TimeLabs Inc

by L. V. Lloyd

  Ziva was kissing him, so that was one thing their two races had in common, he thought hazily, through the rush of passion which was flooding his senses.

  “I wasn’t going to do this,” murmured Ziva. “I told myself you were out of bounds but... I can’t help myself. Can I stay with you tonight? It will be our only chance to be together.”

  “Are you sure?” Kel held her tight. “Are we compatible? Physically, I mean?” he asked, suddenly hesitant.

  “Well, we aren’t exactly the same as humans,” said Ziva cautiously, “but I’ve watched a few of your holovids and I think you’ll find the basic principles will work just fine. I’m willing to try if you are.”

  Kel flushed. He’d tried to do the same thing, but he couldn’t find any holovids about Araeans. “I can’t think of anything I’d like more.” He kissed her again, then paused. “I don’t know what your customs are,” he told her. “You’ll have to tell me what to do.”

  Ziva relaxed into a smile. “All right.” And she took off her gown.

  Kel stood in front of the view port, staring at an alien world. Unlike Earth, the planet was a ball of oranges, reds and yellows with bands of green running across the surface. No oceans that he could identify.

  It had been two years since he had seen Ziva Juul. Two long years that he had spent trying to get onto the next spaceflight to Arae and here he was, finally. He knew Ziva had expected that night to be their farewell—that she would never see him again—but he hadn’t been able to let go. If she couldn’t stay with him, then he would go to her.

  He’d told her his plans two months ago, when his passage had been confirmed, but her response had confused him. Not cold exactly, but definitely cool, wary.

  He tried to be realistic. Two years was a long time and they had only known each other for those few short weeks. Perhaps things had changed once she was back on her own world, amongst her own people.

  But she hadn’t told him not to come.

  Kel looked eagerly around the passenger hall of the Spaceport, searching the crowd for Ziva but she wasn’t there. She hadn’t come to meet him. Fighting back disappointment he made his way through the throng to the row of hovercars waiting out the front to carry their human passengers to the Alien Sector.

  Kel had done as much research on Arae as possible before this trip. He knew humans were restricted to a portion of the city—any excursion outside, to the Araean part of the city, required a visa and an escort. He stepped out of the Spaceport and took a deep breath of the rich air. The oxygen component was slightly higher than that of Earth, but quite safe for humans. He looked around, eager to see this new city, despite his disappointment that Ziva was not there to welcome him.

  Tall towers in shades of blue and green lined the streets. Hovercars zipped through the air, but there was no sign of any footpaths, or pedestrians for that matter.

  Kel took a hovercar to his hotel and found an invitation waiting for him. He’d been invited to a Welcome Reception for all new arrivals—perhaps Ziva would be there.

  He scanned the hall, searching for that familiar face. There she was—on the other side of the room, dressed in an embroidered midnight-blue robe. Her hair was different, it was now a shining cap cut close to her head, but he would recognise that face anywhere. He made his way across the room as fast as he could.

  “Ziva!” he said eagerly. As soon as the person turned, Kel realised that he had made a mistake. It wasn’t Ziva—it was a young man. He was staring at Kel.

  “I’m so sorry,” Kel apologised hastily. “I thought you were someone I knew.” They looked so alike—surely this man must be her brother, her twin even.

  “Can I ask... do you know Ziva Juul?”

  The young man studied Kel for a long moment with storm-grey eyes beneath arched brows, before replying. “Yes... I know Ziva.”

  Kel found the resemblance really disconcerting. His heart was beating faster, even though he knew this wasn’t his lover. He thought maybe this man’s jaw was firmer, his lips thinner... He made an effort to gather his scattered thoughts.

  “Is she here tonight?”

  “No. She is busy elsewhere. You must be Kel?”

  “She told you about me?”

  The young man looked serious. “I must apologise on her behalf. She was too young to be sent on such a mission. Normally only full Citizens—those over thirty-five of your Earth years—are allowed to represent Arae, but an exception was made in her case. A mistake as it turned out.”

  Kel felt apprehensive. Had their relation broken a taboo of some sort?

  “Is Ziva in trouble because of me?” he asked anxiously. “It was my fault. I was responsible.”

  A flash of something unidentifiable appeared on the young man’s face for an instant.

  “You misunderstand. It’s you who are owed the apology.”

  Kel frowned, confused.

  The young man hesitated for a moment then came to a decision. “We can’t talk here. Come and see me tomorrow.” He passed Kel a small holocard with the name Zivon Juul displayed. “Put this in the hovercar slot and it will bring you to me.”

  “You’re her brother?”

  That odd pause again. “I’ll explain tomorrow.”

  Kel spent the night worrying. He and Ziva had both been consenting adults. Why was he owed an apology?

  And more importantly, would Ziva be there tomorrow?

  The next day, Kel followed Zivon’s directions. The hovercar took him to a sparkling blue building that bore a strong resemblance to an Earth coffee shop. Kel was welcomed by an older Araean man who led him toward the back, where small booths provided privacy. Zivon was there already, with two beakers of juice in front of him. He looked nervous.

  “I ordered you a lemjuice, it’s the local specialty.”

  Kel sat down but left the drink where it was.

  “So what’s the story?” asked Kel a trifle aggressively. He felt so weird, sitting next to a man who looked exactly like the woman who’d been his lover. The woman who would be his lover again, if he had any say in it.

  “It’s true our species look alike,” began Zivon cautiously. “In fact I’ve heard theories that we might have evolved from the same stock, thousands of years ago. But Araeans are different from humans.” He paused and took a sip of his drink.

  Kel waited, suddenly afraid of what he was going to hear next.

  “We have a long period of what you would call ‘growing up’, maturing. Although we become adult—sexually active—at twenty of your Earth years, we don’t become fully mature until much later, at thirty—that’s thirty-five in your terms.”

  “That’s when you become Citizens?”

  Zivon nodded.

  “I’m sorry but I still don’t understand what that has to do with me and Ziva,” said Kel. “Are you telling me I had relations with a minor? Committed a crime?”

  “No, no,” Zivon hastened to assure him. “Ziva is as adult as you and me.” He looked down for a second then up into Kel’s eyes. “This is hard to explain. I suppose it’s not a secret but it’s... private.”

  Kel found he was holding his breath. He had absolutely no idea where this was heading.

  “You humans are generally born one sex or the other,” continued Zivon, “male or female, and you stay that way all your lives. But Araeans are different. We don’t settle into our final sex until we are fully mature.”

  Despite everything, Zivon had to smile at the look of total bewilderment on Kel’s face.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We change—from one sex to the other—roughly every two years until eventually we settle into one or the other at around thirty.”

  Kel looked back into Zivon’s storm-grey eyes and all of a sudden, he understood. He swallowed. His stomach felt as if he had ingested a ball of ice.

  “You’re Ziva, aren’t you?”

  Zivon continued to hold his gaze. “Yes. When I am female, I’m Ziva.”

  Kel couldn’t help it. His e
yes dropped to the flat masculine chest of the man opposite. He would have looked even lower but was thwarted by table between them.

  Zivon bit his lip. “I’m sorry, Kel. I shouldn’t have had sex with you without telling you the truth about me.”

  Kel was still struggling. “But you had breasts, you had—” he flushed red.

  “I did. I still do, for that matter, but now I also have—”

  Kel put up a protesting hand. He didn’t want to hear.

  “I’m sorry, Kel,” Zivon said again. He leant forward to touch Kel’s arm, but Kel flinched and Zivon drew back immediately, his hands falling to his lap. “I know I was wrong but... I fell in love with you. I thought one night wouldn’t hurt, that you’d never have to know...”

  “But you knew I was coming—why did you let me come all this way?” Kel was so mixed up, he didn’t know whether to hit Zivon or burst into tears.

  Zivon didn’t answer for a moment. He dropped his eyes, looked sideways, then back at Kel again and sighed. “I guess I was hoping... I hoped there was a chance—that maybe you’d still love me. That this wouldn’t make a difference. Stupid, huh?”

  There was a long silence.

  “Kel?”

  Kel bit his bottom lip. “I think I need to go back to my hotel.”

  Zivon stiffened his shoulders and plastered a fake smile on his face. “Of course. It’s a lot to take in.” He stood up and followed Kel to the door, trying not to feel hurt by the distance Kel was keeping between them.

  “I’m still the same person, you know,” he said with a touch of defiance.

  Kel shuffled his feet awkwardly and stared at the ground. “I’m sorry... I just... I need to go.”

  “I’m sorry, too,” said Zivon, wishing Kel would look at him.

  Kel had already turned away, searching rather desperately for a hovercar. Zivon had promised himself he wouldn’t become a nuisance if Kel rejected him, but he couldn’t bear to leave things as they were. Awkward. Painful. Broken. He pressed another holocard into Kel’s reluctant hand.

  “Look, I’ll be here again tomorrow afternoon, if you want to... to talk about things. I’ll understand if you don’t come. I won’t bother you again.”

  He turned back into the cafe before Kel could answer.

  The following afternoon, Zivon arrived early at the cafe—just in case. He sat in the same booth and ordered a single glass of lemjuice. He was almost certain Kel wasn’t going to show up. He fiddled with his wristcom, keeping one eye on the door while the other checked the latest news. His heart leapt when the door opened. And plummeted when he saw a stranger enter. The minutes ticked by, and still no Kel. And if he was honest with himself, thought Zivon, he couldn’t blame him.

  Zivon had spent his whole life on Arae, taking his people’s change from male to female and back again, as a matter of course. Gender was a more complex issue. While some Araens adjusted easily to the changes in their partner, others only ever felt comfortable when they were one particular sex—which was the reason why contracts were only for two years until both parties settled finally into the sex they would remain for the rest of their lives. How could he expect a human to cope with a biology so different to his own?

  He should never have let Kel come all this way without telling him the truth. How could he have been so selfish? Miserable, Zivon gazed blankly at the empty chair opposite. Kel wasn’t coming. He should just face facts and go home.

  Zivon was just getting to his feet when Kel entered the cafe, a determined expression on his face. Zivon sat down again, quickly, holding his breath. What was Kel going to say?

  “I’m sorry,” he blurted out before Kel could speak. “I should have told you before.”

  “Yes, you should have,” agreed Kel, “but then I might have decided not to come.” He paused, then smiled faintly. “Which would have been a shame. Arae is an amazing place. Whatever happens between us, I’m glad I came.”

  Zivon couldn’t stop his heart from leaping. “So you’re staying? For a while?”

  “I’d be crazy to come to a new world and leave before I’d seen everything. Or at least as much as I’m allowed,” Kel added, remembering that sections of the planet were forbidden to visitors.

  “Would you consider waiting for me?” asked Zivon, his voice sounding hesitant.

  “Waiting for you?” Kel didn’t understand.

  “I’ll be male for about another three months,” said Zivon, “After that... I’ll be Ziva again.”

  Kel couldn’t help it. He gave a nervous laugh and flushed scarlet. “Sorry, that sounds so... I’m still struggling with this whole sex change thing.”

  Zivon drew back slightly. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” His voice sounded stiff despite himself.

  “I just need some time, time to get used to the whole idea,” said Kel. “If you can be patient with me...” his voice trailed away.

  “Yes?”asked Zivon, not daring to hope.

  “I might not need to wait three months,” said Kel, and he reached out to touch Zivon’s hand. Lightly.

  Other books by LV Lloyd

  Gothic Romance (A gay historical romance. Available as ebook and paperback)

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ISAJ0B8

  Six books set in the Aurigan constellation

  (Gay romantic sci-fi)

  https://www.amazon.com/L.V.-Lloyd/e/B00D6KF0GK

  Dangerous Tension (ebook available as a FREE download on most sites)

  Rough Play (ebook available as a FREE download on most sites)

  His Guilty Secret (ebook)

  Lunar Affair (ebook and paperback)

  Untouchable (ebook and paperback)

  Pirate (ebook and paperback)

  About the Author

  After thirty years of working with the unemployed, coping with threats, tears and broken lives (and these were only from fellow staff), LV Lloyd decided it was time to make her escape. And what better place to go than the world of m/m romance? She started writing Dangerous Tension, her first ebook in the Aurigan Space Saga, years ago, but put it aside due to work and family commitments.

  In 2012, she dusted off the foolscap pages stored under her bed, finished the story and turned it into a book. Since then, she has written five more ebooks in the Aurigan Space Saga series, and numerous short stories. Her latest work, Gothic Romance is a venture into a new genre, Historical Romance.

  LV Lloyd lives in Adelaide, Australia, with her family and two cats. In her spare time she enjoys fishing and visiting the many local wineries.

  You can visit her at www.lvlloyd.com