In Search of Home

Chapter 39

After Viktor had managed to gather his wits enough to stand up without feeling like he was one look away from being thrown over, he decided that he needed to see Vok'Rul. It wasn't the alien's fault that he has an awful association with what seemed to be a pretty common word. It was probably eating the alien up, and despite his distaste for this planet, Viktor found that he couldn't bring himself to go up the stairs and forget about how defeated Vok'Rul's face had looked.

The trip to the dining room had never been so terrifying, which was ridiculous, really, because he was just crossing an empty room. It didn't explain, however, why his legs felt like they were made of jelly. Maybe he had hit his head harder than he thought. He rubbed the back of his skull. 

Viktor peeked out of the doorway, half-hidden behind the counters and wall. Vok'Rul was facing away from the kitchen but was situated the closest. Thruul and Rukka, who were sitting opposite of Vok'Rul at the dining table, were keeping up most of the conversation. Every time Vok'Rul ducked his head to stare at his bowl morosely, they exchanged a glance. 

Well, Viktor thought, wiping his palms down the front of his sweater and stepping into the doorway. Hopefully, his presence would cheer Vok'Rul up. 

He immediately caught the attention of Thruul and Rukka, who had a full view of the kitchen. Thruul opened his mouth to say something, but Viktor saw Rukka stomp on his foot. Ouch. 

Vok'Rul looked up, but Rukka said something that made the other shrug half-heartedly, then go back to stirring his stew. Damn, Viktor felt really bad. 

Viktor walked over carefully, keeping a shrewd eye on the two aliens watching him. Vok'Rul's tail was splayed out on the floor beside his chair. Viktor crouched beside it, lightly patting the lifeless thing. It twitched but did little moving besides that. Vok'Rul turned to look down at him, a tentative and hopeful look on his face. 

Viktor smiled hesitantly at him, and when the alien didn't move after that, he stood up, carefully stepping over his tail. He sidled up close to the chair, patting the alien's arm comfortingly. "It's okay, Vok'Rul. Not your fault that the- that he was a big dickhead. You wouldn't have known," he nattered on, dropping his gaze from the alien's earnest face a bit self-consciously. He wasn't great at the whole comforting thing, even when the receiving party spoke his language. 

Vok'Rul's arm pulled away, causing Viktor to look back up, a bit confused. Surely, he hadn't managed to offend the alien? But no, Vok'Rul merely patted his head lightly, smoothing back his hair and settling on the back of his head where it still smarted from suddenly meeting the floor. Viktor leaned into the touch. Vok'Rul smiled, and Viktor smiled back. 

He heard Thruul and Rukka say something, but Viktor didn't pay them too much attention. He lifted his arms in Vok'Rul's direction, nonverbally asking to be carried. Vok'Rul seemed to get his spark back then, his face lighting up joyfully. He picked up the teenager almost effortlessly, and Viktor had to remind himself that he was doing this for Vok'Rul. His discomfort was temporary, and the alien liked holding him, for whatever reason. He could bear with it for a while. 

Viktor got himself comfortable on Vok'Rul's lap, leaning heavily against the alien and soaking up all his warmth. It probably made it awkward for him to feed himself, but Vok'Rul didn't seem to mind. One arm was wrapped around Viktor, tight enough to prevent him from slipping off but loose enough that he didn't feel like he was trapped. His other arm was used to carefully bring spoonfuls of stew to his mouth. 

The conversation resumed after that. Leaning against Vok'Rul wasn't unlike cuddling with his dad when he had been younger, hearing his heartbeat (though, oddly enough, it sounded like Vok'Rul's species had two hearts, or something similar, considering the triple heartbeat he was hearing) and words through his chest. It was pretty relaxing, especially after the frantic barrage of emotions he had experienced just half an hour ago.