“Your boys?” I asked, looking at the guys confused. I had been under the impression that they weren’t related.
She laughed, and I immediately fell in love with the sound of it. It sounded almost like a bell chiming.
“They’re not all my sons, but they might as well be,” she said lovingly. “They’ve been apart of my life for so long I can’t remember what life was like before them.”
“So you can give me all the dirt on them,” I joked even as Thane let out a half hearted growl next to me. She must have liked that joke because she laughed again, throwing her head back as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
I loved her already.
“I’m Koria,” she said, beginning to lead me deeper into the home. “And I’m so happy that you’re here.”
I could hear other voices as we walked down a white wall, devoid of any decorations as the other Veon structures had been. The room we walked into however, was very different from what I had seen.
It felt like home.
There were five Vepar in the room, lounging in various cozy looking pieces of furniture. The flowers that had adorned the outside of the structure had also somehow blossomed on the inside of the indoor walls as well, making it feel like I had stepped into paradise.
“You’re home is beautiful,” I told Koria, who to my surprise blushed.
“I’ve been working for the past month to make it perfect for you,” she said, surprising me.
“A month?” I asked, perplexed.
“Oh yes, as soon as I knew my boys were coming home, I knew that it had to be for a special reason, that they had met someone. And I was right!” she said, practically jumping in excitement.
“Don’t hog the girl, Koria,” said a deep voice affectionately.
Koria led me to one of the male Vepar who I immediately guessed was Derrial’s father. While Derrial had Koria’s eyes and hair, the rest of his features were all this Vepar. “Welcome to our home lovely girl, my name is Canton,” he said, surprising me when he hugged me too.
“Okay Dad, that’s long enough,” joked Derrial. Canton gave me a wink as he let me go and I immediately liked him too.
The other three Vepar stepped forward, friendly welcoming looks on their faces as well. All of them looked the same age as my Vepar, once again reminding me how different their life cycles were from humans.
I met Corran’s parents next. They both had golden eyes and chestnut colored hair, resembling siblings they looked so much alike. Corran must have seen the questions in my face because he explained that he and his family were from a different province of Veon where most of the population carried the same signature golden eye color.
“None of them are as handsome as our son though,” bragged Tenly, Corran’s mother. I was amused when the tips of his ears turned pink at the praise. Corran’s father was named Kenroe, and while the two of them were much more reserved than Derrial’s parents, I liked them both immediately as well.
The last parent I met was Thane’s father, Lanton. He was alone, making me wonder why Thane’s mother wasn’t around. He was built like a truck, the biggest Vepar in the room and he reminded me of a body-builder. Contrary to his intimidating form however, his voice and personality were tranquil. More Buddah than The Rock. I felt more calm just hearing his voice.
“We’re so glad you’re here,” he said, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you,” I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. I had never really thought about meeting the guys’ parents. Our lives had been too chaotic to even think about doing something normal like that. But if I had thought about it, I would have feared it, convinced that they would hate me on sight the way the rest of the Vepar did that I had met.
I was so glad to seemingly be wrong about that.
We sat down, and just like he had warned me, Corran immediately scooted me onto his lap while the other two sat on either side of us holding my hands. It felt awkward to be showing so much affection in front of their parents that I had just met, but none of them even batted an eye. Derrial’s parents even looked proud about it.
Koria brought us a liquid that tasted a bit like green tea as we all chatted. Corran’s father wanted to know all about Earth, asking me question after question until Corran let out an exasperated sigh.
Corran’s father blushed the exact same way that Corran had earlier at his mother’s compliment, making the family resemblance even more obvious.
“Oops,” said Corran’s dad self deprecatingly. “I get carried away whenever your planet is involved. I’ve been obsessed with learning all about it since Corran left to stay there. It made me feel close to him I guess.”
My heart melted. I would never have guessed that my three guys came from such loving families. I was pleasantly surprised and it made me like them even more. It also made me realize that I had so much I still needed to learn about them and that they needed to learn about me.
Hopefully we would have the chance.
“We’re all so happy to have them back home,” said Koria softly, looking like she was about to cry. “Thank you for getting our boys back to us.”