Love Code: An AI + Alien romance (Galactic Love Book 2) Page 23

  She glanced at Helix, who had been quiet most of the way back to Tiralan.

  “Do you mind if I send a message to Inatol? Understand, that likely means she’ll be here as soon as she receives it, possibly with the rest in tow.”

  “I should confess our deception,” Helix said. “And attempt to make amends with them as well. Whatever task they require to view our association favorably, I shall accomplish it.”

  Alarmed, Qalu grasped his forelimb. “No! Under no circumstances should you admit that we lied in the beginning. It’s the truth now, isn’t it? That will just complicate the situation pointlessly. They don’t need to know every last detail.”

  “Are you certain that’s the correct course? I thought you prized honesty.”

  “Maybe not where my mothers are concerned. They love me. They want the best for me. But sometimes our ideas on that diverge. I don’t think we should confide your origins, and we certainly can’t tell them that we weren’t on vacation at all—that we were running away from some criminals you’d offended.” She paused, suddenly even more concerned. “You didn’t plan on confessing that, did you?”

  After a telling pause, Helix said, “Not anymore.”

  “You can be honest with me. My mothers…let me decide what we share with them.”

  “As you wish,” said Helix.

  “Tell her to bring my favorite treat!” Aevi added.

  Inatol often spoiled the Pherzul with specially-made tidbits, and the little one enjoyed her choice of delectable snacks. With any luck, her mothers would be so pleased to see all of them that they’d keep the scolding to a minimum. Bracing herself, she activated the comm and Solsan appeared on screen. A stroke of luck—none of her altmothers would be as difficult as Inatol.

  “We’re back!” she said, before Solsan could speak. “I convinced Helix to give Tiralan a chance, and he said he can live anywhere, as long as I’m with him.” More drama and romance than she’d usually choose to convey, but it might distract her alt-mother.

  “We’ve all been so worried about you, Qalu! Vanishing like you did was utterly irresponsible and inconsiderate.” Since it was Solsan, even the chastisement sounded gentle.

  “But you were always telling me that I was too wrapped up in my work and that I needed to listen to my heart more.” In all honesty, she couldn’t recall which of her mothers had said it; they all agreed with the basic sentiment.

  “There is a difference between socializing more and absconding with someone you barely know!” Inatol stepped into view near Solsan, her expression rigid with angry disapproval.

  This conversation just turned in the wrong direction.

  “True, but I followed your advice, my dearest Foremother. I left the lab and had an adventure, viewed amazing new sights and enriched my spirit. I’m also ready to commit to a love group with Helix, which may eventually mean offspring that you’ll get to spoil, just as you do Aevi. Remember how you despaired of me ever finding anyone but a Pherzul to share my life? We should focus on the positive aspect, not what mistakes I may have made.”

  There was a long pause where Inatol muted their end of the communication and then Solsan came back, seeming quite pleased. “I take your point, dearest. Give Inatol a little time to calm down. If you’ve only just arrived home, you must be exhausted. I’ll pet her a little and speak with the others. If you’re amenable, we’d love to visit tomorrow.”

  “We would enjoy that,” Helix said.

  He hadn’t spoken before now, and she wasn’t sure if Solsan had seen him hovering. Now he moved to the foreground, offering a polite greeting and a warm flutter of head tendrils. Solsan radiated happiness.

  “I’m pleased that you can envision building a life with our Qalu,” she said. “Don’t let me keep you, we can talk more tomorrow.”

  And they did. The visit passed with surprising ease, despite initial resistance from Inatol. But after a profound scolding, even she softened as she regarded Helix, who was endearingly eager to please. He proved adept at redirection and answered questions in a way that left the listener feeling like their curiosity had been satisfied without him delivering much information. Thankfully Aevi provided a distraction by regaling the mothers with stories about their visit to Barath, how she’d gone adventuring with Snaps, and all about Beryl Bowman. None of Qalu’s mothers were familiar with humans or the planet they hailed from, so gossip about an emergent species dominated the dialogue for quite a while.

  “How intriguing,” Beh-latan said. “You encountered multiple humans on your journey? I wonder if they’ll ever come to Tiralan.”

  Inatol said, “Never mind that. If you were on Barath, did you take issue with that Choosing? You should have protested the entire—”

  “Don’t you think that would have been a trifle rude to her hosts?” Beh-latan asked.

  Khrelasa sided with Inatol while Solsan tried to keep the peace. In the end, nothing was resolved because Aevi tipped over a pile of research components and dragged them out into the main room, demanding attention for her misdeed. Inatol fed her handfuls of roasted byr as a reward for being adorable, and if Qalu hadn’t been so glad to be surrounded by her noisy, meddling mothers again, she might’ve interfered. As it was, she watched everyone fondly, realizing how lucky she was, possibly for the first time.

  As ever, Helix seemed to scan her thoughts effortlessly.

  “You are so fortunate,” he said softly. “And so am I, since they seem willing to allow me into the fold.”

  “We’re still watching you,” Inatol said in a cross tone. “But you do receive credit for coming home before it was too late. Our Qalu is not meant to lead a nomadic life. Though she might’ve been willing to follow you, in time, she would’ve been unhappy with the decision.”

  “I will do my best never to make her sad,” Helix promised.

  At least, to Qalu, it sounded like a vow, not a casual statement.

  Eventually, Solsan said, “It’s getting late. We’ll have plenty of time together, now that they’re home for good. We should get back and give these two some privacy.”

  They traded bows and chest touches, and Qalu said with all sincerity, “I missed you all so much. I’ll never go away again.”

  “Don’t say that,” Khrelasa said briskly. “You may take a notion to go wandering someday. Just know that we’ll always be here waiting. That’s what makes us family.”

  [ 24 ]

  Helix still hadn’t managed to say the most important words, days after their return home.

  Now he fretted that he’d left it too long, missed the opportunity. But no. That was cowardice whispering at him, coyly suggesting that he take the easy way out while leaving certain matters unspoken between them.

  He did think there was a tacit understanding, but he wanted their relationship to be a permanent and mutually understood truth with agreement voiced on both sides, not just to appease her mothers but for their own benefit as well.

  So once Aevi retired to her cozy nest and darktide fell, he squared up his courage and went to find Qalu, busy in her lab. Helix had no idea what she was working on, as he was occupying the prototype she’d devoted her life to. He would ask about her work, just not now.

  “Is this a good time?” he asked.

  “You’re always welcome,” she said warmly. “I’m just tying up some loose ends and deciding which direction I want to take my research next. I can’t publish anything about you, or your life would become untenable.”

  Miraculously, she didn’t seem to mind sacrificing success or renown, all for his well-being. She must love me, Helix thought. I need to tell her.

  “I don’t know how to say this,” he began. “And I may use the wrong words. But I’ve learned everything because of you. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I exist for you. I can’t imagine what it would be like without you, and…I don’t want to. I adore you, Qalu. Will you stay with me, as my partner? My other half and primary member of my love group?”

  She dropped the tool
she was holding and ran to him, setting forelimbs on his chest in an intimate touch as her head tendrils trembled with love and desire.

  “Nothing would make me happier. I thought we both wanted that, but I’m so glad you spoke of it first. Though it might be unreasonable, I still have a small fear that I’ve taken advantage of you somehow.”

  “Never. If anything, you were too careful.” Helix pressed against her, loving the warmth of her body, adoring her. “I do wish to talk about something else, however.”

  “Anything.”

  “When I was fully AI, I used ‘he’ in solidarity with Zylar. I had no real sense of that identity. But as I’ve lived, I have come to realize that I feel no affiliation with that self. I do not wish to change or choose a binary. I prefer my current state. Going forward, I would like my pronoun to be ‘they’, like Carow and Maglan.”

  “Understood. I love who you are,” Qalu said.

  Helix let the sweetness of her soak in and shifted closer, so their head tendrils could slide together. For once, the reproductive urges shimmered to life when it wasn’t awkward or inconvenient. Longing flooded their body, deeper and more profound than anything they’d felt before, because they had been fully accepted into Qalu’s love group and they had a home, now and forever.

  “Would it be permissible for us to celebrate in a more…physical fashion?” Helix asked.

  Qalu grasped their forelimb and tugged them toward the sleep platform in the other room. Never again would Helix take for granted sufficient privacy enough to enjoy the benefits of having a body. They let Qalu lead only that far, and then said, “Before now, you’ve devoted yourself to pleasing me. I have been studying…and would enjoy the opportunity to do the same.”

  She unfastened her swator and let it fall. “I have no objection.”

  Beautiful, from head to toe. That was the only word that fit. They drank in Qalu’s willingness to bare everything and then gently moved her toward the sleep platform, divesting their own garments on the way.

  Carefully, Helix leaned over her and touched their chests together, teasing brushes of contact while their head tendrils started the foreplay. Her scales stimulated theirs, creating soft sparks of sensation that flooded their whole body. But Helix wasn’t supposed to get lost in these feelings, not easy when they were so new to this. But they meant to make it good for Qalu, carefully trying all the techniques they had meticulously researched.

  Carefully Helix studied Qalu’s expression, every minute response to each touch and adjusted accordingly. More pressure here, less there, until her breath came quick and fast, and her head tendrils undulated wildly. A beautiful bronze deepened her throat, and the spiced smell of her arousal flooded the room, dizzying Helix with the powerful pheromones. For a few moments, they struggled with riotous urges.

  “Does that feel good?” A delicate touch.

  “You know it does.”

  She reached for them, trying to attain more intimate contact.

  “Not just yet. I’m curious how much pleasure you can withstand.”

  “That’s a bit cruel,” she murmured, breathless.

  Not wishing to put too far, they nestled closer and touched their head to Qalu’s as her head tendrils pleaded for completion, plucking here, tugging even, a level of urgency she’d never displayed before. Helix touched their soft, lower sex to hers, savoring the gentleness of it, the glide and heat. They experienced a duality of arousal in this fashion—the hardness aching and the slickness yearning.

  Qalu entwined her lower limbs with theirs, moving in tempo with their joined head tendrils. The surging pleasure soon overwhelmed Helix’s ability to guide or control the encounter, and they lost themselves in Qalu—in her shivers and cries and the knowledge that she would always love them, no matter what.

  Afterward, she stroked their back and whispered, “Sometimes I can’t believe you’re real. I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know how precious you are.”

  Helix caught their breath and tried to imagine how they merited so much luck. Other AIs were still being hunted. Then they said, “Do you think we could quietly aid the resistance? They did help us when we needed it, even if our parting didn’t come under ideal circumstances.”

  “Definitely. But my financial resources are limited. And now that I certainly won’t be producing results in my field, I will most likely stop receiving the stipend I’ve used for—”

  “We don’t need to worry about credits,” Helix said.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I invested what I stole, after I took it from the syndicate. I returned precisely the amount taken, which means all the dividends I earned while the funds were under my control? I kept them.”

  Qalu stared. “Helix. Are you telling me that you’re wealthy now?”

  “By what standard?”

  “Whisper a number to me.” They did, and she made a shrill, shocked noise. “I have no idea how to process this. We can do whatever we wish for the rest of our lives!”

  “Indeed. Research whatever you desire. I will fund it. For my part, I would like to pursue art, as I did in the beginning.”

  “I can’t wait to see the beauty you create,” Qalu said.

  And they knew it was true. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to get in touch with See-ra at some point. Make sure she and her family have everything they need.”

  “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Truly, I need to thank her.”

  “Why?” Helix asked.

  “Because of her, I met you.”

  A few days later, Qalu left Aevi playing in the hills near their home, eager to accompany Helix to the art museum once more.

  It seemed like the perfect outing to seal their relationship and inspire them to work on their own projects going forward. Her mothers would be so excited by confirmation that she was at long last in a committed, loving relationship. Not that Qalu believed her maternal figures when they asserted that a Tiralan could only be happy in that fashion. If she’d never met Helix, she would’ve been happier alone than shoved into a situation that didn’t fit.

  Now, however, she had the perfect mate, one who fit her perfectly. Earlier in the day as the light broke, creeping across the floor toward the sleep platform, she hadn’t been able to believe they belonged to her—that they had chosen her and wanted to stay, always.

  I’m so lucky.

  There were so many ways this could have gone wrong, so many ways the pieces could’ve been broken so badly that there would’ve been no mending them. Instead, she was cozily riding in a transport pod, watching Helix take in the beauties of Tiralan from the aerial view, with enough intensity that one could’ve mistaken it for their first time.

  “You’re happy,” she guessed.

  At least their posture reflected as much, all contentment. Helix turned to her with a warm look–eyes glittering with adoration. Perhaps she was only letting herself see it now or hadn’t dared believe it before.

  “I am. I was thinking about our visit on Barath. Of Zylar and Beryl Bowman. Snaps, who wants to call Aevi on the holo, and how your mothers scolded me and then welcomed me home. Like I’m…”

  “Family?” she suggested.

  “Yes.”

  “You are now. They will meddle in your life as much as they do mine. Inatol will push contacts with art critics on you, and Solsan will try to find out your favorite food so she can make it for you.”

  “Roasted nornroot,” they said at once.

  Qalu failed to suppress the amused sound. “I already told her.”

  “I hope you’ll continue to be patient with me as I learn. In all likelihood, I’ll upset you and get things wrong. I won’t know the right words, or I’ll say the wrong ones. Living as an organic being is still rather new to me.”

  Gently, she touched their forelimb as the transport pod descended. “That’s true of every being, Helix. Please be tolerant of my mistakes as well, for I’ve only lived with Aevi for a long time. I cherish her, but her emotion
al needs are not complex.”

  “Patience. Tolerance.” They repeated the words like they were important enough to be memorized. “We can do this. I believe in us.”

  Qalu felt like her entire spirit might be singing, as if her frame should rightfully be limned in light. “So do I.”

  The museum was as she remembered it, though the displays had shifted. A few of Helix’s favorites were gone, replaced by more mechanical works, and it amused her to hear them describe the pieces as “soulless,” lacking in vitality. Terrible factions might hunt inorganic beings for the same reasons, but she had no doubt that Helix possessed a beautiful soul, the esoteric energy that rendered them unique and precious.

  For half the day, they walked together, admiring various artworks, and then they ate lunch together. Paid in full by Helix. It was strange for Qalu to process the idea that she no longer needed to worry about anyone validating her work or deciding if she was on the right track. So many scientists would sell their own mothers for the opportunity that she’d been given. Complete creative freedom, complete control.

  I can’t wait to get started.

  In some ways, they complemented each other perfectly. Because while Helix was drawn to art, they understood her work effortlessly, so she could talk about it without losing their interest. And Qalu had more than a passing interest in art, the process of creation, so she looked forward to hearing about what inspired Helix.

  Two halves of a whole? Or maybe she just wanted to believe that because she loved them so much.

  “We should probably get back,” she said reluctantly. “I don’t like to leave Aevi too long, especially when she’s roving outside.”

  “We can always come back,” Helix said. “We have all the time in the world now.”

  That filled her with such a warm glow, that she almost let her head tendrils touch theirs again. At the last moment, she refrained, remembering the judgmental looks they’d gotten last time they showed a bit too much affection in public.