Page 89 of I Think I’m in Love with an Alien

At least, I hope that’s true. Poppy seems like a genuinely warm and kind person, and I thought of Tad as a goofy brother type. Hopefully, I haven’t misread their innate goodness.

“You can’t stop now,” Poppy says. “How did all of you end up here?”

Seeker spreads long fingers, highlighting how unusual his hands are, how strange the joints. “I’m a stranded tourist. Most of what I’ve said in chat is true, just not the entire truth. I visited this world despite knowing it was an interdicted destination. I used a gray agency who ignores certain travel warnings, but they never came to retrieve me. That was over a year ago, local time.”

“Holy shit,” Poppy breathes.

“Damn. That sucks, dude.” Tad finally sounds like himself again. “You didn’t plan to move, you just wanted to see the sights and go home.”

His blunt but accurate assessment gives me a major twinge, because I feel uneasy about starting a relationship under these conditions.

“Your turn,” Poppy prompts with a speaking look at Ravik.

“This reminds me of the games you’re always running in chat,” they say with what could be faint amusement.

“Those games are awesome! And we wouldn’t have gotten so comfortable with each other if I hadn’t taken the lead and broken the ice.”

“Why does the ice need to be broken?” Seeker asks.

“Metaphor,” I whisper.

With a thoughtful expression, Tad heads into the camper and comes out with a pitcher of water. “Can everyone drink this?”

“We can,” Jaz replies.

He nods as if she’s confirmed a theory. “I did notice that you never eat with us, but I guessed that finances might be a problem. Or it could have been an eating disorder. I have a friend who can’t eat in front of people.”

Poppy plays hostess and fills cups for everyone. “Okay, stop avoiding the question!” She offers the drink to Ravik, who shifts on the picnic table bench.

It’s interesting to me that they’re all roughly humanoid, not blobs of protoplasm or giant tardigrades. Maybe those types of aliens exist too; I’ll ask once Poppy has satisfied her curiosity.

Ravik meets my gaze, and there’s something ancient and weary in their aspect. “My family held power in one of the nations on my homeworld. But there was political turmoil. We were deposed. Betrayed. I ran for my life amid chaos and tumult. Many good beings perished in shepherding me to safety. Here, in the last place they’d ever look. I was lucky to survive the crash landing. My companions weren’t so fortunate.”

“Oh my God,” Poppy breathes. “You’re exiled alien royalty.”

“Inaccurate,” they retort. “Royalty is power accrued then passed down through lineage. That is not the case for us.”

“So, your relative was the prime minister or something?” I’m speculating.

“Closer to that. There are affiliated houses, each with a different political cast. My family had a platform centered on ecological stewardship,” Ravik explains.

Suddenly Tad grins. “That explains the extensive garden and the rooster named Kevin.”

They seem to restrain the urge to be curt. “Any further questions? Or can I drink my beverage in peace now?”

To my surprise, Seeker says, “You said you don’t have a ship. But if you crashed…”

Ravik tips their head back and stares up at the stars. “It was an escape pod, destroyed beyond repair on impact.”

I feel like I should say something, but Ravik has lost so much, including people who gave their lives to see them safe. Under those circumstances, I’d find it tough not to be a bitter curmudgeon too. I don’t even dare to give them a comforting pat.

Thankfully, Poppy is irrepressible. She makes a flourishing gesture. “Jaz, your turn! If you’re willing to share.”

“Music is my refuge and my rebellion,” she says softly. “In the Solirin Collective, music is considered…frivolous. Artists are regarded as disreputable, distracted from performing real and important work.”

“That’s what my mom says about my fanfic,” Poppy mutters. “And she’s not encouraging about my dream of becoming a real writer, either.”

“You thought it would be better on Earth? We don’t treat creative souls as well as we should,” Tad says.