“It’s fine,” you lied. The man’s forehead glowed. “Where am I?” You asked.

“Let me get you a painkiller,” the man said to you.

“Who are you?” You asked.

“My name’s Quaz,” he said. “What’s yours?”

“Y/N.” You watched him as he opened the cabinets on his wall. “Where are we?” You asked.

“A place called the quantum realm, y/n,” he answered. “Where are you from?” He asked. He handed you a pill and a glass of something you thought was water, but ended up tasting sweet.

“Umm…Earth?” You said, not sure what the answer for this situation was. Wherever you were didn’t feel like anything you had known.

“I’ve heard of it,” Quaz said lightly.

“Are we on Earth now?” You asked.

“No,” he told you.

“Do you know how I got here?” You asked.

“I was hoping you would,” he said. “You just sort of…appeared here two days ago.”

“Are we in danger?” You asked. Quaz’ heart did a somersault. You already trusted him. He was glad. He’d been looking after your unconscious form for the last two days. He would key into your dreams every now and then and he had been anxious to speak to you.

“Not immediately, but the quantum realm isn’t a safe place,” he admitted.

“How do we leave?” You asked. He gave you a sad look.

“We don’t,” Quaz told you.

“You’re trapping me here?” You asked.

“No, no. It’s just the way it is here. Nobody here knows how to get out,” he said.

“Nobody? Who else is here?” You asked. The door to the room you were in opened and a tall and intimidating woman walked in with a weapon in her hand.

“Me,” the woman said. She glared down at you and you shrunk into the corner.

“Jentorra, calm down. She isn’t lying to me,” Quaz said. He stood and put a hand against Jentorra’s shoulder to slow her. His forehead flashed as he looked at you. “She’s scared.”

“Where did you come from?” Jentorra asked you sharply.

“I’m f-from Queens,” you squeaked nervously.

“Queens? You’re royalty?” She asked.

“N-no. Queens is a city in N-New Y-York,” you stuttered.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how I got here,” you said. Jentorra looked over at Quaz.

“She’s telling the truth,” he informed her.

“Figure out what she knows,” Jentorra ordered before leaving again. Quaz sat back down. You had pulled your legs into your chest and curled into the corner. The way you looked at him was different now. He didn’t like it. He had lost your trust.

“What are you going to do to me?” You asked nervously.

“I’m going to protect you,” Quaz said automatically. You raised an eyebrow. His forehead glowed again.“You can believe me. I’m going to keep you safe.”

“You can read my mind, can’t you?” You asked. Quaz smiled.

“I can,” he admitted.

“Did you read my mind while I was asleep?” You asked.

“A little. Dreams don’t tell me much, but yours were pretty,” he said. “Is that beach real?” He asked. Your cheeks burned.

“Yeah,” you said. “I went there when I was a kid.” You paused. “What’s going on? Why are you keeping me here?”

“Jentorra just wants to make sure that you’re not a spy,” he said.

“A spy for who?” You asked. Quaz’ forehead flashed.

“His name is Kang,” Quaz told you.

“I’ve never heard of him,” you said.

“I know,” Quaz assured you. “I can tell you’re not here to hurt anyone,”

“Will you let me go then?” You asked.

“Of course,” he assured you. You nodded and started to rise. “You might want to stay though. This place is very different from what you’re used to,” he said. You hesitated.

“Can you show me?” You asked. Quaz smiled. He was winning you back.

“Yeah. Come with me.” Quaz proceeded to show you around the quantum realm. He told you about Kang and the quantumnauts. He introduced you to a few people. He got you something to eat. He found you some clean clothes.

His tour continued and you were in the hustle and bustle of the camp. The metal box next to you started moving like it was alive and you screamed in terror. You jumped into Quaz’ body, wrapping your arms around him tightly and hiding your face in the crook of his neck. He chuckled lightly. He rubbed your back softly.

“It’s alright,” Quaz soothed. “You’ll get used to all of this.” You released him and watched as the apparently alive box walked away from you. He ended his tour at a lookout point. You weren’t sure how to describe what you were looking at. You had never seen anything like it, but it was beautiful.

“Thank you,” you said as the two of you sat down on the edge of a glowing rock. “For everything.”

“It’s nothing,” Quaz said.

“It’s not nothing. You’ve been taking care of me and you didn’t even know me,” you said.

“I could see that you were good,” he said. You smiled and your cheeks warmed.

“What am I going to do now?” You asked him suddenly, the smile falling from your face.

“You can stay with me,” he offered. “The guest room is yours if you’d like it.” Your lips briefly turned upwards.

“But what do I do now?” You asked. “I don’t know anything about this place. How do I just…start living here?” Quaz was quiet.

“I don’t know,” he said finally. “This is all I’ve ever known. And it’s hard,” he admitted. “But there’s still good parts. I’ll help you find a way to live here.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You asked.

“Your dreams were pretty. Dreams are hard for me to read because they’re different from thoughts, but your dreams were beautiful. They felt happy,” he said.

“You must’ve caught me on a good night,” you said. “I usually have nightmares.”

“About what?” He asked. A short silence fell.

“Please don’t read my mind,” you asked. Quaz closed his mouth and nodded. The glow on his forehead died.

“Okay,” he agreed. “I won’t.”

You spent the next two months living with Quaz in his spare bedroom. He got you a job and helped you to acclimate to your new environment. He couldn’t have been happier to have you living with him. He had never had anyone to come home to before. He was thoroughly smitten by you, but he was doing his best to keep it under wraps. He didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable living with him and he knew you didn’t have anywhere else to go.

Quaz didn’t read your mind, just as you’d asked, but at night when you were dreaming he couldn’t help but indulge himself. He really did love your dreams. They were unlike any he had ever seen before. Whenever he sensed you having one of your nightmares he would tune out, never wanting to invade your privacy. He always made sure to wake you somehow though—banging on the floor or slamming a drawer. He wouldn’t allow you to suffer. One night he woke to hear you crying. He knocked on the door to your bedroom. You fell silent for a moment.

“Come in!” You called, your voice shaking. Quaz opened the door. You were sitting cross legged with a blanket wrapped around your shoulders.

“Are you alright?” He asked softly.

“I’m fine,” you lied. Quaz’s forehead glowed.

“No, you’re not,” he said.

“You said you wouldn’t do that,” you complained.

“I’m worried about you,” he defended. “You’re crying in the middle of the night.”

“I just miss my family,” you lied. You wiped your tears away on the back of your hand. Quaz could tell you were lying without reading your mind. He sat down on the edge of your bed, keeping his feet on the floor and leaving a respectable distance between the two of you.

“Are you sure? You haven’t talked about them since you got here,” he said. He didn’t want to push you, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t wish that you’d feel comfortable enough to confide in him. You sighed.

“I don’t miss them,” you said. “I just had a nightmare.”

“You can tell me anything, you know?” Quaz told you. “I’m here for you.”

“You know what happened to me…don’t you?” You asked.

“I haven’t read your mind,” he assured you. “I do look at your dreams sometimes, but when they’re nightmares I stop,” he told you. “If you don’t want to talk about what’s bothering you, it’s fine. But I want you to know that I’ll listen. No matter what,” he said. A tear slipped down your cheek. You opened your mouth to speak but closed it again. You took a deep breath.

“Could you just read my mind?” You asked. “I want you to know, but it’s hard to talk about.” Quaz nodded.

“Sure,” he said. “Just think about what you want me to know.” You nodded. You focused on the memories that brought you so much pain and watched as Quaz’ forehead lit up. His expression fell after only a second. More tears began falling as you saw his smile fall. He reached up and wiped them away, his hand cupping your face.

“Oh, y/n,” Quaz cooed. “I’m so sorry.” You turned your cheek into his touch.

“It’s okay. It’s been a long time,” you sniffled. “And I’m not there anymore.”

“What can I do?” He asked. “I want to take care of you,” he confessed. His cheeks burned the moment the words left his mouth, but he meant them.

“You’ve been doing a pretty good job of taking care of me already,” you said. Quaz smiled softly.

“I’ll keep taking care of you for as long as you’ll let me,” he said before he could stop himself. You paused.

“What are we doing, Quaz?” You asked nervously.

“What do you mean?” He countered.

“There’s something between us, isn’t there?” You pushed. “Please don’t tell me this is all in my head.”

“It’s not,” Quaz said at once.

“Then what are we doing?” You asked. He hesitated.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he told you.

“Uncomfortable?” You questioned.

“You can stay here,” he assured you. “I’m not going to make you leave unless you want to. And if you want to leave I’ll help you find somewhere else to go.” You smiled softly.

“You know, it gets kind of cold in here at night,” you said.

“Oh?” He asked, confused by the sudden change in topic. “I could get you another blanket,” he offered.

“No, I think it might just be the room,” you said. “Maybe I should share with you.” You smirked. Quaz chuckled.

“There’s plenty of room in my bed for two,” he told you.

“I was hoping you would say that,” you said. You climbed out of bed, but Quaz grabbed your hand and stopped you before you could leave the room.

“Can I kiss you first?” He asked. You grinned.

“Please?” You requested. Quaz didn’t need any more encouragement. He pulled you into his body, his hands sliding onto your hips. He moved his lips against yours slowly. His tongue dipped into your mouth, you let out a small and happy hum and Quaz pulled away with a chuckle.

“So cute,” he murmured before pressing his lips back against yours. Your hands were running up and down the soft fabric of his shirt. When you pulled apart the two of you both kept your eyes closed for another moment, overwhelmed by the way the kiss had made you feel.

“I know it’s selfish, but I’m glad you came here. However it happened,” Quaz told you. You smiled.