---Arrival---

---Victor's perspective---

Walking over the dark, mirror polished plascrete through the retail concourse of my fiancée's planet's largest starport, my arm wrapped around her skinny waist, a neatly turned out hologram of a Norse AI projects himself into the cavernous space below the ceiling and, in a calm, level voice I recognise from my last visit to Fennoscandia, announces "Attention: Shuttle transfer from the passenger liner Sagan, inbound from Earth, is now arriving at Gate 5." with a serene smile.

"Oooh… that's nostalgic!" smiles Tuun.

"Oh yeah?" I ask, turning my head up to her on my left.

"Yes… Heili's voice was such a staple of growing up on this planet! You'd hear it a few times every time you travelled anywhere and… I mean… the last time I was here at the starport was when I was catching my flight out to Gateway, before we had ever met…" chuckles the woman a few weeks from becoming my wife.

"Have you missed it?" I ask, kindly, giving her middle a little squeeze.

She turns her glowing white eyes to me and answers "Yes… but only the same way you miss Earth… Some part of you always belongs to where you're from, even if you wouldn't trade the past for the present."

"Beautiful." I laugh "You just natur'ly come out with lines like that or is that kinda thing somethin' your mums taught you(?)"

She bares her Vampire fangs and I feel her body judder with giggles as we draw up to a 50m tall, windowed wall and look out at the landing apron beyond it, just in time to see the shuttle doors open and an almost exclusively Human crowd begin marching towards us across the paving.

I quickly spot the ones I'm here for.

Three adults; a Neanderthal, a Sapiens and a half, and two children, both halfs, a five year old girl with her dark red hair in bunches and a nearly two year old boy hanging on his Sapiens father's hip, only one of the group I've ever seen in the flesh before… one I've never even seen via a holochat.

The five of them are all wearing matching outfits, though, since it's just the purple and blue colours that match and not the actual styling, I don't think that fact'll be obvious to Tuun.

I'm a little confused by the woman who's with them… I don't know her and they didn't mention bringing anyone else…? I guess she's their nanny but she must be a really dedicated nanny if she was willing to spend months offworld coming to a wedding with them!

As the door parts on the tan, freckled face, lime green eyes and updone carmine hair of the girl I spent the first 16 years of my life living with, I decide introductions with the other woman can wait.

I release Tuun's waist and start walking towards her just in time to see her notice me.

The olive brown lips of Treg 'Tea' Leaf break into a broad grin as she tosses down her bag behind her, throws out her arms and positively sprints at me from 20m away.

As the +100kg woman impacts my front and wraps her arms over my shoulders, I scoop mine under them to lift her into a hug, spinning her around to dissipate her momentum.

"Vicky!!!" she shrieks in my right ear "It's been so long I almost forgot how good you cuddle(!)"

"Good to see you too, Tea!" I answer, giving her chubby body a heartfelt squeeze.

After a good long cuddle, I drop her back on the ground just in time for her husband, kids and the mystery woman to catch her up.

I turn from the woman who (despite having learned of the existence of a full on clone of my mum knocking about the galaxy in the shape of a Kara Stellan, about two years ago) I still consider my closest family to the one who's about to become family and introduce "Tea… this is Tuun…"

My sister's lime green eyes flick over to my fiancée.

"Well…!" she grins flirtatiously up at her "…gotta say; you're even cuter in person, cutie(!) Though I definitely didn't picture you being quite so tall!"

Doing a great job of not looking nervous, Tuun answers "You're taller than I thought you'd be too… Tea…" gesturing down at the Neanderthal who stands nearly as tall as the average Sapiens man thanks to Maia's nutrition schedule.

"Touché, girl!" answers Tea, narrowing her eyes in mirth before turning around and saying to her kids "Come and say 'hi' to Uncle Victor!" in a cheery mum-voice.

Lloyd puts down the boy who looks up at me with one brown eye and one green, set into an adorably baby-fat face with a nervous expression.

After 2 seconds of appraisal, he hides behind his dad's leg, monosyllabically observing "Big!"

"Aaaarthuuuur…!" sighs Tea in goodnatured exasperation.

She bends down to give her son a bit of encouragement as I laugh and crouch to greet the kid not scared off by my size.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The slightly less than 1.2m tall brown eyed girl approaches me and, very politely, says "It's really nice to finally meet you for real, Uncle Victor…" holding her hand up for a little wave.

"Same, Chelsea…!" I smile, speaking in a warm, low voice "…Do I get a hug?" holding out my arms but making it obvious with my tone that I won't be offended if she says 'no'.

The little girl hesitates but then smiles and steps forward, extending her arms to me.

I wrap Chelsea up in a gentle cuddle and feel my heart absolutely melt from finally getting to hug Tea's daughter after spending 5 years watching her grow up via a screen.

Releasing her the moment she releases me, I let her step back before pointing her over to Tuun and conspiratorially asking "Can you go say 'hi' to Auntie Tuun?"

She gives an excited nod and runs past me to my left.

By now, Tea's managed to convince Arthur to give me a little wave… which I return, accepting that's all I'm getting from him for now.

I stand back up and approach the nearly 2m tall, skinny, brown eyed, neat, raven haired Welshman, holding out a hand to him with purposeful awkwardness.

"How goes it there, friend(!)" I say, stiffly.

"It is alright… and how goes it with you, buddy(?)" he answers, just as awkwardly, taking my hand for an overformal handshake.

A broad grin breaks over my face just ahead of the one that breaks over his.

I pull the slim man into a hearty hug and pat his back between the shoulderblades.

"Good to meet you at last, man!" I say to Tea's husband.

"Good to meet you too, Victor!" Lloyd answers, warmly.

Breaking from the hug, I finally turn to the stranger who's hung back.

The half Neanderthal woman stands a little taller than Samus with a very similar build (though, from the way she carries herself, I can tell she's not a tenth as formidable!)

Again like Samus, her skin is pale and her eyes an icy blue, though, unlike her, her hair is chestnut brown and she wears a nervous smile that, if I saw on Samus' face, I'd have to assume she was under mind control… or an imposter who'd stolen her likeness somehow(!)

"Now! Someone gonna introduce me to your friend? You didn't mention bringin' anyone else?"

My tall (for a Neanderthal) sister smirks, steps up to the side of the even taller woman and, wrapping her arm around the small of her back, suggestively yanks her into her side, causing a little yelp of surprise from the stranger.

"Vicky, Tuun… This is Sigrid 'Babe' Valley… My and Lloyd's girlfriend!" Tea announces with a level of glee that means I can't tell if this is a joke or not.

I narrow my eyes and spend a fraction of a second scanning her face and the face of the nervous brunette girl before deciding that, as likely as this is to be a stupid joke, I'd be in danger of hurting feelings if I just dismiss it as one.

Better risking giving an unnecessary kindness than risking not giving a necessary one.

Still, even if she is for real, I can't let a lifetime of teasing about Tea's polyness go completely unanswered!

Spending another moment coming up with an appropriate Tea-aimed tease, I turn to the nervous woman with a cocked eyebrow and dryly say "Ah… My condolences, Sigrid(!)"

This (unusual from me) wit causes laughter from Lloyd, giggles from Sigrid and a reproachful "Heeeeeeeeeeey(!)" from a frowning Tea, apparently not liking the shoe being on the other foot like this(!)

Still giggling, the brunette girl steps forward, out of Tea's grasp, and extends her hand to me, smiling "It's lovely to finally meet you, Mr Taylor! Treg and Lloyd have told me a lot about you." speaking English with a slight Scandy accent and a warm tone that puts most of the doubt about whether she's actually their girlfriend to rest.

Taking her hand for a firm (not crushing) handshake, I answer "I wish I could say the same, Sigrid(!)… Unfortunately, this is the first I'm hearin' 'bout you… Someone failed to ever mention having a new girlfriend." looking pointedly over at Tea, her expression back to a smug gloat.

"Ah… yes… sorry…" says the girl, bashfully, (on my sister's behalf) "…we didn't want to tell anyone until we were sure we were serious."

"Oh! So you're serious then?" I ask, looking around at each of the three adults, finishing back on Tea "Would've been nice if you'd said something about it before you set off!"

"And rob myself of your in-person reaction, Vicky(?) No way(!)" she grins back at me.

"I don't need to come to the wedding!" says the Scandy girl, hurriedly "If I'd be intruding, I-!"

"Rubbish!" I cut her off, firmly "Any partner of Tea and Lloyd's is a friend of mine, Sigrid!… They think you're good people, you're good people(!)"

"Oh… well… if there's space for me…?"

I turn back to look at Tuun.

"There's space for one more, right?" I check, knowing her mum's meadhall can seat thousands at a push.

"Definitely…" she smiles "…I'll let my mums know. Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

"Erm… No?" says the brunette.

"Great!" I smile, encouragingly "It's settled then… Now, who's hungry? We passed a lovely lookin' café on our way here and I'd love to treat you guys!"

---Treg's perspective---

I sit down next to Lloyd in the large booth, my family all sat in it, very welcome meals in front of all of us.

My brother finishes paying at the bar across from the Bonobo barista before making for the table beside his fiancée.

I've long since had any doubts about whether their relationship has legs allayed. They're really cute together and, even if I think he jumped the gun a bit on the proposal, it's been a long time since then and both of them still seem chuffed to bits that the wedding's finally happening!

Just as my brother sits down next to me, I hear his holo message ping.

He digs it out and opens it up only to immediately yelp "Gah!" and cringe away from the screen as it shines out such a bright and gaudy message in such horrendously clashing colours that I take splash damage just catching a glimpse of it in my periphery.

Turning the brightness all the way down, he squints at the message.

"Ooooooooow…" he groans, softly, a hilarious look of dismay on his face.

"What is it, Vicky?" I ask, holding back my laughter till I know just how hard to laugh.

He gives a defeated sigh before saying "You remember that Kreskar I told you all about? Hsek?" looking from me to Lloyd to Tuun "Yeah… he just sent me this!" flicking the message to the table.

It's displayed in neon red comic sans against a neon green background that's the perfect colour to clash horrendously. Even with the brightness turned down, it's a little hard to look at!

This was either put together by a xeno with absolutely no awareness of how Human visual processing works or (perhaps more likely) one who wanted to give the reader an unpleasant time reading it!

Once I've adjusted to the 'graphic-design-is-my-passion' of it, I focus enough to actually see what it says.

"Salutations, Taylor!" I read aloud "In spite of your attempts to thwart me, I have gained knowledge of your impending nuptials and presently voyage toward the planet of their location! You may expect my arrival upon the morrow! Good day, Sir! Your avowed nemesis, the most sagacious and perspicacious Hsek!"

I look up to see my brother grimacing as he buries his head in his hands.

I chuckle and point out "Well… that's definitely one way to invite yourself to a wedding(!)"

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