Page 9 of Proslo

“I’ll never get used to seeing these,” she said as we reached the rooftop and I opened the door.

I smiled at her gently. “I feel the same way whenever I see one of your aircraft or road vehicles,” I confessed.

She laughed, the sound endearingly harsh. Hearing herself, she clamped her lips shut tightly and blushed. “Sorry. I sound like a donkey when I laugh out loud like that.”

‘It’s wonderful,” I reassured her and she looked at me as if I’d suddenly sprouted a second head.

“Um, no it’s not.”

“It is,” I insisted. “It is a sound of joy and it’s your joy, which makes me feel happy.”

She stared at me, eyes widened, her expression turning to one of awe. “How are you even real?” she whispered.

I placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the shuttle’s open ramp. “Well, you see, my father met my mother, and they mated. One day their mating impregnated her -”

She bumped me with her hip, her lips pressed together as she tried to hold in another laugh. “Stop it. I know how babies are made.”

I smirked down at her. “Good. Seeing as you’re a medical professional who wishes to train in a second field, I’d hoped they’d covered basic biology, even if it was for humans and not Mylos.”

She glanced around the interior. “Looks so futuristic.” She giggle-snorted adorably and said, “Though I suppose really the future is now.”

“Well, we are here, standing in the middle of it and it’s reality,” our pilot, Zaneb said.

“Right.” she agreed.

“Take any seat except the one in front of the control panel,” he told her, and she went for the nearest one.

“Oh, um,” she glanced at her full hands.

“Let me fasten your harness, mi-shida’a.” I leaned over and grasped the straps, working them around her torso and lap.

“Thanks,” she said, biting her lower lip again. “I am being rather slow, I’m afraid. I’m usually better than this, I swear. I just realized I could have put Pumpkin down and laid the flowers on the floor.”

“Let me take those and put them in the chilled compartment,” Zaneb said. “It will stop them from drooping until you can get them into a suitable container with water.”

“Tina was sending someone with a vase and appropriate food for cut flowers,” I proudly told her.

She arched an eyebrow at me, her face now an indifferent mask as she wordlessly allowed Zaneb to take the roses from her.

“Tina is the florist who sold me the flowers and directed me to the candy shop,” I hastily added.

“So, not your girlfriend,” she replied flatly.

I cocked my head to one side. Ah, yes. Humans dated around until they found a mate they wished to remain with. “Mylos do not have such persons. Females who are platonic friends, yes. Romantic interests, no.”

“We don’t do boyfriends either,” Zaneb chimed in. “Oh, boy, did I have to let my mate know that. I’m best friends with a guy here who works in hydroponics as part of the veteran employment and training program and he totally got the wrong idea when we got off the shuttle, Benji ran up and hugged me tight to congratulate me. We’re as close as brothers so he thought nothing about it. First Chet burst into tears, then Benji did because he suddenly realized what he made Chet think.”

“Oh,” she replied quietly, a look of stark relief upon her face. “Did you guys manage to explain it right away?”

Zaneb hummed as he put on his harness and began doing the preflight console checks. “Sure did. Now they’re like brothers too. We’re both working on getting Benji to apply to the program so he can see if he’s got a match, too. A wonderful guy like him is sure to be someone’s soulmate and seeing as the stars brought him to us, we both figure his has to be a Mylos.”

“Soulmates,” she whispered.

“What else would you call a perfect match?” he asked as I sat down next to my mate and strapped myself in. “Okay, starting engines. Xeranos, plot our course home.”

“Course plotted. Estimated time of arrival one hour, thirteen minutes, and forty-two seconds.”

“I always thought these flights took several hours,” Betty said.