From Friends to Lovers

Sarah was pointing at something on the ground, and I knelt to take a closer look. The object was in several pieces -- it seemed to have been dropped, shattering the clay of which it was made -- and I picked up the largest fragment, examining it.

Time seemed to stand still as I brushed away dust with a finger, revealing markings that even for a non-linguist were heart-stoppingly familiar. My hands were trembling as I lifted the shard for Marie to see. "How's your Sumerian?"

She took it from me, fingertips tracing the patterns of deeply-incised triangular marks. "Oh my god," she breathed. "Then we're not the first humans here, not by any means."

We were silent for long moments, then I took a deep breath. "We should get the instruments set up, anyway, then pick somewhere to camp."

"I'll send a message capsule back through," offered Beth. "At least to tell them we're still alive, and let them have a data card with the first few pictures."

She grinned at Sarah. "Maybe we'll save our bombshell for when we're back, or at least see if we find any more evidence."

We busied ourselves with the science, Beth squinting at the high-resolution images of the star field. "I don't think the laptop quite has what it takes to crunch through the star maps and find out if we're anywhere recognisable," she said thoughtfully.

"Maybe the tablet will tell us anyway," Sarah chipped in. "There must be somebody at the university who can read that stuff."

Marie nodded. "Though Professor Gray -- he's the expert -- can be a bit eccentric, to say the least."

Finally all the equipment was in place, and Beth glanced at her backpack. "Maybe a bit mundane, but I'm starting to get hungry."

We'd brought solid fuel stoves and tinned rations, and Sarah reached into her backpack with a slightly guilty look. "Anyone else want some pickle?"

I chuckled. "It's all yours, Sarah."

When we'd finished eating, we explored our surroundings a little further. We seemed to have arrived near the crest of a hill, the grass-like plant covering the ground short and springy. The starlight cast almost bluish shadows, and further down the hill we could hear water running. "A stream would be useful," nodded Beth. "We have purifying tablets for when our water supplies get low, if we're not ready to go back."

Sarah stifled a yawn. "I know it's only mid-afternoon at home, but the darkness is making me sleepy."

She grinned. "Is it still jetlag, or are we going to have to come up with a new word?"

"We don't even know how long the nights are here," I pointed out. "If they're completely different, like Venus, we'll just have to sleep when we need to. Though Mars would be OK, that's only an hour extra."

The temperature was mild, even a little balmy, and we unrolled the foam mats we'd brought, laying them side by side. "Probably not a good idea to sleep naked," Beth said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Something might happen, or we'd need to run away from a wild animal."

She shed her jacket anyway, lying down, and I joined her. "Anyone else for a cuddle...?"

Our question about time was partly answered when the reddish sun rose a few hours later. Beth checked the instruments, and nodded. "I think the rotation period must be about thirty hours."

She grinned. "I certainly won't be complaining about longer nights, if we're here for a while."

We made short work of breakfast, and after a little while we were on the move. We reached the stream, crossing it into a patch of woodland. "These trees look a bit like the ferns Earth had in the Cretaceous," Marie mused.

The trees thinned out, and we walked open-mouthed into a stone-paved area, tumbled ruins surrounding it, an intact obelisk pointing skyward in the centre. "Wow," breathed Marie. "Somehow I think this must have been an important place."

I rubbed at my eyes as the air to one side of the obelisk seemed to blur. "Does anyone else see --"

I broke off as the shimmering increased, then started to form the outline of a human-seeming figure. The girls edged closer to me, while Marie had the presence of mind to point a camera, her hands shaking.

I blinked to clear my eyes as the shimmering subsided, and barely managed to stay on my feet as I took in what I saw. By the obelisk stood what appeared to be a young woman, hair shining blonde, the irises of her eyes pure gold. Her clothing seemed to be white linen, her feet on the smooth stones bare. Her hands were stretched out, palms upward, and a faint smile curved her perfect lips.

Time stood still again as she spoke. "Welcome..."

Marie opened her mouth, then closed it again. "You... you speak English?"

The young woman regarded her serenely. "There is need for communication, so yes."

She glanced at each of us in turn. "I am Talia. My race... You would say we are caretakers for this galaxy."

Beth's tongue stumbled over words. "Where -- where are we, then?"

"In your way of naming, this is the Greater Magellanic Cloud."

I felt a wave of -- what? agoraphobia? homesickness? threaten to overwhelm me. "Sheesh, Marie, what did we do?" I managed.

Talia contemplated us for a little longer. "I see you are family," she said thoughtfully. "Perhaps parent and siblings...?"

Before any of us could respond, she spoke again. "No, I see that you are all bonded. And two of you carry new life within, engendered by this one."

Marie and Beth exchanged shocked looks, open-mouthed, and Marie gave a tiny shake of her head. The colour drained from Beth's face, and she looked at me helplessly. "I didn't know."

"I -- we --" I stuttered, and Talia stepped a little closer to Beth, smiling reassuringly. "The child has only just begun her journey within, but all is well."

She turned back to me. "You will have many questions, I'm sure. Please, let us return to your place of arrival and I will begin with what is important."

We made our way back through the ferny woods and up the hill, and Talia sank gracefully onto the grass. "Be at ease, and if you need refreshment, please take it."

I passed out chocolate from our rations, and Talia accepted a square, biting a corner off delicately with perfect white teeth. "This is good."

She regarded us for a few moments, and I wondered whether with the perception she'd demonstrated, she could simply read the thoughts from our minds. "You already know that there is a connection between your world and this," she mused. "To explain how this came about would take too much time, but what you need to know is this. There is an ancient enemy, who long ago sought to conquer your people as they were then. That battle, we helped them win, but the enemy still remains, and this is a time of new peril for your world."

I swallowed, looking at my companions. "What should we do?"

"My people believe that everything happens for a reason," Talia ventured. "Your being here has a purpose, we have only to discover what it is."

She got to her feet again. "You will have much to discuss. Please, continue with your work, and I will return later."

She stood a little apart, and again I watched open-mouthed as the air shimmered and she was gone.

Sarah was the first to move, wrapping her arms around Beth, stroking her hair. "Are you all right?"

Beth put her palm on her stomach, looking at me. "Tim -- oh god -- is this OK?"

I went to her, Marie and I both joining the shared embrace. "Of course, darling. I love you."

I glanced around. "Though what kind of universe we're bringing these two little ones into is anyone's guess, after what Talia told us."

We went back to our routine still feeling a sense of unreality, checking instruments, preparing a package to send back through the portal later on. "How long are we staying?" wondered Sarah.

"Perhaps we'll be able to decide when Talia comes back," suggested Marie. "We have supplies for a few days, anyway, and I imagine if we need anything she can probably help."

We stopped for a while for lunch, then Marie started to record her video diary -- "This is going to sound literally incredible," she shook her head.

"'A long time ago, in a galaxy far away'," I agreed.

The day seemed to pass quickly despite the slower progress of the sun through the deep-blue sky, and I looked up, startled, as Talia walked into our makeshift camp. "I thought you'd, well, just appear again."

She smiled, her beauty once more breathtaking. "A little physical exercise is good also for me. How is your work going?"

"We're preparing to send our next communication back home," I indicated Beth and Marie still at the laptop. "Is there any reason for us not to include what you've told us?"

She shook her head. "Your world will soon enough have to adjust to reality as you now know it to be."

Talia looked at me, and something seemed to change in her eyes. "Would your companions feel it was inappropriate if I took you away for an interval? Perhaps while they sleep."

I wondered what exactly she might mean, but I shook my head. "Is there something you want to show me?"

If Talia had been human, I would have said her face held an unmistakeable promise, but I cautioned myself that she was utterly alien, whatever her physical resemblance suggested, and I couldn't know how to read her expression. "Yes, something," came her reply.

"Give me a moment," I requested. I went over to Beth and Marie, still absorbed in their work. "Talia says she needs to borrow me for a while -- not sure if I'll be back before dark."

Beth turned her head to accept a kiss. "Tell us all about it," she nodded, her lips curving in a smile that suddenly reminded me of Talia's.

I returned to Talia's side. "They'll be OK, won't they?"

"If there is any danger, I will know of it," she promised. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, the air around us already blurring. When my vision cleared again, we were in very human-looking surroundings, and I blinked as the unmistakeable resemblance to Sarah's flat dawned on me. "This seemed a reassuring place for you from her memories," Talia ventured.

I took a deep breath. "Talia, do you really read minds?"

She shook her head. "If I choose, I can know what you know, and of course I perceive things in ways not open to you yet, like the changes in your companion's body."

My mind struggled to cope with remembering Talia's revelation about Beth, at the same time as digesting the implications of 'yet', and Talia smiled reassuringly. "This is why I needed to create a familiar place for our time together."

She regarded me thoughtfully. "Are you hungry?"

Again I imagined her pulling utterly convincing pizza boxes out of thin air. "No, I'm fine. But a drink?"

Unsurprisingly the bottle she took from Sarah's cocktail cabinet was dark, the liqueur coffee-flavoured, and I sipped gratefully. "So, why do we need to be alone? Not that I'm complaining."

Talia was silent for a moment. "I think I understand your ways of bonding, but there seems to be some contradiction involved. Many of your people believe in exclusive pairing, and I know that you and Beth will be following the outward forms of this custom soon."

It took me a moment to understand. "We're getting married, yes."

"But you are also bonded to your two other companions, and I know that you and Beth have been intimate with one other."

I nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose I'd say that love is there wherever it's given and received, and promises kept."

Talia smiled. "Wisely spoken."

For the first time since we'd encountered her, Talia's confidence and composure seemed to lessen a little. "Tim -- I see our futures running close to one another, yours and mine. From what I know, it would be more natural if you and I knew each other in that way also."

I reached for her hand, the first time we'd touched. "Talia -- if you knew how beautiful you look to us. To me..."

She smiled almost shyly. "Thank you."

I hesitated, trying to phrase my question. "Do you have a -- that is, have you --"

Talia shook her head. "In my people's terms, I am still young. To be permitted to represent us to you is a great privilege."

She smiled again. "And no, I have never experienced this."

"Your customs..." I hesitated again. "I have no idea what I should --"

Talia squeezed my fingers softly. "Just do what you would normally do -- I haven't intruded into private memories, but it is obvious that your companions have found you considerate, thoughtful in this."

I fleetingly wondered what Talia would have made of our more intense episodes, had her curiosity got the better of her, but I dismissed the thought as she looked at me expectantly. I leaned closer, her golden eyes watching my face as my lips approached hers. "Mm," she murmured softly as without hesitation she returned the kiss. I hesitantly stroked her hair, caressed her cheek, then drifted the back of my hand downwards to brush across her breast, her nipple. A quiet gasp, then her lips on mine moved more urgently. "Yes, like that..."

I caressed her for a little longer, then broke the kiss, my lips lightly touching her neck, her throat, then down to her breasts, still covered by the finely-woven fabric of her gleaming white tunic. My lips brushing, pressing her nipples, and she moaned softly. "Is it too soon to take this off?"

My response was to take the hem of her garment with my fingers, pull it slowly upwards, revealing first her smooth stomach, her navel, then breasts that Praxiteles would have ached to free from the block of marble in front of him. I laid the garment aside, still a little disoriented by Sarah's familiar sofa, and turned back to Talia. "OK?"

She nodded, and I bent to kiss one perfect nipple softly. Talia responded, breathing in slowly, her breasts rising, and I couldn't help myself, suckling one then the other, my tongue brushing each softly. "Ahh..." she gasped. "What can I do to you?"

"Patience, dear one," I smiled. "This is for you."

"Then see me," Talia breathed, getting to her feet. She did something with her fingers to the fastening of her flowing skirt, unwrapping it and laying it by her tunic. Her hand covered the place between her thighs, and she lowered her eyes, her face again uncertain. "Tim?"

"What, love?"

"I -- my race is shaped a little differently to yours..." She looked up again, confidence returning to her expression. "But I am certain that we will be able to join, nonetheless."

"Let me see," I murmured, and she removed her shielding hand, shifting to rest her weight on one foot. Soft golden fur covered the place where her thighs met, but already I could see something different, tantalisingly other. I reached out my fingertips till I felt the touch of fur, then explored further, drawing in a soft breath of wonder. "Oh..."

Instead of a smooth mound, my fingertips encountered a deep furrow running from top to bottom, flanked by soft lips already wet from Talia's arousal. On impulse I sank to my knees, my mouth drawn irresistibly to her, my tongue running the length of her valley, tasting warm sweetness. "Oh," she gasped. "I had not known -- this is not our way, but -- oh, more, yes..."

I pressed the flat of my tongue into her, sliding it in her accepting valley as though imagining that it was my hardness, and Talia started to moan, her fingers on her own breasts, her nipples. "Mm -- I feel -- oh, now..."

Her hips pushed up against me urgently, renewed sweet moisture beading wherever my tongue sought, and I felt her fingers tangling in my hair, pressing me into her. Finally she subsided, and I swallowed a last few drops of honeyed sweetness, then moved up to wrap my arms around her. "Oh," she breathed, "so intense, I never imagined."

She looked up at me. "Now, you must show me what is required for your satisfaction."

I got to my feet, starting to undress. "I think you may find that my shape is also not what you would expect."

I tugged my y-fronts down, freeing my hardness, and Talia leaned forward curiously.

She concentrated for a moment, perhaps accessing memories. "And this goes inside your companion... Mm, I can see how that would give satisfaction."

She reached fingers to touch my tip. "And you also give this liquid."

Her fingertips moved to her tongue. "Mm -- perhaps my mouth on you one time, too. But I sense that what you need is..."

Talia lay back, parting her thighs, fingers deliberately spreading the soft lips that flanked her valley. "Now..."

I slid my body across her, and instead of lifting my hips for a moment, my fingers or hers guiding me into waiting depths, I let my hardness rest in the length of her, feeling warm wetness spreading along my length. "You can move now," Talia whispered.

I started to flex my hips, the sensation of sliding against her, in her yet not penetrating her, utterly new and unique. "Oh, Talia, this feels amazing."

She nodded. "For me, too."

Despite my intention to prolong this as long as I could, I felt myself irresistibly approaching my release. "Is it all right if I..."

Talia nodded, and I moved more urgently, watching her face, her expression unmistakeably indicating that she was close to another surge of pleasure. As I reached the final moment, she must have felt me harden, tense, and she cried out incoherently, flooding with warmth just at the moment when I thrust against her, spurting into her wetness then beyond, milky fluid spilling past the limits of her valley and onto her skin...