Chapter 37
Misty
It was the day before the day before the ceremony. Meaning, she had to separate from Tsok when they went to bed. They were supposed to spend the entire day apart, not just twenty-four hours – or the Kree equivalent, as their days were slightly longer.
They had been spending all their time together lately. She didn’t want to stop. It was only one day apart, but it somehow felt like years spread out before them. She was a lonely bride seeing her husband off on a long sea voyage, uncertain when he’d ever return. A bit dramatic, but on the other side of this wait, there was a large change. They would officially be mated. It made the wait somehow seem longer.
It also made the hours, the marks, of today seem to go by that much faster. It seemed like they just woke up for breakfast, and now the sun was setting and they were cozied up in his room of the Glass Manor while she did his braids. He was lying out on the bed, face down, as she straddled his waist, working on his back. She’d already braided his arm from the wrist up to the shoulder. She just finished the swirling pattern on his chest that covered his left pec, and now she was finishing up on his back over his shoulder blade.
It had taken a while to get here, but he was endlessly patient. He moved as she demanded without question or protest as she worked. He was wearing only a pair of flowy pants, letting his tail be completely free, totally relaxed.
And they talked, planning their life together.
Really, not much was changing. His house, Glass Manor, was given to him as the Char until the day he retired. Similarly, Fellbud Manor was hers as the charina until he retired. He made plenty of credz as the char, so when they did retire, they’d be able to move into one place together. Until then, they could just go between the two as they were already doing.
Her job wasn’t changing, neither was his. So, that would be the same. However, they did discuss their inevitable family.
After all, the rut would only stop when she was pregnant. The end result of this was going to be a baby between them. And they really hadn’t talked about that much.
The logistics of having the baby were easy to discuss thanks to Tsok. He was rather pragmatic about it, in fact. They’d both have a room turned into a nursery in their manors, and they’d bring their kit with them to whichever manor they were staying in that night. Tsok said he’d handle ordering all the supplies a kit might need – food, furniture, clothes, etc.
Both of them had to actually look up what kreecharma kits would need. Misty didn’t know because she was human, and Tsok had no idea because he had nothing to do with the kit centers. They also planned to ask Vigo and Jeanie as they had two hybrid sons that they raised on their own.
Misty fully expected to be the primary caretaker. Not really because she was the mom and that’s probably how things would go naturally, but also because Tsok really had no idea about kits. At all. Childcare was completely isolated in the kit centers. The normal person would rarely ever see anyone below the age of adolescence. Misty had never had her own kids, but she’d watched her friends’ kids, her cousins’ kids. She’d even played with clients’ kids when she was working sometimes. She wasn’t exactly experienced, but she definitely knew more than Tsok.
However, to her surprise, he talked like he fully intended to be just as involved as herself.
“I’d rather they not be raised in a kit center,” he was saying. “Boktare and Fia sent their younglings to the kit centers after their birth. They check on them periodically, but I’d rather we keep our kits at home and only send them to kit centers for education when they’re older.”
“Yeah,” Misty smiled as she worked. “I’d prefer that as well.”
“I figured you would. I read that human females bond tightly to their young.”
“Yeah, we do,” she nodded in agreement. “I can definitely bring my baby with me to work to watch them during the day too. Benefit of running my own salon.”
“I could easily do the same. Especially since I do most of my work in the office.”
“Huh? You’re willing to watch the baby like that?”
“Of course.” He turned his head, looking at her. “Why would I not?”
“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “I just wouldn’t really expect a man to look after a baby in their office.”
“But you’d expect to look after a kit in your salon?”
“Yes, but I’m the mom.”
“And I’d be the father,” he added, still sounding confused.
Misty could only laugh, finishing off the end of the braid. She secured it in place before running her fingers down the pattern she created down his back. It was complex and beautiful. She was unbelievably proud looking at it. These braids, these designs, this business, was something she had built for herself here on Kree. As was this family she was forging with Tsok.
“I can’t wait to marry you too,” she said, repeating words he’d given to her days prior.
Tsok turned, sitting up. He cupped her cheek, nuzzling the side of her head.
“I’ll spend the rest of our lives making sure you’re happy, Misty, my love.”
She smiled, leaning into him. “I’m already happy, sugar. I’ve never been this happy.”
“This is only the start.”