Sway, who usually spent his leave time on the Humility, happily followed her out with the rest of the crew, only Alred leftbehind. Not like he could leave if he wanted anyway, so he was fine with staying and watching the ship.
Tanin and Garnet went off together with Goldie. The sisters were going to spend time together for a while with the captain watching over them. Rok went shopping for some new shoes as he’d worn right through his. Vytln, grumbling, went off in search of some new type of scanner or trap to get the pest Sway was starting to think might only be in his head. The twins, Sorbet and Tebros, went off on their own, though Sway didn’t actually know what they did on station leave. Trove, as he was wont to do, went off to find the nearest brothel. Even with his newfound appreciation for sex, Sway could still not understand why he liked those places, but they clearly liked him because every time he left in the morning, it was with the farewells of a bunch of happy sex workers.
It was nice but strange to follow along with the others onto the station. Grace immediately took his hand and pulled him into the busy thoroughfare, getting lost among the abundance of shops that were all set up around the docks for the weary ship workers who would come passing by.
Sway thought that Tsik-Voll was a safe station. While not the most wealthy, it was a good place for the common person to get some leave time. They had their share of crime, of course, as any place would, but he wouldn’t consider it dangerous.
But he’d never walked a station with a human female before.
He was acutely aware of the number of male gazes she caught just by sheer virtue of how beautiful she was as she moved around, looking at everything.
Sway didn’t realize his crest had gone up in a territorial display until Grace turned and her eyes immediately darted to it. She smiled sassily, giving him a look.
“Is that for me?”
He smirked, putting his arm around her. “You’re too lovely for your own good. Stay by me.”
She giggled, calling him silly, but she happily put her arm around him as they continued together through the street.
Grace didn’t really buy much though. And even when she seemed interested in something, if he asked if she wanted it, she’d shake her head and make a face. The fun for her came just in looking at these things, not actually acquiring them.
Though, really, that wasn’t a surprise to him. Grace was from a wealthy family. She’d probably gotten everything she ever wanted growing up. For her, value wasn’t in material objects. It was in the joy and memories she could make around them. So, why would she need to buy these things when her only happiness was in the actions of pretending to shop around them?
Sway, on the other hand, kept having his eye caught by the most random assortment of items. A soft, fleece lined blanket. A light breaking crystal mini-chandelier. A bolt of silken fabric in a blue shade he immediately though would look lovely on Grace – not realizing until his hand touched it that it was the exact shade of his feathers.
It wasn’t until he found himself squishing a series of pillows, feeling strangely critical of each and every one, that he caught the knowing smile on Grace’s face and realized what he was doing.
He was nesting.
The things he kept seeing and buying were objects he either wanted to use to make or decorate a nest with. Because his room was good enough as a nest to trigger his mating bond, but it wasn’t good enough for him to actually be satisfied with.
“How long ago did you figure out what I was doing?” He asked, setting aside a pillow that his instincts determined was far too soft for his nest.
“About three blankets ago,” she snickered, looking at the bag he was carrying that was bursting with soft fabric. “Keep going. I want to see what else you pick for my nest. I get confused though. For the farasie, am I involved in the nest making at all? I know it differs from species to species. I don’t want to step on any feathers here.”
“You make the nest,” he said, grabbing another pillow. “I just provide you with everything you need to make it with.”
“What’s wrong with that pillow?”
“Too scratchy.”
“Uh-huh,” she grinned. “And that one?”
“Too heavy.”
She laughed outright this time, but she didn’t protest as he continued working his way through various textiles until he eventually needed to rent a hover cart to hold everything. But he didn’t care. He had enough saved credz that this wasn’t a detrimental purchase, and heneededto give her these things so she could make the perfect nest for them.
“Where am I making this nest?” She asked when Sway finally seemed satisfied, the trailing hover cart loaded with all sorts of soft things.
“Huh?” He gave her a confused look.
“Like, do I make it on the bed? On the floor? Is there a specific place. I just want to make sure I do it right.”
“You can’t do it wrong.”
She grinned, like he’d just issued her a challenge. “You wouldn’t be saying that if I made a nest of sticks and hung it from the ceiling.”
“I wouldn’t complain that if that’s how human females made their nests.Isthat how you make your nests?” He smirked back, meeting her challenge.
