Tropes include: Forced Proximity, Feminist Sci-Fi, Rescue, Redemption, Found Family, Wounded Hero, Alien Heroine
After a brief misunderstanding, Mehfawni tries to get Khyff to relax, and suggests a bath.
Excerpt
Khyff slid down in the oversize tub and leaned back into Mehfawni's arms the way she'd requested. He eased himself into her embrace, his head against her shoulder.
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Isn't that better?"
"Mmm." It was nice having her hands slide across his wet skin. So far, she'd never touched him with her claws extended. So far.
"Close your eyes."
"Why?"
"Easy, Khyff." She stroked her hands down his arms. "Relax. Lie back. You don't have to be afraid. I promise, nothing will happen to you that you don't like."
A bit late for that. Mehfawni skimmed her fingers across his brow and pulled back his hair. That felt good. He settled more into place.
"You like that?"
"Mmm."
She toyed with his hair, drawing it back from his face. He rubbed his nose.
"You have such cute little ears." She traced the outside edge of one. "I grew up learning to read people's ears, but humans are a total mystery to me. Your ears don't move at all."
"The better to hear you with, my dear."
Fawni stopped stroking him. "Ah fay?"
He turned his head toward her voice. "It's a line from an old fairy tale."
"What are fairy tales?"
"Children's stories. Make-believe stories that teach a lesson."
"Kin have these. We call them drahee. The word drah means story. When you add ee to a word, it means little." He felt the vibration of her voice. "Tell me one of your stories. The one about ears."
Khyff stretched into the hot water, resting his arms along Mehfawni's legs. Her furskin made her smoother than a human female. His slid his palms across her shins and down around her calves.
"This young girl goes to visit her grandmother, who's sick."
Mehfawni's breath warmed his ear. "What's wrong with her?"
"Who?"
"The grandmother."
"I don't know, Fawni. It's part of the story."
"Oh." She nuzzled his ear. "Go on."
"Anyway, the girl has a large basket with books in it and--"
"Books? You mean printed ones like Kin use? Not the pretend kind you humans read on your debit bracelets."
"Uh...I guess so."
"Why is she carrying around heavy books? Aren't the books on debit bracelets easier to read? I think I'd prefer those myself."
Khyff leaned away from her so she could see his face. "You're supposed to listen to the story, Fawni. It doesn't matter what format the books are in. It's just something for her to carry for the sake of the story. It could have been food or some other thing."
"Oh." Her ears went out. "Sorry."
"She's taking the books to her grandmother, I guess so she'll have stories to read while she's in bed recovering. On the way, she meets an android who offers to carry the heavy basket, but the girl says she doesn't need help. This makes the android angry, so he--"
"I thought androids had controls to prevent anger."
He trailed his fingers along her thighs. "They do, but this android must've been broken or something. Anyway, he takes a shortcut to the grandmother's house, lifts the sick old woman out of her bed, and puts her in a closet."
"In a closet? Why doesn't she get back out?"
"She was sick, remember?"
"Yes, but she could have opened the door and crawled. How sick was she?"
Khyff took a deep breath. "May I continue?"
"Go on. Sorry."
"The android changes form and makes himself look like the grandmother."
"This is a very odd story, Khyffy. When does the ear part happen?"
"I'm getting to that. The girl sees right away that her grandmother looks different and asks why her eyes are so bright. The android realizes he forgot to change his eyes and says, 'The better to see you with, my dear.' And then the girl says, 'Grandmother, your ears are too big.' And the android thinks maybe he's not good at changing form and says, 'The better to hear you with, my dear.'"
"Most peculiar. What does she do next? Does she ever find out it's the android?"
"Patience, Fawni." He rested his hands on her shins. "By this time the girl is suspicious and says, 'Grandmother, why are your fingers so long?' and the android says, 'The better to grab you with, my dear,' and then he grabs her!"
Khyff seized her ankles, and Mehfawni jumped and squealed, then burst out laughing. They both chuckled.
She tugged a lock of his hair. "And what happened to the girl?"
"The android's owner burst in through the door at that moment. He aimed a remote at the android and powered him down. Then he got the grandmother out of--"
She made tsking sounds. "I do not like this story, Khyffy."
"What?" He leaned his head back against her. "Why not?"
"It would never be told on Felidae."
He sat up and twisted around to face her in the tub. "Why not?"
"A male rescuing a female?" Her laughter sounded like a cat hissing. "Not believable."
"What's so unbelievable about that? Humans have told that story for hundreds of years. Maybe even thousands."
"Humans, yes." She covered her mouth and laughed some more.
"How would the Kin tell this story?"
"It would be a boy taking the sick grandfather food to eat, not books to read. And instead of a mean android, we would have a kweeoh eat the grandfather and then dress in his clothes and await the boy."
He twisted his mouth. "Oh, like that would ever happen. Kweeohs are twice my size. The boy would have to be blind not to see it wasn't his grandfather. And that would be way too violent for kids. We have the android scare the girl."
"Kin females would not be scared of an android."
"You jumped, didn't you?"
