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."
"It's alright. It looks like half the halfway house residents moved away anyway."
"Why were you in a halfway house again? Those are usually for recovering addicts."
"I was mistaken for a deformed Terran. I also couldn't speak the language, so they took me in to help me integrate."
"That makes more sense."
"Do you think Nyx is making any progress with the humans back in the Carnivore Kingdom? I haven't heard anything."
"Toca keeps Nyx's letters to himself unless it involves us. But I can ask. Last I heard, the one named Peter is no longer among them."
"He escaped?"
"...No."
"Oh..." Kade hung his head. Not that he wished Peter well or anything. It was always hard to hear anything regarding the loss of life.
They talked together a little longer, taking in the village scenery. It was quiet, with two bug-birds hovering around the nearby cottages and the red sun high in the sky, just about to pass the planetary ring.
The weather was nice, and the Terrans here couldn't help eyeing the two and their fancy city clothes. Meanwhile, the locals all wore their simple white wrap-around and belts.
"Do you like it here?" Aino wondered as he eyed something in the distance.
"Of course."
"Would you like to have a cottage out here?"
"A cottage?"
The Terran pointed to a clearing that seemed free of farming or storage sheds. "Perhaps we can build a home?"
"You would do that?"
"Why not? It's quiet, and everyone here is respectable enough. I think I prefer this environment to the city. Less people."
"That's your old introvert talking." Kade leaned his head against the Terran. "But I agree. It'd be nice to have a place with a little more privacy than the castle."
"Exactly what I was thinking."
Aino's next season would be happening soon, and trying to endure it in the castle wasn't something they were looking forward to. Not with so many servants, and now, nosy royal scientists lurking everywhere. Even if they retreated to their own room, it didn't feel private enough.
"We could experiment without interruption." Aino suggested, dashing Kade's image of a cozy cottage lifestyle.
"Don't we do enough of that in the lab?"
"You saw what happened to Eira. I think it's best we keep these experiences to ourselves." Aino leaned down and nipped Kade's neck.
Realizing what he meant, the human's face turned beet red and he hid it in the man's chest.
"Are you embarrassed?"
"No."
"Then why are you hiding?"
"I'm not."
Aino chuckled. It was a nice sound. And a very rare phenomenon. The man always tried to have a professional air about him, so any time he was amused, he'd restrain from laughing. Although Kade made his efforts difficult.
Out here, away from the judging eyes of nobility and servants, it seemed like the inventor felt free. Aino had once mentioned that he'd gone to the castle at a very young age, and rarely ventured out of the city.
With how much Toca relied on their inventions, they wouldn't be able to move out here permanently. But using it for the season was a good idea.
Getting an idea, Kade lifted his head and started ushering Aino behind one of the buildings.
"What are you-?"
"Shh!" Kade shushed him, making sure no one followed.
Once they were alone with no peeping eyes, he pushed Aino against the wall and kissed him.
Naturally, the inventor was surprised by the treatment but didn't fight as he returned the favor. Then, when Aino was about to pull away and ask why he needed privacy for that, Kade grasped him by the shoulders and licked along his lips.
It'd been a while since they kissed like this, and Aino parted his teeth just enough to grant the human access, where he immediately went to work toying with his tongue.
Aino's body jolted as his tongue was bombarded by the sensation. Kade traced and twirled, making sure to get as much contact as possible with the Terran's erogenous zone, then pressed his full body forward.
Despite being out of season, Aino was very obviously hard, and didn't seem willing to pull away.
Kade relished how much control this technique gave him over the man. He'd be in trouble if humans also had this sort of sensitivity problem, but for now, took advantage of it as he pushed a knee between Aino's legs.
"Mmmmnghh." Aino hummed, then clutched Kade closer as his body became overwhelmed. He tried kissing back, but it was clear he was getting overstimulated.
Kade just kept at it, while stroking the Terran's back until he felt the man tremble, followed by a sigh before pulling away and leaning his head back. "I forgot you could do that."
"You brought up experimenting, so I thought I'd see if this still worked outside of your season."
"Oh, it works." Aino caught his breath and straightened. "I say we get right to building that cottage."
"I agree." Kade pecked him on the cheek, and the two walked out and headed for the inn they were staying at.
Kade sometimes wondered how his family was doing back on earth. There was no telling how many people he'd taken down in the explosion, but one thing was for certain. The only research projects left for them to utilize were the much safer methods of saving their planet. And his brother Jim would be able to take care of the rest.
Someday, the humans in King Nyx's care would learn how to speak the Terran language and could eventually integrate into their society. Kade didn't expect them to ever forgive him for what he'd done, but they had to learn to cooperate now that they had no way home.
Thinking back, Kade was never really distraught over the idea of being stranded on Terra when he first arrived. He'd immediately engrossed himself in the local culture. Then again, he had a terrible exit from Earth, while these humans had a terrible entry. They were the same yet opposite.
Hopefully, Earth wouldn't create another portal to Terra. If they did, Nyx and Toca were ready. And their secret weapon would be under lock and key until that day.
Kade tightened his grasp on Aino's arm. There was no telling what kinds of changes their technology would bring to the world. They could only hope it was used for good in the long run. But for now, they might as well keep moving forward and hope for the best.
-END-
A/N: I'll probably add a bonus chapter if I ever publish this to paper back. But I had initially only planned on this being 30 chapters. So I kinda went over the goal anyway.
I'm gonna end it here for now. I might go back and edit this. I still have to make edits to the rest of the story too.