There was a burst of chaos as the others arrived, all wanting to see the baby. It was clear Vivian was tired, but she was still as happy to see the others as Svetna was. Everyone was so excited about getting a glimpse of the new member of the family (variously saying the child looked like Svetna or Vivian, even though Svetna retty sure a newborn was too different from an adult to really say) that Svetna fully fot to ask Agusta about their whole situation.

  Which robably for the best. The moment was about Vivian and the baby. With maybe a little attention for Svetna.

  Everyoher than Bokarza took turns holding the infant, with Bokarza worried the baby was too tiny and fragile. Even if the kid retty good size for a newborn ina’s opinion. Then again she vaguely remembered just how long Kobaroic pregnancies were and could only guess their kids came out bigger.

  “昊宇” Vivian said as she watched a purring Plynx hold the baby.

  “Uh, pardon?” Svetna asked.

  “It’s a gender ral hat means ‘vast universe’,” Vivian said. “It had been one of my top choices firl, and I just remembered it was gender ral.”

  “I didn’t realise you were pnning to go with a ese name,” Svetna said. “Not--not pnning tue against it, I just didn’t realise.”

  Vivian shrugged. “It’s not like the kid will have to worry about cssmates or teachers pining about it being hard to pronounce.

  “So... Houyu?” Svetna asked, doing her best to copy what Vivian had said.

  tonese was always tricky in her opinion.

  “Close enough. We’ll work on your tones,” Vivian replied.

  Plynx nodded, looking down at the baby. “It is good to meet you, Houyu Fujikawa-Wong, child of my wives.”

  To the surprise of all the Earthlings, Vivian found herself able to get up and go about the rest of the day more or less as usual. She was tired, but a coffee or two kept her going for the day as everyone caught up. Little Houyu needed feeding at points, but other than that Svetna and noh took over most of the nanny duties. Ina's eyes it was only fair that Vivian got to rest. She’d basically been looking after the baby solo for the st 9 months, after all.

  Of course, Vivian could only get so much rest, because the Gaxy’s press wanted pictures of the new baby immediately, with both of their mothers. The rest of the family were also present, the press asking for a picture of each of the queens sort holding the child. On mild prompting from Svetna and Vivian they also took pictures of O’tmyil and Thisbe with Houyu.

  After the photo session and some vague questions that mostly involved expining how long it took a human baby to hit various stages of maturity, the family were then, finally, allowed to head back to the imperial apartment. Only to discover that most of the major news els were gushing about how adorable the new royal baby lynx, Bokarza, and Auguste all insisted keeping on top of ce was important.

  Vivian turned in early, but Svetna did her best to learn from the ce. Clearly the gactic popution was even more excited about a royal baby than press ba Earth. Maybe in part because little Houyu was a sigability finding Svetna had brought was going to st.

  That night Svetna had found herself getting up several times to che the baby, only to discover that noh, O’tmyil, and the rest of their siblings were taking care of things.

  Still, it was hard to sleep when one could hear a g baby. So Svetna ended up sleeping in and was still groggy as she walked over to the dining room table. Sitting down she found a, some peameal ba, and hash browns pced in front of her by a robotic arm. That was a good start to the day.

  Only once she’d put a bit in her mouth did she realise who was sitting in front of her.

  “Auguste,” she said, having picked up the new name yesterday, but not had a good opportunity to discuss gender.

  Right now, however, they were looking distinctly more mase, hair slicked back with an unbuttoned army-chic jacket over a white undershirt that was g to a rather toned chest.

  “I saw yerday,” Auguste said with a grin. “It made me ugh.”

  Svetna offered her own grin in reply. “So... was I right?”

  “Ouai,” Auguste replied. “It’s quite fasating how much of a... release this is.”

  “Mhm,” Svetna said with a small nod, taking in his figure as she chewed on a bit more breakfast. “You look good too.”

  “Thank you... somehow I feel better. Not only on days where I’m mase, but also days where I’m feminine and feel more able to embrace it,” he said, leaning back a little in his chair. “To say nothing of having decided I no longer care about meeting my father’s standards, as I know he would never approve.”

  “He was kind of a jerk,” Svetna muttered, before popping some more omelet into her mouth.

  The two of them were quiet after that, as Svetna finished her meal. In part because both of them kly what was oher’s mind. Curiosity filled both of them, having had their anatomies reversed from how they’d first met. At least part time fuste. It left Svetna w if she’d be half as good in this role in the bedroom as Auguste had been. Back when she’d almost left Svetna thinking being a man wasn’t so bad... And, well, it would be Svetna’s first time sleeping with someone who was at least a part time man since her zap. That also excited her.

  Walking past Auguste’s room, Vivian shook her head slightly at the noises she heard through the door. Svetna was not known for her patience.

  Then again, Vivian had also seen the hopeful looks Thisbe, Plynx, O’tmyil, and Bokarza had all been giving her. While she hysically fit enough to spend the night (or m) with any of them her hormones weren’t quite in the right pce at the moment. All very... sideways.

  Even if having a baby was a lot less painful in space, the human body still did some strahings as a result.

  The gaxy was now awash with baby fever, and that meant it was time for an imperial family tour. Every day for the month was booked up for them, though a good k of it was to be spent travelling. Though the boredom of days spent on star runners was tiring in its own way.

  It all became a bit of a blur, Svetna doing her best to remember the briefings O’tmyil and various aids gave her but it being too much for her brain to hold onto after visiting the p. She did, however, find herself ing up with a pn as she saw just how thrilled everyone was to see Houyu with both parents. Something that might be a gamble, but she wao give it a shot.

  Before she could do anything about that, though, the grandparents at long st had a ce to arrive at the same p as them.

  Waiting in the luxury hotel suite as Bokarza, Plynx, and Thisbe were out visiting the people of Parlox IV (most of whom were a species that looked rather like giant millipedes) Vivian checked the mirrain to make sure she didn’t look too tired. Whoever had decided that they o do a gactic tour with a newborn heir head examined. Even with the rest of the polycule and O’tmyil’s family to help Vivian wasn’t sure she’d managed more than five hours sleep since Houyu had been born.

  Knog on the door distracted her from how tired she was. A moment ter O’tmyil had opehe door, letting in Vivian’s, Svetna’s, and (for some reason) Auguste’s family. She generally ighe st group, distracted by hoy she was to see her parents and siblings, as well as getting to show Houyu off to them. Also, well, Auguste’s family were kind of hidden behind the Wongs anyway, since Vivian was not an outlier for height. Her mother was the shortest person in the family and was still 5’11.

  “Vivian!” her mother said. “I still ’t believe you’re the first oo make me a grandmother!”

  That drew an eye roll from Vivian’s older brother. “I told you, Jessid I are waiting for me to get my promotion... not all of us get to marry royalty.”

  “Excuses. She may have bagged royalty, but she’s also a lesbian, so you had an advantage,” her mother said, before hurrying over to get a better look at Houyu. “Such a darling... but, I really have to ask why you won’t tell your mother if it’s a birl.”

  “I told you, mum, we’re raising them gactic style. They don’t gender kids. The kids figure it out around when puberty starts,” Vivian replied. “Other than Thisbe the rest of the family are either aliens or trans, so they support the idea.”

  “I think it’s cool,” her little sister said. “Total freedom to decide. Very space age.”

  “People are saying ‘space age’ again?” Vivian asked.

  “Yeah. I mean, we’re properly in a space age now.”

  “Yes, yes,” her mother said, getting the focus ba her. “But you still tell me, ’t you?”

  “Actually... I holy ’t,” Vivian replied. “Svetna insisted she’ll handle all the diapers and baths to make up for puttihrough the pregnancy, and, well she actually barely gets to do them with the androids being so effit at nannying. And I don’t really want to know, because I’m not sure it wouldn’t influence me.”

  “Well, we’re happy to have the grandchild anyway,” Vivian’s father said.

  “As are we,” Karyna Fujikawa (Svetna’s mother) added, slipping in around Vivian’s elbow. “Daw. What a cutie, too!”

  “Mhm. A very cute child,” Dan Fujikawa added, looking like he was slightly overwhelmed by the whole ‘travelling to an alien world’ thing.

  Which was not surprising in the least, sidering how poorly he handled surprises and the unknown. Putting him on a p with two moons that orbited a red dwarf and was inhabited by mostly iebrates... that was a lot for anyone. As such, the poor man nearly jumped out of his skin when Vivian’s father cpped him on the back.

  “We grandfathers should go celebrate properly, now that we’ve seen the baby. What do you say, Dan?”

  “Um... I suppose, Andrew,” Dan replied. “Though I don’t know how one celebrates on this p.”

  “We’ll find out! I’m sure somewhere serves drinks. e on!” Vivian’s father said, dragging the far shorter man off in search of an alien bar.

  It was very definitely her mother’s side where Svetna got most of her height. Especially when one remembered her cousin Eliza, who was only slightly shorter than Vivian.

  “I still ’t believe my little Sveta’s a mother now,” Karyna said, hugging her daughter.

  Meanwhile Svetna was looking rather ed about how her father was going to fair off on an alien world. Though, who knew, sometimes Dan Fujikawa’s response was to simply take everything in stride and he might well e back singing drinking songs with a hyper intelligent jellyfish. Pretending things were normal sometimes worked for him.

  “So, is it true yoing to be knog Svetna up ?” Vivian’s sister asked with a grin.

  “I--well, that depends on what you mean by ‘’,” Vivian replied. “There’s a fair number of members in our polycule. I think she and I won’t be having a kid with one another for a while.”

  “Mhm. I’m expeg there to be a bunch of grumbling from gover officials about who I have my kid with,” Svetna said with a sigh.

  “Oof. The dowo royalty,” Vivian’s sister said. “At least you get a pace as part of the deal.”

  “The pace is pretty nice,” Svetna replied with a nod and a shrug.

  “Mhm,” a blond man who must have been Auguste’s father began, drawing the attention of the Fujikawas and the Wongs (and Fujikawa-Wongs) to him. “We brought a gift to celebrate the new child.”

  “Oh, that’s very appreciated,” Svetna said, her most diplomatic reply while her eyes g a currently feminine and rather tired looking Auguste.

  Vivian and Svetna were both aware via O’tmyil and noh of the sharp German whispers that had been exged between Auguste and her father while they’d been dealing with their own families. her had had a ce to be told the specifics, but it was clear both O’tmyil and noh were annoyed with the man.

  “It was nothing. Just some toys made by one of our favourite craftsmen in Geneva,” Auguste’s father expined. “Sofiya, would you like to hand them over?”

  “Of course,” a dark haired woman in her mid thirties said, stepping forward with a small gift bag in her hands. “I hope little Houyu will like them.”

  “Thank you, I’m sure they will,” Vivian replied, handing the baby off to her mother so that she could take the present.

  “They seem a very adorable child. I miss when our Valentin was so small,” she said.

  “... Our?” Svetna asked, looking for anyone else in the room.

  “Yes, our son,” Auguste’s father said.

  “Sofiya is father’s sed wife,” Auguste expined. “She’s a Bulgarian princess.”

  “Nothing on a Russian princess like Auguste’s mother was, but it’s something,” Sofiya replied with what Vivian thought was actual genuine modesty.

  “You’re Bulgarian?” Karyna said, fshing a smile. “I’ve always loved Bulgaria. My family took a few vacations there when I was young.”

  With that she started leading the other woman off, showing surprising ease at dealing with someone who was royalty. For a moment Vivian wondered if it was due to having a daughter who outranked ah monarch or a side effect of having grown up in the Soviet Union.

  Auguste’s father followed them with fusion written across his face, clearly not certain what to do with himself while his wife was the ter of attention.

  “Well, we’re going to go try the massage parlours they have here,” Vivian’s mother said, handing Houyu back. “All those arms... these Gulorps must be amazing at massages.”

  “We’ll see you ter,” her sister added as they headed off.

  Ohey were out of earshot Vivian’s brother then turo her with a smirk. “You know, I don’t think yoing to be the only one moving off-world. Trish has already had three different Kobaroian guys try to ask her to marry them. I think the first oo realise dating es first will actually have a good shot.”

  “She could do a lot worse. Kobaroian guys know how to respeen,” Vivian said with a ugh.

  “Mhm, that’s fair,” her brother said. “Well, I should probably go try to find dad and make sure he hasn’t givena’s dad a heart attack.”

  With that, Vivian found herself aloh Svetna and Auguste (and the baby).

  “So, what was your dad pining about?” Svetna asked.

  “That I wasn’t the first oo give you a child. Thankfully I successfully assured him that the Sed Dynasty used an exam system for iaher than seniority,” Auguste replied.

  Before Svetna could reply, Auguste’s father appeared by her side, a spark of inspiration in his eyes as he asked to discuss something with her in private. Fear fshed ina’s eyes for a brief moment, but then she followed him to the other side of the room, Which was fair, Vivian was fairly certain she didn’t want to hear about whatever self-serving schemes the man had.

  Instead she had decided to tease Auguste a little, to try to distract her from the pressure her father was no doubt throwing on her shoulders.

  “I will say, your step-mother is cute.”

  “I--pardon?” Auguste blurted, blushing something fierce.

  “The long dark hair. The Svid southern Europeaage. She maybe fits a type I’ve found I like,” Vivian said with a grin.

  Somehow Auguste’s blush grew worse. “I am... aware. I have been quite aware from the moment I first saw Svetna in female clothing... it seems that tastes in womerongly ied in my father’s family.”

  “Oh? There’s another one? Don’t tell me you have an uncle who married a tall yet short haired ese princess?” Vivian asked, genuinely curious.

  “N-no. It is... it is more embarrassing than that and so I will not subject myself to that indignity,” Auguste replied, crossing her arms.

  “Oh, well now I have to know,” Vivian said.

  “My lips are sealed,” Auguste insisted.

  Having family arou even more chaos, but it had been here were too many dignitaries and strao talk to, it left Svetna exhausted. Familiar faces were a breath of fresh air. Sadly they parted ways after only a few days, the Imperial tour having more stops.

  Which meant lots of travel in star runners, nothier to do but to listen to briefings from O’tmyil and other minders.

  Those briefings involved rather a lot of maps, as Svetna was shown how different parts of the Gactioh were reted. A lot of the history ended up overflowing from her brain and would have leaked out her ears if knowledge were a physical thing, but the map she was able to learn. It was the same in every lesson.

  “We’re getting close to Zuumult space,” she said after one of her briefings, studying the gactic map in front of her.

  “Reasonably, yes. No more closer than two hundred lightyears from the border,” an Issiod’rian advisor replied.

  “That seems like a good opportunity to meet up with Empere Ouzzhen. They had said they wao see me more,” Svetna said, leaning in to look at Zuumult territory.

  It was fairly small, pared to the Gaxy as a whole. It also seemed to blend into the Corporate Alliahe main power outside the oh. Also an alliahat didn’t so muake as banana its way around the edge of the gaxy to reach close to Earth.

  “Are you certain? This is a Zuumult we’re talking about,” the advisor said. “Not just any Zuumult, but a royal Zuumult. They have the blood of the First Dynasty flowing through them.”

  “Trying to be an ambassador for pead goodwill seems like the most useful thing I do with my life,” Svetna replied. “I’d like to at least give it a shot.”

  “... very well. There are some sparsely inhabited worlds in that part of the oh. I am certain we will be able to find one ready to aodate such a diplomatic meeting,” the advisor said.

  To be ho, Svetna was also at least a little excited to just be around Ouzzhen. They exuded a power with their well toned frame built to a scale rger than any human. Their presence was a bit like that of a tiger’s, only if the tiger could speak arusted not to eat you.

  Well, probably trusted.