I opened the door and closed it neatly behind us. We were greeted by a crawling toddler on the floor. Dai’zee grabbed the hem of Jaeyoung’s onesie and tugged on it.
Jaeyoung smiled and kneeled down to pat her head. “Hi, Dai’zee. Do you like playing with my clothes?”
She squeaked affirmatively.
Levi tracked down his child. “Be careful, honey. Who knows, with your Maeleon strength, you might punch a hole in that, too.”
“She won’t punch holes in anything,” Jaeyoung said. “Linn’ar just got a little... overly exuberant with his pounding. Right?”
“Yes. It turns out I love pounding,” I replied.
Levi made a sound halfway between a cough and a laugh, slapping a hand over his mouth. “Well, uh, good to know. Anyway, what brings you here? Are you offering to babysit again?”
“I’d love to do that again,” Jaeyoung said, eyeing Dai’zee fondly. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”
“What’s up?”
Jaeyoung inhaled, holding his breath, then said, “I’m pregnant.”
Levi’s jaw unhinged. For a few seconds, it seemed like his brain stopped functioning. Perhaps that was what happened when he crashed the ship.
Unlike his filum, Zat’tor had no such malfunction. His feelers lit up brightly. “Congratulations! We will have not one but two younglings around the village. Are you excited, Jaeyoung?”
He smiled. “Yes, I am.”
Levi shook off his daze, then embraced Jaeyoung in a quick hug. “That’s incredible, man. I’m so happy for you! I’m just stunned. It happened so fast.”
Jaeyoung nodded. “Yes, but you of all people should know what it’s like falling in love with a Maeleon.”
“True.”
“And I must admit, I understand now why you and Zat’tor are... constantly needing alone time,” Jaeyoung finished in a low mumble.
Levi barked out a laugh. “See? You get it. It’s not just me being a freak.”
“I don’t know if I’d gothatfar,” Jaeyoung said wryly.
Levi went to elbow him in a playful gesture, but my tentacle shot out and redirected him.
“He is pregnant, remember?” I reminded.
“Oh, shit, sorry,” Levi said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I haven’t wrapped my head around it yet. You look the same.” He glanced over his friend. “It hasn’t been long, has it? It was ridiculously fast for me and Zat’tor.”
Jaeyoung cleared his throat. “I accepted his pollen last night. We spent the morning cooking together, then the pregnancy was confirmed about half an hour ago.”
“You can cook?” Levi asked, eyes wide. “Gee, doc, is there anything youcan’tdo?”
Jaeyoung shook his head. “Linn’ar did an equal share. It was a team effort.”
“You can cook, too?” Levi asked, glancing at me.
Zat’tor chuckled and wrapped his tentacle around Levi’s waist. “My sibling is an accomplished artisan. He is skilled at many things.”
Levi examined the pink onesie covering his body. “That’s right. He made this just for me. Thanks, Linn’ar, by the way. I wear this thing every day. It’s so much more comfortable than our hard suits, or—” he shuddered, an ominous note entering his voice, “officeclothes.”
I did not know what an office was, but it sounded treacherous.
As we conversed, Jaeyoung took out a pad to write notes.
