Page 106 of How to Rescue Your Surprise Baby

Telos melted. Everyone cooed. Mav rumbled, wrapping his scaly arms around Telos and Estie.

“I’ve never seen her do that before,” Mav whispered, awed.

“Me neither,” Telos said. Quietly, he added, “Would you like to be her dad?”

Mav’s breathing hitched. Disbelief and happiness echoed in Telos’ mind. “Y-yeah. Of course.”

Telos grinned and kissed Mav; Mav kissed him fiercely back. Then another contraction rolled through him, and he winced.

“To the birthing bed,” Marian said.

“Not yet.” Telos rubbed his belly. “I think we’ve got a bit of time. We can perform the ceremony first.”

Mav rumbled and swept Telos and Estie into his arms. He pushed through their family and headed into the mansion, where Hilly-Billy and Hadley were waiting with Dickens, Mass, and BH.

“Masters.” The butlers bowed and swept their arms toward the back of the mansion. Mav carried Telos and Estie down a large, gentle staircase with sconces flickering on the walls, to a deep underground cavern. Water burbled in here; a single stream led from the stairs to the concentric circles in the middle of the floor. It was all lit beautifully with sconces along the walls.

“My flight’s ancestors carved our Circle,” Mav murmured above the sound of the shopping carts following them down the stairs. “Each circle represents part of the world, such as animals, trees, oceans, and land. We’ll walk on the outermost two.”

Telos squinted at the concentric circles, their grooves etched deep into stone. They had been worn smooth, with simple drawings of nature carved around each circle.

Mav shifted back into a man, tucking his nose under Telos’ ear for a brief second. “Ready?”

“I’ve been ready for centuries,” Telos said, his voice breaking a little.

Mav’s gaze softened. He kissed Estie and handed her over to Hilly-Billy, before kissing Telos softly on the lips. When their families had gathered in the cavern—Telos’ brothers had all shifted into small pterodactyls so they could fit—Mav tugged Telos over to the Circle.

“I owe you something,” Mav said solemnly.

Telos blinked. Mav had been amazing these past few months. He’d been rubbing Telos’ achy feet and back, he’d run out at odd hours of the night to buy food that Telos craved, and he’d done most of the work moving Telos’ things into his—their—mansion. “What can you possibly owe me?”

Mav inhaled slowly. In a sonorous voice, he said, “Your butt wriggles like the sun and stars. If you were in my night sky, I would see your butt everywhere and it will fill my heart with bouncy joy.”

Telos stared. And began laughing so hard, he cried. “Oh, gods. You did it. You willingly read a terrible pickup line. Mavvie Chicken, I love you.”

Mav grinned, a blush rising to his cheeks. “Yeah?”

“Yes. We should get started on this bonding thing.” Telos dragged him onto the Circle, taking the second-largest circle while Mav stood barefoot on the largest one. Their shoulders bumped together; they were both so broad. Instead of holding hands, Mav slipped his arm around Telos’ waist, and held him close.

“Keep one foot on the circle at all times,” Mav said. “We’ll walk around the Circle thrice. When that’s done, we’ll be bonded.”

Their life spans would also even out, although with both of them being long-lived, Telos wasn’t sure it would make much difference.

“Definitely ready,” he said.

Mav smiled and announced to their witnesses, “Once for luck.”

They walked together slowly—because Telos’ belly was the size of a watermelon now, and he couldn’t see his feet. He felt aroundwith his toes for the groove of the circle and took more steps forward. Mav squeezed his hip and angled a warm, private smile at him; Telos’ heart skipped.

When they crossed the first lap into the second, a gentle breeze picked up in the cavern.

“Twice as a promise.” Mav caught Telos’ free hand and brought it to his lips, kissing his knuckles.

“You are such a sap,” Telos said, pleased.

“You’d say I wasn’t sappy enough if I didn’t kiss you,” Mav pointed out.

“I’m always right.”

---