Tisis

The nick of time (S)

The next morning, I wake to the sound of wiggling coming down the small tunnel, with Nym still lying on my chest and sleeping peacefully.

I gently tousle through her hair to wake her up and give her a bright smile as she slowly opens her eyes.

She looks up, apparently disoriented, looks down and asks, "Um...am I...still dreaming?"
I roll my eyes, caress her back and reply, "Not as far as I'm concerned. We had that talk about 'our reality' yesterday, remember?"
"Still it feels...so surreal. Wait, what's that noise?"
"Probably Tyr weaseling his way down to us to bring us breakfast."
"Oh sh..." Nym curses silently, jumps to her feet, looking around for her clothes and I can't help but laugh at her frantic expression.

"Something the matter, Nym?"
"Yes, there's someone coming down here and I'm stark naked! As are you!"

I shake my head and carefully sit up, every muscle in my body aching.
At least the bleeding of my hands and legs seems to have stopped, thanks to Nym's care.

As Tyr pops his little head through the hole in the wall, carrying the water pouch, Nym is already mostly dressed, whereas I only bothered to put on some pants.

"Morning, Tyr," I greet him with a bright smile.

Tyr looks back and forth between the two of us for a few seconds, before dropping the pouch, turning around and disappearing back into the hole.

"What was that about..." Nym asks.
"I'd call it 'reading the room'...either that, or he just doesn't like the smell."
"The...the smell?"
"You don't know what sex smells like?"
"I...didn't know it had a smell, to be honest."

I laugh, carefully get up and put my shirt back on before explaining, "It's a peculiar smell."
"...I don't smell anything out of the ordinary though..."
"That's because our noses have already grown accustomed to it. You rarely smell your own sweat, do you? Though...I must say, I was surprised."
"You were surprised? You came on to me all of a sudden!"
"No, that's not what I mean...I was surprised, how warm it was inside of you, what with how cold your skin always is."

Nym looks over to me and then starts laughing.

"Hey, that's not funny!", I protest before adding with a smile, "Okay...maybe it's a little funny. But seriously, what gives?"
"I'm warm-blooded, Sirus, just like you. Which means I generate my own body heat instead of needing to take it in from the outside. I'm not a fish!"
"Yeah, okay, but..."
"Yes, I know...the cold and smooth skin, right? You already know that my people are aquatic, right?"
"Yeah, you told me...something about you needing these fancy implants to walk on land and stuff."
"Exactly...anyway, my skin is arranged in multiple layers, which keeps my warmth inside. The reason why your skin is warm to the touch, is simply because your body sucks at keeping the warmth you generate inside. But on the upside, because your skin is so thin and constantly regenerating itself anyway, your healing factor is significantly better than mine...especially when it comes to recovering from burn wounds, you definitely have a major edge."

"Hey, Tyr just told me you guys finally did it!" Julia's voice echoes down the shaft, ending Nym's explanation.

Nym groans and shouts back up, "Can I please strangle that little telltale?!"
"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that. What, are you ashamed or something?"
"I...don't feel all that comfortable with people talking about my sex life."
"Eh, for me it's normal...just about the entire block knew, when two people got together...y'know, lack of privacy and all that."
"Leading to a complete lack of shame, I see!"
"No really, there's nothing to be ashamed of," I say, walking over to the huffing and puffing Nym, lift her chin gently and put a small kiss on her lips.