“We need to tell them, right?” Brie was asking Connor that day at their new lab as the two worriedly looked over their latest test results.

“Tell them?” Connor scoffed as he looked back at her.

“Well, they need to know” Brie told him with continued worry.

“And how do we explain to them how we even got these test results?” Connor scoffed, “the second we mention it, they’ll immediately see us as... as the other versions of ourselves; the two they hated so much they reset the whole world to get away from us” Connor added pointedly.

“But they need to know” Brie shook her head.

Connor took a few deep breaths, “why?”

“Why?” Brie nearly choked on the word.

“Why do they need to know? It’s obvious that they’re so wrapped up in each other, that it should never even become a factor. At least not in this version of their lives” he had to add.

“You can’t tell me that you think our seventeen year old children will never be with anyone else but each other for the rest of their lives? This life?” Brie scoffed.

“After all the sex they had with all those strangers in the other versions of their lives? I think they obviously have been there, done that, and it obviously didn’t work out. And now, they do seem pretty single-minded about how they’re the only people one another could ever love; at least in this life, or so it appears” Connor shrugged, though there was still nervousness there.

“Ok, let’s say that, miracle of miracles, our two incredibly attractive children never are intimate with anyone but each other; this time around. Ok, let’s go there” Brie shook her head, “then what about their children? Hmm?”

Connor scoffed, “assuming they ever even decide to have kids. Which is a pretty big assumption, knowing what they know about what they actually are” Connor returned.

Brie just shook her head, “even if they never have other lovers, even if they never have children who will grow up and eventually have their own lovers... We still need to tell them Connor. If not... so much badness could happen. Even if it’s not for several years” she sighed sadly.

“They’ll hate us if they know we’ve been running any kind of tests at all” Connor warned again.

“And what will they think of us if it does happen? If they do have other lovers someday, and we knew about this, but never told them? What then?” Brie stated sadly.

That Saturday, Sky and Star were out by the pool again. It was the last day of September, so it was a bit chilly for a swim, but nice enough to have their late breakfast outside at around ten that morning. The two were actually waiting for Kole to show up so they could discuss any possible supernatural means at their disposal to deal with Curt, while still avoiding discovery. Of course, Kole assumed that it was their ‘witchy ways’ they wanted to protect rather than the actual truth they were trying to hide; but they decided it was safer to let him believe that than the actual truth.

That was when their parents came to join them outside, causing Sky and Star to both give them rather questioning looks. Those looks only grew more worried when they saw how somber Brie and Connor looked that day.

“What now?” Sky asked warily, always on guard as usual.

“Ok, I’m gonna just spit this out, cause I know this is going to probably be the worst part” she took a breath, “we tested strands of your hair. We just wanted to know more about your biological make up and make sure there was nothing we needed to worry about, health-wise anyway. I swear, that was all it was” she told them with an urgent tone, trying to stifle their anger before it surfaced.

Sky and Star both sighed heavily, “knew it was too good to be true” Star mumbled under her breath.

Sky glared back at them, “you planning on locking us up now?”

“No, Sky. We would never do that... again” Brie assured him, “but we found something out. And you two... should be aware.”

Sky scoffed again, “what now?”

Connor took a breath as he joined the conversation then, “it’s probably something the two of you will never have to worry about, in this life, anyway. But we decided that it would be best that we at least made it known to the two of you.”

“What already?” Sky returned impatiently.

Brie tried to steel herself then, “just, we want to make sure you two never have unprotected sex” she blurted out as the two just gave her another look of disbelief, as they thought the whole issue of their sex lives was buried already.

“Are you serious right now?” Sky scoffed.

“Mom, I’ve been on the pill since before the first time we even had sex... in this life” she had to add more quietly.

“No, what we mean is...” Brie began warily as the two just looked at each other with even more worry then. “What we’re trying to tell you, which probably won’t be an issue for the two of you, considering how in love you are and all; but just don’t ever have unprotected sex with anyone, other than each other at least” Brie managed, though just saying the words seemed to cause her pain.

Star and Sky looked at each other with a bit of panic then, but quickly tried to bury it, “what are you talking about?” Star asked slowly.

Brie took another breath, looked at Connor, then back at her children, “what we found out when we tested your hair is that you both have...” she looked at Connor again, “are we really calling it an STA?” she shook her head.

“Until we think of a better name” Connor shrugged sadly.

“What the fuck’s an STA?” Sky asked loudly.

“A really bad name for” Brie shook her head, “...what it means is that you two... your... condition... “she decided on, “it’s sort of... contagious?” she choked on the last word.

“What the fuck?” Sky asked more loudly.

Brie took another breath, “it just means that if you were ever to... share bodily fluids with someone?” she shrugged uncomfortably, “then there’d be a chance, that your DNA could sort of, linger... with a partner who doesn’t already have your... condition” she repeated. She then quickly added, “I mean it’s perfectly safe for you and Star and all, since, well... but if you two ever do decide you wanna be with someone else? You’ll have to be very, very careful” she told them with a hundred kinds of apologetic and embarrassed undertones in her voice just then.

With that revelation, Brie and Connor gave another wary look to their rather panic-stricken children and then headed back inside to let them adjust to this new factor of their already stress-filled lives.

After several more long moments, Sky finally whispered, “Kole’s so fucking infected.”

“Doubly infected” Star breathed with the same shock and panic.

“Feeling protective of us?” Sky scoffed as he shook his head. He then quickly looked back at Star, “fuck, Crista probably is too.”

“Crista?” Star repeated as she looked at him with disbelief, “didn’t you use a condom with her?”

“Well, yes, and no” Sky admitted.

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, of course I used a condom with her for the final act. Just not the pre-show. I thought I only needed to prevent pregnancy, not sexually transmitted... alienism?” he stated sadly.

Star sighed heavily, “and that pre-show involved what?” Star prodded warily,

“Why have a tongue piercing if you’re not gonna use it? Plus, she kind of wanted to do that to me too” he sighed.

“Fuck, Sky.”

“And what did you do with her when you skipped lunch?” he shot back.

“Fuck” Star repeated.

“Thought so” he shook his head as they both sat there staring out at the pool in shock.

The two were then quiet for several more long moments, their minds reeling at what all they had done just this week alone would actually mean. Finally, Sky spoke with despair, “so, the two of us now have single-handedly started the alien invasion-slash-colonization of earth? Just because we decided we still liked to fuck pretty people other than each other? Go us” he added sarcastically.

When Kole did arrive less than half an hour later, he was directed to the patio out back where Sky and Star still were sitting at the patio table together, silently. Upon stepping outside and closing the doors behind him again, Kole greeted them, “wow your parents look...” he then took pause as he approached the other two teens, “somehow less upset than the two of you” he finished warily.

Star sighed as she looked up at him, as though she wanted to say something, then thought better of it. Instead, she just moved to give him an almost apologetic hug. Though, when she stepped back from him, he flinched slightly, “sorry, think your hair got caught on my ring” she said as she cast a furtive glance at Sky.

“Considering what I’ve done to myself, I think I can survive the inevitable long-hair plus spiky jewelry debacle” he smirked down at her.

“So, I’ll be right back” Star told him as she headed back inside, casting one more worried look back at Sky.

“Something seems to be amiss here today” Kole stated in a perplexed tone as he sat across from Sky then.

“Parental issues” Sky attempted as he looked away with a deep breath, eyes moving to the doors Star had just stepped back through.

Inside, Star found her parents in the living room and held out a long lavender lock to them, “hurry up and test it before he wonders why I’m in here instead of out there.”

Brie took the long lock from her hand as she looked up at Star in disbelief, “what happened to being completely in love with Sky?” she gasped.

“Bigger problems, mom. Test it” Star returned urgently.

After several minutes, Brie and Connor returned from the in-home office next to the living room and just shook their heads in even further distress then, “I don’t even know where to...” Brie’s voice trailed off.

“So, he’s got it too now?” Star sniffled.

Connor then put in warily, “well we’d have to test his blood to be absolutely positive; but there were some, anomalies” he decided on sadly.

“How did this even happen, Star?” Brie asked her with further worry.

“That’s gonna have to be a conversation for a different time. Right now, I think you're not the ones I need to be talking to” Star sniffled again as she headed back outside.

She was now more than dreading how he would ever deal with this new fact of his life, as well as how it came to be, and a million other factors right then. It was then that she had to admit, that maybe this new love affair that had made her and Sky so happy of late, wasn’t exactly as perfect as they thought it was, after all.