Chapter 47
Holly
She didn’t remember falling asleep. She only knew that one moment, she was underneath Romival, feeling him claiming her again, then nothing.
Either she had come so hard she passed out, or she got so fuck drunk her brain simply refused to convert anything after that to long term memory.
Bliss overload. Maybe a combination of the two.
All she knew was that it was definitely morning now, the sunlight barely brightening the now untinted windows.
The bed underneath her was warm and dry – to her surprise – and she was vaguely aware of a pair of lips kissing down the small of her back and over the curve of her ass. Her lips turned up in a smile.
“Romi…”
She felt his grin against her skin. “You are awake, vi Vakara.”
“What time is it?”
“Time for me to ravish my female again.”
She chuckled, turning over onto her back and smiling down at him as he instead began peppering her belly with kisses. She ran her fingers through his hair and was distracted by the shine of her crystal ring.
He caught her gaze and grinned, lifting himself up. “You really like it, don’t you?”
“It seems so silly,” she said, shaking her head even as she brought her hand to her heart, holding that precious ring close. “It means nothing here. I know that. But it’s like… I don’t know.”
“It’s a piece of your home that you finally get to keep. It’s not silly.” He lifted her hand and pressed a kissed a kiss to her ring. “I’m to wear one too, correct?”
“Yeah. Do you…”
Her voice trailed off as he reached up to the headboard and pulled out one of the drawers and, of course, pulled out his own ring. He was about to put it on but stopped before offering it to her with a smile.
“Sorry. This was for you to do, yes?”
“Yes.” She giggled, sitting up and taking the ring. There was something so immensely satisfying about sliding it onto his finger. Like he said, a piece of home that was finally returned to her. No big wedding, no white dress, not even her family, but at least there was this.
She released Romival’s hand, and he looked it over for a second before clenching his fist a couple times and smiling.
“There’s a weight to it that comes with the meaning,” he said, smiling at her. “You are mine by human terms as well now?”
Holly laughed. “Yes. Er, Romi?”
“Hm?”
“Do you… I mean, you really think you’re going to find Earth soon?”
He cocked his head, giving her a curious look. “Are you worried I will, or I won’t?”
She bit her lip, leaning back against the headboard. “Both? Neither. I don’t know. I miss home. I want to see my family. But I’m nervous.”
“About bringing an alien home?”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. It was a ridiculous statement. “Yeah. I mean, I know my mom will love you. My dad will probably be super suspicious just because, you know, alien. But my family are good people, they’re open minded.”
“It’s the rest of your planet you’re worried about.”
“Yeah,” she brightened as he sat beside her, putting his arm over her shoulders and pulling her close to his side. “How’d you know?”
He chuckled. “Every planet has that worry when they’re first introduced to the greater universe. It’s why the Coalition has so many rules for meeting a new species. Do you think your species is ready to meet aliens?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to say yes, the other part of me knows that we can barely handle not being prejudiced to each other much less someone from another planet.”
Romival chuckled, kissing her temple. “Be easy, vi Vakara. The Coalition has the Standard for a reason. Even if your people are outright hostile, there are plans and procedures in place for dealing with them safely as well as slowly integrating into your society despite them.
“All I care about is that your family likes me. That they accept me. Because your family means so much to you and, even when you join my clan, it doesn’t end your relationship with them. I want them to feel welcome in our life, even if it’s lightyears away.”
Nothing he said could have melted her heart as much as those words. She smiled, resting her head down on his shoulder. “They’ll love you. I know they will. Because you make me happy, and that’s all they want for me.”
“I will find your Earth as soon as possible,” he promised. “I will return your family to you even if I have to go to the Coalition and petition them on your behalf myself.”
She frowned. “Will it come to that?”
“I cannot guess. There are precedents for cases such as this, but they are all dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Who is to say what the current Coalition will decide? But vi Dominani will fight for you, and being natives from a planet so far advanced works in your favor.”
“Do we have to go there? To the Coalition meeting, I mean.”
“Not if you don’t want to. Such a thing is a job for Atem, perhaps First Voice Survii, maybe even First Guardian Havali. You and I can wait here, safe and sound, for a decision to be made.”
Holly nodded, rather liking that idea. She had just gotten comfortable here on Turv. She trusted Atem and Peony to handle the whole Earth issue. She didn’t want to leave.
For now…
“I just want to stay here with you,” she said, snuggling closer.
Romival hummed in agreement, enveloping her in his embrace. “Right here, or are you perhaps open to a slight shift in location?”
That growl was back in his voice. It rumbled along her body, and she shivered in delight as she ran her fingers down his chest. “Well, it doesn’t have to be right here. We have a whole den to explore, and I am a bit hungry.”
“That won’t do,” he nuzzled the top of her head. “I must feed my female. Especially if you are carrying my pup.”
Holly threw back her head, laughing. “I am a day pregnant, if that.”
“Still. And I should clean up the claiming feast before it starts to stink.”
“We should clean up the claiming feast,” she corrected. “Then, we’ll have breakfast, and then, maybe, we can try out the scanner? I see you moved it to the bedroom.”
“Nestroom,” he corrected affectionately, his gaze darkening. “And I did. We don’t have to use it now if you’re nervous.”
“No. I want to see, too.” She couldn’t believe she just said that. Her entire face was burning, but the approving and eager look Romival gave her made the brief show of courage worth it.
And she was rewarded with a kiss that lingered much longer than initially intended.
They did finally get up and start moving around to clean what remained of the feast. Holly hadn’t even eaten half of it, and she bemoaned the wasted meat, but Romival assured her that it wasn’t wasted and that he could use it – after some processing – as fertilizer for his plants.
After cleaning up, then getting distracted kissing each other again, he brought her downstairs and showed her how the kitchen worked. It was something Holly hadn’t had to learn yet since the palace chefs did all the cooking.
But she didn't live in the palace anymore, she thought with a rush of warmth.
This was her home now and this was her kitchen.
Atem was going to have her belongings delivered later today and, she was sure, she would unpack it at some point in a couple days after Romival returned to work.
She didn't want to do it now and miss spending time with him.
Romival told her, as he showed her how the food was stored and cooked and where the trash and recycling went, that she should feel free to redecorate the space however she pleased, whenever she pleased.
“When you’re gestating, you’ll want to do that anyway,” he said, smiling at her as he placed a healthy breakfast of fruit and sweet mushrooms in front of her. “Might as well get comfortable now. The more a female feels a space isn’t hers, the worse pregnancy discomfort hits her.”
“We don’t even know if I am pregnant,” she chuckled, looking over the selection. There were some not-blueberries in the mix and, excited at seeing them again, she popped one in her mouth. It tasted really good, and she smiled at Romival as she chewed.
“If you’re not now, you soon will be,” he promised, his gaze darkening. “I’ll have to look into expanding our home if you really are capable of giving me so many pups.”
“One at a time. Hope for as many kids as you want, but only plan for the one in the most immediate future.”
“Is that a human saying?”
“Not really. It’s something my mom would tell me when I told her that I wanted a big family.” She picked up another not-blueberry. “Pregnancy is such an uncertain thing, you know? No woman carries the same as another, and she never carries the same way twice.”
Romival blinked at her, his expression oddly blank, but she continued without really noticing.
“And you never know what complications are going to hit that particular pregnancy. It would really suck to plan for three then be unable to have another after one, right? And she said, never plan for two if you haven’t had one because you never know how bad your first labor will be.”
Romival continued to stare at her, and she blinked, staring back at him.
“What?”
“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned the difficulty of labor.”
“Yeah?” She waited but he said nothing further. “Is there a question there?”
He thought for a moment before shaking his head. It wasn’t the first time she had seen him perform one of her human gestures. It was smooth, like he had practiced it, but not quite effortless. Still, the sight made her smile.
“Something to think about.” He waved the topic away before gesturing at the food. “Eat. I dusted on some nutritional powder along with some sugar crystals. Good for pregnant females.”
Holly laughed. She couldn’t help it. It wasn’t a laugh of mockery or amusement. She was just happy to see Romival so excited.
“What’s it like after a baby, er, a pup, is born?” She asked, picking at breakfast. “Like, I know domini pregnancies last a Turv year and that, after the baby’s born, they don’t want to leave the nest…”