Mated by Twilight (True Match)

Chapter 20

Leah

She missed Tillos when she was with Sollit.

She missed Sollit when she was with Tillos.

She didn’t feel like she was with the wrong person, or like she was cheating on the other. Which surprised her as that was her biggest fear. She just felt like something was missing. Like, being with them was wonderful, just short of perfection, and if the other had been there, it would have been.

That was selfish of her though, right? Like, she would never have thought that way if they were humans.

But that was just the thing. They weren’t humans. And she could tell that they were missing their other half while they were with her. Not incomplete, just slightly less than ideal.

So, when they returned to the Twilight Star and met back up with Sollit who had been waiting for them, everything felt just right again. Leah smiled, holding out her free hand for him to take. Which he did happily, so she was being escorted by both brothers.

Both of her males.

They needed to mate her together. There wasn’t any other choice for them. They weren’t twins in the same way that humans thought of them. It was deeper than that. It was becoming more surprising to her how willing she was to go along with it.

She was so happy to be back with both of them, she almost forgot about the surprise. But then they walked into their room, and she gasped, beaming in delight.

Their bedroom was positively packed with presents. They covered every surface, both sofas, all over the bed. Lots of boxes in a variety of wrappings. It didn’t look like they’d come from the same place, like they had bought her things from all over. She couldn’t tell what anything was, but whatever they were, there was so much .

“What’s all this?” She asked, laughing as she walked through. She just laughed more when she realized that they’d piled up everything symmetrically. Did they do it on purpose, or was it just a reflex? They seemed to mirror each other all the time, and she couldn’t say if it was a trait of themselves or their species, but she found it rather adorable.

She’d have to remember to never get them just one present. She’d need to get them two of everything to maintain the symmetry.

“You had to leave your life behind on Earth,” Sollit told her as she ran her hands down two of the boxes on the center table. “You could only bring along a few bags.”

“That’s not nearly enough,” Tillos scoffed. “Our female will not be so bereft.”

Leah shook her head, grinning. “Bereft? But I’m fine. I actually didn’t leave anything behind. That’s everything I own.”

The twins’ expressions didn’t change, but they did give each other a glance that she thought she was able to read easier than before. They weren’t judging her, but they were concerned that she had so little to her name.

Because she’d run away with nothing. Then, she’d lived in the shelter afterwards, only recently moving in with her roommates. She’d saved up most of her money from her minimum wage job to afford her True Match scan, forgoing filling her closet or buying any fripperies for the chance at getting a husband and future security. It was worth it in her mind.

“It’s really okay,” she assured her males quickly. “Honestly, I’m used to it. Part of the church beliefs was the idea that you shouldn’t want earthly things. We didn’t get new clothes often, and we never bought jewelry or makeup or anything. I’m used to it.”

“Yes,” Sollit smiled. “Just like you’ll get used to now doing all those things and having everything you could ever want.”

“But I do have everything I want. You really didn’t have to…”

“But we wanted to,” Tillos countered, smirking. “Besides, do you really think we’d allow our female to be unadorned while Sollit and I walk around looking the way we do? The universe would label us as the worst kind of misers – ones who indulge only themselves but refuse to gift anything to their loved ones. And our mate especially?”

“Absolutely not,” Sollit chuckled. “You deserve to be spoiled. And we’re going to do that. It makes us happy. Here. Open these two first.”

Tillos and Sollit picked up two matching boxes at the same time and put them in her hands. Leah could only laugh.

She tried to protest again. It was strange to receive gifts. Especially ones she didn’t deserve. She’d done nothing to earn these. Her church actively denounced gift giving as something that promoted selfishness and worldliness. She’d never seen her father give her mother a gift. Not for her birthday or a holiday or their anniversary. She herself had only received a couple gifts in her life. One was a holy book, one was new clothes when she’d far outgrown her old clothes, but her siblings didn’t have anything to hand down to her, and the other was school supplies.

No one ever showered her, her sisters, or her mother in gifts. It seemed like a waste to do it now. But the excitement in her males’ expressions made her keep her concerns to herself. She didn’t want to make them think she was ungrateful.

The boxes they’d given her were small. She could fit them both in one hand, which was convenient as it allowed her to rip them both open at the same time. Inside, there were earrings and ear cuffs. Two different sets. They’d gotten her the same thing, but slightly different.

And that was how it went for everything.

She’d get a short sleeved, short skirt dress in one style, and another one in a different style. Two pairs of pants in two different patterns. Two gold necklaces with two different pendants. Two lipsticks but in different colors.

Two of everything, but never the same gift twice. They also didn’t tell her who picked which gift. She didn’t know if one was buying two shirts, or if they both picked one shirt. As far as they were concerned, they both bought everything.

Halfway through, Leah was in the center of the bed, making a huge mess of the wrappings, surrounded by silk robes, fur wraps, gorgeous shoes, sparkling rings – an absolute gluttony of gifts that made her feel like a queen. She’d been initially uncomfortable with everything, but as more and more of it kept coming, as she enjoyed each new thing she unwrapped, the deeper down that feeling was buried until she was giggling and exclaiming excitedly over each new item they brought her. It was too ridiculous to feel real, but it was so much fun as well.

Today had been the best day of her life. Bar none. She couldn’t remember ever smiling this much or feeling this light. Was this what it felt like when people received gifts? Why was it so frowned upon to give them then? She wanted to give Sollit and Tillos something right now just so that they could enjoy this feeling too.

Not that they appeared unhappy. They were beaming at her reactions. Each gasp, each delighted giggle, each time she held up a new article of clothing to herself, they shared a satisfied look. What satisfaction were they getting from this? She wanted dearly to know.

What kind of gift could she get them?

She was unwrapping more shoes – two pairs of pretty flats this time – when the door chimed announcing someone’s arrival.

“Go away!” Sollit yelled immediately, making her burst into giggles. She didn’t know why, as it wasn’t that funny, but she felt like there were bubbles popping in her belly, lifting her up so that she might soon be floating on the ceiling. And maybe because of that, everything seemed extra delightful, including his obvious desire to keep others away.

Tillos, however, actually went to the door console and asked who it was. Corvidair’s booming voice announced his presence. Sollit groaned, flopping dramatically onto the bed. Conveniently, his head landed right on her lap. He snuggled into her as she smiled, stroking his hair. It was super soft, an absolute pleasure to her fingertips. So much so, she was almost jealous. But not quite, because it was just nice to be able to play with it as he hummed in contentment.

As that was happening, Tillos was opening the door for their boss. He tried to get him to leave, but Corvidair insisted on barging inside. The room was big, but he somehow managed to make it seem small just by the sheer size of his presence alone. The muscular, flamboyantly dressed male took one look at her and beamed like his dreams were coming true.

“There she is! My new talent!” He boomed, all four limbs thrown out.

“She said no, Corvidair,” Tillos said, deliberately stepping into his path. “Leah doesn’t want to be on stage. You will respect that.”

“And I will,” Corvidair grinned, walking past him. “Just as soon as I’ve finished. You’ve got to let me have a chance to argue my case, pretty bird.”

Leah was in such a good mood from the date and the presents and feeling like a spoiled princess that even Corvidair’s threatening offer couldn’t bring her all the way back down. It was slightly sobering however, as the memories of her last performance tugged at the back of her mind.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled, still playing absentmindedly with Sollit’s hair. “I-I don’t really think I’m a good fit for the stage. My choir days were just school performances. That’s not really the same thing as singing professionally.”

“Ah, but your voice was just beautiful,” Corvidair moaned desperately. “It would be a waste to let talent like yours languish! Besides, do you know how much attention and credz I could make off of having a human female star in my show? And such a beautiful one at that!”

“You’ve already got Skara. She’s beautiful.”

“She is, but her voice isn’t nearly as good as yours. And besides, she’s on her siri’iki . It’s this ratchi coming of age thing, and as soon as she’s done, she’s going to leave me. Which could be any day now! Are you really going to leave me without a beautiful, talented, female star?”

It was absolutely incredible how such a large, boisterous male could manage to pull off such a perfect set of sparkling, pathetic, bright golden brown puppy dog eyes. All four hands were clasped together in such a needy expression, she could almost hear the sad music.

Then, Tillos scoffed, grabbing Corvidair by the scruff and yanking him back. “Don’t even start. Skara’s siri’iki isn’t going to end just like that without warning.”

“It could,” Corvidair grunted through clenched teeth, giving Tillos a look like he was annoyed he was ruining his plan. Sollit was holding onto her, shaking like he was trying to stop his laughter.

“And Leah never asked to be in your performance,” Tillos continued, crossing his arms. “She was singing for herself, not auditioning. Leave her alone.”

“Never. Anyway.” Corvidair turned that winning smile back on her. “Listen to me, pretty female. We don’t have to make you the star of your own musical right away. The stage is scary, I get that. So, we’ll start slow.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Sollit warned from her lap, eyes sparkling. “Once he gets you, even just for something ‘small’, he’s not going to let you go.”

“Hush.” Corvidair grabbed one of her new dresses that was on the bed and tossed it over Sollit’s head to block him from her.

“I’m blind,” Sollit moaned pathetically as Corvidair came to kneel on the side of her bed, arms on the side, clasped like he was praying, puppy eyes back in full force.

“Look, take Skara’s part in the play we’re doing now. Her role is super simple. She doesn’t have a single line of dialogue. She lays in bed most of the play. The only thing she does is at the very end be struck with a knife as she ‘sleeps’, and then her arm drops dramatically over the side. That’s all you have to do. Your eyes will be closed the whole time. You can pretend you’re not on stage at all, just sleeping. It’s the perfect beginning role.”

“You’re pathetic,” Tillos told him, staring down at him from above. “Leave our female alone. If she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t have to.”

“She hasn’t said no yet,” Corvidair snapped at him before turning back, pathetic and inconsolable again. “Please, sweet bird. Darling female. Kind and magnanm-ugh!”

Tillos grabbed him by the scruff again and moved him back as Leah could do nothing but laugh. She honestly couldn’t tell if they were being silly or serious – it kind of felt like a mix of both.

“You’re obnoxious,” Sollit told him, peeking out from under her dress.

“I’m determined,” Corvidair smirked. “And you two are already mated to her. She could be your romantic partner during our plays, and the chemistry would be real! Not to mention the fact that humans are so unbelievably sensu-”

“Finish that statement, and I shave you bald,” Tillos promised him in a dull tone that was no less threatening for being understated.

“Rude. Let the female speak. You shouldn’t be so controlling of her. That’s how you make a female hate you.”

Sollit snickered. “What would you know about what makes a female hate someone?”

Corvidair huffed, sticking his muzzle in the air. “I am a rootavin. Who would know better than I how to appease a female?”

Tillos scoffed. “That only works for mated males. Or males interested in females.”

“Or males interested in anyone ,” Sollit added, laughing.

“Guys,” Leah interjected when Corvidair opened his mouth, prepared to refute them again. Their argument was getting nowhere, and quickly devolving into irrelevance. “I think… I think I won’t mind being in the play.”

“Really?” Corvidair perked up, fuzzy ears and all. It was adorable. Especially for a male that had to weigh four – if not five – hundred pounds. Easily. He was massive.

“Are you sure, aevea ?” Tillos asked as Sollit lifted his head, her dress sliding away so he could see her unobstructed.

She hesitated. Even just in agreeing, she felt nerves clenching tight in her belly. Her last foray on stage had been humiliating and devastating.

But every time before that had been wonderful. Exhilarating. She missed that feeling. And while she didn’t think she had the ability to sing in front of an audience again, she could easily lay there and just meditate on the stage. Remember why she loved it. Experience something that was so familiar, yet so new considering the circumstances.

“I’m sure,” she said softly. “I want-”

“You said it!” Corvidair jumped to his feet, beaming. “No taking it back! I’m going to tell Skara she can do something else for this performance. She’s going to be so relieved. Be in costuming first thing tomorrow to get fitted!”

As he was speaking, he was rushing out. Like he believed if he escaped before she had a chance to change her mind, she’d be locked into the decision.

Leah could only giggle. It was rather cute. Tillos and Sollit, however, kept their gaze on her until the door shut behind his retreating form. Only then did Tillos speak again.

“You know, you don’t have to do as he says. He can’t force you on stage. He’s already got us, and you work for him on staff anyway. You owe him nothing.”

“No, but… I want this. For me.” She reached out a hand, which Tillos immediately took. She pulled him into bed with her. As Sollit settled back onto her lap Tillos moved behind her, pulling her back against his chest. “I used to love performing. I used to love singing. I… I want to love that again. I don’t want to be afraid my whole life.”

“You are a beautiful singer,” Sollit agreed, smiling up at her from her thighs. “Your voice is so beautifully sweet.”

“She wasn’t even singing at full voice yet,” Tillos said, nuzzling the back of her neck, making her shiver. “Can you imagine her on stage? Belting it out as loud as she can?”

Sollit sighed dreamily. “No. My imagination isn’t even close to that good.”

“You two,” Leah shook her head, smiling. “Thank you.”

“It’s a really boring role,” Sollit assured her. “The sleeping queen is central to the story, but she’s also completely incidental to it. She really does nothing but lay there, threatening the others with her presence, until she’s killed before the climax.”

“And even then, all you do is dramatically drop your arm,” Tillos said, running his hands down her arms. “It’s a subtle movement considering the scale, and some versions of the play don’t even have her doing that.”

“Yeah, there are some interpretations where the sleeping queen is already dead.” Sollit grinned. “It adds to the futility of the overall story and her supporters in particular. Never liked that interpretation though. It feels like there’s no choice for the characters in that case.”

“That’s what makes it so good,” Tillos countered. “The pointlessness of their actions is what’s so fascinating about the characters. It’s what makes the tragedy.”

Leah could only smile as they continued to debate the story of the play. She didn’t even know the full story, so she couldn’t add to their discussion one way or another. She had also never been in theater in school, just choir. So, she didn’t even really have the background to join in.

She would have joined theater. If she could. But her parents had only reluctantly agreed to let her be in choir – and she could make an argument there about singing in church and its similarity. Nothing she could have said would have convinced them that acting and wasting time on stage was worthwhile. The church hadn’t even done Christmas pageants, because acting was so looked down upon.

But she wanted to learn. She was eager to know more.

Even if it meant she had to deal with the unpleasant Shorvi again.

“I can’t wait to see you perform,” Sollit told her after the discussion finished – they agreed that the futility of the characters was what made the tragedy so compelling, but that having the sleeping queen already be dead was a good way to undercut it.

“I feel like you could just watch me sleep in real life and get the same experience,” she chuckled. “But I’ll do my best.”

“We will. Watch you, I mean,” Tillos promised, arms around her torso.

“And we do enjoy it,” Sollit agreed, holding her waist.

She felt so loved, so supported between them, that even the prospect of returning to the stage again didn’t seem so bad.