My eyes hurt. Wrapping the blanket around my body, I walk out to sit on the terrace. As the sunrise looms far away on the horizon, the lavender sky begins to fade to blue.

Blinking away the sting in my eyes, I take a deep breath and stare up at An'eo. It's beautiful. It looks like it glows from the inside, the light bursting out of small open pockets like sunlight beaming through thick clouds.

He hasn't told me much about his parents but I know they live there. Ronan is a third-generation earth fleet commander. When he took over the command position, they went back. It's probably for the best as they would likely have been very against our relationship. A cat and a worm...

My parents would have loved Ronan. After getting over the initial shock of their daughter bringing an alien home, of course.

I thought I had cried all the tears I could cry but they burn in my eyes again. My sore, puffy eyes are exhausted but powerless to stop the fresh tears.

It's difficult to blame him for his feelings after he listed all of the horrible things that humans have done. He is only focusing on the bad, humanity also had so much good. People who cared for others, who gave and sacrificed, people who tried to help. Humans are flawed, imperfect creatures with fragile lives but he's got us all wrong.

It's rare for someone to change their opinion. I saw it on his face last night, he believes that we are inferior to him. Not just to him, to all of them. The thought never occurred to me that one day an issue might arise where we would be pitted against each other. Not just an argument with differing opinions but where it would be human against An'eo.

I have no plans or desires to change the An'eo way of life. I haven't given a single thought to asking for more human accommodations. Last night, it was made very clear to me that if I ever did, even for a valid reason, it would be rejected, on principle. Why would they ever want to do anything the inferior way, the human way?

The door slides open behind me and I wrap the blanket around myself more snuggly, protecting my chest, my heart.

A deep frown pulls at his lips when he sees my face.

"Nicole, I stayed away as long as I could. I did not follow you." His fists clench by his side.

"Thank you." My voice is raw, the result of exhaustion from a sleepless night spent crying. The dull ache in my chest intensifies as I look at him. His face is still as flawless as it always is, but he looks tired. Not puffy and red as I'm sure I am, but tired all the same.

With quick steps, he's in front of me, pulling me up into his arms. His nose inhales against my hair and his arms squeeze me into him. The comfort and warmth from his skin are instant, like a salve on a burn. I want to melt into him, to let him heal the painful fissures in my heart but I know I can't.

"Put me down, Ronan." My voice doesn't betray me. I'm stern, serious. The conversation from yesterday cannot and will not be swept under the rug to be forgotten.

He places me down and as soon as my feet are on solid ground, I move away. I need to be out of reach. I can't allow him to lull me into a passive state.

"Nicole, you are my Sa'nu. You are precious to me, a rare gift from the universe."

"But, I'm human." I force myself not to liquefy at his words. I can't melt at his feet, not this time. "Ronan, you can't want a life with someone that you feel is beneath you. Those two ideas can't exist together."

"I do not believe that you are inferior to me. You are strong and smart. Your biology cannot be helped but I know you are not capable of the same atrocious thinking as the rest of your species."

He thinks he's helping, I know he does.

"I don't want you to actually answer this," I'm not sure my heart can take it. "Just think about it. If you could change me, would you?"

A strange expression takes over his face, as if he's considering it for the first time.

"Last night you were adamant that your child would not be inferior to anyone but if we had a child do you actually believe that? I don't really care about the rest of the world, only about you. Would you look at our baby and see its inferiority?"

"My child will be perfect in my eyes." He takes a cautious step forward, then another. When my back is pressed against the thin safety rail, he steps in front of me. "I do not want to talk about children during an argument. When we speak of our child together it should not be used as a weapon."

"I'm not using it as leverage. I just don't see how you can look at me and see something lesser than turn around and consider having a child together, even a hypothetical one."

"Just leave it-"

"Just leave it? No." I feel anger swelling beneath the hurt. "I'm not just going to forget about this. I won't be in a relationship with someone who doesn't think of me as an equal partner! I'm not the exception to the lowly human condition. I am human. If you think humans are corrupt and worthless, you think I am."

He scowls, "you are being unreasonable."

"I'm not."

The silence is painful. I feel myself begging him, as a woman standing before a man. I'm begging him to see me.

"Clarisse asked about eating animals. Did you consume animals for sustenance?"

"Occasionally, I did."

"Then you agree that there are lifeforms that are less than others."

I'm taken aback by his question.

"I- well..."

"By that logic, given your physical limitations and the baser intellect that your history has shown the human species capable of, you must also agree that overall humans are an inferior species."

"Baser intellect?" Is he comparing me to a chicken right now?

"You are very intelligent, I know this to be true but as a species, humans made unintelligent decisions often."

He steps toward me again, reaching for me to pull me toward him.

"Ronan, we were flawed and we made enough mistakes to fill our history books but..." I yank at my hair. "We tried. We got it wrong then we tried again. That is the beauty of it all."

"I see no evidence of redemption."

I recoil at his words as if he slapped me across the face.

"No evidence of redemption?" Hot, heavy tears burn a trail down my cheek. "Everyone is dead, everything we tried to build and be was wiped out. I would give anything to have them back, to give everyone a second chance."

"What makes humans worthy of a second chance?" It's like a switch being flipped. I can see him shifting, a coldness taking over his face. He's shutting down. He doesn't want to argue this with me just as much as I don't want to argue this with him.

I could argue that people like Clarisse and Santi are worthy. All of the scientists that were willing to sacrifice themselves in the hope that we could help the world. I could argue that throughout our history, even during our ugliest moments, there were people willing to stand up, to help, to fight back, even at great personal cost. I could argue that his opinion doesn't matter. He's not the master of the universe. What he thinks doesn't really matter. We were here, we existed on this planet and it's not up to him to decide if we mattered or not.

Instead, I roll my trembling lips into my mouth. It doesn't matter what I say.

"I would like a room, please. If there is one near Clarisse, I would appreciate it but I want my own room. Anywhere will do as long as it's not with you."

He lets out an irritated huff before turning on his heels and stomping toward the door. "Olexa will come for you shortly." He doesn't even look at me before he slides the door open and walks out.

--

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