Hanna let her thoughts flow through her mind silently as Ethan cuddled her on the large bed. Eventually, she gave into her curiosity and wiggled out of his grasp. She didn't miss the barely audible huff he made as she sat up and she resisted the urge to laugh.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUzkcOwUUM
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Hanna moved so she was lying partway on top of him, her breasts on his stomach, her head resting on her arms on top of his chest. Her brown eyes were alight with curiosity. Almost if she saw him as a puzzle that needed solving.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLr3FFIYf5
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Ethan twisted a lock of her hair in his fingers, trying to avoid meeting her piercing gaze. "What?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvU9wguu1bZ
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"Can I ask you some questions?" Hanna asked gently.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QJbvgrvon
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"What kind of questions?" Ethan asked back tentatively.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2AQw8XY12
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Hanna bit her bottom lip, as if she anticipated refusal. "Questions about you, about being Charax, about the heat."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxVgSTJKMO
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Ethan bit back a sigh. That was a list of most of the things he preferred not to talk about. On the other hand, there were probably things she ought to know. "Go ahead. I'll try my best."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uEQrFRTtH
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Hanna smiled back at him eagerly. "What was in the pill bottle, the ones you took on the way here?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDolmXbp5Cu
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Ethan relaxed a bit. This was a more straightforward question than he had been expecting. "Sleeping pills," he answered honestly.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kV7nOoIHp
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"Special Charax sleeping pills?" Hanna asked.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dekAPGcTc
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Ethan smiled at that, slightly amused. "No, normal ones. Terran drugs work the same on us. I haven't been sleeping well this week."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuG2obxtLI
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"Ever since the heat started?" Hanna suggested.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9OeLSwM68
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Ethan's smile vanished. "Yeah, it's one of the symptoms."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR56GTx3nCR
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"So does that mean there are other symptoms besides...?" Hanna gestured downwards vaguely.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrtcbT9gsJ
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"Besides the arousal?" Ethan sighed at the reminder. "Yes, and they get worse the longer it goes on."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaubKaYuRZ
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Hanna glanced down over his still nude body, brief but critically. "But it seems like you're doing better now than you were a couple days ago?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsGNvXAqMR
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"I was talking about longer without sex," Ethan clarified.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn2i5vA09Q
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Hanna nodded back. "Right, what are the other symptoms then?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXp31OB6GxB
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The faint nagging sensation at the back of his mind returned. He'd known that the heat was supposed to push his sex drive to the maximum but that's all he'd been expecting. He didn't realize that it would make him sweat buckets or keep him from getting more than a couple hours of a sleep a night. The changes had caught him off guard and left him scrambling to get everything under control for the first few days.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgbdMnTm7A
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By now, he was well aware of the physical symptoms. The ones he'd experienced so far, that is. He didn't know if his body would keep changing, or it this was what he was going to have to deal with for the rest of his life. It was difficult to believe all the other Charax managed like this. Or maybe there was something wrong with him.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGcXOMbBeJ
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He still had no clue if this was normal, other than that the kidnappers seemed to think it was normal. Not that they were a good source of information. He couldn’t believe anything they said, just because they'd said he'd lose himself didn't mean it would happen. There was no point in even mentioning anything about that, no need to frighten her with what was likely just another lie.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAsvzPzldb
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"Insomnia, fever, mild tremors, restlessness." Ethan gave her the short list, the certain list.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Jal9II2nH
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"That doesn't sound fun," Hanna replied sympathetically.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpKEQS1tp2
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"It isn't," Ethan mumbled in agreement, before realizing he'd spoken aloud. "But it's not that bad," he added quickly.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDtesk5jYW
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Hanna nodded slowly. "So how do you usually deal with it?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulJWKWRaBE
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Ethan paused hesitantly. "I haven't had to before."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo79fNxDoVn
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"It's your first heat?" Hanna asked, surprised.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuG6pFoHeLw
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"Yeah, it usually starts about my age," Ethan answered.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIbNcN9Q8w
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Hanna took a second to process that, she hadn't expected him to be so inexperienced but that fact also answered a lot of other questions. "Okay, then how do other Charax usually deal with it?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaxxM5N7c6
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡna9TFR70a4
I'd love to know that too, Ethan thought wistfully. Except there's nobody I can ask. He only had one older brother, who'd never even had a heat before they all split up, and no way to contact him, or any of his family on Earth. Plus, it took months to get messages back from Manina so he hadn't bothered trying anyone over there.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMwRoNoHQ1
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He'd never seen his father during one of his heats either. His parents had always been away... and it was suddenly apparent to him why he had so many siblings.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5wqU7O3Ua
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"My parents always went on vacations together to isolated places," Ethan offered finally.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO98D7fI0Th
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Hanna glanced around the room, noticing how old the place looked. She suddenly had the disturbing idea that they might be lying in the room he was conceived in. "So, um, is this— Did they...?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetJASqvVNg
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"No, not here, I set this place up a few years for an emergency," Ethan explained quickly. "But places like this, yes."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqlpKmmuv3
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"We've got that part sorted at least," Hanna said optimistically. "So how long have you been in heat and how long does it usually last?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DZywc3Ij4
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Ethan's breath caught in his throat, he wasn't entirely sure how long it would take to end on it's own, or what would happen to him in the meantime. "About nine days and I don't know."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7uXZHxoas
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Hanna looked at him curiously, wondering if he wasn't being honest with her, this seemed like very basic information. He didn't seem to know much about Charax biology at all. On the other hand, it wasn't uncommon for Terrans to get a poor sexual education either. "What about an estimate then? Two weeks? Three weeks?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7ZsxyNEbD
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"I really don't know. My parents' vacations always varied." Ethan's mouth felt dry. "If you need to go... I'll understand." He gripped her arm tight in contrast to his words.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzpEJ95acN
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Hanna glanced at his hand. "Let's not jump to any conclusions just yet. How long did your parents' trips last?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVneYpysHkW
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Ethan consciously released her arm, slightly embarrassed. "The memories aren't very clear. Maybe a week, maybe a month, but..."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLQM9i7GQn
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"But what?" Hanna prompted.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwQEyXBGei
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Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "Those trips they went on. My mom always came back pregnant."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblOdXv6bzZ
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"Always?" Hanna raised a skeptical eyebrow.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb219GBKnzb
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"Always," Ethan confirmed.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpuXniULgy
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Hanna tilted her head slightly. "That seems odd."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdFxkuxtaC
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"Not for us. The more a Charax woman is... stimulated, the more likely it is, and the men are more virile in heat," Ethan explained.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVytTU5pjnG
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Hanna wondered what he meant by 'stimulated' exactly, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know. "The time varied but there was always... so do you think that triggers the end of the cycle?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9M9WqyPvey
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Ethan looked at her skeptically. "What trigger?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBY0568TGqh
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"Do you think pregnancy triggers the end to the heat?" Hanna clarified.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYIn3cIjIY
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The pregnancy pheromones causing the heat to end early... Ethan didn't know if that was true, he didn't want to think about it. He'd realized it was likely inevitable considering what they'd been doing with zero protection. Or had already started.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2GEgl4dFa
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He mentally kicked himself for not thinking about it sooner. It wasn't only that he didn't feel like himself, he was missing things that should have been obvious. Not considering pregnancy when he didn't want a child, that was a significant lapse. Part of him wanted it, a very primal part, but he knew he shouldn't, for so many reasons. Even though he wanted the heat to end, he didn't want it to end that way.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuIVm5Iycf
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Which meant he needed to stop this, stop fucking her, but he wasn’t even sure that was possible. Even if he knew that was what he wanted now... in the moment he might completely change his mind. Her being here, so close to him, it was risky.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBxQYY2ABv
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24AB3BtJmN
That meant he'd have to ask her to leave. His stomach twisted at the idea. He'd tried isolating himself here at the start and it had been torturous, worse than struggling to hide the symptoms all day. Just a bit of human contact had been worth all the risk of going back to the city at the time. Now he regretted the decision, but he still didn’t want to do that ever again.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenaHsOheZF
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He didn't know what staying here on his own for a prolonged period would do to him. Except that the dealers thought he'd go insane.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspT7NI9AZo
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He couldn't help thinking of the possibility. Without a partner, would he start to lose his mind? Was waiting it out on his own not an option? That didn't seem right... yet it was starting to make a twisted kind of sense.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRhWvlrZrS
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He couldn't forget how the dealers had been completely right that he'd had sex with the first woman he could. She had appeared and... he'd done exactly what they said he would. All his earlier intentions had been utterly discarded, and he was still doing it.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxARkN7GvFc
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"So?" Hanna prompted abruptly. "Could it stop the heat?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3rStskF8B
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Ethan saw her, lying on his chest, waiting patiently for his answer. "...it could," he answered reluctantly. "Charax release and react to pheromones. It's possible."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7KZW9niEF
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Hanna shrugged slightly. "I guess it doesn't matter, that isn't going to happen anyways."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NUN8OMY2P
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"What?" Ethan lifted his head up to get a better look at her.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNANNSRcO6r
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"Let's just say it'll be a while before my birth control wears off," Hanna answered dismissively, distracted by her own thoughts.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zs3vitZRc
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"Oh," Ethan uttered in a small voice, her answer driving home how idiotic he'd been.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKWPD7oMoe
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Ethan realized just then that he'd never actually asked her about birth control. Another thing he missed. He threw his head back against the pillow. He should have asked. He looked up at the blank ceiling. How had this not been on his list of priorities?142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLnmg5mGKC
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Hanna noticed his troubled expression. "Ethan? Is that a problem?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfN4DzrK3b
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"No. No, it's not. Sorry." Ethan tried to focus on the present. That was one thing he didn't have to worry about, he should be happy about that. "I should have asked about that sooner. Sorry."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZQBbwJGdA
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Hanna shook her head, concern on her face. "No need to apologize. I know the heat is messing with your head." She saw he was about to protest. "Listen, I knew this would likely happen. It's taken care of." She tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Believe me, I know how it easy it can be to forget things in the moment."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdzP9GJ7tY
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Ethan still looked troubled. "You're sure?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavlXB4rgr6
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"I'm certain," Hanna reassured him confidently.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuwyUBCFkP
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfz8kkxnece
"Okay," Ethan said quietly, his frown not leaving entirely. "It'll got away on it's own. We can wait it out." He paused, watching her uncertainly. "Is that alright?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRRkGVhsXU
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Hanna smiled suggestively. "I don't mind."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uP4u7s0Kg
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At least one of us is enjoying this, Ethan thought tiredly, smiling inwardly. He was starting to feel the strain of everything their activity on his body, the soreness bleeding through his turbulent emotions. "Any more questions?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCqZBvVrDJ
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Hanna thought for a moment. "Wait, what happened when your father went into heat and your mother was pregnant? Because don't Charax pregnancies last a long time? Years or something?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86xtv20MAG
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"Twenty to twenty three months usually," Ethan corrected her.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTeWN0Dmui
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"And aren't the heat cycles a lot shorter?" Hanna asked.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP38PAaOhT8
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"Four to six months," Ethan added. He frowned as he understood Hanna's point. "I don't know. The timing of it doesn't make sense." He yawned. "Got your next question yet?"142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxBXj15gCa
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Hanna wanted to ask him more but she was getting the feeling that she was pushing her luck. She needed to think about this for a while. "Just thinking. I'll let you know if I have any ideas."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBtx4R0jEW
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeGcraDyaA
"Okay?" Ethan replied uncertainly.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMdUPyCkDO
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Hanna sat up and stretched out her arms. "I'm going to go clean up."142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNz5T86uRWR
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"Okay," Ethan mumbled, pulling to blanket over himself.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRJEJmdcpb
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxDJXQKabS
Hanna went to get her clothes from the bathroom. He'd given her a lot to think about, as even the basic information she had known about Charax heats was so wrong. That itself wasn't much of a revelation, he had been acting nothing like the sex monster she'd been prepared for.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQv4KrpJesV
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPbscrhua0
The whole conversation had left her feeling more worried than before. She thought the heats usually didn't last more than a week, but Ethan's had already been nine days and didn't show any sign of letting up. He already seemed drained, another two weeks in heat sounded incredibly taxing.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8MKAXqJu9
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He doesn't enjoy it, even now, she thought sadly. How's he going to be in a week?142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9uZWT4V2U
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She'd never heard the heats could be dangerous, for the Charax at least. She hoped she wasn't wrong about that.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SHwalnJme
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