Page 136 of Trove’s Purpose

It was super easy, really. She wished all her clean up jobs could be that simple. The music was off, the others were gone, everyone had a great time.

Chee was so happy.

And when Trove came back in, having returned the rest of his liquors to their place in the rec room, her smile only grew.

“We cleaning this off now?” He asked, reaching for another serving tray. This one had been covered in what looked like fully puffed up, mini dandelions, and they tasted amazing. She wasn’t the only one to think so, as the tray had only a few remnants of the sweet grass left upon it.

“Yeah,” she nodded, grabbing a mostly empty stew bowl. “I don’t like dealing with old food in the morning. Better to get everything cleaned up the night of. You’ll have less work to do later. And I like this time.”

“Hm? This time?”

“This time,” she looked around the empty room, her face warm and happy. “An empty room that was just filled with laughter and joy and celebration has a different feeling to it. Even though no one is there, it still feels full. It feels satisfying. I like lingering in it. I don’t know. That probably sounds weird.”

“No, not at all,” Trove assured her, offering a kind smile. “I feel it too. It’s heavy. But nice. Like the dimness of my room. It’s a welcome feeling.”

“Right?” Chee beamed, leading him to the synthesizer so it could take back the dirty dishes. It was already humming, hard at work breaking down what she had put in there already.

She already had half the table cleaned before Trove returned. With his help, it didn't take long at all to get it all cleared off. She finished by wiping off the table as he watched. Spot, Garnet’s beaten up and dented cleaning robot, was happily chugging across the floor, sweeping and mopping up any mess that might have fallen to the artificial tile. There weren’t tiles there, just the impressions of what would have been tile if any had been laid simply to break up the floor.

All the machines were whirring peacefully, the room was once again set to rights, and Chee was filled with the satisfaction of a job well done.

Yeah. She was happy.

A feeling that only intensified when Trove was suddenly there, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He rested his chin on her head, because he was too tall to do it comfortably on her shoulder. She felt rather than saw him smile as he embraced her.

“Good work,” he praised. “It was a great time.”

“I’m glad everyone had fun,” she said, covering his hands with hers as they slowly began to sway back and forth like the music was still playing. “Even if it looked like Sorbet and Tebros were going to kill you for a little while there.”

Trove chuckled. “Not the first time those two have looked at me like that. Won’t be the last either. Murder is their first problem solving technique. Tanin had the hardest time getting a hold of the two of them.”

“What about Rok? What’s Rok’s deal? That thing about being given a female for his hard work? Is that like a thing for his people?”

“I don’t know much about the baemoth people or their culture, but I do know it was the norm with the people he once worked with. Don’t be too angry with him. He genuinely doesn’t know better.”

“He can learn better,” Chee said. “We are not things to be given away.”

“I assure you, he does not see you as ‘things’.”

Chee grumbled under her breath. She knew he was right. Rok was entirely too nice to not see them as full people with their own thoughts and desires. He certainly didn't treat them like he expected one of them to be given to him.

But then again, there weren’t any of them ‘available’. Technically, both Chee and Goldie weren’t mated to their males. But Chee and Trove simply didn't have the opportunity to go through with the mating fight he needed to complete to seal the bond.

And Goldie…

Well, maybe that would happen soon. Once they managed to build Alred a body. If they were able to build him a body. And if that body was triggered by her. If it was even capable of being triggered. There were a lot of questions in that, but that was to be expected. They were doing something that had never been done before.

If anyone could do it though, she trusted these guys to get it done.

Turning in his arms, she put her arms around Trove’s neck and smiled at him. He smiled back, the two of them still swaying in place.

For a long moment, they didn't really talk. They just enjoyed this quiet moment between the two of them. No pressure. No secrets. No others to interfere. Just them.

“Why did you return to the guest room?” Trove finally asked. There wasn’t anything accusatory in his voice. Just curiosity. “You’re welcome in mine.”

“Yeah?” She turned her head.

“Was that in question?”