They spent one last night on the island before returning to the palace. They vowed not to speak of the future or babies until they got on the boat, but both of them couldn't stop thinking about it.

Ezra felt the urge to beg her to stay, to confess how heartbroken he'd be if she left. But he knew how torn she was. He could see it in her eyes every time she got lost in her thoughts. He didn't want to tell her, but every time she grew sad—when she washed her clothes in the river and quietly let tears slip down her cheeks, and when she woke up from a nap and wiped away the tears from a dream to try and hide them from him—he could see her eyes brighten the same color of blue that his skin glowed when it touched the water. There were no mirrors, so she couldn't see it herself yet. But it was only a matter of time. Not only was she already clearly more emotional than usual—but one could only ignore glowing eyes for so long before their owner realized them.

The glowing eyes, Ezra had heard, was how several humans from earth discovered they are pregnant. It was something that could begin only days after conception, which meant she could have gotten pregnant at any point last week, or her egg could have been fertilized before they even stepped on this island—since she wasn't a common crier, they couldn't have known.

Ezra had promised her no more secrets, but he didn't want to spoil his last day with her—and just her alone. As soon the pregnancy was confirmed, he knew that they would no longer be able to fool themselves. They would no longer be able to keep quiet about the future and ignore their silent thoughts. So, be wanted this last day with her alone and her and for himself.

After they swam in the ocean, Mira looked for shells. She collected ones that she wanted to keep in a jar, and Ezra found the human custom strange but helped her anyways, even though she only liked a few of the ones he picked out. Later, they lied on the beach on soft red leaf towels and soaked up the bright sun. A giant blue moon sat in the horizon, and she asked him to tell her about it.

Colonization on the moon was mainly for research and vacation purposes. Their planet was much larger than earth, and the resources hadn't been even close to running out since they never used the fossil fuels the planet possessed, so traveling to the moon—which they called Zyoo, was more of an adventurous vacation than a necessity.

"But this planet is already so big. Why did your people start to travel to outer space at all?"

"The same reason yours did. Curiosity. It is human nature to want to understand. It is also Jayku nature to want to explore and travel the stars. It's a good thing we started earlier than humans though, or we would have never met."

A moment passed between them, the water crashing on the shore reminding Mira a little too much of home. It was strange to her how the planets could be so much alike, how the inhabitants were so familiar, and how humans and Jayku were so similar they could reproduce. But it was astounding to her that despite all these similarities, their worlds were still so different. Their culture was almost the complete opposite—based on co-habitation instead of consumerism. The government was like monarchies on earth, but also a council-member system that had never been used before. How humans began to explore as a competition between countries, where Jayku did it because of a collective curiosity.

She sat up abruptly, gasping. "I just had a brilliant idea."

Ezra chuckled at her, sitting half-up and propping himself onto his elbows to look up at her. She wore big blue sunglasses—ones from earth—and nothing but swimming suit bottoms, mainly to keep the sand from finding its way into places it shouldn't. But her ripe breasts were bare and beautiful, covered in a healthy glistening layer of sweat.

"What if my family came here?"

"You know they don't allow humans to live here unless they agree to the contract. Besides, don't you think they'd be a little uncomfortable with our customs?"

"No," she shook her head, her breasts jiggling slightly. "Not here-here. I mean to the moon—to Zyoo."

Ezra was skeptical at first, sitting up at looking out over the horizon. Zyoo wasn't as large as this planet, and it certainly couldn't sustain all of earths inhabitants. But there were hundreds of women from earth who were in the same situation as Mira—torn between to planets and two lives. If they could convince his parents and the other council members to allow an earth-human colony on Zyoo, their families—Mira's family would be only an hour flight away. They could visit every other weekend, maybe even more if they increased the amount of fuel production, which was harvested from the sun and increased by a type of seaweed that grew in a dunce in the ocean. If they harvest just a few more tons seaweed, which metabolized solar energy and duplicated it, they would be able to quadruple their fuel production.

"They'd have to change the way they live. They wouldn't be allowed to bring any human machinery with them, and they'd also have to leave their entire lives behind..." Ezra looked at Mira. "Would your family do that to be closer to you?"

"Honestly, I think they'd do it even if they never saw me again." She bounces up, sitting on her knees. "Earth's resources are depleted. It's overpopulated. There's not enough medicine for everyone. People are barely getting enough food, and it isn't healthy. Pollution is rampant. Consumerism is eating away at the planet bit by bit. People are starving for a new way of life, and we could show them how to change."

A smile grew on Ezra's lips. "You said we."

The urgent excitement in her expression shifted, and she tried and failed to surprise a grin. "Well, I wouldn't want to live in a world without you in it."

Ezra jumped up and flipped Mira onto her back against the sand, kissing her so hard it sent sparks through Mira's chest. "I love it," he moaned against her lips before moving down her jaw with a trail of wet, passionate kisses.

"Do you think the council would go for it?" She asked, pulling his face up to look at her.

His eyes melted with love and lust as he smiled at her. He still had his reservations, the obstacles they'd have to face to achieve this goal were at the front of his mind. But they were pushed aside by be desire to make her happy, and to never let her go. "We will convince them."

He dipped his head low, planting a kiss on the outside curve of her breast. She closed her eyes, letting her arms fall above her head into the floury sand.

He moved to suck on her nipple, tracing circles around it with his tongue, and she moaned in response. For the first time since Ezra realized he loved her, he didn't feel so afraid of the possibility of losing her.

It might not be easy, but he would do whatever it took to keep them together. Even if that meant convincing the council that this would be in their best interest. If more families were allowed to be kept in close range of the planet, more women would come to their planet. Maybe, in a few generations, Zyoo could become the epicenter for humans and Jayku to mix and mingle. It could be the answer to their underpopulation problem, and earths overpopulation problem—as long as it was done right.

Mira was tired of being teased, and she wanted him. All of him. She flipped him over onto his back, and Ezra laughed at her—more happy than he ever imagined he could be.

After untying her bathing suit bottoms and discarding them next to the large leaf towels underneath them, Mira leaned down onto him, pressing her lips against his. Ezra's hands pulled back the curtain of her hair and held it behind her head so he could see her face. She paused for a moment, with him still inside her, and lifted her head to look at him.

"Mira," he said gently, knowing that they didn't need to keep this vow not to talk about it. Not if he was going to find a way to stay with her. "We're going to have a baby."

Mira, thinking she should be terrified of his words, smiled. "How do you know?"

"I just do," he smiled at her. Regardless of if it happened the first day they had been on the island or before they even came here, it was still happening. And for the first time, he actually felt excited about having a baby, because he was having a child with her.

He pulled her gently down to kiss him again, and she began to ride him slowly, easing herself up and down on him until they were both bathing in the pleasure they felt, and getting lost in each other.