1Guide to Dating an Alien
Chapter 5: Kiss Her Goodnight...Appropriately
Some languages are more universal than you thought, as you learn when you take your alien girlfriend on a date that starts out great, if a little crazy, and becomes an unforgettable experience. Androgynous Protagonist "You" X Celeste.
"...So, you only changed your name to Celeste Luvendass when you were 27?"
"Correct. As I said, we're given names at birth, but we can take on the name of a predecessor by earning it. The more honored the predecessor, the more it takes to earn that right, and in my case, I had to first earn entrance into the Luvendass clan, and then I had to prove my worthiness to inherit the last Celeste Luvendass's legacy."
"Does that ever get confusing? With Tendrinites who have the same name?"
"Less than you'd expect. When I want to exert the social influence that comes with that status, I introduce myself as an inheritor. Consider the difference between introducing yourself with only your given name and introducing yourself with your full name and title."
"Sort of the difference between...'hi, I'm Celeste,' and, 'hi, I'm Inheritor Celeste Luvendass?'"
"Not in those precise words, but correct."
"And...now I think about it, that's where the 'you only live once, but I don't,' thing comes from, yeah?"
"Yes."
Even during your drive back to the beach, your conversation hasn't ended. In fact, now it feels like you've opened a new dimension in your relationship: You keep asking her about Tendrinites and their culture, and she's happy – no, eager – to answer. She wasn't kidding when she said she was grateful for your acceptance, and the fact that you want to keep learning only makes it better.
When you get to a good parking spot, you again take your shoes off and walk with her to the hut. Having changed back into her bikini when you left the lounge, she carries her new outfit with one hand, the stuffed whale tucked under her arm, and her other hand holds yours as you're still chatting away. You get the feeling from the non-stop smile on her face and the constantly upbeat tone in her voice that this is the happiest she's felt in a long time. Her sort of mechanical way of speaking has, at least for the moment, given way to a kind of cheerfulness you never expected to see in her.
Once you reach the point where all your other dates with her ended, as your latest topic of conversation winds down, she looks like she can't wait for more.
"Really? You don't get periods?" you ask.
"I don't...what? Is that how you refer to menstruation?"
"One of many, many ways," you answer with a knowing chuckle.
"I see. No, we do not." She sighs. "I have sometimes wondered how different things might be if we could reproduce sexually."
"It has its ups and downs," you agree before adding, "but...take it from me, many human females would consider that a worthy trade-off."
"Ahaha. From my research of your species, I'm inclined to agree."
That gets a shared laugh from you.
"I hope you contact me again soon. I never expected our date to go the way that it did," she squeezes your hand, "but I will remember this."
You give her a thumbs-up and a nod. "It's been quite a date for me too. I'm glad both of us will treasure this memory." After a nod and smile from her, you release her hand. "Good night, Celeste," you say, turning away.
You've taken one step before she stops you with an "ahem," followed by, "We both have much to think about, but aren't you forgetting something?" You turn back to see her cocking an eyebrow at you expectantly.
"...Am I?"
"I've said I've been doing research on how your species approaches romance."
"Ummm..." you hum, scratching your head, "and I told you, it's fine if you aren't into romance. We've connected tonight in a way we can understand without bringing," you mimic her voice, "'the intangibles of romance' into it."
"Even so, my research has taught me one of your customs. As you have honored my culture and history tonight, I will honor yours," she says, smiling wider. "While my material is not completely consistent in this, I understand that after the third date, I am to indicate I either only want to remain friends or to express my desire to progress to the step beyond friendship."
You blink. "Er, yeah, that's one way of doing it," you agree.
Before you can add that's how it's done if you're in high school, she adds, "And if I want to be more than friends, which I do, I understand that I prove my sincerity by kissing you."
Blink blink. Whoa.
"And don't worry, we know what kissing is, so please, let's have some privacy," she finishes before looking around, seeing no one, and walking into the hut.
You take a second to offer your mental thanks to your lucky stars before you follow her in. She shuts the windows, leaving the hut lit only by the firelight of the torches outside. It's pretty atmospheric, and you can feel your heart beating harder as she sets the whale and her outfit aside and approaches you.
As she reaches for you, you hold up a hand. "Wait, can you drop the disguise? I really want to see you as you are, as much as I can, especially for this," you ask with a wink.
"Hmhm. I don't know what it is about you, but you do well at saying what I want to hear," she says. A shimmer of wavering light later, and the real Celeste is back.
"Now that's more like it," you say with an approving nod.
Again, she reaches for you, and this time you let her make her move. Her hands slide along your cheeks, making you wonder if she likes how warm as you feel before they frame your jawline and lightly pull you towards her. You reach up to hold her, your arms resting on her shoulders and your hands crossed on the nape of her neck. The distance closes.
Soft, smooth, cool lips meet yours, sending a shiver through your body at the sensation. The lightly chilling tickle of her breathing brushes against you. You sigh as you and the alien hold each other. As good as the feeling of a warm body against yours is, you appreciate her for both her similarities to and differences from you, mental and physical.
Through it, her eyes never fully close. Her eyelids droop, but she never takes her gaze off you. You can't see them as well in the dim light, but while you've admired the unique beauty of her orange eyes, now that you're looking at her this closely, you appreciate them all the more. You've compared their color to the sunset, and now it's like the sunset is right in front of you, for only you to bask in.
As the pressure from her hands eases a little, you pull back, still holding her as you stay close enough to feel each other's breath. You note that you're breathing heavier than she is, your breath coming in soft pants.
"Your offer of more-than-friendship is...gratefully accepted," you mutter.
She smiles, rubbing a thumb against your cheek. "Outstanding," she mutters back before giggling, "ahaha, you're cute when you blush. I'm glad my body temperature will not be a problem when we're close."
"Not at all. I look forward to...exploring it some more," you playfully growl, getting a chuckle out of both of you. "By the way...correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like that had more of an effect on me than on you. Am I not that good a kisser?" you ask, hoping she doesn't learn that you don't have a long history of amazing make-outs.
"No, that's not it. It's pleasurable, but it's not our preferred way of showing affection."
Ooh. You're already looking forward to learning more about Tendrinites but looks like you might have one last lesson tonight. "Do tell."
"That is one trait we retained from our Pumuan ancestry, along with our horns. They rubbed their foreheads together while their horns interlocked. That is the closest equivalent to kissing in terms of biological reaction and social function," she explains.
"I...see," you answer.
"Understandably, I can't expect you to copy this custom with your lack of horns. That, and I'm the one responsible for kissing you in this situation, so it would not be..." She trails off as your hands move from the nape of her neck to the top of her head. "What are you-"
She gets her answer when you curl your thumbs and index fingers around the bases of her horns, then lean in to rest your forehead against hers. Her eyelids raise in surprise as now it's your turn to offer yourself as more than a friend to her.
"Like thiiis?" you purr.
"Y-Yes," she answers a bit breathlessly. "I...would have asked you to do this if our roles were reversed, but you seem to be rather in tune with my- ohh, yes," she gasps as you squeeze the skin at her horns' bases and gently roll it back and forth, much like giving a massage.
After only a few seconds of this, Celeste's giving you those bedroom eyes again. Her cheeks are getting flushed, the pink clearly standing out against the blue, and you feel her getting warmer. Seeing her like this is making you feel a little more daring and adventurous...and if you're going to have a girlfriend who's an alien bounty hunter, you'd better be both of those things.
When your forehead leaves hers and you let go of one of her horns, she takes a deep breath. "You're...skilled at th- ghh," she huffs as you brush her bangs off her forehead and kiss it as you grip her horns again.
For a second, you can't help but think this is a weird way to make out. But when your partner starts panting softly in response to you planting a slow trail of kisses back and forth across her forehead, you can't argue at all with the results, and her reaction is getting you more than a little hot and bothered yourself. The fact that this doesn't cover her mouth means she has no trouble vocalizing her pleasure, quiet though she is, and a single breath of "yes" is the only word she says, but it's all you need to hear.
After one last, lingering smooch, you pull back and release her horns, letting your palms drag along their curled lengths as you let her go. The Tendrinite needs a few breaths before she can speak clearly again. "You...are skilled indeed," she mutters, lightly rubbing her forehead.
"Thanks. That was...different...in a very good way," you say, similarly rubbing your lips. "You really never cease to amaze."
Her blush gets a bit brighter. "Normally, I can only receive that sort of treatment from another Tendrinite, and even they're usually too intimidated by me to treat me so well."
"Makes sense that your line of work doesn't leave a lot of time for steady relationships."
"Since coming here, I must say I'm seeing more of the appeal and becoming more accustomed to it than I thought," she remarks before taking another deep breath to compose herself. "For now, thank you again for a wonderful evening."
You nod, and after another brief distortion of her appearance, human Celeste picks up her date souvenirs and leaves the hut with you. You stand at the door as she passes by and comment, "I can't wait until our next date. I wonder what else there is to know about you...I've really never met anyone like you."
She winks at you. "Of course not. I'm not exactly local," she replies with a chuckle, letting you hear that cute-as-Hell laugh of hers one more time. She walks to the edge of the surf, and you stay where you are, waiting to see her off as usual.
You feel pretty damn satisfied with yourself.
And yet...something tells you that there's still...something else you can say to put the finishing touch on the date. You're a little surprised at the feeling as you look around to make sure you two are still alone, remembering how not long ago you turned into a quivering ball of nerves at the idea of talking to a pretty girl. You try to resist the urge, thinking you should just leave well enough alone.
You don't.
"C-Celeste?" you call, making her look back over her shoulder. "I know this means something different to you, and I'm sorry if I shouldn't say this, but I just want you to know...for what it's worth, no matter how many Tendrinite women there are, and no matter how many Inheritor Celeste Luvendasses there will be, to me, there's only ever going to be one you."
With how dark it is and how far away she is, you can't see her face well enough to gauge her reaction. She doesn't speak or move at all, in fact, other than to stare at you in silence. Then she turns back to the water.
Once she's not looking, you turn to leave too, whispering to yourself as you walk away. "Smooth. Just couldn't let it go. How long ago were you just thinking, don't call her unique, that's a bigger compliment for her than it is for you. Stupid, stupid-"
"Wait." Celeste's voice stops you as it comes from just behind you. Bracing yourself for what she might be about to say, you spin to face her. She pauses, then steps forward and holds out the stuffed whale. "I want you to have this."
You look at the offered gift and then back up at her. "But...you won that for yourself. It's not mine to take," you answer, gently pushing it away.
Or, rather, trying to push it away, but she doesn't let her arm bend. "I did win it for myself, to remember one of the things I like most about Earth. I also wanted it so I would have something by which to remember our enjoyable time. But you've given me a better gift than this could ever be. A gift that I will not have to hide on my ship as contraband, or that could be lost, destroyed, or taken from me." She smiles warmly. "Memories that I can call up when I'm shunned or condescended to and remember what it is like to be seen for who I am and accepted, welcomed, and even," she touches her forehead, "embraced for it. I have, as the saying goes in your language, very thick skin, but it is nice to also have a shield that can protect me without my skin becoming so thick that I lose all feeling."
You swallow, looking at the gift again. "I...um..."
"As I also said before, I understand the concept of giving gifts to those important to you, and while I cannot yet give you what you have given me," she extends her arm a bit further, "I hope that my words can make my gratitude clear. So please take this and remember what I've said. The best gifts are those that have vivid memories associated with them."
You take a moment to commit what she's said and the feelings she's getting across to memory as you accept her gift. "I think we call that...'sentiment,'" you answer, matching her smile as you hold the whale against your chest.
She sets her new outfit on the ground before she steps closer and reaches to hold your face again. You ready yourself for another kiss...and this time, it's her lips pressed against your forehead. It doesn't get the same reaction from you as it does from her, and it's much shorter than the ones you were just sharing...but her message is just as clear.
When she pulls back, she gives you a soft, "Good night," before picking up her outfit, turning around, walking back to the water, and starting to swim away. You silently watch her get smaller and darker until she dives underwater and stays out of sight.
Looking down at the stuffed animal in your hands, you smile back at it. Wow. You're either going to sleep soundly tonight from feeling so good, or you're not going to sleep at all from how much you have to think about. A deep inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, and you turn around.
"Whoaaa."
Fuck. If you hadn't started getting used to her popping out of nowhere...
"Is this the lost lamb I took under my wing?" Kyu asks playfully, her wings lightly fluttering as she hovers nearby.
Normally, you'd welcome her upbeat voice, but you're still unwinding from your date. You rub your eyes, only now starting to feel how late it is in the face of all her energy. "Don't you ever sleep?"
"I'll let you know if it happens. So, how was it?"
Seeing there's no way out of this, you nod at her. "Pretty damn good, I'd say."
"'Pretty damn good?' You went from her ditching you to making out on the beach." She cocks an eyebrow. "She was sounding like you could've done more than kiss her, and then she gave you a fuck of a sendoff."
"Heh, what, were you perving on us again? How much did you hear, anyway?"
"Enough, and more like I was doing a good job keeping an eye on my client. Point is, I'm impressed. Proud, even," she quips.
Not that you needed the help, but a compliment from the love fairy who helped you become who you are now, a new you that you find yourself liking more every day, boosts your mood. In fact, you're already feeling like you can enjoy a game of banter with her. "Y'know, Sugarbutt," you start, smiling wider at her bright smile becoming an annoyed frown, "it just kinda occurred to me...until tonight, you haven't really helped me with Celeste all that much. Not even when I first talked to her. Why is that? Because she came up and talked to me first?"
"First, I told you, we aren't cool enough for you to call me that. I know where you live, I know where you sleep, and unlike you, I don't need sleep," she warns, leaning down to leer at you. "Second, you didn't look like you needed my help with them, and I was right," her smile returns, "as always. I'm here to give you the pointers and coaching you need, not to be your complete strategy guide for picking up girls."
You give her a "yeah, sure" nod before asking, "So you still think I can be your greatest achievement?"
"Homie, Celeste's not the only girl you surprised tonight, and all I had to do was lend a hand, not totally save your ass. Like you just said, you're even mackin' on nonhuman girls." She floats closer, tapping her chin as she lands in front of you and adds, "I'm starting to really wonder about you. I've got a feeling you have way more potential than I thought, enough to do things that I, in my hundreds of years, thought were impossible."
Sure, Kyu mixes her criticism with compliments, and sure, you've gotten the feeling that she doesn't really make plans yet she does have goals that she works towards, but where's this coming from? "Question. I'm glad you were right about me having what it takes to talk to girls after all, but I still wonder...what do you get out of it all? You keep telling me it's your job, so I guess you get paid, whatever amazing things it is that a love fairy buys. But is that it?"
She rolls her eyes. "Look, if all I wanted was to get you laid, I'd help you make a million dollars so you could buy women...and even then, you," she pokes your chest, "still wouldn't do it. Remember what you were like when I first talked to you? You'd be so pants-shittingly scared that you'd never even get a single one of them into your bedroom."
"I guess you got a point," you admit.
"Getting a desperate loser laid is no big challenge, and it's not any fun either. I didn't want to leave you as a puppy. I wanna turn you into an alpha," she pats your head, "and then some."
You chuckle, "Heh, what am I, the...fucking...chosen one?"
She gives you a devilish smirk. "The fucking chosen one, the chosen one of fucking...or both. We'll find out in either two or six years, depending on how you look at it."
You smile, but you can't help but raise an eyebrow in confusion too. "That's...a really oddly specific timeframe."
"Fairy stuff, let me worry about it. Nooow you owe me a favor, and if you know anything about fairies," she waggles her eyebrows, "you'd know that you don't wanna be in debt to them."
Now your confusion is turning to nervousness as you think back on the things you've heard in fairy tales. "What do you want? My firstborn?" you ask jokingly while hoping it's a joke.
"That's a little excessive, so nnnooo," Kyu draws out the word, giving you some relief until she goes on, "buuut we could work out a new deal. How seriously are you offering?"
"Um," you mutter as you take a step back.
"Hmhmhmhm," she giggles, "don't answer that. Come on, what kinda monster do you think I am? Nah but really, I was gonna hold it over your head and let ya squirm for a while until I figured out how you can pay me back, but I already know."
"Uh, okay, good, one less thing for me to worry about. So what is it?"
She points at the whale, answering, "I want that."
You look between the whale and her a couple of times before holding the stuffed animal closer. "No. It's kind of important to me."
"I know, and that's actually kiiinda the thing. Look at it again. No, do it." You do what she says. "How do you feel?"
You stare at the whale as you try to put it in words. "I feel like...like even though Celeste isn't here, I'm still close to her. Like there's a connection I understand but can't explain. And...like we both let out a lot of our emotions to each other, both good and bad, and are better off for it." You look at Kyu again, still upset about her request. "You said you were here, you saw and heard us. What do you expect me to say I feel?"
She folds her hands behind her back. "You could put it in one word if you tried. You pretty much said the word yourself when you took it." She leans in, raising her eyebrows expectantly. "Say it."
"...Sentimental."
"Yup. That's not just a little thing she got at the fair and gave you to thank you for a good night. Celeste was feeling a huge amount of emotion when she gave this to you, and she gave it to you with the intention of sharing those emotions with you." The fairy straightens up, pointing at the whale again. "Ever heard people talk about putting their heart into things? Works of art, things they're doing, or even, mmm, gifts they give? As someone who knows, I can tell you that a lot of the time, they're just saying that, but those times they're right about it, it's not just a saying."
You're trying to piece together what she's talking about and where she's going with this, but you think you get it. "Are you saying this...what, you can sense her feelings in it?" you ask, holding up the whale.
"I'm not gonna give you a full magic lesson, but jokes about," she sighs, adding sarcastically, "the power of love and friendship and all that feel-good shit aside," before her voice returns to normal, "think of all the things strong emotion can make you do. Love fairies can do even more, and that stuffed whale is supercharged with sentiment." She raises a hand with just her index finger extended. "I'll show you. Normally, I don't let my magic leak out into the world, cuz I want to keep myself hidden. But right now, I've turned that barrier off."
"O...kay? Should I be afraid of what you can do to me now?" you ask.
"No, but you might wanna brace yourself." She takes hold of your wrist before she starts slowly lowering her hand towards the whale. "This is how you see the whale."
"Uh huh."
"But when I look at it, I see..." she trails off with her finger just above the stuffed animal.
"Yeah?"
"This." She touches it.
In an instant, the whale is shining with blue light, and it's so bright that you reflexively shut your eyes, the glow hurting even through your eyelids. At least, it's supposed to be hurting, but...you realize it doesn't. You open your eyes and look straight at the whale, and even though it's like staring at a small blue sun, it doesn't strain your vision at all. You look up at Kyu, who smiles at you, and your sight isn't the least bit blurred.
"And that's just the start of it. Lemme pull back the curtain some more," she says.
You look back at the whale, expecting it to get brighter.
"A good friend would want to know."
Your eyes were already overwhelmed, and now your ears are hit out of nowhere. That's exactly what you said earlier tonight, in your voice, but it sounds like how you hear yourself played on a recording, not how you hear yourself normally. It doesn't stop there, either: "Many species find you surprisingly likable on an individual level." "I suppose...you have earned that." "Thank you for trusting me, with the truth and with your feelings." "There's always someone who'll welcome you." Each thing, you can tell from the sound, must be how Celeste remembers it.
"Okayokayokay, I get it," you blurt, afraid of what could happen if Kyu takes this any further.
She pulls her hand back, the light dies down, and you hear a barely audible, "Good night," just before things are back to normal.
"And that last bit of sentiment right there," Kyu says, "that was from you. I'm just glad you got the message before I had to start sharing even more of her memories with you. If I'd hit you full blast with all the feelings in that whale, including her thoughts..."
You hold up a hand to signal for her to be quiet for a second as you breathe deeply. Mercifully, the chatty fairy gives you some time to recover before you ask, "So what do you wanna do with it?"
"Take it back to Sky Garden. Something with emotion this powerful can be turned into a date gift. One of our date gifts," she explains.
"You don't just...make them?" you ask.
"Nope. Our magic does a lotta cool shit with emotion, but the best stuff comes from pure emotion, and there's a lot of it in that thing. When we can get our hands on stuff like this, we can make copies of 'em for our clients to use on their dates." She smiles, "I'm no angel, never will be and don't wanna be, but I'd like to see you try to tell me I don't brighten people's lives...and have a lotta fun doing it. How could you say no to helping me do that?"
You look at the whale again, thinking. You don't want to lose this gift Celeste gave you. But then again, Celeste isn't the only one who'll remember tonight. This is also the first time Kyu's ever asked you for anything in exchange for helping you out. And you may have done most of the work but to be real, you already owed her before tonight. "Dunno if you're working magic on me now or if you're just that good at reading people, but...you got me," you agree, holding out the whale.
...And pulling it back as she reaches for it.
"Hey!"
"On one condition," you say, wagging a finger at her.
"Mmm?" she huffs.
"How long do you need it?"
"I dunno, depends on HunieCorp, that part's not my job." You slowly raise an eyebrow to let her know you need an answer. "Pff, 'not very long' is the best I can do."
"By human-"
"Yes, by human standards," she interrupts impatiently, "why?"
"You can have it only if you promise to give it back when you're done. The original, not a copy," you say firmly.
She sets her hands on her hips, tapping her foot on the sand. Then she smiles and chuckles, "Haha...you're somethin' else, all right."
You smile back at her, offering your free hand to shake. "Whassa matter? After all you pushed me to do, don'tcha think you're up to my challenge?"
"Am I good at my job, or do I kick ass at my job?" The fairy reaches to take your hand...or rather, to give you a sideways high-five. "Deal." With that, she keeps her hand extended for you to give her the whale.
Looking down at the whale, you sigh and give it a hug before placing it in Kyu's hand, this time without a light and sound show. "Best love fairy I know," you agree.
She puffs up with pride. "Who'll also get a big fat bonus for this," she chirps.
"Ooof course," you say sarcastically.
"Hahaha," she giggles merrily before she's floating again. "Welp, I better go. Hunie doesn't make itself."
You nod and wave her off, but just as she turns around, you think of one last question for her. "Say, Kyu?"
"Present," she answers, turning back in midair.
"Back at the carnival, how'd you text me so fast?"
"I've been doing stuff like that since waaay before any humans were born who're still alive." She raises her free hand and flexes her fingers. "I was sexting when the closest thing you had to texting was Morse code. It's not nearly as great but, y'know, at least it leaves one hand free." She winks. "Working a keypad is cake, especially when I'm actually using both hands."
You rub your face, chuckling. "Why am I not surprised..."
"Another promise I'll give you is that you'd be surprised what else my hands can do," she chirps before she flies off and fades away.
Once again, that was a lot to take in. You look at the last place you saw her as you reflect on what she just told and showed you. Magic in everyday items, love fairies able to replay memories, Kyu hinting she's got bigger plans for you than just being another client...and ending with sexting in Morse code.
All that after a date with an alien girlfriend that you'd still have a hard time summarizing if you tried.
You pull out the HunieBee and thumb over to Celeste's profile, nodding in satisfaction. Time to call it a night.
Beep!
Or not.
You have a new message from Celeste!
Huh, she's messaging you already?
I have thought of another gift I might give you that still does not compare to the one you gave me, but I think it can certainly be called "a happy memory" for both of us.
You raise an eyebrow as you open the picture attached to her message. Your other eyebrow rises too when you see it.
It has Celeste in the coils of a mass of thick purple tentacles. What they're attached to can't be seen, but they're holding her off the ground, her arms and legs held out in a spread-eagle position. Tentacles bind each of her limbs while more of them slide across her body. Her naked body. You feel your cheeks turn pink as you look her over. A couple of tentacles prevent you from seeing everything, but even though you have a good guess of what they're doing to her, the look on her face says she may seem to be out of control here, but she's loving it.
Sooo...she has at least one kinky interest.
Woa. I hope u don't hold it against me that I cant do that.
Beep!
You have a new message from Celeste!
Of course not. Perhaps you can do better. -smile-
Just like that, you're smiling again as you put the HunieBee away. It occurs to you to wonder how this picture was taken...but maybe that's a story she can tell you another time. It also occurs to you that, before you look for an aquarium to take her for a date like you've been planning, you should ask her what she thinks of things like octopuses and plan (or cancel your plans) accordingly.
You walk over to one of the palm trees and take a seat, leaning against it and looking at the night sky. You meant for this night to be a fun time with your alien friend, and it turned into more than you ever could have expected. Not that you'd thought you'd really meet an alien in the first place, let alone one like Celeste Luvendass the Tendrinite, even more let alone open your hearts to each other, kiss her, and end the night feeling like she'd remember what you'd done for her.
As your gaze drifts across the stars, you feel impossibly lucky that, of the many places far beyond your world, Celeste found something she'd never seen before here, on Earth, in you. No, "impossibly lucky" doesn't describe how you feel. This has to be something beyond words.
Then you realize what you're looking at right now and remember something Celeste likes to say. With a nod at the sky, you and the Celeste in your memories say the word:
"Stellar."
A/N
And one evening of last-minute rewriting later...it's done.
I wrote the entire story intending to put both a lot of feeling and a lot of thought into it. That's one of the main reasons I like the Hunies so much: Whether you want to keep them casual and simple, or delve into them and develop them as characters, they work for it. I tried to make this last chapter kinda hot (for a (more or less) T-rated story), but I started out writing it intending to put a lot of feeling into it.
I hope I still kept Kyu in character even when she gets serious, which would seem like an oxymoron for her. She's really fun to write, but also challenging because you have to balance having fun against still keeping her sounding like herself. I like the idea that there's more to her than we know and that she has some kind of emotion-based magic, not that it's what we play the game for but there I go with the "expanding their characters" bit.
Finally, this was my attempt to explore one more headcanon I didn't expect: Why date gifts do what they do in-game, not that anyone ever asked. I didn't even have the idea for it until just before I got to that point in writing the story; I was already going to have Kyu ask for the stuffed whale to repay her favor and then, bam, new headcanon that the date gifts have their own histories and their effects are associated with where they came from. The stuffed whale in particular turns broken hearts to sentiment, which is what the protagonist does in this story. And that's how you helped create one of the best date gifts in the first game.
Now...that's that. I said it before but I'll say it again: Thank you, HuniePop, for ending a three-and-a-half-year streak when I couldn't find the energy, and didn't make the time, to write.
And thank you for reading.
HuniePop (c) HuniePot.
Thumbnail done for me by NailsTRabbit.
This story's copyright policy: "Sharing is caring." Do what you like with this story, not like I can do anything to stop you, in fact I'd be flattered you'd want to share it or save it so you can read it whenever you want. All I ask is that you link back to the original source. Versions that can be copied are on my DA, FA and AO3 pages (I'm Evertide there too).