Raymond's call continued until he went over every important detail, and an annoyed snort left his mouth when the holograms disappeared. His drink was empty by then, but Christal promptly refilled it.
"Speak," Raymond said while bringing the glass to his mouth.
"I'm confused, sir," Christal revealed.
"About?" Raymond questioned.
"Is it wise to withhold information?" Christal wondered. "He is your best connection in the Global Army."
"He is also blind like the rest of those idiots," Raymond sighed. "His addiction to power is dangerous. Fulfilling it would make me disposable in his eyes."
"Still," Christal continued, "He has the resources you need. You would save a lot of money with his involvement in more projects."
"Freedom and secrecy have a price I'm willing to pay," Raymond announced. "Besides, he would only misinterpret a complete report."
"There are other ways, sir," Christal pointed out.
"Patience, Christal," Raymond scolded. "Bret managed to create a stable host. I can't let savages get in the way of such monumental achievement."
"What about his family?" Christal asked.
"They have been more than clear multiple times," Raymond stated. "They don't want anything to do with Khan after what happened to his mother. Though, his growth might force their hand."
"Shouldn't you step in before it's too late?" Christal wondered. "Even you won't be able to do anything if his family gets involved."
"The kid has nightmares, Christal," Raymond declared. "I've seen it in his eyes. Now, I respect Bret, admire him even, but his ability alone couldn't fix the issue altogether."
"How is he stable then?" Christal asked.
"I suspect there are multiple explanations," Raymond exclaimed. "Bret surely did something, but the kid's experiences must have something to do too. Maybe that's why we have always failed. Our approach to the issue was too human."
"You want him to continue learning from other alien species," Christal understood. "It's risky."
"The Nak gave us mana for a reason," Raymond stated. "We have been in risky territory since then."
.
.
.
Khan remained inside Monica's tent, unaware of the incredible conversation inside Raymond's ship. Snores reached his ears and improved his mood, but an unmovable barrier prevented him from experiencing actual happiness.
The conversation with Jenna had left a bitter taste in Khan's mouth, but some laughs had managed to appear among it. Yet, the situation didn't change. The fourth asteroid was still a mess of debris and corpses, and he had yet to hear from Monica.
Minutes went by until they transformed into hours. Khan would typically meditate to make time flow faster, but he avoided that due to his new condition. He was stable, but he didn't want to risk it with Monica nearby.
Moreover, as stable as Khan was, he had still gone through a significant improvement. Resuming his training wasn't wise, especially since he had already seen what could happen if his mana went rogue.
The wait was tedious, and the fear inherited from the nightmare only worsened the experience. Khan couldn't help but focus on that alien feeling since he didn't have anything else to do, and the lack of answers or explanations annoyed him beyond reason.
Khan had grown used to hopeless feelings. His desperations had been a part of him for almost fourteen years, and the Slums had given birth to a paranoia he couldn't ignore. However, that deep fear was somewhat different, and not only in terms of intensity.
The environment didn't help Khan's mood either. His new sensitivity made him aware of events happening far outside the tent, which were far from happy. The faint groans, screams, and sobs that reached his ears fused with his sensitivity to depict a grim scenery. The disaster was still out there, and he couldn't do anything about it.
A tremor eventually ran through the synthetic mana, and Khan's eyes lit up. A cute groan replaced the snores, and Khan stood up to be there for the opening of Monica's eyes.
Monica appeared confused when she saw Khan's worried face. She instinctively wore a smile at his sight, but inspecting the environment reminded her of where she was, which drained away any happiness from her face.
Khan waited a few seconds while a series of words flowed through his mind. He could come up with many lines, but Monica already knew what had happened, and he didn't know where she stood.
"You came," Monica whispered while Khan was still immersed in his internal conflict.
"Of course," Khan exclaimed and tried to reach for Monica's hand, only to retract his arm again.
Monica noticed that gesture and diverted her eyes. She was aware of the elephant in the room, but she had to find the right words before addressing it.
"You know," Monica eventually spoke, "I imagined my first relationship far differently."
"Was it better or worse than ours?" Khan asked.
"Some parts were better," Monica revealed. "I expected my man to have many pursuers, but I never thought they'd be so dangerous."
"I think wealthy women would be more dangerous than Jenna," Khan admitted.
"Probably," Monica guessed, "But that would be cheating, at least. With you, I'm stuck accepting the unthinkable."
Khan remained silent. He had made it really hard for Monica due to his friendship with Jenna, and he wouldn't blame her if the kiss had depleted her patience.
"How did I even get myself in this situation?" Monica cursed and lifted her arms to cover her face, but the gesture made her injury send waves of pain.
Khan stepped forward at the sight of Monica's suffering expression, but he held back from touching her once again. Monica didn't miss that, and Khan's hesitation pushed her to reveal her stance.
"I'm so pathetic," Monica complained as a smile appeared on her face. "I can't even handle keeping you on edge."
"Wait," Khan voiced when he realized something, "Aren't you mad?"
"Of course I'm mad!" Monica shouted before letting out a groan. "I'm livid. Jenna kissed you. How could I be okay with that?"
"That's my girl," Khan smirked. "I would have called the doctor otherwise."
"Hey," Monica called, "Were you worried I'd break up with you?"
Khan nodded, and Monica revealed a playful smile followed by a few words. "I can finally tease you about something."
"Don't get too used to it," Khan scoffed.
"It will be my get-out-of-jail-free card for the next few years," Monica joked. "I'll finally take the reins of this relationship."
"Few years?" Khan repeated, and Monica's eyes widened since she knew she had let out more than planned.
"I'm tired now," Monica lied while closing her eyes and turning her head away from Khan. "You can leave my tent."
Khan ignored the lie and leaned on the small bed to continue teasing Monica. "Did you already plan our next years together?"
"Where do you think you are going?!" Monica snapped when she saw Khan trying to sit on the bed, but her violent reaction made her injury hurt again.
"Don't push yourself," Khan scolded as he reached for Monica's cheek.
The careful and affectionate touch made Monica calm down and melted Khan's internal conflict. His worry vanished as the two looked at each other. They had long since reached an understanding, and the exchange of glances confirmed that everything was fine between them.
Monica moved her eyes to Khan's left side. She lifted her arm to touch his naked torso before tracing his muscles with her fingers. She seemed to search for something, but the area didn't even have marks.
"She really told you everything," Khan commented.
"Let me look at your hair," Monica requested, and Khan complied. He left the bed and bent over so that Monica could reach his hair without effort.
Warmth spread from Khan's head while Monica's fingers ran through his hair. She was actually quite cold, but the feelings radiated by her gesture made him experience her affection.
"You made a mess," Monica complained at the sight of that uneven hairstyle.
Khan lifted his face, and his eyes ended in Monica's. The two exchanged another meaningful glance that ended when Monica tightened her grip on Khan's hair. That gesture triggered a kiss that made them both forget about their problems.
The first kiss with the new sensitivity was beyond terrific. Khan couldn't even put the emotions he experienced into words. He felt light after getting rid of his guilt, and that opened the path for wilder urges.
The faint moan that escaped Monica's mouth when the kiss grew too passionate forced Khan to think about his situation. He wanted to do far more. He desired to get even closer to Monica, but she was still injured. That wasn't the time to think about his needs.
Khan interrupted the kiss and turned his head to calm down, but Monica's wet lips ended on his cheek and made him face her again. A layer of shyness enveloped her expression, but she felt thrilled underneath all of that.
"You need to recover," Khan whispered before giving Monica a quick kiss.
"Are you worried about me?" Monica asked.
"You have no idea," Khan admitted, "And I can't wait for you to regain your strength."
"Something tells me that you aren't thinking about my well-being," Monica giggled as she wrapped her arms around Khan's neck.
"I told you," Khan teased. "You should have been uglier."
"Not a chance," Monica replied. "Though I like seeing you so desperate. I deserve some payback."
"Please," Khan joked. "You'd be already naked if it weren't for your wound."
"I wouldn't-!" Monica began to complain before turning his shout into a familiar curse. "You are a scoundrel."
"Yes, and I'm your problem to handle," Khan stated, and Monica couldn't help but smile when he used her words against her.
"Make room for me now," Khan requested. "I want to stay here for a while."
Khan's straightforward request surprised Monica and made her forget any possible joke. She moved to her left, but the bed was small, so the available space remained narrow.
No complaints came from Khan as he climbed on the bed and stretched himself to occupy as little space as possible. Monica wanted to turn to give him more room, but he shook his head and kept her down since he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.
"You can't be comfortable like this," Monica pointed out while Khan adjusted himself and placed an arm under her neck. "We can call a doctor and bring another-."
"Monica," Khan interrupted Monica while carefully reaching for her waist, "I've never been better."
Monica didn't know what to say. Khan had basically left three-quarters of the bed to her and was even avoiding touching the bandages under the sheets. It couldn't be good for him to rest in that position, but the peaceful expression on his face said otherwise.
"You are so unfair," Monica complained when Khan rubbed his face into her curls. "I'm forced to rest now."
"Sleep," Khan voiced. "I'll watch over you."
"You didn't even bother to clean yourself first," Monica snorted while snuggling closer to Khan.
Khan couldn't possibly fall asleep due to the new vitality that had invaded his body, but that position brought him peace. The outside world was still a mess, but calm reigned on that bed.
"I did plan our next years together," Monica revealed after spending a few minutes in that position. "Though, plan isn't the right word."
Khan pulled himself out of Monica's curls and waited for her to look at him before asking a question. "And?"
"Promise not to tease me about it," Monica almost begged.
"I won't lie to you," Khan chuckled.
Monica pouted, but the short kiss that followed made her spill the bean. "I have connections, you know? I'm sure I can find a post where we can be together."
"Do you mean after leaving Milia 222?" Khan wondered. "And here I thought you were in your rebellious phase."
"Idiot," Monica scolded before showing her timid face. "Don't you want to be together?"
"Of course," Khan reassured. "I just didn't think about what's next yet."
"We can go over that together," Monica suggested. "Maybe at dinner."
"Are you trying to bribe me, Miss Solodrey?" Khan joked.
"If that's what it takes to make you shut up," Monica scoffed.
"Sure, sure," Khan laughed while leaving a kiss on Monica's forehead to melt her annoyance. "Let's make plans together once this mission ends."
"Really?" Monica asked as her expression lit up.
"Really," Khan confirmed.
A beautiful smile bloomed on Monica's face before she started a passionate kiss. The answer seemed to have eased her worries, and she couldn't wait for her next mission with Khan to begin.
"You really should rest now," Khan declared once the kiss ended. "I might stop caring about your wound if we keep going."
"Will you be here the whole time?" Monica asked.
"Yes," Khan reassured. "I'll be right here when you wake up."
Monica's smile grew even happier, and she did her best to get closer to Khan before closing her eyes. She wanted to recover as fast as possible, but another doubt hindered her peaceful rest.
"Khan," Monica called while Khan's shoulder partially hid her face.
"What is it?" Khan questioned.
"I don't care about the color of your hair," Monica announced. "I only want you to feel able to talk to me."
Khan didn't answer right away. He could guess that Monica was talking about something discussed with Jenna, but he wasn't ready to explain his whole story to her. The day would come, but that wasn't it.
"That's what I also want," Khan admitted.
"That's good," Monica exclaimed. "No hurry. I only wanted you to know that."
"Monica," Khan continued.
"What is it?" Monica asked.
"I don't care about the color of your underwear," Khan exclaimed, but a loud complaint resounded in the tent before he could continue the joke.
