Mated by Twilight (True Match)

Chapter 18

Sollit

Third meal was a lovely affair. It was nice to spend time with Leah. It was even better to see how well she responded to them together. However, as they left the restaurant, he stepped back so Tillos could pick up her hands and kiss her fingers.

“Here is where I leave you,” he said kindly.

And to Sollit’s delight, Leah looked displeased. “You’re going? Why?”

“Because I am giving you time with Sollit alone.”

“But…” She looked back at him. Sollit wrinkled his nose at her, grinning, but she wasn’t relieved. She turned back to Tillos. “I thought…”

“I’ll be back,” Tillos assured her. “Sollit gets you alone for half a mark, then I’ll get you for half a mark. And then we’ll continue together from there.”

Sollit came up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head. Taking a moment to enjoy her scent. He couldn’t place it, but it was distinctly floral. An Earth flower maybe? He hoped so. It gave her an exotic edge that he rather enjoyed.

“We want you to be used to us both,” he told her. “And since you’re used to mating one-on-one, we figured we could get to know you separately and it would be easier for you.”

“But is it easier for you?”

She was so cute. Looking back and forth between them. Clearly concerned about them and what they needed. It was sweet. Even more so considering she wasn’t used to this method of mating. He adored her all the more for her thoughtfulness.

“Of course,” Sollit promised. “You can’t have both of us all the time. Sometimes, we’ll divide up tasks and chores, and only one of us will be with you at a time. We share you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a relationship with us separately.”

“Okay.” She looked back and forth between them once more before nodding. “If you’re sure…”

“We are indeed.” Tillos released her hands, stepping back. “In fact, I’m going to go prepare a surprise for later. Look forward to it. Sollit, take care of our mate while I’m gone.”

“You can count on it,” Sollit promised, grinning as he embraced her from behind. She was so delightfully soft and warm. He just wanted to lay on her like a pillow.

Later, he promised himself, letting her go to take her hand. He beamed, thrilled when she smiled back at him, as he pulled her along down the small street.

Space stations came in a variety of different shapes, styles, and quality. Jin-Raun was one of the wealthier stations. From the outside, the shape was that of a hollow square. That allowed ships to connect to tunnels both on the inner and outer walls. The various restaurants and businesses lined those walls, leaving a walkway down the center that went the entire length of the space station. There were various points along the path where it widened allowing for lovely fountains, sculptures, gardens, or rest areas. Everything was designed to be beautiful and delicate in appearance – though they certainly were not. Free floating space stations were designed to withstand being pelted by meteors or other space debris – up to a certain size. Since they weren’t within a solar system, there was less of a chance of it happening, and the whole station could be moved in case the sensors detected anything incoming, but the outside was still armored as a precaution.

From within, where Sollit walked with Leah, hand in hand, they strolled under beautiful canopies lit by the soft glow of wrought iron lanterns. It was dreamy, soft, and romantic. There was a fountain nearby somewhere that he could hear but not see, as well as the soft song of birds that was doubtless from speakers, not real animals.

But the atmosphere was very real, and effective. Leah relaxed, leaning her head against his arm, as she smiled. Sollit had a destination in mind, but he wasn’t in any real rush to get there.

“Do you have any questions for me?” He asked, smiling at his cute little human mate. Well, his soon-to-be mate. Though, the distinction did seem to be rather pointless.

“Questions? Like what?” She looked up at him. Her nose was so cute and round at the tip. Her cheeks a soft, warm pink. Her lips slightly parted, begging for sweet kisses. It was really unfair just how adorable she was.

“Anything. Mating two males is unusual for you, right? Humans only mate one person.”

“That’s… mostly true.”

“Mostly?”

She made a face. “I know that there are those that mate more than one person. I’ve never actually met anyone like that though. My religion condemned such a thing, and most of the women at the shelter were trying to get away from relationships. But I do know that it doesn’t usually involve siblings. At least, I don’t think it does.” She frowned, looking up at him. “Be honest with me, Sollit. Is this really what you want? You want to share with Tillos? Not just that you do it because it’s expected of you, like, culturally.”

Sollit smiled. She was so sweet and considerate. “Thank you for worrying about me, aevea . But I don’t think you really understand. Tillos and I… we can’t be separated. We are one.”

“But… you’re not really. You two are so different.”

“We are. And we aren’t.” Sollit lifted a hand, putting it on his chest. “I feel Tillos here. Through the ethmyl bond. That’s the word in Standard. It’s a sense that exists in subspace. Our species isn’t the only one to experience such a thing, though, as I understand it, they all experience it differently. The bond connects us though. Binds us. In the same way it will bind us to you when we’re mated. We won’t be able to feel you, but the mate bond is pretty identical. If you wanted only me but not Tillos, it would truly break my heart, because it would be like you were rejecting half of me.”

She cocked her head curiously, looking at him. “You two are that close?”

He nodded eagerly. “I love Tillos. More than myself. He is second only to you in my eyes.”

“I don’t mean that much to you.”

“You will.”

Leah’s pretty face turned pink. And it was so cute. She didn’t argue further that she was going to become that important to him either. Sollit couldn’t rightfully say he was in love with her, but he was delighted and charmed by her. He wanted her close to him. Knowing that she was his mate only made him want to get closer to her faster.

“You’re right in saying that mating in pairs is part of our culture,” he continued, trying to find a way to explain this to her in a way that would make sense. “But it’s part of our culture because it’s part of our biology. Male avanava are always born in pairs. Well, almost always, I guess. I think there are some rare cases where a male is born alone, but it’s always because something happened to the other twin. And it’s rare. And tragic. There’s nothing worse as a male than to be born alone.”

He frowned, trying to think of what it would be like to not have Tillos in his life. To not feel that warmth in his chest that was his brother. The very idea made him want to weep.

“It’s not uncommon for brothers to die together,” he continued solemnly. “If one brother dies, the other will follow shortly after. Those who do manage to outlive their twin describe their lives as being only half. They say it’s worse than missing a limb. It’s like they can’t even breathe anymore. Life without my brother… I cannot imagine a more terrible fate.”

“What about females?”

“Female avanava are born alone.” He squeezed her hand, expressing his apology for that. He imagined it must be terribly lonely. “But it’s okay. Because once a female finds her mates, she isn’t alone any longer. And she will never have to be again.”

Leah started giggling.

“Funny?”

“No,” she shook her head, smiling at him. “It’s just that you seemed so quick to reassure me of that. Like it really is a tragedy to not be born with a twin.”

“It is from my perspective.”

“You know, humans give birth to twins too. But it’s not like a subspace connection kind of thing. Or, at least, I don’t think it is. They say twins have a special bond in humans. But they’re not considered the same person like you and Tillos say you are. And also are not.”

“Interesting,” he hummed thoughtfully. It didn’t really make much sense to him. How was someone born a twin but not a twin?

But then again, he couldn’t imagine not mating someone with his brother. He couldn’t imagine having to carry the sole burden of caring for his mate and young without help. It was very sad for those species that mated monogamously. He wondered if they realized how much they were missing? He guessed it would just be completely normal to them.

Leah gasped, turning his thoughts from his inner musings and back onto her. He smiled as she stepped forward, drawn by the lovely sight spread out before them.

For Sollit’s portion of their date, he had decided to bring Leah to a small maze garden at the starboard side of the space station. The maze walls were formed from thick vines that hung down from the ceiling. From those vines bloomed small, white flowers that glowed with gently pulsing, soft, yellow lights that were meant to attract the insects from their home planet.

Here, they just created a beautiful walkway for visitors to wander through, finding places to sit and rest and admire the view and the soft scent.

Leah sent Sollit a quick smile before letting go of his hand so she could run her fingers through the vines, laughing breathlessly with delight.

She pushed into one of the vine walls, stepping through as she looked back. He followed after, enchanted, as she wandered to her heart’s content. Though this was a maze, it was easy to just step through the ‘walls’, and some places could only be reached by doing so.

The covered alcove she found was one such place. She stepped up between the thin columns, running her hand along the stone. He kept pace with her, trailing behind her touch.

“What’s it like?” Leah asked softly, putting her back to one of the columns, smiling at him. “Having two mates, I mean.”

“I’ll never know,” he chuckled. “I’m only ever going to have one.”

“You know what I mean,” she chuckled, reaching out to touch him. But she was still unsure of herself because she just barely brushed the tips of her fingers against his chest before pulling back. Then, she did it again.

That time, Sollit leaned forward, forcing her hand flat against him. She flushed bright pink but didn’t try to pull back. It was precious how shy she was. He loved it, but he also couldn’t wait for her to lose that fear and become comfortable with him. With them. With this.

“If you’re asking me how Tillos and I are going to treat you, then the answer is: We’re going to devote ourselves to you.” He came closer, taking a deep breath of her scent. Luxuriating in it. She fit in so well with the flowers of the viny maze, it was intoxicating. “For avanava males, we take great pride in how well we care for our female. When a female is well cared for, well loved, by her males, it changes her. You can see it. And if a female isn’t cared for, it’s obvious, and the males who did not do well are shamed for their failing.

“After all, there are two of us. We’re both looking after you. That means, we have more than enough time and resources to take care of ourselves, our home, and you without being overburdened.”

“What do I do then?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you two take care of me and the home, well, our room I guess, what do I do?”

“Ah.” Sollit leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You take care of us in turn, of course. You have twice as many mates to be concerned with. Double the burden. So, of course, you should have less work in the house. Or room, as it were.”

“What burden?” She snickered. “You two do everything for me. I don’t even pick up my own food tray.”

Pride burned in his chest. “And you never will if we’re around.”

“You know, I was raised to take care of you ,” she smiled, eyes dancing with mirth. “It’s a wife’s job to be subservient to her husband. I should be the one making your tray and bringing you food and feeding you from my plate.”

Sollit made a face, the very idea making him recoil. “Why don’t you just cut my cock off if you’re going to emasculate me that much?”

She giggled, drawing him back in. “It’s how it’s done where I’m from. Women are supposed to take care of their men.”

Sollit frowned. “Is that something you need, Leah? Because I don’t know if I can let you do everything for me. What I want for you is just to love me. A female cares for her mates by giving them a place of warmth and safety and security. And she cares for the younglings as well.”

“Do you want kids?”

The question was barked quickly, almost desperately, as she looked up at him with wide eyes. He paused, blinking down at her. It was hard to read her expression. What answer she might be looking for. But he could only give her the truth.

“We do,” he said, cocking his head as he watched her expression. “Tillos and I would dearly love younglings from you, Leah. If it’s something you want.”

A wide smile stretched across her face, relaxing the worry that knotted up his chest. “Yes. I want that. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. My own home and my own family. The other women at the shelter, they used to try telling me that there was more to life than that. And I know that, but I still want it. A home and a happy husband and my babies all around me.”

Sollit smiled, putting his hands on her hips, stepping in close to her. “We can certainly do that for you, aevea .”

She gave him a curious look.

“What? You don’t like that?”

“It means, center, right?” She started cautiously. “Why center? Why is that the pet name?”

“Because you are our center,” he smiled, leaning down, his nose brushing against hers as his lips hovered just out of reach. Savoring this moment just before the kiss. The anticipation. The trembling expectation. “Our home planet, Yeluka Akuley, has an older name. Hae-eve-eah . It literally means ‘in the middle’. Because our planet has two moons that circle the planet on opposite sides. The two gods, orbiting the goddess. Keeping her at their center. And that is why aevea is a term of endearment. Because you, Leah, are our goddess. Our center. Our everything.”

She let out a short breath. One of awe. One of wonder.

He smiled, closing the last distance between them. Kissing her softly. Sweetly. Showing her without words what it was like to be loved by an avanava male. The tenderness with which he would treat her. The soft and heated way he would nurture her. He opened his mouth against hers, licking along the seam of her lips. Requesting permission to enter.

Which he was granted as Leah leaned up on her toes. Holding onto his shoulders. Trying to pull herself up to make herself even with him. He found it adorable. She was so unspeakably precious. And the wet heat of her tongue sliding along his as he tasted her made him groan.

Leah made a sound too. A soft one of surprise as she tasted him in turn. He couldn’t help the smug satisfaction at knowing she enjoyed his flavor. It was proof of what would come when they finally mated her. The beginning of the changes they would bring her.

Approval, desire, satisfaction burned through him. Not all of them his own. He recognized his brother’s emotions surging forth as he approached them from behind. Had it really already been a half a mark? It seemed to be no time at all.

Sollit wanted to keep kissing her. To keep feeding her. But that wasn’t the deal. And there would be plenty of time for that later.

He broke the kiss, chuckling when Leah whimpered, trying to pull him back. And though it was tempting to give her what she wanted, Tillos was waiting for his turn.

“I must go, aevea ,” he said, brushing his knuckles over her cheek. “But I leave you in Tillos’ capable hands.”

“Where are you going?” She whined plaintively, even as she reached out a hand, without looking, for Tillos to take. Like she wanted them both. Like she needed them both.

“I have to go prepare my surprise next,” he said, regretfully stepping back. Giving room for Tillos to come up to her side, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close. Leah smiled up at Tillos, not resisting his embrace, before looking at Sollit again.

“We’ll see you in a half a mark?” She asked. An eager question.

One he was only too happy to confirm as he stepped back, leaving her to her private time with Tillos.