Milly was quite happy have Lenny, particularly for all that he'd done. Being a converted human who had been double dosed in the original outbreak wasn't a bad thing and being a House Mouse Animalian wasn't necessarily a bad thing either. However, she wasn't exactly like most of the other people who had been double dosed in the original outbreak. Most of them had been in their teens at their youngest, which often meant that they fully knew what sex was going into the outbreak. But Milly wasn't like most of the outbreak in Lyre's victims.
Milly had only been three and suddenly found herself in a very adult body with a bust and hips that were bigger and better than her mother's at the time. All of that came with the raging hormones and desires for a mate that came with it. They'd also found that in the process of her transformation she also gained a level of intelligence that was on par with her mother's as well. Her parents had been shocked and surprised, particularly as Milly went through the same sort of confusion that nearly every Animalian went through as they transformed, but her parents supported her and eventually converted to become Mouse Animalians as well. That had all made Milly happy and helped her adapt, but that didn't necessarily make things easy, particularly with the fact that she was only three.
The double dosing did technically qualify Milly as a legal adult, despite her age, due to the odd physical and mental effects of the Animalia Virus, but that didn't mean that people wouldn't respond to her age very well. A fair number of people shied away from her when they found out, which had meant that her parents had put her through all the GED testing and potential college education online and at home and outside contacts would come when she went out with either her mother or father on errands and so on. Those situations would be less tense and people wouldn't feel the need to worry if they were doing anything wrong.
But Milly still had all the desires that any other adult Animalian had. Then she met Lenny and found that despite his size he was gentle and kind, and to Milly the best part was that he took a liking to her and didn't have the response that many others had when he learned how long she'd been alive. The thing that had at times made her feel uneasy with some situations didn't seem to be as much of a factor with Lenny and that made her happy. That made her all too eager to say yes when Lenny proposed, as it made her heart flutter that there was none of the second guessing and other events where people responded in a way where they were thinking about her age or the fact that she was double dosed. Lenny accepted her and that overjoyed Milly to end.
Their wedding had been small and quiet, but that was something that was preferred. Her parents were there, as were Lenny's, and they were all friendly and accepting of the union. A few small group of friends also attended, though only their respective parents saw them off as they made their way to the Lyre/Animalia Airport with plans to have their honeymoon on Mieni. The weather there was warm enough for swimming and some of the added "features" of Animalia's atoll tourist spot would add for some other things that would be interesting to see, if they could pause some of the other things that newly married couples did.
"Now, mom... you'll make sure that you don't decide to redecorate our room," Milly teased to her mother, who stood there beside her husband and Lenny's parents as well. "We won't be away for that long."
"Ung," Milly's mother shook her head at the tease, "You know we won't do that dear."
"Oh... oh you never know what may happen," Milly smiled, "and on some level I'd understand, mom... everything that happened with the outbreak and all that."
"That doesn't mean we don't love you, Milly," Milly's father was quick to assure Milly of the love her parents had for him.
"I know, dad," Milly smiled to him while Lenny bought their tickets, "but I can remember on how much you and mom were happy to have me as a youngster... The outbreak and the accident took that away from you."
Milly's father hid a gulp as Lenny finished paying for their plane tickets and offering the suitcases they had packed. To some extent, he and his wife did greatly resent the initial outbreak had robbed them of truly being parents. They'd had Milly for three years and then suddenly she was adult Mouse Animalian. She was suddenly an adult and many of the things he'd originally planned to do with Milly as she grew up wouldn't happen. But there was nothing that could change that. Horizon might have borne responsibility for the spill that let the Animalia Virus loose, but with no way to return things to the way they were, getting bent out of shape over that wouldn't help. It was something that had gotten him and his wife thinking about trying again, particularly after they converted, but so far that decision had not been made, yet.
"I know... and a part of me will always wish that you stayed our little girl," Milly father gave a warm smile, "but that would be true no matter what your age was...three or thirty... you will always be precious to your mother and I."
"Thanks, dad," Milly answered with a polite smile.
"While it's good that you're all close..." Lenny's father spoke up, "the one thing I don't fully understand about this... is that if double dosing made you an adult... why stay at home to begin with? I mean... you've had your own work with Horizon and so on. And Lenny's gained employment... and from what we've heard on the phone it's good employment. So... why not move out? Set up your own home? Start your own family?"
"That may be for a bit later, dad," Lenny commented while wrapping arm around Milly's shoulders, "We only just got married."
"And regardless of how she got to where she is, she is a fine woman," Lenny's mother added, "and your father and I are happy you've found someone to share your life with... But..."
"Why am I still with my folks?" Milly surmised as she looked to Lenny's parents and waited for them to nod in an affirmative response to her question. She sighed a bit at that, but it wasn't something she didn't find unexpected. Lenny's parents were quite welcoming and accepted the marriage, but they seemed to have some preconceived notions on independence, some of which Milly met. As such, they'd expected Milly to have moved out too. "There is a bit of an extra layer of comfort... because my double dosing advanced my age as much as it did... I'm now too old for those that are my age to see me as another one of the kids, and many of the desires that are there now aren't the sort one should share with kids."
"At the same time... there have been people that have responded to her age in ways that amount to rejection because they can't reconcile her age with the fact that she is double dosed," Milly's mother spoke up in Milly's defense, "the law with regard to Animalia's civil rights in the US will recognize all double dosed Animalians as "adults" with regard to the law, regardless of their actual age. Technically there are a few who were caught in the initial outbreak that could have "left home" because they were double dosed and didn't to stay in school."
"But since Milly qualified for her GED and got some employment with Horizon... mostly researching just how double dosing affected her, given her age," Milly's father added, "advancing her grade to where most of the double dosed Animalians are wouldn't be easy... and wouldn't guarantee that Milly's age wouldn't cause some troubles there too. Particularly with regard to handling her age..."
"They will have to accept that... just as you have to accept that," Lenny's father commented.
"We all know that... and maybe now that we're married... we could move into our own place," Milly commented, "close enough to be able to visit and cheap enough to afford... but that will take time to find the right one. And until then... I'd like to keep my room."
"And you will," Milly's mother promised, feeling a bit grateful that Lenny's parents seemed to buy that explanation. They were their to see the young couple off on their honeymoon, not lecture them on the "facts of life." Especially when there were times when Milly's mother was also happy to have Milly around.
With things deescalating, there were a few exchanges of hugs before Lenny said to Milly, "we'd best get going. Our flight is coming up... and with the runway clear at present, best to take advantage of it."
Milly nodded and with a few last waves departed through the gates to the boarding areas and lanes for her and Lenny. Beyond that was their plane and a flight to a climate that was promised to be much warmer and lacked some of the pressures from in-laws. Milly's initial comment had been mostly aimed as a joke, knowing full well that her parents had been thinking about having children again, now that she had Lenny. It had come from a similar mindset to that which had lead to the joke of Milly and her mother being pregnant together and going through those maternity classes together. It had never been intended to lead into the discussion that had developed.
"Well, we escaped that one," Milly said after they were far enough away that no one would hear, "I'd never intended for all that to come up..."
"It was bound to come up eventually," Lenny said slowly, "if my folks didn't mention it... you or I would mention it to your folks... or you and your mom become pregnant and thus need the space for newborns. You can't stop life."
Milly looked down for a moment, but her whiskers were soon perked as her lips were drawn into a smile when she soon felt Lenny take her hand. It reflected his calm, kind, and gentle nature, which she loved very much.
"And sometimes... you don't want to," Lenny commented, "because it lead me to you."
By this point, they'd come outside and were following the stationed guides leading them to their specific plane. It wasn't super cold, but it was cold enough that even with their jackets and their fur, they could feel the sting of the cold in the air. Milly even shivered a little.
"If it weren't so cold... I'd kiss you," Milly said to him.
"We'll thaw out by the time we get to Mieni," Lenny promised.
"Hope so," Milly chuckled.