That was the plan, anyway, but she didn’t think she was going to get a chance to execute it. They were gaining too fast, and she was about to fucking pass out…
“Come here.”
A hand reached out and dragged her into the shadows, yanking her off her feet and against the hard body of a Homelander who shut a big heavy door behind her.
“You!”
It wasn’t Dominax. Thank fuck, it wasn’t Dominax. It was the Homelander skater boy, the one with the light eyes and dark hair who liked her sense of humor.
“You’re trouble,” he said, pressing a finger to her lips as the guards rushed by outside the door. “I’ve been watching you.”
“What do you mean, you’ve been watching me?”
“I mean the first day we met, you were sitting out in the open with an armful of stolen food, shoe cleaner, and a dildo. That sort of thing gets a guy’s attention.”
She blushed, remembering how little she’d known in those first days of freedom. Turned out she had accidentally stolen a sex toy. Oh, well. It had been good to trade with later. Got her a new set of clothes underneath her suit, and began her savings.
There was really no need to be stealing anymore. She’d even found a place to stay. Wasn’t an apartment, was more of a pod. Just a small space with a door, big enough to lie down in.
“Didn’t mean to get your attention. Didn’t mean to get anybody’s attention. Trying to do the opposite.”
“That’s why you’re running through the city with stolen money falling out of your pockets?”
She guessed she liked stealing. Being a criminal on an alien world came with a sense of consequencelessness. Was that a word? In her head, it was.
“Nope. That’s not why.”
“Why is it then?”
On Earth, she would have been afraid of what could happen if she was caught. Here, she didn’t care. She hadn’t spent a lifetime being primed to respect the laws and culture of these aliens. She had human values, city values, and survival values.
“I don’t know. I guess it’s fun.”
“Is it fun? Or are you trying to get caught?”
She didn’t even know this guy's name.
“Who are you, exactly.”
“My name’s Darma.”
Darma. A pretty chill name for a pretty chill guy. She felt that pull again. Not quite attraction. More like familiarity.
“Okay, but who are you? Why did you just save me?”
“Like I said, you got my attention.”
“Yeah. That’s what you said. But we met weeks ago. It’s weird if you’ve been following me. Really fucking weird.”
“You’re so suspicious,” he laughed. “Which is funny, because you’re the criminal. Still in that same suit, too.”
“I like it.”
“Uh huh. Tell me who I’ve saved,” he said. “I need to know who you are. I need to know what you are.”
“Or what?”
“Or I turn you into the authorities,” he smiled cheerfully.
“I would really feel a whole lot better if I didn’t tell you any of that,” she said. “What about the money? Take that, no questions asked.”
“Nope. I want answers to my questions. Not money.”
“So you’re rich then. Rich enough for this money to mean nothing to you.”
“You’re figuring me out,” he smiled. “How about you give me the chance to figure you out.”
“There’s no point hitting on me. I’m taken. Double taken on this planet.”
“I am not hitting on you. I just think you’re interesting. Besides. I have a guy.”
“Oh, you have a guy.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. Okay. Cool. Cool.”
“So. Who are you?”
“Well, now I have no idea why you would care?”
“Not everything is about trying to fuck someone,” he said bluntly. “I notice something weird, I follow it up. You’re weird. Even in a city this size. You stand out.”
“I hope not.”
“Why? Are you trying to hide? Because running around in a bright pink suit, stealing from shops in broad lava-light is not a good way to hide.”
“I guess that’s a good point,” she admitted. “Thanks for helping me out there.”
“I was being selfish,” he admitted. “I’ve been looking for an opportunity to speak to you since we met. I know you’re not from here. You’re something completely different. There are rumors in the royal court about a beast from a very foreign planet being kept by the king.”
“Do you know Dominax? Are you from the palace…”
She was worried. This big Homelander seemed to have his own agenda, and she had no idea what it was. He’d saved her from the guards, but that didn’t mean he was going to keep helping her.
“I have a place in the royal household, as do many thousands of others,” he said. “So I hear rumors. Some, like this one, interest me especially. I’ve always liked strange things — and you are a very strange thing.”
“Are you going to turn me in?”
“Not at the moment,” he said, rather irritatingly.
“So what do you want from me? If it’s not sex, and it’s not money, what, then?”