Samuel could not help but feel he was digging himself a deeper hole trying to be nice to the Varintol woman. Yeah, he did not want to make her feel bad about having her stay here but letting her understand that there would be some distance between them was for the best. He had to ensure whatever happened the other night was a one-time deal and nothing would come of it.

　　 If all went well, she would no longer be his issue in a month or two. The representative would take her away and fully integrate her into the GU. Either that or escort her back to her tribe. Both would firmly put the issue out of his hands and let him return to his needed solitude.

　　For all Samuel knew, she was just lost, scared, and alone. Maybe that was why she seduced him. People do odd things when they are stressed, right? That would not be the most bizarre thing he had ever heard of.

　　Wartime babies were a phenomenon he had heard of. During high-stress times like war, the rate of male children born would spike in humans. If the human body can do that, why could her being stressed not cause her to cling to the first sentient she met. That was a logical solution to what he agreed to, right?

　　He could not think of anything else that did not wrack his heart and mind with guilt.

　　—-

　　Currently the Varintol woman was taking a shower, and he planned on doing the same later. For some reason, she tried to get him to shower with her. Why in all the universe was the idea so tempting? He could not want that, right? He was married. Samuel had been happily married for thirty Earth years. He had only met this alien a few days ago, feeling like this was not correct. He had to resolve this somehow.

　　"Fuck," he frustratingly muttered, leaving the main building.

　　 While she was occupied with bathing, Samuel went out in the garage, trying his best to not think of seeing her start to strip for the shower. That task was only made infinitely more difficult because he had to input her measurements into the fabricator.

　　So he had to think of her body to a degree; to his dismay, his pants were getting uncomfortably tight.

　　For the most part, The Varintol woman was human in proportions, other than her legs being slightly shorter than normal. Proportionally, it was like you attached a Human`s feet to their mid-shin.

　　 Along with her just being massive in every other way. From her round gut, heavily muscled arms, and legs. It was all bigger. He still felt shocked by seeing that her chest was larger in diameter than his gut was. He should not have been too shocked by that. But seeing her mountain of a chest put to hard numbers was surreal.

　　How in all the universe did she have a chest nearly 200 centimeters around? And hips about 220cm? How much muscle and fat was on her? Considering she seemed comfortable outside in the cold weather, wearing next to nothing on it had to be a good amount.

　　 Hopefully, once this was over, he would never have to measure her again.

　　One and done, and whatnot. But knowing his luck, that would not be the case.

　　With all the fuss the fabricator made about the sizes he inputted, even the rudimentary AI had difficulty believing how she was proportioned as well. Go figure the program was set up with Human body proportions in mind, so he had to make all these odd adjustments to fit her remotely closely.

　　Samuel activated the program once he selected the lightest cloth the fabricator could produce; it was a lightweight cotton and nylon mix. It was meant for usage as shirts for him. But Samuel wanted to use this because she seemed to favor lighter clothing and did not want to have to do this again. Ao much so that he saved her settings under a generic "Varintol" preset, so in the future, a new garment would be no more than five button presses and an hour away.

　　An hour wait that had just started the moment he pressed the big bright red go button.

　　The moment he did, several arms on the inside of the fabricator sprung to life and started rapidly moving across the flat gray work area in the center.

　　The fabricator was a marvel of technology the GU had to offer. While it was, in its simplest explanation, an extruding printer, it was able to work with anything from simple metals to complex polymers. So long as what you were asking for did not need excessive post-processing work, the product would be ready to go once the generation process was completed.

　　 Samuel synched his wrist-mounted datapad to the fabricator to alert him whenever the jumpsuit was completed. So, in the meantime, Samuel stepped outside into the lazily drifting winds.

　　Samuel took a deep breath of the icy air and stretched. He had been up all night and had neglected to eat. The only thing sustaining him was coffee and cigars. He was surprised the bear-like woman did not wake up while he moved around her. His old wife Sarah was a far lighter sleeper and would have been awake the entire time. The sound of him soldering and talking to himself would have kept Sarah awake.

　　He chuckled. His warm breath blew steam out in front of him. Like Sarah, when the massive interloper realized he had not eaten, she pestered him. Maybe that was one of the things he liked about her; their general mannerisms and the things they fixated on were similar.

　　It was only Zero with a windchill right now, so it was a relatively warm day. Samuel unzipped his jacket`s front and let the cold breeze tickle at his skin. Helping him wake up ever so slightly. Nothing compared to a whole night`s rest, but it was something.

　　Samuel pulled a photo from his jacket pocket and slumped down on a nearby metal barrel. He looked down at the picture of him and Sarah from their wedding day and sniffled for a moment before he caught himself and buried that emotion deep. He could not cry; he had managed to keep himself composed for years. Five Earth years after the love of his life died was not the time to start breaking.

　　But he regrettably had to admit, even now, seeing a picture of them on their wedding day hurt, like someone was drawing a knife down his chest.

　　Sarah looked like an angel wearing her long, flowing wedding dress. Her perfectly shining brunette hair outlined her soft, gentle features like a halo. How he got so lucky to meet someone like her was beyond him. All his friends said he was lucky, and he agreed.

　　She was way too good for him.

　　Compared to Sarah, he looked like someone stuffed lumberjack into an ill-fitting black suit. He still had a beard and a tire-like gut even thirty years ago. But he looked so youthful. Unlike the image he caught in the bathroom mirror when he left the Varintol woman. Compared to this picture, he looked ghoulish, half dead, a walking decaying corpse.

　　 Any flame he had inside him had long since lost its luster. He was, without a doubt, a shell of the man he once was. He had no reason, purpose, or drive. He wondered if that was why the Varintol was itching at his mind; she was giving him something to care about again.

　　All his kids were long grown; they didn`t need or want dear old dad. Especially after Sarah died.

　　 Samuel lost complete track of time sitting there reminiscing about better times. Days long since passed. It was a completely different life at this point. When he had meaning and a reason to wake up other than collecting a cheque. Before he realized it, the alarm on his datapad screamed at him, pulling him from daydreaming about the one person he could not help.

　　Sarah.

　　He tucked the photograph away in his jacket, zipping it and the thoughts away, holding both close to his heart.

　　At least come tomorrow, Samuel would have the translator fixed. Then, he could adequately explain what was happening to the Varintol woman. Maybe then she would stop giving him that longing and pained gaze. Seeing it was horrible, and every time he denied her anything or tried to just stick to his work, her golden gems would soften and make him feel like he had to help her. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it`s taken without the author`s consent. Report it.

　　Why did god make him a sucker for cute eyes? Why was life not playing fair? He just wanted to die out here. A slow suicide in his own fucked up reasoning.

　　—

　　"Hey, are you almost done in the shower?" Samuel yelled as he kicked the snow off his boots and doffed his jacket in the winter room near the door.

　　Samuel did not hear a response as he picked back up the bright rose-red jumpsuit. He had few selections for colors that the fabricator could craft. He thought she would look nice in the jumpsuit if it was red. Even if he tried to tell himself, he made it that color because it was easy to see in the snow if he had to find her.

　　When Samuel spotted her in the living room, he knew he must have fucked up again. Though it wasn`t particularly loud, she was crying again. Unlike last time when she was cowering while he yelled, the Varintol was buckled over on the sofa. From here, he could only see her shoulder and back shuddering painfully in time with deep sobs.

　　"God dammit," Samuel muttered while hesitantly approaching the front end of the sofa.

　　Samuel looked her over and felt like hammered shit. She looked horrified and like she had been freshly wounded by how heavily tears flowed from her fuzzy fingers. Samuel groaned and knelt, pain arching through his shot knees while tossing her jumpsuit onto the table. Getting her to wear it could wait. For now, tending to his crying charge was more vital.

　　"Hey, are you alright," Samuel asked, rubbing his hand on her shoulders silky fur, knowing damn well the answer was no. But he did not know any other way to broach this, especially with the language barrier.

　　She tried to shrug off his hand before grumbling broken words between her labored breaths. Samuel sighed, unsure of what he had done. He just tried to stay a healthy distance from her. Samuel had already overstepped once, betraying his wife. He could not wait until he fixed that damn translator, but that thing still needed assembly at the bare minimum and likely several hours of tuning.

　　He wondered if he should leave her here and do that right now. If he did, resolving this issue might go smoothly. Each time she cried, it felt like a hammer slammed into him, cracking his resolve like concrete. He couldn`t do it.

　　Samuel gently sat on the sofa up near her head. It took some fenangling, with him gently reassuring her, but he managed to slip her head onto his lap. She immediately noticed that he squeezed his lap between her head and the cushions and looked up at him with confusion.

　　"It`s alright. I`m not mad at you. Please just bear with it a little longer," Samuel said, running his thumb along her cheek and wiping away errant tears.

　　She sputtered and groaned more words in her guttural growlish language. Samuel nodded, sliding his fingers through her silky, freshly washed silver hair. He was bad enough with his emotions, much less someone he could not reason with.

　　Samuel looked into her bright golden gems and sighed. He knew this was not helping establish that healthy distance he wanted them to have, but what was he supposed to do? Be a heartless bastard to her? Let her cry here alone until she runs off?

　　For all he knew, his trying to push her away was bringing back more memories of whatever caused those scars on her shoulders and arms. If she had been chased off from the tribes, that could be the answer, but he hated not knowing. Either way, offering her this modicum of comfort for the time being was suitable. Even if the little golden band on the hand parting her hair felt unusually heavy.

　　"Don`t worry, I will fix this," Samuel said with a weak smile, taking her hand in his grip.

　　She somewhat retracted her hand, clearly unsure about the myriad of signals he had been trying to communicate. But Samuel pressed on and snaked his finger between her and gently squeezed.

　　"It`s alright" Samuel softly said, running his thumb through her warm satin fur.

　　Apparently, he had made the correct choice in her eyes. It took her a few moments, but she shifted from her side to her back and looked up at him thoroughly. Her golden gaze held tightly to his features, staring straight into his soul.

　　 Her supple body gradually relaxed, and she gripped his hand back. Her warmth on his lap and palm was as gentle as any summer breeze, along with the calm way she spoke, were beautiful and felt somewhat correct in his heart. He was being drawn back to a home he had not visited in years, just having her around and regrettably knew it.

　　Samuel gently reassured her wherever the Varintol woman started to sound like she was doubting what was happening, but his words brought her voice back down to its usual husky, calm tones. The vibrations of her voice were surprisingly calming, reminding him of a cat`s purr.

　　Samuel only intended to rest his eyes briefly, slouching back to relax with her. As he did, his eyelids quickly got heavy. No amount of caffeine in his system could fight off the onslaught of the all-nighter he pulled along with her talking to him about her worries and woes. Samuel`s sleep was deep and very much needed.

　　He had been stressing out too much with this. He had plenty of time to fix the translator and needed to worry a bit about himself. He wondered if the massive woman resting on his lap had a point when she forced him to eat earlier. As his eyes closed for the last time this day, he wondered. Did she plan this somehow?

　　—

　　Samuel awoke to the Varintol woman gently jostling him awake. He grumbled and groaned, begging for a few more minutes. His over-exhausted brain could not comprehend that he had genuinely fallen asleep for any actual length of time.

　　He halfway argued more about sleeping longer until he felt warm, soft lips pressing against his. For yet another time in the last few days, his body reacted without his mind`s consent or conscious consideration.

　　As he woke up he gently cupped her soft cheeks and deepened the kiss slightly. They held it until he awoke further. Throughout the blissful kiss, as far as his semi-conscious mind could tell, he was kissing his dearly departed wife while dreaming—Right?

　　Samuel realized what was happening when the Varintol woman spoke in her deep, husky voice, and her warm breath tickled his beard.

　　Samuel pressed back from her, not quickly in any manner, but almost confused. He brought his fingers to his lips and ran through the ending of that dream. That was his wife during the last few moments, right? He was unsure, and that was what bothered him.

　　Samuel looked over at the clock above the main door. When did it get so late? The sun would be going down any minute. He groaned and ran a hand over his eyes, rubbing out any of the last remnants of sleep. He lost an entire day. How on earth did he end up falling asleep?. He would already have the translator finished right now if he had managed to stay awake.

　　The Varintol woman pulled his attention back to her. Samuel`s jaw nearly dislocated seeing the sight he landed on. He was undoubtedly correct. Red was indeed her color.

　　The Varintol woman was standing off the side of the table, gesturing at herself slowly while somewhat popping out one of her hips. He could tell he did manage to get the measurements she needed correct, at least most of them.

　　The rose-red jumpsuit hugged her graceful curves perfectly, outlining every detail of her significant figure. The Varintol woman was so tantalizingly that Samuel had difficulty moving his eyes from one part of her gorgeous body to another.

　　The sleeves ended just at her wrists and had small zippers she could use to seal the arms off from snow, not that she would mind the snow.

　　 The legs were a smidge too short and hugged her tree trunk-like thighs tightly. But she did not wear boots or shoes at all, so Samuel doubted she would mind having them be that way; she wasn`t like him and needed to tuck his base layer into his boots to keep snow and cold out.

　　The only other areas he might have to adjust if he refabricates clothes for her would be the chest, shoulders, and butt.

　　The shoulders and butt seemed slightly tight when she turned about and moved. Her deltoids were clearly visible beneath the thin layer of fabric, along with her extensive mountain-like traps. Her musculature could put any powerlifter or him to shame.

　　Her butt was in no way smaller and was made no less gravitic by her new attire. Samuel could still imagine sinking his fingers in. But shook that thought from his mind when why he needed to expand the chest area was obvious by her turning and leaning forward.

　　The front zipper did not make it past the midpoint of her breasts. Samuel could hear the metal screaming in agony as it tried to contain the supple fatty mass within her red jumpsuit. Samuel was never good at fabricating clothes. His were so ill-fitting for that reason.

　　She spread her arms wide and smiled brightly, proud she managed to slip into the clothes. Samuel partly wanted to have her put back on her original clothes. But fuck, even he had to admit, the fact the jumpsuit showed off every curve, soft fat roll, and intense muscle was better than her being nearly naked.

　　Something about being unable to easily see the more primal details scratched an Itch Samuel did not even think he had anymore. His mouth was practically watering. The old engineer could not remember the last time he felt like this about anyone. Why in God`s universe was this Varintol pressing him so much?

　　She stepped closer, obviously exaggerating her hip sway. Dammit, she knew; there was no way she did not know what effect this was having on him.

　　She grabbed his hand and excitedly purred words in his ear. The growl in her voice crawled down his spine and burrowed deep in his mind. Nestling deep and caressing the Unga Gunga caveman that led to his first folly in bed with her.

　　"You look—amaz—," Samuel started but snipped his comment early and everted his eyes. His heart stammered while he frantically searched for something to say

　　She encouraged him with a gentle mumble and a caress of his shoulder.

　　"How do they fit?" He squeaked.

　　She smiled and gently cupped his chin, forcing him to look at her. She mumbled a few words before smiling, showing off her long, sharp fangs. Samuel felt the subtle scent of flowers on her, tugging his head closer. He was moments away from giving in before he caught himself.

　　 He leaned back, thank high heaven she let him. That was about to be him fumbling himself yet again.

　　He shot up and slipped past the oh-so-tempting Varintol. Her body heat was trying to drag him closer.

　　"Let`s go eat," Samuel coughed.

　　Samuel was fixing that translator tonight. He can`t keep living like this. The whiplash of every morning, night, and sight of her was killing him. He felt like he was losing his mind.