Page 14

Aldo

I step off the ship, thankful to have my feet on solid ground once more. I carry all our bags while Gendry carries the precious cargo that is our daughter, MJ.

It’s still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I’m a father. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my life going down this path. I’m on an alien planet for god’s sake! No one could have prepared me for this! Even so, I know this is the path I was destined for. Everything here feels so good, so right.

I look around, gazing at all the faces staring back at me. Beautiful rainbow men as far as the eye can see. They all look so happy to see us, leaving me feeling welcome. Beyond them, is the city and beyond the city is green like I’ve never seen before. It’s bright and lush and alive. The air here smells so crisp and fresh.

My head is spinning. It’s still so hard to believe that we’ve made it to a completely different planet. I can’t seem to wrap my head around it yet, like I’m going to fall asleep tonight and wake up back in my little apartment on Earth.

Mama takes my hand, looking around in awe. “I think I’m going to like it here,” she whispers to me. I can’t help but grin.

“Me too, Mama. Me too.”

A Layperry man walks up to us. He’s beautiful in a way that’s hard to describe. Like an elf or a fairy. His skin is pale white and he has long platinum white hair that runs down his back. He holds himself in a way that demands respect and I find myself straightening unconsciously. Despite the aura of authority he exudes, he’s gentle and soft.

“Hello,” he says with a kind smile. “Welcome to Deltourah . This is our capital city, Shentellah . I am very pleased to meet you. I am Ghenie.”

“It’s really nice to meet you. Gendry has talked about you a lot.”

Gendry steps off the ship, his voice booming as he calls out, “Ghenie!”

Ghenie’s face breaks out into a wide grin, his eyes shining with joy. Gendry steps over to him, pulling him into a tight hug, careful not to squish MJ. “And who is this?” Ghenie asks, placing his hands on Gendry’s shoulder and looking down at our daughter.

“This is MJ, my daughter. You’ve met Aldo, my partner. Beside him is my mother-in-law, Maria.”

“I never expected this when you left,” Ghenie says softly. His eyes dart between Gendry’s. “Are you happy?”

“More than I can say with words,” he says, putting his hand on Ghenie’s shoulder, matching his posture. The two of them get very close, their forehead almost touching. My guess is that they’re communicating their emotions through the bond that they share. A tiny part of me is jealous that someone besides me is inside Gendry’s head but that’s something I need to get used to now that we’re here. This is his family, his brothers. The bond they share doesn’t affect the bond that we have between the two of us. Gendry deserves both in his life.

“Oh,” Ghenie says softly. “That’s lovely. I am so very happy for you, Gendry.”

“Thank you, Toralleh .”

“I say this as your friend, not your Toralleh . You deserve this.”

From this angle, I can see the baby that’s strapped to Ghenie’s back. As far as I can tell, she’s human with bright eyes and messy brown hair on top of her head. I don’t have a lot of experience with children but if I had to guess, I’d say she was a few months older than MJ.

Gendry is about to say something else but someone gently pushes him to the side. Christian steps out of the ship. He looks around until his eyes land on Ghenie. I suck in a sharp breath as Christian grabs him by the front of his shirt, tugs him down into a kiss right on the mouth, before shoving him away and heading deeper into the crowd.

Christian walks over to a human man, pulling him into a hug, pretending like he didn’t just kiss the leader of this planet square on the mouth. What the fuck was that?

Ghenie touches his lips before turning his face away, trying to compose himself. Then he turns towards the crowd, holding up his hands. Just like that, he’s back to being everyone’s leader, completely put together and in control.

“We welcome everyone here whether they’re returning or only just starting their stay here! Tonight, we celebrate!”

Then Ghenie carefully swings the harness on his back around so he can take the baby out and hold her against his chest. He walks away into the crowd, disappearing before I can see where he actually goes.

I raise my brow at Gendry. “What was that about?”

“An overdue kiss between people holding themselves back.”

“They got history?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“What an interesting introduction to this new planet,” Mama murmurs, looking around. “Is everyday like that? I’ll need to get my implant as soon as possible so I don’t miss any of the drama!”

“Mama!”

“What? I’m just saying!”

The three of us chuckle as we head deeper into the city. That night, we get ourselves comfortable in our new house. MJ sleeps in her bassinet beside our bed and Mama has her own suite connected to our home. I was worried she wouldn’t be able to sleep with how excited by everything she was.

I lean against Gendry’s side, looking down at MJ as she sleeps. She looks so much like me when I was a baby. My heart feels so content and full and warm. Gendry’s tail wraps around my middle, holding on tight.

I’m happy .

Gendry hums and my chest somehow manages to warm even further.

As am I. I am so thankful that I’ve met you. I’m so thankful that you agreed to come home with me.

I’m happy to see other people with hair like yours. I hope I can talk some people into letting me be their hairstylist.

Gendry runs his fingers down my spine. I’ll talk them into it if I need to .

If someone told me last year that my heart would lead me across the universe I would have laughed. As I stand beside my mate, staring down at my daughter, I’m overwhelmed by how glad I am to be here. I have everything I might need, everything I didn’t know I wanted.

I miss my extended family, the ache in my chest is bright and burning because everything is so new but Gendry promised we can go back to Earth to visit. He explained there will be more exchanges and during one of them, we can go back or if they’d like, they could come here. We might be a galaxy away but we have ways of seeing each other again. This wasn’t a goodbye, it was a see you later.

“Come,” Gendry whispers into my hair. “Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow we can start looking at buildings for your new business endeavor.”

“Thank you,” I say softly, letting Gendry lead me into our bed. Gendry wraps himself around my back, holding me.

“For what?”

“For loving me. For taking a chance on me. For following your heart even when I was ready to back off. I love you, Gendry.”

Gendry nuzzles the back of my head. “I love you. Thank you for doing the same for me. You are mine and I am yours until the Ancestors call us to their side.”

That sounds like a perfect plan to me.

The End