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Thace was tagging along behind Ulaz after their second training session. Which Ulaz found annoying, but he had promised to be Thace's friend yesterday.
"Hey, do you want to meet my big brother?" Thace asked. "He'th really cool."
Ulaz looked back at Thace. "You have a brother?"
Thace nodded. "Yeah! He'th probably in the dining hall."
Ulaz shrugged, he was headed that way anyway. "Sure."
Thace's eyes lit up. "Great! Let'th go!"
Thace grabbed Ulaz's hand and pulled him quickly to the dining hall. Once they arrived, Thace began looking for his brother. A bright smile appeared on his face when he saw his brother from behind. "There he ith!" he shouted and dragged Ulaz over to his brother, who had turned around after hearing Thace shout.
Ulaz was mildly intimidated by the taller galra boy. He had to be at least a few years older than them.
"Ulaz, thith ith my big brother, Kolivan!" Thace smiled proudly. "He'th the betht in hith clath!"
Kolivan rolled his eyes. "You don't have to say that to everyone you know. It sounds like you're bragging."
Thace shrugged. "It'th not if it'th true."
Kolivan looked down at Ulaz. "So you're the one that Thace kept talking about last night?"
"I uh... Yes?" Ulaz was unsure of how to answer him.
"Is that all you wanted me for Thace?" Kolivan asked his little brother.
Thace nodded. "Yup! Oh! Where'th mama?"
"Over there," Kolivan pointed to a galra woman sitting at a table. "Are you done?"
Thace nodded. "Bye Kolivan!" he said and then dragged Ulaz over to 'mama'. "Mama! Mama!"
'Mama', presumably Thace's mother, looked over and smiled. "Hello Thace, who's this with you?"
"Mama, thith ith Ulaz! My new friend!" Thace told her proudly.
"Oh is it? Well it's nice to meet you Ulaz."
Ulaz nodded. "You too Miss."
Thace's mother reached over and ruffled his hair. "Well, go have fun. Make your papa proud."
Thace gave her a hug. "I will mama." He then grabbed Ulaz's hand and walked away with him.
"Do I have to meet your father too?" Ulaz asked as they walked.
Thace looked down and shook his head. "No. Papa died when I wath little."
"Oh, sorry." Ulaz apologized. "Uh, I wish I could play, but I have to help father."
"Okay! Bye!" Thace smiled at him and ran back to the dining hall.
Ulaz shrugged it off and went to help his father. At least he did have Thace bugging him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thace was lying on his side as Ulaz cleaned his father's instruments.
"You know, I want to have a big family."
"Oh?" Ulaz hummed. "How big?"
Thace thought about it. "Well, I'd have a mate, obviously, and... Seven kits."
"Seven kits? Are you sure your mate would want that many? After all, she'll be the one bearing your kits."
Thace opened his mouth and then closed it before speaking again. "That's true. I'm sure we'll talk about it. As many as she wants."
"Okay, but what if she can't bear kits? Or you become mates with another male?"
Thace looked at him. "You're being a real downer."
Ulaz shrugged. "You brought it up. I'm simply saying factors that need to be considered."
"That's true. Well, I guess if she couldn't, or I found a male, we'd just... Figure it out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ulaz was cleaning up his mess when Thace walked in, going over to Ulaz and giving him a quick kiss.
Thace smiled softly and ran his thumb over Ulaz's silver brace, a habit he had formed since their bonding ceremony several months ago.
"So, how'd it go?" Thace asked.
"It went well. Not as planned, but she will be alright. A month's worth of rest should help."
"That's good."
"Yes," Ulaz said, not saying much else afterwards.
"Hey, are you alright?" Thace asked, a little concerned. "I... I know it hasn't been that long since your father passed. And I'm sure Kolivan will be okay with you taking some time off to-"
"Thace, I'll be okay." Ulaz interrupted.
"How about you just take off the rest of the day? Come and relax with me. It's been awhile since we had a good, long talk."
Ulaz looked at his mate, he couldn't refuse him such a small request. "Alright. Just today."
Thace smiled. "Good."
After moving his last two appointments to the other medics, Ulaz went to his room with Thace, who promptly pushed him down onto the couch.
"Do you remember something we talked about when we were younger?" Thace asked.
Ulaz rolled his eyes. "Be a little more specific."
"About when I said that I wanted a big family."
Ulaz nodded slightly. "I remember that, yes."
"You made the point of saying that I might end of with another male."
Ulaz nodded in agreement. "I did. Why do you bring that up?"
"Did you say that because you had an interest in me then?" Thace asked.
Ulaz felt his face become a little warmer. "Well... Yes."
Thace grinned. "That's so cute."
"Is there a point to this?" Ulaz asked.
"Yes. I was thinking... I know your father is gone now but, we could start our own family. You could be a father."
Ulaz thought about it. "That... Might be nice but... I'm not sure if I'm ready for that."
Thace gave him a soft kiss. "It's okay. It's even okay if you never want them, as long as I have you, I'll be happy."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ulaz stood in the doorway to the bathroom, looking at Thace on the bed. It broke his heart to see his mate crying into the pillow like this. He himself was upset over what had happened, but Thace's broken heart was something he couldn't handle.
He quietly walked over to the bed and placed a hand on his mate's shoulder.
Thace looked up and hugged Ulaz, who got into the bed to hold him close.
"Shh... Shh... It's going to be alright. We'll get through this. Shh..." Ulaz whispered, rubbing Ulaz's back for comfort.
"It's-It's all my fault!" Thace cried. "I should have been watching! I should, I should have been keeping track of where she was!"
Ulaz choked back his own tears, hearing Thace blame himself like this. He hugged Thace closer. "There was nothing anyone could do. No one noticed."
"But I should have! I brought her there! I... I... I was her father. I should have been careful..."
"I was her father too Thace..." Ulaz said quietly.
Thace looked up Ulaz to see the tears beginning to roll down his face. The realization hit him too hard. He had been so focused on his own mistakes, that he hadn't even thought about how Ulaz was taking this.
"Ulaz..." Thace brought his hands up to hold his mate's face. "I'm so sorry. I..."
Thace gently rested his forehead against Ulaz's as the other began to cry.
They stayed that way until neither was able to shed another tear.