11. Galent Wants A Baby

11

GALENT WANTS A BABY

Galent's heart seized. If the curse hurt Zarrie, if she turned into a statue for life...

What was he going to do? How would he ever make it up to Pinks?

He gripped Pinks tightly, and Pinks didn't even notice.

Color returned to Zarrie a split-second later. She scrunched up her face, reaching for Galent again.

"Holy fuck." Galent tried to breathe. "What the hell was that? Did I just curse her?"

"I don't know. Get me a blanket so I can wrap her in it." Pinks twisted at his waist to hold Zarrie away from Galent.

Galent grabbed a huge blanket from Pinks' bed, watching as it swallowed the baby into its folds. At least she was safe from him now.

Just that Zarrie cried out and kicked. The blanket bulged next to Galent like Zarrie was still trying to grab him.

"No," Pinks said firmly. "He's cursed. You can't touch him."

Galent swallowed. Initially, when he'd been cursed, he'd thought it wasn't so bad. He was the only one affected, and no one but his butler cared, anyway. But for the whole of today, he'd been wondering what it would feel like to hold Zarrie in his arms. To swoop her into the air and make her laugh, to see her wings flutter as she tried to fly.

He wanted a family. He knew that. More specifically, he wanted to be in Pinks' family, with Pinks and Zarrie wrapped in the safety of his embrace. He wanted to watch Zarrie grow up, he wanted to see Pinks' belly swell with another child.

Galent thought he might crack if Pinks told Zarrie not to touch him again.

Maybe something showed on his face. Pinks stared at him for a while, and carefully pushed Zarrie's blanket bundle against his chest. "There. You can hold her like this. Seems like it might be okay if she's not touching you directly."

Galent's heart swelled; he teared up a little. He pressed Pinks against the wall and fitted their mouths together in a clumsy kiss, swallowing Pinks' surprised gasp.

"You are so lovely," Galent growled against his lips. Pinks' mouth was soft and sweet, and Galent couldn't get enough of him. He slid their mouths together in a chaste kiss, then another, trying to show Pinks how awed he was. "Such an amazing dad. Such a beautiful man."

Pinks flushed as brightly as his name. "I'm—I'm not."

"Shush. You are. I am going to court the hell out of you." Galent breathed him in and slid into Pinks' mouth, just enough for their tongues to touch briefly. "I want you to be my mate."

"Maybe ask me that in... another few months. You know. When we know each other better." But Pinks was tipping his face up to Galent, letting Galent taste him over and over. Pinks' face was turning pinker, and his breathing grew faster.

"I'm going to play Twenty Questions with you tonight," Galent promised. "I want to know everything about you that I can."

"You probably won't find much."

Galent narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare talk about my mate like that."

Pinks blinked rapidly, opening and closing his mouth. "Wh-what?"

"My mate," Galent said. "I've decided to override your opinions. You will be my mate. You will treat my mate with respect."

Pinks gaped. He was still so pretty. Galent kissed him on the nose and sat them on Pinks' bed, so he could wrap both his arms around the little squirming bundle.

"Hello, Baby Zee," Galent cooed, rocking her in his arms. "Someday, when I'm no longer cursed, I want to teach you how to fly."

Zarrie kicked against the blankets and babbled. Carefully, Galent shifted the blankets around so he could peek at her through a gap. She looked back at him, and her eyes glowed white.

"She's never done that before," Pinks said quietly, his eyes wide. He was staring at both of them, his mouth soft and open.

"It feels like she's looking right through me," Galent admitted.

Then she shoved her chubby hand through the gap, trying to grab his face. Galent barely managed to jerk his head back.

"Okay, that's too close for comfort," Galent said, pulling the blanket back over her. "I just want to hold you, Zarrie. I don't want to hurt you."

"You're still cursed, right?" Pinks asked carefully.

Galent pressed his hand over his chest, focusing on where the dark magic had been. He still felt it—it was a swirling, ominous mess, contained in his heart.

But... it also felt lighter than before. Instead of a hopeless, inky black, it was now a deep murky gray.

As though some of it had been siphoned off.

Galent's heart stopped. He yanked at the covers, trying to get a better look at Zarrie. "She took some of it."

"What?" Pinks cried, yanking at the covers too. When they uncovered Zarrie, she blinked up at them and grabbed Pinks' nose. "Zee!"

"Does she smell sick?" Galent asked.

Pinks gently dislodged Zarrie's hand. Then he buried his nose in her hair, and took a few deep sniffs. "She's... She still smells clean. Pure. Sweet. Like she's completely healthy."

They stared at each other, Galent hardly daring to believe their good luck.

"I'm not touching her again," he promised. "That was too dangerous."

"Yeah." Pinks wrapped his arms around Zarrie and hugged her close. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her."

"Me, neither."

Pinks cracked a small smile. "You too, huh?"

"Can't I care for her?" Galent grumbled. "If you're going to be my mate, then she's going to be my baby, too."

Pinks froze. "That wasn't your goal, was it?" he asked, all narrow-eyed. "To steal my baby?"

Galent sighed. "Why would I steal your baby, when I can put multiple inside you?"

Pinks flushed again, prettily. "You're terrible."

"And you're amazing." Galent admired Pinks, something stirring in his memory. "Hold on. Would you... Would you like it if I courted you with some... pickup lines?"

Horror dawned on Pinks' face. "You... don't happen to be thinking about those lines."

Galent straightened. "You've seen them before?"

"They're in a cursed book." Pinks gestured at the closet. "When I got here, one of the butlers shoved it at me. I was... very horrified."

"Oh." Handsome had given Galent the same pink book, probably— 699 Pickup Lines For Your Wriggly Heart Muffin —and although most of them were cringe-worthy, Galent had thought there were a few gems in there.

He'd left his copy at home, though.

Maybe he'd steal the book when Pinks wasn't looking, and find a few good lines to court his mate.

Pinks frowned suspiciously. "What's with that look on your face?"

Galent tried to appear innocent. "What did I look like?"

"Like you were contemplating going through my closet."

Galent whistled extremely innocently, and Pinks rolled his eyes.

Good to know that his mate was pretty and sharp. Galent puffed out his chest, extremely proud.

Regrettably, his knot went down. Zarrie had just begun nursing from Pinks when it happened; Galent had to hold back all the lascivious things he wanted to say. Instead, he lifted Pinks and Zarrie off his lap, and tucked Pinks' blanket under his ass to catch the leakage. It had already begun pouring out of him.

"Galent," Pinks hissed. "I sleep with that thing!"

"Oh. I guess I'll bring mine over. We can share."

And now Pinks was blushing. "Yeah, you totally did that on purpose."

"Totally," Galent said with a grin.

He'd retreated to put on some fresh clothes when a knock came at the front door.

Pinks groaned. "What now?"

Galent straightened his clothes, heading to the living room. Pinks followed him.

"Stay back," Galent growled.

He prowled over to the door, keeping his body between Pinks and their unannounced visitor. Then he looked through the peephole.

On the porch, his butler threw his hands into the air, smiling brightly. "Surprise!"

"What the fuck," Galent said, and opened the door.

Handsome waddled in as though he owned the place. Like always, he wore a great, quivering mustache, his body pear-shaped, his waistcoat impeccable. The butler peered through his fake monocle at Pinks, then took off his top hat and sketched a bow. "You must be Overlord Fangy's New Consort."

Pinks wrinkled his nose. " Overlord Fangy? New consort? "

Galent planted his hand on Handsome's face and shoved him back out onto the porch. Then he slammed the door and bolted it shut. "I didn't even give you my address!"

"Ah, but you forget that I can track you down by your phone." His butler sounded extremely pleased.

"Didn't that mage ward this place?" Galent growled. "How did you get past it?"

"Possibly because I don't mean you actual harm," Handsome said dryly. "My only intention is to make your ears bleed with—Oh! Speaking of. Have you met my brothers, Lord Fangy? Have they given you an emergency copy of the Holy Text?"

Pinks sucked in a slow breath, his face pinched. "‘Holy Text.'"

"Yes!" Handsome shouted through the door. "It's the holy grail of courtship. It contains the most crucial nuggets of wisdom. Reading even one line from that book will make your mate swoon at your feet."

Pinks stared at the door, stricken. "Oh, no."

"I think you know the book I'm talking about," Handsome said slyly. "And I think my brothers have given you a copy to have and to hold, in sickness and in health. You will cradle that book in your arms like ye own babe, you'll tuck it into bed—"

Galent cringed. "Handsome, would you mind leaving me to my own courtship? You are not helping."

"Surely your Consort would love to hear your embarrassing childhood stories."

Pinks blinked. Galent shook his head hurriedly.

"No, no. He doesn't need to hear them." Galent stepped between Pinks and the door. "You may leave."

"Once upon a time, Baby Lord Fangy had a stuffed elephant called Wee-Wee," Handsome began. "He grabbed it by its wee little nose and dragged it everywhere with him. One day, his parents decided that Wee-Wee's squishy butt had dragged through too much mud, and they sent him off to wash. Little Lord Fangy was inconsolable. He sat under a tree and cried. He tried to breathe fire at everything, but he was sobbing too hard."

Galent flung open the door, his ears burning. If any story had the potential to turn a mate away, it was that one. "I was three!"

"Yes!" Handsome threw his hands into the air. "Your Consort should know how absolutely adorable you once were, before you grew into a grump."

"I don't need to be adorable! I—I'm not a grump." Galent scowled, peeking at Pinks with bated breath in case Pinks decided that Galent did not meet his high standards.

But Pinks' eyes were bright, a smile playing on his lips. "Wee-Wee, huh?"

Galent flushed. "Elephants can have any name they want."

"Yes," Handsome said gleefully. "Three-year-olds can also sit with their elephant BFFs and wave their arms around like a nose." He grabbed his nose with one hand, stuck his other hand through the triangle of his arm, and waved clumsily. "Baby Lord Fangy loved pretending to be an elephant. Especially when I turned into an elephant and brought him and Wee-Wee on rides."

Pinks' face grew soft. "Awww."

Galent blushed harder. "You shouldn't be finding that... cute. I'm not cute."

"You might be," Pinks said with a smile.

Galent couldn't describe the sudden swell of emotion in his chest.

"So!" Handsome whipped out a familiar pink book.

Pinks groaned. "Not that book! I'm banning it from this place!"

"I'm with Pinks," Galent said, really to get on Pinks' good side.

Handsome squinted suspiciously at them. Then he nodded, and tucked the book away. "You will get your hands on the coveted lines, one way or another."

Galent didn't know how his butler had learned to read him so well. "Anyhow, it's time for me to make supper. And you're not invited."

Handsome pretended to be shocked. "Don't you want your Lord Consort hearing about your dastardly adventures?"

"No," Galent said, even though Pinks seemed interested. "You got what you came here for. You know I'm alive."

Handsome gave them a big wink. "Come live with us, Lord Consort, and you'll get all the stories Lord Fangy has paid people never to repeat again."

Galent breathed in deep, ready to roast his butler into a crisp.

With a squawk, Handsome turned into a giant pelican, scooped his clothes into his throat pouch, and flew off.

Galent shut the door soundly behind him.

"So, that was your butler," Pinks said warily.

"Ignore him."

"I can't! Not if you live with him." Pinks raised an accusing eyebrow.

Galent froze, seriously considering firing his butler if it would encourage Pinks to be his mate.

Pinks cocked his hip. "How long has he been your butler?"

"Since before I was born, as you might've guessed."

"Would you fire him, if it meant I would come to live with you?"

"... Yes." Galent bit the inside of his cheek. "Even though I don't want to."

Pinks' mouth twitched. "Does a mate really mean that much to you?"

"Someone to share the rest of my life with? Someone to hold in my arms every night? Yes." Galent rubbed his chest. But no one decided to be mates for life after knowing someone for only a day, so he turned away. "I should make us some food. For Zarrie, too. What would she like to gnaw on?"

"Fruit and pasta would be great."

"I'll work on that." Before he left for the kitchen, Galent reached over, touching Pinks' belly lightly with his fingertips.

Pinks flushed.

Would he blush just as readily when he was pregnant with Galent's dragonet? How long until they knew for sure, whether he conceived?

Galent tried to push those questions to the back of his mind, but they buzzed like hornets all night.