by Nicole Field
He had to do something.
Before he could move and do something stupid like charge the commander, a shot was fired and for a brief moment his heart stopped. He slammed his eyes shut, not wanting to see. There were scuffling noises, shouts, more gunfire. Someone slammed into him, pushing him over onto the ground, out of the path of fire.
A voice was talking to him, telling him to open his eyes, he was okay. Recognizing Yaro's voice, his eyes snapped open, seeing that beautiful face above his. Tears started leaking from his eyes.
"You're okay," they gasped.
Yaro wiped tears away with their thumbs, then wrapped Jacob up in their arms. Pulling him up into a sitting position, another pair of arms joined theirs. Turning his head, he saw Thaxl, and more tears came.
They were okay.
Epilogue
Jacob learned the whole story days later. Yaro and Thaxl had gone to Malcolm, telling him they were worried because Jacob hadn't shown up at the agreed upon time. Malcolm called his superiors, explaining that the ambassadors that had been sent had been caught working against the Federation to push their own agendas. Thaxl and Yaro had called down to their people, ordering extra guards and soldiers to be sent up in case a battle was imminent.
Malcolm had gone into Jacob's room, going through his things in an attempt to find some clue as to who had taken him and why. That's when he found the note about the recordings Jacob had left on his data pad. With even more evidence, Malcolm sent those off to the Federation, who doubled the amount of soldiers they planned to send.
Afterwards, they combed the base, looking for any sign of the ambassadors. More than one soldier had acted strangely, and Malcolm knew they were hiding something. The biggest clue came when he tried walking into that same hangar where Jacob had been taken. He was yet again denied access, this time with a struggle as they shoved him away.
Figuring that was where Jacob had been kept, Malcolm met back up with Thaxl and that was when Malcolm found out that Yaro had been taken as well.
Malcolm commented on how calm Thaxl had been, and got the reply "I knew Yaro and Jacob would be safe."
Jacob warmed at the mention of him.
Shortly after that, they had gotten the message to meet out on the docks for a trade.
He hadn't put much thought into at the time. Once Malcolm finished the story, Jacob walked up to Malcolm and hugged him. There was no hesitation as the embrace was returned.
Despite all the trouble Jacob had given him, the brush offs and the fights, Malcolm had looked for him. Cared enough to try getting him back. Jacob felt so many things at once, he couldn't settle on one. So he showed it the best way he knew how.
*~*~*
Now he laid on a bed, resting between Thaxl and Yaro. After having been checked out by the doctors to make sure nothing was broken, they had brought Jacob back to Osisa once and for all. They refused to let him out of their site, and for now, he was content to let them have their way.
Yaro was running their fingers through Jacob's hair, kissing his temple and murmuring in his ear how glad they were Jacob was safe, that he was there with them. Thaxl seemed content to lay with their eyes closed, leg thrown over Jacob while rubbing their hand up and down Yaro's arm.
"You're not allowed to do anything like that again, Yaro." Jacob had already said that numerous times before. He was intent on making it clear Yaro was to never put their life on the line like that again.
"For you, I would do anything. Please do not ask that of me."
"We will always be there for you," Thaxl said, echoing the same sentiment.
He agreed to stay with them indefinitely while they figured out this relationship. Malcolm had even agreed it was the best thing he could do. When asked how he felt learning his son was with two Juek, Malcolm said all he wanted was for Jacob to be happy.
And Jacob realised he finally was.
FIN
About the Editor
Nicole writes across the spectrum of sexuality and gender identity. She lives in Melbourne with her fiancee, two cats, and a bottomless cup of tea. She likes candles, incense and Gilmore Girls.
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About the Authors
Meredith Katz
Meredith Katz started writing around the same time she started to walk, a 6 page ‘book' called “The Baby Dragon” (spoilers, there was an egg, it hatched, and then there was a baby dragon). She hasn't stopped since, and after many years of writing slash and femslash fanfiction, she is only too excited to share her original fiction. She lives in beautiful BC, Canada with her gorgeous wife, fellow author Aveline Reynard, and their adorably nerdy cat.
Website: https://www.softcryptid.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/meredithakatz
Tumblr: http://king-of-katz.tumblr.com/
Aveline Reynard
Aveline lives in the rumoured land in the North (Canada) with her wife and fellow author, Meredith Katz. She likes wizards, monsters, and writing characters that are, quite honestly, disasters. She firmly believes in hopeful, happy endings after high stakes, and considers grimdark to be a personal enemy.
Website: https://www.softcryptid.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/avelinereynard
N.R. Dunham
N.R. Dunham is a writer, a blogger, and a lover of good stories. Her work has been featured in several award winning romance anthologies. She enjoys reading and spending time with her dog. She lives in Wisconsin.
https://www.facebook.com/NRDunham/
K.L. Noone
K.L. Noone loves fantasy, romance, and happy endings; she has published short fiction with Ellora's Cave and Circlet Press, and in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress anthologies. With her Professor Hat on, she teaches college students about Shakespeare and superhero comics, and has published academic articles on adaptations of Beowulf, Welsh mythology in popular culture, and Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Come say hi at @KristinNoone on twitter or @greenwoodoutlaw on instagram!
https://klnoone.wordpress.com/
Olivia Sitter
Olivia Sitter is a genderfluid individual who spends their time in Wisconsin woods, performing pagan rituals under the watchful eye of the moon. When not occupied with magic, they enjoy writing, reading, playing video games, and fighting ancient evils. They live with their partner, two cats, and more books than they have space for. At any given time, they can be found with a bag full of dice, pen and notebook, a monster manual, and tarot cards. Adventure is right around the corner; be prepared!
Annabelle Kitch
Annabelle Kitch used to think she was a normal girl. Then she found out ‘normal' was a lie, threw her pretenses to the wind, and went streaking through life wearing the proud banner of ‘odd'. One of the only constants in this life was an unrelenting passion for storytelling, and she's traveled the world (or worlds, if you count the ones in her head) in pursuit of this. As an avid fan of, well, everything, she naturally stumbled upon fanfiction. Therein she came upon slash and, after initially resisting, ultimately said ‘why not'. Depending on your point of view, it was all downhill or uphill from there.
These days, Annabelle works a desk job, which is a pretty good cover for the nonsense that goes on in her head. Pretty soon, she's going to strike it big, but for now the writing of passionate fiction will be relegated to evenings and weekends. And lunch breaks. And times when the work is slow and there's nobody looking at her monitor.
Meyari McFarland
Meyari McFarland has been telling stories since she was a small child. Her stories range from SF and Fantasy adventures to Romances
but they always feature strong characters who do what they think is right no matter what gets in their way.
Meyari has been married for twenty years and has no children or pets. She lives in the Puget Sound, WA and enjoys the fog, rain and cool weather that are typical here. When vacation times come, she and her husband usually go somewhere warm like Hawaii or they go on their own adventures to Japan and other far away countries.
Her life has included jobs ranging from cleaning motel rooms, food service, receptionist, building and editing digital maps, auditing and document control.
Robin Tennant
Robin has always been a lover of reading. Since she was little, she could be found with her nose in a book, and often got a trouble for reading in class. She was inspired to write by her favorite authors. Along with writing, Robin has a passion for biology and aims to go to graduate school.
https://www.facebook.com/rbn.tennant
https://twitter.com/rbntennant
https://robintennant.wordpress.com/