“What the fuck,” Jude whispered under his breath, horrified, in the tone of voice reserved for parents who were only now realizing the scope of what having an alien baby could mean.
Beside him, Al beamed. “Do you see that, Jude? Cross-species transmutation is not simple, and yet Eleanor has performed it flawlessly. It is a sign that our clutch will be beyond average in intelligence and skill. Our blended genetics have produced superior offspring indeed.”
Eleanor couldn’t hold the transformation for long and reverted to her true form as Al spoke, but the damage had been done—over the course of the next few seconds, her siblings all became cats to varying degrees of success. All except for Star, who squeezed his eyes shut from his efforts, but did not transform at all.
Ezra did not comment on the chaos. He squatted down so he was eye level with the bed and cooed, “You’re gonna love your Uncle Ezra so much, aren’t you? Much more than your Uncle Corbin.”
“Knock it off,” Jude warned, scooping Starr up from the bed and snuggling him close to chase any feelings of sadness or inferiority away. “They’re super impressionable and learn really fast. They probably understand you.”
Ezra grinned. “That’s the idea.”
Before Jude could kick Ezra’s ass for indoctrinating his children, the doorbell rang, and Ezra stood back up. “I’ll get it,” he said. “It’s probably Corbin. Him and I were gonna go see if we could find some cheap baby things for you guys. Or, uh, maybe some cat toys?” He shrugged. “Whatever feels right, I guess, because you’re definitely gonna need more than the few things you have now.”
It was true. Over the course of the month and a half that they had been waiting for the eggs to hatch, they had used Jude’s student loan money to stockpile thrifted clothing and toys, but if Al was right about how quickly the babies would grow, it would only be a matter of time before they’d need even more. It had seriously drained Jude’s bank account, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to afford what they’d need for their seven growing children, but he also knew his finances weren’t Ezra’s and Corbin’s problem. “You really don’t need to,” he said guiltily.
Ezra shrugged and said, “I know,” before showing himself out of the room.
Jude busied himself with Star, blowing raspberries onto his tummy and kissing all the way from there to the top of his head to distract himself from the way his eyes prickled following Ezra’s sweet gesture. He was lucky. It wasn’t every day you found friends who not only stuck by you after finding out about your weird alien pregnancy, but went out of their way to support you in whatever ways they could. He would have to find a way to thank Ezra later, when his waking hours weren’t being monopolized by keeping seven energetic little aliens hidden from the public.
Him and Corbin both.
When Starr was smiling and clicking with laughter, Jude set him back down and saw that Al had Lucy, who had a miserable, fussy look about her and one hand shaped like a cat’s paw that she couldn’t seem to get to go away. Al bounced her lightly, smiling, and spoke to her in hushed tones in his mother tongue, and while Jude couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying, he knew from the tone of Al’s voice that he was offering comfort and encouragement. Sweet words for their sweet daughter.
Darvrokians did not cry, but Lucy seemed as close to tears as one could get. She made pitiful little chirping noises that broke Jude’s heart into a million pieces, but as Al spoke to her, she quieted, and with Al’s gentle guidance, she was able to change her cat paw back into her true form’s hand once again.
Al cuddled her close and kissed the top of her head when she succeeded, and Jude’s shattered heart became whole again. Buzzing with love, he fit himself to Al’s side and rested his cheek on Al’s shoulder. “I love you,” he whispered, soaking in Al’s presence as he watched their babies play on the bed. “I love you more than anything. You and our family both.”
“And we feel love for you, Jude,” Al said. He set Lucy down and wrapped a protective arm around Jude, pulling him close. “I wish you could experience the love our offspring feel when they look at you.”
The thought of his babies feeling love when they looked at him filled Jude with such tremendous joy, he was certain he was going to burst from it. He had never felt so—
“Uh, hey guys,” Ezra interrupted, sticking his head in the room with a funny look on his face. “There is a large man in a business jacket and swim trunks standing outside our door, and he’s asking for Al, only he used his real name. I’m assuming that means he’s”—he did a vague gesture—“you know.”
Jude frowned and turned to Al, expecting him to be equally confused, but instead Al brightened up like someone who had just gotten confirmation that their Amazon package had arrived.
“Excellent,” he said cheerfully. “The paperwork has gone through!”
26
Al
In all his time alive, Al had never felt more happiness than he did now that his offspring had hatched and were officially part of the universe. He felt love for Jude, of course, but his feelings of love toward the children almost took his breath away, because they were part of himandpart of Jude. They had created life together, and if the proof wasn’t right there in front of him, he would have considered it to be unimaginable.
And now it was about to get even better.
“Okay, for the thousandth time,whatpaperwork?” Jude asked, but Al barely heard him over his own feelings of excitement.
“Buttons,” Al said, looking Buttons in the eyes, “keep watch over the offspring, thank you very much please.”
In response, Buttons let out a single-syllabled meow of agreement and jumped up onto the bedside table, perching on its edge to survey the children as they surveyed her.
“I don’t know if I want a cat watching our—”
“Come with me to greet our guest, Jude. Ezra as well.” Al beckoned them to follow. Jude appeared to be about to protest again, but Al left the room before he had a chance. He heard Jude sigh, but a moment later his footsteps fell in line behind him, with Ezra close behind.
Al hurried through the living room, flung the door open, and beamed when he saw the truly gargantuan man standing on the other side.
He was very tall and nearly just as wide, wearing a crisp black business jacket on top of a silk button-up with a matching tie. He had on sleek, shiny black shoes, and his sleeves were rolled up to the elbow to show off an expensive watch that had stupid human time depicted on it. He was also wearing bright orange and blue swim trunks to complement the rest of the outfit.
