“Well, I guess Solari’s getting that Mutation now.” I look over to see Solari seizing in a kneeling position as she falls to lean on my bed. Jenna has a wild look in her eyes and Katie’s eyes are ratcheting back and forth looking well beyond the end of the room.

The darling in my lap has pale skin bordering on blue with short curls of red hair. What I thought would be a completely oversized head, has appeared the same size, but with an appropriate-sized body. Little Zia appears to be about three years old. She’s not breathing and her pulse is on existent—neither is mine though. My aether sight tells me her vortex is operating and her . . . power network is modeled after my latest with her symbiote attached to her vortex.

She is currently working on subsuming the symbiotes and small swarm we gave her. It could take hours or days. She will also need time to process the hereditary memories that are stored within her crystalline matrix.

That sounds like a whole lot of sleeping and perhaps some low response periods. My thoughts turn into background noise as I see Zia absently grasp for something. I give her my hand and she pulls it close to her. A flush of love and happiness suffuse my body and force me to pull he close as well. I kiss her head and run my hand through her copper locks.

Who knows how long later, I realized that I was worried about Katie and Jenna falling over. Jenna slumped, but Katie full-on fell over with straight legs. As tall as she is, she’ll be knocked out for a week and a half.

Tessa, what the hell am I going to do. I’ve got a war to fight in a few months, I travel all the time, and I don’t know if I can stand leaving Zia with anyone.

How have you not thought about this until now?

I did, but I didn’t expect my feelings for her to be so sudden and so loud. I would do anything to keep her safe. I would move planets for her. I would commit war crimes for her. I would . . . oh. That is a terrible idea, but it would be effective. And then my mind runs away with those ideas like a levy has burst. I could kill two systems with one act of assholery. Well, plan for the worst and hope for the best.

That’s horrible Penny. Do you need help?

I can’t help but chuckle at that. I’m the one that’s responsible for human morals, so I have to tell her the limits. And she will know by reading my mind that this is far beyond the normal rules of war we would follow. However, a people that would try to assassinate a Head of state during a diplomatic visit aren’t interested in rules.

I need a stealth shuttle. With the other crafting that I absolutely have to do myself, or with you Tessa, I don’t have time to build the shuttle myself.

Why do you need a shuttle?

Cargo and Speed? Just saying.

You have an undisclosed Vault for storage and you can teleport as far as you need to. If you can’t figure out the space teleport out by then, just build a drone array warp generator.

Please do that last thing. It’ll give me time to design the potential horror show.

***

Kate is the first to pull herself up from the ground. She crawls up the bed and lies next to me. “How’s our girl?”

“tired, healthy and a little grabby.” I look down and Zia is face down on my belly, foot in my crotch, still death-gripping my hand. “Are you okay? Seems you took a mutation?”

She nods, “Small one. Makes my drinking a little more efficient, but makes me concentrate on making the experience pleasant for my donor. All things considered, a good one.” She kisses my cheek and starts petting baby Zia. “Why did you curse her with my hair.” She whispers into my side.

I tug on her shirt so she knows I want her head on my arm. She responds favorably. “I kept thinking that I wanted her to be pretty like you, and this is what happened.”

She chuckles into my shoulder and starts fiddling with the hem on my side. “It’s hard to remember sometimes that we love each other differently. It’ll be hard to forget that you wanted your first child to look like me.”

I kiss her head and try not to cry at my insecurities, my inadequacies, and this cuddly moment. “Yeah, Kay. I don’t follow your love languages well, but you’ve been what I want since I first saw you. She’s got a base version of your alpha waves, so she’ll probably think like you too.”

“You’re crazy.” She comments without teeth and snuggles into me.

This. This is where and how I want to live. Getting cuddled by my daughter and my wife. I soak it in until Jenna recovers.

“Aww, what a cute cuddle puddle. Uh, I hate to ask, but I kind of need to tier up now?”

“Oof. Oren!” I wait for him to come back out. “Can you make it down to the aether pool?” He nods at me and starts walking toward the stairs. “Jenna, get in the tub he shows you. It’ll give you more aether for the transition. Take the time to strap in. It’s fine if you break it.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

She nods and follows Oren down the stairs as fast as he allows.

“Do you love her?” Katie asks.

“Not as such, but I still like her. There was a version of me that was almost there, but working through what portions of her were acting and what she presents now, it’s hard to reconcile what’s real.” I take a deep breath then continue, “Solari and I were never a thing. Mostly because my other two relationships were in the air, and trying to introduce more chaos would have been insanity. Plus, I was trying to stay within our agreement.”

“An agreement I completely obliterated.” She says, barely audible as she hides her face in my shoulder.

“Katie, no. You were coerced into that. That shame is not yours to bear, babe. I certainly don’t hold it against you, well, not the ‘our bed’ thing.” She doesn’t say anything more, but when she pulls my shirt tighter, I hold her closer so she can’t escape.

Minutes later, Solari crawls up the bed, opens one eye, settles into my other side and moves one of Zia’s legs so she doesn’t trap her between us. Andromeda, all of this affection, I want to keep it. Cuddled by three people that care about me and that I care about in return. Too bad there’s a time limit on this. When Katie stops feeling vulnerable and when Solari . . . I really don’t know. She wants to date, but I really don’t need a new catastrophe. A hand plops on my face.

“I can hear you thinking. Just, hold us and stop thinking.” Solari accuses.

“Mikaela, I swear.” She swats my nose.

“Shh.” She pats my face a few times and falls asleep on my chest.

What even is this place? Adventure, progress, and snuggles? My best life has arrived. For a short time only, I know, but for the next few hours, I’m in Nirvana, and I’m going to enjoy it.

***

Zia gives me a few hours before aggressively trying to feed from me. She finds my nipple through a shirt and shark teethes the crap out of it. I suppress a howl, but not enough to keep my other snuggle buddies asleep. My chest is now bleeding and my darling daughter is lapping it up unconsciously. Tiny piranha toddler. Mikaela starts and releases my arm, so I form a port that offers sustenance for my baby Zia and she reluctantly accepts the trade. Only for a drowsy Katie to latch on to my bloody boob.

“Katie! No.” I smack her head to wake her up. “I will not be aroused while Zia feeds.”

My wife finally wakes, looks into my eyes and pouts her luscious lips at me. Fucking model face and that uber pretty mug. “Fiiiine, but you get an arm too, lady.”

After a minute, I start to get light-headed so I shake Katie off. I order a juice that I like, then shake Zia off and drip a few drops of my blood into the juice bottle for her to sip on.

“Mikki, could you help me downstairs?” She gives me a looks before pulling an arm over her head to help me out. “Look, lady, you want to date, you get a nickname.”

She stops dead and searches my eyes for lies or whatever. I’m a little high from blood loss. “What? Giving me sexy eyes isn’t going to change your nickname Mikki.”

Then she kisses me. Fuck my life. So much good is happening that I know a cart load of shit is coming later. I look back at Katie snuggling Zia and I suddenly don’t care what happens next. They are so cute.

“Mm. So when are you taking me out, miss Solari?”

She laughs at that. “Too right. I got things out of order, but you make things so comfortable, I wish to claim amnesty.”

“Oh no, you have to plan the date you promised me.”

“You’re ridiculous, Empress. And I am hoping to take you out, but we have war to do and lives to save.”

“Mikaela, there is always some sort of crisis in my life. If you’re waiting for a perfect time, the universe will succumb to entropy before I kiss you again.”

I thought I had a solid point, showing a smug face as she helps me down the stairs. When we hit the landing, she nudges me into a much more tender kiss.

“Entropy can go fuck itself then. How about a mini date on your lazy river.”

“Mm, I think you’re cheating, but please continue.” I place a kiss beneath her ear. She shudders.

“Nope. Not going to do it. You are a delightful temptress, but I will stay strong!” I chuckle at her dramatics and don’t try to provoke her any further. We arrive at our destination to see Jenna thrashing in my aether pool.

“Oh, well. Some snacks in the garden then?” I look back to the lift.

“How about, we take that date now?”

I chuckle, “You got it. Bathing suits required.”

She nods and sets me into a doubles tube before walking off to change.

“What the fuck am I doing.” I say to myself. I like it, but the environment is a little sketch for intimacy right now. I teleport in my swimwear and swap it on.

Mikaela comes out with a masc binding top and shorts. “Not that you don’t look hot, but have I been calling the wrong pronouns?”

She shrugs. “I don’t really think about it too much. I’m uncomfortable naked, so I wear this. “

“Mm, then sit next to me, and lets snack and float shall we?”

And that’s how I guilty-recovered my aether, floating on the river, eating galaxy fruit with a genderfluid fantasy. Sure, the loves of my life are sleeping and snuggled in my bed, but mama’s gotta recover her aether too. I’m pretty dry as it is, and . . . oof. I’m traveling the dangerous road Katie was on.

“You look like you’re thinking too much.” Solari says, grabbing the hand between us. “Be with me for a few minutes. Your world is in a comfortable stasis, nothing but you and me. What’s next?”

I think for a moment, and the figure eight tube with two holes is too limiting. I roll on top of her, order an inflatable lounger and blip us a third meter above where it’s supposed to be. We land in a comfortable heap on the lounger with drinks in the cup holders.

“I don’t really do respectable distance. You cuddled with me earlier, lets continue.” I put my hand on the bottom of her compression shirt and ask if I can roll it up a bit. She nods and I put bits of my future meal on her. She laughs enough to roll my nigiri toward our joined midsections.

“No fair, I want to eat and lick you.”

“You don’t mind how I present?” She asks me, while feeding me parts of my tumbling meal.

“No, I never will unless you transition to bits and pieces. I have an uncomfortable reaction to male human genitals, so if that’s your plan, then, we should part ways.”

“Heh, fine. I had entertained top surgery, but bottom is . . .invasive and strenuous.”

“Not with the Matrix. You could hire a magus to transform your middles and that would be that. You would likely even be able to procreate.”

Solari chuckels at me. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be there, but sometimes I like to wear this top. Can we still date?”

I scoff. “I’m not making fun, but I’m onboard with whatever you need, as long as I don’t have to touch dangly bits.”

She chuckles into my mouth and continues to feed me my favorite foods while teasing me with her other hand. Trying to re-position for shenanigans send us off the floating chair and into the river. I absently blip us to the common area and summon a pile of blankets to crawl upon in our sogginess. Instead of discussing anything, both of us fall deep into the embrace of a sea of blankets.