A Kiss is a Question

"Oh, hello Commander Telegin. It is good to see you awake again."

"How long was I out?" asked Angelo.

"Three days," she said calmly. "Two due to your collapse and one additional that the med unit recommended to help you recuperate."

"Wow," said Angelo. "I was...I was different. It felt like I was another person then."

"In a way, you were," she said.

She crossed over to stand beside him.

"Commander, I owe you a most sincere apology. I was remiss in my duties. If I had been checking on you regularly, your hormonal levels wouldn't have gotten to where they were. I let...I let my feelings get in the way of proper judgment. Since Aquilans don't generally have to negotiate with feelings, it was a difficult situation."

"Apology accepted," said Angelo. "And Leneria, I was avoiding you as well - so no harm, no foul."

"I'm not familiar with that expression - but there was harm. You quite nearly died."

"But I didn't, and I'm fine, right?"

"Yes," she said. "I have adjusted your levels with a skin patch which will regulate you more efficiently. Your libido won't be as heightened before your collapse, but you will still be quite able to function enthusiastically and often. Well, goodbye."

"Goodbye?" said Angelo. "Leneria, do you truly intend to become a doctor?"

"Of course," said Leneria. "I sit the exam next week."

"And do you intend on only treating Aquilans?"

"Well, no," said Leneria. "Of course, that is my primary goal - but I would hope I could eventually be of assistance to the broader population."

Angelo pondered this.

"If you're going to treat 'true' humans, you will need to work on your bedside manner."

"I have read that term, and I still don't comprehend its meaning. I have been at the bedside for the past several minutes. I have minded my manners, including issuing what I believed was a formal and proper apology. I don't know what else I could do."

"Bedside manner," explained Angelo, "is the ability to express empathy."

"But I don't," said Leneria, coldly. "I don't feel, so I certainly wouldn't be able to exhibit that terrible human trait."

Angelo found her marvelous features even more fascinating when they were lit up by a blush.

"I said 'express' empathy," he said. "There are some physicians who are born with natural empathy, but others have to learn how to at least look like they understand how the patient is feeling. Sometimes it's as simple as echoing back the patient's thoughts. For example - ask how I am feeling."

"So, is this role playing?" asked Leneria.

"Yes, and no," said Angelo with a smile. "I am just coming out of a three day coma. So, ask me how I'm feeling."

"How are you feeling, Commander Telegin?"

"I feel a bit weak,' said Angelo. "Now, you echo that back in your own words."

"Very well," said Leneria. "I am sorry that you feel weak? Is that a correct response?"

"Perfect," said Angelo. "I'm also hungry. Am I allowed to eat?"

"Why yes, of course," said Leneria. "I... understand why you would be hungry, it has been a while since you've eaten. Can I offer you something?"

"Very good," said Angelo. "And yes, I would love something to eat. You choose."

Leneria went to the food unit and dialed up Angelo's past order history. She selected something nutritious that would also help him continue to recover. Returning, she punched in the commands to bring his bed to a sitting position. She watched him eat in silent fascination, continually playing the role of observer. Angelo was so used to the Aquilan's odd ways, he let the scrutiny pass.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked after she cleared the dishes.

Angelo contemplated this request and wondered just how far he could push Leneria down the emotional path she was traversing. He figured there was really nothing to lose. He was roughly halfway through his time aboard the ship. It was time to either drift into sadness and anger like his predecessors - or try something new.

"Well," said Angelo. "I have been missing the chance to sleep next to someone."

"I don't understand that statement," said Leneria. "Sleep is a basic human need. What purpose could sleeping next to someone serve?"

"Bedside manner," said Angelo. "I'm the patient. I've expressed my feelings - it is up to you to determine how to react."

"Are you trying to tell me that a human doctor would sleep next to her patient if so requested?" said Leneria in a dubious tone.

"No," said Angelo. "But it's hard to predict what a human doctor would do if she'd been the one who had shirked her duties and allowed an alien visitor to go into sexual overload."

Leneria contemplated this and finally blew out a sigh of frustration.

"If I did enter the bed with you, it would not lead to coitus?"

"I didn't say that," said Angelo. "But no, that is not my primary intent."

"Very well," said Leneria.

She punched the display and the medical couch widened to be more than big enough for two people.

She climbed up on the padded surface and lay down, staring up at the ceiling.

"I am here now, Commander Telegin," said Leneria. "You may now go to sleep."

"Nope," said Angelo. "That's not how it works. You need lie on my shoulder."

"Oh for the ancestors' sake!" she said.

"I'm the patient."

She sighed in frustration.

"Alright. Tell me what I should do."

Angelo stretched out his arm and pulled her toward him.

"Just lay your head there, like that," he encouraged her. "Now put your hand on my chest. Good. Now put your leg across mine."

"But won't it be too stimulating?" asked Leneria. "I find this sort of proximity and this much skin contact rather sexual."

"It doesn't have to be," said Angelo. "This is nice. This is comfortable. We'll just lie here and go to sleep."

"I have to sleep too?" she asked, lifting her head to look into his eyes.

"You don't have to," said Angelo. "But what else are you going to do?"

He gently reached up and pushed her head back down.

In truth, it was quite erotic: her lovely skin against his; their naked bodies entwined. Had it not been for the fact he was still recovering and she was exhausted from watching over him almost constantly the past three days, something might have happened. As it was, Leneria found her eyelids growing heavy within minutes.

She yawned.

"This is actually quite pleasant, Commander," she murmured.

"See?" he said, responding with a yawn of his own. "Just think what you all have been missing."

This time, it was Leneria's hand who sought out Angelo's. She breathed a final sigh of contentment as they drifted off to sleep.

***

"What are they doing?" whispered a voice.

"I'm not sure," whispered another.

Angelo's eyes fluttered open.

Leneria was still blissfully draped across him, her breathing was deep and peaceful.

Menaea, Marcus, and Lietseleh were at the end of the medical couch, staring at them with intense curiosity. Menaea was turning her head one way and another, trying to make sense out of the scenario before her.

"Good morning," said Angelo.

"Good day, Commander," said Marcus. "We trust you are recovering well."

"I'm feeling much better, thank you."

"Might I ask what you're doing?" said Menaea.

"Well, I was sleeping," explained Angelo. "We were sleeping, it seems Leneria still is."

"She was," said Leneria with a yawn. "Oh Commander, what a restful sleep that was. I see why you recommended it for healing. Oh, hello."

She had just noticed their three observers.

"Leneria, what are you doing?" asked Lietseleh. "Why are you sleeping all tangled up with the Commander?"

"It was at his request," explained Leneria. "Bedside manner - full-human traditions, hard to explain."

"I see," said Lietseleh.

It was clear she didn't see.

"Do you plan on coupling with him?" asked Menaea. "His ability to regain an erection seems quite intact after his medical scare. Is it safe to provide him sexual relief yet?"

"I...I..."

Leneria's hand sought out the object in question and came to rest on it gently.

"I will have to see," she said with a blush. "I need to run some scans. Please leave us now, and I will ascertain the Commander's condition. Thank you."

The three visitors saw themselves out and Leneria closed the door, taking the unusual step of sealing it and darkening the window. As she returned to Angelo, she tapped the control screen to disable all video feeds in the medical suite.

"I told a slight fib, Commander," she said in sultry tone. "You have been quite functional and safe for some time when it comes to sexual contact - but for some reason I felt the need to be alone with you. Why would that be?"

"I wouldn't have the slightest idea," said Angelo.

Though he had some suspicion, he dared not voice it for fear of breaking the mood.

Leneria climbed back upon the medical couch and climbed across Angelo's body - her legs straddling his hips - her body draping across his - her breasts brushing teasingly across his chest.

"I've been having the strangest images in my mind, Commander," said Leneria. "All of the talk aboard ship is of your exploits in the group sex lounge."

"The ones that nearly killed me?"

"The same," she whispered. "But strangely, I do not wish to perform such athletic feats with you. After spending the night with you, my mind is filled with the most tender images. Isn't that strange, Commander? Isn't it odd that my imagination should conjure up visions of you and I having gentle and intense sexual congress?"

"It doesn't seem so odd to me," replied Angelo.

With a sigh, Leneria pushed herself down upon Angelo's well-recovered stiffness.

"Oh Commander," she murmured. "What is it you do to me? With you inside of me, I feel like I am a different person - like you belong there? What of that? Can you explain that?"

Again, Angelo thought it best not to answer her question for fear it might spoil the moment if she suspected the true answer.

Their sex was intense and deliberate. She rode his cock slowly, feeling the need to savor every moment of their union - to feel every millimeter of his shaft as it seemed to roll in and out of her with perfect fluidity.

She was certain she could feel each ridge and vein on his cock. He was convinced he knew where each muscle of her beautiful pussy was as she squeezed him expertly.

They were soon both sweating, not from exertion but from the intense silent battle they seemed to have entered with each other. Both of them were on the verge of an orgasm, but neither wanted to surrender to the final pleasure.

"Commander, I am so close," whispered Leneria.

It had been nearly three-quarters of an hour and their slow horizontal dance had scarcely varied in pace. They had switched positions once so that he was on top, but they had alternated once again with her sliding up and down above him.

"I am, too," said Angelo. "Maybe I could help move things along."

With his final word, he had thrust upward inside of her in a surprise move.

"Oh!" she said...and for the first time in her life, Leneria laughed.

He thrust again.

"Oh. Ha! What is this feeling."

He thrust once more.

"Oh, you wicked man! Commander, I...I... oh my word I'm cumming!"

"Good," said Angelo. "Cum for me Leneria, cum for... oh gods, I am too!"

In the sexually heightened atmosphere of the ship, Leneria had experienced, no doubt, thousands of orgasms in human form. However, never had the sensation been connected with the emotions that had begun to stir within her since she'd met Angelo. For the first time ever, she experienced a true and deep orgasm - connected by what might be the beginnings of love.

"I'm dying," she cried. "I'm sure of it. I'm... oh Commander, how is this possible!?! How is this feeling happening. Ahhh!!!"

She tumbled over into incoherence, squealing and moaning with blinding ecstasy. Her hips were shaking uncontrollably, her heart was pounding so hard Angelo could feel it against his chest as he sprayed into her. Of course, he wasn't panicked, but simply held her even more closely as she experienced the tremors of true joy.

What she did next surprised him, in a good way.

"Oh my, Commander," she said, bending down to kiss him. "I see why you kiss afterward. I do."

She kissed him hungrily, her hands linked tenderly with his. After a deep, tongue-tangling kiss, she started kissing her way down his neck, then slipped of off his cock and worked her way down his chest, kissing all the way to his somewhat-softening member.

"I want to taste us," she said.

Taking his cock in her mouth, she sucked and licked enthusiastically.

"How lovely we taste," she said.

"And how lovely you feel," he moaned as his cock began springing to life once again.

"Oh I love this cock," she said. "I see now why they say that in the movies. 'Cock'. It's so much better than 'penis'. Penis is for the medical suite. Of course, that's where we are, but that's not what I mean. 'Cock' - I love your cock."

She continued cleaning their juices off of him with her tongue and he was soon moaning from the attention.

"Oh, but I shouldn't," she suddenly realized. "No. No, I can't."

She rolled off of the medical couch and stepped away.

"I need to let you recover. Of course, the sensors say you are fine, but the outlined treatment was for you to take things slowly at first. But, I do want your cock again. I want it so badly."

She bent down to kiss the tip, teasing it with her tongue.

"No. No. No," she told herself. "Commander, you rest. I must... I must leave. That's the only way I can. Ha ha!"

She laughed, giggling like a schoolgirl.

"I have to go. For your sake. Goodbye."

She exited the medical suite, leaving an exhausted but beaming Angelo to ponder the transformation that was occurring in Leneria.

***

Surprising as it might have seemed to those with a more traditional view of relationships, Angelo and Leneria did not become mutually exclusive right away. Given the frank nature of sexual relations on the ship, Angelo was actually in high demand because of his testosterone driven exploits in the group sex lounge.

He was so in demand, Leneria had to put him on a ration of sorts - no more than two partners a day until she was sure he was fully recovered.

In truth, the ration was three - she was saving his third time for herself. Every day he was 'ordered' to return to the medical suite where the doors were closed and where their lovemaking became continually more intense and intimate.

After a few days of this routine, Marcus invited Angelo for another stroll.

"There are interesting things, afoot, Commander?"

"Oh? What kind?"

"People are sleeping together," said Marcus. "Word of your sleep time with Leneria has spread and curiosity has grown. For the first time in our limited history, our crew has begun seeking out sleeping partners - not just sexual partners."

"Fascinating," said Angelo with a grin. "Have you tried it, Marcus?"

"I have," said the chiseled Aquilan. "I have spent the past two nights sleeping with A'nish and Lietseleh. The first night was, distracting might be a good word, I found it quite distracting to be near the stimulation the two of them offered. However, the second night we coupled quite vigorously and fell asleep directly post-coitus. It was a strangely satisfying and comforting rest period."

"Fascinating," said Angelo.

The sleeping arrangements continued to evolve. From individual couples to pods which shifted nightly, the small individual sleep cubes were now seldom used.

By the end of the next week, Angelo's allowance had been upped to back to normal. With the regulating hormones Leneria prescribed, he wasn't up to the non-stop fucking he had been pursuing - but there were certainly ample unions. He decided to continue pursuing the record of bedding the entire ship - finding willing partners wasn't difficult given he was still a desired sexual partner. His number stood at 128.

Surprisingly, Leneria displayed no jealousy. She actually enjoyed watching him with other women and they had many foursomes (or moresomes) brought about by her becoming so inflamed from watching him.

Angelo himself suspected he had some tinges of jealousy, but it was hard to measure how much because of the surreal surroundings in which he found himself. Heightened libidos; naked humans of every conceivable variety, and a partner who was both willing and generous to share with others.

He asked her about it one day when they had retreated back to the medical suite. The concept of jealousy was one which was nearly impossible for her to grasp.

"I will be fascinated to observe how this trait develops in future generations of our kind," mused Leneria. "Monogamy among true Aquilans would be - what is the term - sinful? While our kin tend to congregate in in local areas, there are those who travel great distances while dormant to reach other colonies. Should a male and female meet while traveling in opposite directions along a migratory route, it would be rude if not fatal for them not to copulate and replenish their energy. Even in the nebula clouds, refusal is unheard of - no matter what the ability of the lover."

"So, there are better and worse lovers among your kind?" asked Angelo.

"Absolutely. You have seen our kin having sex. There are millions of points of contact on their surfaces akin to human nerves. Multiply the number of ways each of those nerves can be stimulated - there are indeed good and bad lovers."

"How would I stack up as an Aquilan?" asked Angelo as he pulled her into an embrace.

"I suppose you would have a C Average as a whole," said Leneria with a sigh as Angelo slid easily into her.

"C?" he said with a thrust. "You think I'm a C?"

"Perhaps C-plus," she said as she began to meet his motions. "Personally, I would give you at least an A, if not a frequent A-plus. But speaking of grades, we must not take too long tonight. I sit the exam tomorrow and I must be well rested."

"I'll do my best, my lady," said Angelo.

The one interesting aspect of their lovemaking was that, although they had shared many group sessions with others - the only time they ever had sex together was in the privacy of the medical suite. The specialness of their unions seemed to demand privacy - though that was soon to change.

***

The next day, Angelo kept busy working with the engineers - with several sex breaks - but he found himself missing Leneria a great deal. They generally would see each other at least a few times during the day - but she was fully isolated with her final examination.

She had already passed over twenty preliminary examinations. This was her first attempt at the final test.

The difficulty of the final medical examination was legendary, one which fewer than five percent passed. Leneria was to take it with the assistance of holos and even synthetic cadavers in the medical suite.

He made his way to the dinning lounge and declined a few offers of mealtime sex awaiting her arrival.

At last, he saw her, she sort of shambled into the room - eyes bloodshot, hair unkempt. She looked beyond exhausted. However, her eyes lit up when she saw him and she went running to him, throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"I passed," she sighed. "It was so difficult, but I made it through."

"Well, well, well, Dr. Leneria. How wonderful."

"Do you know the part that almost tripped me up?" she asked.

"I couldn't imagine."

"Bedside manner," she said with a half smile. "I knew I was failing the situation, but I remembered your tip. I began to echo empathy to the patients in the simulation and it came easier than I imagined. Now, I'm starving."

She ate voraciously, having built up a huge appetite throughout her grueling day. Once she was finished, they were surprised to be approached by several women - Menaea at the lead.