Relkir grinned as they rolled onto their side and inspected Gath, who was lying on their back, fiddling with a communicator. They had been staying at Gath’s place for the last couple of days, as Relkir had been given some more forced time off work. Their boss, the High General (and one of Relkir’s triplet siblings), had demanded it, as they were concerned that Relkir was overworking themselves and making themselves prone to mistakes. At the same time, Relkir had been promoted, they were now officially a Captain of the 47th Legion, after years of only technically being of higher rank. And now, after a long night snuggling with their massive partner, for the first time in a while, Relkir didn’t really know what was about to happen next.
“Sooooo… what are you doing?” Relkir asked playfully.
“Looking at things to do…” Gath replied, only partially paying attention. However they started paying full attention as Relkir snuggled up to them.
“Things to do? You have a thing to do right here!” Relkir teased.
Gath glanced down at Relkir and snorted, not expecting the sexy joke. “Hah, I already did you, and you want more?”
Relkir’s smile faded briefly. “Admittedly, yes. I was depraved of such pleasures for my entire life. On both sides.”
“Fair. Still, I often fear I will hurt you.”
“Oh, no, do not worry about hurting me. I may be small by Rethan standards but I am just as heavily armoured as you are!” Relkir went back to smiling. “I can take you.”
Gath snorted some more. “Heh. You certainly can. I cannot help but admire your dedication. Still, that is not what I am thinking about right now. I am looking for things to do on our holiday trip.”
“Ah yes, our holiday trip. The secret one you have not told us about. I do not even know where we are going! I hope not too far, I hate long shuttle flights, even Rethan-made ships are a bit small, even for me. As much as it is nice that you are taking me on holiday, I do not really like surprises. Makes me somewhat anxious because it takes away what little control I have over existence.”
Gath blinked, not really understanding the reasoning. However, they did understand that Relkir clearly didn’t like not knowing what was going on, so they decided to just be honest and tell Relkir about their plan.
“Well, I am arranging a trip to Palaestra, on Portalia. It is a neutral territory but they do have Rethan areas, so we will be comfortable. The weather there is nice and warm, but not too warm as to make us sweat, which will be good for my aching bones. The flights are arranged and I have rented a private villa in a mixed race district that has a heated swimming pool. I have been looking up both nice restaurants and places to visit, although we will almost certainly do a day touring the Great Arenas, which will be nice.”
Relkir’s eyes widened. “I loved our trip to Portalia when we went there back in June! Wait… Retvik lives in Palaestra… Can we go and see Retvik?”
“Of course. Retvik offered to give us a tour of the Arenas and they will introduce us to the more famous gladiators.”
Relkir sat up and clapped their hands together in glee. “Oh! We will see Tenuk again! They are so cute and nice and fluffy and I wish I had fur…”
Gath eyed Relkir briefly, trying to imagine how a Rethan would look with fur but failing to do so. They then sighed. “The thing is, I am not sure what you like to do on holiday. You have not really been on holiday to know. Have you even been on holiday?”
Relkir thought to themselves, trying to remember the last actual holiday they went on, for the sole purpose of going on holiday. “Well… we went camping when I was in Junior Stratos…”
“Dear, firstly, that was, like, 30 years ago, and, secondly, everyone goes camping in Junior Stratos.”
“Oh…” Relkir frowned. “35 years ago, actually. I… admittedly thought my group was special because we went every year. Then again, we did go to a specific Junior Stratos unit, and when Rethais got into power, I put a lot of effort into an equal and standardized education bill so that all Rethans get the same level of education, with options for expansion into areas where vok excel… I think I also added more camping trips in the standard school year.”
“Do you want to go camping on our holiday?” Gath asked.
“No, no. Not on Portalia. Portalia is a bad place for camping. It is on the edge of Temthan crazy lands and the Sinian Expanse, there are some large predators there. Plus, I have been camping before, I want to do new things!”
“Like what?”
“Hm…” Relkir fell silent. “I… I honestly do not know. What is there in Palaestra? Apart from the arenas?”
Gath grunted as they turned back to their communicator and awkwardly typed in a search. “Hm… Top twenty things to do in Palaestra, by Travelnex.com…”
“That is clearly a Lanex website.”
“So?” Gath grunted some more. “If anyone knows where to go, it is the Lanex. And Lanex are somewhat tall and armoured so they understand not being able to fit in places.”
“True… On the other hand, us Rethans are rarely tourists and we do not really document our travels. We also do not really travel much outside of work… We are quite an unadventurous and somewhat boring species…”
Gath glanced at Relkir. “Unadventurous? Maybe. But we are not boring. Just different…” With a sigh, Gath went back to the website they had found. “A boat trip at the lake… a shopping spree at the big multi-species mall… a walk around the preserved ruins of the ancient city of Paf… Huh, a spa day at the Rab Aifromo, which is a spa and bath house run by Banikans… a nature trail around the Torn Islet…”
“Oh!” Relkir suddenly chirped. “The Torn Islet! That is where Retvik’s Temthan friend Nyssi comes from! I would like to go there! Also apparently there are big scary monsters that live near there, so a nature trail might be cool! Is it a walking trail or a vehicle trail?”
Gath scanned the article. “A jeep trail, whatever that is.”
“Big 4×4 vehicles. Means there should be space for us! That sounds fun!”
Gath smiled, pleased that Relkir was so excited about this trip. However, as they glanced up at Relkir, Relkir had suddenly fallen silent again.
“Gath, dear, may I ask something… awkward?”
“Of course.”
“Since we are going to Palaestra, I… I would like to spend an afternoon with my big sibling. For Retvik’s sake. Because, every time I have seen them, it has been for my benefit.”
Gath looked at Relkir some more. “Why is that awkward?”
“Because it is our holiday and I do not want to be distracted from you.”
Galth blinked, then smiled and patted Relkir on the head. “You silly little bunny! This whole trip was technically Retvik’s idea anyway, as they were the one who said that Palaestra was a good holiday location! Of course you can spend an afternoon, or even a whole day with Retvik, if you want! They are the best family, you SHOULD spend time with them while you can. Either way, we will have a great time.”
“We will, yes!” Relkir went back to smiling as they snuggled up to Gath. “In the mean time though, we ought to have some breakfast. And… maybe do other things…”
Gath suddenly realized what Relkir wanted. “You are hungry today.”
“I am, yes.”
“Well now!” Gath beamed as they put their communicator down, scooped Relkir up in their arms and carried them downstairs. “Let us eat and then we can have some fun! Then, after that, we can start packing for our holiday!”
“Yay!” Relkir giggled. “Holiday!”