“What the hell do you mean, ‘no’?” Imbrium was shocked by the level of anger in their boyfriend’s voice, but that was expected to an extent. This was just the latest round of a tired argument, and Alex refused to let it go. “What is this about anyway? You still haven’t told me.”

“You know I don’t like it,” came Imbrium’s mumbled reply. They couldn’t bring themself to meet Alex’s gaze. Instead, they stared at their half-eaten food, the untouched Xargonian beer, and a suspicious hole near the edge of the table. “I don’t want them to see.” Imbrium hung their head, ashamed and embarrassed to have spoken such a thing aloud. They could not have predicted Alex’s fury.

“Really? That’s your answer? What the actual fuck?” Alex wanted to be calm and rational about this, but thanks to the aid of a few drinks, he no longer cared about making a scene. “Look around you. We are in a crowded alien bar, on the moon.” Alex was practically shouting at this point. “We are surrounded by more than a dozen different kinds of alien, most of whom are enjoying the company of another species. I highly doubt you can tell the gender of most of them on a cursory glance. Everyone in here is so wrapped up in doing their own thing, no one will notice us. They don’t care about a couple of queers making out in a corner booth. It’s not like I suggested we fuck on the pool table!” Alex let the rage of his words hang in the air before quietly adding, “I only asked for a kiss.”

Imbrium’s voice was barely above a whisper when they finally mustered a response. “I don’t like the attention; the staring. It makes me uncomfortable. I’d rather be intimate in private.”

Imbrium was finally able to make eye contact with Alex and immediately regretted it. When Alex was upset, he had this way of looking at someone as if he were examining every detail of what he could see. On the rare occasion Imbrium was on the receiving end of this look, they were left feeling vulnerable and exposed. This was how Alex had looked at them when they first met, and it was the same intrusive expression on his face now. The big difference was that Alex’s glare softened much quicker than normal.

“You know what? I… I overreacted. I shouldn’t have gotten angry like that.” Imbrium watched as the anger dissipated from Alex’s face. Briefly he went pale, and for a moment Imbrium feared their boyfriend was ill. Instead, his complexion returned to its natural color.

“I get it. I can understand how public intimacy can make you feel uncomfortable. Once upon a time, I was the same way. Although… the person I was involved with at the time was less understanding and also wasn’t a blue-green shapeshifting alien either.” Imbrium’s confused and hurt look must have been noticeable, because Alex looked uncomfortable for a moment as he continued. “My point is, I need to keep your boundaries in mind. And if I might add, I get the feeling that there might be more related to this than what you’re telling me. I just want you to know that you can talk to me about… whatever it is you’ve got on your mind. Whenever you’re comfortable with doing so that is. No pressure. Promise.”

Imbrium knew Alex would pick up on the fact that he didn’t know everything and decided that perhaps the right moment to share what had been the biggest concern in their relatively new relationship. They took a deep breath and tried not to worry about how Alex would react.

“Alex… you’re right. There is more to it.” Imbrium trembled as they spoke and gasped slightly when Alex clasped their hands in his.

“Go on,” he urged quietly, as he leaned over the table which had been cleared of their abandoned meal.

“My people, the Kobaltans--”

“You mean the other blue and green, shapeshifting, genderless, possibly liquid--” Alex’s rambling interruption was silenced by a withering look.

“Actually, Kobaltans are not “genderless”. Our concept of gender transcends the petty boundaries set forth by other sentient entities. You may refer to us as… “nonbinary” to use one of your Gaean terms. Also, we aren’t “possibly liquid” our genetic makeup merely dictates that our forms are fluid. Alex, how could you say such things? We’ve talked about this.” Imbrium’s form now trembled with fury.

“Imbrium, I- I’m so sorry. I was only trying to lighten the conversation. I didn’t mean—”

“Irrelevant. Right now, I need to tell you something. Can you please save your humor for later?” The question had been rhetorical, and Alex picked up on that. He signaled his understanding by closing his mouth which was still hanging open during his second apology of the night.

“Back to my point.” Imbrium cleared their throat, as they mentally prepared themself to finally share this part of their species’ history. “As you already know, Kobaltans exist only to study and preserve cultures and civilizations that have gone extinct. But what I haven’t told you yet is that we only… bring forth offspring to further our cause. Generally speaking, Kobaltans only exist for this purpose. On the occasion that one of us decides to branch out in search of something… different, someone different, as in another species, some sort of disconnect happens. A rift appears between that individual and the rest of the Kobaltans until eventually all contact is lost. I’m not sure why. If another Kobaltan were to see us being intimate in any way, I fear that could be the catalyst that causes a divide between myself and the rest of my kind. That’s something I so desperately want to avoid. I love what we do. I just… I don’t want to lose that connection.” Imbrium was unable to stop themself from saying so much.

“I also don’t want to lose what you and I have either.” At that, Imbrium faltered, unable to continue. They felt that if anything else on that subject was spoken, their entire life would collapse. They instead waited wait for Alex to finish processing everything that he had just learned. The waiting had felt as long as Pluto’s orbit.

“Do you remember our first date?” His voice was low, barely above a whisper. For the first time in quite a while, Imbrium noticed just how calm and relaxed Alex appeared when he took the time to be serious and put a lot of thought into something. Much like the fabled seas of the Old World that I’ve read so much about. They had once observed.

“Of course I remember.” It was not something so easily forgotten. “We sat atop the Kur Ad on the edge of Magno Humoreum and watched the barren planet of your people rise.”

“Earth-rise, yeah. But I meant before that.” Alex’s prompting was met with only confusion. “You took me down to the surface? To show me there weren’t any humans—uh, Gaeans—left alive down there?” He waited and watched Imbrium’s face, hoping for a sign of remembrance.

“Oh! That I remember! Although I didn’t think that was part of our first date…” They trailed off leaving Alex to continue recalling the details.

“We were down there for hours. I was miserable for every minute of it. I couldn’t bring myself to accept the fact that billions of people were dead or gone, having abandoned the planet from which we had evolved. That is, until we found what was left of that music shop. The fact that something like that could survive gave me hope. At that point I started bawling like a baby; you held me in your arms and told me that everything was going to be okay.”

“In the end you were righter than I ever could have known at the time. Those were the toughest days I had ever faced, and you were there with me for all of it. What I’m trying to say, Imbrium, is that I am here for you too. No matter the direction our relationship might take. Whether the other Kobaltans reject us or accept us, we’re in it together.” At this Imbrium had burst into loud sobs.

“Oh Alex!” Their words were replaced with more tears. Alex half stood, half leaned over the table to hug Imbrium and found himself starting to tear up too. They embraced each other rather awkwardly like that for a few exaggerated minutes, as they cried into each other’s shoulders. Alex was the first to pull away, adjusting his shirt and using his sleeves to dry his face. He cleared his throat a few times, for he didn’t trust his voice just yet.

“Hey. Should we go? Maybe we could watch the earth-rise from the top of your school?”

“Kur Ad,” came the reply from Imbrium. They sniffled a few times and paused to blow their nose on a napkin still on the table. “And yeah. Let’s do that. It’s been a while.”

They slowly collected themselves from the corner booth and made their way to the bar’s exit. While navigating through the crowd, the music caught Imbrium’s attention, causing them to pause and listen to the words:

Meet me in outer space

We could spend the might

Watch the earth come up…

At that they gasped in excitement, recognizing the singer’s voice from Alex’s lessons on music.

“Do you hear that Alex? It’s the “Inky Boys!” He’s singing about what we did!”

“Incubus, and you’re right. Although technically they did it first; this song is older than we are. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard this one…”

“It’s perfect! To use one of your traditions, this could be our song! What’s it called?”

Alex couldn’t help but laugh at Imbrium’s enthusiasm. “It’s called Stellar.”