More applause sang through the crowd, and I couldn’t take my eyes off my incredible boyfriend. I understood why Kroven wanted to remain anonymous, given his background with his former sangamar community and his animosity towards his parents, but if they knew just how generous and kind and sweet this man was, they’d learn that there was virtually nothing different between humans and Orbs. The one thing that united us universally was love. That was all that mattered.
In that moment, feeling nothing but my heart pounding in my ears and the crowd hollering at the turn of good luck that was enveloping them all at the blood centers reopening sooner than expected, there was only one thing that I wanted do.
Unfortunately, timing wasn’t on my side, because it was then that Babs’ voice tore through the crowd and I saw Wallace approaching the stage.
“People of Piper, put your hands together for the man who’s dedication toward the blood center and relations between humans and Orbs knows no end. Wallace Watson.”
The handsome ginger shook Babs’ hand with a great smile, and the people reacted to him in a way I hadn’t been expecting. If there was any indication that people felt wary about the uniting of everyone, they surely put aside their differences when it came to Wallace. He garnered enough uproar to rival what a musical artist in their prime would get.
Being a fan of Taylor Swift, that was saying something.
“Thank you so much Ms. Jillian for that wonderful introduction. I would also like to extend my thanks to the anonymousdonor for helping the blood centers to continue their important work for bridging the gap between human and Orb needs and just focusing on helping people no matter what species they are.”
More applause, and more chanting in a positive manner. This was like the anti-reaction of what we’d experienced with the protestors. Wallace also gazed over in our direction, applauding as he gave Kroven a nod. I nudged my boyfriend with my elbow as I clapped, hearing his chuckling as Wallace silenced the crowd with a raised hand, an instant hush forming.
“I have the honor of announcing this here in Piper, Virginia, something that will not only impact this state directly, but hopefully the entire country in an effort to eliminated bias among our Orb brothers, sisters, and anyone and everyone in-between the gender binary.” The crowd seemed to harden at the mention of gender inclusivity, but Wallace trudged on. “It’s my pleasure to announce that a special board dedicated to the better treatment of all Orbs through working together with local law enforcement on all levels is in the works. I have been elected the Director of Orb Affairs within the House and will be conducting a nationwide hunt for the best candidates of each and every creature species to make their voice heard. We will be attacking issues directly at the source, coming together to create better ways of solving issues without the need for the type of violence that occurred at the blood centers. For those Orbs watching or listening to this, if you believe you are the best being to help your respective community eliminate prejudice, violence, and any other predicament plaguing your community, please come to the ORBIT office in Washington D.C. to sign up to be a part of the board. I’ll be providing links to the office address and any other additional information on my socials to apply online as well. Let’s fight to unite!”
Cheers crescendoed throughout the street that everyone filled, a skyrocketing amount of applause and positivity that Ionce again got swept up in again. People were chanting Wallace’s name and hollering as I turned to look at the smiling face of my Orb boyfriend.
The earlier feelings of gratitude and overwhelming affection swarmed through me like a hive of emotion I hadn’t quite ever experienced. I stared at Kroven with a smile until he caught me looking, a smirk lazily laying on his face.
Before he could talk, I reached up and smoothed his jaw with my thumb.
“I love you.”
My declaration caught him off guard, even though I’d said it before. Once he softened, he smiled back at me, pulling me toward him as his hands found my hips.
“I love you too, Sebastian.”
And then we were kissing, the hum of the crowd making it feel like they were applauding for our love, for our lives, for the betterment of all of us as Kroven and I displayed exactly why humans and Orbs weren’t so different.
With my hands around Kroven’s neck, I braided my hands together and fell into a deeper kiss with my favorite sangamar, breathless at the potential the future held for us.
Epilogue
One Month Later
I was totally getting a cat.
The animal shelter was fairly empty as I browsed through the selection of cats. I was giddy with excitement over picking out the perfect kitty. Kroven stirred next to me, a half-smile darkening his face, his red eyes glistening from the overhead fluorescent lighting.
An attendant at the animal shelter looked us over, focusing her eyes on our adjoined hands, like any other couple would be doing, but she kept any thoughts on the matter to herself. Things in Piper were getting better each day, thanks to Wallace’s outcry to fight to unite. The phrase had lingered on social media for a while. There were a lot of people who thought Wallace should run for President next year. I was just happy that no more attacks had happened on the blood centers and things were starting to feel more open to the idea of Orbs and humans mingling more out in the open.
I’d been back at the blood center about a week after the press conference, and our usual sangamar clientele were back. If anything, we were starting to have more sangamar patients than we knew what to do with. Both Babs and Wallace’s speeches hadtouched everyone, putting our little blood center on the map, garnering a lot more business than we were used to. There was even talks about expanding the Orb wing to accommodate the extra patients. Babs said if that happened, she wanted me to be the lead attendant on the Orb wing, one I said I would gladly accept if and when that happened.
I hadn’t spent much time back at the apartment since the blood center had reopened. Partly because I wanted as much potential orgasms with Kroven as possible, but also because Thayer had agreed to hear Troian out, and they were working on things. While Troian was still staying at a hotel, at his own request despite my many pleas to use my bed while I wasn’t there, I wanted to give them the space to work through their fragile familial relationship.
“What about this one?”
Kroven’s question broke me out of my reverie. I followed his gaze to the cat he was pointing at, an absolutely adorable tabby that was already meowing at Kroven as he approached the glass. Surprisingly, animals reacted to Kroven like he was human, another reason why animals were better than humans in every single way.
“Cute, but I’m not sure if that’s the right one.”
“Are you looking for a particular breed?” The attendant cleared her throat to almost remind us that she was there as we browsed.
“Not really.” Both of us said in unison.
My breath caught as I saw a kitten in the corner, alone and looking scared out of its mind. It was a beautiful grey kitten with blue eyes. There were other cats, siblings I presumed, of varying colors playing around the one I had my eye on. I bent down and put my hands to the glass. None of the kittens bothered to acknowledge me. Except for the lone one in the corner.
