“Close the door behind you,” he said instead, herding the children out of the room.
“Al, c’mon!” Ezra gave it one last shot. The door slammed shut, and he and Titan were alone once more.
There was a ringing silence.
“God-fucking-dammit,” Ezra said after several beats. He buried his face in his hands.
Titan rubbed his back. “Do not have concern,” he said softly.
Ezra peered up at him from between his fingers. “Easy for you to say. You have nothing to lose from this, but he’s gonna hate me forever.”
Maybe it was a little mean of him, but with his stomach in a thousand knots and all the guilt that he’d pushed aside rising back up to the surface, he couldn’t be his best self. He started to move to get out of bed, saying, “I gotta go talk to him. I have to explain,” but Titan stopped him.
“Wait,” he said, putting a hand on Ezra’s shoulder. “I believe that it may be best if I speak to him.”
“You? No offense, man, but he kinda… you know, hates you.”
“I know this,” Titan said. They were words that he said often, but they weren’t spoken with any of his usual arrogance. This time, he said them sadly. “This is why I need to speak with him. You have helped me realize that perhaps I have not been fair to my brother, and that it is possible that his feelings toward me are warranted. Thus, it is my responsibility to rectify this problem.”
Ezra felt his expression soften.
He’s trying,he thought to himself.He’s trying for me.
“Okay.” He leaned in and pressed one more kiss to Titan’s lips, trying not to read too deeply into how such a simple gesture sent his heart aflutter. “Just try not to let him kill you. I may have let you knock me up, but I’mnotletting you off the hook—I won’t be raising these alien babies on my own.”
20
Titan
With a heavy, uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach, Titan dressed and left the safety of Ezra’s unconsciousness quarters in pursuit of his brother. It did not take long to find him. The offspring spoke at loud volumes, and their high-pitched voices and bubbly laughter rang through the halls, showing Titan the way.
As he walked, following their cries of delight, Titan came to realize that he had never given much thought to offspring—his brother’s, or otherwise. It had never been important. There were government tasks to be handled, professional hierarchies to be climbed, and matters of great importance to be tended to. Offspring had never been of any concern.
But such was not the case anymore.
In three short months, Ezra would produce a clutch, and three months after that, the eggs would hatch, and their progeny would emerge into the world.
He would be a father.
The thought madethe uncomfortable feeling in his stomach worsen, but at the same time, it caused his heart to flutter. The shrill little voices, the cries of joy, the laughter… soon, they would fill his own government-sanctioned dwelling with their beautiful chaos. Raising Darvrokian young had never seemed of much importance before, but faced with this reality, it struck him to be of vital importance now.
How many offspring would there be?
Titan mused on this as the sound of his brother’s offspring grew louder and louder. Fertilization had not occurred all that long ago, meaning it was far too early to detect how many small lives had taken root in Ezra’s impossible womb, but perhaps, if he was?—
“Offspring,behave,” Al’s voice boomed, pulling Titan from his thoughts. He spoke sharply and impatiently, which was not his typical nature, and the feeling deep in Titan’s stomach worsened yet again.
Was this guilt?
If so, guilt was terrible.
No wonder Ezra had been so distressed when hiding their relationship from his friends.
Al’s voice guided Titan the rest of the way down the hall and to the kitchen. He knew he would not be welcomed in it, but he could not let it stop him—not for Ezra’s sake, and not for his own.
He entered anyway.
At first, he went unnoticed. The utter mayhem that was feeding seven young Darvrokians prevented Al and Human Jude from acknowledging his presence. He cleared his throat once, but they did not seem to hear him over the chatter. Louder, he said, “Ξ.A.kr’ξ??’p!” and all at once, everyone in the room turned to look at him. Al’s human form went white, and Human Jude eyed his True Mate warily.
