He shuddered, his eyes blazing with emotion.
“Wow,” he croaked. “That’s hotter than it should be.”
I stroked his cheek affectionately. “Then you approve?”
“Ze’farr…” He repeated the name quietly under his breath a few times, trying it out on his tongue. “Yeah. Yeah! I like that!”
His giddy expression matched his upbeat tone, so I knew his reaction was earnest. My feelers pulsated with bright rings of joy. He accepted the name I had bestowed upon him, and he had acceptedme.There was nothing that could bring me deeper happiness. Overcome with fondness, I kissed him again as the rainbow glittered above us.
“Hey! Are you guys okay?”
My ear twitched as I recognized Paz’s voice, but I did not break the kiss until I was satisfied. My human—Ze’farr—let out a warbling sound of pleasure as we parted.
“Huh?” he mumbled, limply turning his head toward the sound.
The other three humans were gathered at the base of the hill. Their faces were scrunched up in various states of concern and confusion.
Levi squinted and pointed at the human in my arms. “Who the hell is that?” he asked Jaeyoung, who sighed at his hopeless former captain.
“Seriously, Levi? You can’t figure it out?” Jaeyoung replied.
Paz raced up the slope. He was so exuberant that he clambered up on all fours until he reached the summit. “Dude! Assistant 23? Is that really you?”
I placed my human on the ground so he could speak with the others at eye level. He brushed himself off and replied, “Yeah, it’s me.”
“Whoa! You’re a redhead!” Paz cried. “Guys, check it out, Assistant 23’s a redhead! And we both have curly hair. You’re like my curly haired brother from another mother.”
My human smiled. It looked genuine.
“Actually, I don’t want to be called Assistant 23 anymore,” he began.
Levi and Jaeyoung, who had caught up with Paz on the hill, paused. They listened intently.
My mate cleared his throat. “By the way, you all know Farr’vye, right? It’s probably obvious by now that we’re… together.”
Levi was the only man who looked dumbfounded, but that was normal for him.
“He’s helped me. A lot. As you can see,” my human continued, gesturing to his openly displayed face and lack of a hazmat suit. “And I… I love him.”
My feelers flashed with pinks and reds of every shade. I was so proud of him.
“Aww,” Paz cooed.
“That’s wonderful,” Jaeyoung agreed, giving both of us a warm smile. “So, what would you prefer to be called?”
“Ze’farr,” he said without a hint of hesitation.
“A Maeleon name?” Jaeyoung asked approvingly.
“Yeah. It’s a mix of both our names.”
Levi was still catching up. “Then your old name was Zeke?”
“No,” Ze’farr said bluntly.
“Zeyad?”
“No.”
