by Vi Voxley
The best thing about the Gargon bonds, the imaginary hand wrote, is that we think we know what happiness is. The truth is, we don't. We have no idea, not until we stare it in the eye, not until it blasts us into a world that was before us all that time, invisible until we were ready.
17
Cole
Cole had no idea what or who metalbugs were.
He was leaning against the door of the private room Riley and Mya were in, listening to the quiet sound of hushed voices, mostly Riley's. Seeing Harbor appear from the other end of the corridor, moving with all the grace and discretion of a domesticated fighter ship, the warlord glared.
He signaled Harbor to sneak the way warriors did in the occasions where it was necessary the enemy didn't hear them coming.
It shouldn't have been a frowned-upon practice – after all, that was how most of the worlds of the Alliance waged wars – but Gargons had never been fond of it. They liked looking their enemies in the eye when they challenged them.
There was no glory, no skill needed to kill an opponent when they weren't looking. Dishonest and despicable, although the ability to move without sound was occasionally useful, like for instance – now.
"Is something wrong?" Harbor inquired in a muffled voice with deep concern etched on his stern face.
"No," Cole said, still glaring. "What could possibly be wrong here? We are in the safest place on Octava."
Our home, he specified in his head.
Cole was continually struggling with the fact that the concept of home now included Harbor. It was like a bad dream he had yet to wake up from.
During Riley's absence, the relationship between him and Harbor had been complicated to say the least. Mya brought them closer and their daughter could always be counted upon to be the one thing they agreed upon. Her safety and happiness were priority number one, making sure she knew she had a mother too was a close second.
Neither one of them had ever given up hope that one day Riley would return to them and Mya could meet her. For that, the girl needed to be ready so they never made much of a secret of what had happened to her mother.
With the omission of pretty much all the details, of course.
Where Mya was the positive link between them, everything else was the opposite of that. Without Riley's calming presence, the common love they shared, being forced to be in each other's lives was intolerable. All the differences and quarrels they had were magnified when the person they disagreed with the most was living two doors over instead of a nice, cordial continent.
Cole sighed inwardly. He knew there was no ridding himself of Harbor so he reluctantly bit back all the insults that rose to his lips.
"She is telling Mya about some beasts called metalbugs. I have no idea where she gets them. I never heard of any such creatures on Terra. They sound like something we would know about. Giant metallic monsters... if they existed, I would have one mounted on the wall in my trophy room."
Harbor nodded. The other commander undoubtedly thought the same.
"She's telling her a story," Cole concluded. "By the sound of it, Mya really likes it."
The smile on Harbor's face mirrored his own for a moment. Cole couldn't express his joy at the fact the first day of Riley being in their home was going well. It was a good thing that with Harbor, he didn't need to spell out the obvious.
As much as he loathed the idea, the other commander was Riley's fated too and that meant her happiness, and the happiness of their daughter, was the most important thing to him as well.
"That is good," Harbor said, hesitating for a second. "Did you see her face when that plasma shot went off and Mya ran away from her?"
"Yes," Cole said, his face growing grim. "That was terrible timing. Even so, she took it well. Maybe the healers were wrong. She doesn't seem to have any of the quirks they warned us about."
Harbor looked pensive, but then again, he always did. Cole suppressed another snappy comment about overthinking everything.
"I think it's a bit too soon to celebrate," the other commander admitted. "Doalle said the first reaction might very well be glee or even vigor. That is what looking out for the fallbacks meant. Everything that goes wrong, she'll take it that much harder after her accident and all that has befallen her."
"That doesn't mean we can't celebrate when things are going well," Cole said seriously. "You are too careful, Harbor. We can't keep watching after her, afraid she might suffer some of the perfectly natural effects of her accident."
"Agreed," Harbor said, a warning note in his deep voice. "I want her to be free of that memory and live as if it never happened. I'm simply pointing out it has been only a few days. I'm not dropping my guard just yet."
Cole didn't reply. Riley's voice had fallen away and he couldn't hear Mya's happy giggling either. With a deep dread in his heart, the commander pushed the door to the lounge room open.
Instantly, Riley closed the tablet in her hands, the screen almost sliding out of her grip. It was clear they'd caught her writing something. She caught it at the last minute, waking Mya for a moment. The girl looked at them, smiling happily and fell back asleep in her mother's lap.
Riley looked at them, a smile on her lips.
"You startled me," she said accusingly. "Gods, don't Gargons knock?"
"Not in our own home, generally," Cole replied, shrugging, matching her smile. "What was that we aren't allowed to see?"
Riley waved her free hand dismissively.
"Nothing," she said. "Keeping a diary of sorts. Writing a story for Mya. Answering some letters from Terra asking me if I'm really alive. You'd think it's a very easy concept to grasp. I'm either alive or I'm not."
She shook her head, the calm light of Octava's two falling suns painting her in an ethereal glow. Cole groaned, his body reacting to such beauty immediately. Like that, happy and carefree – that was how he always wanted Riley. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep her that way forever.
"Come closer," Riley called them, the smile on her face softening. "Look."
They approached as quietly as they could so as not to wake their daughter. Cole expected to see something miraculous or amazing, but Riley was simply looking at Mya with an eternally loving smile.
"She's asleep," his fated whispered gently. "That's... I don't even know. When I was little, I could never sleep when I didn't feel entirely safe. I had trouble falling asleep when we weren't home so I always climbed in my mother's lap just like this.
“Or my Dad's, but he was always at work. When my parents died, I had trouble sleeping for years. My first boyfriend helped a lot. Still, I haven't completely shaken that unease and now, to see Mya like this..."
She trailed off. The look in her eyes was so full of emotion that neither Cole nor Harbor said anything for fear of ruining the moment.
Riley sighed deeply, petting Mya's soft curly light brown hair.
"It's great is what I'm trying to say," she finished, looking at them.
Cole saw a flash of something else then. It would have been a lie to call it love.
Not yet.
She simply gave him the impression that despite being fully awake, maybe their presence was making Riley feel safe too. She most certainly didn't look like a person who would have night terrors the healers had warned Harbor and him about.
They had warned them about many things. It sometimes seemed the list of potential dangers never ended.
"Enough," Cole had finally said. "We get it. She will be in a fragile state. That doesn't make her susceptible to every other known threat known to Gargons. We'll deal with everything as it comes to pass."
That had shut them up finally, to Harbor's dismay, who liked making sure of things instead of letting them run their course.
"Do you want us to leave you alone?" Cole asked with all seriousness.
He wanted nothing more than to stay there with Riley, watch her shine in her joy. Leaving was the last thing on his mind, yet Riley had the right to be with Mya now when t
hey had been able to keep her for all the time she was gone.
His fated looked at them, their daughter sleeping in her lap and a smile played on her lips.
"No," she said.
18
Harbor
The single word out of Riley's mouth set his blood on fire.
Harbor didn't even bother to deny to himself how badly he'd missed her. The healers seemed to be under the impression that Riley would be the only one who remembered the explosion. It was fresh on his mind as well and very much so.
He didn't have nightmares of it, no, much worse. The look of shock in Riley's eyes in the fraction of a second before the blast knocked her from his fingertips, reaching for her... it haunted his waking hours. He knew he had failed her and there was nothing quite as horrific as to betray the trust of one’s fated that way.
Harbor had thought over and over of that day, the way Magorra had managed to elude them and how he hadn't been able to catch Riley. It was too much to want to have reflexes that could outpace an explosion of that magnitude, even for Gargons. That didn't stop Harbor from feeling guilty.
No wonder the Eridon warlord had escaped – only to haunt them again as the League grew more aggressive every month.
Now Riley was back with them where she belonged. And even though the word Harbor most wanted to hear from those pretty lips was "yes", repeated over and over again, in that moment he was more hopeful than for a long while.
"Sit," Riley said, smiling when they took seats opposite of her. "I just told Mya a story."
Cole chuckled.
"Yes, we heard," the other commander said. "Interesting concept. Metalbugs."
"Yeah," Riley said almost apologetically. "I got the idea from your mechs. She seemed to like them a lot so I came up with this tale."
"You have a talent," Cole remarked. "I overheard a little. It was good."
Riley had an odd expression on her face for a moment. Then it was gone and her usual sharp look was back.
"Thank you," she said as though it was nothing. "What I wanted to say was that I want you to tell me a story too."
"I'm afraid our gifts lie elsewhere," Harbor said.
"Not a fictional tale," she replied, smiling. "Tell what has been happening on Octava. When I came here, I remember there being very few Terrans. Even with the stories about the bonds, not many of us dared to come to the outer borders of the Alliance. We were all supposed to live near the embassy, at least at first. This villa is much further than that."
"It is," Harbor admitted.
He exchanged a look with Cole to see what his rival thought of the question. It wasn't that they were reluctant to give Riley anything she wanted. The matter was what could they tell her that wouldn't interfere with her recovery.
Octava's policies seemed to be a fairly safe topic. Cole gave him a small nod.
Harbor turned back to Riley.
"There are more Terrans now," he said. "Many more. After the first Terran fated, others followed. Suddenly it seems as though most of our fateds aren't Gargons.
“Terran brides aren't the only ones, there are others as well. Other species of the Alliance. Terrans seem to have the most success, though. Our compatibility is very good, especially when it comes to children and that has become a problem now."
"How so?" Riley asked, curious.
"Gargons can only reproduce with their actual fated," Harbor said with a small grin, nodding towards Mya. "It seems our bonding was successful, otherwise she wouldn't have been born."
"I see," Riley said thoughtfully.
Harbor considered it a very good sign. He was forced to admit that perhaps Cole had a point. Riley didn't appear to be half as troubled as the healers had feared.
The commander started to think that all their fretting might have been due to Cole and him rather than Riley. The healers were just covering their backs in case something went wrong with the fated of their two most feared leaders.
Even he had to admit it was probably a daunting task for the healers.
"The news has reached Terra too," Harbor went on. "One of your friends back there might have told you about this already. There are ships – they call them the quest ships or bonding ships – that bring Terran females here."
Riley's eyes went wide. She had been rocking herself gently, petting Mya's hair and making sure the child slept peacefully. Now she stopped, staring at him like he'd gone insane. Her gaze flicked to Cole who nodded, confirming Harbor's words.
"Really," she said. "They are shipping females here? What – how – why?"
"To find a fated," Cole answered this time. "Before you ask, naturally all the females are willing. They all volunteer to come here. A few of them get their bond, most of them don't. The statistics are still good.
“Some of them stay here despite the fact the bond didn't happen. They seem to like it here and now that the movement of Terrans is more free, there is no obstacle to that."
"We get that it sounds weird at first," Harbor cut in. "Be assured that it was a surprise to both Terra and Octava when the first ship came. It wasn't official then. Just a group of females who had rented the ship and flown here for a short while to see if their fated was here.
“At first no one knew what to think but then the next ship came and Terra made it official.
It's very well received on Octava. There are these great festivities when another ship arrives, a chance for our people to celebrate hope for our species, no matter what actually happens. One should be coming up soon, in fact."
He studied Riley's face. She wasn't exactly frowning, her expression was more... thoughtful.
"I don't think it's weird," she said at last. "A little surprising, perhaps. Very natural though, when you consider the human heart. Terrans are... oh, we like these things. The bonds. I can imagine how women would try their luck."
She saw the look on Harbor’s face and added at once:
"I didn't mean to lessen the importance, Harbor. I just think it's the most interesting thing that has happened in our time."
Harbor considered that. His life was war and battles and keeping the League at bay. All the memorable events before meeting Riley, and Mya's birth, had been great duels and fierce conflicts, glory on the battlefield. Compared to that, finding their fated was a natural thing in a Gargon's life, even if it was the most special event.
From the point of view of the rest of the Alliance, though, he could see how Riley was correct.
"Would you like to go to the festivities?" he asked her. "There is a lot to see. If you have been away, it's the best place to see the entirety of Octava at once. It's like a condensed version of our species."
Another warning jumped into his head, one called culture shock. Harbor brushed it aside.
Cole was right. He was too careful. A joyous event like the arrival of a ship filled with her own people was just what Riley needed to cheer her up and make her feel at home. Without the pressure of finding a fated, since she already was part of a bond, they could all simply relax and enjoy the festivities.
"I would love to," Riley replied with glee. "This is exactly what I need. To start living my life again, see how the world has changed. I think it would be awesome. Can we take Mya? Is there something for her to do as well?"
"Of course," Cole said. "Everyone has a place there."
Riley leaned back on her seat, cradling the sleeping Mya lovingly and smiling with true, sincere expectation in her eyes.
Harbor started to believe that in the end, fate had simply tested them. It was cruel and harsh but no one knew the will of the gods or challenged it. The Gargon bonds weren't made to be doubted. They were to be cherished.
Together, the couple was supposed to accept and weather everything life threw at them. The true measure of love, to stand united even when the whole galaxy was against them.
Riley got a curious look on her face again.
She glanced from one to the other before carefully, slowly asking:
"Please don't
take this the wrong way but I need to ask. Which one of you is actually Mya's father? I know the bonds are sometimes between three people, but..."
Cole and Harbor exchanged a look.
"We both are," Harbor said. "When Gargon bonds bring one female and two males together, it is considered a very blessed union. The seed of two males makes the child stronger, mixing in the mother's womb."
"Oh," Riley said, her bright eyes wide in her head. "Alright. You learn new things every day."
Cole and Harbor chuckled and there was a soft smile on Riley's face too.
"I have so much to learn yet," she sighed. "I bet even Mya knows more about your world than I do and she can barely talk."
"That's possible," Harbor admitted. "Think of it like this, then. Some of the women who come with the quest ship know even less. If they find their fated here, everything is still to come. You are one step ahead of them."
The thankful smile on Riley's lips was so irresistibly gorgeous that Harbor had to fight the urge to go and kiss her with all his might.
"That does sound good," she admitted. "If they can do it, so can I."
After it had already gone dark and night had fallen, the three of them took Mya to bed. Cole and Harbor watched as Riley set her gently down and kissed her before slipping out of the room and closing the door softly.
Turning, she nearly jumped, clearly startled by how close they were to her.
Harbor studied her face for a second. There was a hint of fear there, but desire too. Wary hesitation in the sharp gray eyes, yet Riley leaned in right when he did.
The commander caught her in his embrace, kissing her deeply, keen to taste every inch of her mouth. The way Riley responded, openly and passionately, was only further proof that she wanted the bond to work – to be with them.
Her hands were tugging at his armor, searching for a handhold. Harbor had never loathed his war gear more than at that moment, aching to feel Riley's hands on his flesh and to kiss hers. Instead he deepened the kiss further, pushing his tongue into her sweet mouth and hearing her moan quietly, arching against him.
