Chapter 23: Testing the Anchor Bond
I. Apart, Together
Railroad life never made space for ordinary love. Months slipped by with Kellyanna and Tito rarely sharing the same time zone, let alone a bed or a meal. The work always came first—field missions, code drops, emergency rituals, the constant churn of the survivor network.
Still, the bond between them never dimmed. Tito, grounded and pragmatic, waited without complaint, anchoring her from afar with late-night calls and coded check-ins. Kellyanna, swept up in circles and missions, found herself longing for something steady—not just partnership, but anchoring, the kind of bond that could hold through any storm.
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II. The Date in Disguise
It was Tito’s idea to turn one of her scouting missions into a “date”—his word, his smile, his way of softening the work. They spent the day moving through safehouses and council checkpoints, but in the quiet moments, they did something neither had dared before: they let themselves treat the day as their own.
Between missions, they paused in a public park. Tito laid out the questions. “What kind of bond is this, Kellyanna? Do we want poly, open, something else?”
She smiled, thinking of every protocol and field note she’d ever written. “Let’s test the field,” she said. “Let’s see what the bond wants.”
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III. Testing the Bond
They tried the old rituals, adapted for two: • Clearing past frequencies—naming every old tie, every lingering ache. • Speaking their needs aloud, no matter how sharp or awkward. • Sitting in silence, letting the energy speak for itself.
Each time they tested, the answer was clear. There was no drift, no pull to poly, no sense of doors left open. The bond wanted exclusivity—solid, grounding, with no room for other anchors.
Tito laughed, a little breathless. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
Kellyanna nodded, honest. “Neither was I. But it feels real. Uncomplicated. Like the field itself is asking us to close the loop.”
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IV. The Complication
But life was never that clean. As they walked, Tito hesitated. “There’s something I need to tell you. My son. He’s nine. He’s my world.”
Kellyanna didn’t flinch. “Thank you for telling me. There’s something you should know, too. I have other bonds—not romantic, not always physical, but deep. Some are astral, some are mimicry, some are old alliances. They don’t pull me away, but they are part of who I am.”
Tito took a long breath, then smiled. “That’s the world we come from. As long as you’re here with me, I can live with it.”
They made their agreements: • The anchor bond would be exclusive in romance and partnership. • Both would honor and disclose old bonds, new ties, and family. • Tito’s son would be a part of their future, not a secret.
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V. A New Kind of Trust
They left the park with nothing resolved except what mattered: the choice to anchor, to prioritize, to move forward without hiding. For Kellyanna, it was the first time she felt truly chosen—not as an afterthought or backup, but as the center of someone’s field. For Tito, it was the relief of loving someone who could be honest about every part of herself, and who welcomed every part of his world, too.
The Railroad would keep moving. The work would never end. But in the field of the real, Kellyanna finally found her anchor.
To be continued…
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