The Cycles of Revelation Series

Artifact of the Dawn: Family (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)

Episode 71: Jevan’s family arrives from Yanen, and Jenira makes Ardyn acknowledge his feelings for Jevan.

Ardyn startled awake when a hand reached out and touched his shoulder. For a moment, his sleep-addled brain thought maybe, “Jevan?”

“No, I’m sorry. It’s only us.”

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, Ardyn looked up to see Jenira, Micah, and Asha. “Oh, hey, you made it.”

“They told us you haven’t left his side since he was brought down,” Asha said. “We’re here now. You can go get some rest.”

With an adamant shake of his head, Ardyn shifted in his seat, but did not stand. “No. I will remain at his side until he wakes.”

“You’re such a good friend, but we’re his family,” Asha argued. “We’ll let you know when he’s awake.”

That was the first time that being called Jevan’s friend felt… wrong. “No, please…”

A knowing look came over Jenira’s face, followed by a smile. “You’re not just friends, are you?”

“Well… um…” Ardyn stammered, his ears completely flattening against his head.

“Mother, I think Ardyn here may soon be considered family as well,” Jenira said with a smile. “You better let him stay.”

It took Asha a moment to process what was just revealed before she gave Ardyn a warm smile. “Are you in love with my Jevan? Does he know? Oh, come here and let me give you a hug!”

Ardyn stood, allowing the woman to envelop him in her arms and squeeze him. He returned the hug gratefully, having missed Jevan hold him like this. “We have talked, but the subject of love hasn’t come up. Not yet. But we do care about each other a great deal.”

“Your people don’t pair-bond though, do they?” Micah asked, walking around to the other side of Jevan’s bed. “Are you even capable of pair-bonding?”

Shaking his head, Ardyn responded. “I don’t know. It’s something we should ask the medical techs. Maybe they can find out if we’re compatible.”

“Jevan’s been avoiding the pair-bonding for so long. I hope you’re compatible,” Asha said, before turning to Jenira. “Just make sure you two have a couple of extra babies since Jevan won’t be having any with this one.”

“Mother!” Jenira admonished, her face darkening.

“I already have three children,” Ardyn informed them. “Would they count?”

Asha and Jenira exchanged looks, and then Asha beamed at him. “Of course! If you pair-bond with Jevan, then any family of yours is a family of ours.”

“Hey,” came a hoarse whisper from beside Ardyn. “Don’t go planning my pair-bonding without me.”

“Jevan!?” Ardyn cried out for joy, turning around to see Jevan’s eyes blink open, a cheeky little smile on his face.

Before Ardyn could say or do anything else, several medical techs rushed in. “We were just alerted that Jevan is awake,” they explained. “Please give us some room to examine him.”

They all stepped into the far corner of the room while the technicians ran scanners over Jevan’s body. Ardyn’s heart pounded in his chest, happy beyond words that Jevan was finally awake.

When the techs were done, the one Ardyn knew as Faelan turned to them. “Jevan is doing well, but he’s not done healing yet. He woke up a little too soon, but I’m sure you’re all eager to speak with him. We’ll give you an hour, and then we need to place him back in the state of deep sleep he was in, so he can finish healing.”

Ardyn had a mix of relief and disappointment wash over him.

“How long until the healing is complete?” Asha asked.

“Jevan is responding better than we expected to the healing stasis field,” Faelan replied. “At the current rate, it should completely heal him within a few more days. Three, maybe four at the most. After that, he will require another week of physical therapy.”

“Physical what?” Micah asked.

Faelan explained the process of physical therapy, helping Jevan to strengthen his muscles after lying in bed for so long, without damaging his newly healed body.

“I still can’t believe that you can do all this with just a floating bed,” Micah said. “Are you sure this isn’t magic?”

“No, I assure you, this is all based on science,” Faelan replied. “We have some excellent learning programs you can view, if you would like to learn more about how the technology works.”

“No, that’s okay,” Micah said, taking a step back. “My head already hurts thinking about it.”

“Well, if you change your mind, I’m sure Ardyn can help you find the learning programs. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Once left alone, everyone looked at each other, unsure who should speak to Jevan first. “Alright, all of you, get over here already. We only have an hour!” Jevan called out to them.

Approaching the bed, Ardyn took a place by Jevan’s head, while Asha stood next to him and Jenira went with Micah to the other side.

“It’s so good to hear your voice again,” Ardyn said, reaching out to stroke Jevan’s face gently. “I was so worried.”

“I’m sorry,” Jevan said, leaning into Ardyn’s touch. “I don’t know what I was thinking. All I know is I had to do something.”

Ardyn smiled at Jevan. “Commander Keryth was here the other day. He sends his thanks for saving his life. That bulkhead would have killed him if you hadn’t pushed him out of the way. You’re a hero.”

“I’m glad he’s okay,” Jevan said. “So, how long have all the rest of you been here?”

They caught Jevan up on everything going on with his family since he last saw them. He beamed at the news that he was going to be an uncle. “I can’t believe you found out like that,” he said with a laugh. “Welcome to the new world!”

“I can’t believe you’ve been living like this for months and haven’t come to bring us here,” Asha teased. “Keeping all this luxury for yourself!”

Jenira came around and gently pulled Asha’s arm. “Come on, mom, time is almost up. Let’s give Ardyn and Jevan a moment to speak privately. Then perhaps we can tear Ardyn away from Jevan long enough to show us where we might sleep.”

It hadn’t even occurred to Ardyn that they might stay for a while, and he felt foolish for not leaving Jevan’s side earlier. He watched as they left the room, before turning back to Jevan, taking his hand. “I am so glad you’re going to be okay.”

“Thank you for staying with me,” Jevan said. “I know I was supposed to be in a deep sleep, but I still knew you were with me all this time. Knowing you were waiting for me made me want to wake and speak to you so much. I’ve missed you.”

Emotion stung Ardyn’s eyes. “I… I’ve missed you, too. So much. I’m sorry for having been such a jealous fool. I should have known that you weren’t actually interested in Aramys.”

“Well, you were being a silly old elf,” Jevan teased. “But since you asked me so nicely to come back to you… here I am!”

Ardyn laughed, wiping away the tears stinging his eyes. “Wait, you heard that?”

“Every word,” Jevan confessed. “I wish you had told me sooner, but I understand. We’ve had so much going on, things like that get forgotten sometimes. I’m flattered that you found me so intriguing that you watched for me every time I came through your range.”

Ears flattening again, Ardyn ducked his head as his face heated. “I’m… sorry. I should have greeted you the first time I saw you. We’re supposed to discourage your people from walking through our lands, especially that close to Maala’naa.”

“So, why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know.” Thinking back to when he first spotted Jevan, humming a cheery tune while his pack clanked loudly with his brisk footsteps. “Maybe because you seemed so full of joy. You had this big smile, walking so brashly through our land. I found you fascinating.”

Jevan smiled at that. “So, about this pair-bonding I heard you planning with my mother — ”

Before Jevan could continue, Faelan returned. “Time’s up. You need to go back to sleep, Jevan.”

Heaving an exaggerated sigh, Jevan squeezed Ardyn’s hand. “Sorry, I guess we’ll have to talk about it after I wake up again.”

“Sleep well,” Ardyn said before Faelan pressed some controls that pulled Jevan into a medically induced slumber. Watching Jevan’s eyes flutter closed, Ardyn squeezed his hand back. We will have much to discuss when you wake.