."

“Who's Rudy and what's a diner?"

Jack waved dismissively. “That's just the name of the place. A diner is a restaurant where they shove a lot of mass-reproduced fifties memorabilia so people can get nostalgic for a past that never existed. Ow!" He felt a hard flick against his leg.

“I don't know what most of that means, but I know when Jack is being an ass."

He didn't have to look to know she was staring daggers into him. The sting on his leg lingered. “People go there to eat hamburgers and listen to old music."

“Metal?" She perked up.

“Hah, no. Metal didn't exist back then."

“No metal?" She sounded upset. “What did people listen to then?"

“Stuff like…" The gloom lifted from his shoulders and he rose to his feet. “Actually, it's best if I show you." Jack grabbed his phone off the counter, closing his unsent message with a sigh. Lys beamed with excitement, eager to hear new kinds of music. She watched him hook his phone up to the stereo. Rudy's usually played one kind of fifties music, meant for sentimental old fogies. He scrolled through a selection and stopped on The Flamingo's “Only Have Eyes For You" and hit play.

Lys trembled with anticipation, ready to rock out. Then the music “doo-wop-she-bopped" over the speakers and she started looking sick. “What is this?"

“It's called doo-wop."

“Do what?"

“Just listen."

The kobold closed her eyes, concentrating on the music. Her expression remained sour and he nearly lost it when she tried to headbang to the beat. “This is way too slow."

“You're not supposed to mosh to it."

“Well, what do you do with 'do what'?"

“Doo-wop"

She winced at the sound like it was hurting her. “Whatever, can we listen to metal instead?" He almost conceded defeat, but wholesome visions couples dressed in 50s faire watching the sunset and slow, gliding motions kept him from turning it off. He had an ulterior motive for wanting to show her slow, sappy music. Metal might have been music of the gods, but there were certain things even Megadeth couldn't do.

“Hold on, just give it a chance."

When she realized the exaggerated look of agony on her face wasn't working, she tilted her head and listened. Several more songs came and went. Jack watched her tail. The erratic flinching turned into a slow sway and the rest of her body followed. “It's okay I guess." She shrugged. “But if you can't rock then what good is it?"

This is what he hoped for. “You know how to dance?"

“Yeah, but can't dance to this." He pondered what kind of dancing kobolds did, but he'd save that question for another time.

“Yes, you can. Want me to prove you wrong?"

She leapt off the couch with a loud snort. “Do it." She folded her arms and began tapping her toeclaw again the floor.

“Hmm." The height distance between them complicated things. He could hold hands with her where she stood, but that didn't feel right for what he wanted to do. “Alright, get up on the counter."

“Jack keeps telling me not to climb on things and use the step stools and now you want me to climb?"

“Just do it." Jack tried to ignore the vanishing deposit on this place as he heard the sound of scrabbling claws on the wood and tile.

“Lot of trouble just to dance." The long, flat, elevated surface made an ideal dance floor, or so he hoped.

“It'll be worth it, maybe. Wait here." Jack looked at the selection on his phone. Half of the titles he didn't know, but then he stumbled on “My Prayer" by The Platters. Memories of the prom came flooding back to him. The song began its dramatic intro, giving him time to get back over. “I'm not the best dancer, but I think I remember." He bellied up close and took her by the wrist. “Hold your hand out here."

She watched him manipulate her tensed limbs with suspicion. “How is this dancing?"

“I'm not done yet, be patient. Put your other hand on my shoulder." He placed his arm behind her back, trying to be careful not to push her too forward.

Lys laid her claw on him slowly, unsure of all this. “Now what?"

“Now" —he looked down at the countertop for a moment— “we just kind of move back and forth."

The kobold looked at him in disbelief. “That's all?"

Jack ignored her and swayed back and forth, trying to give her the gist of it. She watched him and giggled. Yeah, this was the prom all right, complete with the awkward moments. “You need to move with me," he said as he guided her along.

Little by little the tapping of her claws fell in time to his movements. The look of amusement on her muzzle faded away as she took in the music. “This isn't so bad," she said softly. Her scaly hand squeezed his and the two began moving with feeling, letting the sound take them where it would.

A pleasant thrum vibrated through her body going all the way to her fingers. The warm vocals flowed from the speakers, drowning out their worries. The dark and trouble world vanished away. Nothing else mattered except him and his mate. A term he found much better than mere lover. It carried a possessive quality to it. Primal, but loving. She moved closer until the points of her toeclaws poked him in the belly. He looked into the golden orbs that made up her eyes, they glistened slightly in the light.

“You like it then?" he whispered. He let his hand slide down towards her waist. Lys draped her arms around his neck so that the two of them danced in an extended embrace. She leaned into him after a few seconds, laying her head against his chest as their bodies moved as one.

“Yes," she said softly. Jack felt her heartbeat, steady and strong. He kissed the top of her head and held onto her tight. They continued swaying together, lost in the music and each other. He felt a familiar, scaly sensation on his arm as Lys's tail coiled around it. No, this was way better than prom night. None of those dance partners had a tail to hug him with.

As the song reached its climax, he pulled her off her feet. The green kobold tilted her head. Jack pressed his lips to hers, gliding his tongue past her pointed teeth in a passionate kiss. Lys moaned softly into his mouth and her tail gripped his arm tighter. Whatever happened in the end he knew she'd be there for him. If his past couldn't reconcile with his present? Well, love often demanded sacrifice. He just hoped it wouldn't come to that.