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The first week on the escape pod had been so much easier, as Oryza saw it. Everything had been new back then. Terrifying, as living in a tin can surrounded by nothing but vacuum for millions of kilometers was wont to be, but new nonetheless.

The novelty had since tarnished. Now she knew only boredom—endless, soul-crushing boredom. But while time passed slowly in the moment, it felt like only yesterday when she and Corymb had evacuated. There was nothing to mark the days in this monotony, and already half of the trip had slipped by.

Oryza swore under her breath. Only half.

But if any day was important enough to serve as a point of reference, it was today. Their second and final jump was coming up. In a few hours—she'd check exactly how many, except counting the hours would only make them feel longer—the escape pod would cease to exist as matter, flinging itself off at the speed of light to reemerge millions of kilometers away. Their orbit had finally stolen enough momentum from Barnard's Star to take her home. It sounded exciting in her head, but even if the ship jumped now, she wouldn't feel it. Besides the reactor audibly ramping down, she wouldn't notice anything. Jumps this short were anticlimactic. Just like every part of this trip.

Oryza sighed, daydreaming as she bundled away the last of the nutrient bars. She pulled her snout out of the rations compartment. This was the second time she had reorganized it today. Strictly speaking, it didn't need reorganizing, but she was too bored to care. It qualified as entertainment.

She snapped it closed and turned around, flapping languidly in the zero-g. Corymb floated only a few feet from her, but she paid no mind to her human crewmate. They could never be in anything other than close proximity inside the tiny escape pod. That was especially true since he was still stuck to the center terminal like a leech, sucking all the meaning and purpose he could out of that old reactor data.

At least it wasn't as bad as before. They talked often enough, even if it was about nothing of substance, and she managed to tear him away from his self-inflicted work every few days to mate. Those days, she looked forward to.

It was still a weird thing to think about, having a human mate. If she had told her past self that she would end up having one, she wouldn't have believed it. Even now, she wasn't sure about the whole thing, but it felt right. Conceptually, it wasn't absurd—she just hadn't seen herself as the kind of dragon who would take a human as a mate. Yet she felt the bond of mateship between them just as keenly as with her dragon mates. It was only in the abstract that it felt strange.

Perhaps it wasn’t so much about species differences as it was cultural ones. Corymb was still reticent to admit that their relationship was one of mates. To Oryza, that was more confusing than upsetting. He hadn't rejected her—it seemed like it was just an issue of nomenclature. He didn't know what it meant for them to be mates, and she couldn't explain it to him because it was a feeling words couldn't describe.

Or maybe he wouldn't admit they were mates because it would hurt more when he left.

Whatever the case, it didn't matter. Worrying up here was dangerous, because there was nothing to direct that nervous energy into. Corymb would either stay or he wouldn't, and beyond a nudge here and there, Oryza had no influence over the decision. There was nothing she could do about anything up here. She might as well be cargo, inert and useless.

A sharp, metallic crack came from a few compartments over.

Oryza snapped to the direction of the noise. “Did you hear that?"

Corymb didn't look up. Either he was ignoring her or was actually so focused that he hadn't heard her.

“Corymb?"

He tapped on the display a few more times. “Sorry, I'm really onto something." He paused. “Is it important?"

“That noise," she groaned. He probably hadn't even noticed it.

“Probably just more thermal stress." He returned his attention to the screen.

Oryza lashed her tail. While the ship had been making worrying noises lately, ground control had assured them this was normal, and, in their typical dry yet passive-aggressive manner, added that so much was covered somewhere in the tiny script of the hundreds of pages making up the escape pod's manual. As they got closer to Barnard, closer to the perihelion and subsequent jump, the side of the hull facing the star would heat up and expand, making those eerie, creaking groans.

But this noise had been different—a single, loud crack, like a rivet snapping.

“I'm going to check it out," she said.

Corymb only made a flippant wave. Oryza wasn't even sure if it counted as acknowledgment. Well, if Corymb truly hadn't heard the cracking noise, he wouldn't be of any help, anyway.

She floated over to the compartments where she could have sworn the noise had come from, picking her best guess at a door. The handle was a little tight, like most of the lesser-used ones. Those they had broken in, such as the ration compartment, had a mushy detent. Even so, this door seemed especially stuck.

Oryza hooked her claws around the handle and braced herself against the hull. With a quick jerk, she snapped it open, and the sudden change in resistance sent her tumbling backwards.

Her ears popped from the pressure change. There was a subtle shift in the air that tugged at her scales, and something inside the compartment hissed at her.

It was a hull breach.

Oryza froze. In moments like these, she had always assumed her training would take over. How many times had she dealt with simulated hull breaches? This was the same thing; the whole point was to prepare her for this exact, horrible moment. But she froze anyway. This wasn't a safe practice environment. That was a real hole, in a real ship, in the very real vacuum of space. And there were no do-overs.

“Hull breach!" she shouted, just as a pressure alarm started beeping.

Corymb swore, flinging himself over the terminal and towards her. “Where?"

“Somewhere in here." She was already clearing supplies from the compartment. “I'll find it, I'll find it, just get the epoxy."

Oryza tried not to rush as she emptied the compartment. It was hard. More oxygen was leaving the ship with every second. Yet she was just leaving the contents to float around, and they'd be a hazard if they had any kind of speed. She remembered that much of her training.

The EVA suits were out first, and then the oxygen candles, which had a fair bit of inertia to them. She had to be extra careful to stop those. Having a breach in the same spot as their emergency oxygen wasn't exactly reassuring, but at least the canisters were nigh indestructible.

It was empty enough for her to stick her head into the compartment, so she did. The hissing went from loud to deafening. A few miscellaneous tools were still floating around in there, but it was clear enough. After a few seconds of searching, she found the hole. The perforation was in the back corner, and its loudness belied its size. It was barely a centimeter in diameter.

“Found it?" Corymb said from behind her.

“Feels like it." She pulled herself out of the compartment and gestured to the spot.

Corymb poked his head in, epoxy in one hand and a roll of tape in the other. “Damn," he said. “A big one. Hopefully this will hold."

Oryza tried to watch, but Corymb blocked her view into the small compartment. She exhaled slowly. It felt like she had to do something. That was how it always was up here. There was always an urge to act, like an itch, even when she knew there was nothing to be done. The only option was to loiter, useless, until the journey was over and she could return to having a life that wasn't inert.

There were a hundred excuses for why she couldn't help, for why doing nothing was helping. Corymb's human hands were better suited to this. She had already done her part. She had to be ready in case something went wrong.

Yet no justification felt like enough to ease that sense that she had forgotten something. Never in her life had staying still been the right thing to do. There was always something more to be done, always something deserving of her time. Being idle felt wrong.

The hissing cut off abruptly as Corymb shuffled inside the compartment. He still hadn't left—presumably he was being thorough.

In the relative silence, Oryza could practically hear her heart racing as she tried to calm herself down. It was fixed, now, and hadn't been that severe. The beeping alarm—which was still going off—was only for subtler pressure losses, the kind that might go overlooked. A much more obnoxious one would sound if things were actually getting dangerous.

Corymb pulled himself out of the compartment and rolled his shoulders. “There we go." He rapped a knuckle on the compartment. “That should hold well enough."

“Should?"

“Will. It's as good as it's going to get. I'm more worried about what else might've gotten damaged." He grabbed one of the oxygen candles and nodded for her to inspect the other.

Oryza took the canister in her claws. If it wasn't for the microgravity, the thing would have had some heft to it. Had the leak been worse, the candle would help get the oxygen levels back up to something reasonable. The pod's life support was designed to scrub carbon dioxide and replace the oxygen they used incrementally. If they needed a sudden burst, that was a job for the oxygen candles.

The cannister seemed fine to her eyes. Too good, even. The telltale fuzzy edges she was accustomed to were instead crisp in her vision. It was about time for another dose of ardeo, then. She'd have to ask Corymb, but since they were mating here and there anyway, she doubted that he would have any objections to her taking the reproductive drug soon. This time, she'd be more than happy to take it before the withdrawal started.

She handed the candle to Corymb. “I get the feeling these are fine. Only so many layers of aluminum something can go through."

“That's good." Corymb slid his back into the compartment before taking hers and doing the same. “Kinda funny how if we did need them, it'd probably be because the hole was bigger. And therefore more likely to damage them."

Oryza's ears quirked. “Isn't that always how emergency measures go? It's only when they're broken or lost that you need them."

“Sounds about right to me." He grabbed the shrink-wrapped EVA suits. “Let's get all the clutter before it floats away."

Oryza nodded before fanning out her wings. There was nothing too sharp flying about, so it was easy enough to dredge the air, gathering up a wrench, a screwdriver, and some other random bits in her wing membranes. She shunted them back over to the damaged compartment.

“Well, shit," Corymb said.

“What?"

“We didn't get away unscathed, after all." He held both of the EVA suits out to her. “I don't think I'll be wearing these anytime soon."

“Holes?" Oryza traded the things she had gathered with Corymb, taking the spacewalking suits in claw.

Corymb nodded, indicating a particular section of fabric on each suit. The puncture was clear. It was a tiny pinprick, much smaller than the now-patched hole in the hull, and had gone through every single layer of the first shrink-wrapped suit and several of the second. She half-expected to find a tiny meteoroid trapped inside, but at such extreme velocities, even the smallest grain of sand would inflict this kind of damage. Not to mention be vaporized.

“These are the only two we have?" she asked.

“Of the human ones? Afraid so. Yours should be fine, unless some other horrible thing happened to them."

Oryza sighed. “Well, that's okay. I doubt we'll need—"

“Don't you dare say it."

She scoffed. “Oh, stop being superstitious. These escape pods are well-built. Have a little pride in your own species. We definitely won't need to do external repairs."

“Oryza!"

“What? Acknowledging reality doesn't change it. If anything, we should be grateful that the only things damaged were emergency supplies."

Corymb slapped a hand to his forehead and chuckled. “Well, what's comforting to me is that if we do have to make external repairs, you'll be the one going outside, while I'll be nice and cozy in here."

“I'm fine with that gamble. Because it isn't one."

“For both our sakes, I hope you're right." Corymb flipped back to the pod's terminal, resuming his work as if there had never been an interruption.

Oryza only shook her head as she turned away. Her heart was still thumping, but slower now. She exhaled. That hull breach had been the most exciting thing that'd happened in the last moon, and already she felt the boredom crashing upon her again. Of course it would. Nothing could be interesting up here. It was foolish to think otherwise. All the escape pod was supposed to do was get them from one point to another. It wasn't designed to entertain them, let alone enable them to do anything productive. Being here implied being useless.

In hindsight, the hull breach hadn't even been that dire. They had oxygen to spare, and the compartments were airtight for this exact reason. Instead of repairing the hole, they could've simply closed the door. Sure, the contents wouldn't be accessible after that, which wasn't ideal for emergency supplies, but the result would be effectively the same.

Oryza stretched her legs, looped her tail around a handle. That was it, then. Back to status quo. Back to idling. It had taken some time to learn how to be content doing nothing for long periods of time, but like any skill, it was one that came with practice. And unlike other skills, she was practicing it whether she wanted to or not. Maybe one day she'd learn to blink and let an hour pass, but if such a thing were possible, she still hadn't figured it out. And not for lack of trying.

She wasn't sure how long she loitered like that—somewhere between minutes and an hour. The faint throb of a headache eventually brought her out of her vacant daydreams. Another day, she'd have chalked it up to stress, especially after the hull breach. But she was expecting to need ardeo soon, and the headache was an early symptom of withdrawal. Better sooner than later.

“Hey, Corymb?" she asked.

“One sec." He tapped rapidly at the screen. “I think I'm actually onto something."

She made a low groan. “You're always 'onto something' with that damn thing."

“No, but actually this time."

Oryza sighed and closed her eyes. Corymb's work with the reactor data was just for entertainment, as she understood it. She couldn't begrudge him for trying to occupy his time. Yet as the weeks had slipped by, she had only grown more convinced that he had knowingly given himself this Sisyphean task to keep busy. One had to imagine him happy.

“Yes!" he shouted.

Oryza slammed her horns into one of the hull-mounted handles, startled. She groaned in pain, rubbing at the bases where they connected to her skull. “Ow. What is it?"

“Sorry," he said. There was excitement in his voice. “I know why the reactor failed."

Oryza perked up. “Really?" She had gotten so used to the fruitlessness of his “work" that she had stopped expecting anything could possibly come of it. “That's good. That's really good."

“Yes? Granted, I only know the technical details, not why why. But I can say with certainty that the failure mode was resonance."

“So what, the station's reactor shook itself apart?" She remembered the tremors when they were evacuating. A space station in a stable orbit didn't shake unless something had gone horribly wrong.

“Kind of. Basically, with any pulsed fusion reactor, you can run into these sporadic problems with standing waves of plasma or spinning wavefronts. There's a bunch of subcategories, but they're all cataloged as resonance issues. It's not necessarily a physical shaking—that's more of a symptom than a cause—but that's common enough. Either that or the patterns of plasma concentrate and melt through the case. Either way, the reactor isn't working for long."

“Okay," Oryza said, “but how does that happen? Was this an accident? A design flaw?" Neither would explain the LEAVENOW message, but having the two matters be separate was comforting. It was easier to see it as a benign joke if the reactor blowing up was unrelated.

“No. Resonance was a problem. We solved it decades ago. Modern reactors have these little coin-sized arrester fins carefully positioned inside of them to break up any resonant patterns before they become an issue. Makes the entire system chaotic, so it's harder to simulate new designs, but it's for that exact reason that it works."

“And the station reactor had these fins inside it."

“Yes."

“But they didn't work."

“Evidently."

“Which leaves us with what, exactly?"

Corymb ran a hand through his hair. “I don't know. Maybe there was a manufacturing defect. Maybe they don't actually work as well as we think they do. Who knows? All I can say is what happened, not why."

Oryza hummed. “I don't suppose the fins could be removed?"

“Not without shutting down the reactor. Which didn't happen, right? It was online while I was there, at least."

“I was there before you, and I don't remember anything like that either."

Corymb's eyes narrowed. “You still think there was sabotage."

Oryza waved a paw. “I don't know what to think." She'd much rather believe that there was a manufacturing defect than that one of her fellow crewmates had destroyed the thing. “Has this kind of thing happened before?"

“No. Not to a properly maintained reactor of this size, not for years. And this exact design has been running on stations orbiting Earth for a bit over a decade. I suppose jumping it six whole light years could've done something, but who knows. It'd take twelve years to test that theory, and that's before burning it in for a few more."

“So we still have no idea." Her shoulders slumped. Corymb's excitement had gotten to her, but it was just like the LEAVENOW message. It didn't matter how much they investigated or thought about it. So long as they were stuck here on the escape pod, they wouldn't have the information or tools to figure out what actually happened.

“This is still only the first step."

“Then what's the next one?"

Corymb paused. “I don't know. Maybe there's something I missed. Otherwise, we'll have to wait for an investigation crew to go out to the station and do a proper postmortem."

“So we still have no idea," she repeated.

“I guess not."

A long moment of silence passed. Oryza felt the distant throb of a headache as life support droned on in the background.

“So, a bit of a tangent," she said. “I'm going to need to take more ardeo soon. It's been a moon and I'm starting to feel it."

“That fast?" Corymb shook his head.

Oryza suppressed a scoff. Fast wasn't the word she would use. Good for him, feeling like time had passed quickly. If he had been less stingy about sharing time together, maybe it would have felt like time passed quickly for both of them.

She pushed the thoughts away, chiding herself. That was a jealous way of thinking. She and Corymb could never mesh perfectly, not as a dragon and a human, and especially not in a situation as stressful as this. That they had gotten to where they were at all was a miracle.

“Yes, it's about time," she said. “And I mentioned it would be best to start things earlier—"

“Right, to make it easier to handle?"

Easier to handle. That was a kind way of putting it. She had lost control last time. With a dragon, it wouldn't have mattered—the side effect of the reproductive drug was well known, and being somewhat rough wouldn't injure them. While Corymb wasn't fragile, she could reach his limits on accident. She could think of a few times she had accidentally done so sober.

“Yes," she said. “It can't hurt." As far as she knew, it was more of a hypothesis than something proven, but those stories surely came from somewhere. “If we start now, I can take it about when I usually would—once it's actually annoying—and the timing should work out."

Corymb blushed. “Oh, uh, now?"

“You seem to be free."

“I suppose I am." He glanced towards the center console. “You don't want to wait for the jump?"

“What, so I can stress out about it for no reason? I'd rather be mating with you."

He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Yes, well, from what I understand, you'd always rather be having sex. Generally speaking."

“Corymb," she growled. “I want you."

She caught his sharp inhale, and the way his face grew even redder. He looked down at his hands, fidgeting with his fingernails. And though she was looking directly at him, he refused to meet her gaze. Why he was so flustered about the whole thing, she couldn't pretend to know. He didn't need to be so embarrassed around her, even if it was cute.

“I—“ he trailed off. “Oryza, I—“ he shook his head and pursed his lips, unable to get the words to come out.

She knew what he was trying to say. She could see it in his eyes, even if she still struggled to understand some of the weirder human expressions. He wanted her, too. He just couldn't bring himself to say it.

Corymb sighed, letting his shoulders slump. “I've been trying not to think about it too much, but our time together really is going to come to an end, isn't it? This is the halfway point. And it's been long, but not so long."

“I know."

“And, look, I don't whatever this is between us to mean nothing. But"—he sniffed, wiping his nose—“but maybe it's for the best if it does."

Oryza's ears drooped. “Have you decided that you're leaving?"

“It's safer to assume I am, isn't it?"

She shook her head. He called it leaving, but it was more final than that. Realistically, he wasn't coming back, and she wasn't going to Earth. The trip was too costly to make, both monetarily and in terms of time debt.

“I don't care what's safer to assume," Oryza said. “I want you to do what you think is best. Not what other people tell you is best."

“Oryza—“ Corymb blinked rapidly, rubbing at an eye. “Look, it's not about what I want. Everyone's going back. The mission's over, and I'm six light years from home."

“Fuck the mission." She looked him in the eye—his face was wet with tears. She leaned in, letting her head rest on his shoulder, and nuzzled into the side of his head. “Stay. Please. I'd be sad if you left so soon." She felt her own tears coming. “If I never saw you again."

Corymb wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug. He choked out a laugh. “This from the dragon who just told me not to do something simply because someone else told me to."

“Well, I didn't mean me," she said, joining him in laughter. “Obviously."

“Thanks." He released the hug. “Really. I'll think about it."

“You don't have to make that decision for a while, anyway."

“No, but that's no reason to avoid thinking about it."

“Well, if you want to think about it, let me give you some food for thought," she said. “Here's what you'll be missing out on if you leave."

With a quick flap, she flipped over so that her rear faced him. She spread her legs, raised her tail, and revealed herself to him. While she wasn't terribly aroused, not after that discussion, it wouldn't take long to get there. And aroused or not, showing off her ass to him like this was bound to get a reaction.

Corymb hummed in approval. “You make a compelling argument."

“My dear Corymb, the argument hasn't even begun." She grinned and gave him half-lidded eyes. “So stop staring and get over here to help me make it."

He shook his head before pushing off towards her. “And here I thought you liked my staring."

Oryza snorted. She didn't give him a good angle when she masturbated for no reason. Watching him steal glances—which he was still stuck on doing, even though she had explained he could watch to his heart's content—sent tingles down her spine. And when he got all flustered when she noticed, he was positively adorable.

“I like it when you stare, sure," she said. “Though I like it more when you touch me."

“Oh?" He floated into her, chest meeting chest. “You mean like this?"

Oryza felt his hand drop past her belly, a finger tracing the path over her slit. It was more sensual than stimulating, but she couldn't help but shudder, anyway. “Exactly like that."

She wrapped her forelegs around his shoulders, holding him loosely against her while his fingers worked their magic, prodding and caressing at her in the most tantalizing of ways.

“Hey," she said. “I want to try something."

“Yeah?"

“I showed you how dragons kiss, right? With the neck lick? I want to try the human way."

“Oh." His eyebrows quirked in amusement. “It's not hard. We just put our lips to each other's."

“Isn't there tongue?"

Corymb blinked. “There can be."

“I want to try it with tongue."

“Um, okay."

She leaned in, pressing her mouth to Corymb's. It was intimate in a strange sort of way. Then she pushed her tongue out, parting his lips, and explored the inside of his mouth.

Corymb made a muffled squeak of surprise, one that dwindled into a low, guttural groan as his human tongue wrestled with her longer dragon one, dancing and tasting with reckless abandon.

Oryza wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a competition or not, but if it was, she was determined to win. She wrapped her tongue around his, pinning it to the side of his mouth, and felt a surge of triumph when Corymb's entire body shuddered in her embrace.

She also felt a particular part of his jumpsuit poking into her belly.

“How was that?" she asked, breaking the kiss.

Corymb blinked, catching his breath. “I'm not sure I'd call that a kiss—"

“But you liked it." She squirmed against him. Yes, she wasn't mistaken—he was definitely hard. She leaned into his ear to whisper, “You liked it a lot."

Corymb stammered, and Oryza dove in to resume their kiss before he could get a word out. He squeaked and moaned as her tongue dominated his mouth, putting up only token resistance with his own.

It reminded her of eating out other dragonesses, but with a few key differences. Corymb's mouth was hot—she might as well have shoved her tongue into a bowl of soup—and tasted a little odd. It also wasn't trying to milk her tongue, and was roomier. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't quite like eating pussy. She'd have to try this with another dragon to properly compare.

When she ended their second “kiss", she licked his nose. “Pretty good?"

Corymb wiped his mouth with a hand. “Fuck," he said.

Oryza made a show of licking her chops while she made eye contact with him. She wasn't sure she had ever seen him get this hard this fast. Maybe when she had given him oral, but even that would be a close call.

“Yeah. Something about that was just—“ he shook his head. “I'm not going to get sick off of that, right?"

Oryza froze. He wouldn't, not from this, but she knew he was sensitive around the matter.

“I'm kidding," he said, touching his nose to hers. “Besides, maybe it'd be worth it."

A rush of heat ran down her spine. That was the only real rift between them. Everything else—those minor frustrations they had with each other, minor annoyances in compatibility and libido—in the grand scheme of things, they were irrelevant. But if he could get sick from mating with her? Even if it was only in certain ways, that mattered.

Unless it was a risk that he was okay with taking. Because he liked it that much. Because he wanted her that much.

She swore in her native tongue.

“I don't think I know that one," Corymb said.

Oryza snorted. “In this case, it roughly translates to, 'You'd better fuck me before I rip your jumpsuit off again and do it myself.'" It didn't technically mean that, but the context was doing a fair bit of work.

Corymb blushed. “You're ready already?" His hand trailed down the dark scales of her flank. He had stopped fingering her when she gave him that tongue-heavy kiss, which she could hardly fault him for, but she wouldn't complain if he wanted to resume.

Oryza shuddered as Corymb's finger traced along her aroused slit, starting at her tail and working up. His lips parted as he felt how wet she was, and he grazed past her rapidly hardening clit on the way out.

“You liked the kiss as well?" he asked.

“Among other things." She shifted her wings.

And then he took the finger covered in her pussy juice and stuck it in his mouth.

She coughed. “Corymb!" Her mouth dried. Fuck, that was hot. He wasn't supposed to do that. He might not have been able to get sick from kissing her, but what he just did was another story.

Corymb pulled out his finger and licked his lips. “According to you, it's not safe to have in my lungs." He leaned in. “So I swallowed."

She couldn't decide if she wanted to chastise him or fuck until one of them passed out.

“You shouldn't have done that," she mumbled. Then she shoved her tongue back into his mouth.

Corymb flinched before leaning into the kiss and groaning. His cock jumped, tenting his jumpsuit in a manner that couldn't possibly be comfortable. Half the fun was getting that kind of reaction out of him.

Corymb pried himself free, and said, “It's probably fine. I only had a little. Besides, I've been thinking. You tried to drown me in pussy. Plenty went down both pipes, but I got pneumonia, and notably not a stomach bug."

“It's your health."

“It sure is. But if the worst happens—which it won't, because it'll be fine as I'm careful—you have a cure."

“Don't you dare rely on that. You'll exceed your miracle quota from me."

“Oh? What do I have to do to earn more?"

“Not dawdling anymore would be a good start."

“Always in such a rush."

Oryza opened her mouth to reply, but all that came out was a guttural hiss of pleasure as Corymb's hands descended on her pussy once more. He toyed with her clit, sticking a few fingers inside to ply at her walls. All the while, he looked straight at her, meeting her half-lidded eyes with a shameless grin that said he knew exactly what he was doing.

And at this point, Corymb did know what he was doing. A moon ago, his technique was more effort than finesse, relying on speed and friction alone to stimulate. It had worked back then. But from their occasional matings since, Oryza had noticed the improvements. He had learned what she liked. And now, instead of exhausting himself in an attempt to overstimulate her, his motions were practiced, precise, and done in just the right way to drive her wild.

Oryza shuddered as those grippy fingertips traced along the surface of her clit, as those digits inside her twisted with wholly too much rigid dexterity, reaching spots she barely even knew she had. Her walls spasmed of their own accord while her body quivered in delight, and it was all she could do not to accidentally crush Corymb's comparatively fragile human body in her throes.

“You really like that, don't you?" he asked, curling his fingers once more.

Oryza squirmed from the stimulation. She had learned that he didn't actually want an answer when he teased her with questions like that. It was for the best, really, because she'd rather not bother with something as mundane as words when there was this much pleasure to be had. A gasp or groan was reply enough, and she was doing plenty of that before he had asked his rhetorical question.

When she felt her orgasm begin to build, she didn't bother telling Corymb. Maybe he sensed it from the way she responded to his touch, but if he did, he didn't act differently. That was fine. What he was already doing would be more than enough.

Corymb continued to toy with and tickle her clit, to drag those fingers of his deep within her, prodding and curling in the most unexpected and delightful of ways. And her orgasm built. Each stroke pulled the tension further, each touch added to the pressure. It demanded release.

Oryza saw stars as she finally came. Her walls tensed as they clamped onto Corymb's hand, dragging it halfway inside her. Her back arched, her body quivered in ecstasy, and she held her mate tight, riding out the pleasure he had given her and continued to give her. She only noticed the high-pitched whine she was making as she came down, but she was too content to be embarrassed.

“Oh, Oryza." Corymb nestled his head against her shoulder. “I love seeing you like this, seeing you this happy. Knowing I made it happen. It just—I like it so much I feel like I might break."

“I feel the same way," she said between heavy breaths. “We're mates, after all."

Corymb looked away. “Right."

Oryza's heart sunk a little. He didn't know what it meant. That was all. It wasn't a denial. It couldn't be a denial, not after what they had shared, after what they were about to share.

“Anyways," he said, “you ready to take that stuff?" He nodded towards her sleeping compartment.

“Hardly. The theory is that if I take it while I'm sexually sated, the fever will be less intense."

“And you're not sexually sated," he surmised.

“I'm getting there."

“Does the theory say anything about insatiably horny dragons?"

Oryza gave him a toothy grin. “It says you'll have to try very hard."

“This is just a ruse to have more sex, isn't it?"

“No?" It wasn't technically a lie. Even if the theory was unproven and the effects marginal. That only made it questionably useful, not a ruse. Corymb could always turn her down. She almost wished he would, sometimes, just so she could have something more concrete than a “maybe later" from him.

“You know," he said, loosening himself from her grip as he rubbed her flank, “if you really need it that bad, you can just tell me. I'd do that for you."

Oryza's mouth twitched. “What do you think I've been doing?" she said through gritted teeth. “I've asked you practically every day."

“No—you've been offering. You say, 'Want to mate?', or you surreptitiously lift your tail at me. And honestly, I'm not feeling it, most of the time, and it's not like I'm going to lie to you about that. But if you really, truly, want something from me"—he looked up at her—“I don't think I have it in me to turn you down."

Oryza growled. This whole time, she had been trying to be sensitive to Corymb's uncertainty, to give him space. And he had the gall to say he wanted her to ask when he was the one actively snubbing her every time she did?

“So what, then?" she spat. “You want me to demand? 'Get over here and fuck me, Corymb?' Or to beg? 'Please, Corymb, I'm so needy?'"

She had meant to mock, but Corymb's inhaled sharply with each statement. Maybe that was exactly what he wanted from her. If he was going to purposefully misunderstand her requests and claim it was from nuance, she'd just have to shove said nuance down his throat. He was an adult. He could make his own decisions. If he thought she was being too pushy about it, he could just fucking say so.

“Fine," she said. “I want your hands on my pussy. I want you to finger me and not stop until I'm a babbling mess." She huffed. “How's that for asking?"

Corymb slid down her body. “Is that all?"

Then his fingers fell upon her once more, and Oryza threw her head back in pleasure. There was no foreplay, no warmup. Corymb started by holding nothing back, toying with her clit while he plunged in and out of her with his other hand. He looked at her, grinning when their eyes met.

“You're so hot," he said.

Oryza groaned as she melted into his touch, frustration temporarily forgotten for pleasure's sake. She didn't need to care about anything beyond the way his fingers slid wetly in and out of her, beyond the ripples of pleasure when he rubbed her the right way. All that mattered was that he was making her feel good.

Over the course of minutes, Oryza felt an orgasm brew. Corymb played with her body dynamically, occasionally slowing down, letting his fingers sit shallowly within her, before plunging back in and rubbing at her clit with renewed vigor. But even when he slowed, he didn't stop. Not for a moment. There was only one way that could end for her: in orgasm. Oryza had no doubt in her mind.

And when she eventually did, Corymb didn't let up. Not when her yowls of pleasure filled the cabin. Not when her body clamped down on those burning digits, demanding that they cum as she did, ignorant of the fact that they couldn't. He toyed with her all the while, lengthening her orgasm, forcing her to savor every drop of pleasure.

As she came down, still quivering, she swore in Perphian.

“Don't worry," Corymb said. “We're not done."

The post-orgasm numbness waned as Corymb continued to finger her, then morphed back into mounting pleasure. She came again. And again. Each time was nearly as good as the last, tainted only by a growing soreness and lack of novelty. But her pleasure cared about neither.

Oryza wasn't sure how much time passed like that. She lost track of how many times she had gotten off—mostly because counting was a chore, and she just wanted to feel good. Which wasn't hard, as Corymb gave her no respite.

As she came down from what could've been the tenth time or the hundredth, she felt distant. Her head felt like it was filled with soft fuzz, and she barely noticed how hard she was panting.

“Gah. Beh," she sputtered, flexing her claws in the air absentmindedly.

Corymb pulled his hands away from her. “What did you say, babbling mess? That first part's down. And you're indeed one messy girl."

Oryza looked down, blinking as she tried to focus. Corymb was right: she was soaked. Her own juices ran halfway up the midnight blue scales of her belly, glistening in the harsh cabin light. Straight, dewy lines laced between her legs, unable to droop or drip without gravity. And Oryza felt as spent as she looked.

Corymb stared at her, eyes darting between her face and her pussy. “I really wish I could eat you out."

Oryza purred. She wished he could, too, and almost said as much. It'd be hot for him to throw caution to the wind, to prioritize her pleasure over his own health. Just a little, of course—nothing so outrageous as to get him sick, like before—but enough to tickle at the risk, to have him give himself so fully to her.

“Don't," she said.

“I won't. I just wanted to make sure you knew that if it was safe to put my face there, it'd already be there."

She rubbed into the side of his cheek. “Good." She thought about what it would be like to hold his head between her legs, to shove his face into her pussy. How eagerly he'd eat her out, how ravenous he'd be. How it was only a fantasy now that they were aware of the risks.

“So, uh," Corymb started.

Oryza shook herself back into the present. “Don't worry, I didn't forget," she said, pushing off of him and towards her compartment. She couldn't forget, either. The headache was worsening, and her vision was as sharp as it had been when she was a child. If Corymb had wanted to go longer, she'd have found it in herself to pull away. Eventually.

She snapped open the door, stuck her head in, and fumbled through the elastic netting that held her belongings down. Not that she had many personal effects—just some water, the jumpsuit she was supposed to be wearing, and a little origami dragon Corymb had folded for her out of one of the less useful pages of the ship's manual half a moon ago. Her heart melted as she grabbed the foil bag beside it. She had partitioned her own ardeo supply from the rations aboard the escape pod, but considering it was stocked for four dragons, it had been out of habit rather than caution. There was plenty.

A decade ago, it would've been a heinous waste to let that much surplus go unused. Even today it was wasteful. The stuff aboard was packaged for this purpose alone, and it wouldn't be going back into general circulation. But they were emergency supplies, and it was better to have them just in case, waste or not.

Oryza gingerly poked a claw through the pouch, ripping it open. The risk of spill was low, considering the lack of gravity, but she could still make a mess. Then she brought it to her mouth and squeezed, letting the familiar, acrid liquid flood into her mouth. She swallowed.

A few moments later, the bag was empty. She discarded it, chasing the awful taste of the drug with some water before backing out of her sleeping compartment.

“All set?" Corymb asked from behind her.

Oryza nodded as she flipped around, head-over-tail, and let out a long breath. “I am."

“That's, uh, good." He looked away, clasping his hands behind his back.

Oryza almost growled again. Where had the active and very-much-into-it Corymb of two minutes ago gone? It would be one thing if he was tired or wanted something else, but this was getting absurd. He made it seem like she was pushing him to mate every single time. Like she was imposing. Yet once they started, he was as eager and into it as could be. At first, she had chalked it up to the work, to the stress. But enough was enough.

“What's the deal with you, anyway?" she asked.

“Sorry?"

“You just fingered me for thirty minutes straight, and you loved doing it. Do you just like it when I come on to you hard? Is that all there is to it? Because I think I've made it very clear what I want from you over the last moon, so I'm not sure that's right."

“What are you asking?"

“What are we to each other?"

He paused in thought. “I'm really not sure. This kind of thing hasn't really happened before—"

“You're avoiding the question." She looked him in the eye. “Do you want me or not?"

Corymb swallowed. “Yes, Oryza. Fuck, yes. You're hot and I want you."

“So why does mating always seem to be my idea? I'm sick of having to initiate every single time. It's like you're looking for plausible deniability or something. If someone asked, 'Why did you and Oryza have sex?', why do I feel you'd say it wasn't your idea? That you'd blame it on me?"

“I"—he frowned—“I don't think blame is the right word. And I have asked, before."

“What, once? And that only after I dropped half a dozen hints on your head?" She shook her head. “And whether or not it's blame is beside the point. It makes me feel like you're ashamed of us being mates."

Corymb pursed his lips. “It's not shame; I just worry what people will think when word gets out."

“Why? Liking sex isn't a vice. We're consenting adults. Corymb, it—it hurts me."

His shoulders slumped. “You know I never want to hurt you."

“I know. So let's crack this egg already. It's been long enough." She flicked an ear. “Ask to have sex with me. Right now."

He blinked. “What?"

“You just spent the last however-long in my pussy." She eyed the way his jumpsuit was still strained at his groin. “This isn't that hard."

“Doesn't it defeat the purpose if you ask me to ask you?"

“No. I want to hear you say it. And you're stalling."

“Fine, fine." He licked his lips in apprehension. “Oryza," he started, “do want to mate with me?"

“I don't know, Corymb," she teased. Maybe it was rude to drag him through his own game, but oh, did it ever feel good. She was going to milk this for what it was worth. “What was it you just told me? You're only offering. Tell me what you want from me."

Corymb nervously licked his lips. “Fuck, Oryza. I need you." He rubbed at his erection through his jumpsuit. “Let me—I want to fuck you over and over until I'm spent."

With a flap of her wings, Oryza flipped around, spreading her hind legs to give Corymb a fine view. She grinned as his eyes went wide. “Then get over here already."

That was all it took. There was the buzz of a zipper and ripping of velcro as Corymb exposed his turgid, needy cock to the air. Oryza looked down at it hungrily, catching his scent a moment later. It wasn't as heady as a drake's, but they had mated enough times for her to tie the smell to that of sex.

He drifted over to her, eyes roving over the dark blue scales of her body with a hunger she wished he'd show without so much prodding. His hands moved to her flanks, steadying his body against hers.

Oryza shuddered from the sensation of his skin on her scales, from the pulsing heat radiating off his cock. Humans were all furnaces, and Corymb was no exception, but nowhere else was the difference in their respective species' body temperature more apparent. And soon it would be inside her, filling her with that same heat, beyond what was pleasant but before pain.

Corymb pulled his hips back, grasping his cock with one hand. His other went to spread her pussy, and Oryza shivered from the intimate contact. He was going to mate with her. Any second now.

She gasped as his burning length sunk easily into her wet folds, temperature drowning out texture and shape. Her walls clenched down hard, dragging him further in despite the copious slickness.

Corymb's cock spread her as he sunk in with a groan, clutching at her sides like they would be ripped apart if he didn't. His body quivered in a primal, instinctual need to sate and be sated, and that spoke volumes beyond his words.

That was precisely it. She finally had what she wanted from him: raw desire and honest need. It didn't matter how he expressed it. He could hold her so tightly he drew blood, or so tenderly that her heart melted. The meaning was the same.

Corymb nestled his chin into her chest, looking up at her with a vacant, lustful expression. “Fuck, you're hot," he said.

That sent warm tingles through her body. Oryza hummed and draped her wings around him, pulling his body flush with hers. “Am I?"

“Yes. You're so hot, Oryza."

She melted into his embrace. “Tell me more. Tell me why. Spoil me." She clenched down on his cock to accentuate the request.

“Fuck!" Corymb bucked his hips. “I love how you're bigger than me, but by just the right amount."

“Mmh," Oryza agreed. “You are cute-sized."

“I love the way your scales feel," he said as he rubbed the side of her flank. “They're pebbled, but soft? The texture is nice. They feel pleasant."

She snorted. “Of all the parts of my body that you think feel pleasant, that's the one you went with?"

Corymb shifted his hips and groaned. “Your pussy feels pretty good, too."

“That's right, it does."

“But what I like most?" He leaned in, close to her ear. “I love how much you want me. How you're always ready. Always in the mood."

Unlike him, she wanted to reply. But that was a poor way of thinking. Especially while they were mating. Corymb wanted her because she wanted him. They were mates. That had to be enough.

Corymb grunted. “On a time limit, I think," he said, although by the way he was grinding his hips into hers, Oryza suspected he wouldn't mind finishing sooner rather than later. “Your turn. Do me."

Oryza blinked. “Oh, um—" What did she like about Corymb? He was the only one here, sure. Necessity had drawn them together, but there was more to it than that. And she certainly wouldn't tell him she liked how he was the only other person on the escape pod. He had just rattled off the things he liked about her at a moment's notice. Why was she struggling to answer the same thing?

“I'll give you a hint," Corymb said. His hand slid between their bellies, dropping lower and lower. Then his fingers brushed against her clit and began to play her like a musical instrument.

Oryza let out a weak roar from the sudden stimulation, bucking into Corymb while he did his best to hold on to her. She was panting hard—her core felt like it was full of nothing but heat and pleasure, mixing in a way that was oddly numbing.

“Your fingers are divine," she mumbled as she struggled to pull together her thoughts.

“Are they?" He slowed down a little, just enough to let her mind clear. “What else?"

She met Corymb's gaze, and another reason struck her. “I love the way you look at me. Especially when you stare and get all flustered when I notice. Like you're ashamed of doing something naughty. It's adorable. I wish you'd follow up on them more often. Then you'd really be naughty."

His face softened. “I do, sometimes."

“Sometimes is putting it kindly. But I love it so much when you do." She licked him beneath the chin.

“I'll just have to make up for it by being extra naughty now."

Oryza gasped with Corymb's subsequent pull-out and deep thrust, but it was out of surprise rather than stimulation. Compared to those exquisite fingers of his, his cock left much to be desired. It was a little too small and a little too toasty. If she was going to get off on anything, it would be on the cute, pleasured sounds he was making. But that was okay. Knowing he was enjoying himself was reward enough.

Not that Corymb wasn't trying his best to give her a good time. He continued making slick, ardent thrusts, sinking all the way in with each. There was a term he had used for that—balls-deep? It made more sense for human anatomy, she supposed.

“Hey," he said between gasps, “I'm close."

Oryza hummed in response, wrapping her wings around his body to loosely hug him. She was tempted to tell him exactly where she wanted that load, but she stopped herself. This was supposed to be his pleasure, his initiative. She'd enjoy it as much as she could, but she wouldn't ruin it by telling him what to do. Even if she suspected it was what he'd do, anyway.

Corymb's breath caught, and his body tightened. That was the only warning Oryza had before his cock twitched within her, shooting out spurt after spurt of human seed deep within her. The amount was paltry compared to what a drake could put out, but the temperature made it hard to miss.

Oryza clenched down on that burning, turgid cock, trying to ignore that fact that she had to think about it, that if he was a bit bigger, a bit more productive, a bit cooler—anything closer to a dragon, really—that she would be in just as much ecstasy as him. She had to settle for mediocre pleasure and be happy with making him happy.

“That's it," she said, rolling her hips into his. “Give it all to me."

Corymb went rigid, eyes glazed in pleasure. How long would this orgasm of his go on for, anyway? Not that she didn't want him to have a long and fruitful one, but it seemed like this one was going on longer than usual.

Finally, Corymb's entire body slackened and he let out a long exhale. His heavy breaths felt hot against her chest as his body slackened, resting in the afterglow. “Oh, Oryza," he warbled, slumping forward into her chest.

She shivered at the way he said her name. Maybe getting off on the noises he made wasn't hyperbole. She'd have to ask him to do that more next time. And there would be a next time. There would be many next times, if she had anything to say on the matter. And after this, with any luck, Corymb would agree.

Oryza pulled her wings in tighter, cradling Corymb's furnace of a body against hers. “It was good?" she asked.

Corymb chuckled. “Very."

Oryza smiled. This was her favorite kind of Corymb: spent, exhausted, and satisfied. All because of her. And he wanted her as much as she wanted him. This was where they both belonged: embraced, together.

“I just wish I was enough for you."

“Corymb—“ her words faltered. What could she say? She had thought the same thing while they were mating. She missed the feeling of being stuffed and knotted. Corymb could only imitate the raw, frenetic breeding of a drake having his way with her. He couldn't match being pinned down and eaten out by a dragoness who knew exactly what she was doing. His fingers were close, but they could only stimulate—they couldn't claim her. In that sense, he indeed wasn't enough. And they both knew it.

“It's okay. It's the best we can do." He looked away. “And I'm sorry, by the way. About not knowing what I want. It's easier to just not think about it. To let whatever this is between us be what it was yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. It feels safe, you know?"

“If you let today be a model of tomorrow, I won't have any complaints." Oryza licked his nose.

“Stop it," he said, laughing as he pushed her head away. “I'm serious. I don't know what's going to happen when we finally reach Arche. But I know this much: I like making you happy. You were right, before. Fingering you was fun, and not just because it was hot. Seeing you feel that pleasure is its own reward."

“I feel the same way. We're mates."

“Maybe we are."

Maybe. Well, she could settle for a vaguely positive maybe. There were twenty-eight more days.

“Hey," Corymb said. “Do you hear that?"

Oryza's ears perked up. “Hear what? Don't tell me there's another hole in this tin can."

“No, it's this squeaking, rattling sound. I don't think it's life support. It's getting louder."

Oryza strained to listen, trying to figure out what Corymb was talking about. Then she heard it. It sounded like some poorly oiled vehicle wheeling forward, grinding on the bottom of the ship. Except there wasn't anything down there besides cabling and electronics, neither of which were capable of making that sound. Unless the noise was coming from the hull. Or perhaps the fusion reactor on the other side of it.

“So, uh," Oryza said, “should we—“

The lights flickered. Then they went off. There was a silent moment of darkness before the emergency backups lit up, casting the cabin in a dim, red glow as the life support fans restarted.

Corymb swore, pushing off towards the center console. “That'd be the reactor. We're on battery power."

Oryza let out a breath, trying to stay calm as needles of apprehension laced her body. The batteries would only last a day or two. They were only there to give them time to fix whatever problem made them necessary in the first place. But surely whatever was going on was simple to resolve. The reactor had a blip and shut down to protect itself, and just needed a swift kick before they could get going again. Surely.

“Can you restart it?" she asked, floating over to Corymb.

“Trying," he said tersely.

Oryza let out a shaky breath, doing her best to get her breathing under control. She had to do something. Anything. There wasn't time to waste. Except there was nothing she could offer at the moment. Corymb was better suited to these diagnostics, with his fingers and expertise in the area. She could only sit around and wait.

There it was again—that feeling of uselessness. It was the micrometeoroid all over again. She was just cargo on this escape pod, waiting to be delivered home. Even when something went wrong, she couldn't help. She might as well curl up and go to bed, sleep through whatever crises occurred until someone pulled her out and told her it was over and she was home.

The lights flickered again, and Corymb pounded a fist into the terminal when it dimmed back to the emergency lights. “Fuck! No good."

“What?"

“It's thermal. Reactor's shutting down to protect itself from overheating. And I have no idea why!" He hit the terminal again.

“Calm down," she said, flapping over to him. “We have time to figure this out."

“Oryza," he said. His face was grave. “The jump drive can't run on battery power. We're going to miss our only window. We have two hours to fix this, not two days."