Splinters

Malyn slept straight on through the night and woke up shortly after Tyla the next morning. He was always at his most endearing first thing after waking, sleepy eyed and rumple haired.

"Let's check your wound," Tyla said as Malyn sat up and stretched. Malyn made a grumbling sound and flopped onto his back.

Tyla carefully peeled off the bandage and then frowned down at the burn. "It looks surprisingly good."

Malyn pushed himself up so he could see. "Huh. Guess the salve did its job."

"No, it's... not actually supposed to be that effective. It's not magic, it's just herbs."

Malyn smiled. "Then I credit the magic of your touch. I'm going to go shower."

It would have been difficult for Tyla to explain to Malyn why he found things turning out better than expected concerning. In reality it probably was nothing but a good thing, but Tyla liked things to be predictable, especially where magic was involved. Potentially involved. Perhaps Tyla had simply misjudged how quickly burns healed on humans, or perhaps it had simply looked worse than it truly had been the day before. He decided not to let it worry him too much.

The burn looked well enough after Malyn took his shower that they didn't bother bandaging it again. Malyn walked without the slightest trace of a limp as they headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast.

The cafeteria was large, a building all to itself, and at this time of day it was about half empty. Those who had to be up early for training had already been through, and most of those who had the day off tended to take the opportunity to sleep in. This provided a brief lull, the quietest time to eat before all of the best breakfast foods had been taken or had been sitting out longer than was ideal.

Tyla was glad to be getting proper food. Ideally he should have lived on a diet of nothing but fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, but he could stomach preserved foods or foods with small amounts of other ingredients on occasion. He was, at present, the only Talan on base, but the cafeteria was set up to cater to his needs and the needs of any other Talan who might pass through. Besides, the things Talan ate were quite good for humans, too.

Malyn didn't much care about what was good for him or even, some days, what tasted good. He put food on his tray and ate it, showing little concern for his food's exact nature.

Malyn was poking at his burn again. "You don't think the salve did this?"

Tyla shook his head and swallowed his food. "No. It doesn't have any particularly exceptional properties."

"Hmm..." Malyn twisted his leg to get a better look at it. "Well, you heal fast. Maybe I'm absorbing stray magic from you."

Tyla quirked his lips in a half-smile and shook his head at Malyn. "Humans can't absorb magic."

Malyn gave Tyla a look of mock surprise. "You mean all these years I've been putting my mouth to work under a false premises? This is very disappointing news."

"Well, don't go telling anyone it was me who told you. For some reason you seem to be unreasonably appealing to my kinsmen."

It was true; Malyn was twenty four, and all three of the boyfriends he'd had in his lifetime had been Talan. Most Talan were attracted to those of either sex, but they were rare in Gaian lands and often cautious of humans. It was quite impressive, really, for Malyn to have attracted so many.

There were many things to like about Malyn, but it was the simple acceptance he provided that got him Talan attention, or at least that was Tyla's assumption. Malyn definitely found magic interesting, but he never pestered Tyla to show him things or treated Tyla like being Talan made him any different.

Perhaps it was because Malyn himself was different. Human, yes, but from a different splinter than most of the humans in their new combined world. The splinter of Malyn's world had been sparsely populated farmland to begin with, and then after the infected came from a different splinter and spreaded the myco... there were very few of them left.

Malyn looked at his watch and made a sound of surprise.

"Are we running late?" Tyla asked.

Malyn shook his head and swallowed his food as he stood. "Not if we get moving."

Tyla heaved a sigh and stood. "Then I suggest we do so."

Briefings and debriefings were Tyla’s least favourite parts of missions. They always seemed to go on far longer than Tyla thought was absolutely necessary. He didn’t mind so much when something interesting had happened, but when everything went to plan they were just boring.

When they arrived Lauren and Jack were already in the briefing room, but as Tyla and Malyn weren't actually late nobody could complain. Lauren was the captain of their string of teams — the reconnaissance team, Jack’s strike team, the salvage team, and... well, whatever Tyla and Malyn were. Despite the dullness that often came along with Lauren, Tyla quite liked her. She always managed to find ways to put Tyla and Malyn to good use.

"Okay, boys," Lauren said as soon as they were seated. "How about you two go first? We may as well go through this chronologically."

"There's not much to tell, honestly," Malyn said. "We took out the guards as planned, cut through the fence, then went to work on the door. One of them surprised us and scorched my leg a bit while I was setting up the explosives, but Ty took it out without issue and the burn wasn’t ultimately too severe. The doors blew successfully as far as we could see, and then we left."

Lauren finished scribbling notes and glanced over to Jack. "Jack?"

Jack nodded. "Yup. Good job with the doors, guys. We got past them without issue, but there were more infected inside than anticipated. Kel got swamped by a few who, lacking weapons, decided biting would be the best form of attack. She wasn’t injured too badly, but it gave her a good scare. Bit different from what we’re used to. The infected who attacked her were in the early stages of infection and had burns to their clothes and skin.”

Lauren hmmed thoughtfully and wrote something else down. “Burns. What do you think that means?”

Jack shrugged. “Who knows. Could mean any number of things. The infected attacked them before infecting them, someone else defended themselves against them with fire afterwards, or in a fit of desperation before the myco had fully taken hold they tried to cure themselves by burning it off. Or perhaps it was just an accident. I think the important thing here is that we’re seeing more freshly infected, and I don’t think they were Gaian. It was hard to tell with the state they were in, but I think their clothes were rags long before they were burnt or infected.”

“It’s hard to know whether to be relieved by that or not,” Lauren said as she continued taking notes. “Any other incidents?”

“Bronson stuck his leg through a weak point in one of the rooms on the upper floor. That needed stitching, but no long term damage. A few scratches and bruises, but nothing else that required medical attention.”

Lauren nodded without looking up from her notebook. “And the building?”

“I believe the building is a storage unit, but that'll be for salvage to determine when we take them by this afternoon."

Tyla didn't dislike debriefings just because they were boring or because they took a lot of time. He disliked them because they felt like a waste of time. They would still need to write up a far more detailed report later, though thankfully in their team that task fell to Malyn.

Most of the debriefing was spent assessing the ways Jack could reduce injury risk to his team in the future. Tyla and Malyn were dismissed halfway through, almost as an afterthought, when Lauren realised none of what was being discussed concerned them.

Malyn still had the report to write, though, so as soon as they got back to their room he sat down at the computer they technically shared but which Tyla never used. "Now to write two thousand words minimum on how everything went mostly okay."

"Describe your wound in vivid detail. Make them regret forcing you to bulk things out with unnecessary information to meet the minimum word limit."

"I'll make sure to use the word 'moist' at least half a dozen times. A few of those may be in reference to the burn, but who really knows what I might start writing if I get bored?"

Malyn kept joking for a while, talking about the things he would be including — weather conditions, the clothing they'd worn, the exact number of arrows they'd gone through which he, apparently, remembered. Soon, though, like any other task Malyn was given, writing the report absorbed his attention. That was why it was his job to write the reports. He was far more patient than Tyla. It also didn't hurt that he could type without pecking at the keys.

While Malyn wrote the report, Tyla read. He had read just about every book in the library on base and was down to the dregs before he would have to start rereading things. This particular book was a human romance novel. Reading graphic sex while in the same room as Malyn might have been awkward if it weren't so completely unarousing. Tyla spent most of the time staring down at the pages with a frown on his face and a furrow to his brow.

Malyn tapped one of the computer keys, loud and finalistic. "Okay, done and sent. What are you reading?"

"Human pornography. I would like an apology on behalf of your entire species."

Malyn leant over the back of the chair to face Tyla. "I refuse to take any responsibility for Gaian het porn. Will you settle for a deep sense of shame and a disapproving shake of my head?"

"Well, I'm a little ashamed to still be reading it. It's fascinatingly awful."

"There's porn on the computer network if you're that desperate. No Talan porn, though — at least not of the photographic or film variety — and trust me, I have looked."

Tyla raised an eyebrow. "So that's what you do when I'm not in the room."

Malyn opened his mouth to respond, but the computer stole his attention back with a single be-bong, the sound of incoming email.

Tyla considered burning the book. In general he found the idea of destroying a work of literature abhorrent, but... well, it was hardly literature, and he would be doing all who might have stumbled upon it in the future a favour.

"Reve," Malyn said without looking up. "He's still coming tomorrow. He says everyone's being shitstains to everyone else, but not to tell anyone he said that because it's a diplomatic secret."

"Shitstains," Tyla echoed.

Malyn spun back around in his chair to face Tyla. "Well, okay, the word he used was 'difficult', but he vented at me enough when we were dating for me to know what that really means."

The reminder that Reve and Malyn had dated sent a sudden and unexpected lurch of jealousy through Tyla's gut. It was almost alarming. Tyla had never in his life actually been jealous of someone, or at least, not like this. Sure, he'd been jealous in the sense that he'd wished he could have had a chance at the same thing with Malyn, but that was more envy.

If Tyla had been human, it wouldn't have been a point of confusion. For humans, jealousy was natural and common. For Talan... not so much. Though Talan had relationships, they were rarely truly monogamous. Feeling such a possessive kind of jealous over Malyn when Malyn and Reve were no longer even romantically involved made no sense at all. Had Tyla been spending too much time around humans?

Just a few weeks ago, when he'd first heard Reve would be visiting the base, Tyla had been nothing but pleased. He had been looking forward to seeing another Talan. And now, suddenly... he didn't want to see Reve at all. He certainly didn't want Malyn to see him.

"You don't want to see him?" Malyn asked cautiously, and for a moment Tyla, completely illogically, thought that Malyn could read his mind. Then he realised it had simply been written all over his face. Tyla was hardly a master of subterfuge.

Tyla could hardly tell Malyn the truth, though. "I was just thinking I would ask him about your burn. It's healing unusually quickly and that's good, but I don't like not knowing why."

It wasn't really a lie. Tyla was concerned about Malyn's quick healing and Reve would be a good person to ask. Well, as good as any they had available to them. Reve was neither a scholar nor terribly much older than Tyla, but he was another Talan and that was about the best Tyla could have asked for given their circumstances.

Malyn lifted his leg and craned his neck to the side so that he could see the burn. "You're still worried about that?"

"Not worried," Tyla corrected, though that wasn't entirely true. "Just... curious."

Malyn turned back to the computer and started writing a reply to Reve. "If you say so."

"I do," Tyla insisted.

"Good."

"Good," Tyla echoed. "I'm hungry."

The cafeteria was different during lunch time, busier, livelier. Before he'd had Malyn to eat with Tyla had done his best to avoid lunch rushes, scheduling his day around them and taking food back to his room when he’d been able. Sitting alone at a table he'd always felt exposed, like people were watching. To be fair, they probably had been.

Talan didn't exactly fit in with humans, not by any measure. Most Talan, anyway, though Tyla had met a few who had features and colouring that might have allowed them to blend in sufficiently. Mostly women, or men who looked particularly young. For some reason androgynous men stood out more starkly to humans than androgynous women.

Tyla had never stood a chance, especially since he had always been determined to keep his copper hair long in the Talan style rather than cut short, as was human custom. Not the most practical decision considering his job, but it was a statement... or something. Sticking to his heritage was less important to him these days, but Malyn had once made an idle comment about liking Tyla's hair long and, well... okay, that wasn't a very good reason, but it had convinced Tyla against ever cutting it.

They got their food — a large fruit salad for Tyla and sandwiches for Malyn — and found an empty table to sit down at. Despite the bustle of men and women with short shorn hair in camouflage uniforms all around them, their small table felt like an island, something isolated from everything else.

When they weren't on a mission, neither of them wore the uniform. Tyla preferred loose, colourful Talan clothes that did nothing to make him stand out less, and Malyn favoured whatever civilian clothes he could get his hands on, usually cargo short or jeans and t-shirts.

Somehow Malyn had managed to get away with not keeping his hair shaved. It wasn't long at all — Malyn was much too practical for that — but the dark brown strands of it curled around his ears rather than sticking up on end.

Malyn had barely started in on his own food when he held his hand out to Tyla and waggled his fingers. "Strawberry?"

Rolling his eyes for show, Tyla stabbed a strawberry, then made a face when Malyn grabbed it off the fork rather than let Tyla transfer it to his plate. "Your hands are going to get all sticky."

Malyn grinned, lopsided. "You're the only Talan I've ever met who's objected to getting me sticky."

Tyla was saved from having to come up with a comeback for that by Jack sitting down at their table. "Afternoon, boys."

"Still morning," Malyn said around a mouthful of strawberry and sandwich without looking down at his watch.

"Good morning, boys," Jack corrected. "Hell of a mission yesterday."

Malyn swallowed. "Sounds like you got the more eventful end of things. How's Kel?"

Jack grimaced. "Better than she was. I mean, physically it's not too bad, but it sure shook her up. I've seen her take near fatal stab wounds without losing her composure. Never heard her scream before."

Malyn smiled — fond, not happy. "I remember that time she got that massive gash that extended halfway across her forehead, and she kept trying to go on fighting while me and Ty tried to patch her up with our inadequate combined medical skills. Guess getting all bit up is scary on a whole other level, though."

"One of the many reasons I'm glad to only have to deal with Malyn now," Tyla commented. "He never hits me when I'm trying to help him."

Jack smiled, not at all insulted by Tyla's pleasure at being able to leave his team. Jack had never quite known what to do with either he or Malyn. "Or at other times, hopefully."

If Tyla was going to be attracted to any human, it probably should have been Jack. Jack was ridiculously handsome, at least for a human. Golden blond hair, sky blue eyes, the only flaw to his almost perfectly symmetrical face a small scar that bisected one of his eyebrows. He was muscular, tanned, a brave and caring leader. If Tyla hadn't had his sights so powerfully set on Malyn, he might have actually cared.

Jack picked a pickle out of his burger. "To be honest, I'm getting sick of this nonsense. We're coming up on what, a year now? The point of the border base was to clear out the myco quickly, but I swear we're just treading water. I wanted to explore new lands, meet people from different cultures, but this... it's boring. Depressing. And now it looks like they might have found a new source of people and it's just so tiring."

Malyn swallowed a mouthful of food. "Apply for a transfer? I mean, no people or things to kill to the west, but at least it's exploration. The scientists over there are always in need of escorts."

"Ha! Maybe you guys can go wherever you want with Tyla throwing his weight around, but I'm pretty sure they'd laugh in my face if I asked to leave. I couldn't abandon my team, anyway. Don't mind me. I'm just whining. You guys are my whining people."

"Lovely," Tyla murmured, though it truth he didn't mind. At least Jack treated him like a normal person.

Malyn reached over and gave Jack a pat on the shoulder. "All I can say is, be careful what you wish for. Things getting exciting around here isn't usually good news."

Tyla did his best to school his expression out of the glare it had acquired at the sight of Malyn touching Jack. It didn't even make sense, to be jealous of Jack. As far as Tyla knew — and Tyla was fairly sure he knew quite well — Jack had no attraction to men, nor did Malyn have much interest in humans of either sex. Lately it seemed like Tyla's brain was very much his enemy.

Later, when they returned to their room, Malyn sat down on the computer chair and swivelled around to face Tyla where he'd seated himself on the bed. "What's up with you lately? You seem... distracted. I thought you were doing better at getting on with others, but you hardly spoke to Jack."

Tyla opened his mouth, shut it again, frowned. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but what he did know was more than he was willing to share with Malyn. It was ridiculous and confusing and simply did not make sense. This was not even remotely how Talan dealt with attraction. Was all this because Tyla was resisting his natural inclination to simply ask for what he wanted without caution? "Nothing's up with me. You were the one he really wanted to talk to anyway. My involvement wasn't required."

Mal brushed waves of hair away from his forehead, though they did nothing to obscure his vision. A gesture of habit, or maybe nerves. "It was a casual conversation, not... And it's not just today, not just that. I feel like you're not even bothering to try anymore."

"Why should I, when I already have you? I don't need anyone else." The words were out of Tyla's mouth before he realised how that sounded, his tone harsher and more defensive than he'd intended.

Malyn canted his head just slightly to the side and narrowed his eyes to watch Tyla more intently. He smiled, but his brow was furrowed in confusion. "I know having me around makes things easier for you, especially socially, and I'm glad of that. For a while that seemed to be getting you to come out of your shell with others more readily, but now that seems to have changed."

Tyla crossed his arms over his chest, a motion that started defensive but resulted in him hugging himself more than anything else. "Can we just... can we not? I'm fine, we're fine, this is all fine."

Malyn stood, approached Tyla, and gave him a single bop to the back of his head before walking over to his own bed. "I think you should know you're a terrible liar, but yes, we can not if you like. Let me know if you'd like to... can, or whatever."

Tyla flopped back on his bed. "You're an asshole and I hate you."

He heard Malyn laugh. "You love me."

"Shh."

#

The next morning Malyn's burn was gone. Just... gone. Not there, not visible at all, vanished.

"Well, that's definitely not normal," Malyn commented as he ran his fingers over the area the burn had been in, checking for any irregularities in the skin.

"I'll ask Reve," Tyla said decisively. "He'll know." It felt slightly strange to depend on Reve for answers while still bristling, however slightly, at the thought of Reve and Malyn in the same room. They didn’t know what time Reve would visit, however, simply that he would come around after he was done with his diplomatic obligations.

Malyn flexed his leg muscle. "I still think I've contracted magic powers by proxy."

"And I am still quite confident I am not infectious."

Malyn grinned. "Oh well. I guess that means I can still have bacon for breakfast."

"Unless they run out by the time you get there,” Tyla said. “So I suggest you shower quickly."

There was still bacon, which Malyn ate, and then they retreated from the cafeteria back to their room. Malyn had brought it up yesterday, but Tyla was still trying to avoid confronting the fact that he was backsliding when it came to social interactions. It wasn’t that he disliked humans, though a few provoked that emotion. It was more that he liked Malyn so much more than anyone else. This just seemed rational, not problematic. Of course Tyla preferred Malyn’s company to the exclusion of all else.

There was little to do but wait for Reve in their room, though Malyn at least had the computer, with which he seemed able to endlessly entertain himself. All Tyla had was the romance novel. He did his best to let it distract him, he really did, but in the end the best he could manage was throwing it down on the bed in disgust rather than tossing it across the room. "This is truly awful. I'm not even sure this position is physically possible."

Glancing away from the computer screen, Malyn gave Tyla a smile. "Well, it is a romance novel. High quality sex scenes are generally not to be expected."

Tyla wrinkled his nose at the book. "It isn't even romantic. It fails on even that most basic of levels. These people hardly know each other but somehow because he's rich and handsome we're supposed to swoon?"

"The thing I'm reading was written by a seventeen year old in her free time, but I'm betting it's better than what you've got."

"Wait... what are you reading?"

Malyn looked back at his screen, scrolled up to find the spot he was looking for, and then started reading out loud. "Evan's hand traced gently over the curve of Laera's back, feeling the—"

"What the hell are you reading?"

"Feeling the soft skin beneath his fingertips. Please, Laera whimpered as Evan's fingers continued their exploration, lower now, down the—"

"Laera is a Talan name. Is this what you're always doing on the computer?"

Malyn stifled a laugh but kept reading. "Down the cleft of Laera's ass. Are you ready? Evan asked, his voice husky with arou—"

“You’re awful.”

“Arousal. Please, Laera repeated, his—”

A knock on the door interrupted Malyn's porn recital.