Chapter 37 Tada!
Ender smiled as Quill set down sweet tea in front of everyone, before the Fate took a seat.
He was there not because he was in his inner circle, but because he lived in Ender’s house in the underground.
Others did too, but most were away at the moment, and a few never left their room.
Regardless of who was there, the news would spread fast enough.
Looking around at the nine people at the table, he cleared his throat and announced, “In five, or hopefully, three months, we will have two new family members!”
They seemed to all collectively blink, before Kaisa tucked a strand of her forest-green hair back and asked, “Two new recruits? Why wasn’t I told about this? I assume they’ve been vetted.”
“Where are they coming from?” Kore questioned.
He shook his head. “Not new recruits…babies!”
The way their eyes widened told him they had perfected ignoring whatever was said when he and Soren argued far too damn well.
“I’m pregnant with twins, TADA,” Ender said with a small giggle, while he threw a handful of rainbow chicken-shaped confetti. He crossed his arms with a huff when they all, aside from Soren, who looked unimpressed, stared silently, their jaws dropped. “Well!?”
“C-congratulations!” Kore stuttered first, before the others followed with various amounts of awkwardness.
“Ahh, I love babies! How exciting. Congratulations, Boss,” Quill chimed in last, but with the most genuine level of excitement.
Meara, who was sporting candy-apple red hair today, cleared her throat. “So…who’s the father?”
“Fathers, with an S,” Soren traitorously drawled.
“Trap, shut, Toddles!” he snapped, before turning a glare Meara’s way.
“Never mind who, the important part is that we now need to babyproof the compound, and prepare a room for my babies to use in…three to five years. We can probably take our time with the room. That aside, I will be making a nest, so if some of your things go missing, they aren’t, they have just been commandeered. ”
He glared at the Harpy when Soren snorted.
Dessa, whose hair was currently ocean-blue, sighed. “Speaking of children, though not your own, Zenny is back in our care once more.”
Ender frowned. “Run away again?”
The eldest Manticore triplet tsked. “Tried and failed.”
He sighed, running a hand absently over his bump.
They’d managed to place the rest of the children that had been left in their care by the Bureau, and had even turned in evidence that the parents and/or guardians had been involved in their abduction.
Though the children were now considered dead by their respective governments and the world—nothing like adding a false murder charge on top of the rest.
They were just waiting for things to settle before assuring Cyrus’ people—in this case, Killian—that the children were now in safe homes and environments. However, eight-year-old Zentry ‘Zenny’ Vullen, did not want to stay put, no matter who they placed him with.
The kid seemed determined to run away, he just wasn’t sure where the tot was trying to go.
That aside, the other biggest problem was that Zenny was a Cupid, and Ender wasn’t sure he’d be able to trust whoever the kid did want to stay with.
The eight-year-old’s species was about as extinct as his was, and had been for years before the war, which made him extra cautious about placing him anywhere.
He pursed his lips, before asking, “Is he here now?”
“Yes.”
“Go get him.”
Laid back on the blanket, resting in Cyrus’ arms, with the night sky above them, Killian smiled as he held his left hand up, staring at his ring. “It’s beautiful.”
Cyrus chuckled. “I’m glad you approve.”
“You’d have been in trouble if I didn’t.”
The Fate smirked. “I know.”
Killian smiled, but it dropped slightly when his mind oddly drifted to Ender. “Do you think he’s okay?”
“Ender?”
“Didn’t even have to ask?”
“You are cuddling with me, and he is the only other person we have ever cuddled with, so I made a logical jump.”
He sighed. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t be asking about another man on the very night you proposed to me. I don’t even know why, it's just…for some reason, I randomly find myself wondering what his ass is up to? Which I know is odd…”
Cyrus kissed the top of his head. “Bring him up all you want, Killian. This moment wouldn’t have happened without him. But also—” The Fate chuckled. “—Ender runs an illegal rebel group. I often wondered, even long before this, what that ass of his was up to.”
Killian snickered. “It’s a pretty nice ass, you have to say.”
Cyrus smirked. “That it is.”
“Did you ask your family about what really happened? Or maybe your parents, as you were asking to borrow their house?”
Ender eyed the pink haired, cherub-looking kid sitting across the table from him, the Cupid just staring back.
He smiled. “So, Zenny, kiddo, where exactly do you want to be? Because while I get that it’s hard and scary going to new places, with new people and new rules, you have to stay somewhere.”
Zenny’s eyes changed from brown to blood-red, as they oddly flicked downward, before coming back up as he said, “Here.”
His brow rose at that. “You want to stay…here?”
“Yes.” The Cupid smiled, and Ender wasn’t sure why, but it made him hesitate.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t kept children long-term and raised them in the past, it just had been a long damn time.
Then there was the fact that the kid was a Cupid.
Not much was known about them. Those outside himself would likely say it was even less so than Gorgons.
But that was what long-term fertility issues, which were worse than even his own, would do to a species.
The Cupid population had dwindled in numbers long before even Ender was born.
He was surprised there were any left at this point.
And it made Zenny an unknown entity, a potentially dangerous one.
However, there was also the fact of the kid’s safety.
This would be an ideal location on that end.
The homes he’d picked so far for the kid had been ones with high security, with families that had the money to protect Zenny, mainly as he would be on the wishlist of every trafficker, and many governments. Still…
“Any particular reason?”
“Just this feeling that it’s where I need to be.”
Ender pursed his lips. “I see. Well, we do have some couples who live in the underground that may be—”
“No! I don’t want to go with anyone. I just…want to stay here, with…” Zenny hesitated, his eyes seeming to bore a bit too much into him before flicking away and saying, “Everyone.”
Ah, so the kid did have someone particular in mind. Ender supposed, until Zenny trusted them enough to tell them who, they could all watch after the kid. They would, regardless.
“I see.” He leaned back in his chair. “If that’s what you want, fine. But be warned, you may end up having more rules that way, and a horde of people trying to parent you.”
“That’s fine.”
“Are you also fine with your room being here in my area of the compound?”
“Yes!” Zenny said, almost too fast.
“There are others, if you’re not, just so you know.”
“No, here is fine. I…I like your chicken stuff.”
“Do you now?” Ender beamed, and leaned forward. “Zenny, have you ever met a live chicken before?”
The kid cocked his head, and as he blinked, his eyes returned to their natural brown, as a spark of curiosity appeared in his gaze. “No?”
“Do you want to?”
Zenny’s eyes widened. “Really?! You have chickens?! Here?!”
“Mm, a whole coop full!”
“That would be nice…I guess,” the kid muttered.
Ender smirked when Zenny looked away and tried to appear not interested. Ahh, acting like a teen before even reaching double digits, the kiddo was going to be a menace for sure.
It looked like they’d be renovating a room sooner than he thought, just not for the reason he originally planned. At least, not yet. It wasn’t like his babies would need a room for at least six years… Maybe seven. Was eight years too long to keep them in his room?
He eyed the eight-year-old currently sitting across from him. “Unrelated question to you and your living situation, I swear. But do eight-year-olds not like sleeping in the same room as their parents?”
Zenny flinched, his eyes widening in clear concern. “Uh…what?”
“I’m pregnant!” he blurted. “I promise, I’m not about to move you into someone else’s bedroom.
I was just thinking about renovating a room for my babies, and thought, maybe it was too soon, as they’d be staying with me, and like, I keep debating on what age would be best for them to get their own room.
And…is eight too old to…still…” He trailed off on seeing how pinched the kid's face had gotten. “I’m guessing, by your expression, it would be…”
“Mr. Imorus, please get them their own room by two, at the latest.”
“TWO!?” he cried. “But…but that’s too soon! Also, call me Ender. Uncle Ender, if you prefer, but never Mr. Imorus.”
“It’s not. It’s really not too soon.”
He whined. “Two…are you sure?”
The kid nodded.
Ender sagged. “If you say so… Come on, let’s go pick out your room.”
Cyrus grimaced. “I asked multiple people…and I got the same answer, to various degrees, except from my parents.”
“And?”
“The others mostly just said that the past was better left in the past, being annoyingly vague about it. While my parents were the most honest. They told me that while it was before their time, they would take the word of Ender Imorus and Soren Odette on all matters of the world over every single person on my father’s side of the family. ”
Cyrus held back the last part of what they had said, which was that it included him. So, nice to know they didn’t trust him… But, big shocker, he didn’t trust them either, so fair enough.
“So, safe to say, what we learned from Soren is no doubt the truth, and one your family isn’t willing to tell,” Killian said stiffly, before asking, “Do your parents know Ender and Soren?”
He frowned. “I don’t know…I suppose they have to…if they trust them.”
“Mmm, whatever, whatever, no more thinking about horrible things for now.” The Siren snuggled closer. “I want to nap, digest some of that delicious food, and then—” Killian giggled. “—be pampered by my man.”
He smirked. “Pampered, huh?” He tickled the Cryptid’s sides. “Like this?”
“No!” The Siren laughed as he squirmed.
Chuckling, he stopped and just relaxed back, holding the Siren tight. His smile slowly dropped as the silence formed and Killian murmured softly, obviously asleep now.
Cyrus was happy…more than happy, he was ecstatic. He was thrilled that Killian had said yes. If only the rest of his life was going as well as his relationship… He still couldn’t see anything…
Having thought about it, he really hadn’t used the threads purposely in his daily life, at least, not for many years now, at work or otherwise.
But they would naturally show up on their own throughout the day, and now that they didn’t, and he couldn’t read them at all, Cyrus found himself questioning every action he took, wondering if it was the right one, and panicking that he now had no way to know if it was.
Things between him and Killian were wonderful… The Siren made him feel grounded. Cyrus had honestly never felt so grounded, yet so utterly fucking lost in all his life…