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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrSbvgPUTm
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeQgxJoFVN
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Ethan twisted a lock of her hair in his fingers, trying to avoid meeting her piercing gaze. "What?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUc9JHQkPuY
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"Can I ask you some questions?" Hanna asked gently.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1S2RFrSLI
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"What kind of questions?" Ethan asked back tentatively.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKftR9J2SA
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Hanna bit her bottom lip, as if she anticipated refusal. "Questions about you, about being Charax, about the heat."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgVeSgiPqd
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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."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ326mqg9CCb
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Hanna smiled back at him eagerly. "What was in the pill bottle, the ones you took on the way here?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuISntOFUVY
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Ethan relaxed a bit. This was a more straightforward question than he had been expecting. "Sleeping pills," he answered honestly.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1Lg2nTJxP
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"Special Charax sleeping pills?" Hanna asked.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8t5zwYyGY8
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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."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBikppXCEkp
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"Ever since the heat started?" Hanna suggested.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6ljwH5aBz
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Ethan's smile vanished. "Yeah, it's one of the symptoms."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtTncpLaRC
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"So does that mean there are other symptoms besides...?" Hanna gestured downwards vaguely.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJGixTegOb
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"Besides the arousal?" Ethan sighed at the reminder. "Yes, and they get worse the longer it goes on."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBWjS48pnl
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0YWNzx7Eh
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"I was talking about longer without sex," Ethan clarified.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsuh5tiQdy
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Hanna nodded back. "Right, what are the other symptoms then?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSKNDNLM1I
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBoa0MNrBl
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlncv3kFqfU
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU27yBarpea
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"Insomnia, fever, mild tremors, restlessness." Ethan gave her the short list, the certain list.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwS57xgUSj
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"That doesn't sound fun," Hanna replied sympathetically.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywOWtEzxXz
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUD5n4XwR7G
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Hanna nodded slowly. "So how do you usually deal with it?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKr1E3xDzX
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Ethan paused hesitantly. "I haven't had to before."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Nybr8SWlk
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"It's your first heat?" Hanna asked, surprised.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ50zu0C3Gn
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"Yeah, it usually starts about my age," Ethan answered.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6UBKtKotf
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVsTsSGmhm
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaMJiL4BEo
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj007TrUHEC
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"My parents always went on vacations together to isolated places," Ethan offered finally.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5dK0J9aY3
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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...?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4ENuZpiUx
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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."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TJbLpggYI
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdXhKHZerS
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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."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQYLuEUALz
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZnuz6xm4C
152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODNl3EjF7V
"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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOMKSwddGR
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVtTYUOgHg
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Ethan consciously released her arm, slightly embarrassed. "The memories aren't very clear. Maybe a week, maybe a month, but..."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfs9sLe42T
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"But what?" Hanna prompted.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jTcD64mlp
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Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "Those trips they went on. My mom always came back pregnant."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtK2kpZZ5l
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"Always?" Hanna raised a skeptical eyebrow.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUyo9Ig6gn
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"Always," Ethan confirmed.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBl3KDIOUu
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Hanna tilted her head slightly. "That seems odd."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbixbLCKOC
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUJqLPK6aV
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEUq1CrEk8
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Ethan looked at her skeptically. "What trigger?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyojbqtzDUp
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"Do you think pregnancy triggers the end to the heat?" Hanna clarified.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSn4iBq4ue
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OhusGkpfM
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldpYJ2ofSk
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvD18SNCgCN
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zEaCe625i
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2d44i9kPEt
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoR16VxDsjV
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhDvciNrBj
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"So?" Hanna prompted abruptly. "Could it stop the heat?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjP18RxpU2
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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."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gJ3IN8W8e
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Hanna shrugged slightly. "I guess it doesn't matter, that isn't going to happen anyways."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cgScT2LT6
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"What?" Ethan lifted his head up to get a better look at her.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlrItiK8sH
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9atyooDrD
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"Oh," Ethan uttered in a small voice, her answer driving home how idiotic he'd been.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgd1SWF9Yw
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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?152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCu5jvYD7jI
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Hanna noticed his troubled expression. "Ethan? Is that a problem?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0d029bk2L
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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."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3gtDgWxOf
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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."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgsHerY9Z8
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Ethan still looked troubled. "You're sure?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJY7JswjFB
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"I'm certain," Hanna reassured him confidently.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIReo9CC0v
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"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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqLuPyZSRM
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Hanna smiled suggestively. "I don't mind."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZH3FkcxeBJ
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rsiEBqDSX
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlceBvs7bXZ
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"Twenty to twenty three months usually," Ethan corrected her.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTt4ssdSEh
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"And aren't the heat cycles a lot shorter?" Hanna asked.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCcqI2dWrS
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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?"152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwQusGELTZ
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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."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXelQjhlmR
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"Okay?" Ethan replied uncertainly.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHwIMRpw96
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Hanna sat up and stretched out her arms. "I'm going to go clean up."152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfCEBXhHKX
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"Okay," Ethan mumbled, pulling to blanket over himself.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqvMYEISyK
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Ux0iHOpwX
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9q63QwLUa
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He doesn't enjoy it, even now, she thought sadly. How's he going to be in a week?152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcTQV16uhF
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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.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCs1vmzqG4
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