Page 24 of Space Daddy and a Boy Called Twink

“I don’t have to get them out again.”

“No, it’s okay. Just something I have to get used to. Although, not sure why I’d have to get used to them…”

It was nice that he was already assuming we would remain in contact, despite my deception.

“And what brings you to Earth?” Again, I sensed concern I hoped to alleviate.

“That ex I told you about. She sabotaged my ship so I couldn’t leave her. When we met, I thought she was one of the mostbeautiful of her species, had this magnetism that captivated me… But she was not what she pretended to be. I didn’t realize she had lured me into a trap, eventually capturing me to use me.”

Twink’s gaze met mine, a softness in his expression, nothing like the tension in it when he’d first woken up. “I know the feeling. That’s how that asshole cheater was to me.”

It was nice to feel sympathy from someone about a situation I hadn’t had a chance to discuss with anyone.

“Yes,” I went on. “She captured me and forced me to mate with her repeatedly. I was just a vehicle for her to procreate with.”

He winced, his gaze shifting about uneasily. “Well, maybe we’re not as similar as I imagined. And you said you had kids with her?”

“I’ve had many kids over the course of my lifetime. With her and other species. Furkers are parasitic by nature. We mate with members of other species as a means of diversifying our genes.”

“Wait, you force unsuspecting creatures to have your babies?” he asked, his anxiety levels rising.

“Yes,” was my first response, which only made his eyes widen more. “And no. The origins of the Furkers were like this: they existed solely to procreate, but over the generations, we developed ethical foundations for our nature, and while we still possess the desire to mate to procreate, we do so with consent of all species involved.”

“Guess not so different from humans,” he observed as his levels stabilized, and I was happy that my honest reply had set him at ease.

“How many kids do you have?”

“One thousand three hundred seventy-four.”

“Oh…wow…you do get around.”

“Around?”

“You have slept with a lot of…species?”

“My ex and I didn’t really sleep.”

He seemed frustrated by my candor. “You mated with a lot of exes, is what I was trying to say.”

“Ah, I see. Not really. One thousand three hundred and seventy-two of my children were with my ex. And I love every last one, even down to little…” I was about to say my son’s name, but I stopped myself.

“We can call him little Bill for my ears,” Twink said, realizing I was trying to spare him the pain.

I grinned. “I loved little Bill, and all my other precious ones.”

“But since you are on another planet, does that mean you don’t get to see them?”

“The children of my ex’s species typically eat their fathers, so while I loved them, they were not really fond of me once they developed from their larval stage. And the two mates I had before this ex, the species weren’t communal by nature, so they left shortly after they were born. But part of being a Furker means being very attached to your children. It’s not something I can shake off, no matter how much they don’t care to be a part of my life.”

This seemed to touch something in him as his gaze wandered. “Sounds painful. I’m sorry.”

Sadness. That’s what he was feeling. A deep sadness.

“Why does that mean so much to you?” I asked, but a familiar discomfort rose up within him. “I’m sorry, I should not have asked. It is hard for me, but it is the nature of existence…to be discontent.”

“Maybe you’re right about that one. It’s nice to hear about your connection to your kids. My dad…he wasn’t there for my mom and me growing up. He would pop up whenever he needed cash, but that was it. He wasn’t a good dad.”

It was clear by his vitals and his sorrowful expression how much this stung, reminding me of the sting I carried from my own loss of my children. I wasn’t sure if he still feared me, but I risked rising from my seat and approaching the sofa. Settling beside him, I rested my human hand on his, enjoying the warmth of his touch.