“What kind of question is that? I—” The brain fog cleared for one suspended moment, and horror crashed over them. “Oh no.”
Slowly, the human looked up from his book. “Zef?”
“Oh no,” they whimpered, and this time, the tears started to fall. “No, Bryce, I do not want it.”
Abandoning the books on the island, Bryce rushed back to their side. “I know, darlin’, but it’s gonna be fine. It’s natural, okay? It happens to every Mantodea, and it’ll be over before you know it.”
“I hate it,” they said tearfully. “I feel all wrong inside.”
He carefully laid his hands on their shoulders as they buried their face in their blanket. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
And oh, they liked him calling themsweetheartanddarlin’.It made them feel warm and prickly. His hands on their shoulders also made them feel prickly, but it was a different kind of prickly, a different sort of tingly. This was deeper, spearing them in their stomach instead of skittering over their skin.
They did not like it, even when their body hummed because of it. With a shudder, they peeked out from their blanket, startling at how close Bryce was. His hands rested on their shoulders, a heavy weight, and he was close enough they felt his body heat. Their wings thrummed with… desire?
Mortified, they pushed Bryce away. “No, get away. Take your muscles and your nipples and your beard and go away. I cannot… handle it right now.”
Bryce was smiling infuriatingly. “Zef, are you, uh, feeling things?”
“No,” they lied unconvincingly.
“No? You’re not… horny?” he asked, and they gagged.
“No! How could you—why would you—unacceptable.” They stepped forward and smacked his chest. “You absolute rapscallion!”
He sniggered. “Why are you calling me names, when you’re the one looking at me—”
“Do not say it,” they warned.
“Like you want me.”
“I do not,” they snarled. “I would never because… blech, and… I hate you?”
“You’re massaging my biceps again,” he said smugly, and they shrieked again.
“Get away from me, you siren!”
Pointing an index finger at them, he said, “You got penis-brain.”
“Impossible. I do not even have a penis!”
“And yet,” Bryce said smugly. “You, Zefryn and-I-promise-I-will-remember-your-middle-names-eventually Ootyk, have penis-brain right now.”
“No,” they wailed dramatically. “I want my brain-brain back.”
“You’ll get it back, I promise. But first, I need to go to the store and get you cake and birth control. Unless you have plans that you haven’t shared with me,” he said, pointing to their stomach where the evil little eggs were begging to be inseminated, and Zef physically recoiled.
“Absolutely not.”
“Okay. What’s the name of the medication you need?”
Since Zef had only experienced one fertility cycle before, they could not remember the pills Toa Sian had provided for them. But they had kept the box for exactly a time such as this.
Leaving Bryce in the kitchen, they hurried to their bathroom and pilfered through the baskets of cleaning and medical supplies under their sink. All the way in the back, box flattened and torn, was the medication they sought. Well, the empty cartonfor the medication.
They returned to the kitchen and handed it to Bryce. “I need one box please.”
“Okay. Go run yourself a bath and try to relax.” He tucked the blanket closer around their face and smiled sweetly at that. “I’ll take care of the rest.”
