Abducting a Human's Mate is a Bad Idea: Epilogue (Patreon)

Memories soon started to make their way to the surface as I begun replaying the events leading up to where I was now. The ramming of the station, the boarding actions, the Director, leaving the platoon and going solo, then-

“Telar!” I shouted. Or rather, I mumbled out weakly.

The Doctor who had clearly been checking up on my vitals and the rest of my readings throughout this entire ordeal finally spoke. “Ah, Lieutenant Peers. Glad to see you’re back with us.”

I began struggling inn place, trying to get up as the man seemed to be hesitant to let me do so. “Ah-ah! Lieutenant, let’s get you oriented alright? What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I… the station… boarding… apprehending the Director… and… T-telar…” I forced out through weak, hushed breaths as I found even the act of speaking debilitatingly tiresome.

“Alright, that all checks out. Lieutenant… you’ve been in a coma for the past 2 months.”

My whole world stopped as I heard that.

“A lot has happened and we can catch you up on everything, but first, there’s something you need to know.”

“W-what?”

“Your-”

The Doctor was halted in his tracks as the door to my room swung open with a massive thwack, and another figure promptly entered.

A figure which immediately grounded me to whatever reality I’d awoken to. A figure that I’d trained, fought, and bled for. A figure which I’d do it all over again for in a heartbeat.

“Telar…” I managed out, as the Doctor regarded me once more with an affirmative nod.

“I’ll give you two some time to get reacquainted. But we’ll need to finish this conversation right after, Lieutenant.”

I nodded in response, as my gaze soon shifted to the Rinoxian… now completely healed and restored to his former, cute, adorkable glory.

The humanoid was exactly as he remembered all those years ago. Soft, immaculately cared for white and brown fur, a face with a cute little maw with canines and incisors that hinted at his species’ predatory past, and those deep sapphire blue eyes that continued to mesmerize me even now.

“Hey…” I managed out with a soft smile. I looked down to his bare arms, the likes of which I’d only rarely seen given how modestly he’d previously preferred to dress back in the university. “Wow… looks like someone’s been working out.” I chuckled, weakly reaching my arm over my bedside.

“Well… they did say that the reversion process will leave a few hints of my erm… experience back in that hellhole with me. They said that, if I stop exerting myself and return to my former sedentary lifestyle, that I’ll be back to that small, thin, lanky Rinoxian you fell for in no time.” Telar spoke in that titular semi sarcastic, semi-serious tone that seemed to have survived with him despite his ordeal.

“Well… maybe I prefer my new and improved Rinoxian.” I spoke with a sly grin, causing the Rinoxian to perform his species’ version of a human blush… a series of soft, chirps and purrs. All of which was involuntary, meaning he couldn’t hide his embarrassment from me as I begun to reach over towards the lower part of his jaw, scratching it softly.

“There’s my Rinoxian.” I spoke weakly, maintaining that sly grin as I could feel the rumble of his purr through my bones.

This went on for a good ten seconds before my hand gave in, falling limply to my side as I struggled to move it back up.

The Rinoxian seemed to notice this, reaching for it as he carefully maneuvered it back over to my bedside, gingerly placed it down by my side as he looked at me worryingly, as if something was well and seriously wrong.

“Hey… is there something wrong?” I managed out, to which the feline-like alien’s ears perked up immediately.

“N-no! I mean… Y-yeah sort of but, I’m… I’m personally fine, Michael. Seriously, I am. It’s… it’s not me who I’m worried about right now though.” Telar freely admitted, as he fidgeted his hands together in a worryingly anxious motion.

“Telar… You don’t have to hide it.”

“Hide what?”

“The fact that you might be disappointed at how long it took me to get there.” I spoke under hushed breaths. “The fact that I failed out. Time in and time out. Every second of every minute that you were there, was another minute I could’ve been coming to rescue you, but I didn’t. I was safe, well cared for, healthy and perfectly fine, while you were suffering untold horrors.” I craned my head away from Telar after that, my voice cracking halfway through the sentence either out of stress or my weakened state. “There’s no excuse for any of that.”

Another silence dawned over the both of us as the only audible sounds at this point was the incessant beeping of the various medical monitors present, and the soft, hum of the life support systems that clued me in to the fact that I was well and truly home. One simply couldn’t replicate the soft hum of a Lunarian life support system.

“Michael…”

I refused to answer, remaining quiet, and expecting the onslaught of disappointment that was most certainly to come.

“You’re being an idiot again.” Telar spoke in no uncertain terms as a low growl emerged from his throat.

“W-what?”

“If you think for a second that I’d be in any way resentful for what you’ve done for me? Then you better think again. Because I’ve heard stories of what you’ve committed to saving me, Michael. Dropping out from the Diplomatic Corps? Joining the military? Going through OCS? Volunteering for frontline service? And participating in the single most decorated operation during the war?” The Rinoaxian raised both hands up high above him in a theatrical display. This wasn’t something he was known to do, this wasn’t the same shy and reserved bookworm that had more often than not shied away from confrontation at a moment’s notice. This was a new, far more confident and assertive Telar. One that was making sure I understood where he stood. “I’m beyond humbled by your actions, Michael. I… I don’t know where to even begin saying thank you. For rescuing me from that hell. For saving me from a life of literal torment. For dropping literally everything in your life to come to my rescue. This… this means more than anything to me. And I can only hope to repay you now, and forever.” Telar bowed his head deeply, as I could barely contain myself at this sudden display of genuine, fierce emotion.

I held in a few breaths, steadying myself, refusing to cry, as I could only manage to hold so much back before tearing up.

“I thought… I thought you’d be so upset because I’d taken so long-”

“I’m not upset Michael. I just told you. I’m anything but upset. I owe you my life. And… if I’d be so brazen, I’d like to spend the rest of that life with you… if you’d be alright with that?”

My eyes widened at that, my mouth hanging agape as I looked around for something, before the Rinoxian noticed and spoke flatly. “There’s no ring, I’m afraid. Heh. I barely scraped by turning this refugee visa into a permanent resident’s visa.”

“You… you what-”

“Yeah… I’ve decided that, with not much to go back to. Not that I would want to go back anyways…” The Rinoxian looked away for a moment, before meeting my eyes once more. “-and with refugee status given to me by your government on a de-facto basis for the purposes of my stay and treatment here… that it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to just try for citizenship?”

I smiled warmly at that, nodding, before eventually using my left hand to wipe away what remained of my tears. “I… I don’t know what to say. This… this is… this is beyond what I even… Are you sure about all of this?”

“Yes. Because I think it’s my turn to be the one on the side doing the rescue.” Telar spoke cryptically as I craned my head over in confusion… a little habit I picked up from the man as he seemed to chuckle warmly at that, causing me to blush, and causing the both of us to break down in a small fit of just bashful chuckles from this sudden and unexpected reminder of our lives before all of this.

“In all seriousness Telar… what did you mean by that? If you want me to take your place in some shaper prison for the next 3 years, I’m telling you now, I’m not into that sorta stuff.” I managed out with a dry chuckle before the atmosphere of the room shifted once more.

The feline-like alien soon shifted his gaze to my right hand that had been covered underneath the sheets this entire time.

It was then, and only then did I recall what had happened, and a shiver went down my spine.

“They didn’t reattach it?” I asked warily, unwilling to look underneath the sheets.

“They were trying to keep your body stabilized for the past 2 months, MIchael. The warbeast… it didn’t just stab you, its entire blade was coated in a deadly cocktail of toxins. You went into 5 seizures and many more conditions I don’t have the words to describe before you woke up. They wanted to save your life first, your limbs… well… they told me that it would be a long journey towards it. But, it’s doable. It’ll just take a few months, maybe years before we embark on that journey. And I wanted to let you know I’m here for all of it.” The Rinoxian spoke in that reassuring manner that kept me from the edge of panic as I calmed down somewhat.

“I…” I forced out a smile. “It’s just my right hand. It’ll be fine. I mean, it’ll suck, but, it’ll just be a few months or a year without it and a few years of PT so that shouldn’t be all that bad.” I managed out with an equally forced confidence as Telar’s face continued to darken, his ears beginning to droop.

“W-what is it?”

“That’s… that’s not all Michael.” There was a dourness to his voice, something that kept me on edge as I attempted to get up from the bed to properly face him-

-only to realize I couldn’t.

My hips could shift a bit, but anything underneath it wouldn’t budge.

I started to panic, as I began to stir, attempting to shift my weight this way and that as the cacophony of beeping began to rise in accompaniment of my panic. This all came to a head as I felt a warm embrace covering me across my chest, holding me tight almost like a comforting weighted blanket. I could feel the heat from the other male, the warmth of his presence, and his arms wrapping around me…

The hug continued for what was probably a good few minutes, before I began to pull away from it. Confident in what I was about to hear, and ready enough to hear it from him.

“The warbeast… it severed your spinal column. There was again, no reattaching it until your immediate life threatening conditions recovered. And so… here we are now.” Telar paused, looking away for a moment as he let out a soft, concerned mewl. “You’re paralyzed from the waist down, Michael. I’m sorry.”

Despite already knowing it, hearing it still felt like a blunt slap to the face. Panic, anxiety, dread, and feelings of complete and utter depression filled me, only to be interjected by more of the Rinoxian’s remarks.

“But they can reattach it. They told me that it’ll take 2, maybe 3 or 4 surgeries. But they can restore nearly full function of your legs back again.” Telar spoke confidently. “It’s… all of this is going to take time, Michael, but that’s why I’m here. It’s… it’s my turn now. My turn to be the one doing the rescuing.”

I remained silent for a good long while after that. Taking it all in, and staring out into the barren lunar landscape. One that reminded me that I was indeed home, and that this was now indeed my life. It took a while, but when I finally turned to face Telar, he hadn’t budged an inch from his seat, his smile remaining that same, confident, and reassuring one. One that was beginning to tether me to this new life I found myself thrust into. One that I found to keep me sane as I worked through all of this.

“Hey, can you do me a favor, Telar?”

“Sure, anything Michael.”

“I… I want to go for a walk. I know the hospital we’re in. It’s Luna University Hospital right?”

“Yes, how-”

“Look outside, that landscape’s obviously showing it."

The Rinoxian stared intently at what most would see as just a barren and desolate sea of white rocks, and indeed, after a short while, and quite a few head-twists, the feline-like alien seemed to stare at me in abject confusion.

“Seriously it is.” I reiterated.

“I heard from your fellow humans, that those that live on the moon are quite a strange, eccentric bunch. I think I’m beginning to see what they mean.” Telar shot back, which caused be to roll my eyes.

“Listen, if you’re going to live with me here on the moon, you’re going to have to get used to how we see things around here. Now, come on, I want to show you something. So…” I gestured to the wheelchair… a wheelchair… which wasn’t present here. Dejected, I leaned back against my bed as I let out a deep sigh. “Maybe later then-”

I suddenly felt my whole body being lifted up. My limp and emaciated legs looked so alien as they hung there just… lifeless. I tried my best to ignore that and to remove that mental image from my head as the Rinoxian now held me bridal-style in his arms.

“Are we really going to do this?” I asked with a level of genuine concern, only to be responded by a simple an affirmative nod.

“Yup! Like I said, it’s my time to bear the weight. So, lead the way.”

=====

One journey and a series of alterations with several medical staff later, we found ourselves at our destination. What could only be described as a massive foyer that seemed almost transparent. The walls which should’ve kept the empty vacuum of space out seemed almost entirely clear, support pillars and geodesic lattices were all that seemed to be keeping this part of the structure together as the Rinoxian seemed to be in awe at my little hideaway from reality.

“Really takes your nook in the library to a whole other level, huh?”

“I….” The Rinoxian remained speechless, as he looked straight up at the small, blue marble in the far distance.

“This is incredible…”

“It is. And only us Lunarians know of it. It’s technically not closed off to the general public, but because of the compound’s layout, only us moon-dwellers know of this place. And well, you now as well. I guess you can start calling yourself an honorary Lunarian.” I grinned as we both stared out into the darkness that was the lunar surface, lit up by a series of bright external lights, with the ominous flashing of orbital structures passing by overhead.

“Telar?”

“Yes Michael?” The alien looked back down on me, maintaining his smile, maintaining his grip over me throughout all of this.

“I’m so happy we met.”

“Even if…” Telar paused, as if questioning his own ability to move forward with the question.

“If?”

“Even if because of that, you ended up… like this?”

“Yes.” I responded simply, continuing to stare back up at him with those same confident, undistilled gaze of assuredness. “And I’d do it all over again if I had to. Just to be with you, Telar.”

The Rinoxian began to chirp and purr once more, the vibrations genuinely feeling good against my weakened form as the man seemed to take what I’d just spoken in stride, and responded accordingly.

“And I’d go through hell and back just to be with you, Michael.”

The pair of us continued to look towards the stars and skies above without much else in the way of words exchanged. As at least in this corner of the galaxy, the future seemed just that little bit brighter.