***

Nearly a week went by before they left the southern colony. Netto, with the frustrated help of Zeph, oversaw the cleanup of the colony and plant. It would take months, possibly years before the damage Fert Tech caused could be undone, but it was doable, and it was worth it. The thought of the clear waters came to mind, he wanted to swim in it with Rylie.

The EPED sent backup after Zeph sent in their report. Mia, their handler, annoyed but not surprised. Netto listened in on the call but didn’t contribute. The bottom line was that they needed the glass and the fact that they were not bringing it back would not go over well with the EPED.

They couldn't be blamed, not with Fert Tech's involvement. The EPED not only had their glass but now had a very pricey situation on their hands. There'd be a significant loss of money with no hope of a return until the environment righted itself.

Fert Tech would pay. Netto was certain of it. No one drained the EPED’s funds without repercussion.

But he and Zeph were easy targets, and the EPED would continue to use them as such until they had the Board of Trustees of Fert Tech in their grasp.

His partner was ready to blow.

Netto noticed the Croc had become short-tempered and had taken to tobacco and alcohol like the universe itself was going to end tomorrow. Netto kept his eye on him and did his job, he had to make sure the EPED didn’t have another Gunner on their hands.

Now that the worst of the damage had been mitigated, all the fires had been put out, the air was clear of toxins and that he had driven the serpents away from the shore, they were finally heading back to their ship.

Netto's fingers twitched as the Montihan settlement came into view. Rylie and her family had left several days before to alert homestead about what happened. They had planned for a day out at sea and it ended up being more than a week. The watership was in dire need of repair, and Sheryl Montihan needed to be pacified.

He remembered Rylie's exhausted face, looking more frightened than he had ever seen before, after her conversation with her mom. He remembered those looks when he was a newly created being and his cybernetic mothers reprimanded him. It was a look he knew well, as no being could elicit more fear in a child's eyes than that of a pissed-off parent.

Netto needed to see her again; the separation had nearly killed him, but he was afraid that this next meeting would be a goodbye. The type of goodbye that lasted forever.

His fist clenched at his side as Zeph dropped the flyer down to land next to his ship. They had been silent for the entire ride. It wasn't unusual for them but after the last two weeks, it was no longer comfortable.

Not only would he have to say goodbye to Rylie, if it came down to that, but he would have to decide whether or not he wanted to rejoin the EPED.

Stryker's old ship still needed a monster hunter to captain it, regardless of the destroyed lab. Mia and her bosses wanted him and now that he could reconnect to Zeph's ship, half a dozen messages had been queued for him. Each waiting for his signature. Each a contract that he wasn't sure if he wanted to sign.

Being a monster hunter—a retriever—was a lonely profession, and now that he knew what having a family was like and close-knit camaraderie, Netto didn't want to be alone anymore. He had no more time to dwell in his head. The ship landed.

He and Zeph stepped out without a word.

Netto inhaled as Rylie ran from her family's house and barreled into his arms. He picked her up and kissed her, starved for the feel and taste of her lips.

“I missed you!” she said between kisses. The reception momentarily took him back.

“I missed you too.”

He kissed her again, relishing every moment he had with her. Netto didn't want to let her go. With Rylie in his arms, he knew he didn't want to be alone again. The thought of his previous life made him sad.

“I don't want you to go,” she glanced at Zeph’s ship. “Please don't go.” Netto wasn't sure if he heard her correctly. She had given voice to his thoughts.

Zeph stomped away and disappeared into the homestead.

“Where would I go?” he asked, confused and hopeful, goading for more. Rylie's eyes were wide and the light of Kepler's sun made their irises glitter. The corner of her lips jerked up into a smile and he leaned down and kissed it.

“Back to space.”

“You want me to stay here?”

“Yes, with me. I hated these last few days, hated them. You made me fall in love with you and I'm not above begging and guilt tripping you to keep you in my life.”

If Netto could burn the EPED contracts in their digital space, he would have at that moment. He would've loved to see them curl in the flames and turn ash.

“You don't have to beg and I don't think you could guilt trip me. I love you too.” He cupped her face and pressed his forehead against hers. “If you’ll have me, I’ll never leave your side again.”

“I'll have you. I'll have you any way I can get you.”

Netto couldn't believe his ears as he processed the information over and over. Rylie wanted him. She wanted him to stay with her and for the first time in his life. He pulled her against him and held her close—breathed in the shampooed scent of her hair—and was relieved that she still smelled of sunscreen and ocean.

He wasn't a human man and he didn't follow the traditions of the human race, but he had the urge to ask Quinten Montihan for his permission to court his daughter. It was absurd, an old tradition. Ancient even, but it felt right, here on Kepler, and he wanted the planet to be his home. Kepler was a product of the future but still firmly rooted in traditions of the past. It was where he belonged, and as he overlooked the endless miles of the ocean, he felt complete. He wasn’t created for space. He was created for this.

“What now?”

“We go to dinner.” She smiled up at him.

“Your mom's cooking? Has she forgiven you?”

“No, and I don't think she ever will. She’s throwing herself into the food and right now all she can focus on is feeding you. It's her way of saying thanks. Lily hasn’t stopped asking for you”

“Oh?” He had forgotten about the little girl. Netto ran his fingers through Rylie’s long shining hair. “Don't thank me. You never have to thank me.”

“But you kept your promise.”

Rylie cocked her head and grabbed his hands, squeezing them. “We owe you so much and it's her way. Ma will always feel indebted to you and Zeph, even when we can hold our part of the bargain in shipping the glass. The Montihan’s will always be indebted to you.”

“I don't care about the glass.”

Rylie smiled. “I know.”

The thick aroma of roasted food, fish, and lavender wafted over him. He glanced up at the house and Rylie looked with him. She threaded her fingers through his and she led him toward her home.

Soon it would only be her family's house, he would build Rylie her own mansion nearby.

Kepler was beautiful and untamed. He could give her this world and expand their homestead. Netto could help her run the business and make it thrive. The prospect lightened his heart as they stepped up onto the porch.

In the distance, he could hear the waves against the shore. That, with the sound of Rylie's steady heartbeat and the laughter inside, was what love meant to him.

They stopped at the door. His hand settled on the doorknob.

“Will they accept me?”

Rylie kissed the bare skin of his arm and nodded.

“They already have. They know. They knew before I said anything, I guess I was acting differently.”

The door flung open before he could respond. Lily was on the other side. She flew into his legs with a giggle and a scream. Rylie's laughter joined hers. He lifted the little girl up and let her peel his lips back to see his sharp, double layer of teeth.

“Ma said I could have teeth like yours someday!”

Rylie ruffled Lily's hair and kissed her cheek. It made him want to have children of his own. Their own.

“You can someday. When you're older and if you really want them,” Netto said.

“Will they be like yours?” Lily sweaty hands clobbered over his face.

“Just like mine.”

“Don’t encourage her. She’ll remember and won’t ever let it go. Older to her means tomorrow,” Rylie warned.

Lily squirmed in his arms, ignorant of her sister, clammy hands on his face.

“Wait until you see what I look like when I let my beast out,” Netto said to the little girl. “We’ll go swimming tomorrow. We’ll be monsters together.”

Rylie sighed and shot him a look, he responded with a knowing smile.

Netto carried Lily into the dining room as Rylie clung to his arm. Sheryl took the little girl away with an apology and this time when he sat at the table, he wasn't uncomfortable, he didn’t have to intimidate: he felt like he belonged.

He would protect the Montihans. He would protect Rylie and Lily, and everyone she cared about for the rest of his life. He wondered if he was the first Cyborg to have a family, to adopt a family. If he was, he was the luckiest man-made creation in the universe.

As the night continued, Netto reconnected with the ship and gave the EPED his answer. It wasn't as satisfactory as lighting them on fire, but it felt nice all the same.

He belonged to no one. But he belonged here. He was never meant to be a hunter, but a protector and a protector was what he would remain. His life in the stars was now a thing of the past. He kept one hand on Rylie's thigh.

“So you'll stay?” she asked him again, disbelief in her voice. It would be his first mission: to get Rylie to trust him and to banish her self-doubt.

“Yes.”

It was his favorite word.