Page 37 of Not So Stranded
“Oh. Thank you.”
Hiaka sipped from Zenori’s tentacle, and that seemed to be the end of it.
Kit rested his head on Zenori’s back. “I really hope I remember all of that for later.”
“Believe me,” Zenori grumbled, “I will remember for all of us.”
Chapter 13
Blinking open my eyes, I saw sunrise and Serion. I smiled at them until I realized that they held me when it should be Zenori. “What’s hap—” I cut myself off with a grunt, feeling like I’d been punched. “Serion?”
“Don’t worry,” they soothed. “You have begun your labors to expel the hatchlings.”
“But it’s only been a day!”
“It’s been seven.”
“What? How?”
“Michael is fond of saying that time flies in all circumstances.”
I grunted again, feeling my cock extend below me now. Oh, god, they were right. My hatchlings would soon be born. “But where’s Zenori?”
“Helping Kit. Your labors began at the same time, but his seems to be progressing much faster.”
I couldn’t help the pitiful whine that left me as Serion turned us and I caught sight of Kit, my mate, gripping the arms of a chair, his teeth clenched and body straining. Zenori was between Kit’s spread legs, but I couldn’t see if any eggs had come out yet. Dad was standing behind Kit, talking low and rubbing hisshoulders. I hadn’t expected my parents to be here for this, but I was glad that they were now that I could see how complicated we’d made everything.
“Is Kit okay? Are the hatchlings?”
“Yes, he’s fine. No eggs have emerged yet.”
I felt their tentacles trying to remove mine and realized I was practically smothering Serion. “I’m sorry,” I said as I eased my grip on them.
“Let’s go closer,” they suggested.
Even though another contraction gripped me, I grabbed onto Kit’s chair and hauled myself over to him. I got there in time to see an egg pop free of his poor stretched hole. Both of us flinched. Without a word, a very focused Zenori went under the surface to help free our first child.
“This is fucked up,” Kit said, “but oh, my god, that’s a baby!”
I laughed until a contraction stopped me and blinked through tears at the tiny little cecaelia hybrid that crawled into Zenori’s hand. They stuck our baby’s tentacles to their abdomen and directed the baby’s thumb to their mouth. And Zenori had thought they wouldn’t know what to do… The hatchling closed their eyes and rested their head against Zenori’s skin, calm and safe.
“There’s another one coming,” Kit said through his teeth.
I wanted to reassure him, but I suddenly felt an egg of my own begin traveling down my cock to freedom. “Oh gods, Zenori, I’m sorry.”
“All is well,” they said, the words sounding automatic. But then they looked over as I aimed my cock toward them, the egg making me widen my grip as it passed through. “Ah, I see.”
And damn if they didn’t reach over and ease the egg further still, gently massaging it free of me while also keeping an eye on what was happening to Kit. Then me and Kit were giving a holler at the same time, two eggs appearing simultaneously.Zenori seemed entirely unfazed as they opened one egg with their fingers and the other with a pair of tentacles.
We were never doing a double pregnancy again. What had we been thinking?
“You were excited,” Serion said from behind me. “Just focus on this moment.”
I hadn’t meant to say any of that out loud, but I bit my tongue as Zenori freed both hatchlings and stuck them on their abdomen as well. Tears fell over my cheeks to see the three of them tangle together, smiling at each other.
I also lost count. “How many?” I strained to say as another egg began to make its way out of me.
“Two for Kit,” Dad said, “and four for you. Everyone’s doing so well!”
