12.

He quietly observed her, thoroughly analyzing every movement, every change in her heartbeat and breathing and every single tiny little twitch, dead set on trying to understand her behaviour.

He needed to know everything there was about her since they were traveling to a planet where she would be forced to adapt and survive.

He knew humans were naturally very different; some stronger whilst others, much similar to their animal companions tended to rely on others for survival.

It did not bother him, the thought that he would need to fight for both himself and the earthling. He only needed to be prepared, for he knew exactly what was expecting him, back home.

*At least he had advantage in strength and intensive training.*

He closely listened to that soft and serene vibration as she hummed a random tune, her palm pressed against the indestructible and see-through pane of glass as she stared into the neverending abyss of darkness with such fascination.

"Madeleine..." He tested her name, immediately noticing those light blue eyes averting from the glass pane to meet his own after a tiny startle.

They stared at each other for a moment in complete silence, the girl watching him sit across the room, onto the floor and with his back pressed against a metal-looking wall as his galaxy eyes swept over her barely-clothed form, making her feel so...aware that she was still dressed in only a pair of cotton panties and a tank top.

And like sensing her distress, his deep voice almost startled her again as he rushed to assure her,

"You don't have to be afraid. I will not touch you like that. Ever again."

Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink as if she were caught red-handed, willing herself not to think about those touches he was talking about as her gaze lowered to her bare feet.

Why did he had to keep reminding her about that?

"You need to maintain your sleeping pattern. It will be easier for you to accomodate," She heard him say after a moment, her gaze raising just in time to notice him swiftly raising back up to his feet.

Her body gave out yet another involuntary startle, warily watching him move to press a certain button right before a comfortably-looking bed popped out from the metal wall.

"You can shower first if you want to," He told her, earning himself a confused look from her before he moved to press another button right next to a door she hadn't noticed before.

She watched the opaque glass door slide away, revealing a small yet well-equipped bathroom that contained everything a human would need.

She hesitated for a moment, evidently reluctant to strip herself naked into a room he could easily enter. Not to mention that he was also the one who knew how everything worked and where everything was.

"It's okay I'm fine," She nervously answered, her arms crossing over her chest into a defensive manner.

"Could I have some proper clothes instead?" She dared ask whilst tucking a rebel strand behind her ear.

He spared her but a glance, sensing that distress within her body and the faster pump of her heart. And without another word he moved to press yet another small button attached to that same wall, the girl watching a some sort of tray slowly coming out of the wall with what appeared to be a neatly folded set of clothes.

He turned back around to watch her, still sensing that flow of stress hormones pumping through her as those blue eyes shifted between him and the set of clothes.

*Space.*

He reminded himself, taking a few steps away from the tray of clothes before he watched her tensely move towards them, carefully eyeing him the whole time as she hastily dragged the baggy pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt over her body. And with a few quick strides she was right beside the bed attached to the metal wall, giving him yet another glance before she hopped on it.

*Compliance.*

He noted, taking slow and careful strides, mindful not to startle her yet again as he moved to occupy his previous spot on the floor and right next to the bed.

The girl watched him with a certain unease, a tiny pang of guilt touching her insides as the thought of him having to sleep on the floor just to make her feel safer popped at the front of her mind.

“Don’t you need to rest too?” She timidly voiced out as she peered down at him from her seat over the spacious and comfortable bed, even though she had no possible way of adjusting his current situation since she was not going to share the bed with him anyway.

“Only when I have my energy depleted. I’m still functioning at optimal rate,” He answered, keeping his gaze trained on the large pane of glass spreading over the opposite side of the cabin.

“And do you ever get tired then?”

“I do. But only after functioning for too long without nourishment supplies and on full combat mode,”

She curiously stared at him for a moment as she most certainly did not entirely understand his answer yet she did not bother mulling over it as another thought poked at the front of her mind.

“But…what are you going to do while I sleep?”

“I’ll wait. And verify the statistics of any possible collisions with celestial debris during our travel,” He simply answered, sensing her shift her body weight over the mattress as she laid her head over the pillow, slowly giving in to her natural body’s demands.

"Do you remember what's like there, on Proxima Centauri?" He heard her ask after the passage of few Earth minutes, listening to the sounds of her slowly decreasing heart-rate as he proceeded to reply,

"I do. Even if we are reduced to complete silence and compliance, our memory remains intact because it keeps gathering data," He explained, observing the way her system reacted to the volume and vibration of his voice, sensing that steady release of serotonin, every time he uttered another word.

“Can you remember your parents too?” Her voice subtly changed, decreasing in volume as her body prepared for the sleeping phase.

“Yes,”

“And don’t you miss them?” Her speech became a little slurred, indicating that she was half-way there as he remained focused on her bodily functions, completely ignoring her last question since he had no available answer for it anyway.

After all, how could he, since he could not even identify that feeling yet, let alone tell if he could feel it or not.

“I miss mine. I sometimes even dream about them. About how happy we were, together…”

“And Tate…My dear Tate…”

He listened to her drift away as she slowly fell into a deep slumber, his calculating mind however still pondering over his newest dillema;

*Missing, to miss…*

*What was it like, to miss someone or something?*

*Could he feel it? Did he ever feel it?*