Ziggy was quiet for so long, I assumed that was the end of it, but when the city came into view at the end of the lava tube, he stopped walking and turned to face me.
“I’m honestly not sure if therearenefarious vibes, Micah. All I know issomethingfeels off about this mission—this entire situation—but I can’t identify what is setting off my… intuition.” He dropped his gaze. “Like I said, I’m not feeling like myself lately. I’m… distracted and losing my touch?—”
“You arenotlosing your touch,” I lovingly scolded. “It might just be because of Pedro.”
“What?!” he hissed, glancing up at me in alarm.
Silly Space Daddy.
So opposed to emotions.
“Priorities change when kids come along, Zig,” I gently explained. “I’ve seen it with Zion and my sister Rose, and some of my older cousins. Unless you’re a total asshole like my parents, who were only interested in what their kids could do forthem,it’s not surprising that your focus might be a little more fractured than usual.”
My man looked like he was going to legitimately throw up, so I backed off, taking his hand again and guiding him onward.
“C’mon, Space Daddy,” I laughed, hoping to lighten the mood. “Let’s increase my bad bitchery by a few points and then aim for the stars.”
“And if the Eki won’t let us leave?” Ziggy growled.
I shrugged, trying for nonchalance. “Then we’ll just blast our way out of here.”
Ziggy nodded. “That was my plan as well.”
Of course it was.
“See,” I teased, giving him a poke while Pedro chittered in approval. “We make a great team.”
He smiled tightly, keeping his gaze locked on the city ahead. “Yes, we do.”
30
MICAH
Back in the city, we stopped at the first market we saw to grab ingredients for dinner. I found it fascinating how all the fresh produce had been grown locally—andunderground—but Ziggy was too on edge to share my nerdy enthusiasm for subterranean gardening.
He’ll get it once I set up some hydroponics in the Lodger…
I was incredibly grateful my man had shared what was bothering him earlier, although I wished I could just erase his anxiety so we could move on. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how this worked. What we needed to do was work through it together—continue tocommunicate,even if talking about feelings was Ziggy’s least favorite thing.
Too bad it’s my favorite thing!
Thanks to our discovery in the lava tubes, I now wasn’t sure if the Eki could understand American English—our usual go-to secret language while in the company of other aliens. So somehow, against all odds, I managed to hold inallmy thoughts on the situation until we returned to our rooms.
Seriously, gimme those gold stars.
“Some of this stuff must have come from other planets, huh?” I awkwardly segued as we spread out our purchases on the kitchen island. “Like… I recognize this can of Who Hash from the bazaar on Stellaria.”
Ziggy breezed past my Dr. Seuss reference—probably because he didn’t get it—and glanced at the can in my hand. “Yes, hatini comes from Kaalanesea. You enjoyed a homemade version of it the night we spent there, remember?”
That wasnotwhat I remembered from our night on Kaalanesea, but I wanted to keep our conversation on track.
We can’t just be fucking all the time, sheesh.
“I wonder if traveling to other planets is the reason why no one here has been paying us too much attention,” I mused, fiddling with the cooktop to boil some water.
Ziggy scowled down at the vegetables he was slicing—with his tendrils, of course. “Or they werepretendingto ignore us.”
Sigh.
