I even now had two mates, husbands really, even if we hadn’t had the human ceremony or claimed each other yet, both of whom were my perfect fit if the stories were true. I’d only been here for not quite a week, but the mate pairs I’d seen so far? Yup, even the arguments were cute and ended in smooches. And so many gay families! I wondered if they’d want us to do the foster-to-adopt thing so many Mylos did. I’d always had a vague notion that I’d like to be a dad someday, and I knew my mom, especially, was envious of her friends and their grandkids. Now that I had a secure future and two mates who could help shoulder parental duties, I think I sort of liked the idea. Not right away, of course, as that would be nuts. I’d just met these two guys and started my program.
We paused in front of a door, which, when it opened, turned out to be the shuttle bay.
“Well, time to go see our new digs. No doubt they’ve already moved your stuff, Alec, and got your kitty situated, and are in the middle of moving Kit’s and my things from his old quarters. I’ll arrange for the rest to get delivered tomorrow so it’s not so much at once.”
I nodded. That did seem less overwhelming.
“There’s the shuttle home,” Kittinir said, pointing..
I wondered if he’d mind if I called him Kit the way Carl did. I decided to try to play it cool while trying to find out.
“So, guys, since it’s our first night together as a throuple, we should probably celebrate by eating our fave foods or something. How about one of us chooses a main course, one the sides, and the other dessert?”
“Oh, that does sound fun!”
“So, Kit, what would you like to pick?” I asked as we boarded the shuttle and found three seats together. We began buckling the harness on, and Kit pursed his lips in thought, thinking as he did so.
“Potato salad. The cold kind with mayonnaise and definitely not raisins, carrot sticks, and hummus to dip the sticks in,” he decided. “The kind with red peppers in and garlic.”
“Well, that takes care of the sides,” Carl said, and I nodded, pleased he chose things I would happily eat and even more pleased by him accepting me calling him by his nickname. “I vote charcuterie board for our main course.”
“And how about banana split sundaes for dessert?” I suggested.
“Oh! And real fruit punch to drink. Ha! It’ll be like a mini picnic party! We can eat it in the living room, have a carpet picnic, and watch a movie!” It did sound like fun and low pressure. “I know we’re mates and there’s an expectation that we claim each other, but Kit’s nanites will take a few days to kick in, so I think we should all hang out and get to know each other better. Find our groove as mates.”
The shuttle hatch closed, and the pilot let us know we were about to take off, just before a faint rumble vibrated the floor beneath our feet and a soft jerk alerted us to lift off. The hull of the shuttle became transparent to allow us to see the stars and ships as we made the short trip.
“I mean, sure,” Carl continued, “Kit and I have been friends and colleagues for three years now, but that’s not the same as husbands, and we need to get to know you properly too. No putting any small fronts up like you do with friends, just one hundred percent ourselves, warts and all. Toothpaste caps left off, the works. And um, while we’re just hanging out, we should all sleep on the floor, so it’s like a big sleepover. No pressure. We can get used to being in the same bed once we’re ready to, um, after we’ve done the deed.” He lowered his voice for those last two words, and I felt myself blush right alongside him.
“That sounds most sensible,” Kit agreed.
“Yeah, it does,” I managed to get out.
“Cool. That’s decided then.”
We spent the next several minutes of the flight deciding on what movie to watch, settling on three to marathon. I relaxed, enjoying the banter as we did so. I hadn’t had so much fun since I couldn’t remember when.
24
KITTINIR
Mildly alcoholic fruit punch had us all relaxed. We sat, leaned back against the couch, nibbling cold cuts and cheeses, olives, and carrot sticks dipped in hummus while keeping Floof from sneaking any himself, and Carl pretended to not give him bits of salami.
“I think I prefer the first version of this movie the most,” I said when we paused The Italian Job for a bathroom break. “This one is good, but the scene with all the cars is better in the other one.”
“Yeah,” Alec agreed, stretching his arms overhead as he stood up, the T-shirt he’d changed into before we set out our evening meal riding up as he did so, revealing a tantalizing bit of flesh and a thin line of hair that reached down from his belly button to his groin. “I think usually the originals are better, and the remakes suck, but this time the remake is also good, and the changes work, but there’s just something about the first one that feels like it’s missing. I like the actors better, too. That one guy is in my favorite Scrooge movie, too.”
“The one with the Muppets?” Carl called out, exiting the hall bathroom.
“Yup. A Muppet Christmas Carol.”
“I have not seen this,” I admitted.
“That’s because the last three Christmases, I had you watch It’s a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and all of The Santa Clause movies. You know what? This year, we should add Rudolph, A Muppet Christmas Carol, and the original Miracle on 34th Street, as well as the remake.”
“My mom also always puts on The Little Drummer Boy, and my dad insists we watch Die Hard,” Alec said, taking his turn for the bathroom.
“We should do a movie or two specials a night for every day of Advent,” Carl said, his tone making it sound final.
