“EUUUUGGGHHHH!” Aisell strained as she pulled with all her strength on the stuck grate above Luke’s home. “Almost…there…”

Aisell fell back on her ass sending a jolt through the floor that knocked Luke to his own rear end.

“Wow that was in there tight!” She gasped.

Luke hopped to his feet and ran to the edge and climbed down into the hole. He cautiously peeked inside making sure there was nothing lurking inside. All seemed as he left it and he crept inside.

“Careful Luke!” Aisell called from above.

Luke shook his head and smiled. “Relax Mom! I got this!”

“What was that?” Aisell called back with faux annoyance. She had heard him perfectly well.

“Nothing!”

Luke looked around at the dank surroundings. The floor was wet from the over flowing buckets of dripping water, his bed looked to be a little soggy too. He’d need a cloth from Aisell to dry everything out.

“Luke…are you ok?” Aisell said leaning her head into the grate as far as she could.

Luke turned around and ducked through the crack in the metal wall and brushed a curtain of golden hair to the side.

“Mind if I cut off some of your hair to use? It really brightens the place up.” Luke quipped.

Aisell leaned her head out of the hole and furrowed her brow. “Har har!”

“That wasn’t a no!” Luke grinned.

“No!” She smiled. “How is it in there?”

“Soaking wet. Do you have a cloth I can use to dry the floor? I might need a new bed too…” Luke grumbled.

“Sure! I’ll get you one. I can get you a sponge or something to use as a bed too.” Aisell stood up causing the walls around Luke to vibrate slightly.

“Sounds good!”

Luke spread the cloth out as best he could around the soaking floor of his home. The advanced fabric was far more absorbent than anything he’d seen before and it didn’t take too long until the floor was dry. He could hear the distant hum of the decon unit as Aisell got on with her cleaning. It was her last night and she was determined to leave the place spotless for the next cleaner. She wanted to set a standard.

Luke finished up and hauled the wet cloth and then the damp mattress out into the grate for Aisell to collect. He waited for a few minutes and caught his breath as he waited for Aisell to check in on him. As sure as clockwork the Titaness’ pretty face appeared far above the hole in the floor.

“Finished?” she asked.

“Yup!” Luke made a thumbs up gesture. “Can you get rid of this stuff for me?”

Aisell dropped to her knees, reaching down and pulling out the damp items and set them with some other nearby rubbish.

“Ok! New stuff coming in…” She said lowering some items into the hole. “I got you a clean sponge and some more cloth for you to use. There’s plenty there if you need new bed sheets or clothes.”

“Sweet thanks!” Luke said examining the items in the corner.

Aisell’s hand appeared beside him dropping in bright yellow packages bigger than he was. They had writing on them and looked like food.

“Those are nutrient bars from survival kits. Even opened they should last for months before going stale. One of them has enough to keep a Titan going for a day so they should keep you well fed. Don’t open one unless you have to! Keep them for as long as you can.” Aisell instructed somewhat dictatorially.

“I do know how to survive ya know!” Luke yelled back up as Aisell turned away for a second. “How am I supposed to get these open anyway!?”

“With this…” Aisell said lowering her hand down and dropping something to the floor with a distinct metallic clink.

Luke examined the object. There was a four foot long shaft of wood, similar to a broom stick. Dug into one end and fastened tightly with wire was a foot long, gleaming sharp shard of metal.

“Hopefully you’ll only ever have to use it for opening those nutrient bars…but I feel better knowing you have it.” Aisell grimaced.

Luke picked up the makeshift spear, it was quite heavy and cumbersome. He would need practice. “Yeah…good idea…” He said nervously recalling his run in with the giant insect. “Better safe than sorry!”

“Definitely!” Aisell smiled trying to cut through the tension her gift had created. “Oh! I’ve one more thing for you!”

She dropped in a long metal tube about half as tall as Luke and almost as wide. It had a large plastic button on one side and slider on the other.

“It’s a pocket thermo. Used for heating things. The slider controls the temperature. You can use it to heat up water or just to keep warm if it gets cold. The fuel cell is good for ten years!” Aisell felt quite pleased with herself.

Luke smiled up at her feeling his chest warm at her kindness. He shook off a sharp pang in his gut. Part of him was loathed to leave her. “Thank Ais…really…this is too much.”

“Oh relax dummy! All of this cost less than an evening meal.” The blonde Titaness laughed.

“No…seriously Aisell. Thank you. For everything.” Luke looked up somewhat seriously to her.

“Nu uh!” Aisell frowned. “No saying goodbyes yet! We’ve plenty of time for that later!”

Luke pressed his lips together and rubbed the back of his neck as his gut lurched. Each second that passed was a second closer to her leaving. And him being back on his own. He breathed in deeply, strengthening his resolve and reminding himself that Aisell leaving would be the beginning of his journey to find his way back home.

A wall of flesh lowered in from above as Aisell set her cupped hand down for Luke to step in. “Come on, I’ve something to show you.”

Aisell walked across the market keeping her hand cupped slightly but open enough for Luke to see where they were going. She turned down a corridor out of the market along the outer edge of the station. Luke could see the hazy, yellow surface of Titan outside the large windows as she walked.

“Remember this path Luke. It’s important.” Aisell said as she walked.

Luke peered back the way they’d walked. She had easily covered more than a mile from his grate in about a minute. “Where are we going?”

“We’re nearly there.” Aisell said walking steadily forward down the long, window lined corridor.

After another minute or so of walking, the pair arrived at a circular atrium at the end of the corridor. There were three large doors spread equidistant apart from each other and the corridor. There was a glowing screen high above one of the doors and Luke could see each door was marked, one, two and restricted.

“These doors are the hangers. One and two are the civilian ones. The third is a military hanger and it’s restricted. I’ve never been in there so I can’t tell you what’s behind the door.” Aisell said pointing to each of the doors.

“Up there is the Information Board” Aisell pointed up to the screen embedded in the wall. “It should tell you what ships are coming and going where. It won’t tell you about the military ones though. Your best bet would be to listen to the guys wearing the red military uniforms. They’re the military deck hands, they look after the ships that are coming and going for the military. You might get lucky.” Aisell explained. Her voice was cool and serious.

Luke nodded and examined the surroundings. It was two, probably three miles back to his grate. He would have to make the trek out here regularly to check what was going where. He glanced up at the board to test his reading skills.

“Arc…aeh…vee…ah…” He stammered.

“Archavia…it’s my home. That’s the ship that’s leaving tomorrow. I’ve my ticket reserved…” Aisell said bringing Luke to her face.

Luke sighed at being reminded of her imminent departure. “Thanks Aisell, this is a big help.”

“Don’t mention it. Now I need to get back to work!” she said turning and walking back down the corridor. “I want this place to be cleaner than it’s ever been! The next girl is going to have to work to my standards!”

“Ohhhh yes!” Aisell yelled as she threw her cleaning top across the room. “I am NEVER putting that thing on again!

Luke smiled nervously and stood facing away. Despite their drunken night together he was still very unsure of where he stood so he was staying cautious.

“Ever the gentleman?” Aisell asked pulling on a t-shirt.

“Of course!” Luke laughed nervously and then yawned and stretched.

He was exhausted. He’d stayed with Aisell through her entire 26 hour shift. He didn’t want to leave her or fall asleep. They had so little time together left he didn’t want to lose a second of it.

“You sure you don’t want to sleep for a bit? I can wake you up before I go.” Aisell bent down and pulled a case the size of two storey building from under the bed. “Your little face looks like it’s about to drop off…”

Luke tried to hide just how exhausted he was but he felt another yawn rise from his chest. He did his best to stifle it but it was painfully obvious to the grinning Titaness just how exhausted he was.

“Come on you! I’ll take a break before I pack.” Aisell flopped down to the bed and leaned back against the wall. She plucked Luke up from the bedside table and set him on her stomach. Luke would have objected to being lifted up without his consent but he was too tired to make the jump to the table.

The Titaness reached down and ran the back of a finger along Luke’s chest. “Just rest up! You’ve slept most of the time you’ve been here anyway.”

“No way! I’m staying awake! I’m gonna see you off. I’ll have plenty of time to sleep when you’re gone.” Luke said sitting up and fending off her finger.

“Fine…suit yourself!” Aisell smiled.

Luke blinked wearily. It took every ounce of strength he had to force them open again.

“So, what are you gonna do when you get home?” Luke asked trying to move the conversation onto something other than him falling asleep.

“Work probably!” Aisell sighed. “My parents retired and left the fruit farm to me and my sisters. My older sister Lezah is in charge. She’s a bit of a slave driver…”

Luke grinned. “Sounds just like my Mom…she was always pushing me to do more at school. Join clubs or sports teams. We used to argue all the time cuz I just liked to sit around and read or write.”

The pair sat in awkward silence for a few seconds realising just how much they missed the things they hated about their loved ones.

“Soooo…what about you? What will you do when you get home?” Aisell said breaking the silence.

“Ehhhh…move back to my home town…write…visit my parents every day. Meet a nice girl and have a family.” Luke rhymed off. He’d spent a lot of time thinking about what he’d do if he got home. “Oh! And get my Mom to make me some peach cobbler!”

Aisell smiled and stroked his back. “You miss her?”

“Lots…” Luke sighed. He decided to change the subject to something not so painful to talk about. “What’s your home like?”

Aisell shifted a little leaning back further and clumped her hair into a ponytail over one shoulder. She returned her hand to behind Luke and softly stroked his back trying to encourage him to fall asleep.

“It’s beautiful. Far from anywhere! You could walk for ages and not come across another person. Rolling hills with lines of fruit trees, loads of different types! Mosaberries, catchets, dosas and loads more. There’s a forest not far from the house. It’s on a hill which leads down to a river. I used to go there as a kid and just sit and think. I used to love being alone up there…”

“It sounds nice…” Luke yawned.

“It really is” Aisell smiled as she thought back. “I used to get into trouble with everyone though. My parents got worried I’d get lost or something. And my sisters hated me cuz they’d end up having to do my chores. I got more lectures on responsibility from Lezah than I did from my mother.”

“So is that what you want to do with your life? Be a fruit farmer?” Luke asked.

Aisell sighed and looked down to the weary Human sitting on her stomach. “I’ve actually no idea…this year away was supposed to fix that. I’ve visited planets in every corner of The Empire, met lots of interesting people, seen some amazing things and tried a few jobs. Some pretty interesting and some dull, like cleaning!”

“C’mon! Without cleaning you’d never have met me.” Luke said summoning some charm.

Aisell giggled girlishly, rocking Luke so much he had to brace his arms on her stomach so he didn’t roll away. “I have to say…meeting you has probably been the highlight of my whole trip.”

“Really!? You’ve travelled across a vast interstellar empire and I’M the highlight!? I’m just a dull guy from Colorado!” Luke said feeling quite flattered.

“Yes really!” The blonde Titan smiled. “You’ve opened my eyes about Humans. I just thought you were simple creatures who liked to have fun and sleep the day away. But you’re not. You’re amazing Luke. You’re smart, funny and nice. You’re so easy to talk to. You survived here all by yourself for months! Living off your ingenuity and your wits in a world far bigger than you. I don’t think I could have done that…I would have broke…”

“Stop it Ais…you’re embarrassing me!” Luke beamed red faced.

Aisell paused and the happy glow faded as she looked down at Luke.

“Come with me…please?” she asked.

Luke looked back up at her. Her gaze didn’t break. Her huge icy blue eyes glistened as tears started to well. He could see fear in her eyes, concern, worry, hope, kindness. All mixed together in a gaze that made him want to break. To accept everything she’d give him and forget about ever getting home.

“Aisell…I can’t…”

“Please Luke…” A tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek. “I’m terrified something will happen to you…”

Luke shook his head and looked down to the fabric clad stomach beneath him. “I can’t Aisell. This is your world not mine. You said it yourself…it’s far too big for me. I don’t belong here. I miss my family so, so much…”

Luke stopped talking as a lump caught in his throat. He didn’t know if it was the upset of seeing Aisell cry or the intense pain of homesickness buried in his heart trying to claw its way out but he had to fight to keep the tears back. He breathed in deeply and sat up, blinking rapidly to wipe away the tears building in his eyes.

“I have to get home…I have to…” He said and wiped a tear away with his sleeve.

“It’s ok Luke…it’s ok…” she said scooping him up and holding him to her upper chest.

She held him there for a minute. She could feel a tiny hand run back and forth across her palm as he savoured the comfort and warmth of her company.

“I’ll come back to check on you. I promise.” She said lifting him up to her face. He sat up in her palm and looked straight ahead to her.

“You don’t have to do that…”

“I know. I want to. It’ll take a month or two but I’ll save up the money and I’ll come back. And I’ll keep coming back until you get home. If you ever want to come with me you just have to say. Ok?” She said sniffling.

“What if I’m not there? How will you know if I’ve gotten home?” Luke asked.

Aisell smiled and wiped away another tear. “Leave me a sign?”

“Ok.” Luke nodded. “If I find a way home I’ll cut an α for Aisell into the cloth and leave it under the grate?”

Aisell smiled and nodded and a few more tears rolled down her cheeks. “I wish I could get you home Luke…I’m so sorry I can’t”

“Shhhh. Don’t be silly. It’s not your fault. You’ve been so kind to me. Kinder than anyone I’ve ever met. You saved my life…I can never thank you enough for that.”

“Just promise me you’ll be ok?”

“I will. I promise. Now come on! I don’t want to spend our last few hours like this! You had me convinced all week you were tough. Now you’re blubbing like a baby.” Luke joked trying to cheer her up.

Aisell laughed and wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. “I never cry…”

“Liar!”

“No! I don’t! I never cry” Aisell raised her voice with a girly laugh. “It’s you doing this to me!”

“Gee thanks…I love it when girls tell me I make them cry…” His tone dripped with sarcasm.

Aisell smiled at the man, no bigger than her finger, she’d come to know and care for.

“I really will miss you…” She said.

Luke smiled back. “I know. I’ll miss you too.”

Aisell cupped Luke in her hand and held him to her chest. He tried his best to stay awake but he’d been awake for over thirty six hours and his companion’s warm embrace was too hard to fight against. She held him, watching him and stroked his back as the minutes tick down on her pad.

“Just one more minute…” she told herself each time the clock reached the moment she told herself she’d put him down and start packing.

Eventually she had no choice. She was out of time. She set Luke down in his cloth and wrapped him up. He didn’t even move. He was exhausted and dead to the world. She half smiled, half laughed and then burst into tears, not able to contain her grief anymore.

“I’ll miss you Luke. So, so much.”