Page 38 of Lovesick Titan (Lovesick #2)

“Then you can be boyfriends,” Michael said. “I like that better than you being enemies.”

“Nemeses,” Danny and Mal said in unison, which made them tumble into choked laughter when they caught each other’s eyes.

Lucy snorted again. “Well you’re both dorks , so that’s a bonus. But I think I agree with the kid.” She leaned forward to smile at Danny while patting Michael’s leg.

“How did you know to come here?” Mal asked with a note of suspicion .

“Carla texted me.”

“She’s in labor,” Danny sputtered.

Lucy shrugged like that was no big feat for a woman like Carla. “She worried you two would be too mortified by the whole affair to think of calling Oz or her mother.”

Danny glanced at Mal, who had a definite look of, Oh, shit , now that Lucy had said that.

“I took the liberty,” Lucy assured them. “Oz went to bring Carla’s mother here the long way. She doesn’t do teleporting.”

Oswald Percy, Danny realized with a start— Hermes .

He’d assumed the former Titan had cut all ties with Mal and his crew, but it seemed that even though the man had left his life of crime to walk the straight and narrow, that didn’t mean there wasn’t honor among thieves—and friendship.

Given the man had pursued a medical career before, Danny had a feeling he knew who Mal’s nurse was now.

“Nana’s gonna take you home tonight, buddy,” Lucy reached over to pat Michael’s leg again.

“Can’t I stay with Mom and Mai?” he pouted. “Or with Oz? Who’ll look after ‘em if I go home with Nana?”

“If everything goes well, which it will,” Mal spoke up, “your mother will be able to come home tonight as well. Or at least by morning. If she has to stay the night, we’ll stay with her, okay? Oz too.”

Danny assumed Mal meant he and Lucy would stay with Oz, but in the moment, it seemed to mean the two of them , and Danny’s heart fluttered at higher than normal speeds to be a part of that ‘we’.

Michael nodded, fully trusting of these Titans on either side of him, who proved they were decent, normal human beings with every moment Danny spent with them.

Why did so many people think being good meant more than looking out for one’s own?

It was simple when people let it be simple.

Being good. Being happy. Being whole. What tripped people up was thinking they had to be all three all the time.

The door to the hospital room opened, and the doctor came out with a sheen of perspiration over her forehead and a kind smile. Her eyes darted between Mal and Danny as the four of them stood from the bench.

“Father?”

“Oh…uhh…” Danny looked to Mal for help .

“Not in the picture, doc,” Mal rolled his eyes. “Carla’s mother and boyfriend are on their way.”

“Other than that,” Lucy said, “you’re looking at all the family she’s got.”

The doctor nodded, never once losing her smile. “Well, she asked for everyone, so I’ll allow it, but try to keep it brief for now. Momma and baby are doing fine, but they need their rest.” She gestured behind her into the room.

Michael didn’t wait for more of an invitation. He darted out from between Danny and Mal and dove past the doctor into the room. Mal led the way for the rest of them at a more cautious pace and nodded to the doctor as they passed her.

Again, Danny thought he didn’t belong here, sharing in this life-altering event between a woman he’d only just met and his once-enemies.

Nemeses . But as they moved into the room, Lucy gripped his elbow to slow him.

The gesture didn’t carry any threat or sharp nails, just a squeeze and look in her eyes of support.

Danny smiled at her. He and Mal were done hurting each other, and he would do everything in his power to get the chance to make this up to him.

Michael had already climbed onto the edge of the hospital bed when they entered, sitting at Carla’s hip with his Prometheus figure resting on the nearby table, eyeing the tiny bundle in his mother’s arms. Carla looked worn but still had that jubilant glow Danny heard people talk about.

He held back while Mal and Lucy went up on either side of the bed.

The nurse said she’d be back in a few minutes, the doctor already gone, leaving them alone.

Hastily cleaned and wrapped in a blanket for Carla to hold, the baby looked content and so, so tiny.

Danny had never seen a newborn before. Goodness, she looked wrinkled and delicate.

“Everything okay coming almost a month early?” Lucy asked with a broad smile.

“Still over six pounds,” Carla nodded exhaustedly.

“She was ready. This is baby Mai.” Tugging open the top of the blanket, she showed her off to everyone, Michael in particular, who leaned in close and reached out a finger to tap her chubby cheek.

“Mai Mallory ,” Carla added with a smirk at Mal. “Michael?”

He shook his head when she lifted the baby toward him .

“Hey, we talked about this,” Mal walked up close behind the boy. “You can do it.”

“Why don’t you show him then?” Carla said.

Stiffening almost as noticeably as Michael had, Mal scoffed, “ Mallory huh? Sounds suspiciously sentimental—”

“Shut your trap, Malcolm Cho, and hold your god-daughter.” It was a motherly tone through and through. She wasn’t much older than Lucy, but the pull she had on Mal was evident.

Danny’s cheeks were starting to hurt from watching the interactions of this…

family. Mal gave in and allowed Carla to pass over her tiny bundle, and the life-long thief handled Mai with all the gracefulness and attentive care with which he cracked a safe.

Those hands were practiced with caring for a baby girl, and while Danny rarely saw Mal physically close with anyone, even his grown sister, he held Mai with an expression of overtaking peace.

He was so in love with this man. For many reasons, but this—the contrast of hard and soft, of cold and warm—reminded Danny why he wanted to make this work.

Lucy went around the bed to join Mal, looking eager for her turn, and despite how much Danny wanted to stay and talk with Mal further, he felt like an interloper. The urge to back away tickled at him, and he wondered if it would be better to slip out of the room quietly and not disrupt the scene.

“Come over here, Zeus, and don’t you even think about leaving,” Carla startled Danny with his sudden inclusion.

She waved her hand to emphasize her point, and Danny took a few cautious steps forward to fill in the empty space Lucy had left behind.

“Might have had my baby girl in that hallway if not for you.” She reached out her hand, which Danny took obediently.

“Your secret’s ours for life, I promise.

Never would have guessed you two would be… well,” she passed her gaze to Mal.

Danny huffed a laugh as he squeezed her hand. “Yeah. He’s better at keeping secrets than I am.”

“There’s an understatement,” Lucy muttered.

They were all smiles, gentle laughter, and quiet exhaustion. But as Carla released Danny’s hand, his eyes met Mal’s across the bed and there was an electricity that sparked between them, almost as tangible as Danny’s lightning .

“Did we miss it?” a voice preceded the arrival of a man and woman bursting into the room like a whirlwind. It wasn’t until they surrounded the bed and Danny stepped back that he realized the man was Hermes. He’d figured out his identity months ago, but he’d never seen his face in person.

The woman with Oz was older, obviously Carla’s mother with how much she commanded attention and insinuated herself at her daughter’s side, then her grandson’s, and finally accepted baby Mai from Mal.

There was a bustle of questions and greetings and “Now you sit right there, Michael, so you can hold this baby sister of yours next,” while Danny tried to keep his face hidden when Oz looked at him in question.

He didn’t think Oz knew who he was, but there was curiosity and the faint glimmer of recognition on his face as if there was only one person Danny could be.

As Michael tentatively accepted his sister into his arms finally, Mal moved to join Danny at the edge of the room. “Thank you,” he said, hushed and private for being somewhat crowded in a small hospital room. “You don’t have to stick around. We’ll keep watch.”

“Oh. Right.” Danny nodded even as his stomach bottomed out at being dismissed.

“Sure. But I can stay anyway. If you want. In case anyone…” he didn’t want to say ‘Dunkirk’ too loudly in present company.

“…you know. Plus, I didn’t get to finish what I meant to say before,” he softly whispered between them, bodies close for discretion’s sake, which made his heart rate pick up speed again.

Mal’s eyes took him in with indecision.

“Please,” Danny said. “I don’t care if you’re a criminal.

We made it work before. We can make it work again.

It doesn’t change how I see you. Nothing could.

And I don’t care what Dad thinks. He was more concerned with me letting myself rot in prison than sleeping with you.

And everyone else?” He pushed on when Mal looked ready to retreat.

“Surprisingly supportive. All of them. As long as I’m sure about you, and that is something I could never doubt again.

All this mess, there’s one thing you’re forgetting about how it could work. Do you know what that is yet?”

Blinking at him, Mal’s brow knit as he recalled where their conversation had been interrupted. “What?” he asked.

Danny leaned the smallest bit closer so that they were practically sharing breath.

Mal smelled like his cologne, heady and strong.

“You’re worth it. Everything else we can figure out.

Please, Mal. Can we finish our talk? I don’t want to leave things like this.

If, despite everything, you’re done with me, I’ll understand. I’ll walk away. But please talk to me.”

A shuddery breath left Mal that Danny felt shiver through him too with their proximity. “Okay. But not here. Meet me in the hall.”

Unable to quell his smile, Danny nodded eagerly. He watched Mal turn back to the bustle of people surrounding Michael and baby Mai. The boy looked more confident now with his responsibility as big brother.

Rather than say any goodbyes and risk breaking the din with awkward tension, Danny snuck out of the room, just as the nurse slipped back in and offered him a harried smile.

Births, funerals, weddings—all the great milestones of life caused people to reassess their own lives.

Danny had already come to terms with what he wanted before tonight and all the things he needed to do, day by day, to get better and be worthy of Mal.

But being a part of this new life coming into the world seemed to solidify it all, like some great cosmic sign to have faith and move forward.

It was silly maybe, but it kept the smile on Danny’s face as he walked down the hall a bit, past the corner to a little table with a potted plant in front of a large mirror. Further down was the reception desk for the maternity wing. Back down the hallway Lucy had come from was the elevator bank.

Taking a few deep breaths as he waited for Mal to join him, Danny walked in front of the mirror to look at himself, and he could admit that he looked good, all things considered.

What was different, what had changed from only days ago, was that in his eyes was hope, hope for the possibility of beating back the darkness that had plagued him for so long.

Moving out of the way of a rushing nurse headed for the elevators caused Danny to bump into the table, disrupting the plant and nearly sending it toppling. He caught it at the last second and settled everything back into place with a sigh as he leaned against the glass.

“Time to say goodbye, Danny,” said a voice— his voice—sending chills through him as impossibly strong hands gripped his shoulders from behind. From the mirror . “You can’t have him. He’s mine .”

The scream Danny tried to release cut off as he was pulled, struggling in vain against the sudden hold on him, into the darkness of the mirror world.