Page 33 of Space Daddy’s Guide to the Galaxy (Villains in Space #2)

33

MICAH

I was pissed at Ziggy Andromeda.

For real this time.

The betrayal I’d felt when he left me behind on Marox paled in comparison to the pure fury coursing through my veins.

I knew a lot of what I was projecting was my own family baggage getting stirred up again, but it wasn’t unfounded. Ziggy knew. He knew how I’d been treated by my parents—like I was expendable—and, until now, he had always done his best to make sure I felt worthy.

Was it all just an act?

Despite how dismissed they were in the past, my powers were useful, and now, I couldn’t help but wonder if that was one of the main reasons he’d kept me around for so long.

Don’t spiral, Micah.

What Would Space Daddy Do?

Focus on the mission.

While the thought of never seeing Pedro again made me want to cry, I knew the safest place for the Trol would be among their own kind—away from anyone who only wanted to use them for what they could provide.

“You and I are more alike than I realized, huh?” I chuckled humorlessly, wishing the translator device allowed me to better communicate with my furbaby.

Pedro chittered in a way that made it seem like they understood before cuddling closer in the sleeping pod.

The sleeping pod I banished Ziggy from last night…

As extra as I was, I never thought I’d be one of those queens who kicked their partner out of the house and threw their clothes on the lawn. Even though I had kind of locked Ziggy out, I’d still spent the night cuddled up with his gray sweatpants instead of tossing them on the gangway.

I’m so fucking weak for this emotionally constipated alien.

I’d lowered the shields surrounding the bedroom at some point, mostly because it took a lot of energy to maintain, but also just in case Ziggy felt inspired to show up with a midnight grovel-slash-official marriage proposal.

That didn’t happen, and I woke up this morning choosing to be big mad about it instead of acknowledging I’d been the one to tell that dumbass consent king I needed space.

Whatever.

I’m still pissed.

It wasn’t only that he’d overreacted with Leeloo—effectively shutting down my space wizard lessons—but because I was starting to suspect my man was hiding more from me than just his desire to get mpregged.

I don’t want to think about what it may be…

My negative thoughts were cut short when Ziggy’s phone buzzed on the nightstand—right where he’d left it the entire time we were on Ekistron. I didn’t make a habit of snooping, and he rarely used his phone to communicate with anyone anyway, but my curiosity got the better of me.

I deserve a little treat.

What I found were a series of texts from Gabe, all from the past 48 hours, all consisting of ridiculous cat memes and videos.

Okay, but this is adorable.

I knew the psychic supe sent cat content to Balty whenever he felt his older brother’s anxiety spike, but I’d always assumed this had something to do with their unique brotherly connection.

Wait a minute…

Grabbing my phone, I tapped Gabe’s name in my favorite contacts, smiling wide when he picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, cutie,” he purred into the line, making my toes curl. “What's up?”

“Hi,” I replied before clearing my throat. “Weird question, but… Were you keeping tabs on us the past few days?“

“Yeah,” he murmured apologetically. “I’m sorry, dude. I just… I got worried after our family video call and just wanted to make sure you guys weren’t in danger.”

“You know I don’t mind,” I huffed before smirking. “How much did you see of our sex toy training session?”

Gabe groaned and laughed self-deprecatingly. “I only hung around for a min’ before I peaced out but, dang… You’re into some freaky shit huh?”

Pot calling the kettle black.

“Whatever, perv,” I cackled, knowing he would never judge my three-pronged tentacle creation. Then, I sobered. “I’m actually calling because I saw the texts you sent Ziggy…”

Gabe sighed. “Yeah, I usually don’t get much of a read on him because, you know, he’s locked down tighter than Fort Knox… But whatever he’s going through made him drop his defenses and… Is he okay, Micah?”

I swallowed thickly. “I-I don’t know. He told me he’s going through some stuff right now but isn’t really elaborating on what’s bothering him.”

Even though I have my suspicions.

I should’ve known something was wrong with the way Ziggy reacted after entering Pedro‘s body—especially since it was rare to see my bad bitch mercenary flustered about anything. But then the space dads called with intel on Pedro, and the mission kicked into high gear from there.

If only I’d checked in more…

Ziggy should have been more open and honest with me, but I knew better than most that trauma could make even the simplest conversation seem impossible. While I preferred not to force my squirrely Stellarian out of his comfort zone until he was ready, this was clearly a situation where Dr. Micah needed to step in.

As soon as I feel like talking to him again.

“Do you want me to…” Gabe interrupted my chaotic thoughts, bringing me back to the conversation at hand.

“Yes!“ I blurted out, more than happy to put my personal psychic to work for the greater good. “I mean, if you don’t mind…”

Gabe was silent for a good 30 seconds before he sighed again. “He’s still got his thoughts secured but, sheesh, his anxiety is through the goddamn roof. Are you…” He cleared his throat. “Are you safe with him, Micah?”

“Of course I am,” I snapped, harsher than I intended. “Ziggy would never hurt me.”

Pedro, on the other hand…

My Earthside bestie chuckled. “Hey, no judgment. Lord knows Theo tried to kill me a couple times before we became official, and he and Dre like to threaten each other as foreplay on the regular. It’s all good.”

No judgment, but… what?

I decided not to touch any of that hot mess in favor of keeping us on track. “Please don’t worry about us. Even with all the anxiety he’s burying beneath the surface, Ziggy’s still taking good care of me… in his overly protective, emotionally stunted, lizard-brained way.”

Gabe laughed. “Yeah, that tracks—not just with Stellarians, but supes in general. For real, dude, you’re carrying the team here with your emotional IQ.” When I huffed, his voice dropped a few octaves. “That’s good to hear, though. Someone as sweet as you deserves to be treated sweet.”

Omg, staaahp.

“Such a flirt,” I teased, feeling one thousand percent better than before I’d called him.

Some may not understand our polycule situation— hell, we were still figuring it out ourselves —but it worked for us, and that was all that mattered.

Plus, I no longer want to murder Zig.

Win-win!

A knock on the door had me sitting up so fast, Pedro rolled off my chest with an indignant squawk. “Gotta go,” I murmured as Gabe answered with his goodbyes. “Space adventure awaits.”

Along with a good grovel, I hope.

“Micah?” Ziggy called out, earning a few points for not just barging or star hopping in. “We will be arriving on Lacertus in an hour or so, and I would like to… discuss the plan… with you.”

That poor idiot is trying his best.

I still fully intended to make him talk, but I also knew Ziggy well enough to understand the reason he hadn’t said anything up until now was because he’d still been working through his issues.

Time’s up, Space Daddy.

Because partners work through things together.

First, I checked on Pedro‘s shields then set aside the breakfast tray that had magically appeared outside my Fortress of Solitude this morning. Then, I steeled my spine and walked to the door before sliding it open.

Ziggy was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday and looked noticeably exhausted for someone who didn’t need much sleep. I forcibly tamped down the urge to comfort him—to fix things for everyone else—and simply stood there, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“I’m so sorry, Micah,” he began, which was a good start. “For how I behaved on Ekistron—for ruining your training. I need to think things through before reacting, even when I feel you might be in danger… because I know you can handle yourself.”

As the most impressive creature in all the galaxies, sure.

When I gestured for him to keep going, he continued. “I was being truthful when I told you I didn’t feel like myself lately, but I should have explained why.”

His gaze drifted over my shoulder to where Pedro was squeaking up a storm while running back-and-forth on the bed—unable to reach their favorite space dad because of the shields I’d sneakily activated around the sleeping pod before opening the door.

Because my trust has been broken.

In the interest of moving things along, I filled in the blanks for him. “It’s because of Pedro, isn’t it? Specifically the karnilian inside them…”

Ziggy winced, and my gut twisted at the realization my worst fears had come true.

Has he actually considered claiming the gemstone for himself?

“The stone has been calling to me ever since I encountered it inside him.” His voice had a raw, wavering quality I’d never heard before. “Your shields help by blocking it, but the idea of anything happening to the Trol feels like I’ve turned my tendrils on myself. We need to return Pedro to their planet before… before I…”

Ohhh…

Oh, you ridiculously stacked, grab-bag of tasty idiot.

I knew exactly what was going on here, even if Ziggy was too emotionally stunted to see it for himself. My man was already deep in his—extremely satisfactory—grovel, however, and I didn’t want to overwhelm him with the truth of what he was feeling.

Baby steps for the space dad.

It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t separate actual protective instincts from witchy, gemstone-induced possessiveness. If anyone was to blame, it was probably Theo, but it hurt my heart to know my true love had been dealing with such overwhelming feelings alone for so long.

“I’ve got you, Zig,” I whispered, pulling him close for a Salah Squeezer hug. “We’re going to figure this out together, and I do mean together. No more secrets, okay?”

Commander Babygirl is serious.

He collapsed all those hot muscles into my arms with a relieved shudder. “Anything you say, sunshine. Just… Please, let me in…”

For a moment, I was confused about what he was talking about, since I’d already opened the bedroom door. Then I remembered I’d also formed a mini-shield around the piece of his core lodged inside me, using a similar method to when I protected my thoughts from meddling psychics like Uulvin.

Or Dre.

“I’m sorry too, Zig,” I replied, giving him another squeeze. “I shouldn’t have accused you of trying to stunt my powers, since you’ve always been my biggest supporter. Ya boy’s just a little nervous about how I’m going to dissolve the shields around Uuktar—especially once we have a bunch of overgrown lizards breathing down our necks.”

For now, I released the shields still separating us, and Ziggy groaned, deeply inhaling my scent before taking a step back, smiling like he had a secret.

A good one this time.

“That was going to be my olive branch…” he murmured. “Offering to show you which skin suit I’d be wearing once we landed.”

Once again, my interest is piqued.

“Lead the way, Space Daddy,” I replied, waving my hand Leeloo-style and releasing a squealing Pedro from the sleeping pod shield, knowing the Trol was safe with both of us. “It's bad bitch mercenary time.”