A shooting, knifelike pain shot through him, originating from somewhere deep in his lower back. It only lasted a moment, but in that moment, it was debilitating. Debilitating enough that he had to catch himself on the table.
Titan was on him in an instant.
“Are you well, my sweet Ezra?” he asked, looking him over from head to toe. The cramp had already subsided, so Ezra waved away his concern with a dismissive gesture.
“We just went at it a little rough,” he said. With a smirk, he added, “You’re a little bigger than I’m used to, you know. Three months in and my body still can’t keep up.”
Titan gave him a half-smile, but still seemed ill at ease.
“If you have certainty,” he said cautiously.
“I do,” Ezra assured him. “Everything is fine.”
27
Titan
There was something wrong with Ezra.
Ever since arriving at Al’s dwelling following the conclusion of their work day, he had been restless. Unable to sit for more than a few minutes at most, he had paced the floors and wandered aimlessly between rooms, but whenever Titan had stopped him to inquire what was ailing him, he’d brushed him aside, assuring him that all was fine.
But all was not fine. Titan could tell even without his touch telepathy that something was troubling Ezra, and it was raising his anxiety to maximum levels. Why wouldn’t Ezra just talk to him? Did it have to do with Ezra’s issues around placing trust in others? If so, that was foolish. Titan was great at being supportive—thegreatestat being supportive—and Ezra had no reason to feel uncomfortable being vulnerable with him.
No, that wasn’t right.
Titan sighed and mentally corrected himself.
He was not the best at being supportive—he was still learning how to listen and be there for other beings, and it was okay if Ezra was not fully comfortable with him yet, as Ezra was learning as well. Even still, true asit may be, it did not free Titan of his worries. He sat on the living room couch and attempted to do what he had seen other humans do, which was ignore their problems by watching entertainment programs on their televisions, but he could not bring himself to focus on anything. His thoughts always strayed back to Ezra and his odd behavior.
Could it be that Titan had injured him from the inside?
He had always prided himself on being well endowed even in his base form, but perhaps he had been too generous while creating his human endowment. Ezra had claimed to like it, but perhaps this had been a facade.
Unsettled and unhappy, he flipped mindlessly through the channels until eventually settling on the one that listed all the programs playing on the other channels in an endless loop.
“Master Titan?”
Titan startled, having believed himself alone. He looked over his shoulder to discover Kyle had entered the room, Secretary of Defense Buttons on his heels. Both wore expressions of concern, Kyle’s lips pinched and Secretary of Defense Buttons abnormally tense.
“Hello?” Titan greeted, a bit warily. He was not on unfriendly terms with Kyle, but theirs was still a strained relationship largely due to their history of unbalanced power dynamics. Ergo, it was not common for Kyle to seek him out unless there was some kind of problem that needed to be addressed.
Kyle and Secretary of Defense Buttons approached, Kyle taking the seat beside him, while Secretary of Defense Buttons rubbed her body along Titan’s shins, then jumped up and sat on his lap.
“Is something the matter?” he asked, scratching Secretary of Defense Buttons behind the ear in greeting. She purred.
Kyle twisted his mouth and said, “I am uncertain, Master Titan. I have come to you to see if you have noticed strange behavior coming from Ezra.”
“So I am not alone in my observations.” Titan simultaneously felt vindicated and even more distressed. If Kyle and Secretary of Defense Buttons were concerned about Ezra, then it was not his imagination. Somethingwaswrong.
“I spoke with him only briefly,” Kyle explained, “but he appeared to have much agitation at the time. He was unable to stand still, and cut our conversation short by abruptly stating that he was going to go take a walk in the yard.” Secretary of Defense Buttons meowed, and Kyle nodded sagely. “Yes, and Secretary of Defense Buttons has observed that he has not been as affectionate toward her. He barely greeted her upon his return from work earlier this evening.”
Titan sighed.
“This brings me concern,” he said. “He has been behaving strangely since earlier today. We mated in the conference room while you were at lunch?—”
“Yes, I am aware, I smelled this upon my return.”
“—and stated that perhaps my human genitals caused him bodily harm due to their large size.”
