More apologies for the incredibly long wait... Inspiration has been hard to come by, but I also made sure to actually start on the next chapter before submitting this one so I could guarantee less of a wait this time around.
Warning/reminder to readers that there is no sex here, and to please, please read the previous chapters if this is new to you. The characters don't make sense otherwise.
Like the story? Tell me why! Don't like the story? Also tell me please! Writers love feedback and comments in general, so don't hesitate to point out what I might improve in, besides the absurdly long time it takes me to write!
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Tali awoke well before her master did. She felt his arm around her, and laid still as she listened to the rhythmic sounds of his breathing. As she lay there, indecision crept into her mind. Should she get up? What if she woke him? What would he want her to do?
She wished she knew. It wasn't particularly every week or month... or even year that she slept with him. There had never been any real protocol for this situation. The rise and fall of his body as he inhaled and exhaled gave her an idea.
Every time he exhaled, she inched a little bit out from under his arm. Every time she thought he might've stirred a little, she stopped until his breathing stayed even for a while. Eventually, she got to the edge of his hand and breathed a sigh of relief as her master's hand touched the bed.
Tali got up and smiled, declaring a small victory for herself in accomplishing that task.
"Where do you think you're going?"
She gasped in shock, spun around to face him and fell to her knees by instinct. Knowing how early it was and how he had just woken up, she kept her voice quiet.
"S..sorry master, I didn't mean to wake you, I wanted to get started on my morning routine, if.. if that would please you, of course."
"Why don't you decide what you want to do this morning?" He was curious to see what she might do.
Tali thought about it for a moment, but she actually feared deviating from her normal routine. When would it get done if she didn't do it now? What else could he want her to do? He must've given her a choice for a reason... but what?
"Master, forgive me please, for... being dense... I don't know what else I could do, if... if you could teach me, please, I want to do what would make you happier."
He shrugged in response. "Your imagination is the limit. I'm still tired, so I'm going back to sleep," she cringed at the reminder of having woken him up, and he noticed. "Don't worry about it, girl, I'm glad you did, so I can see what you come up with." He gave her a smile of encouragement.
Tali was still stumped for the time being, but knew she shouldn't keep her master up any longer than she had.
"Yes master, I'll see you later," she replied, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. Also... I'll see you later? Where did that even come from? Of course she would see him later...
While she left the room and closed the door behind her, the gears in Tali's mind were churning. What could she possibly do better than what she was trained to do? Wasn't she trained in the best way to please him? She always anticipated his needs or waited for him to tell her what to do...
Sighing to herself, she started doing her normal tasks. Maybe by not thinking about the problem, the answer would come to her. She started off with doing some light dusting around the house, anything that had gathered over night or was missed a previous day. The early sunlight through the windows made it easy to see certain dusty areas that would look clean in the shadows later.
She then started the process of doing laundry, following the way her master taught her to be particular about having each type of clothing or towel washed properly. Next would be to make breakfast.
Checking the clock, Tali estimated that she had about an hour left before her master woke up. She figured it was time to start up breakfast.
While she started up the heat for the pan to scramble eggs, a thought clicked in her mind. She had a faint memory somewhere about breakfast in bed. Maybe she could try to do that! She instantly started to doubt herself.
What if he didn't like it? What if she got the sheets dirty? What if he expected her to do all the normal routines as they normally were done, but do something extra on top of all that?
She had an idea to ease her worries. She would cook his normal breakfast, and also make him something special for breakfast in bed. If he accepted her idea, she would eat the norm for herself. If he didn't, at least he wouldn't find breakfast lacking.
Smiling to herself in happiness, Tali began cooking up an extravagant breakfast to bring him. She didn't know when she started humming, but as soon as she noticed, she stopped, worried that she shouldn't be.
"Why'd you stop?"
Tali gasped, her body jerking as she moved towards her master's voice. The egg she had been in the middle of cracking hit the bowl awkwardly and she ended up making a mess. She groaned inwardly at the shells she'd be picking out of the eggs later.
"Master!" Fighting between trying to stop the mess from getting worse and kneeling in his presence, Tali made jerky movements and eventually stood like a deer in headlights, wondering what the proper action to take was.
"I... umm.. sorry.. the mess..." her knees twitched again and she finally got to the floor in position, "I didn't know you were awake, please punish me for my inattentiveness." She winced as soon as the words came out. To offer a reason for her failure was to give an excuse, one of the first lessons she learned not to do.
He looked at her with a mildly amused expression, knowing of course the turmoil that flickered constantly through her face. Her normal human instincts were beginning to resurface.
"Oh, Tali... you have no idea how much progress you are making. And I snuck in here intentionally avoiding detection. No reason to punish you." Her body relaxed visibly. At least he wasn't blaming her, but she had difficulty letting her thoughts settle. In fact, now that the shock was over, she started to feel a little defeated.
Her intention was to make him breakfast in bed, but she was too slow and he was out of bed... All the work she put into trying to make something special was for naught, and she began to feel a little sad over that fact. She would have nothing to show him.
Miro noticed as Tali's face fell a little after he mentioned that he wouldn't punish her. His first reaction in the past would have been to be angered that she was ungrateful, but he was pleased at what he did instead.
"Girl, what's wrong? I won't punish you for anything related to my presence this morning." Worrying about her and asking for her feelings was becoming easier now.
"M..master..." she was scared. She wasn't sad over anything that pertained to him. She was sad over a selfish reason... that her own time and effort had been wasted. "The.. breakfast, it... it won't be a surprise anymore."
Tali tried to hold in her sobs, to keep her voice from breaking. She regretted what she said, and tried to change the direction of her intent.
"I'm sorry master, it's nothing. May I continue making breakfast please? It should be ready soon." She placed her hands on the ground and bowed her head to ask for permission.
"Wait, what won't be a surprise anymore? What's changed? Girl... why are you crying?"
"Please.. master, I... I shouldn't be crying, please forgive me, I.. I had just planned something for breakfast that won't work now, that's all. I'm sorry for my reaction." She was spilling more than she intended, why couldn't she keep her statements simple and to the point?
