Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Shathar
Nothing is as pristine as being inside Khesan while he fucks our mate.
Though I can’t see his face, I can hear his cries of pleasure, and they drive me to thrust inside him even harder.
I know I ought to be gentle, but it’s difficult when Khesan gets so tight around me.
He clenches and groans, and I know he’s close.
I squeeze his cheeks in my clawed fingers as I near my own finish, nearly blinded by how good they feel underneath me.
I can easily spend the rest of my life like this, I think, as I soar over the edge. I spurt inside of Khesan while he continues pumping inside Fiona, and she grips the blankets and screams as she, too, meets her climax.
We are very good at this.
When we all are exhausted, I withdraw from Khesan’s tender hole. He will certainly be sore there tomorrow. Then I attend to both of my mates, encouraging them to come shower with me so we can all get clean before bed.
They both yawn as they follow, holding hands.
It is hard to believe how quickly time speeds by when you are enjoying life. And it would be impossible not to, given my blessings. How I get to have my mates every day and night, except when Fiona must work. Even then, Khesan and I get up to our own “shenanigans,” as Fiona calls them.
So it should not surprise me when we are nearing the end of the trial period, and it’s almost time to return to the matchmaker to seal the marriage. It is an event I have worked very, very hard to bury in the back of my mind.
I have already told Khesan my feelings on this, and in a way, my soul has settled knowing the inevitable end point.
This was all a wonderful thing to happen in my life.
I am grateful that I got to experience it as long as I did.
And now, I will do my duty as the caretaker of Fiona and Khesan and return to Arshur.
It is the only thing that makes sense.
I’m not the only one thinking of this but not speaking it. Fiona, too, has been quieter lately, more reserved. Even during the party where Roth’kar’s friend Zono arrived on Earth and moved in with Kendall, she was lost in her thoughts.
She holds us both close to her at night, like she refuses to let either of us go. But she will have to, and I will make it as simple for her as possible.
Then, it is the night before our trip to the spaceport. No one speaks over dinner, but when I finally catch sight of Fiona’s face, there are tears in her eyes.
“Fiona?” I reach for her hand. She lifts her face, and the tears pour down her cheeks.
“I’m going to have a word with Gazargo,” she says, her voice firm and hard in contrast to the devastation on her face. “It’s not fair to make one of you go home. I’m not going to let him do it.”
To my surprise, Khesan nods in agreement. “It is cruel. Surely there must be a way around the rules.”
I sigh at both of them. “He made himself clear, and Earth law is definitive. We don’t both get to stay, Khesan. But that is all right.”
Fiona’s head snaps over to me. “It’s not all right!”
“It is.” I hold her hand tighter. “Because I am returning to Arshur.”
Her mouth falls open in horror. “Shathar! You aren’t going anywhere. I won’t let them send you home. You belong here, with us!”
I smile at her, pleased by her protectiveness. But I know what I must do tomorrow. I will say goodbye, and I’ll do it with a smile just like this one—loving them both beyond anything I could have imagined.
I can break down once I am on the ship headed home.
“You know,” Fiona says, wiping her face, “since we’re talking about the rest of our lives, do you know when your birthdays are? I want to read your chart.”
“Chart?” I ask.
“Birthday?” Khesan asks.
Fiona stares at us, then shakes her head and laughs. “No birthdays? Like, the day of the year that you were born. Do you know?”
“I was born in the year 5890,” says Khesan. “But what day? Just at the start of the warm season.”
Fiona blinks, then furrows her brow. “Okay, so spring. I guess… May?” She heads to one of her bookshelves in the living room and pulls down a book, which she brings back to the table. “Yeah, you seem like a Taurus. What about May tenth? Here we go.”
She flattens the book to show us the page. It has symbols on it I don’t understand alongside a big block of text.
“It’s all about the arrangement of the stars when you were born. If you knew what time of day, that would help, too. Let me look up your chart.”
She brings out her laptop computer, types some things in, then clicks, then types again.
“Here we go. It says… you are a fighter, Khesan.”
Fiona and I glance at each other. True enough.
“When you love, you love fiercely,” she goes on. “This sounds right. You’re dedicated and loyal.”
“These are all accurate statements about Khesan,” I say. “And this is all in his ‘chart’?”
“Indeed.” Fiona grins up at me. “When were you born, Shathar?”
“In the colder season. Which is still quite warm compared to here.”
“Okay, so winter. You do kind of go with the flow, so perhaps you’re a Pisces.”
I enjoy watching Fiona pick out a birthday for me, and then she tells me all about it and what it means for my future.
“Selfless,” she says in a grumpy tone of voice. “Sounds right, too.”
Fiona puts away her laptop and looks at us with determination in her eyes. Then she holds out a hand to each of us, and we both accept.
“We’re going to manifest a solution to this,” she says with determination. She squeezes my hand tighter. “Close your eyes and imagine. Picture a future with all three of us, and we can make it come true.”
I admire this, how hard she’s trying to hold our family together. I love her all the more for it.
Closing my eyes, I do as she asks, picturing that future: Khesan in his belt and collar, dancing and dancing. Fiona curled up in my lap during a movie. My two mates, together with me forever.
After a few minutes have passed, she opens her eyes and smiles at each of us. “I’m not going to give up,” she says. “I won’t.”
I nod, though I don’t know if even her optimism can change our fate. The gods must not understand much about humans to have arranged this.
That night, after pleasuring both my mates until they cry out, I tell them how much I love them. Then I sleep with one of them under each arm, dreading what tomorrow brings.
We are up early to go to the spaceport. I pack my belongings and bring them up to the top of the stairs so I am ready. Fiona pauses when she sees them, and her brows lower.
“Shathar, what is this?”
I sigh because we have already visited the topic. “I am just being prepared.”
But I don’t like it when her eyes go glassy again.
“No,” she says. “We’re not bringing your bags.”
“I would rather return home with my—”
“No!” Fiona runs to me and throws her arms around me. “I’m not letting you go home, Shathar!”
I don’t know if it will be a matter of letting, but perhaps she can ship my things back to Arshur. So I pat her back and say, “Alright. I will leave them here.”
“Good. Because you’re coming home with us.”
I have never seen her so adamant, so I keep my objections to myself as we all get in the car and head for the spaceport.
We find a spot to park in the massive lot, and Fiona still has a sour look on her face as Khesan and I get out. She storms on ahead, and Khesan shoots me a bewildered expression as we follow her. I suppose we are not waiting for Amara, Roth’kar, and Marguerite to arrive, who are our witnesses.
Inside, the spaceport is just as massive and loud as it was the last time we were here. How things have changed since then. Khesan takes my hand in his, and as we walk, he leans down close to my ear.
“I will trade with you,” he says, loud enough for me to hear over the engines but only me.
“You ought to stay. If the matchmaker truly demands that one of us go, I will have the easiest time returning to Arshur. You sold your business, Shathar. You gave up everything. My family is wealthy and will be happy to have me back.”
I shake my head. “But you are young—”
“No. You will stay.”
I grit my teeth but say nothing in response. We will see when the time comes. I know my role, and it is to ensure my two mates have happiness.
Finally, we reach the room at the far end of the spaceport where we all met once upon a time. Inside, the little Frahma appears to be playing a game on his tablet.
“Oh, this Candy Crush,” he says to himself as we enter. Then he notices us and hastily puts it away. “Ahem. Hello. Good to see the, uh, three of you again.” He cocks his head. “I expected we would have heard from you by now.”
I cross my arms. “We have made it work.”
“Good. Then you’ve decided who you would like to marry, Fiona?” He takes out a different tablet. “We can sign the final paperwork.”
That’s when Fiona breaks free of us. She runs to the wrinkly little alien matchmaker and stops right in front of him.
“Please,” she says, clasping her hands together. “Please, I want… I want both of them. Please don’t make me send someone home!”
He stares at her. Then the door opens, and Amara pokes her head in.
“Is it time?” she asks, then sees Fiona. “Oh. Sorry. We can come back.”
“No, no,” says the matchmaker, gesturing for them to come in. “Get seated, why don’t you?”
Amara, Roth’kar, and Marguerite all file into the little room and find chairs.
“Are you listening to me?” asks Fiona, her voice rising as she gets angrier. “You have to let them both stay. Please. I can’t—”
“You’re going to blow my ear off,” Gazargo grumps, distancing himself from her. “What are you so upset about?”
Fiona frowns. “Well, you said I had to choose one of them. And I won’t. I refuse to choose.” She runs back to us and takes one of our hands in each of hers. “We… we’re all together. We’re fated for each other. You can’t tear us apart.”
Gazargo cocks his head. “The two of you managed to get along?”
Khesan and I glance at each other, then Khesan affectionately rubs my head.
“I suppose we did,” I say.
The Frahma stands up straighter and clears his throat. “Within the Intergalactic Association of Civilizations, there is no limit to the number of partners in a marriage. Perhaps on Earth, but this union is overseen by us.”
All of us stop moving at once. I can’t believe my ears.
There’s no way we would get so lucky, is there?
“Truly?” says Khesan, his voice hopeful. “You will let us both marry her?”
The matchmaker shrugs. “Why not? Let me add a new line to the document.”
He picks up the tablet and starts tapping it. Fiona sinks against me, and I pull her into my arms to keep her upright.
“Oh my gosh,” she wipes off the tears that have just started falling. “Really? You both get to stay with me? For… forever?”
I smile down at her because it’s all I’ve ever wanted.
“We need to get another ring,” she says with a sniff. “So I have one for both of you.”
After a minute, Gazargo is done, and he presents the tablet to the three of us. First, Khesan takes it and signs his name. Then Fiona, and then at last, me. Once we’re done, we hand it back to the Frahma, who files everything away.
“Well, that is all, then,” he says, clearing his throat. “You’re finished.”
“We’re married?” squeaks Fiona. First she throws her arms around Khesan’s neck, and then mine. I make sure to bring them both in against me, kissing their perfect lips.
I am the luckiest Arshurian who ever did live.