When Worlds Collide (MxM)?

The bonding ceremony hadn't been what Kade imagined. For some reason, he expected it to be similar to an American wedding, where they'd walk down an aisle, give their vows, exchange rings, and then kiss to seal the deal.

But instead, all they did was trade locks of hair and shoot fireworks.

Taking a mate involved 'scenting' them, so the only way to make that permanent was to tie a lock of your partner's hair into your own. Since all Terrans liked to tie their ethereal hair down or cut it short, he had never noticed the trend before.

Kade's hair was much longer than Aino's, so it was braided and beaded and attached above his left ear. Meanwhile, Kade had a small ethereal lock clipped above his left ear, looking like a random unruly tuft in contrast to the rest of his head.

Sometimes he feared it'd come loose and float away, but Aino promised he'd let him have more if that ever happened.

The announcement of their bonding was followed by a fireworks display in the capital, which the two watched from the gardens.

Shortly after, Kade learned the mistake he made in telling Eira about the French kissing technique. It was revealed that three of the servant girls in the castle were now pregnant.

Eira got himself suspended for a month because he was caught fooling around during work hours, in a not-so-discreet location. Kade never got more details about the incident. And after the servant returned, he continued with his usual catty habits.

Tiner seemed particularly angry with the guy, but she wouldn't elaborate on why. One day, Eira was mentioning how he'd have to take up double work to support his new children when Tiner scoffed.

"What's the matter?" Eira said. "Regretting something?"

Tiner's ears turned pink, and she turned her back to ignore him.

That was enough for Aino and Kade to assume that Eira had tried to make a move on Tiner.

Kade later asked about the politeness of having multiple mates. He had thought that only nobility could have a harem since they'd need to produce heirs. But apparently, it wasn't that uncommon of a practice.

It's been a year since the war, and both Kade and Aino kept working toward a brighter future. Some of the streets in the more popular sections of the city were equipped with light bulbs, while half the noble districts were connected via train tracks. To top it off, their metal resources had tripled once Kade suggested that gunpowder be used for mining purposes.

Every use that didn't involve hurting people was another way to soothe Aino's conscience.

Once things had settled down enough, they took an excursion to the village where Kade had first arrived. It was nice to see his old acquaintances from the halfway house again. He found that they had kept some of his farming inventions in the shed after he departed, and he made sure to show them to Aino. Then they went to the village square to look at the clock tower.

Aino was confused by it since no one here had ever leaned how to read the face of a clock. But once he explained the purpose of the small and large hands, Aino understood. Then the hour struck, and it chimed out a small tune.

"And that is why people reported it as a music tower," Aino remarked, holding Kade close to his side. "It's amazing that you built this all on your own."

"I didn't." Kade nodded toward the blacksmith's shop. "I had some help from the locals."

"I feel bad that you'd been locked away in the castle for so long. We should have visited your friends sooner."