Chronos emerged from the bathroom for the fourth time that day, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and collapsed onto the couch like someone who had given up the will to even sit up.

Pete’s living room was quiet—almost oppressively so.

The house was a reflection of its owner: understated, meticulously organized. It was filled with an unreasonable number of books and plants, which was really rare in this era.

Chronos loved it here, but he would never say that out loud, of course. Because saying it out loud was bound to be heard by someone.

Secretly living with the person you love without anyone knowing still had its fair share of fun.

He loved how they would secretly hold hands under everyone’s eyes. He loved how they would flirt, and no one would notice. He loved how they would run around and then kiss when no one was watching.

But it also had its fair share of difficulties. Like when they had to run around because a paparazzi kept following them. Like when the company was hard on banning dating.

Like when he couldn’t even declare that he was Pete’s boyfriend in front of a potential suitor of Pete. Like when he couldn’t even say I love you in public.

It looked like there were more cons than pros, but he liked it either way. It made his life fun and exciting, and he would like to maintain it as such for as long as possible.

Chronos snuggled his head on the soft blankets that Pete had folded earlier before going to work. He sniffed the detergent and frowned.

Still nothing, huh?

He quickly checked the time and opened the secret compartment. It was the place where Pete always put the vials of cure for himself.

After drinking that particularly more bitter than usual concoction, Chronos hurriedly ate a cookie and a lemonade nutrient solution that Pete secretly took from Maxwell Corporation.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Chronos leaned on the couch and drank another pack of lemonade nutrient solution. The sourness quenched his thirst and freed him from the irritable feeling.

He really loves this place.

A place he could call home.

Eventually, when he had enough of playing, this would finally be his real home.

Chronos giggled at the thought.

Then, to pass the time, Chronos turned on his light brain and opened the StarNet. He scrolled through the news feed looking for some juicy gossip, but it was just the usual drama, nothing unusual.

But then, a suddenly trending headline appeared after he refreshed for one last time.

BREAKING: MECHA RESEARCH INSTITUTE TURNED INTO RUINS AFTER A BOMBING INCIDENT — IMPERIAL MILITARY ASSUMES CONTROL TO INVESTIGATE

Chronos sat up so fast his vision became slightly blurry.

He read the article over once, twice, three times, his eyes catching on key phrases: complete structural collapse... all personnel inside confirmed deceased... General Xavier Hunter on-site commanding the response... cause under investigation...

Pete is currently assigned there.

He was there.

Chronos nearly fumbled as his trembling hands tried to press a few apps until he finally opened the messages. Still crept up in fear, he called Pete’s contact.

No answer.

He called again.

No answer.

So, he typed a message.

Then another.

Then a third, because the first two hadn’t been clear enough to be read. Most of it was just Pete’s name repeated with increasing numbers of exclamation points.

The minutes that followed felt the longest of Chronos’s life that was used to waiting.

When Pete finally picked up, Chronos’s voice came out so steady and controlled that it was almost insulting.

"You’re alive."

[I’m alive. I wasn’t inside when it happened. I’m fine.]

"Define ’fine.’ Be specific."

There was a pause on the other side before he heard Pete’s soft voice that he only heard when they were alone—or when Pete forgot that other people existed.

[No injuries. I wasn’t in the building when it happened. I was reviewing data in the Imperial Research Institute when the explosion happened, and I hurriedly came over. Grayson arrived on-site shortly after—he’s negotiating jurisdictional terms with General Hunter now. But there’s... a problem.]

"What kind?"

[The guest is missing. She was being held in the basement level when the bombing occurred. When the military secured the building, I hurriedly checked, and she was gone. No one knows who took her.]

Chronos closed his eyes. Lilianna is really a pain in everyone’s ass, whether she is alive or not.

"I see," Chronos said. "Come home when you can." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

[I will. I might be a little late, though.]

"I’ll stay here."

[I understand. I’ll see you later.]

Then Chronos hung up, quite in a hurry because he was about to vomit again.

BLERRGGGGGHHH

The last thing he wanted to do was trouble Pete at this important time with more worries.

This time, kneeling on the bathroom floor and lightheaded, Chronos couldn’t ignore it anymore.

The symptoms had been building for days. The nausea, the fatigue, the way certain smells that had nothing to do with pheromones suddenly made him either intoxicated or unbearable to the point of vomiting.

Not to mention, the constant need to be around Pete or the places he had been, albeit not smelling any pheromones.

Therefore, he could only do that on the test that he had been avoiding all this time.

Chronos washed his hands, dried them, and walked to the bathroom cabinet where Pete kept some medical supplies. It was thoroughly organized, naturally, by category and expiration date.

He then retrieved a home pregnancy detection kit. Standard Imperial Medical issue for all genders. Ninety-nine point seven percent accuracy rate, with results coming out in sixty seconds.

For a world that was severely lacking in offspring, these things were normal to have in every household, regardless of gender.

Chronos sat on the edge of the tub and stared at the kit for a long time.

He closed his eyes tight and took a deep breath.

Then, he used it.

The sixty seconds passed like a held breath.

And—

POSITIVE