Explanations
Wynnona
I stare up at the pale-yellow roof of my room on the ship. My mind is reeling from the overload of information from Giovanni, and what I got isn't all of it. How can I be his sister? That doesn't make sense in my brain at the moment.
I notice movement in my room from my two best friends. Keya is examining the spot on the book's cover where the green stone once sat. She stares at it, still in awe, as Brett paces back and forth in the middle of the room. Oriana and the twins are in a room across from ours. After Giovanni declared me to be his sister Inezze left the office and Jake dragged Giovanni away before I could ask him any questions.
"How would you two being related supposed to work? You don't even look anything like him." Brett grumbles. He's upset. This situation doesn't make sense to the both of us and so we have both been reserved, thinking a million different outcomes through. I feel bad for Keya. How has she put up with this for these past many years?
"I'm going to go talk to Giovani." I tell the two, standing from my bed. Brett sighs and walks over to Keya. He pulls the book out of her hands and tosses it to my bed before he wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her with him as he flops onto the bed.
"We're going to get some rest." Brett tells me as he cuddles into Keya's chest. She giggles and runs her hair through his light brown hair.
"We'll see you in a bit, Wyatt." Keya says with a tired smile. My lips twitch up into a smile at the nickname she gave me as kids.
"Sleep well princess." I smile softly at her, turning the lights off before closing the door. I leave the room and go to where Lillian told me Giovanni's room is. My mind makes up a list of questions I'm going to ask as I pet Star. He sits on my shoulders again. Ever since a couple hours ago he hasn't left my side, or shoulders to be more specific. I get to Giovanni's shared room with Jake and knock on the door. I hear a soft 'come in' so I open the door and cover Star's eyes at the scene before us.
Giovanni is on top of Jake, both men are naked, Jake is blushing and lets out a strangled moan, all while Giovanni stares at me like I'm crazy and gathers up the blankets to cover his and Jake's lower halves. Jake starts to kiss and suck at Giovanni's neck and I can see the pink scratches that cover Giovanni's back. It would take an idiot to not see they were in the middle of sex. Sex I just walked in on accidently.
"Hi Wynnona." Giovanni greets with an edge of resent to his voice. Jake squeaks and realises I'm standing in the room staring at them.
"Can I talk to you once you're done?" I ask in a higher pitched voice. If Giovanni and I are siblings, this is so much weirder. I turn tail and rush out of the room and close the door again. My back hits the cool metal as I sink down to sit on the floor. I don't know how long I sit there for, but I do know that I end up falling into a dreamless sleep.
When I wake up, I'm on a really comfy couch. I open my eyes to see Giovanni placing a quick peck to Jake's lips before Jake leaves. He wears a pair of tightly fit jeans with a long-sleeved turtleneck sweater.
"Is that to hide the scratches and hickeys?" I ask him with a smirk. He jumps noticing I'm awake and grumbles.
"No, it's because this ship is always way too cold." He gives me a glare. "Why did you come in anyways?" He asks, sitting in the chair across from me.
"I knocked and heard someone say, 'come in.'" I shrug as I sit up. I watch Star hop onto the back on Giovanni's chair. His cheeks fill with heat and a flush takes over his face.
"That wasn't an invitation to come into the room." He mutters softly, hiding his face in his hands. I start to laugh, a real and genuine laugh, at his reaction until my sides hurt and I can't breathe. When I get a hold of myself and look back at Giovanni his face is lit up with a large smile. "So, you had some questions for me?" He asks, changing the subject.
"I just don't understand, how could we be related?" I ask, everything goes serious after I ask one of my many questions.
"I guess I should have seen this coming." He sighs and leans back in his chair. "Yes, I believe we are siblings. When I was little, Inezze was pregnant with my baby sister." He stands up and goes over to a desk. He opens one of the top drawers and comes back with a photo. It's wrinkled and old, but it is the family I was seeing in my dreams.
"The family from my dreams." I whisper as I study the photo. What looks like a much younger version of Giovanni is holding the little red-haired girl from the first dream. Both have wide smiles on their faces.
"Yeah. I believe you're seeing memories from the ships database, but also something in our shared DNA is connecting us." Giovanni explains, sitting back down in his chair. "Anyways, our father was named Florence. He was a curious earthling who wanted to explore the universe, so he built his own ship and programmed it with Dayna, the ship's AI. Along the way he met Inezze, our mother, who is the last of her kind. Dad was curious as a cat and stubborn as a mule, traits we both share. She is what we call a Celestial. They are very powerful aliens and were wiped out by Needledrop. She was the only survivor. Inezze was wary of dad at the start, but she slowly fell for the man and they had me. Mom was disappointed when she saw I had matching eyes.
"In the Celestial's, if their children are not pure bred then they are unlikely to have a child with very strong and prominent Celestial genes. They can mainly tell because their eyes will be different colours. Unlike your eyes, mine are both the same shade of crystal-clear blue. So, mom and dad had you. It was my job to protect you. I managed to for four years, but Needledrop ended up finding the ship and attacked. I managed to get you to an escape pod, but someone grabbed me and dragged me away before I could get into the pod with you. I managed to launch the pod before the people could get to you. They killed dad and they took mom and I, torturing the two of us." He moved from his chair to sit beside me, cupping my face, and wiping away tears I didn't realize were falling.
"Why?" I ask, my voice cracks in the middle of the word.
"I needed to keep you safe. You are the lifeblood of our species. I am still Celestial, but my human genes are more prominent. Besides, what kind of big brother would I be if I let you get hurt?" He teases, but I see the tears in his eyes. I have never had a blood family. Any family I found was taken from me. I felt this bond to Giovanni, one I felt years of torment and pain through.
"Why does Inezze beat you?" I ask carefully. I need to know just how much I need to be on guard.
"Because I'm gay. Because I fell for my childhood friend. Because I wasn't the perfect child. Because I remind her of father. Take your pick, there are a lot of reasons I can think of." He shrugs. The tears fall from his eyes and I pull him into a hug. We both cry silently as we hug each other. His hold on me feels familiar. He holds me tight with the need to protect me, but also delicately with fear if he held on too tightly, I'd break. I tighten my hold around his shoulders and bury my face in his neck.
"It's strange, thinking I had parents before my dads on earth." I say light heartedly to try and lighten the mood after a bit of silence.
"I saw their funeral in one of your memories." He tells me softly. "I'm sorry you lost them. They seemed like lovely men." I smile tenderly, remembering when papa would spin me around the living room.
"They were. Brett and I had a good life. He's been a brother to me for as long as I can remember." I pull away from him and we talk for a couple hours more. I feel comfortable with him, as if I've known him all my life. He offers to walk me back to my room and I agree. We chat a bit more as we approach the room, however, all talk stops. Something doesn't feel right.
I open the door and find Brett on the floor, blood flowing from a wound on his forehead. I rush over to him and scan the room. The book that was sitting on my bed when I left is nowhere in sight and Keya is gone. I cradle Brett in my arms, studying the wound on his head.
"Wyatt." He groans, blue eyes opening just slightly.
"Shh. It's going to be okay." I tell him softly. He grabs my waist as tightly as he can in his weakened state.
"It's Needledrop. They got Athena and Keya." He tells me as his eyes flutter shut. Lillian and Oriana come into the room together, both studying the two of us. My blood starts to boil with anger and the need to kill something.
"Take care of him." I order Lillian and Oriana as I stand, checking the gun on my thigh to make sure it's fully loaded. "Let's go." I tell Giovanni as I exit the room. The moment I do, we both hear a scream echo through the hall of the ship. Giovanni and I look at each other, sharing a look. His face is filled with fear and his eyes widen in shock.
"Jake." Giovanni whispers, recognizing the scream of agony.