I’m participating in @.sttwtpride2026’s Pride Month challenge for the next 30 days!! I’ll post short-ish drabbles here, but make sure to check their twitter to see all of the information about the event & other people’s contributions. 💗
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⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱ Day 1: Meet Cute!
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AU: [ Project Hail Mary ]
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.𖥔 ݁ ˖ “The only thing worse than encountering an alien in space is encountering a missing person.”
“Meeting Human”
⋆˚꩜｡ The sky glowed a dark deeper than human midnight here.
Seconds slowed, voices softened, palms itched, and Mike’s mind seemed to have lost its grasp on reality.
The object spun around his ship, dancing and twirling just far enough to only graze the shell holding him.
It performed what one could consider a mating dance of sorts, at least that’s what Mike thinks. It’s the conclusion he’d reach if he saw two creatures moving with the same rhythm beneath trees and under rocks, but is it different here, where all that was around was space?
A hollow that both pulled and ignored him. Perhaps they had assumed he was too insignificant, the suns and the stars and gravity’s force—but the same could not be said for the long, golden object that had attached itself to his ship.
An arm extended from its side and suctioned to the small door he exited from, although lately, he had no reason to exit.
Except for now.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath as he zipped up the red suit. “Am I an idiot?”
The metal teeth hummed as he pulled his protective skin on. Bit by bit, fabric by fabric, he became invincible—to space, that is. He wasn’t sure he could say the same about the tunnel he idiotically decided to travel through.
Something about it was so… attractive. Not in the human way—for his humanity was long gone—but in the way a heart beats to prevent death, for life was too hauntingly addictive to let go of. Too attractive.
He tried to calm his nerves by counting the ridges lining the door, but nevertheless, they continued to jump between the crevices of his ribs and spine—cruelly.
The door let out a long, painful whine as it opened, like it was reluctant to allow him to walk through that strange tunnel.
Hesitantly, he experimented by pressing a boot into the ground, half-expecting for it to dissolve; his hallucinations had become increasingly deviant as of late.
To his surprise, it held up.
“Okay, good job.” He said to the ship—or rather, who was driving it. “It’s human-friendly.”
He shook the big flashlight in his hand. It flickered open, shaking off the specs of dust that had settled on its surfaces and ridges over the years.
In the light, the tunnel seemed darker.
It seemed even deeper, even realer, and even more attractive than it originally was.
Having been isolated for a particularly thick number of minutes, Mike’s pulse spiked at the sight. Adrenaline coursed through his veins recklessly, and he couldn’t ignore it—not just yet. He embraced the feeling, letting it take control of the legs that had grown weak during his prolonged sleep.
Despite his experiment, he held his breath as he fully lowered himself onto the tunnel ground.
“Still alive?” He asked the void.
It didn’t answer back, but it didn’t say no either.
“Oh, thank god…” he keeled over and placed a trembling on his knee.
Although, as he was slowly soaking in the fact that his life hadn’t ended with one stupid step, a sudden sound straightened his back into attention.
Bang!
His head snapped up so fast, it was a miracle he hadn’t pulled a muscle.
The sound came from the end of the tunnel, loud and echoing. Mike pointed the flashlight towards it, only to be met with a reflective surface.
“What?” He frowned in confusion.
He shook the flashlight back and forth, keeping it in the same direction, and what he had received in return was the same sight.
A reflective surface.
But how could a surface make noise?
A surface was no different to an object, despite how humans tend to describe it. Smooth, rough, blank, or reflective—it is inanimate, therefore it is silent.
Unless there is something burdened with a soul behind it.
“Hello?” Mike’s voice cracked. He cringed at the way it echoed all the way to the end of the tunnel—or at least to that reflective surface.
Nothing responded.
“Alright then,” Mike sighed. “Don’t reply to me. Just let me… watch me walk down this tunnel, probably to a death trap. You ever tried human meat before?”
As he rambled, he walked closer and closer to the reflective surface. It distracted him just enough to prevent himself from realizing the absolutely insane journey he was taking.
“I think it’s chewy. Well, with the suit it’ll be chewier.” He was close enough to touch it now—if he outstretched his arm, that is. “There’s a zipper you can pull to make it easier…” His words trailed off.
He blinked at the surface, trying to take in the sight before him.
It wasn’t reflective, just… glass. Maybe not exactly glass, but something similar enough. Something that could catch light from far away and make images to trick the human eye.
“Hello?” He tried again, clearing his throat beforehand. One voice crack was embarrassing enough.
A beat passed in silence. Whatever made that noise was stubborn, or shy, or frightened of Mike. Does he look scary? He doesn’t think so, but—
Bam! Something smacked the glass.
In training, Mike was taught a lot of things. Encountering unfamiliar species was the most interesting subject of them all. From long-headed creatures to cubes who could talk, he had accounted for every fantastical thing that could cross his path.
Although, he missed one thing.
What if, in the empty stretches of mass and stars, millions of light years away from home, he encountered another human?
The naked man blinked at him with wide, hazel eyes, brighter than any star he’d seen so far.
His mouth opened, but no noise came out. The man’s open palm remained pressed against the glass, a reminder of his humanity.
He stared at Mike with curiosity, analyzing every feature with an intensity that burnt Mike’s flesh.
His eyes flickered from feature to feature before he lifted his head and scrunched his nose.
“Human?”
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I watched PHM once like a month ago so I apologize if anything is inaccurate but wtv. This is a concept I’ve been toying around with for a while and I’m excited to share more about once I write the fic! <3
Happy Pride! ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱
