Chapter 26: Together
Jasmine watched as Kolyat hugged his father goodbye, the words 'second mother' still bouncing around inside her skull and threatening to send her over the edge into a panic attack.
Jesus fucking Christ. I'm … I'm actually his stepmother. What does that even mean? Am I supposed to be responsible for him now? Obviously not really, he lives with Rone and Kelena, but … still. Wait. This doesn't change anything for them, does it? Kolyat's still going to stay with them, right? Oh, for the love of God. Chill, Jasmine. Just fucking chill.
She blinked when someone gently elbowed her in the ribs, yanking her out of her downward spiral. Glancing to her right, she found Theodus watching her, concern dancing behind the blood red scales of his eyes. Swallowing, she forced a smile on her face and took in a slow, steady breath through her nose.
Before she'd fully regained her equilibrium, Kelena moved in front of Jasmine and wrapped her in a hug. Just like that, Jasmine found herself swept up into the tearful goodbyes and well-wishes.
Relief poured off of Theodus, every bit as obvious as Drali's joy. Though for two very different reasons, both men appeared pleased to leave the planet behind as they exited Kahje's atmosphere. Perhaps shameful to admit, a part of Thane also felt glad to be on his way back to the Citadel. He looked at his siha, his wife, and thought she seemed more composed, too.
She didn't speak of it to him, but he'd seen the look of fear in her eyes as she watched Kolyat over the last couple of days. Oh, she'd tried to hide it, and undoubtedly succeeded in doing so from most, but not him. He suspected it had something to do with her belief that she wasn't 'mother material', as she'd said. He supposed it was a topic he should breach with her, afterall, it was his son in question. She likely had many questions, many concerns to voice. He wanted to ease her fears, but he just wasn't quite ready himself for that particular conversation.
Unsurprisingly, Isaac waited on the docks when their ship arrived. He leaned with his hip against the railing, one ankle crossed over the other with the tip of his shoe pressed to the ground. His right arm rested on the railing, hand dangling down over the edge while the other hung limply at his side. His gaze seemed to find Thane first, lingering just long enough to return Thane's smile of greeting before sliding away to Jasmine and then to Theodus and Drali.
Jasmine leaned in closer to Thane and whispered near his ear. "I didn't ask for sure, but introduce him as my friend, Malcolm."
Thane dipped his head in understanding and took her hand in his as she led them toward her handler. She'd told him that she'd informed Isaac of Thane's proposal, and she said he'd seemed pleased. Thane certainly hoped it was true; he and Isaac still had much ground to cover before they truly trusted one another, and the human's opinion carried great weight with Jasmine.
"Mmmm. Well hello, hello ..." Drali's attention appeared fixed firmly on Isaac when Thane glanced over. A sly, seductive smile lifted the corners of his mouth as his gaze swept over the man. "Who are you?" he asked softly, apparently not yet realizing the subject of his attraction happened to be their destination.
Thane chuckled and glanced at Jasmine who sighed and shook her head even though she smiled.
"The human in the brightly colored suit which looks like it belongs in a fashion catalog?" Theodus asked, the grin on his face carrying a hint of mischief.
Drali glanced at Theodus and lifted his brow ridges. "Goddess yes. Are you blind? Look at him. He looks simply … delicious."
"Oh my God," Jasmine muttered beneath her breath, barely loud enough for Thane to hear.
"Oh no, I assure you, I'm not blind." Theodus snickered and turned his gaze to Isaac. "I simply wanted to be certain of whom you were speaking so that I can be sure to pay strict attention to every little detail of what is about to happen for my later amusement."
"What's about to happen?" Drali asked, curiosity and not even a hint of fear in his tone.
"You'll see." Theodus tucked his hands behind his back, and Thane suspected it took great effort for him to not look at Jasmine just then.
After a few more steps, Jasmine slipped her hand from Thane's and moved out ahead of them. She walked directly to Isaac, expertly weaving her way through the crowd of people in her way. When she reached him, he opened his arms to her and she threw hers around his neck. He hugged her tightly enough, her feet lifted from the floor.
"Ah … what is happening?" The confusion in Drali's voice brought a smile to Thane's lips but nothing more.
When they reached Jasmine and Isaac, Thane welcomed his siha back to his side with an arm around her waist. With the other, he waved at Isaac and said, "Drali, this is Malcolm, a good friend of Jasmine's." Turning his attention to Isaac, he dipped his head in greeting before continuing, "Malcom, I'd like for you to meet my brother, Drali."
Isaac extended his hand, and Drali didn't hesitate to take the offering. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Isaac said, his gaze trailing over Drali with curiosity and perhaps a hint of attraction on his end as well.
A lewdness, obvious enough to make Thane's frills heat, filled Drali's tone as he said, "Oh, no. The pleasure is all mine."
Jasmine groaned and turned into Thane, pressing her forehead against his collar bone. He chuckled and held her closer, rubbing his hand up and down her back. Isaac laughed, but whatever he thought of Drali's forward nature, he kept to himself. Theodus, on the other hand, chose to show less tact.
"What was it you said a moment ago, Cousin?" Theodus asked, his face a mask of innocence.
The two of them truly bonded while on Kahje, and it pleased Thane greatly. He'd hoped Theodus might learn to trust other drell, to relax and be himself, at least in the company of family. It seemed his family's acceptance of Theodus did wonders for his cousin, and Thane admitted, Drali had a certain way of winning people over. Just like Jasmine.
Drali laughed, the sound carrying a nervous pitch. "Only that Malcolm is a rather handsome man, now hush."
"Handsome? I recall you using the word 'delicious.'" Theodus smirked, his gaze shifting to Thane. "Isn't 'delicious' what you heard, too?"
Drali hissed at Theodus and elbowed him in the ribs as Isaac's full-bodied laughter filled the air around them.
When the moment passed, Isaac extended his hand to Thane. "I hear congratulations are in order."
Smiling, Thane shook the hand offered. "Indeed. Jasmine has given me the greatest gift I might ever hope for."
Isaac smiled but didn't say anything. Then again, he didn't need to. Thane saw it behind the mask of neutrality as plainly as if Isaac had spoken the words aloud.
If Thane hurt Jasmine, in any way, Isaac would avenge her by whatever means necessary. Thane realized he might say the same thing to Isaac—to anyone who came near her, for that matter. He'd lost one wife. He would not lose another.
"Drali! What are you doing?" Jasmine stood in the doorway to her bedroom, arms crossed over her chest, weight resting on one hip, and her eyebrows raised.
Flipping through the articles of clothing hanging in her closet, he glanced her way and grinned. "Getting to know my new sister by thoroughly examining her wardrobe."
She snorted and dropped her arms to her sides as she moved across the room to stand next to him. She watched in silence for a moment, trying to see her clothes through his eyes and wondering what inferences he made.
Shoulders slumping, he huffed and sighed before turning to face her completely. "These are all costumes. Where are Jasmine's clothes?"
"Costumes?" An eyebrow crept up and she shook her head.
"Yes." He waved a hand at the closet. "Costumes. Work uniforms, I suppose. They tell a story, but not the story of the woman I met on Kahje."
She bit the inside of her lip and stared into the closet. The truth of the matter was, if someone stripped her of all of her 'work uniforms' she wore on the job to portray a certain image to the rest of the universe … she just wasn't sure who she was half the time.
"You don't have any of your own, do you?" His voice was soft, unintrusive, and filled with compassion.
She shook her head. "Not really." Slapping a smile on her face, she shrugged. "But I do like my costumes. So, what stories do they tell you?"
"I have a better idea," he said, giving her a big, Cheshire grin and grabbing her hand. He stepped around her and tugged her along with him. "Let's go shopping."
Laughing, she allowed him to drag her out of the bedroom. "What?"
"Yes! We're on the Citadel. There are all sorts of great shops here. Surely we can find something that speaks to you, the real you." He glanced back over his shoulder at her and waggled his brow ridges. "We can invite that delicious friend of yours. He has exquisite taste."
Thane sat at the dining room table with Avalina, Theodus, and Raúl. He listened as the three used their exceptional tech skills to try and pinpoint the most likely locations for Subject Zero. He didn't have anything of value to offer in their search, so he allowed his mind to wander, half listening and half imagining what Jasmine might like for their wedding ceremony. He tried to envision her in one of the white gowns made of lace and silk, layered until it overflowed, trailing out behind her as she walked down an isle sprinkled with the petals of flowers. He'd seen such images many times in human films, but trying to place Jasmine in such a gown merely made him chuckle.
Realizing the others had stopped talking, he returned his attention fully to the matter at hand. He cleared his throat into his fist when he found they all stared at him, confusion painted across their faces. "My apologies."
"Something amusing?" Avalina asked, confusion shifting to curiosity.
"Ah." He chuckled, chagrined. "I was trying to imagine Jasmine in a traditional, human wedding dress." Waving a hand, he added, "The ones I've seen in vids, white and lacey with the bottom flared out all around her."
Raúl scoffed, following it with a soft snort of laughter. "Yeah, those went out of fashion a couple hundred years ago." He glanced up meeting Thane's gaze and said, "She'd absolutely hate it, but if you can convince her to wear one, I'll give you a year's worth of my pay."
"I think …. Ah, yes," Theodus said, drawing everyone's attention. "I believe I've found her." Looking up, he glanced around the table, grin widening on his face. "Subject Zero now goes by the name 'Jack', and Jack is quite the creative criminal."
It seemed like the more Jasmine laughed and let herself relax, the more she caught Isaac watching her with a smile on his face. "What?" she finally asked him, voice pitched low so it wouldn't carry to Drali who busied himself sorting through a rack of women's clothes.
Isaac just wrapped an arm around her and palmed the side of her head, tugging her into a half embrace. "I'm just … glad to see you've dealt with that hot mess inside your head, he said before kissing the top of her head. "Happy looks good on you, Sunshine."
"Yeah?" She leaned into his side and smiled up at him.
Bobbing his head, he smirked. "Definitely."
"Oh, this is perfect!" Drali spun around, holding up a black, asymmetrical, one-sleeved top with deep purple trim. "Jasmine, what do you think?"
Isaac pulled away from her and hummed. Moving closer to Drali, he took the shirt from the drell and brought it back over to hold against Jasmine's shoulders. He bobbed his head again, the unique rhythm familiar and comforting. "Yeah. I can definitely see you in this. It'd look real seductive with your hair down, but cute and playful with it up."
Snorting, she pinned the shirt against her chest and turned away from the men to look at herself in a mirror stationed on a support column. She took a few seconds to study her reflection, not even looking at the blouse. For a moment, she saw what Isaac saw. What Thane saw. Hell, probably what everyone who'd been around her since the whole thing with Leon saw when they looked at her now. She'd changed. There weren't any dark circles under her eyes, her skin shone with a healthy glow. The muscles of her jaw and brow were relaxed and smooth, and a sparkle danced in her eyes.
I do look happy, and yeah, it looks damn good on me.
She ignored the whispered voice in the back of her head telling her it wouldn't last.
Jasmine dropped several, overflowing bags at the foot of the bed and sighed. "Isaac wouldn't let me put anything back that he thought caught my eye." She yawned and sat down on the edge of the bed, using her toes to kick off her shoes before collapsing backwards onto the mattress. "Then, in the end, he wouldn't even let me pay for any of it. Told me to consider it an early wedding gift. He didn't let me see how much it all totaled up to, either, so I can't even try to sneak a credit chit back to him by leaving it in his apartment or whatever."
Thane chuckled and pressed a knee into the bed next to her thigh, leaning over her. He brushed stray strands of hair off of her face and then traced the line of her jaw. "That was very kind of him."
She grumbled, her resentment only half-hearted, and let her gaze take in the lines and curves of her husband's face. "I suppose."
She sighed and reached up, pressing her hand to the frills of his cheek and jaw and urged him down for a kiss. His lips lingered there a moment before he shifted away and stretched out beside her, propping his head in his hand. She thought he looked happy, too. Such a far cry from the man she first met.
"Indeed. Now that we are wed …. I know you said before that it sometimes bothers you when I attempt to pay for everything, and I'm not suggesting that you allow me to, but siha, you are my wife." His smile grew as he said the word, and he reached over to take her hand in his, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. "I wish to give you access to my accounts. If you have want or need, the credits I have earned are yours. As it should be."
Cutting off the ingrained urge to argue, she watched him in silence for a moment as she weighed out his offer and how much it seemed to mean to him. "Okay," she said slowly, "but only if you let me do the same. I don't have much at the moment, but that'll change, and what's mine is yours."
Tipping his head in concession, he said, "If you wish." Bringing her hand to his mouth, he kissed her folded fingers. "I also want to talk to you about Kolyat. I love you, Jasmine, and I love my son. The two of you are all that matter to me … perhaps I should say the two of you matter most to me. Clearly I have found myself surrounded by people to care for and who care for me since you have entered my life.
"I digress," he said, shaking his head and taking a deep breath. "I want you to know, I trust you completely with Kolyat. I also know you have spoken in the past about not really wanting to be a mother."
She swallowed, her mouth and throat suddenly gone dry. "Kolyat's a great kid …."
"Indeed." He smiled and caressed her hand. "I have seen the maternal side of you with Rift and Geoffrey's other children, as well as all of the duct rats and now, Kolyat. I have no doubt you would make an excellent mother, but I don't expect you to take over the role to my son. I—I barely fulfill my role as father, and even that …."
"You're doing great with him, Thane," she said, rolling to her side to face him completely.
"Thank you, siha." He laid there quietly for a moment, watching her intently. "I only ask for you to follow your instinct when it comes to Kolyat. Treat him as your heart guides you to, and I believe we will all find our way in this together."
