We had only been apart for a few hours yet I could tell he missed me as much as I missed him. Maybe I was being too clingy, or too obsessed, but I didn’t care as long as he reciprocated. All was well until my back hit the bed.

“Nope, nope, nope,” I said quickly, pulling away.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

He had every right to look as confused as he did. I was usually the one who wanted to go further, and now I was telling him to stop. “You haven’t done anything wrong, but you aren’t going to want to finish what you started if I get worked up. Considering I’ve had little to no action in months, getting me hard is way too easy.”

His face went from confused to guilty. “Withholding that kind of affection is not my intention.”

“I know, I know, but I’d get my hopes up anyway.” I knew the order in which we had gotten together bothered him. He had morals, values and ways of doing things that I didn’t care to have. Because of this, I’d left the momentum of our relationship up to him. Less than twenty-four hours into our official relationship was too early for sex.

“I disappoint you it seems.”

“You don’t.” I just needed to work on my patience. “Did your interviews go well?”

Aubyn sighed and sat back. “No. We had to call the police. The father had locked himself up in the house with the children before we arrived and the mother was locked outside. Everything worked out within a few hours, but my original plan was to get you from work so we could come home together.”

I sat up and leaned back on my hands. “I think it worked out well enough because I got stuff done that I wouldn’t have been able to focus on if you were around.”

“Am I that distracting?”

“Uh… yes.”

He chuckled. “Guess who called today asking for you?”

Sang and Milan were an elevator ride or phone call away at all times so I couldn’t imagine who would call Aubyn to ask for me. “I have no idea.”

“Coen.”

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“I am not. Is that such a surprise?”

Coen hadn’t warmed up to me as easily as I thought he would. “Yeah.”

“I reminded him that you would be coming with me in a few days and he asked to see you so he could introduce you to my older brother who was with him. He insisted that we hurry and get there so he could show you all over the house.”

On one hand, I was glad that Coen asked for me. On the other hand, I was glad Aubyn and I weren’t together at the time of that call. I’d avoided thinking about meeting his family too much because I didn’t want to psych myself out. It was probably nothing to be nervous about, but I really wanted them to like me. Even more so now that I knew how bad a relationship they’d had with humans in the past. For Aubyn’s family, I was going to be the first human they had interacted with in a long time if ever.

“I’m not ready to meet your siblings yet. We have three days left, so I’ll use those days to find a way to get them to like me.”

“Do not try to get them to like you. Be you. That is all. If you try too hard, it will be too obvious that you want their approval and you will not get it.”

I groaned and flopped back on the bed. Be me? I was crass and impolite, a twenty-one-year-old human who had just gotten his first job but was emotionally reliant on his boyfriend. There was no way I could just be myself.

“Okay,” I said anyway. “I will try to be myself.”

“Good. Siele-sumeo mentioned the team dinner. I won’t be able to attend for the first half, but I will be there later on. Please do not get too drunk. Alcohol does not taste the same as it does on Earth so judging the strength may be difficult.”

“I’ll be careful. You worry too much.”

“Can you blame me?”

I’d been a complete wreck of a person back on Earth – not that I was all that great now – so I understood where he was coming from. “I guess not. I will be careful.”

I intended to be careful. I’d already scarred my coworkers with the memory of me drunk dancing. I didn’t want to be remembered for anything but great work.

I didn’t have work the next day so I had planned to set up my drawing pad, study for a bit and get street food at the usual place while Aubyn was at work. However, Milan had other ideas. He showed up at my door early in the morning before I had fully woken up after not replying to my message the day before.

“What are you doing here, midget?”

“You mentioned shopping and your day off. Why are you just waking up? We have to go. Now, now, now!” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

He looked like a sassy mother hen and it only made me roll my eyes. I liked to sleep in on my days off and laze around for most of the morning. Since he hadn’t replied to my message, I’d assumed he hadn’t wanted to join me.

“Fine, fine. You’re buying me breakfast though.”

We left the dorms shortly after and I spent the next few hours being dragged all around by an overly excited Milan. I got way more clothes than I originally planned to get and it was all because of him. I gave him too much say over what I got but I had drawn the line at three pairs of shoes.

I wasn’t really into clothes enough to have an aesthetic or preferences besides functionality and I had already realized that clothing in Karys was different from New Malta where I was from. T-shirts weren’t really a thing here. Neither were jeans, hoodies, or sneakers in styles I was familiar with. That left me with nothing I was used to wearing daily. Anything that simply pulled up or on was nearly nonexistent.

Because of the difference in clothing styles, I had left it up to Milan to decide what I should get. He loved clothes and shopping which was why working in a little clothing store was his ideal job. While he dealt with the store attendants, all I did was try clothes on and pay. I was glad to see that everyone was welcoming and nice enough to help us shop once we entered the store. Some even looked curious to see two humans popping into their store.

“What are they saying?” I asked when an exchange with two women in a store had taken longer than necessary.

“They want to know where we’re from.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Earth. Duh.” Milan paused trying to decide between two shorts to look up at me. “They also wanted to know why you were so quiet. They asked if you’re shy.”

“Am not.”

“I already told them you are.”

“But I’m not.”

“Better shy than stupid.”

“I wonder how hard I’d have to kick you to send you flying? Shall we give it a shot?”

Milan went back to looking at shorts, picking the one that looked like it had a thigh garter attached. “This one.”

“I’m not wearing that.”

“I thought you liked blue.”

“I do.” The colour wasn’t the issue.

“Then we’re getting it,” he said matter-of-factly and walked away with the blue shorts in hand.

This little… I grabbed the other pair of plainer shorts and followed behind Milan. It was a white pair with green cut-outs at the sides but had a pair of black, short tights attached underneath. Clothes in Karys weren’t simple at all. They all looked extravagant no matter the occasion they were meant for.

“Can we stop now? I’ve gotten enough,” I begged after another hour. I had so many bags lugging around even though we had left a few in a locker at the train station. “I’m tired and hungry and missing my bed.”

“So, you’re not going to get them a gift?” Milan asked, eyebrows raised.

“…what now?”

“Ah, so you are one of those ill-mannered people who would show up to their host’s home empty-handed. Alright then. Let’s go back to the dorms.”

“Wait!” I called. Elongating my strides, I stepped in front of him to block his path. “Host? Empty-handed? What are you talking about?”

“When you’re invited to someone’s home, especially if you’re staying the night or having a meal, you need to bring a gift. It’s really rude to show up empty-handed. Some people even take it as an insult.”

“I didn’t know that. Aubyn didn’t mention that to me.”

Milan tsked and shook his head at me. “So uncultured.”

I didn’t care for the insults. All I was thinking about was how I’d almost made a big mistake that would have started me out on the wrong foot with Aubyn’s family. “I need to get a gift for everyone?”

Milan pursed his lips as he thought. “Well, there’s Nao’s parents and his four siblings. That’s six in total. You might want to get something for Coen too if you’re still working on getting him to like you.” He held up seven fingers. “Seven people.”

“What should I get?”

“I need to be paid for this extra service.”

“For fuck’s sake, Milan,” I groaned.

Milan smiled cheekily. “For my payment, I request dessert today. On top of that, you better bring me back something from Tsuk’ki.”

“Like what?”

“Something unique to the country that you probably wouldn’t find in Karys very easily. You’ll be there for a while so you’ll figure it out.”

“Deal. Tell me what I need to get them.”

Milan complied. He didn’t tell me anything too specific, but it did take trips to quite a few different stores to get everyone a gift. I didn’t know gift-shopping was so time-consuming.

Aubyn’s mother was the queen of her kitchen with a hobby of making her own alcohol. Milan suggested something edible but unique to Karys that she may be able to use. I went with a gourmet set of bottled extracts and dried flowers and roots. It was the most costly gift. Aubyn’s father owned a rehabilitation centre of sorts with his brothers and was very passionate about health and wellness in the purest form. I got him a set of weirdly shaped stones that were supposed to aid in massages. At least that was what Milan said it was after speaking with an attendant.

For Aubyn’s eldest brother, Win Tur, I chose a book on the history of Kary’s relationship with Putong, the central country in Downton Isles. He was apparently very interested in history. For San Hran, I decided to go a similar route and bought a book on ancient traditional symbols from cultures all over Othanai and their meaning since he was a traditional tattoo artist.

Aubyn’s sisters were a lot harder to shop for. Milan didn’t remember much about them except that the eldest was a busy stay-at-home mother and the other sold traditional Tsuk’kian handmade jewellery. For the jeweller, I got a traditional Karysian hair ornament. For the stay-at-home mother, I got a few natural self-care items.

Coen was the only one left but I couldn’t figure out what to give him. He had everything a child could possibly need. Since I knew he preferred to be outside, I didn’t want to get him a toy. Out of ideas, I settled on getting matching clothes and hoped he wouldn’t hate them.

For my first time choosing gifts, I think I did a decent job.