“Morning, Starlight,” Johnny said instantly, perched at the counter as if he had been listening for her steps down the hall. His hair was still rumpled, curls sticking out in a way that made him look younger, softer, though the fire at the corner of his grin was as bright as ever.

Selara tilted her head, mock-serious. “You greet me as if it is a secret code.”

Johnny grinned wider. “It is. Classified. Top-tier. Only you and me.”

“Uh-huh,” Ben drawled from the stove, wielding a spatula like a weapon. “Code word’s ‘starlight,’ translation’s ‘kid’s got it bad.’” He flipped a pancake with one massive hand and winked at Selara. “Eat fast, tomorrow’s the big day.”

Her cheeks warmed despite herself. She sank into one of the chairs at the long kitchen table, folding her hands in her lap for a moment, feeling the bond hum faintly like a harp string at the back of her chest. Tomorrow. She had known the concept of ceremony all her life—Amarune’s bonds written in fire, eternal, undeniable—but she had never known this: the anticipation of something chosen, not decreed.

Sue swept into the room in her robe, hair pinned up in the kind of bun that somehow managed to look both effortless and impossibly neat. She leaned down to press a kiss to Franklin’s head as he sat already sketching at the table, tongue caught between his teeth as he drew.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Sue murmured. Then, catching Selara’s gaze, she smiled—warm, steady. “You slept well?”

Selara nodded. “Better than I expected. Dreams… quieter.” She hesitated, then added softly, “Your home feels like a shield.”

Sue’s hand brushed her shoulder, mother-light and unspoken promise. “That’s what it’s meant to be.”

Reed appeared next, juggling three datapads, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. He muttered something about “energy spillover calibrations” even as he reached for coffee without looking, nearly pouring it into the wrong mug until Sue gently redirected his hand.

“Sit, Reed,” she said firmly. “You can save the world after breakfast.”

Ben barked a laugh. “Amen.”

The table filled with plates—pancakes stacked like towers, scrambled eggs steaming, toast charred on the edges the way Johnny liked it. Selara watched the easy rhythm of it all, the way plates slid back and forth, forks clinked, conversation overlapped. No one announced assignments. No one issued decrees. It simply… worked. A family’s gravity, holding itself together.

—-

Franklin slid his sketch across the table toward her. “See?”

She leaned closer. He had drawn the Baxter rooftop—a simple version, just outlines—but in the middle he had scrawled two stick figures holding hands. One had flames for hair. The other had a glowing halo.

Selara pressed a hand to her lips, touched beyond words. “Little star,” she whispered, her eyes soft. “You see more than most.”

Franklin grinned, gap-toothed. “That’s because I’m smart like Daddy.”

Reed coughed into his coffee, flustered. Ben laughed so hard he nearly dropped the syrup.

Johnny leaned across the table, tapping the edge of the drawing. “Hey, you forgot the part where I look cooler than everyone else.”

Franklin rolled his eyes with all the gravitas of a seven-year-old. “You’re fine.”

The room broke into easy laughter.

For a moment, Selara simply sat back, let the sound wash over her, let the warmth soak into bones that had once only known cold duty. Tomorrow would be momentous, she knew—ceremony, vows, an entire world watching in its own way. But this—this was the heart of it. Syrup on plates. Franklin’s bright chatter. Sue’s calm command. Reed’s distracted genius. Ben’s gravel-voiced jokes. Johnny’s eyes catching hers across the table, fire soft as dawn.

Her family. Her forever.

—-

The Baxter Building had been transformed.

The top floor, usually humming with machines and chalkboards filled with Reed’s equations, had become something softer. The team had pulled in strings of light, draped them along the glass walls until the city outside shimmered like a thousand stars beyond reach. Chairs lined the space in neat rows, white ribbons tied at their edges. A stretch of pale carpet rolled straight to the arch Sue had insisted on building—woven from flowers and crystal, both Earth and Amarune in one frame.

It smelled faintly of roses and steel. Of family.

Johnny tugged at his collar for the fifth time, earning a sharp slap to the shoulder from Sue. “Stop fidgeting,” she whispered.

“I’m not fidgeting,” he muttered. “I’m… adjusting.”

“You look fine,” Sue said firmly, smoothing his lapel as though he were still ten years old and about to trip over himself at a school recital.

Ben grunted from behind. “Kid’s sweatin’ like he’s about to face Galactus again. Relax, matchstick. She already said yes.”

Johnny shot him a look but couldn’t deny the way his pulse hammered, the bond humming through his chest like a tether pulled taut. Selara was near—he could feel her, the quiet steadiness of her presence brushing against him like the tide against a shoreline. But he hadn’t seen her yet. Not today. That was the rule.

Reed checked his watch, glasses slipping. “Five minutes,” he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. “Ceremonial time sync is—ah—within margin.”

“Margin?” Ben snorted. “It’s a wedding, Stretch, not a rocket launch.”

Sue ignored them both, her eyes already bright. She had spent weeks pretending to keep things practical—flowers ordered on time, guest list contained, Franklin’s suit pressed and ready—but Johnny knew she was bursting inside. This wasn’t just his wedding. It was her family’s expansion.

The hum in his chest grew louder. He turned.

And then she appeared.

Selara stood framed in the doorway, and for a moment the entire room forgot how to breathe.

Her gown was lace and light, the fabric whispering over her skin like it had been woven from moonlight itself. The bodice curved elegant and strong, the off-the-shoulder sleeves puffed delicately before narrowing into sheer lace down her arms. The veil crowned her hair in a soft halo, pearls catching the light. Her lips were painted a deep, bold red, her eyes alive with something more than fire—something steady, luminous, unshakable.

She looked like every Amarune myth come to life. She looked like herself.

Johnny’s mouth parted. His heart tripped over itself. For once, words failed him completely. The bond carried what his voice couldn’t: awe so sharp it felt like flame catching new air.

Ben stood at her side, suited but still unmistakably stone. He cleared his throat, his gravel voice softer than Johnny had ever heard. “You ready, kid?”

Selara nodded once, though her eyes flicked to Johnny’s, and in the bond her answer came clearer: Always.

Ben offered his massive arm. She slipped her hand into the crook of it without hesitation. Together, they started forward.

The room rose to its feet. Sue’s hand tightened on Reed’s arm. Franklin leaned so far forward in his chair that Lynne had to tug him gently back. Johnny couldn’t move—he was frozen, undone, every nerve lit by the sight of her crossing the aisle toward him.

Ben walked slow, steady, carrying the gravity of a brother who had fought too many wars and was still awed to be trusted with this one. When they reached Johnny, Ben turned her hand over, pressed it into Johnny’s, and whispered low enough only Johnny could hear: “Don’t screw this up.”

Johnny swallowed hard, nodding. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Selara turned fully to him then, her hand fitting into his. The lace of her sleeve brushed his skin, and the bond sang—bright, undeniable, a promise stitched into their very bones.

The officiant—an old family friend of the Richards, steady-voiced and calm—welcomed everyone, speaking of commitment, of choice, of the strange blessing that comes from finding home in another person. But Johnny barely heard the words. His eyes stayed on her. Selara, radiant and sure, the veil framing her like a crown she chose instead of one forced upon her.

When it was time for vows, Sue gave Johnny a subtle nudge.

He cleared his throat, hands trembling slightly as he held Selara’s. “Starlight, I… I’ve always been the guy who runs into fire without thinking. But you—you’re the one who taught me what it means to stand in it. You’ve seen the worst of me, the reckless, selfish parts, and you stayed. You didn’t just stay—you loved me anyway. You made me braver. You made me better. And I promise, from this day on, I’ll never let go. Not of your hand, not of your heart. Forever, in every language we’ve got.”

Selara’s breath caught, her eyes shimmering, but she lifted her chin and spoke steady. “Johnny Storm, on Amarune forever was a cage. A bond forced, a destiny written in hunger. I was afraid of it all my life. But you showed me a new forever. One made of choice. Of laughter. Of your terrible jokes. Of family around this table. I choose that. I choose you. Not as Source. Not as duty. As myself. As your Selara. Forever.”

Her voice cracked on the last word, but she did not falter.

Sue was openly crying. Reed’s throat bobbed as he adjusted his glasses. Ben swiped at his face with the back of his massive hand, grumbling something about “dust in the room.” Franklin clapped his hands together, beaming.

The officiant smiled softly. “Then by the power vested in me—and by the bond already written in your very being—I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Johnny didn’t wait for permission. He pulled Selara in, kissed her, and for a heartbeat the bond flared bright violet beneath their skin—light spilling through lace, through flame, through everything. It wasn’t the dangerous supernova of the throne chamber. It was softer, warmer, a shared spark that kissed the room with its glow.

Applause erupted. Ben whooped. Sue laughed through her tears. Reed clapped exactly three times, then kept clapping because Franklin told him to.

Johnny pulled back, forehead against hers, whispering through the bond and aloud at once: Aruna’shai.

Selara’s smile broke like dawn. “Aruna’shai,” she whispered back.

And just like that, forever had never felt so possible.

—-

The Baxter Building had been transformed.

The top floor, usually humming with machines and chalkboards filled with Reed’s equations, had become something softer. The team had pulled in strings of light, draped them along the glass walls until the city outside shimmered like a thousand stars beyond reach. Chairs lined the space in neat rows, white ribbons tied at their edges. A stretch of pale carpet rolled straight to the arch Sue had insisted on building—woven from flowers and crystal, both Earth and Amarune in one frame.

It smelled faintly of roses and steel. Of family.

Johnny tugged at his collar for the fifth time, earning a sharp slap to the shoulder from Sue. “Stop fidgeting,” she whispered.

“I’m not fidgeting,” he muttered. “I’m… adjusting.”

“You look fine,” Sue said firmly, smoothing his lapel as though he were still ten years old and about to trip over himself at a school recital.

Johnny shot her a look but couldn’t deny the way his pulse hammered, the bond humming through his chest like a tether pulled taut. Selara was near—he could feel her, the quiet steadiness of her presence brushing against him like the tide against a shoreline. But he hadn’t seen her yet. Not today. That was the rule.

Reed checked his watch, glasses slipping. “Five minutes,” he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. 

Sue, her eyes already bright. She had spent weeks pretending to keep things practical—flowers ordered on time, guest list contained, Franklin’s suit pressed and ready—but Johnny knew she was bursting inside. This wasn’t just his wedding. It was her family’s expansion.

The hum in his chest grew louder. He turned.

And then she appeared.

Selara stood framed in the doorway, and for a moment the entire room forgot how to breathe.

Her gown was lace and light, the fabric whispering over her skin like it had been woven from moonlight itself. The bodice curved elegant and strong, the off-the-shoulder sleeves puffed delicately before narrowing into sheer lace down her arms. The veil crowned her hair in a soft halo, pearls catching the light. Her lips were painted a deep, bold red, her eyes alive with something more than fire—something steady, luminous, unshakable.

She looked like every Amarune myth come to life. She looked like herself.

Johnny’s mouth parted. His heart tripped over itself. For once, words failed him completely. The bond carried what his voice couldn’t: awe so sharp it felt like flame catching new air.

Ben stood at her side, suited but still unmistakably stone. He cleared his throat, his gravel voice softer than Johnny had ever heard. “You ready, kid?”

Selara nodded once, though her eyes flicked to Johnny’s, and in the bond her answer came clearer: Always.

Ben offered his massive arm. She slipped her hand into the crook of it without hesitation. Together, they started forward.

The room rose to its feet. Sue’s hand tightened on Reed’s arm. Franklin leaned so far forward in his chair that Lynne had to tug him gently back. Johnny couldn’t move—he was frozen, undone, every nerve lit by the sight of her crossing the aisle toward him.

Ben walked slow, steady, carrying the gravity of a brother who had fought too many wars and was still awed to be trusted with this one. When they reached Johnny, Ben turned her hand over, pressed it into Johnny’s, and whispered low enough only Johnny could hear: “Don’t screw this up.”

Johnny swallowed hard, nodding. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Selara turned fully to him then, her hand fitting into his. The lace of her sleeve brushed his skin, and the bond sang—bright, undeniable, a promise stitched into their very bones.

The officiant—an old family friend of the Richards, steady-voiced and calm—welcomed everyone, speaking of commitment, of choice, of the strange blessing that comes from finding home in another person. But Johnny barely heard the words. His eyes stayed on her. Selara, radiant and sure, the veil framing her like a crown she chose instead of one forced upon her.

When it was time for vows, Sue gave Johnny a subtle nudge.

He cleared his throat, hands trembling slightly as he held Selara’s. “Starlight, I… I’ve always been the guy who runs into fire without thinking. But you—you’re the one who taught me what it means to stand in it. You’ve seen the worst of me, the reckless, selfish parts, and you stayed. You didn’t just stay—you loved me anyway. You made me braver. You made me better. And I promise, from this day on, I’ll never let go. Not of your hand, not of your heart. Forever, in every language we’ve got.”

Selara’s breath caught, her eyes shimmering, but she lifted her chin and spoke steady. “Johnny Storm, on Amarune forever was a cage. A bond forced, a destiny written in hunger. I was afraid of it all my life. But you showed me a new forever. One made of choice. Of laughter. Of your terrible jokes. Of family around this table. I choose that. I choose you. Not as Source. Not as duty. As myself. As your Selara. Forever.”

Her voice cracked on the last word, but she did not falter.

Sue was openly crying. Reed’s throat bobbed as he adjusted his glasses. Ben swiped at his face with the back of his massive hand, grumbling something about “dust in the room.” Franklin clapped his hands together, beaming.

The officiant smiled softly. “Then by the power vested in me—and by the bond already written in your very being—I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Johnny didn’t wait for permission. He pulled Selara in, kissed her, and for a heartbeat the bond flared bright violet beneath their skin—light spilling through lace, through flame, through everything. It wasn’t the dangerous supernova of the throne chamber. It was softer, warmer, a shared spark that kissed the room with its glow.

Applause erupted. Ben whooped. Sue laughed through her tears. Reed clapped exactly three times, then kept clapping because Franklin told him to.

Johnny pulled back, forehead against hers, whispering through the bond and aloud at once: Aruna’shai.

Selara’s smile broke like dawn. “Aruna’shai,” she whispered back.

And just like that, forever had never felt so possible.

—-

The applause still echoed as the ceremony shifted into celebration. The Baxter’s great hall had been reconfigured while the vows were said—Sue’s doing, no doubt, with Reed’s architecture quietly backing her. Where the arch had stood, the arch now became the backdrop for a long table set like a feast. Lights glittered overhead in warm strands, mingling with faint violet glow woven in by Selara herself. Earth and Amarune, woven together in detail after detail.

Ben was the first to break the formality. He clapped Johnny on the back so hard the younger man nearly staggered. “Congrats, matchstick,” he rumbled, his grin uncharacteristically soft. “Never thought I’d say it, but… ya done good.”

Johnny laughed, adjusting his footing, Selara’s hand still in his. “Thanks, big guy. You sure you’re okay with me marrying? You had dibs on being everyone’s favorite.”

Ben rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. “You’ll never outrank me with Franklin. Don’t even try.”

Speaking of Franklin—he was a blur as he darted past chairs, straight into Selara’s gown, hugging her legs with fearless affection. “Aunty Star, you looked so pretty!” His eyes shone like he had just watched his favorite hero land in real life. “And now you’re really family.”

Selara bent, scooping him into her arms despite the lace sleeves, veil shifting as she pressed her cheek to his hair. “Little star,” she whispered, voice trembling with joy, “I would not be anything else.”

The bond hummed with Johnny’s warmth beside her, that same sense of pride and awe echoing through him as he watched her hold his nephew like he’d always known she belonged here.

They moved toward the long table. Reed, practical as ever, had insisted on keeping the guest list small. The Future Foundation’s closest allies, a few dear friends, Lynne Nichols seated with Franklin when he wasn’t orbiting Selara. It wasn’t the kind of wedding meant to impress a city—it was meant to feel lived in. Home.

Sue took charge, ushering Selara and Johnny into their seats at the center. She floated in her role with the same grace she carried in battle—balancing details, steadying chaos, making sure plates and glasses were always full.

Dinner began. Ben piled his plate with half the table’s worth of food. Reed dissected his portion with quiet efficiency, though his eyes lingered on Selara often, like a scientist trying to document a miracle he couldn’t quantify. Sue leaned across occasionally to remind Johnny to eat between his jokes.

Conversation spun around them, laughter layering over the clink of cutlery. Franklin wriggled out of his chair more than once to dash around the room, carrying scraps of cake back to Selara as though he alone could make sure she was fed properly. She accepted each offering with radiant patience, whispering thanks and planting soft kisses on his hairline.

—-

Finally, Ben stood, raising his glass. “Alright, listen up!” His gravelly voice silenced the table better than any formal toast ever could. He cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. “I ain’t good at this stuff. Speeches, feelings… y’know. But… today’s somethin’ else. Kid here—” He jerked his thumb at Johnny. “—he’s been drivin’ me nuts since the day I met him. Reckless, loud, burns too bright for his own good. But then… he found someone who burns just as bright. Maybe brighter.”

Selara’s cheeks colored. Johnny squeezed her hand beneath the table, grin boyish but eyes damp.

Ben continued, his voice softer now. “Selara, you walked into this family when you had every reason to walk away. You coulda let the world break you down, but instead you lit it up. And I ain’t talkin’ Vyra, or powers, or any of that. I’m talkin’ heart. You’re the real deal, kid. And if anybody deserved this knucklehead, it’s you. And if anybody deserved you—” He paused, eyes flicking at Johnny. “—well, maybe not him, but he’s the one who got lucky. And I’m proud of ya both.”

The table erupted in applause, laughter mingling with sniffles. Johnny leaned over, calling out, “Thanks, Uncle Ben.”

“Don’t push it, matchstick,” Ben muttered, but his grin betrayed him.

After dinner, the lights shifted. Music filled the hall—not Amarune hymns, not Earth’s grand orchestral marches, but a blend. Sue had worked with Selara to find something that straddled both worlds. Strings wove with faint chimes of crystal. It shimmered, haunting and lovely.

Johnny rose, tugging Selara gently to her feet. “Dance with me, starlight?”

Her smile answered before her voice. “Always.”

They stepped into the cleared space, the world falling away until it was just the two of them. The lace of her gown brushed against his suit, her hand warm in his, the bond flaring steady and strong. They moved clumsily at first—Johnny’s nerves turning his feet into chaos—but Selara guided him with patient grace. Soon they were gliding, laughter spilling between them, eyes locked as though the rest of the room didn’t exist.

Johnny leaned close, whispering into her hair, “You realize every time I look at you tonight, I’m falling in love with you all over again.”

Selara’s laughter was quiet, caught between tears and joy. “Then keep looking, Johnny Storm. I have no wish for you to stop.”

The bond thrummed—alive, undeniable.

Around them, the family watched. Sue leaned into Reed’s side, finally letting her tears fall freely. Reed’s arm slipped around her waist, steady and tender. Franklin danced in circles with Lynne nearby, occasionally darting close to Selara’s gown, pretending to join in. Ben stood at the edge, arms crossed, trying to look unimpressed—but when Selara threw him a smile mid-spin, he wiped at his face again, muttering curses at the dust.

When the song ended, the room erupted in applause once more. Johnny kissed Selara’s hand, bowing low with exaggerated flourish that earned a roll of her eyes and another laugh.

It was messy. It was perfect. It was theirs.

And for Selara—for Johnny—for all of them—this was forever made visible: laughter, family, love strung across a city skyline that had once seemed impossibly distant.

—-

The reception mellowed to a warm hum. Music slowed, shoes disappeared, jackets were traded for blankets, and the city outside the tower softened into a sea of lights. Selara’s smile had turned from bright to gently luminous; the bond carried Johnny’s joy like a hearth under her ribs, steady and human and hers.

“Don’t drift off yet,” Sue said, passing behind Selara’s chair with a conspirator’s glint. “We’ve got one more thing.”

Ben groaned happily. “Awright, showtime.”

The living room dimmed. Reed fiddled with something on a low cart and a slim cone of light lanced the dusk. Not a flatscreen—this was older, tactile: a 16mm projector, its reels already threaded with care. The machine purred to life, the smell of warmed dust and celluloid pricking nostalgia Selara didn’t know she owned.

A black-and-white title flickered onto the wall. Then a man in a suit stepped through smoke, voice cool and uncanny, like a door cracked into a different kind of night.

“You unlock this door with the key of imagination…”

—-

Selara’s breath broke softly. “Rod Serling,” she whispered, reverent.

Johnny squeezed her hand, grin tilted boyish. “Your first Earth birthday,” he murmured. “We did it right.”

On the coffee table lay the rest of the surprise: a neat stack of film cans labeled in Sue’s careful hand (The Twilight Zone: curated reels), a vintage press kit Reed had tracked down, and a small black star map of the night over New York—tonight’s sky, pin-pricked silver and violet, Amarune’s twin moons etched in the corner as a secret inlay only she would catch.

“For your wall,” Sue said, handing over the framed map. “So you always know where home looks like. Both of them.”

“And this,” Reed added, a little shy, offering a narrow box. Inside, a slim silver bracelet with four tiny insets—amber, pale blue, violet, and clear—each stone cut to a different facet. “Four for four,” he said, clearing his throat. “And one more for you.”

Selara laughed wetly. “You keep making me cry,” she accused, not trying very hard to stop them.

“Good tears,” Johnny said, kissing her temple as the projector ticked on. “Mandatory Earth culture.”

They piled close for the screening: Ben slouched into the big chair, plate balanced on his belly; Sue tucked herself around Franklin, who valiantly fought bedtime and lost in stages; Reed perched on the armrest, watchful and secretly sentimental; Johnny and Selara curled together on the rug, her head on his shoulder, his cheek against her hair. The film wove its eerie kindness across the wall—strange men at strange crossroads, choices framed like doors. Every time the theme swelled, Selara felt something in her chest answer: the part of her that had always lived between worlds, now invited to belong in both.

Between reels, Ben fetched cake. “For the birthday girl,” he said, setting a slice in front of her the size of a small moon. “Make a wish.”

Selara met Johnny’s eyes and didn’t close hers at all. “Already made,” she said softly. “And already granted.”

They watched until the reels clicked empty and the projector spun down with a contented sigh. In the hush, Rod Serling’s last cadence seemed to linger in the plaster. Family settled deeper into couches and blankets, talk dimming to murmurs. Selara pressed her palm to the star map’s glass, the chill touching her skin. Two skies, she thought. One life.

Johnny’s whisper brushed her ear. “Happy birthday, Selara Storm.”

The name lit her. “I like the way that sounds,” she said.

“Me too.”

They sat with that—quiet, complete—until the city’s glitter felt like it was shining for them alone.

—-

Months Later

Winter folded into a tender spring. The Baxter Building learned the rhythm of a marriage: two toothbrushes sharing a glass, two mugs side by side (Johnny’s scorch-scarred, Selara’s tracing heat without burning), two coats on the hook—plum and navy—like vows in fabric. Selara taught the building her cadences; it adapted without fuss. She laughed at sitcom reruns, asked solemn questions in the middle of commercials, learned to operate the fickle window latches, and hummed old Amaralian work songs under her breath as she folded laundry with a reverence that made Sue smile in the doorway.

Lessons grew layered into their days. Selara began to teach Johnny her language with the same seriousness she gave to holding a shield in a storm.

“Okay,” he said one evening at the kitchen island, pen poised. “Hit me.”

She tapped the notebook, letters like constellations. “Aruna’shai you know. Vyra you know. Today: Shivra—thread.” She drew it in the air with a fingertip; the bond hummed. “’Tavri—to join; to become with.”

“Shiv…ra…’tavri.” He shaped it carefully, teeth grazing his lower lip as if the word might burn. “How’d I do?”

“Beautifully,” she said, and meant it. She showed him again: soft tongue on the vri, breath on the shiv. He repeated it a few more times, then scribbled SHIVRA’TAVRI in big, block capitals and underlined it like a favorite lyric.

“Sentence?” he asked, eager. “Use it in a sentence.”

Selara smiled. “Soon,” she said, and tucked the notebook away.

He narrowed his eyes playfully. “That’s not fair.”

“Wives are not fair,” she said gravely. “It is our function.”

He laughed and kissed her over the counter, a quick, warm press—domestic, perfect. The city was all lit windows and sirens; the kitchen was lamplight and the clink of cutlery and the scent of orange peel where she’d zested it into the batter to show Ben that pancakes could be art

—-

Evenings became their sanctuary. Franklin sometimes camped out, Lynne Nichols dropping him off with a wave and a reminder about bedtimes that everyone ignored. He and Selara built elaborate marble runs across the lab floor, Reed stepping over them like an elephant negotiating teacups. Ben taught Franklin to shuffle cards; Sue taught him to shuffle adults. Johnny taught him to say please with charm; Selara taught him the Amaralian word for patience (which, to Franklin’s delight, sounded suspiciously like tickle if you got the vowel wrong).

And slowly—so slowly that even Selara’s careful listening almost missed it—something new began to glow at the center of the bond. A second pulse; a tiny echo with its own shy rhythm.

She carried the secret like a candle protected by both hands, sheltering it through errands and rescues and days in socks. She listened to it when night was quiet enough. She learned its beat: not Amarune’s hunger, not Earth’s noise, but a small, steady becoming. When she was certain—when the glow spoke not as a maybe but as a yes—she chose her moment.

—-

The night she told him, rain pressed against the windows in a fine, insistent mist. New York smelled newly washed; traffic noises had edges. Johnny had cooked (he called it cooking; Ben called it “creative reheating”), and the kitchen still held the ghost of garlic. They abandoned the dishes to their future selves and migrated to the couch with a blanket that had survived three different apartments and at least one minor meteor shower.

“Lesson?” he asked, eyes bright. He’d brought the notebook even though half his Amaralian vocabulary currently lived in his grin.

Selara took it, thumbed to a blank page, and wrote Shivra’tavri again, this time in the flowing script her mother had taught her. She turned the notebook so he could see.

He leaned in, breath warming her wrist. “Thread…joins… family,” he translated, pleased with himself. “Right?”

“Close,” she said, and her voice shook, and that was the first hint.

“Selara?” Johnny’s expression softened, all that brittle showman light dropping away to make room for awe. He set the notebook aside like it might bruise if he breathed on it.

She took his hands, placed them over her heart the way one sets something valuable down where it cannot fall. “Shivra’tavri,” she said again—careful now, the vowels exact, the cadence ceremonial. “I’m pregnant.” She smiled through tears. “Literally—a new thread joins our family.”

For a heartbeat he didn’t move. Then the grin arrived—reckless, incandescent, helpless—and with it a laugh full of tears. “You’re—? We’re—?” He tried to stand and sit at the same time, failed at both, and ended up gathering her to him with a sound that had no English word and three in Amaralian.

She laughed into his shoulder, the bond answering like a bell rung gently; the small rhythm within it bopped back, as if pleased to be included.

Johnny pulled away just far enough to frame her face in his hands. “Are you okay? You feel okay? Do you—what do you need—do you need ice cream—do Amaralian moms crave… starlight? Do we have to go outside and—”

“Johnny,” she said, dizzy with him, with it, with joy. “Breathe.”

He breathed. It came out as a giddy wheeze. “Right. Okay. Breathing. Shivra’tavri.” He tasted the word again, reverent now. “A new thread.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Our thread.”

She nodded, cheeks wet. “I wanted to tell you in our language,” she whispered. “Because you have been learning it, and because this is ours before it belongs to the world.”

He laughed again, softer. “I’m learning for keeps.” He swallowed, then said—shyly, beautifully—“Aruna’shai.”

“Aruna’shai,” she echoed, and kissed him, slow and certain.

—-

They told the others the next morning. Sue cried first and longest, clutching Selara like a blessing she fully intended to protect with both hands and a force field; Reed launched into a delighted, apologetic lecture about prenatal monitoring protocols and interspecies harmonics before remembering he was a person and hugging Selara so carefully it nearly undid her; Ben whooped and promised the child two things: “the best pancakes and the worst jokes”; Franklin sprinted in circles until Lynne made him sit and breathe and accept a celebratory blueberry muffin like a knight receiving his crest.

Johnny spent the day walking into rooms and forgetting why he had come, then remembering, then grinning like the sun remembered him back. Once, Selara caught him in the hallway, palm pressed flat to the wall as if listening to the building breathe. “Practicing lullabies,” he said when she asked. “Don’t worry, I’ll stick to humming. Words are a work in progress.”

“Your Amaralian is perfect,” she said.

He looked at her like that was the same as saying I love you and the bond agreed.

That evening, when the tower’s windows poured gold into rain and the city felt close enough to hold, they curled on the couch with a blanket and the old projector out for another run. The film’s beam cut the room into a private galaxy. Rod Serling strolled into frame, cigarette smoke writing cursive around his head.

“You unlock this door with the key of imagination…”

Johnny slid his hand over Selara’s as if turning a page. “Hey,” he whispered. “What’s the Amaralian for… home?”

She smiled, the word already warm on her tongue. “Naivar.”

He mouthed it, then said—clear, proud—“Naivar.”

Selara pressed his hand to her stomach, where the faintest shimmer answered. “Naivar,” she repeated softly. “Ours.”

The projector ticked. The rain whispered. Family, full of plans and questions and laughter, moved through the apartment like a tide. In the small, bright space where the bond sang, a new thread joined—not a chain, not a crown, just a soft, insistent yes.

Forever, Selara thought. Not the Amarune kind, hard and hungry. The Earth kind: chosen daily, taught patiently, spoken in two languages at once.

She tipped her head to Johnny’s shoulder, let the film draw its strange doors in light, and felt the future open without swallowing her.

Outside, New York went on being itself—impossible, ordinary, shining. Inside, the Baxter Building learned another secret melody and hummed along.

And between them—between worlds—Selara lived where she had always belonged: in the place made by love.

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Author’s Note to Readers & Taglist

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who’s read, supported, and tagged along with this story. 💜 I’ve been writing for years, but I’ve never written a fanfic this long—and actually finished it. This project has reignited my passion for storytelling in a way I didn’t expect, and I’m so grateful to have shared that journey with all of you.

If you’ve ever wanted to see your own ideas—whether for characters, stories, or worlds—brought to life, feel free to message me. I’d love to support fellow writers, readers, and visionaries in practicing and creating together. (There will be some exclusions—smut being one—but we can talk more in messages if you’re curious about other boundaries.)

Thank you again for walking with me through Selara’s story. 💫 Here’s to many more. 🩷