Switching Sides
Chapter 12
The three weeks leading up to the elections in Faldo seemed to stretch on forever. We hammered away daily on the Pact of Equals and what it said about the people, the government, and religion. More delicate prose was used to call into question the ethics and morals of certain of the Grand Patriarchs. The temptation to tell the people of Faldo what startling advances in technology, food growing, and health was almost too much to resist. However, we did ask them to consider the logic of how far ahead of their own history they were now compared to a century ago. "Just think how far ahead Aldig must be, how easily they have solved vexing problems about health, food safety, transportation, and the inclusion of all their people into the fabric of society," we suggested. "The gods created all people, not just the elite who think themselves better than the rest of us. This is your chance to shape the future of Faldo and more particularly of your present situation.
"The holy wars perpetrated upon us were wrong. The gods have clearly indicated their displeasure by allowing Aldig to defeat us so easily three times. How many more times do we have to fight a pointless war that we can't win before we sue for peace and abandon our endless need to send our young men and women to their certain deaths? How many more taxes must we pay that serve no purpose, that only ensure more deaths? With their apparent superior technology, when will Aldig tire of our ridiculous attempts to hurt them and retaliate massively against us? There is a better way. We must vote for change!"
I didn't like the implied threat in the last part of the message. It might cause the people to turn inward and listen to the warmongers who insist that Faldo can strike again and will be successful before Aldig attacks us. However, the holy war message from the Grand Patriarchs wasn't allowed to be broadcast. Whenever they tried to beat their war drums, Aldig overrode them with static. The Intelligence Ministry with concurrence of the King and the Council had decided that this should be a one-sided election campaign. The people of Faldo already knew the position of the religious caste.
We were getting reports from our spies in Faldo that the message was making a difference. More people talked openly about the Pact of Equals and how the religious hierarchy had suborned the people's will and power. Freedom of religion and from religion had to be important or it wouldn't have been in the Pact. Further, the Pact clearly stated that religion had no part in government. Religion only had the interests of the people's spiritual well-being, not running every part of their lives. But, would that translate into votes in the election? Were there candidates that the people could vote for, and not just vote against the religious candidates?
There was a political development that surprised me. Opposition candidates coalesced around one party name: the People's Party. The religious people were so sure that the gods were on their side and the people would not abandon them that they called their group the Party of the Gods. Cheeky of them, but when you've been in power for so long, you can't see why the people might want change.
We were pretty confident of the vote in the capitol city, but we weren't sure how the message had played in the countryside and smaller towns and villages. They had all heard our broadcasts and knew of an opposition party, but would they cast votes against tradition? Many of the people had family members who perished in the holy wars. Would that influence them against the men who had taken their sons and daughters and thrown away their lives?
The vote was taken over a two day period. Of course, it was paper ballots. The counting took another three days. News organizations were silent, not releasing even preliminary results. We took this as a good sign. After all, the news outlets were in the pocket of the Grand Patriarchs and their minions. The people still got their daily newspapers, countering what we had said via the radio waves. However, nearly all of the points that we were making about corruption of the Grand Patriarchs and the meaning of the Pact of Equals were not countered. Their silence spoke volumes to the people. The political rallies and speeches pointed that out. The country folk weren't hearing the political speeches, unfortunately. But, we did use some of the opposition rhetoric in our broadcasts. Newspapers were known to be one-sided, so that was in our favor. But, so were our broadcasts.
Finally, the vote was announced by the acting Prime Minister. The People's Party had won in nearly every district. A new assembly would be sworn in on the first day of the next week. Meanwhile, the Grand Patriarchs were condemning all the people, promising that the gods would bring down fire and pestilence upon them. A new Prime Minister was elected on the first ballot. The following day, he gave a speech that was broadcast throughout Faldo. We didn't interrupt a word of it. In fact, we rebroadcast it so the people in the countryside could hear it clearly. He promised an investigation into the finances and morality of the Grand Patriarchs. By their own words and bylaws, there would be a number of resignations, even three suicides. Suicides were strictly forbidden by religion, yet they had killed themselves. The new Prime Minister also promised to open a dialogue with Aldig to see if there was common ground that could be found for our mutual futures.
We were deliriously happy about the outcome of the election. But, the commanding general made it very clear that no one could speak of the role that we played in the changes in Faldo. There couldn't be any hint or rumor of our interference in the direction of Faldo's election or their future.
To celebrate our clandestine victory, the commanding general invited all of us to his home for a celebratory dinner. Attendees included the three voices of the Faldo underground and our spouses (or partners), the Intelligence Ministry head and his deputy, our sound engineer, the editor, our supervisor, and the king's first minister. In all, there were 12 of us. With the commanding general and his husband Mat, we were a party of 14. During the cocktail hour, we were surprised to see the king walking into the party with the crown prince and four of their Imperial Guards. Of course, the general invited them to stay for dinner, but the king had to decline. However, the crown prince agreed to celebrate with us. "I wanted to congratulate all of you for a brilliant plan and the execution thereof. You were clever, resourceful, and ultimately successful. My highest honors will go to all of you," the king added. He paused for a moment. "However, due to the sensitive nature of what you did, this honor may not be spoken of in public. But, there will be a special remembrance from me and the Council for what you've done. Use the funds wisely!" he beamed and left the room to enthusiastic applause.
Dinner was the best food and wine I'd ever consumed. By the time we left, we were well sated and beaming with repeated praises from the assembled group. The crown prince was a delight: witty, clever, smart, and eager to learn more of our exploits. He was particularly taken by the tales of the three Faldo ex-patriots and how we saw the future of Faldo. We decided he would make an excellent king in two more years.
Of course, news of the complete reversal in Faldo politics couldn't be contained. Traders from other countries who had business with us and with Faldo spread the word that an election had been held in Faldo with stunning results. The whole planet was abuzz with the rapid change in Faldo's direction. The Special Committee on Investigations formed by the Faldo Assembly began work immediately. The committee unearthed massive corruption, immoral conduct, and enrichment at the expense of the populace perpetrated by the Grand Patriarchs. A few of the Patriarchs attempted to explain what they had done, but the people were in no mood to hear the defense of their moral weaknesses. Two of them refused to leave their posts, but were forced out by the remaining Patriarchs. New Grand Patriarchs were selected to fill the vacancies. The scrutiny that the new appointees got was breathtaking. Newspapers reversed their previous support for the Grand Patriarchs and were relentless in finding out any hint of moral turpitude. About half of the new appointees didn't last a month before they were stripped of their office and sent packing.
That's not to say that it was all sunshine and candy for the new regime. They had to put down an attempted coup by the disgraced Grand Patriarchs. Within the armed forces, there were two attempts to take over the Assembly, but those were crushed by troops loyal to the new government.
Within Aldig, there was a special advisory council established by the king comprising leaders of industries within Aldig. The special council also included representatives from all countries that had manufacturing capabilities for advanced technologies. Quick agreement was reached that a leap of a century would be too much for Faldo to adjust to. Therefore, businesses were given licenses to build and staff facilities (including training and education) in Faldo which would move them into a faster future than they otherwise would have attained. Employees of those businesses in Faldo could only be Faldo natives. Outsiders were not allowed for 20 years. However, advisors from all over the planet were welcomed with open arms. Furthermore, all medical advances would be immediately available. All medical personnel in Faldo would be retrained at no charge by experts in all medical fields. Recommendations were made to the Faldo Assembly regarding new laws concerning the environment, exports, taxes, imports, civil discourse, and human rights. The basic tenets and articles of the Pact of Equals would not need to be altered at all.
Education was more difficult. The entire population needed to learn what the real world and the cosmos were all about, not the religious doctrine they'd been fed. This wasn't very easy to do, but most people were eager to hear the reality of their world. A few laggards did hang on to their old religion, including the ridiculous "facts" they'd always clung to. If they chose not to participate in reality, that was their choice. As the years passed, those people slowly changed or died out.
Within the next 20 years, Faldo made great strides in bringing themselves up to the level of the rest of the world. Early in those 20 years, they were contributing their raw talent to streamlining manufacturing processes and advancing theoretical and applied sciences. Space exploration jumped ahead by several decades with the discovery and application of warp field science.
Faldo was no longer the pariah of the world. They were full partners and contributors.
Persid and I were appointed the first ambassadors to Faldo from Aldig. Before we left, Persid asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes! The ceremony was a quiet one with only about 30 people attending, including all the people who had been to the victory celebration and their spouses or partners. Officiating was the king. We were pleased and proud that he would bestow such an honor upon us. Wedding gifts were plentiful and heartfelt.
The crown prince offered himself as a gift. Before we left for Faldo, we took him up on his offer. He suggested that his gift be unwrapped and used at our apartment, rather than the palace. Two Imperial Guards were stationed outside our apartment door while we alternated breeding, felching, licking, fucking, and using him in all the sexual positions and manners he could think of.
"You've been enjoying the Imperial Guards already, haven't you?" I said to the young crown prince when I pulled my face out of his ass. "I can taste some fresh nutt."
He looked over his shoulder and smiled at me. "I need to get used to the idea of taking very big dicks deep in my ass to increase my sexual prowess."
"Would that include the spectacular specimens in the hallway?" Persid wondered as he took my place and licked more dick gravy from the prince's asshole.
"Of course," he replied. "But, what you're tasting is from three of the Imperial Guards from the previous shift," he added with a satisfied sigh. "I'll get another couple of big loads from them later. And they're very well hung and pound out big loads. My only regret is that they aren't good for more than a couple of loads apiece before their shift ends."
"You're as oversexed as your father," I observed. "And I wouldn't expect anything else at your age."
"But, you'll need to get in all the fucking as a top as you can before you ascend the throne," Persid stated. "We're hoping that includes tonight."
The crown prince laughed. "When I saw you at your wedding with those wonderful clothes that you wore, I knew I wanted to have you in bed with me before you left for Faldo. Both of you have butts that beg to be fucked, rimmed, and felched. They're so round and hard; bubble butts I believe they're called in Faldo."
I nodded and pushed Persid out of the way. My face pushed hard into the prince's ass with my hands assisting in pulled his butt cheeks farther apart. "I hope you don't mind if I fuck you first," I whispered. "I'm about ready to pop."
"There's always time later for switching roles," the prince agreed. "And there's always room in my ass for a big dick and more cum," he added gleefully. I pounded away on his eager hole, knowing I was already teetering on the edge of a monster climax. We knew we were going to fuck the prince, so we held back all day. Now, my balls were not to be denied of their chance to drain. My dick jerked and sprayed hard deep inside him. "Fuck, yeah! Load that ass up. Damn! You cum a lot!" he added when my climaxes finally shuddered to a stop. "You're a very lucky husband, Persid. And if you'd been born here, Koldan, you'd have been part of my father's Imperial Guards for years. That monster dick and huge load would have kept him very happy."
Persid took my place and after eating out the prince's hole again, pounded a second big load up the royal son's butt in under five minutes. Meanwhile, I'd slipped under the prince and offered up my ass to our future sovereign. He leaned in and kissed me as Persid exited his ass. Driving slowly forward, the king's son entered me. His dick size mimicked his father's. The only difference I could tell was that the boy's dick curved up a little. Within three more minutes, I felt him shudder and spray warm sperm deep inside me. The warm squirts of man juice blasted into me, but not as deeply as Persid shoots. Still, it was a hot fuck and a nice load.
I rolled over and sat on the prince's face. His practiced tongue burrowed deeply up my love tunnel, savoring the taste of his own sperm. His hands held me tightly, not allowed me to roll away. Our royal friend was as much a butt pig as I am. He was going to make someone very happy.
We paused for a few minutes after I finally moved away from the prince's face. Persid got behind him and ate his ass out more, knowing there were at least five loads in there to be eaten out. Soon though, my dick was hard and I had to add another load to the prince's hole. We fucked, nutted, felched, and sucked each other until the wee hours of the morning. As the dawn broke, we showered and bid our overnight guest a fond good evening.
"I'm exhausted," Persid sighed. "I'd forgotten how randy 18 year olds can be. I lost track after he nutted in our butts six times."
"I counted a total of eight times," I revealed. "I also know that you pounded him at least five times and I did at least that many. The man is close to insatiable. He's going to keep the Imperial Guard very busy!"
We slept most of the next morning. He was hung like his father and had an amazing ass that could suck baby gravy out of any man's dick. Of course, as a top, he would be a good breeder for the 12 sons that he had to produce. And if he were going to breeding every month, he'd have his requisite number within a couple of years. That assumed he were as potent as he seemed to be with us. His loads weren't as massive as our, but he produced a lot. If he could put out multiple loads each time he had a breeding session, he was sure to make a lot of babies.
Shortly before we left for our new duties in Faldo, the king was pleased to announce that he now had 13 sons and the possibility of two more on the way. His duties as a "stud" were over. Immediately, he started "auditioning" men to be his life partner/husband in two more years when his son ascended the throne. He was probably enjoying that selection process more than he should, because now he could gauge their performances as bottoms and tops.
The foreign minister told us two days before we left that other countries had opened embassies in Faldo, too. And we weren't the only gay couple appointed to ambassadorial posts, either. Three other countries did the same. I spent most of my time in my new ambassadorial duties attending ribbon cuttings for new manufacturing plants and parties. Persid helped their military modernize, but Faldo wasn't given the weapons capabilities that the rest of the planet had. They were too young in their new way of life to be completely trusted. As long as the Grand Patriarchs continued to foment returning to the old ways, the rest of the world held back military technologies.
The Faldo population immediately took to air-vision and the educational possibilities presented by the personal and home assistants. Their history was reviewed and revised to reflect what had really happened. They embraced easily their place in the cosmos and the probability of millions of other planets with intelligent life. And they eagerly joined in the debate about whether it was a good idea to try to contact that alien, intelligent life.
Within the embassy, we had a large staff of men and women who were experts in law, commerce, environmental issues, and human issues. They acted as consultants. Faldo could take our advice or ignore it. The choice was always theirs. However, given how far ahead we were compared to their development, they nearly always chose our advice. Most of the time, we were questioned as to why we made some suggestions. That was always followed by a teaching session as to why their idea would not work. We'd already tried it and found it was not the optimal solution. However, there were always exceptions and insights we'd never thought of and encouraged them to try them out. We also sent the insights on to Aldig for them to consider, too.
Persid and I considered several times the possibility of making a child or two. It always came down to the same problem: no time to devote to raising children. Of course, we could have hired live-in help to do that, but they wouldn't have the quality time that we thought a child should have with his parents. So, we always gave it up. That's not to say that we didn't fuck like it would be our last chance to breed each other every day or even more frequently. As the Ambassador and his deputy, we couldn't be seen playing around with other men. That just didn't seem appropriate. We did have many, many offers, but always reluctantly turned them down. Those offers included many of the men I'd fucked when I'd live in Faldo. Truthfully, they really wanted to bed down with Persid. He looked so good in his military uniform.
After spending five years at the embassy in Faldo, we asked to return home. We were burned out living in a fish bowl all the time. We wanted our lives back. The new king and his council accepted our resignations with regret.
When we returned home, we had to secure a new apartment. We found exactly what we wanted in a secure building next to the Intelligence Ministry. We were still employees of the Ministry, even though we'd served as ambassadors. Our clandestine intelligence mission was never disclosed to anyone else.
One of our first visitors at our new jobs was the old king and his husband, Vandig, the physical trainer for the Imperial Guards. They were the happiest couple we'd seen since we'd met the commanding general and his husband Matrig. Both of them were bottoms, or so we thought. As it turned out, the old king was quite the stud top and Vandig loved getting fucked (which we already knew). But, Vandig did pound the king emeritus with his monster dick as often as the old king wanted it. They already had two sons together.
Now that we were away from the fish bowl of ambassadorial duties, we renewed our conversation about having children of our own. We had many conversations with the old king and Vandig about being parents. Other new friends from the Ministry added their experiences to our considerations. Of course, we had additional pressure added by Persid's parents. They wanted grandsons! "We're not getting any younger," they'd say. "And we want to spoil them when your back is turned!"
By the end of the year, we had settled into our new duties at the Ministry. We were assigned to a new division which reviewed and approved or declined transfers of military technology to Faldo and other countries. We had a terrific staff of experts, plus our own experiences in our ambassador roles and my experience growing up in Faldo. Faldo had changed a lot in the five years that we'd been there. I had more trust in them and their future than I probably should have. But, I knew the people who would be using the advanced technology and trusted their judgment and love of their country. But, the final decision wasn't ours to make. We only made recommendations. The final word would come from the Commanding General in consultation with the King's Council.
The new king had his requisite 12 sons by the time he'd been on the throne for three years. Unlike his father who made babies with only a few women, the son had a harem of women who wanted to bear his children. It would be another 10 years or so before we knew for sure that at least one of his sons was gay. With his duty fulfilled, the king had settled on one man for a husband. They weren't allowed to marry until the king's gay son took over, but that didn't stop them from being husbands to each other without an actual marriage. We heard from a palace insider that the king had found his oversexed match with one of the Imperial Guards that had recently retired from his service in the Guard. They were always seen together in nearly all official functions. Unable to make baby boys of their own until the king retired, they continued to breed each other without results. Not that they cared.
Persid and I eventually decided that we wanted twin boys. Our jobs were going well; we had decorated and furnished our new apartment to our liking; and had adequate room to add children to it. Our biggest problem was not fucking or touching each other for a full day before we made our "contributions" to the "paternity" service. Our DNA was scanned for abnormalities, but only minor ones were found. They could be easily screened out as part of the matching process. We knew we'd be asked what kinds of characteristics we wanted in our sons, so we'd had several discussions about that before making the final appointment.
"Do you want identical or fraternal twins?" Persid asked as we reviewed the list of possible selections that could be asked for.
"I don't have a preference. What about you? I didn't have siblings, so I don't know if there is an advantage one way or the other," I explained.
"The couples we talked to all selected identical twins," Persid recalled. "I know it is less expensive; because they only have to split the starting cells, they don't have to create two different ones. And we don't have to decide the characteristics of two boys."
"Okay," I agreed. "What about eye color, height, general build, hair color, intelligence, and general appearance? Should they favor me or you?
"Oh, definitely you!" Persid insisted.
"We don't want a clone of me," I said. "Some of your genes need to be in these boys. I think they should have your eyes and general facial features. Isn't it possible to blend us?"
"Well, yeah, I guess it is," Persid allowed. "But, they need to have your huge dick and ability to nutt frequently."
"Can they really select for that?"
"Well, they can take your genes for dick size, and blend us for nutt production, I guess," Persid mused. "Both of us produce well," he laughed. "What about intelligence? I think they should have your smarts."
"But, you are clearly the brainy one," I protested. "I'm just a big, dumb stud."
"You picked up all this new technology that Aldig has amazingly fast. You're much smarter than I am," he countered.
"Is there a test for that?"
"In fact, there is," Persid smiled. "We'll get that done before we make a final choice on this." As it turned out, we scored about the same on the intelligence test, so it didn't matter. We decided that we could leave that blended, too.
In the end, the only thing we agreed that should not be blended was his eyes and my dick size. Everything else would be an amalgam of both of us.
On the day of our appointment, we had to not have nutted overnight. The rest of the day, we spent at our jobs, so there was little chance to do anything there. Late in the afternoon, we went to the clinic to make our "contributions" of sperm. The assistant gave us small tubes to spray our loads into. Both of us laughed and said we'd need a lot bigger receptacles than that. The lab assistant smiled and said he had the perfect jar for us to spray our loads into. We whipped out our big dicks and he stared. Persid asked if he wanted to watch. Of course, he did!
Persid and I kissed to get us started, but it wasn't necessary. I pounded out my load in about half a minute. Persid wasn't far behind me. I counted my jets of cream out loud. I hit 14 before it went to dribbles. Persid roared out his climax and hosed out 11 heavy ropes of his baby gravy. We handed our warm jars to the lab assistant and smiled.
He smiled back. "I've never seen one man let alone two men pump out that much cream in one sitting."
"We haven't shot in the last 22 hours and it really backs up," Persid laughed. I nodded and then knelt before Persid and cleaned off the end of his dick. He did the same for me.
"Do you fuck often?" the lab guy asked.
"Yeah, several times a day if we get the chance," I revealed.
"That's gotta be some marriage you have," the lab assistant said. "With all the baby sauce you've given me, we'll have no problems making the best twin boys this lab has ever produced."
"We look forward to that in another 10 months," Persid smiled agreeably. We left immediately and returned to our apartment. Instantly, we tore our clothes off, headed into the bedroom and fucked, rimmed, felched, and blew each other for the next two hours. "Damn! I needed that," Persid sighed as he snuggled up to me after he'd blasted three loads up my ass. "I nearly shot a load in my uniform at work today. When we went to the clinic, I saw that hard, round ass of yours and I seriously considered fucking you in the alley right outside the clinic. I knew we could make another appointment."
"If you'd made the suggestion, I'd have agreed with you," I revealed. "I was ready to pop when the lab guy handed us that jar. There was a serious chance that I wasn't going to make it."
"I think we made up for that this evening," Persid laughed. "How about some dinner? In or out?"
"Definitely out. Let's celebrate."
We showered, but didn't fuck each other, although we did felch out the loads we'd just pumped into each other. I wanted to fuck him again, but knew I could wait now that the edge had been fucked away. Persid took me to our favorite restaurant and we ordered the item on the menu that we both loved. A bottle of wine complemented the dinner perfectly.
Back at the apartment, we asked Dora if there were any messages. She said that there were several, including one from the clinic. "Congratulations," she said, "on the start of your family." We thanked her for her compliment and asked her to read back the messages waiting for us.
The call from the clinic was to thank us for our business and promised that they would send the genetic profile of our twin boys within the next week. Other messages were from our friends Nindore, Tokamak, and Singadore. They all wanted to know how the "procedure" went. We called them back and everyone laughed at the ridiculous container we'd been handed when we'd first arrived at the clinic.
When we got the genetic profile 10 days later, it came with an explanation of what we were seeing. Attached was an additional file that projected what the boys would look like at different ages from babies through childhood, into adolescence, and adulthood. If the profile held true and the projections were accurate, these boys would be the toast of the town. The pale blue eyes contrasted beautifully with their tanned skin. Intelligence looked back at us. The adult versions had beautiful bodies, round, hard butts, and thick, hanging dicks. This version even included what those big dicks looked like when they were hard. Both of us were well impressed.
"Wow!" Persid exclaimed. "They sure have your monster dick, even though it is lighter in color."
"And did you see those big nuts? Damn! I sure hope that means they nutt as much as we do," I smirked. "Which reminds me. I need another load in my ass."
"Only if you promise to sit on my face and my dick," Persid countered.
"As if that's any kind of problem." Of course, it wasn't any problem. We bred each other and then felched. I don't know how we manage to pump out big loads each time, but we do. Evidently, we inspire each other enough to make big breeding loads. I love getting them as much as giving them. Persid still has the best butt I've ever fucked. His big dick fits me perfectly and is always followed up with a big load that I can feel jetting into me. There are days that I only want to get fucked and bred. I have no interest in fucking or cumming. I just need dick! Persid has similar days. Thankfully, those rare days don't happen at the same time.
Because both of us continued to work at the Ministry and we enjoyed our jobs, we weren't sure how to resolve the problem of "abandoning" the boys during the day while we worked. Persid's mom resolved that for us. She was a consultant, so she could name her hours and tasks. The idea of being a nanny for the boys was the perfect solution. Working part-time suited her as she had wanted to cut back for several years. Persid's father still liked his research job and was agreeable to the arrangement. His salary alone kept them in an upper class lifestyle. To hear her tell it, she only worked when she was bored. She looked forward to her new duties as grandmother and nanny.
We visited the nursery tubes every week, marveling at the babies' development. By the eighth month, their features and general body types were filling out. They were handsome little devil, said the proud daddy and papa. Within the tube, they resided together, touching each other occasionally, sleeping a lot, and squirming even more. When they were active, they waved and jerked their arms and legs, trying out their musculature and each other. There were days that we thought they were competing to be more twitchy and active than their tube-mate. These boys were going to be a handful!
Their birthday finally arrived. To say we were anxious would severely understate how we felt. Tube births were always safe with a perfect record of deliveries. Fluid was drained from the shared tube as wires and feeding tubes were withdrawn and tied off. In the subdued light, the boys breathed their first air, gasping for a moment before settling down and looking about. We'd been told that newborns could distinguish shapes and colors, but not much detail. They were cleaned off and handed to us.
I couldn't tell them apart, neither could Persid. "Do they have any distinguishing marks or characteristics that you've seen?" I asked the staff.
"Your baby is the more active one, but only by a small amount," one of the neonatal nurses replied. "The other baby," she added pointing to the one that Persid held "has the cutest smile. But, to answer your question, your baby," she pointed to my infant "has a small mole or mark of some kind just below his right ear. The other baby has the same mark, but below his left ear. Both may fade with time."
"Have you decided on names, yet?" the pediatrician asked.
"Talig and Torig," Persid revealed.
"Which is which?" the physician asked.
We looked down at the quiet infants in our arms and smiled. "I have Talig," I said, looking over at Persid.
"And I have Torig," he smiled in agreement, checking the infant in his arms to see if he objected. Torig was asleep. One of the nurses wrapped soft paper tags with their names around their ankles to distinguish one from the other. As was the custom when infants of two parents of the same sex were born, the babies got a hyphenated surname. We had decided that as a native of Aldig, Persid's family name should be listed in front of the hyphen with my surname following. We didn't have to follow the naming convention, but we did.
"We need to keep them overnight," the pediatrician said with a grin. "These two cuties need to be thoroughly checked out before they can go home. Rarely do we see anything that requires medication or emergency surgery, but it is better to catch it now than later. Usually, any abnormality would be treated while they were in the gestation tubes, but it doesn't catch everything," he clarified.
Persid's parents held them for a few minutes. The babies weren't fussy, despite being handled by so many people. "You'd better enjoy this while you can," Persid's mom said. "These two will be a handful soon enough, if they are anything like their fathers."
They handed them back to the staff and we watched them being taken away to the nursery for the night. "I miss them already," Persid sighed. I nodded my agreement. Our eyes were moist with joy.
Back at the apartment, we took another look at the room we'd set aside for the new babies. Everything seemed ready for their arrival. Persid's mom and several of our friends helped us furnish it; some furnishings were items they no longer needed, and others were consumables that we'd need more of later.
All was in readiness. There was no turning back now.