To Be Astrid

Chapter 8 - The Years Without River

"I don't- I mean, I'm not really sure. This isn't really the place or time for this conversation, is it?", she seemed to shrink in her seat.

He sighed and definitely tried to say something again but before he could there was a tug at his trouser from the other side, "Jeremy? Can you dance with me, please?"

An adorable little girl, daughter of the woman who'd just brought them into this conversation, Jeremy's cousin, timidly smiled up at him with her hands now shyly pulling at her skirt. Jeremy smiled, "Of course, Maya, come on."

He took her hand and led her to the dance floor where he spinned her around for the length of one song before picking her up for the next, slower one, and swaying her in his arms. Both of them had bright smiles on their faces and Astrid couldn't help but smile too. He seemed to sense her look on him and turned his head when his cousin had put hers on his shoulder peacefully. He gave her an awkward little smile, that seemed to try and be reassuring but it only made her look down with furrowed brows and a frown. She turned away and downed her glass of red wine before waving it to the waiter in an 'another'-motion.

When they got to his childhood bedroom that they were staying in for the weekend, the mood was solemn and quiet. She picked her pyjama, a towel and their shared cosmetics-pouch from their shared overnight-bag and turned back to the door to go to the bathroom. In the meantime he was sitting down on the bed, shedding his jacket, shoes, socks, dress-shirt and trousers, leaving him only in boxer shorts by the time she came back.

She was wearing plaid pyjama slacks and a plain black tank top with no bra, her feet bare and her toes curled in which he recognised as something she did when her feet were cold. Her face was shiny from the moisturiser she must have just used and the whites of her eyes were slightly red with tiredness. Noticing that, he sighed and got up to go to the bathroom himself, deciding to delay the conversation he really felt the need to have with her. By the time he returned, she was asleep - or pretending to be - and he slipped under the covers on her right, leaving her between him and the wall, and pulled her back into his chest.

In the morning she found herself in that same position and stretched and yawned slightly, before turning onto her back and staring at the ceiling, still in a state between awake and asleep. After a couple moments she turned only her head to the right to see him peacefully sleeping, his breath even and a bit louder than when he was awake. His Kahler-mark was a little more visible in the early mornings and late nights and his lips were slightly parted. For a moment she looked past him at the alarm clock on his bedside table, noticing they still had some time before the announced breakfast-time.

She laid a hand to the side of his face, running her thumb over his cheekbone, and then leaned forward to kiss his forehead, "Good morning, darling."

A yawn escaped his lips and his eyes squeezed shut before he blinked them open. A sighed, "Hi", came from him. She giggled quietly. He pulled her in tightly, his eyes closed again and she felt his body stretching against her. She smiled and buried her face into his chest. Finally he stopped stretching but stayed in the cuddling position they were in.

"Why aren't our species compatible?", he suddenly asked.

She groaned into his chest but didn't move her face to reply, muffled by his black t-shirt, "I don't know."

"They seem pretty compatible when we do what people do to make babies-"

"That is the worst term I've ever heard for the word 'sex'", she interrupted him.

"-And there never seems to be any issue", he continued unbothered, "I mean, anatomically, we're compatible, so why shouldn't we be biologically?"

"I don't know, babe", she turned her head to the side a bit so her mouth was free and her voice wasn't muffled anymore, "There isn't really a lot of research on couples like us."