The Last Atonian

Chapter 22:

For several seconds, Veerna was too stunned to respond as she realized just what Don was doing. He was ... gods of Vold, was he an idiot? He was kissing her! And it ... it actually wasn't too bad, to be honest. Still, she was frozen, staring at him, wondering if he'd gone mad and pretty sure that he had.

Then, it was over and he was pulling away, his face bright red. "I, ahh, that probably ... I'm sorry."

Veerna cocked her eyebrow at him. "What're you apologizing for?" she asked. "That really wasn't so bad."

Don blushed even harder, as she'd been hoping he would. "Oh."

Still a little uncertain, Veerna nevertheless leaned back, raising her eyebrows at him. "Why'd you do it?" she asked after a long moment. "I mean, you don't really like me, do you?"

That made Don's eyebrows shoot up above his glasses. "Would I have kissed you if I didn't?" he said. "I really do, Veerna. Maybe I didn't at first, but I do now. Heaven only knows why."

Veerna raised her eyebrows. "That's not very flattering."

"Oh, uh ... sorry."

Veerna shrugged. "At least you're honest. And I've got to be, too. I don't love you, Don. I haven't loved anyone for a long time. Anyone I've ever cared about just either dies or gives up on me. So you'll have to excuse me for not falling head over heels for you."

"Veerna—"

"Plus, I kind of took you hostage," Veerna said, "and ruined your life. That doesn't exactly make for a perfect pair, does it? Listen, Don. I know you're serious, and it's ... okay, it's a little weird. And probably breaks every rule of being a psychologist. My point is, it'll never work. Once I've got you all settled here, I'm ... I'm leaving."

Don looked up, injured. "You're leaving? But Veerna—"

"Every second I'm with you is putting you in danger," Veerna said. "Sareen won't bother you here if she knows I'm still loose. That'll give you and the others ages to figure out how to get Chris out of cryo. Once you've done that, you can probably find some obscure planet somewhere that the Federation won't bother you at. Leem will help you. She always does."

"You don't have to leave," Don said, standing up.

Veerna stood as well, subtly increasing her height so she was taller than him by a few inches. "I do, Don. Because I'm afraid if I stay, I might start to feel the same about ... you."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"It is for me," Veerna said, inclining her head towards him. "I'm a loner, Collego. Always have been and probably always will be. It's not healthy for me to form any kind of personal attachments to anyone. That's why I need to leave Yulia behind too. Otherwise, I might start to care."

"You cared about Chris," Don told her quietly.

Veerna froze, half turning to him. "No," she said. "I didn't. I cared that I made a mistake, and that an innocent was caught in the crossfire of something that should have just affected me. I care in that way, yes. But not for her as a person. I can't start thinking like that. I stopped forming attachments the day my world went up in flames. Literally."

"What about Flint?"

"Flint was my business partner. And an idiot," she added after a moment of thought. "Nothing more. I flirted with him to get what I wanted. I never really liked him, to be honest. I'm glad he's dead."