“We’ll take a few more minutes,” Beau answered, though he was doing a very poor job concealing his shock at her appearance.
“You got it.”
The moment the hybrid girl strode off, Beau leaned in and hissed, “She’s a hybrid!”
“Yes,” Loriun murmured. “The first interspecies pairings occurred twenty years ago, and their children are growing old enough to work. They are only going to become a more common sight as they age.”
“That is… so hard to wrap my head around.”
Loriun snorted. “You are only twenty-four.”
“Still!” Beau protested. “I remember the day the first hybrid birth was announced. It doesn’t feel like that long ago.”
“That’s because it wasn’t.”
Beau glanced over at the server, attending to another table. “She’s beautiful.”
Loriun nodded. “Hybrid children always are.”
They fell silent. Loriun allowed himself to imagine what their child might look like if Beau decided to continue the pregnancy.
A boy with sandy hair and golden skin, pink scales shimmering along his back and hands. Pale blue-green patterns glinting along his arms. Beau’s dark eyes, and pink fins along his ears.
Loriun’s throat tightened.
“I’m keeping it.”
The Mer snapped his attention back to his mate. “What?” He hardly dared to believe his ears.
“The baby,” Beau said. “I’m keeping it. I don’t want to terminate.”
The Omega was still gazing over at the server, Eurie. Something like longing tugged at his youthful face, and his eyes were unfocused. Loriun was unable to speak for a moment. He just stared at his mate, really seeing him for what felt like the first time. Beau was so young. His first twenty-four years on this planet had been neither free nor particularly happy. And now, Loriun had gotten him pregnant, ripping away any chance Beau had at truly enjoying his youth. Was it right to let Beau go through with this?
“Are you…” Loriun finally choked out. “Are you certain?”
Beau’s expression sharpened and his gaze snapped to Loriun. “Are you not?”
“Beau…” Loriun closed his eyes. “I want this child more than anything. But you… you’re so young. I feel as though I am trapping you into a life you did not agree to.”
Beau didn’t reply right away. When Loriun peeked out at him, his teeth were worrying his rosy lower lip.
“I do not want to trap you,” Loriun murmured. “And I do not wish to use your body for my own happiness.”
Beau’s eyes glittered. “I know. You’re right.”
Loriun’s stomach twisted.
“I am young,” Beau continued. “But I’m also not a child. I can make decisions for myself and for my body. I won’t say I’m not terrified, because I am.”
A webbed hand slunk across the table to grip Beau’s.
“I really never thought about being a parent,” he said, looking down at their interlocked hands. “It kind of freaked me out. Still does, honestly. I was raised in a society that pretends Omegas don’t exist. But… I can’t stop thinking about this baby. What they might look like. What they might become.” Beau offered Loriun a watery smile. “Let’s make a family.”
Loriun shot to his feet and swooped down, his lips crashing into Beau’s, kissing him like it was their last day on Earth.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, they broke apart, panting.
“Sooo…” the server said, keeping that customer service smile firmly in place. “What can I get you?”
