Page 48 of Not Written in the Stars (He’s Out of This World #2)

Titan

The sliding door that let out into the backyard made a squeaking noise that would have been indiscernible had the rest of the house not been silent.

As it was, Earth’s singular sun had set some time ago, and with it, the occupants of the mansion had gone into their unconsciousness quarters to rest, Ezra included.

Titan intended to join them shortly—fatigue prickling at the corners of his human-disguised eyes—but first, he had something that he needed to accomplish.

Something he should have accomplished many, many moons ago.

Silently, somberly, he stepped out onto the patio where only the stars above would witness what was to come.

But the patio was occupied.

Startled, Titan squinted through the darkness to discover his clutchmate, Al, sitting in a deck chair, his human legs crossed beneath him and his hands limp in his lap.

“Why have you come here at this late hour?” Titan asked, and although he spoke with no animosity, his voice felt abrasive in the otherwise silent night.

Through the shadows, Titan just barely saw Al cock his head at him.

“I often come out here after the offspring and Jude have entered unconsciousness,” he explained.

“As you are aware, we Darvrokians require less unconsciousness time than humans, and while I feel contentment lying by Jude’s side, I have also come to feel appreciation for increments of solitude during which I am able to collect my thoughts, as well as play the Earth game, Tetanus, on my human cellular device without the offspring relentlessly requesting ‘their turn.’” From his lap, Al picked up his cellular phone and held it with the screen facing out so that Titan could see the paused game.

“Humans are quite proficient in creating nonsensical games which require minimal brain power, yet are difficult to cease playing,” Titan agreed with a nod.

“I, myself, am partial to the candy crushing game, which is foolishly named, as it is a game of pattern recognition and has nothing to do with candy nor the act of crushing it.”

“English,” Al said with disdain, and Titan hummed empathetically.

“I do not intend to cause an intrusion upon your secret evening of Tetanus and solitude,” Titan reassured.

“I have come here seeking a quiet space in which I may contact our parents, as I did not wish to disturb Ezra’s unconsciousness.

However, your dwelling is large, and there are other locations I can go where I will not be a disturbance to others. ”

Titan turned to go back inside so Al might continue his solitude unbothered, but to his surprise, Al protested.

“Wait a Mississippi,” he said, unfurling his legs from their crossed position and setting his feet on the ground.

Titan noted, as his poor human eyesight finally began to properly adjust to the darkness, that he was wearing soft slippers in the shape of the nasty but tasty Earth waterfowl known as the swan.

It was baffling to see these creatures honored with foot effigies, but if he concerned himself with every baffling thing he encountered on this planet, he would never have time fo r anything else.

Perhaps Al had simply had an unfortunate run-in with these tyrants and had struck up this deal of podiatric worship in exchange for his life.

Stranger things had occurred on this planet.

As such, Titan did not mention the slippers, which was just as well, as Al did not bring them up.

“Why are you contacting our parents?” he asked instead. “All is well with your clutch, yes?”

“Yes, the offspring are fine.”

“Then is it perhaps a matter of government dealings?”

When Titan shook his head, Al frowned.

“Then it is something else—something worse, perhaps. I admit, I have not initiated contact with our parents recently, so I am unaware of their general well-being. Do they intend to be here for the hatching?”

Titan grimaced.

“I am uncertain if they are… What I mean to say is that we have not solidified… ugh. ” He scrubbed his face with both hands, then moved with purpose to join Al. Without waiting for an invitation, he plopped down in the chair beside him and said, “May I make a confession to you?”

The relationship between him and his brother had been…

decent, as of late. There had not been any more heart-to-hearts, but Al no longer avoided being in the same room with him, and sometimes would even engage him in casual conversation.

Due to parental leave, Titan saw Al and his family more often, and when he was not busy caring for Ezra and the clutch, he did his best to offer assistance with household chores and made himself present as a guardian for his nieces and nephews.

Al seemed to react to the latter the best, and would share anecdotes about the offsprings’ antics, or offer advice about what to expect with the impending hatching of Titan’s clutch.

One Earth week prior, they had even laughed together when Lucy spent ten minutes very sternly correcting Jude’s long division during homeschooling .

Which was all to say, the tension between them had not dissipated entirely, but it was beginning to erode, and beneath it, a foundation for a close relationship was developing. For this reason, Al did not reject Titan’s request. He nodded his assent, and so Titan confessed.

“I am attempting to contact our parents tonight not to ask when they might come to Earth and be introduced to my clutch… but to tell them about the clutch’s existence in the first place.”

Al’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “You have not informed them that Ezra bore and delivered your offspring?” When Titan shook his head meekly, he asked, “Do they know anything about your relationship with him?”

“They are aware that we are coworkers and that we occupy the same household.”

“But that is it?”

“That is all.”

“But… why? You don’t feel shame about your love for Ezra.” It wasn’t a question, but rather a statement, which Titan appreciated.

“No I do not, but I have concern that our parents, or… well…”

“Our father,” Al supplied.

“Our father,” Titan agreed, “will have disapproval over the relationship, and this disapproval may negatively affect Ezra. He may ‘go along with the flow,’ as the humans are fond of saying, but he carries deep wounds in his heart from past abandonment and judgment. I fear that, should I ask Father’s permission to bond with Ezra, and he says no, Ezra will refuse to move forward with our relationship as a result. ”

“You speak of Ezra’s deep wounds and the way in which Father’s disapproval may affect him, but what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Well…” Al drummed the fingers on his right hand on his armrest and searched Titan’s face. It took everything in Titan’s power not to turn away and blush un der the scrutiny. He had the distinct impression that his brother was seeing right through him.

“You do not believe this is about Ezra, do you?” he asked before Al had a chance to say what was on his mind. “You think it is I who does not know how to handle Father’s disappointment.”

“Do you?”

At this, Titan did have to look away. He stared out into the dark, where the light breeze was making the swings on the playset sway lightly.

He slumped in his seat, sighing deeply as he went.

“I truly don’t have shame about my relationship with Ezra,” he felt the need to clarify, but it was unnecessary.

“I know this,” was Al’s immediate, genuine reply.

“But I also know that you have spent your entire life as our parents’ favorite child—Father’s in particular—and as much as they respect Ezra as an honorable ambassador between our two worlds, he is not the type of being they expect you to bond with.

If he were purely human, perhaps you would be able to convince them that it would set a positive example of international relations, but with his true heritage known, it will be difficult. ”

Titan looked back to Al sharply. “Has Ezra’s true heritage become known among our people in my absence?” he asked, stomach in knots.

Al’s pained smile did not lessen the digestive distress. “Well, as the English saying goes, ‘words travel at exorbitant speeds.’”

“I have heard this, yes,” Titan said with a sigh. He lifted his legs onto the chair and rested his chin on his bent knees. “So they are aware that Ezra is the progeny of the Great Slut?”

“I would feel surprise if they did not. It was of great political news when it became known that the Great Slut had been granted amnesty on the soil of Bumfuck Nowhere, New Mexico, United States, North America, Earth.”

“Unfortunate.”

“Perhaps.” Al stood up from his chair, stretched his arms high above his head, then put a hand on Titan’s shoulder.

“For whatever this knowledge is worth, you sh ould know that everything I have ever done has been met with disapproval from our parents, and I have survived. More than that, living my life the way I felt desire to do is what led me to this planet. To Jude. You said to me previously that Ezra has helped you realize that perhaps the being you have always expected to become is not a being that is admirable. Perhaps it is time our parents learn this lesson as well.”

“Perhaps,” Titan agreed in a small voice. Al squeezed his shoulder briefly, then let go and headed back into the house. They exchanged good nights in their native tongue, and Titan heard rather than saw the sliding door squeak closed behind him.

For some time, he stared out at the sky, in the direction of his homeworld.

He imagined the headlines that would occur once the scandal of his coupling with the Great Slut’s son became known.

He knew that, professionally and politically, there would be little real damage done.

It was not all that long ago that the former leader of Darvrok 6 gave birth to Slime Worms after her affair with the Worm King of Sector 2.

72.3, and she still served another two rotations, and one of her Slime Worm offspring currently worked in Titan’s father’s office.

Titan’s actions would serve as considerable entertainment until the next scandal broke, but that was all it would be, he was certain.

His father, however? He suspected his father would have less certainty about the ramifications, or at the very least would not handle the temporary embarrassment with grace. He would be disappointed that Titan had brought that sort of shame, however momentary, to their family.

And Al was absolutely correct—Titan had no idea how to deal with it.

Perhaps his abundance of concern was unnecessary, however.

After all, since first setting foot on this once foreign, now familiar planet, Titan had experienced a considerable deficit of predictability.

He was constantly having curved balls pitched in his direction, as the English saying went.

Could it be that he had finally been pitched enough of them to have gained mastery in the unknown?

He pulled his communication device from his pocket and, with a deep inhale of Earth’s soothing, oxygen-rich air, put in his parents’ coordinates.

Perhaps, he thought wistfully, his father would surprise him.