“Penny, baby, I gotta go.” I speak low into the short fey woman holding onto me with and arm and a leg she has flopped over me. I feel her wake as she starts kneading her fingers into my skin.

“Noo,” she whines, nuzzling into my neck, gripping my compression top tightly.

My middles warm and flutter as her pert little nose flicks my earlobe. I have to clench my core like I’m pulling high gees to keep myself from devolving into more bedroom shenanigans. I don’t visit Astoria often, so Penny is suitably appreciative of when I visit her suite in the Aelean capitol district. This trip, we’ve barely made it outside to see the lovely home planet of the Astorian Empire.

“Penny, c’mon. Even with the shiny new upgrades on my ship, it’s still going to take a few days to make the three jumps it takes to get to the Brony System.”

“I still can’t believe the Forum of Consuls approved that name.” She growls into my side. “You should stay for breakfast. I’ll teleport you to Waystation AB-2, if you stay.”

It would cut a whole day of travel. The last time I took her up on the offer, she had us appear right in a prospecting region and every single ship within a lightyear came to investigate an apparent Aethrite source. Penny’s magical pixie brain is like 70% Aethrite at this point, which she told me after laughing her ass off while I tried to explain a false reading to the grizzled money grubbers looking for a big payday.

My brief thought break must have taken up the whole period she was willing to wait, as she climbs on top of me, sits on my hips and kisses me. Touching skin to skin with Penny is addictive. Not only is she soft, smooth, and reactive, her skin emits Aether and us Symbiote users feel a euphoric rush when she wants us to. She’s keeping the tingles to only her lips and tongue right now, which is the only reason I can form thoughts through her efforts.

“Gods, Penny.” I say, pushing her away lightly as I breath more heavily than ‘snuggling’ permits. “Alright, I’ll stay. But we’re going to do normal people stuff, not randy new couple stuff.”

She pouts at me. “Boo. We only get to spend this kind of time together a few times a year.”

“And relationships are more than sex sweetie.” I say with a dismissive chuckle, but she drops her face so close that our nose fuzz is touching.

Penny searches my eyes and I am confused as to why she’s suddenly this serious. “If you’re serious, I think I’m ready to relationship with you officially.”

My heart stutters as I’ve been waiting years for her to stay that to me. We went on a few dates before the Herrati War started, in which we both fought boarding parties of monstrous cat folk, but after that she got tied up in government stuff here in the Capitol and I took my Frontier Sheriff gig before her chaotic life became more steady. When the Brony System petitioned to be added to the Empire for trade and security benefits about two years ago, we re-connected—and kept periodically connecting since then.

I’d told her to look me up again when her life had calmed down and she had time for dating, but I guess she was waiting for me to ask her? How is it fair when a powerful woman wants the simp to ask her out? Ugh.  It’s not, and she would be the first to tell me that life wasn’t fair.

“Hmm, I don’t know if my Pixie girlfriend sounds better than my Pixie plaything.” I waggle my eyebrows for effect, and her adorable snort makes me laugh with her.

“Yes, but now I get to say I’m dating a gymnast. Plus, I’ll still be your plaything on occasion.” She purrs and licks my lip with the tip of her tongue before kissing me. She gives me just a taste of the aether tingles before blipping off me to her walk-in closet.

“How do you feel about Guiseppe’s? Zia brought back some Aether-forged meat from a bear-like beast and I’m eager to try it.”

“Mmm, I do like Guiseppe’s. Can we sit by the lake?” She beams at me before getting lost in her menus for a few minutes. Just after I met Penny, she’d accidentally gotten herself pregnant through a confusing mix of science and magic and then we fought a war. Since then, from what I can tell she’s been an eccentric and caring mother, and generally tries to take care of all of her friends. She’s usually too busy to spoil us correctly. Then again, I’m not sure I would have classified what Penny and I had was a friendship. Now, I guess it’s basically in the title: Girlfriend.

We take her private elevator to the lobby and walk out to the parking green, where she has a brand new hoverbike power up and extend two helmets. Now, I’m usually the one that is trying to impress women with a nice bike or a chivalrous display, but Penny is such a powerfully commanding femme, that it doesn’t feel like she’s putting any effort in being this way—it just is.

Her tiny pixie body looks strange on the sporty machine by herself, but when I climb in behind her and grab her hips, she’s so firmly planted, so secure on the Bike that it fills me with a sense of safety. This general feeling of warmth is accompanied by the knowledge that she can fly and teleport, so I’m safe as houses, but the knowledge isn’t what makes the base of my skull tingle.

When we get to the lake that Aelea was founded around, Penny wheelies and jumps the bike over lake street and into the lake where the hover mechanics work overtime to keep us dry as she continues toward her favorite grill master’s shop. She pulls up next to a bench that literally has her name on it and powers down the bike. By the time I get my helmet off, she’s already greeting folks running our direction.

“Paolo! Good do see you. Is your Papa coming out today?”

“Hah, like he would ever turn down a chance to cook for you. He’s still telling Camile and the kids what their jobs are.”

“It is too much. You and your father always pull out the stops for me.”

“Oh, yeah? So you didn’t bring the meat of an aether beast with you today?” He accuses as he sets a table down and two people with server aprons on dash out with chairs. Penny blushes in tones of fuchsia and I want to nibble on those cheeks.

“I did, of course I did! You put so much effort in, how can I not?!” she gesticulates and huffs. “You know what? Fine. Do you have anything fun to drink?”

A teen server pulls a pad out of her apron and replies. “We have a Summer Farms Shiraz or a Sparkling Galaxy White.”

“Oh? The White please. That sounds fun indeed!”

I can’t help but smile at the bouncy exuberance in her interaction and how ridiculous it would be for a fifty-year-old woman. Her tier 3 ascension came with a full pixie transformation and reset her apparent age . . . again. The near decade since then has held her ageless.

“Are Shiraz grapes grown on Astoria?” I ask.

“We have Summer Farms wines from Astoria and Elysium.” Oof. I’ve taken an un-planned aether mutation before and it was not fun. Elysium is one of the highest aether concentrations of a terrestrial body in the Empire, and it pervades everything from that moon.

“The Astorian red please.” She nods and runs back to the shop across the street.

“Do you not have body of power yet, Mikki?” my girlfriend asks with concern.

“I have the first rank, but I’m not in a hurry to get more. The dependence is challenging on the Fronteir. Sure, there are some places in the Bronies that are hard for me to stomach, but I spend more time in space an on Dash than I do in high Aether environments.

“You know I have access to the greatest aether adaptation specialists in the Empire, right?”

I walk up to her and kiss her on the forehead. “I know, hon, but you also know that I believe things like this happen as they will.”

She grumps and huffs and hugs me. “You’re starting to sound like Alphea. She is a hard-core Andromeda stan. Like just founded a religion based on them.”

“Didn’t she just have her first birthday a few months ago?!” I ask in shock.

“Yeah?” she looks up at me trying to assess my response. “Oh! Yeah, my kids are born with a hereditary memory, and they basically reach physical adulthood when they reach tier 1. Zia’s development was a shock, but the next four were standard. Didn’t you wonder why I had no kids in the house?”

“I mean, I did, but I wasn’t sure how involved I was supposed to be before the whole girlfriend thing.” She keeps searching my eyes, but now with concern.

“Did you think I didn’t want you as a part of my life? Mikaela, I know it sounds shallow, but my not committing to this had nothing to do with what you had to offer. My life is a mess. I live with my Sapient AI that I used a tier upgrade to make her a User, who decided that with her autonomy needed to find out who she is. I didn’t want to hurt her by committing to someone, but when she started being cold to my kids, I decided she could take a hike.” Penny reaches up and thumbs my cheek with affection in her eyes. “We haven’t spent more than a day together in years, so this seemed like the right time to ask.”

                “You mean to tell me, I could have been texting you with my asinine problems for years, but I’ve been too afraid that you’d tell me no again?”

                “Pretty much. Big baby coward.” She says, sticking her tongue out at me.

                “You’re lucky you’re cute.” She narrows her eyes at me and I know she doesn’t particularly like being called cute. Shouldn’t have called me a coward, turd.

                “Oh, yes. What an empty Universe it would be without my looks. Woe! Woe is me!” She flops her head back and rests her wrist on her forehead.

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                “Now if only you turned into a llama.” She nods at that.

                “I could use a waterpark named after me.”

                Before I can reply, a spry old man scurries out with a barbecue on a hand-cart with a litter of kids of various ages following behind him with sauces and tools. “Ahah! Empress. A gloria Astoria to you! What have you brought me today?!” He asks, panting as the cart comes to rest next to the table Paolo set up.

                “Aether Forged Bear-like beast. My daughter finished her capstone on Elysium a few months ago.”

                The old man’s eyes glimmer with excitement. “Oho! Paolo, my boy, if your daughter want’s to be on the grill, today is the day to assist! Gather her while I get the orders.” Paolo runs off to the shop immediately.

                “Yes, Guiseppe, I have 10 kilos to cook today. Two for here for me and Mik, and a chef’s choice sampling for me and Zia. Mik, how do you like your meat?”

                My heart softens to pudding as Penny remembers that I present Male in public. Hells, I love this girl. “I like a medallion in an herbed wine sauce?” Penny nods.

                “I would like a poke style preparation for a kilo, and a Cajun crusted steak please.”

                “You honor me with such engaging projects, Empress. My family have some  . . . adventurous antipasta that we would be honored for you to try while we prepare your meal.”

                “I would be delighted, Guiseppe.”

                The fact that this tiny, pleasant pixie is the Empress of Astoria, and rumored for being a warmongering monster with an oppressive hold on humanity just boggles my mind. I pull my arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

                “Thanks for, you know, respecting my sexuality hon.”

                She nips my forearm. “Of course. I know it’s been a decade, and more, but I do remember the first night you slept over. I asked and you explained, and I’ve been trying to do my best understand that. Just don’t tell me that you’re into polyamory. I can’t do that again.”

                Everyone on Astoria knows that particular drama fire. Her ex wife is still prominent on Astoria, save that she runs the most lucrative black market organization in the Empire with several of Penny’s former International Navy shipmates. That was all well before me, of course. I enlisted in the marines when I was seventeen and was selected as part of the two platoons of Marines from Earth to serve with the new Astorian Navy. I was part of Penny’s security patrol during her struggles with her first Astorian Forum where Consuls and Governors wanted to brow beat her with rules and shame her for not knowing how government works. When she told them that they could figure out inter city relations themselves, or she would tell them how it would be, a piece of my heart fluttered for her from there on out.

                “Nope. Not interested, really. I kinda have a girl in every port that I had fun with, but mostly because they want me to settle with them. You, you don’t want me to settle and it’s why I’ve held a little space for you this whole time.” Her iridescent wings pop out as she flutters up to my face to kiss me.

                The way our lips touch is sweet, tender and understanding in a way I’ve been desperate for.  I’m afraid that she won’t accept the Male side of me, but, so far, she’s been nothing but supportive. Maybe one day I will feel less swept away by her to show both sides of me off. I pull her body into a princess carry and she lets her weight sink into my arms as we continue to kiss.

                When the first sizzle of meat hits the grill I realize we’re in public and I set my Pixie girl down. Several of the kids are beaming at us with smiles and a woman with a dish rag swats the lot of them, yelling that they should get back to work. Speaking of work.

                “Since I now have an ear in the government, how’s the Brony petition looking?”

                “Hmm?” she looks up from the sea-weed looking mess in a bowl on the table. “Oh, they submitted a growth report with prospect systems as a part of their stability. First time thing, and mostly concerns Bro-three. They also want new designations for the three-system group, which is making everything take longer to arrange. Don’t get me wrong, I’m willing, but a loose trade consortium isn’t going to do it as far as a government goes.” She takes a fork-full of the seaweed and groans into the mess as she takes another bite.

                I try the assorted pickled vegetables in front of me. Spicy, a bit horseradish-like, but totally zing. “I can see why. It makes enforcement difficult too as most of the prospecting in that region is done by the five emerging trade families. You’re going to have to have oversight of some kind to make sure they stay a part of the fold.”

                “Mmm, I agree. I have ideas, but since it’s a test I’d need to get some buy in from the people I expect to manage it.” She looks up at me, steals one of my pickles to mingle with her seaweed and moans into the experience of melded flavors. I feel that she’s doing more than enjoying the flavors as a part of me responds to the eye contact and vocalization.

                “Aww, shit. It’s me isn’t it. You’re going to make me a part of this mess.”

                “A part, yes. Make you? Never. One of the reason’s you’re my favorite Marshall, is that you insist on having a say, and that your immediate buy-in deserved that respect. This would make you responsible for the economic space outside of each System. That’s eight light hours to ten light years of those systems and their prospects. Do you think that’s unrealistic?”

                Is she fucking serious? That’s like double the job I’m already doing. “Babe, in all seriousness, this is a huge change in scope. You’d what, put a Protector on each system’s primary planet like Earth?”  she nods. “Jeeze okay. That would mean I’d need a neutral forward station, as favoring a trade org would look bad, and I would need a staff to manage intel from the protectorate systems and an operative in each of the prospect systems.”

                “Mmm. An office in each protectorate system is part of the idea. No farther than the outermost stable orbiting planet or an attached moon. The prospecting provisions would be unmanageable if we included on-sight oversight, so I want to propose to you that we test a mobile Consulate where as a Sector Marshal, you would have strategic command of said ship. And before you argue, six systems is enough to promote you to Sector Marshal, you oversee eight, all of which are within ten lightyears of the frontier border with Andromeda Forum patrolled space.”

                “Penny. If we’re going to date, I won’t accept favoritism.”

                “One, tough shit I can cheat within the rules if I want. Two, there are four frontier marshals that have active prospecting petitions, and Terrance has barely half of your active responsibilities. I am looking to eliminate the top and bottom sector administrators, and you are my test subject for that, because I trust you and because I fucking say so. To answer the accusation, yes, I will lean on you and give you more things I am testing because I inherently trust you. Yes it is partially because I want to be with you, because trust, doi.” She takes a deep breath and then pins me to the planet with her swirling galaxy eyes.

                “I would not ask you if I didn’t think you were up to the task, but yes, you will get more opportunities, more tests, more potentially dangerous situations because I trust you.”

                My whole body shivers at the attention. Gods, if she leveled her voice of command at me I’d be pissed, but this is just the force of her assuredness.

                “Penny, holy shit. I  . . . I wasn’t trying to . . . you know I’m afraid to be dependent.” She raises her hand, interrupting my train of thought.

                “Mik, I understand somewhat. There is zero chance that I don’t pick you as Sector Marshall if the merchant houses agree to this protectorate-marshal arrangement. This is still in the hands of other people, but I have made clear what I want.” She waves at a server. “The wine, love. Please bring it.” She nods and hurries off.

                I stew internally as she eats the appetizers. Is this kept behavior or just leaning on a preferred advisor? She made Tessa First Consul afterall. Did she say a mobile consulate?!? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

                “So, Mirabel, if my friend was single, how would you flirt with him?”

                I choke on my wine.

                “Empress!” the skinny redhead waitress scolds Penny. “Paolo is my husband!”

                “Even better, you both are unavailable, I need to be entertained.”

                “Penny, leave the girl alone. She’s married and you’re just being a pest. Just because I have questions doesn’t mean you need to be an ass.” The poor girl looks surprised and awkward. “You see, the Empress decided that she wants to be my girl, but does not like that I had relations in most of the ports I visited before she agreed to be mine. How would you or your husband deal with this?”

                “Oh! Whoo, I’m so relieved. You see, Paolo had many prospects. Apprenticed to his father and favorite siu cheff of the Empress is a big deal. I told him to prove he was dedicated to me, left it open ended and he convinced his family to let me apprentice with them! He helped me with my dream, so he obviously loves me.”

                Penny beams at me, I shove my hand in her face and scoff at the freckled woman serving us just before my girlfriend licks my hand. We bicker for a few minutes but I see Mirabel’s look soften with happy understanding before she leaves.

                “Okay, fine. I’m sorry for overreacting Penny, but the dangers of loosing my dreams as your sugar baby is very real.”

                “Mik, for fucks sakes. I am going to dote on you. The only way to do so with your rules is when I would give you things anyway. Take the compliment hon.”

                The first round of food arrives, but I still want to fight.

                “No. If this goes through with the Counsel. You’re getting promoted and you’re getting a command ship, commanded by a senior Captain in my Navy. You cannot maintain a permanent residence on the Bronies unless you maintain one on all of them. The communication stations will belong to you, and manning is still under discussion. If this works, Terrance will be so assigned as well. The corvette I am assigning is a pre- Herrat corvette that I am looking to retire, or sell. I considered having you test my new Oak-class Corvette, but nooo. Favoritism. Blah. Can we just enjoy the time with our chefs and the lake before you leave?”

                I’m feeling snotty, so I reply, “as you command, my Empress.”