Strange Bedfellows

Strange Bedfellows: Part V - Of...Fuzzy Snakes and Perdaetans...?

Chapter Notes: What, you thought I'd leave poor Rei all alone on his planet? No way. There IS something left for him here. But of course, for comedy's sake, Gene's going to encounter it first. Ah, the things I do for comedy.... This chapter's a short one; just gets them off of the planet. No sex, but a little bit of perverted humor from Gene. Then again, that's a given, so....

Gene jumped up with a growl. "That's it! I'm not waiting any more. You retain position here, Jim, and keep an eye out for Rei. I'll call if anything happens." He took off running, ignoring Jim's shouting in his ear that he was insane.

Gene ran until he reached what looked like the ruins of a small village. Something rustled in a dried-out bush and he spun towards it, caster at the ready. "Reikiki, is that you?" It wasn't the auburn-haired alien. In fact he wasn't sure what it was.

A ball of white fuzz rolled out, then flattened itself out into a hairy, white strip about eight and a half inches long. The top half raised. It was obvious that the creature had its back to Gene. The tail swung back and forth as the creature sang a melody, then it stopped and turned around slowly, revealing emerald eyes fringed with long, black eyelashes.

Gene felt a bit silly pointing his gun at the little animal. Still, it looked a bit like a fuzzy snake, and he hated snakes. Not enough to kill out of spite, but definitely enough to want to back away, which he proceeded to do. The little creature saw Gene and its eyes lit up with happiness. He crawled quickly over to the redhead, curling about his leg and purring.

"Gah!" Gene just barely restrained the urge to shoot the thing off his leg. The purring sound made him wonder if maybe it wasn't dangerous. Then again...lions purr. Steeling himself, Gene reached down to gingerly pluck it off. The creature saw Gene's hand and playfully licked at his fingers as the appendage neared. The open mouth held four rows of tiny, pointed teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom.

Gene immediately snatched his hand back; those teeth looked dangerous. Okay new plan.... He began to shake his leg, hoping to dislodge it. The creature simply chittered happily, curling a bit tighter around Gene's leg as the redhead shook it. Gene growled and began to shake harder, hopping slightly whenever his vigorous kicks threatened to topple him. "Get off
of me you clueless piece of fur!"

After a few more hops, Gene's back collided with something warm and knocked it down. The redhead feared that it was another creature of some kind. Gene immediately threw his hands over his face anticipating an attack.

"Gene?" a familiar voice asked. "What is it?"

Gene dropped his hands with a sigh of relief and lifted his leg. "Oh God Rei...am I glad to see you! This fuzzy snake attacked me and it won't let me go. Do you know how to get it off?" Rei got to his feet and looked at the fuzzy creature. A wide smile broke out on his tearstained face. He called out something in his native language and immediately the creature let go of Gene with a squeal of delight and flung itself at Rei, who knelt and cuddled it, crooning Perdaetan to it.

Gene gaped at the affectionate greeting. "Rei? You know that thing?"

Rei nodded. "This is...." He stopped, trying to think of how--or even if--the name could be translated. "...A pet," he settled on.

"A pet? That thing's a pet? It could have bitten me!" Gene pouted; seeing it curled up against Rei purring like a kitten was making him feel incredibly stupid.

"It would not have bitten you. It would have run away from you if it was afraid of you," Rei replied. He looked down at the fuzzy creature, fresh tears falling. "I thought...everything was gone...."

Gene sighed. "Trust me, he...she...it--well the snake is alive and well. It can squeeze too hard to be anything but...." He smiled slightly, now that he thought about it, he supposed the creature was a bit 'cute' and it never really showed any true aggression. "Did you find what you were looking for Rei?"

The winged boy's face fell. "No.... I found nothing...." The little creature seemed to sense his mood and curled up closer to Rei, purring louder. Rei cuddled the creature again.

Gene sighed again and scooted closer to Rei, eyeing the thing in the alien's lap warily as he curled an arm around the drooping shoulders. "I'm sorry Rei... I was hoping for a better homecoming for you." He looked around the desolation then back down at the fuzzy snake-like critter. "Life marches on and finds a way, Rei. Your little pal there is proof of it. I'll help you, and so will Jim. We haven't come this far to abandon you when you still need us."

Rei nodded, petting the creature in his lap. "Thank you...." He sat for a moment, then offered, "Would you like to touch it?"

Gene grinned, "That matters on what you're offering to let me touch!" he replied as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Rei blushed and looked back down at the creature. "Its name is...Lati...in your language...."

"Like the musical notes? Well I guess that works...but I was hoping for something a little harder," Gene said with an evil grin.

"You are such a flirt, Gene Starwind!" Jim's voice nagged in his ear.
"
You've been listening all this time?! Why didn't you say anything when I thought I was being attacked?" Gene shouted. He could almost picture Jim rolling his eyes with the response.

"You didn't ask, Gene."

The gunslinger swore a few times under his breath and vowed to make certain the comlink was muted for any personal conversations from then on.

"To whom are you speaking?" Rei inquired, looking at Gene with a raised eyebrow.

Gene blinked and turned back to Reikiki. "Oh...sorry. It's just Jim..." he tapped an ear. "We've both got the latest in micro transmitters put in so we could keep in touch at all times. They don't show up to the naked eye and can get past practically any scan. Cool, huh?"

"Interesting," Rei replied, continuing to idly stroke the creature in his lap. "Shall we go?"

Gene nodded and stood up. Taking a moment to make certain he was only on receive, he leaned down to whisper in Rei's ear, "You still haven't told me if I'll get to touch you...you know that right?" Then he leaned up again and said aloud, "Come in Jim...do you read? We're heading back!"

Jim grinned behind his console back at the ship. "Want me to come there? From the looks of it we don't exactly have to worry about airspace traffic."

Gene laughed and helped Rei to his feet. "Sounds good, oh...." he glanced at Lati and grimaced. "We have a...um...guest.... Rei's pet managed to survive so we're bringing him back too."

Jim blinked, then shook his head as he piloted the ship to his friends location. Only you Gene....

"What did he say?" Rei asked.

"He's on his way to get us...so we can just sit tight and wait for him," Gene replied...before leaning and stealing a kiss to Rei's cheek. The winged boy smiled and turned his head, taking the kiss full on the lips and returning it. Gene held the kiss, gently teasing with his tongue until he heard the whir of approaching engines.

He knew Jim had seen him in far more compromising positions, but that didn't mean he had to give him a show. He reached down to touch Rei's hand and encountered something fuzzy instead. He let out a tiny gasp and yanked his hand back. Cute or not, Lati still looked
too much like a snake for his tastes. Chuckling, Rei looked down at Lati, then walked over to the ship, turning to take one last look at the remains of his planet.

Gene looked back with him, but kept silent. He wondered briefly if Perdaeta would ever recover, and grow green again sometime in the distant future when his great-grandchildren's grandchildren were old and gray. He shook it out of his head. Even if it did, that would be far too late for Reikiki Subsisto. The auburn beauty needed him now. "Come on Rei, let's
go.... We'll find a new home together."

Rei nodded and entered the ship, Lati clutched in his arms like a life preserver. In essence it was. Rei had been distraught when he realized his planet had died. Lati, little though he was, would help him deal with it. And Gene...had it not been for the redhead, Rei didn't know what he would have done. Gene took a final look back as the hatch slowly closed. He had no idea where to go from here. The mission had gone terribly wrong...nobody but Lati had been left to greet Rei. So now what?

Jim was waiting for them both when they exited the hanger. "You guys okay? I heard what you said, Rei and I'm.... What is that!?"

"Now who's insensitive?" Gene replied with a grin.

Jim curled his lip and ignored his partner. "Is that the Lati you guys were talking about?"

"Yes," Rei replied. "That is actually his name, not his species. Your language has no name for his species. I had to use an approximate translation for the name as it was. The name is given because your music notes 'la' and 'ti' are the only two sounds the creature is capable of
producing."

"Wow!" Jim leaned in closer, he may have been mature beyond his years, but he was still a child at heart. "It's cute.... I can't believe you were afraid of him, Gene."

Gene growled, "Hey! I thought it was a snake okay? You know I hate snakes..."

Jim rolled his eyes, "Gene...snakes don't have fur."

The outlaw crossed his arms. "Hey, it's an alien world...anything could have been possible."

"Whatever, Gene." Jim replied then looked at Rei. "Can I pet him?"

"Of course," Rei replied.

Jim reached out to pet Lati's fuzzy little head and giggled. "He's so soft.... I bet he's hungry. There couldn't have been much food out there for him. What does he eat?"

"It is a scavenger. It eats anything," Rei replied. "Also, they are genderless." He grinned; that was the first time that the two had seen anything other than a tiny smile on the alien's face.

"Cool, can I feed him then?" Jim asked. "I promise to be careful."
Rei nodded. "I would worry more about yourself, Jim. It has four rows of rather sharp teeth."

"Heh, that's only two more than a cat. As long as he doesn't want to eat me we'll get along." He held out a hand for Lati to sniff to see if he'd accept him. The little creature sniffed the proffered hand, turning its emerald eyes to Jim's. It was then that the blonde realized how Lati communicated. The little fuzzball's eyes filled with images of a strange-looking fruit that resembled a kiwi, but had spines and a hard shell.

Jim blinked and leaned forward a bit. "Hey Gene...does that look like a horn melon to you?"

Gene stepped around and followed Jim's gaze. "Now that...is weird. You're right though...only...horn melons aren't brown." He looked up at his companion. "Do you know what it ei?"ei?"

Rei said something in his native language. "That is what the fruit is called," he clarified. "Yet again, it has no translation in your language. The look is similar to a kiwi fruit, I believe, but it tastes sweeter and has no tang to the flavor."

Jim pursed his lips. "Well, if I choose a nice ripe one and put a little sugar on it that might do. What do you think Rei?"

"I believe that would work," Rei replied.

Jim grinned and held out his hands. "Well what do you say Lati? You want to try a kiwi?" The little creature made it known that he did want to try the fruit, jumping around in Rei's arms happily. "Well come on then, let's head to the galley. We should be able to take time to eat a quick meal before take-off."

Gene looked a bit ill at the words take-off. "Er...could we just get up there first? I'd like to keep my lunch."

Jim looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh...yeah, of course. You'll have to wait a bit Lati. We can eat once we reach a cruising speed. Where are we going anyway Gene?"

"Just head toward the east...I still need time to think," Gene replied. "I'll be in my room."

Jim nodded and headed toward the cockpit. "And I'll be steering the ship."

A little droid zipped up to Rei. "Would you like me to show you to your quarters?"

Rei nodded at the little droid, then replied, "Just show me to Gene's quarters, please...."