“Too much cake?”
Arkay groaned, holding his stomach. It was technically midnight, but time was often a flimsy concept on the Thantir Two. There was an internal date system that vaguely corresponded with time both with nearby Life Oases and Deathven, but it didn’t make much sense to Arkay. As far as he was concerned, it was the middle of sleep time and he had horrible stomach cramps.
And, to make matters worse, Litvir was at the door, wondering why Arkay was groaning.
“I guess not…”
“It’s a…” Arkay grunted, shifting his position a bit. Maybe one position would relieve the pain. He hadn’t found that position yet. “A thing I don’t get…”
Litvir shrugged, edging into the room. He was holding a hot water bottle and what looked like a plate of cake. “You can tell me. Or try to explain to me. I may not understand but it may help take away the pain. I assume you have taken some painkillers?”
“Painkillers don’t really help…” Arkay sighed, then decided to just let Litvir come in. Litvir handed him the hot water bottle, which he rested on his bare stomach. “It’s some dumb life goddess thing. Not really sure what. The body bitching that I haven’t gone and made a universe yet. Something like that.”
“Like… menstruating?” Litvir asked.
“I… I guess…” Arkay trailed off.
Litvir didn’t say anything, and just handed Arkay the cake. He then turned away somewhat awkwardly as Arkay took several spoonfuls of it, then put the cake down on his bedside table. It was really nice, but it wasn’t what Arkay needed right now.
“Um…” Litvir started speaking, then stopped, falling silent again. Arkay quickly noticed that Litvir was stealing glances of Arkay’s body. But Litvir swiftly noticed that Arkay had noticed him. “Uh… sorry.”
“Am I that curious and ugly?”
“Why would…” Litvir rubbed his eyes. “Why do you always assume the worst? If you were ugly, I would not be looking at you at all. Somehow, you came to the exact opposite and most completely wrong conclusion possible.”
“You think I am attractive?” Arkay blinked.
“Uh, duh. Of course.”
“Really?”
Litvir rolled his eyes. “Arkay, you are the exact sort of small, round, chunky type that lots of beings enjoy. Myself included.”
“I thought you had… standard Rethavok tastes. Big, bulky and heavily armoured.”
“I have lots of tastes!” Litvir exclaimed. “And small and thick is one of them. I very much understand that you are not mentally ready for any sort of real relationship, but you will never get there until you realise that other vok find you attractive!”
“You find me-”
“Yes. Of course we do!” Litvir gave out a rather defeated sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed. “You are attractive. Sure, you are not the conventional Life Goddess sort of attractive, with the perfect hourglass figure and whatever those fatty lumps are on the chest. But you are attractive in a thick, curvy and cute little way. But you are so caught up in your self-hate that you do not see it yourself!”
Arkay sat up, staring at Litvir. “I… I guess you’re right…”
Litvir grunted, then got back up, heading for the door. “I am, I am almost always right. However, you are not in a good spot right now with that stomach pain, so I will leave you to your rest. Hope you feel better.”
“Yeah… thank you…” Arkay stuttered, as the door clicked shut. “I guess…”