While I understoodwhyhe felt paranoid, I needed him to center himself by refocusing on the facts.
“I dunno, Zig.” I moved closer, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind. “We didgetsomeside-eye today, but the vibes were more vague curiosity than horrified confusion. My hypothesis is that while the Eki mightknowabout Earthlings—might know about our shared history, whatever that is—they just might have never seen one up close before. I mean, we're probably the first ones to ever set foot on their planet.”
My man hummed thoughtfully as one iota of tension left his hot bod. “Perhaps they learned about Earth from The Knowledge… while trading with the Kaalas for Who Hash and Roast Beast.”
And this is why we’re getting space married.
I gave him a squeeze, partly to reward him for humoring the Seussian but also to stop him from escaping.
Since he’s not gonna like what I say next.
“I want to ask Leeloo about the cave paintings, Zig.”
As expected, he tried to shake me off, but I was one of eight siblings with an insane center of gravity. Nobody could match my pro wrestling-level Nelson hold—especially a Stellarian who couldn’t star hop. I knew it wasn’t fair to take advantage of his temporary disadvantage, but weneededto discuss this.
And I play to win.
Ziggy glared at me over his shoulder, big mad he’d been owned. “I don’t think that’s wise, Micah. In situations where you don’t know what your opponent knows, it’s always best to feign ignorance.”
I glared back. “Like how you decided to not tell the Eki that Uulvin sent us.”
Decided without me, I should say.
“That was because I’m not sure who to trust!” he snapped before sighing and dropped his head forward. “I trustyou,sunshine. Only you.”
I released him and leaned back against the countertop, crossing my arms as he turned to face me. “Last I checked, you also trust Honnor and Bron, and our family back on Earth. And that’s good you trust me, but we still need to operate as ateam.Each of us can step up and lead when we need to, but we’re still partners. Got it?”
He nodded in agreement, and again, I felt a shiver of satisfaction at how this terrifying creature was deferring tome.
Who knew I had Dommy Mommy vibes?
“I know it’s hard to believe, but Icankeep my mouth shut if I need to.” I chuckled, grabbing the chopped veggies from the island to add to the pot. “I’ll test the waters a bit during my next training session—see what Leeloo knows before I decide to ask about the cave paintings… Feign ignorance, like the experts say.”
Thatgot a smile out of him, and we continued cooking in comfortable silence. Ziggy insisted on being the one to feed Pedro, so I quickly ate myhatini and stew before patching the wall in the next room. Then, I checked the repairs I’d made to poor SWOL-E’s wiring before we put the Trol down to sleep in the baby sling.
Zig and I spent the evening cuddling in bed—kissing and chatting while he resonated and I played myTrumpet of the Swanharp until my eyelids grew too heavy to keep serenading my man anymore.
Who knows if I’m even in tune.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up to discover our furbaby sprawled across Ziggy’s bare chest, snoozing away. When I peeked over the cozy pair, I spied a brand new, Pedro-sized hole, this time in the wall separating our rooms.
Why the hell didn’t SWOL-E’s alarm go off?
Maybe I should create shields around the nanny bot…
A knock on the door had me nearly falling off the bed, convinced an army of Eki had come for us.
“It’s Leeloo.” Ziggy calmly announced, carefully readjusting Pedro in his arms as he gracefully stood, all while keeping his gaze locked on the door.
Then, he unleashed his tendrils.
“What are you doing?” I hiss-whispered, stumbling into my pants and snatching a clean-ish tee from my bag before yanking it over my head. “Put those things away!”
He made an unbothered sound but faded his tendrils into the ether. Unfortunately,Icould still see the shimmery aura surrounding them, which meant Leeloo might be able to as well.
“Be there in a minute!” I called out in the trade language. “Just let me?—”
Just let me try to get this situation under control.
