Page 56

Titan

With the offspring safely hatched and now snuggled up to Ezra on his large and comfortable bed, Titan saw their guests out of Ezra’s unconsciousness quarters so his young family could enjoy their unconsciousness in peace.

It had been a long and emotionally rife night, and he was eager to join Ezra and the offspring in rest and relaxation, but before he could shut the door and retire, an odd sight caught his eye.

His father had not gone to be with his mother.

Rather, he stood facing the wall, having cornered the Great Slut.

“You have some nerve, showing up to the hatching of an important government official’s clutch after having gained clearance to enter the planet on falsified documents,” his father fumed in Darvrokian. “If word were to get out…”

“Word about what?” the Great Slut asked calmly. “The fact that I saved your grandoffsprings’ lives?”

“It’s not worth it, babe,” said Human Martha, who hovered nervously nearby. While she could not understand the language, she had no doubt picked up on the hostility in Titan’s father’s tone. “Let’s just go, okay? ”

“It is totally chill, boo,” the Great Slut replied in English.

“Mr. Leon may be harshing all of our mellows, but I am not sweating it, as this is what is considered small stuff. Not everyone is able to go with the flow as well as I do, but maybe this is for the best, as the conversation we are having is needed to be had now, before it has a chance to harm our Ezra and his Mini Mes any more than it already has.”

“What are you talking about?” Titan’s father demanded in Darvrokian. “I have done nothing wrong.”

“By a certain point of view,” the Great Slut said with a shrug, “but in my eyes, having felt what I felt in that room, you’re just as guilty as I am.

The only difference between our crimes is that while I risked my newfound freedom to see my son and be with him on one of the most important days of his life, you did everything in your power to tear yours down and make him feel great shame. ”

Titan’s father went red in the face. “Lies!”

“You think so? Why don’t you go touch him, then. See how he really feels?”

Titan’s father’s mustache trembled, but he did not speak, and he did not move.

Nor would he look at Titan.

“My love, maybe now isn’t the best time to have this conversation,” Titan’s mother tried, barely speaking above a whisper.

She kept glancing at Al and Human Jude’s offspring, who Al and Human Jude were attempting to remove from the situation without success.

Like all Darvrokian offspring, they were adept at evading capture and breaking free of containment—useful traits for a prey species, but not so useful for parents—and were using these abilities to wriggle out of their parents’ grasps so they could remain with the group, eager to witness the situation unfold.

“I won’t cause a scene,” the Great Slut said with kindness, offering a sympathetic smile to Titan’s mother.

“All I was planning to do before Mr. Leon cornered me was to h ave a quiet, private conversation, but it seems that’s not within my rights.

Just as well. What I wanted to say in confidence can also be said aloud: I understand that you don’t like me, and that’s fine, but if you take that hatred out on my son or his offspring, my slutty ways are going to be the least of your problems.”

Titan’s father had been silently simmering, face turning redder and redder until it resembled the sky during a double sunset on the planet of Darvrok 6, but finally, he could take no more.

The anger that had been simmering inside of him burst free, and he puffed his chest in an act of aggression, pointing a trembling finger in the Great Slut’s face.

“You act as though you know everything, as though you are superior to me for accepting what has happened, but you know nothing about me, or my love for my son. Do you think I’ve made the choices I have out of spite?

Because I had nothing better to do than hate? ”

He jabbed the Great Slut in the chest.

“I am removing ?.Λ.yz’Ο from service on this planet for his own good.

He is destined for greater things than this, but he refuses to see it.

What else was I supposed to do? Watch him ruin his own life?

I am saving him from threats he refuses to see for himself.

This is our responsibility as parents. This is how I show my love. ”

“It’s one way to show your love, sure,” the Great Slut said just as calmly as he had before Titan’s father’s explosive outburst. “But are you sure it’s the best way?”

“?.Λ.yz’Ο,” Al whispered in Darvrokian just short of Titan’s ear, causing Titan to jump.

He’d been so transfixed—and heartbroken—watching the argument unfold that he hadn’t noticed Human Corbin take Al’s place at Human Jude’s side.

“You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to—go to Ezra and your offspring.

Be with them and be happy. I’ll handle this.

I’m used to being Dad’s emotional punching bag. ”

Al’s offer was sincere, spoken with both concern and love, and Titan yearned to accept it, shut himself in Ezra’s unconsciousness quarters, and not think of this terrible encounter again.

The issue would sort itself out as it always did, and all would be well.

Or if not well, then quiet. Placation always meant peace.

But peace earned through subservience was not really peace at all, was it?

It was unhappy concession.

The same kind that kept offspring beholden to the expectations of their parents.

The same kind that kept hearts closed, for fear of what harm might befall them should they expose their vulnerability.

The impulse to run filled Titan to the point where he felt he might be sick, but as he looked at his brother, he could only shake his head. “No,” he said. “I appreciate the offer, but this isn’t your fight. I told Ezra I would be there for him no matter what, and I meant it. This ends now.”

Al’s eyes took on a sandy color in fear, but he did not stop Titan from stepping away from the door to approach the scene of the confrontation.

Titan was sure he was displaying an eye color similar to Al’s—he was so full of nervous energy, his head felt as though it was swimming, his consciousness separated from his body like it was trying to escape.

“Father,” he said in Darvrokian in as level a voice as he could muster. “Your anger is misdirected. Your fight isn’t with the Great Slut or with Ezra. It’s with me.”

Titan’s father spun around. Some of the color had drained from his face, but not all, making his round cheeks resemble the delicious Earth fruit from which ketchup was born. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, ?.Λ.yz’Ο.”

“No,” Titan said. “I think I do.”

He glanced at the crowd assembled. If he went forward with speaking his mind, there would be no coming back from it—but then again, why would he want to go back? He had already chosen what he wanted from life, and a future as his father’s pet was not it .

“You are free to disapprove of my choices—I know that from the outside looking in, they must seem alarming—but to take punitive action against me instead of talking to me about your fears isn’t helping anything.

I understand you think you’re doing what’s best for me, but I’m a fully grown being with offspring.

The juvenile version of me who needed your insight and protection is gone.

“I do not say this to be dismissive or insulting. You have provided for me at great personal expense to yourself, and I appreciate that immensely, but you couldn’t think it would be that way forever, could you?

It’s time for me to forge my own future and lead my life according to my own design, and that means a life here on Earth with Ezra and our offspring.

At this point, nothing you could do to me will change that.

I have made up my mind. Your only choices are to accept me and my chosen mate, or leave us be entirely so we can enjoy the life we’ve made together that you so deeply disapprove of. ”

His father’s face fell. “I never should have permitted you entry onto Earth. The culture here has altered your mind. You are a Darvrokian. You are meant to follow the path laid out for you. No good will come from this divergence. Can’t you see that?

I am only trying to do what’s best for you.

I love you, ?.Λ.yz’Ο. I do not want you to lead a life full of suffering. ”

Titan’s mother swept forward and slotted against her mate’s side, putting a hand on his lower back to show her support and affection. It was only then that Titan noticed the glistening wetness in his father’s eyes.

“My human disguise is malfunctioning,” his father mumbled, voice cracking. “Fluid is seeping from my eyes, and my vocal cords are swelling.”

“You’re not malfunctioning,” the Great Slut said, coming to stand on Titan’s father’s other side.

“These are normal physical reactions to human emotions. Of all the beings I have had the pleasure of becoming, the human being is my favorite for this reason. They are so highly attuned to their emotions that their bodies react to them in forceful, involuntary ways. I believe such experiences would benefit all Darvrokians. In fact, there are multiple beings across the universe who I believe we would be wise to learn from. For example, did you know that Slime Worms have the most taste buds of any known being? Even during my imprisonment, when I was served bad, bland food, I was able to find enjoyment in what I ate thanks to the sensitivity I gained when I lived amongst them as one of them, in the pursuit of learning their ways.”

“What do you mean, learning their ways?” Titan’s mother demanded. “You are the Great Slut. Your travels were in the pursuit of pleasure.”

“Pleasure was definitely an unexpected upside,” the Great Slut said with a grin and a single-shouldered shrug, “but it wasn’t why I did what I did. I traveled the universe to broaden my anthropologic understanding of other beings—I just happened to have a lot of fun while doing it.”

It seemed at any second like Titan’s father’s gray matter might drip out of his ears.

He shook his head slowly, then wiped the moisture from his eyes with the back of his fashionable suit sleeve.

“I require solitude,” he said in English.

“?.Λ.yz’Ο, I will speak with you regarding these matters later.

As for you,”—he set his sights on the Great Slut—“I may not have agreement with the wrong and illegal things that you have done, but even I am not so stubborn as to deny the good you have done today. Your pursuit of knowledge, as slutty as it was, has saved the lives of my son’s offspring. ”

“Our sons’ offspring,” the Great Slut said warmly, and with a welcoming smile.

Human Martha, beaming, cuddled up to the Great Slut’s side.

Titan’s mother, looking relieved, kissed her mate’s shoulder, then took his hand in hers, their fingers intertwined.

“It is too loud in my human head with all of these emotions,” Titan’s father grumbled to no one in particular. “I will sit with them and come to a determination, but before I do, ?.Λ.yz’Ο?”

“Yes, Father?”

“While I am not able to comment fully on what we have discussed today, I have certainty now that I have been too harsh with my treatment of you. Should you wish, you may keep your government position here on Earth. There is no reason to remove you from it. You have done a good and efficient job.”

Titan nodded, too stunned to speak.

The detached feeling in his head shifted, and while he did not regain normalcy, it no longer felt like his consciousness was swimming away. He had expected the outcome to be much worse. Perhaps there was hope his father truly loved him after all.

After that, his father and mother took their leave, and gradually, the other guests did the same.

Kyle, Al, and Human Jude left with an offspring trapped under each of their arms. Corbin carried away the last offspring, whispering conspiratorially and gasping in shock as that offspring translated the argument that had just occurred.

Human Martha, holding on to the Great Slut’s arm, passed by, and on their way out, the Great Slut winked at him. Titan smiled back in return.

There was no more reason to feel fear.

Ezra was loved soundly and deeply by many who would not leave him.

And come what may with his father, it seemed that great fortune had found Titan, too, for he had gained these wonderful beings not as coworkers, employees, or acquaintances, but as family.