Page 57

Titan

One Year Later

“Okay, roll call. I don’t want any Home Alone scenarios while we’re traveling intergalactically,” Ezra said sternly, standing beside the massive government vehicle containing their belongings—and there were quite a few of them.

It had been no easy feat locating Earth luggage qualified to withstand wormholes, but Titan had spent many moons on the hunt, and had finally emerged victorious.

It had taken a bit of engineering—why humans did not make all of their luggage out of the supermaterial known as the “Nokia phone,” Titan would never know—but to his delight, some resourceful humans under the command of the app known as TaskRabbit had been willing to assist in his endeavor.

Zachary P., Haidar Q., and Hubert B. were of such great assistance that Titan had gifted them with many zeros when prompted for a tip.

Belatedly, Ezra had gasped in horror upon viewing the number, but then had shaken his head and muttered, “Well, it’s not like we can take it with us anyway. ”

Now, all those pieces of luggage were arranged meticulously inside the back compartment of the transportation vehicle similar to how they would be on Al’s favorite game, Tetanus, and all other preparations for their trip were complete.

Or, almost all of them. Titan pinched his brows together.

“I do not understand the scenario you are attempting to avoid. None of us will be home alone, as we are collectively embarking on a great adventure.”

“No, I was making a—it doesn’t matter. I just want to make sure we have all the kids in the van.”

“Why would we forget our offspring?”

“Well, hopefully we wouldn’t, but there are eight million of them, and I’m an anxious dad, so just humor me, okay?”

Titan’s brows furrowed further. Not only was this a gross exaggeration, but it was unnecessary.

If Ezra lacked the confidence to count to six, all he need do was request this service of Titan, whose counting skills were exceptional.

No offspring would go missing under his watch—not even under the clever guise of the delightfully hairy mammal known as a squirrel.

Oh well, so be it.

In the year since the clutch’s hatch date, Titan had come to accept that Ezra’s half-human lineage would mean the occasional absurd impulse. The best and most peaceful practice was to humor them.

“I shall indulge you,” Titan said, although he still did not really understand.

He peered inside the van and six pairs of eyes of varying color looked back at him.

“Your father would like to ensure your presence in this vehicle despite having been the one to place you inside of it, and I am going to allow him his irrationality. When he says your name, please alert him as to your presence with vocal confirmation.”

“Andie?” Ezra called out, as though he was taking attendance during an educational lecture.

From her child safety seat, Andromeda squeaked, “I am present in the ground vehicle, Daddy.”

“Aurora?”

“I am also present!”

“Sky?”

“Mmph mm mmmph!” Sky attempted, his mouth full of gelatinous candy that resembled Sand Dwellers.

“Solaris?”

“I want Buttons to come with us!” Solaris complained, all four of his arms crossed in protest.

“Secretary of Defense Buttons must continue her work here, as she is covering our government positions in our absence,” Titan told him. “We will only be gone a short increment of time, and she will be here to greet you upon our return.”

“Cassie?”

“Father, I have boredom, have we reached our destination yet?” Cassiopeia lamented, pouting at some unseen point beyond the window.

Titan shook his head. “We have not even left our home yet. You must employ patience, or you will have an unpleasant time on our journey.”

Cassiopeia merely huffed and muttered something about wanting to stay home.

“And Celeste?”

“Do we have to go? Darvrok 6 is very far from home, and all of my cousins are located on Earth.”

Titan exchanged a glance with Ezra, who contrasted a roll of his eyes with a fond smile.

Cassiopeia and Celeste were the last of the offspring to hatch, and while they had ultimately found the courage to exit their shared egg, they continued to display preference for what they found familiar.

While the Earth symbols of infinity on their opposite wrists suggested their future potential was endless, Titan would bet many zeros that they would continue to be the most cautious ones out of their rather adventurous siblings .

“Everyone’s accounted for,” Ezra said with satisfaction, as if this was ever in doubt.

Titan nodded in agreement anyway, seeing no purpose in bringing up the obvious.

It had been many moons since he had felt the need to prove his superiority and intelligence, and he found this preferable to his old way of being.

Going with the flow, as Ezra liked to say, was very freeing indeed.

“Give the ambassador and me an increment, and we will be ready to depart,” Titan told the driver—a human man dressed all in black, whose only acknowledgment of Titan’s statement came in the form of a single grunt.

This did not bother Titan, as it was in his nature.

None of the Men in Black who drove them to and fro between their dwelling and the government compound ever spoke.

At this point, Titan wasn’t sure they knew how.

Titan closed the door, trapping their offspring in the vehicle, then looked at Ezra, who was observing the government-appointed dwelling Al and Human Jude called home.

Al had invited them to stay while their own dwelling was being built, and Ezra had gladly accepted, stating he could only handle so many life changes at once before his brain started smoking and smelling like leaked battery acid—yet another strange and uniquely human hyperbole.

“Do you have nervousness about our trip?” Titan asked softly, placing a hand on Ezra’s hip to regain his attention. Ezra gave him a half-smile and shrugged.

“Not really,” he said, and Titan believed him on merit of his word alone, showing him respect by refraining from touch telepathy. “I mean, it’s fucking insane, but it’s not like we’re going to live there or anything, and it is technically my homeworld. Kind of.”

“We will be so occupied with work tasks that I have certainty our visit will pass at greater than normal speed. We already have several meetings to attend with our fathers.”

“Yeah,” Ezra mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Th at’ll be… interesting.”

“It is better than the alternative,” Titan reminded him. “That my father now views yours with such profound respect is a significant improvement, and suggests he is capable of significant personal growth.”

“I know, I know, it’s just like… I went from not having a father to suddenly having a father, but whoops!

Turns out he’s an alien and a giant slut that everyone hates.

And now he’s still an alien and a giant slut, but he’s also being heralded as this incredible cultural ambassador because he is so wise and knowledgeable about other species. It still hasn’t all sunk in, you know?”

“Yes, I am aware,” Titan said fondly. “You have told me often, and I have listened each time. But this is no matter, as you may repeat this as often as you wish provided it gives you comfort to do so. Were my father to assume the role of Head of Interspecies Unity, I would require time to process this change as well. And speaking of—did my father mention to you that he is working with your father on a project to assist in the repopulation efforts of the Sea Beasts? My father would have never shown sympathy toward the Sea Beasts in the past, so I found this news especially shocking.”

“Yeah, no babe, it’s a good thing, and I’m glad that he’s finally stopped riding your ass so hard, but it’s just…” Ezra trailed off and laughed. “Fuck, man, my life is just weird. That’s all. Not bad, though.” He searched Titan’s face for an increment of time, then smiled. “Yeah. Not bad at all.”

Ezra was always beautiful, but there was something about him in that second that truly made him shine.

Maybe it was the glimmer of love in his eyes, or the morning sunshine in his thick, glossy hair, or the pleasing shape of him, but whatever it was, it held Titan’s attention.

An entire rotation had occurred, but his desire for Ezra was as strong as it had been the day they’d met—the day Titan had decided to make this aesthetically pleasing and highly dignified human his mate .

He spent an increment longer stargazing, then shook off his reverie. “Perhaps it is good that our lives are weird, as this means that we are avoiding the predetermined. Instead, we shape our lives by our own choices, favoring what we truly want rather than what others expect us to need.”

Ezra’s cheeks flushed pink, and he cast his gaze bashfully to the ground. “Speaking of choices, did you still…” He didn’t seem able to get the words out, but Titan knew what he was asking anyway.

Putting two fingers under Ezra’s chin, he lifted his head until their eyes met. “Yes. There is no universe in which I would not choose you.”

“Cool.” Ezra’s voice was not at its usual volume, and his cheeks remained kissably pink.

His eyes did not change color, but the love in them shone even brighter than before.

“Well, I’m excited to see what it’s like to be one of the stars of an official Darvrokian bonding ceremony—and the kids will be so surprised to see their cousins there when Jude and Al make the short jaunt across the galaxy.

I don’t imagine they’re old enough to really understand the whole ‘melt your brains and join them together as one’ thing. ”

“I would not be so certain, as they take after you and, as such, are quite intelligent and astute little beings.”

A smile bloomed on Ezra’s face, his happiness swelling until it was so substantial, Titan could not avoid feeling it despite not actively engaging his touch telepathy.

As it overflowed, infusing Titan with tremendous happiness of his own, Ezra reached up and took him by the hair, dragging him into a kiss that made all the fine hairs on Titan’s arms stand on end.

It would be a long journey to Darvrok 6, but he already yearned for it to be over, so he could have his sweet Ezra alone.

“Y’know what?” Ezra whispered against his mouth.

“Hm?”

Ezra broke away from him and smirked playfully .

“It turns out you’re not as big of an asshole as I thought you were.”

Titan laughed, and Ezra joined in, kissing him once, twice, then three more times before nodding at the ground vehicle. “The kids’ll start climbing the walls if we don’t get going soon.”

Titan glanced through the window at the offspring inside. “You are correct as always—Solaris has already reached the ceiling. I will strap him back into his place, and then we may depart.”

He left Ezra’s side and set his hand on the vehicle’s door handle, but before he could open it and end Solaris’s scurrying, Ezra caught his arm. “Hey, there’s just one more thing I want to say before we flip back into parent mode.”

Titan dropped his grip and turned to give Ezra his full attention, and Ezra, beaming bright, bold, certain, and without reservation, smiled for him and only him. “Just so you know, I choose you, too.”