Project X
All Rights Reserved
© 2016 Luna Black
~*~
Alexa snuggled up closer to his chest, taking a deep breath and whispered, "Can you stay for the night or is that not possible?"
Xander nodded and placed his other hand around her too. "Yeah, I can. However, I have to leave early in the morning."
"I'll work with what I get," she sighed, listening to his heart beating steadily. "Xander?"
"Mm," He murmured.
"I love you." Her tone of voice was strong in the sense that she meant it, but it was barely a whisper because it seemed to burn her throat as it left past her lips. The reminder of loving him and not being able to be with him burned her insides like oil and flames. "I know I've said it a bunch of times, but it literally feels like I haven't said it enough. I just want you to know that I do; I love you with every fibre of my being."
She sat up, turning her body to face him and pushed her damp hair behind her ears. "It feels like this bubble inside of my chest that needs release; it's threatening to shatter every bone in my body if I keep that feeling to myself and it scares me. I feel like I need all eternity to be able to get rid of this freaking bubble, but we only have today and it terrifies me."
Xander sat up as well, cradling her cheek in his hand and said, "Ti dan isuli."
"Ti what?" She grinned, wiping her teary eyes.
"It means you are very beautiful. Your soul, your personality – you – are beautiful, Alexandra and I am in awe at your beauty. Ti a mé llo."
She leaned her cheek closer to his hand and said, "I honestly have no clue what you just said, but you sound so sexy speaking that way that I don't care what you say."
He chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It literally translates to you have my heart. You have taken every bit of me and claimed it as yours." He inched forward, brushing his lips against hers until she could feel them buzzing with electricity. "When you confess your love for me, something inside of me stirs and it makes me content; thank you for that."
Alexa grinned against his lips, tilting her head slightly to the side so that their noses wouldn't separate their lips. "I hate my name, but when you say it, it sounds sexy as hell."
His smile widened, the dimples on his cheek growing and he said, "Your name in my planet means strength; you are my strength."
"I don't know," kiss, "what it means here," breathless kiss, "and I honestly don't care; you make it sound hot." She pressed her forehead against his and smiled. He made her so happy; his presence had thousands of effects on her.
Xander gave another light laugh and shook his head as he pulled them back on the bed. He wanted to feel her pressed against every inch of his body.
"What does your name mean?"
"One who brings light; saviour," He shrugged his arm with indifference. "My parents were big believers in strong names. I guess they thought that I would save someone one day."
Alexa pursed her lips, playing with their entwined hands and said, "Does my heart count?"
"Pardon?" He frowned.
She grinned cheekily, glancing up at him and said, "Does saving my heart count as you being a saviour?"
He laughed at her cheeky grin and kissed her temple. "I would believe so."
A tranquil silence filled the room and they began to drift off in their own perturbed thoughts. As much as she wanted to have a positive attitude, she couldn't help but think that after he was gone, she'd lose her mind.
"Xander?" She whispered, sliding her leg in between his as she accommodated her head on his chest.
"Yes?"
She traced her finger down his chest, loving the way some of his scars bulged out and made his skin feel so perfect; which was ironic considering that his skin was scarred. "Can you tell me about Xrion? Like, how does it look like? How do things work there?"
"Mm," he breathed in deeply as he tried picturing his home planet. "Do you remember the rings that I told you about?"
"Yeah," she nodded, "the ones that are like the service stations around the planet?"
He nodded. "Once you are a warrior, you are sent there to protect the planet in case of a war. It is divided into ten sectors and they are switched every three weeks. A warrior spends one entire month on the ground with his family for three times. So essentially he spends three months out of the year with his family."
"Sounds tough," she grimaced.
"At first it is," he agreed, "but as times goes on, you realise that you would rather have a safe family than no family at all. It is a great honour for us to protect our people, Alexa. Anyway, I spent most of my life up in the rings because both of my parents were warriors, so the little I know of the ground might have changed during the time we spent in Earth."
Alexa nodded. "Just tell me what you remember."
He smiled at her eagerness and rubbed his fingers over her knuckles as he began speaking. "Green; it is very green. That is why green is my favourite colour; it reminds me of home. There are a lot of trees and flowers; we take pride on taking care of our planet. However, there are many buildings to house our people. It is very hard to explain without sounding contradictory. The buildings are eco-friendly and our technology uses little chemicals so that there aren't many emissions into our atmosphere. When we entered Earth, we were surprised at how polluted your planet was and immediately started working on it."
"What about your customs? Like do you guys shake hands and stuff when you meet someone for the first time?"
Xander shook his head. "Touching someone you do not know very well is considered offensive; it kind of ties in with speaking to a person that is courting someone else. If a woman speaks to a man, who is not with his partner, and she knows he is with someone, it is deemed as disrespectful and vice versa. If a man speaks to a woman who is courting someone and her partner is not present, it is wrong."
She frowned, even though he couldn't see her face and said, "How will someone know if that person is dating someone?"
He tapped her left hand, starting from her wrist up to her ring finger. "Your people distinguish who is with someone by a wedding band, correct?" She nodded. "Our people mark their hand. It looks like a tattoo that starts as a ring and spreads out over your hand, ending around your wrist."
Alexa widened her eyes in surprise, imagining the design. Needless to say, in her mind it looked beautiful and intricate. "What if they get separated? What happens to the hand that's marked?"
His fingers continued tracing an invincible pattern on her left hand and he said, "That is why our marriage is taken so seriously; it is for life. When you are 'dating' someone, you only get the mark around your wrist and it is not with permanent ink. When you marry the mark is done with permanent ink and it goes over your hand to finish around your ring finger."
"It sounds cool," she murmured, glancing down at their hands as she tried to picture a design on their hands. "Do both people have it or is it just one?"
"Both."
"I would love to see Xrion; it sounds beautiful."
Xander nodded, nuzzling his nose on her cheek lovingly and said, "I wish I could take you; it really is beautiful. To answer your question from earlier, we do not shake hands because it is deemed disrespectful. When a woman enters the room, all the men present stand and bow their heads in respect and vice versa."
"Everything sounds so formal," A yawn blurted past her lips and she blushed. He chuckled at her and she muttered, "Sorry."
"It is alright. Would you like to go to sleep?"
She shook her head. "No! I want you to keep talking to me; I love your voice. It's so deep and husky; like your tone is smooth and just – ugh – I could hear you speak the rest of my life."
Xander laughed, raising his eyebrows in amusement and said, "Very well; what would you like me to speak about?"
"Mm," she breathed in deeply, "...do you remember the first night I came to your house?" He nodded. "You told me we wouldn't be sleeping together – which I was happy about – but you looked really embarrassed about it. Why?"
He laughed again, the sound rumbling through his chest and shaking his entire body. "I was not embarrassed per say, I was more nervous. Even Corah had not shared a bed with me, so to share it with a complete stranger was nerve-wracking. There was also the factor of me being a virgin; I had no clue on how to initiate physical contact that would lead to sexual intercourse."
Alexa giggled, turning red at the hilarity of it all and said, "That's called foreplay and for someone who didn't know what to do, you rocked my mind every time we did it."
"I just read a manual..." he trailed off.
"A manual for sex?!" If she could die from laughing so hard, that day would be her funeral.
Xander narrowed his eyes, trying not to let his embarrassment get to him and said, "Thanks to that manual, I, as you so tactfully put it, rocked your world. So, do not make fun of it."
She continued giggling, tears streaming down her face and she propped herself on her elbow to look at him. "I love you so much!"
A smile grew on his face, taking the place of his annoyed expression. "I love you too, mielle."
Alexa frowned and shook her head. "I prefer it when you say it in Xrion."
"Our dialect is called Klázto, not Xrion, mielle."
"Whatever," she muttered, snuggling up to him once again, "I prefer non per si viti."
His smile – if possible – widened even more and he pressed a soft kiss to her head. "Non per si viti, mielle."
"Xander?"
"Alexa?" He spoke in a mocking tone, his smile still in place.
She rolled her eyes and said, "Before we go to sleep, can you tell me about the programme?"
He frowned. "What programme?"
"Well the way the deal with President Goodhart was supposed to go through."
"He was supposed to address the citizens of the United States and ask his women if they were willing to volunteer to help us reproduce. The women that volunteered were supposed to receive surveys in the mail so that our computers could match them with a Xrionian male by their compatibility. Then, the General would send a regiment to pick up the women from a specific location they were supposed to be at."
"Wow," she mumbled, sleep making her eyelids heavy, "it did not go down that way."
Xander nodded, pulling the covers over them and whispered, "Go to sleep, mielle. You are tired."
~*~
Twelve days went by too quick. Exactly 288 hours – she counted – and though it sounded like a lot; it wasn't. Not for her. There were exactly 12 hours until Xander left Earth for good.
After Xander and the other Xrions had left, the women had gone into a state of melancholia. They could not speak to one another without breaking down in tears. Alexa didn't know if their surprise visit was worse than not seeing them, but she would take the bittersweet feeling over anything.
Luckily the doctor that checked Kai confirmed that she was healthy, her fever and lack of hunger were all common symptoms of the pregnancies. He was actually surprised that she wasn't craving metallic foods – like iron and such.
Before they left, they made sure that all the women were healthy and protected from harm. After a long and painful goodbye, Alexa began to receive calls from news channels trying to interview the "abducted women."
She turned them all down for safety issues, but after Jess confirmed that the Mafia would once again provide protection for them, she agreed to a press conference. And as she stood before them, she didn't know if she should have stayed home, watching sappy movies to try and overcome her sadness or stand in front of them and beg them to allow the Xrions to stay.
She chose the latter.
Her hands trembled against the podium, but she held the wooden edges tightly. The mahogany wood was smooth underneath her fingers and it was taking all of her not to dig her nails in it out of nervousness.
She was going to address the nation and hope with all her might that they'd have a change of heart. It was the final day that she had to request for the Xrions to stay; they'd be leaving the next day.
No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that the war should simply be avoided – and her heart shattered – she couldn't see any positive outcomes. Maybe she was blinded by love or she was simply stupid, but she truly saw the good that would occur if the Xrions stayed.
"Hello," She cleared her throat, trying not to sound like a wimp and searched for the strength inside of her – she knew she had some. "My name is Alexandra Dominick and I was one of the women that were sent to the Xrions, whom you all know as Aliens."
Alexa looked down at the massive crowd of press and bystanders and let out a shaky breath. She practised her speech about a hundred times in front of the mirror, but speaking to her reflection was nothing compared to what she was doing then.
It could have been a part of her imagination, but they all seemed to be waiting for the right moment to drag her from the makeshift stage and hang her for siding with the Xrions.
"I know that most of you will not believe me, but I experienced the Xrions' kindness first-hand. Yes, they might have taken your daughters, sisters, mothers or even wives – but they were not at fault. The meeting that they requested was to discuss a volunteering programme. President Goodhart was supposed to ask the women if they were willing to go and breed with them. However, it seemed to be a horrible thing to ask so he passed a law, trying to make the Xrions look like the bad guys."
"You're fücking crazy!" A man in the crowd shouted and Alexa held the urge to roll her eyes. She needed to seem as professional as she could or they'd find a way to turn it against her.
"The Xrions had three qualifications for these women. They had to have similar morals to their-"
"They have morals?!" Someone else interrupted, letting out an annoyed cackle.
Still, Alexa ignored them. "-own. They had to be fertile and willing to go. After the government received these volunteers, the women would fill out surveys and be paired up with a Xrion by compatibility. However, the government didn't follow through with their end of the bargain. They passed the Extra-terrestrial Law and sent the surveys to unsuspecting women. We filled them out and a couple of weeks later, we were taken from our homes by the Xrions."
"And you still stick up for them?!" A woman shouted angrily, "They took you from your homes and used you to make children!"
"Is that any different than what our men treat us like? Wasn't it a huge belief that a woman's sole purpose on Earth was to reproduce and care for the children? I am not saying that I agree with these beliefs, but you cannot judge them for that. Their women died of an incurable disease and they needed our help. We simply don't want them to inhabit Earth because we are afraid of what they are capable of doing, but what the humans don't know is that they aren't dangerous to us."
"You speak about us like you aren't one of us? What? Now that you were with them you think you're all high and mighty to be a 'human'? Fück outta here with all your bullshït!"
Alexa sighed, wanting to throw the podium down towards the person that kept shouting out comments and said, "I am human; that's why I have a heart and that is exactly why I am begging all of you to hear me out. I have learned so much by being with the Xrions; they are kind and understanding. Xander, my partner, is the most caring person I have ever met. He always tended to my needs and even went out of his way to make sure that I felt completely happy by his side."
"She like that alien dïck!" A younger guy hollered, making those around him laugh or snicker in disgust.
You have no idea. She only pursed her lips and shook her head with a small smile on her face. "I have never thought that I could care about someone the way I care for him. Yeah, I love my family and when I have kids I will love them as well, but the love I have for Xander overwhelms me."
Her voice broke a bit as tears began to well in her eyes and emotion overtook her voice, "I don't know if you have ever met someone that still stands by your side even when you have been a total idiot. Those are the people that are worth fighting for, but I don't want to fight for him. I don't want to have to fight for him; I just want him to stay because I don't think I can be without him."
Suddenly the audience went completely silent as she bit her bottom lip and tears began to slide down her cheeks. Alexa tried to smile, knowing that she looked stupid, but her emotions were suppressed long enough. He was leaving the next day and the chances of him staying seemed slimmer as seconds went by.
"This is probably going to sound even crazier than what I have been saying so far, but I was engaged when I was sent to the Xrions and I treated Xander like he was the dirtiest scum of the Earth. I fought with him every single day. I threw things at him, screamed like I was crazy and through it all he was so patient, I'm still in awe. He never forced me to do anything and he respected me more than anyone I have ever met."
Alexa felt her shoulders trembling as she struggled to compose her posture and she tightened her hold on the podium. "And I love him. Every little thing he did made me fall in love with him. He even bought me pads when I needed them and was comfortable with any conversation I threw his way. How is it okay to separate two people that love each other simply because of fear? The last thing they want to do is harm us, that's why they chose to leave instead of entering the war."
A loud wave of gasps and shutters going off began to take over the silence that had captivated them. Alexa frowned, trying to see what had caused such a commotion, but they were all looking up at the stage.
She slightly turned her head to her left and felt her heart dropping to her feet. "X-Xander?"
He smiled, walking over to her and cupped her cheeks in his hands. "How I have missed you, mielle," he susurrated, kissing her forehead softly.
The camera shutters began to go off like crazy as the press began to take pictures of the couple holding each other so lovingly. They would make headlines and hopefully melt some hearts in Congress.
"Why are you crying?" He tilted her chin up so she could look at him.
"I was telling them how much I love you and how I'm never going to get to see you again after today," she hiccupped, her sobs now going incontrollable, "and I don't want you to go, Xander."
He took a deep breath, hugging her tightly and whispered, "Mielle, it is no longer up to me. I have to go. I came because the General allowed us to say our final goodbyes."
Alexa wept quietly, for a moment forgetting that her microphone was still on as she wiped her tears away and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. They could take all the pictures they wanted; she didn't give a crap.
If those were the final moments she could spend with him, no one was going to stop her from kissing him with her all.
As the kiss began to intensify – and people around the world watched – Xander pulled away abruptly. His eyes flashed completely black; no pupil in sight and he curled his body from hers.
"What's wrong?" Alexa asked, feeling alarmed.
Xander groaned, holding unto his head tightly as if he had a pounding headache and used Alexa as support.
"Xander!" She spoke louder, looking around to see if anyone had tried to hurt him, but everyone seemed as shocked as she was. The Aliens weren't green or little.
"S-something is wrong," he coughed, his voice coming out as a weak croak, "the G-General," he coughed again, "the General is dead."
~*~