Chapter 45
Hattie
Humming softly, Hattie lazily ran her fingers over Tuvo’s newly shortened hair. She was using his jaguar pelt as a blanket, but really only from the pelvis down. She was naked. He was naked, laid out on top of her. The fur between them felt positively sinful.
He was positioned between her legs, resting his arms on her thighs, his face nuzzling against her belly as he spoke to their pup in ancient Domtri.
She was barely pregnant. Her embryo wasn’t even tadpole shaped yet, much less capable of hearing, but he was still talking to it. Saying words and phrases she didn’t understand.
She had woken up that way. She didn’t remember falling asleep, or him pulling out of her at some point in the night. She just opened her eyes, and he was already there, talking to their baby. And he had to know she was awake, but neither of them spoke to each other yet.
“What are you saying?” She finally asked when he laid his head down as though listening.
He didn’t answer right away. He turned and pressed a kiss to her belly before looking up at her.
“I’m telling her to fight me.”
Surprised, she burst into laughter. “Fight you? She doesn’t even have limbs yet!”
“I fail to see how that matters. You can fight without limbs.”
“Or a heartbeat. Or a proper shape. She’s a circle. I don’t even think she’s like a solid circle. She was just the outline of a circle. Very hard for circles to fight.”
Tuvo wasn’t laughing along with her. His face was pinched, surprisingly serious. Her mirth faded as she continued stroking his head.
“Why are you telling our daughter to fight you?”
“I…” He hesitated as though trying to gather his thoughts. “I want her to be strong.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
“But I’m still not comfortable with her.” He winced. “I don’t want her there.”
Hattie tilted her head curiously. She was a little too comfortable with Tuvo now to be hurt when he said something. She knew he rarely meant it in a bad way, he just had difficulties explaining himself.
“Do you not want pups?”
“I do.” He didn’t even hesitate.
“Do you not want me to have your pups?”
“No. I don’t.”
Her heart tensed, but she kept going. “Because you don’t want her to hurt me?”
“Yes.” His hand clenched against her hips as that tension eased as quickly as it came. “I want her. More than anything – except you – I want her. But I’m terrified that she’s going to hurt you when she comes out.”
“That’s just part of labor, Tuvo.”
He shook his head. Rejecting the very idea. It was so sweet that he cared about her that much. And that was the problem. He cared so much, he couldn’t be happy she was pregnant, despite how much he wanted their baby.
“So, you want to fight her because you don’t want her to hurt me?”
“No. I want to fight her to make her strong. Because I don’t want her to be hurt either.”
“You want to train her,” she said, understanding.
The domini were a violence loving species.
She had seen Atem playing with Viktor and it was usually him tempting Viktor into hitting his hand – like a tiny boxer in training.
Aggressive without any aggression. He would snarl and growl at him while he was doing it – and Viktor would respond with a purr since he was still too young to growl.
It was like a mama cat training her kittens to hunt. And Tuvo was doing the same. He was already taunting their pup, urging her to fight.
In a way, it was kind of cute. And meaningful.
“She’ll be strong,” Tuvo said, as though the declaration was a prediction of the future.
“I’ll train her. Like I did Atem. I’ll make her a powerful warrior.
But the most important part of being a fighter is knowing when not to fight.
So, I have to teach her properly. I need her to fight me, not you.
She has to know she can’t hurt you. So, I’m telling her to fight me.
To leave you alone. To not cause you pain. ”
Hattie’s heart melted. “Tuvo, that’s not really how it works.”
“I know, but…”
But he had to do something. She could read the rest of the sentence on his face. He was happy to have a pup, but he was scared for her, so he was doing the only thing he could.
“Maybe wait until she’s vaguely person shaped,” Hattie said, stroking his head, not trying to take this small comfort from him.
“No. She needs to learn to fight even at a disadvantage.”
Hattie laughed. He sounded so serious, glaring at her belly as though their tiny embryo daughter had been sassing him.
“Maybe she’ll want to be a chef like me. Hm?”
“In that case, she can learn to stab people. That’s a very respectable way of fighting.”
Hattie threw her head back, guffawing loudly as he kissed her belly. The affectionate kisses were in such direct contrast to his challenging tone.
“I’m also promising to protect you,” he continued, softer this time. “The idea of her is still… uncomfortable. But I can protect you. I can make sure she’s safe by keeping you safe. I’ll get used to her, Hattie. But for now, it’s enough that I have you.”
“It’s okay,” she assured him. “It’s a big deal. Take your time, alright?”
He grunted in agreement and returned to whispering things at their baby. Now that she knew what he was saying, she could hear the tiny, almost imperceptible growls he made as he baited her. He already sounded exactly like Atem playing with Viktor.
And Hattie found it telling that he hadn’t actually mentioned a fear of being a father. He was just uneasy about their baby because he was afraid of the labor process. She couldn’t be mad at him when he was only concerned about her welfare.
The flashing of his combot alerted them of an incoming voice call and he answered it without lifting his head from her belly.
“Tuvo, Survii and Alanna are heading down to Earth to sign the treaty,” Atem said without bothering with niceties.
“Do they need me to come with them?”
“No. It’s just going to be the two of them. They’re only staying long enough to get the human written signature and our biosignature, then they’re coming back.”
“Are we leaving Earth?” Hattie interjected, frowning. She still hadn’t had the chance to see her parents – though she had placed a call with them late last night between rounds.
“No,” he said again, prompting a sigh of relief. “That’s why I need Tuvo.”
“What is it?” He asked, turning to rest the side of his head on her belly, looking at the combot like it might be a holovid call.
“While you were gone, Survii added a slight amendment to our deal. The treaty is staying the same, but now we have opened the door to negotiations about using our resources as its protectorate in order to police Earth ourselves.”
“What?” Hattie said, shocked. “You… How did you manage that?” She couldn’t imagine any governing body on Earth willingly giving up power that way. Or allowing themselves to be beholden to aliens dispensing justice.
“It’s just open to negotiation for now. And I imagine it will predominantly involve alien affairs taking place on Earth. I need Tuvo down here so we can start working on a plan for how we’re going to do this. I’m sure the humans will have opinions as well, but we’ll deal with that later.”
“Do you need me down there now?”
“You can linger if you like,” he said, all traces of aggression gone. Tuvo had claimed her, Atem didn’t need to be protective and aggressive anymore. “I just want to get a head start on it before Survii comes back so we can begin the negotiations immediately.”
“I’ll message you when I’m leaving.”
Atem thanked him and ended the comm. Tuvo focused right back on her belly.
“So, does that mean I have time to visit my parents?” She asked, smiling.
“Why don’t we just have your parents visit you?”
Startled, she stared down at him. “You mean… like, bring my parents to the Stor?”
“Yes. Why not?”
“Well, because… I mean, I thought no one was allowed.”
“They’re not allowed to bring advanced technology down to Earth. They’re allowed up here as long as we agree to host them. Besides, the treaty is being signed. Immigration is allowed. Why not just invite them to come to Turv with us?”
Hattie shot up, disturbing him. “You… You want my parents to move in with us?”
“Well, the tree my clan lives on is certainly big enough.” He pushed himself up, looking her over curiously. “It’s where my parents stay when they aren’t off touring the universe. My uncle and cousins live there. It’s what a clan does. They live near each other.”
She just stared, shocked.
He frowned. “I’m not saying they’d stay in our den. They’d have their own home on the tree. I just figured if you’d prefer them close… I mean, they’d have to agree of course. I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong again?”
“What? No!” She raced to assure him, beaming. “I just didn’t think… You really don’t mind bringing my parents with us?”
“If they don’t mind going. Romival invited Holly’s family.”
“What?! Really? Are they coming?”
“They said no. Her brothers all have lives and females, and a male, they don’t want to leave. Her parents don’t want to be that separated from them and their friends. But they did demand a visit at least once an Earth year.”
“So, my parents can really come?” She beamed, throwing her arms around his neck. “Tuvo, you’re the best!”
He hesitated a moment, as though making sure that she really was happy about this, but after a second relaxed and put his arms around her.
She honestly didn’t know what her parents would say to an invitation like that, but it meant everything that Tuvo was willing to make it. And if they did come, she could have the best of both worlds on Turv.
“I love you so much,” she said, face buried in his neck.
It was a while before he managed to escape the room to find Atem.