“Close enough,” Jaeyoung said.
I pointed to the door while my tentacles juggled the dough. “You feel it, too. The pull. That is why you spend so long at the edge of the Sweetfields. Youarewaiting for someone to come home.”
Paz went still, like he was trying to process everything. “So, you’re saying there are other Maeleons out there and one of them is my soulmate?”
“Before you three crashed on Eukaria, the youngest Maeleons in our village went on a quest,” I elaborated. “It is possible your filum is one of them.”
“Wow. That’s some deep telenovela stuff,” Paz said. He turned back to Jaeyoung. “I’ll keep an eye out for my supposed alien destiny soulmate. Although I don’t know how useful me getting pregnant is gonna be, since you’ll already have popped your baby out at that point.”
Jaeyoung shrugged. “I don’t know that for sure. Like I said, I need more data. But as far as I can tell, the trajectory seems similar to Levi’s case.”
Leaning down, Paz observed his friend’s belly. He poked it gently through the onesie. “You don’t look different yet. Maybe it’ll take longer this time.”
“We’ll see,” Jaeyoung said, voice gleaming with scientific curiosity.
I wrapped up cooking by the time their conversation was finished, so I swept in with a fresh plate ofgaraetteok.
“Here you go,” I announced.
Paz snatched a couple and tossed them into his mouth, groaning pleasurably at the flavor. “These are so freaking good. Man, you got lucky, Jae. Linn’ar is a total catch. You may have the brains, but he’s got everything else.”
“Oh, come now.” I stroked Jaeyoung’s head. “My filum is incredibly smart.”
“Thanks, Linn’ar.” Jaeyoung smiled. “But Paz is right. You’re very creative. That’s not a skill that I have. We complement each other, don’t we?”
My feelers pulsed pink. Overcome with affection, I wrapped myself around him like a vine climbing up a tree.
“Ack,” he squeaked. “Can’t eat... like this...”
I released him. “Oops. I am sorry.”
Paz wagged one of the purple rice cakes in the air. “Hey, since Linn’ar’s the creative one, he should help you pick a baby name. If it was your choice, you’d name the baby Molecule or Statistics or something.”
Jaeyoung pulled a face. “I would not do that.” He tilted his head. “But that’s actually a good idea. I think Linn’ar should pick, too.”
My chest was full of cottony warmth. “You would like me to choose our child’s name?”
“Go for it. I trust you.” Jaeyoung beamed at me, his dark eyes deep with affection.
“All right. I will meditate on this decision.”
Paz stared sadly at his now empty plate. “Can we also meditate on more food?”
17 /Jaeyoung
I loved schedules.And to my surprise and elation, I was right on time.
In the thirteen days since conception, my body had undergone drastic changes. I documented each one diligently in my notes. Research consumed my days, broken up by eating, sleeping, and sex, which I was no longer ashamed of.
Hey, even the most industrious scientist needs a good fuck.
Two weeks was an unprecedented human gestation length. I knew that. As far as mammals went, it was only beaten by two marsupials back on Earth: the stripe-faced dunnart at 11 days, and the Virginia opossum at 12.
I entertained a brief theory about Maeleon-human fertilization logistics being closer to marsupials than placental mammals, but that didn’t match up with my facts. Neither Levi nor I had external pouches. We carried the fetuses inside our bodies like placental mammals.
Supernatural DNA-altering alien cum it was, then.
I was never one to be caught unprepared. On the fourteenth day, I took no chances. I checked into Fhi’ran’s den the same way a human on Earth would check into a maternity ward. Of course,Linn’ar was at my side constantly. He was practically glued to me.
