“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”

–Mark Twain

Depending on where you’d grown up and how you marked your calendar, either a week or eighteen days had passed since the Gyfjon had captured the Stanisław Lem. The Minatar had departed the station three Earth days before, the same day they’d moved the Lem onto the Gyfjon’s secondary shuttlebay. For the last Earth week, the crew of the Lem had been working hard to get her ready for the trip home – one that would be happening much sooner and taking dramatically less time than they had ever anticipated.

They’d restarted the reactor yesterday, and finished securing the ship for docking at Asimov Station. They’d take shuttles down to Homey Airport from there, where even now the United Nations was preparing to receive the Titan delegation.

They would begin departure prep in fourteen hours; all that was left to do was say their goodbyes to Titan Station. There would be time, soon, to say goodbyes to each other.

“So should I be worried that humans are going in one room, together, with no Titans?” Mùlán mused with a smile, straightening her dress uniform.

“Well…given history, probably,” Eyrn chuckled, double-checking her red dress. “But given that Niall’s been working on this for the better part of two days, I’d say we probably have more to be worried about.”

Niall took that moment to walk out of the room on the left. “Thanks, Myona,” he said into his commlink. “All right,” he said to the group. “We’re ready.”

Eyrn headed off down the hall at a pace, while Niall and Alex led the group in. They had taken over an empty hangar for whatever Niall, Alex, and Pryvani had planned. Their friends had a strong suspicion about what was on the agenda, but a good many Titans and humans alike were quite confused, the Titans where they’d been asked to wait, the humans on the spot between two taped-off lines where they waited, patiently, as the doors to the room slid closed.

“Safety interlocks on,” Niall said. “Myona, good on your end? Excellent. Initiate program Freeman-Eight.”

There was a flicker, and suddenly, the humans were standing in a corridor, one built for them. It was a space station, a bit older, worn in some places, but with a rugged charm to it. They looked around, confused. It was Viktor who gasped first.

“It’s Titan Station!” he said, stunned. And as soon as he said it, everyone else could see it. They were standing outside the restaurant. To their right, a hallway led into the promenade – they could see the single flower that had been placed in a grate near the canteen. The cavernous hall was suddenly rather cramped for the humans, but they were too busy gaping to complain.

Presently, a short human walked around the corner, wearing a red dress, dark hair hanging loose at her shoulders. “Hello, Mùlán,” she said, beaming.

The Shang Xiao took a step forward, and broke into a wide smile.

It wasn’t a human.

“Eyrn?” she said.

“Yup!” she replied, embracing the captain. “Thought you should get to see us on equal footing for once.”

Xú shook her head. “Is this a simulation of some sort, then?”

“Hologram. There’s a projection of the station – well, most of it – in here, and holoprojectors throughout the station feeding your likenesses out there.”

“But you’re solid.”

“Hard light,” Niall said. “You’ll actually perceive everything as real – there’s a bioneural feedback system in place….”

“You can explain that to the crewmates who are interested, Niall,” Eyrn said. “Basically, you can’t tell the difference between this and reality, not with the holoemitters we’re using.”

“So wait…all the Titans who are at this reception…are in the restaurant?” Ted asked, slightly too eagerly.

“Yes, Colonel,” Eyrn said, “and they’re waiting. Shall we?”

“After you, Ambassador,” Mùlán replied. “Ted – no running.”

“You’re no fun, ma’am,” Ted said, unconsciously straightening his tie and fixing his epaulets.

The door opened, and Ambassador Bass announced the crew of the Lem. Most of the men and women in the room looked to the floor, something Pryvani noted with a wide grin. The collective gabble when Xú walked in, full-sized, made the expense and effort worth it.

The room erupted in applause, as Aerti gave Mùlán a proper handshake. She was a bit bemused, but handling it well. “Nice to be able to look you in the eye without a boost, Navarchos,” she said.

“It is, Shang Xiao. It is.”

Ted, for his part, had broken off from the group, and was craning his neck, looking for her. He wondered, briefly, if he’d recognize her like this. More than that, he wondered if she’d recognize him.

He turned to his left, and saw a startlingly beautiful woman in a green-and-black dress uniform, her deep brown eyes fixed on him, a slow smile working its way across her face. Taking care not to disobey orders, he jogged toward her as she ran toward him, hitting him with full force; he picked her up and swung her around, kissing her urgently as her feet touched the ground.

When they finally broke – it had been long enough that Ted realized he was slightly winded – she smiled at him, her eyes still looking down at him, though from barely half an inch above his. “Well,” she said. “This is fun.”

Ted hugged her tight. “It is,” he said. Then he found himself chuckling.

“What?” Tig asked.

“I’ve spent the last few weeks wishing I was your size, and I think this will be fun for a while. Okay, a lot of fun – and a nice place to visit regularly – but….”

She kissed him gleefully. “I was thinking the exact same thing, little man,” she breathed into his ear. “I kind of like you small enough to fit in my pocket. And other places.”

She hugged him close, moved her hip into him a bit, studied his face, and smiled. “That said…I think I’ll enjoy our stay here, too.”

Alex had slipped behind the bar, and was busy mixing up a drink for his wife. Girlfriend. Lover. Rixie. His Rixie. He chuckled. He was glad he’d kept that monologue internal.

“You’re still enormous,” Hala chuckled, sitting down next to Rixie.

“Yes, and thanks for noticing,” Rixie replied.

“Hustain?” Alex asked Hala.

“No, please. Just a soda.”

“No soda,” Alex said. “Navarchos’s orders.”

“What? I thought that was down to size being an issue.”

“It is? Well, then, I’ll pour myself one.”

“Not a chance, Alex,” Rixie said. “My orders.”

“It doesn’t affect me!”

“It doesn’t affect you much. Besides, it’s a bad example.”

“Yes’m,” Alex said, saluting. “Something about Titan soda doesn’t agree with humans,” he said to Hala.

“Is it poisonous or something?”

“No, it’s…well…basically, it’s….”

“It makes you hyper,” Sorcha said. “Ludicrously, insanely hyper.”

“Which is bad enough if you’re human-sized,” Lessy said, sitting down next to her friend. “Sorcha, unfortunately, is susceptible to it too.”

“Oh, God. Do you remember when I was gonna try to fly my dad on a kite?”

“Yeah. The worst part was that he was gung-ho for it.”

“’I can handle this! I handle whiskey just fine! Now where’s the string….’” Sorcha said, affecting her father’s tone.

“Fortunately, your mom caught us all. Trust me, Hala, only drink Titan soda if you’ve got several dozen people around to keep an eye on you.”

“And if you do, then go for it – it is fun,” Sorcha said with a grin. “For now, I’ll have an Ol’ Janx Spirit on the rocks, Alex.”

“Deep Anvil,” Lessy said.

Alex whistled. “Speaking of drinks that will get you in trouble,” he said, sliding one over to Rixie.

“You just made me one for me,” Rixie said.

“And you think I don’t want to get you in trouble?”

She grinned. “No, Alex. I think you do, as usual,” she said, downing it in one gulp.

“Hey, Trixie,” Darren said, passing by, “when you get a second?”

“I can go now,” she said, tuning back to her husband. Her Alex. That was close. “Alex, make me another of those, I’ll be right back.”

“Aw, where’s the fun of me getting you drunk and taking advantage of you if you get you drunk and take advantage of me? Wait, I just listened to myself, and that sounds awesome. I’ll have it ready.”

Rixie sighed, then said, “You’re behind, order yourself two Hustains. On me.”

“Can I have soda?”

“No.”

“Well, that’ll do then,” Alex said, pouring two glasses for himself.

“What’s up?” Rixie asked, as Darren showed her to a corner booth.

“Don’t know if you’ve seen the news. Seems Iron Maiden issued a statement backing up the Tol-Bot boycott,” he said.

Felltree’s requiem for her friend, and The Executioner’s statement two days later, had started an avalanche of support in the Tol-Bot community. In many ways, it made sense. Many of the newer stars had become fans in the first place after the Marionette-Iron Maiden final; even as Puppet Master was the official combatant, all of them knew that a human had been good enough to win two titles, and to push the greatest champion of all time – well, one of two – to her absolute limit, and beat her in other tournaments down the road. Heck, speaking of that other champion – they’d split their finals matches.

“Did she?” Rixie said, innocently.

So far, thirty-four current players and another twelve former ones had signed on to the boycott, including five of the last seven champions and eight of the current top ten players. Of the semifinalists, only The Hierophant had yet to join. And with Lord Black, old but still sharp, announcing his support, all three five-time champions were on board.

“Yeah. ‘No foe pushed me harder than a human did, and until he and others like him can compete under their own names, this championship is meaningless.’ Sure wherever The Marionette is, he almost cried at that. Almost. Good to hear the ol’ Darth Vader voice again, too. Handy that she had the helmet with her.”

“She probably had it for sentimental reasons. I’m surprised The Marionette hasn’t issued a statement,” Rixie said.

“No need. Anyone who thinks he doesn’t support this ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Once this shakes out, I suspect he’ll issue a statement thanking everyone.”

“Good. So…you didn’t just ask me over to praise Iron Maiden’s statement.”

“Naw. Saw the flower. I was gonna do something myself – how’d you know?”

“Flower?”

“Trixie, come on. Aisell told me about where he’d been hiding; how’d you know?”

“Viktor and Tatenda ended up there,” Rixie said. “First night. Took some images. Pretty clearly a camp there, would’ve been about the right time. I didn’t know it was his, for sure, but…well, it was somebody’s. Hope it was his, because if it wasn’t, there were two somebodies.” She sighed. “Could’ve been Alex, or Niall, or Nick…luck of the draw that it wasn’t. I just….”

Rixie paused for just a moment. “I thought of what it must have been like for him. I’m glad he found happiness, but…well, Alex hasn’t been home since I took him, either. Neither has Niall, or Pierce…none of them have.

“And that was my fault, you know,” Rixie said, quietly. “I didn’t think to try to get them repatriated, didn’t think to go up the food chain, see if we could break the cordon sanitaire to get them back to Earth. Gorram, they were all in stasis. We could have made it work. I didn’t try. I wanted to remember him, and I wanted…I wanted to apologize.”

Darren gave her a smile. “Rixie, this ain’t your fault. You and Kir saved them. All of them. They woulda been eaten, otherwise. Luke had a family, kids, and friends who loved him. Can’t do better than that, no matter what planet you’re on.”

Rixie looked over at the bar, watching Alex hold court; she kept thinking back to Luke, scared and alone, hiding from the Titans. And kept imagining that it had been Alex instead.

“And just so you know, Trix…that was Luke’s, all right,” Darren said. “Right where she told me. She was working as a cleaner, he was scavenging. She was too good at her job, got most of the food, it pissed him off,” Darren said.

“How long did you guys talk?”

“Good while. She’s been busy, of course. Tribe had a funeral, she was back for that, then she’s been on a media blitz. She says she’s been talking with one of Loona’s staffers about how to build support. And the Neuthas, of course.”

“Good,” Rixie said. “You give her my contact information?”

“Yeah,” Darren said. “We’ll see if she calls you. She was more than a little intimidated when I told her why you wanted to talk to her – and exactly which friend of yours did, too.”

“Ha,” said Rixie. “And did you….”

“Yup. I did. Got some things we gotta take care of, but we’ll get it done.”

Rixie nodded. “Good. And Darren….”

“Yeah, Trix?”

“Thanks,” she said.

“Aw, it’s nothin’. Now, go over and let your husband get you drunk.”

“Alex isn’t my husband,” Rixie said, getting up.

“Sure he isn’t. Go on now.”

Rixie went back to the bar, and drank the second Deep Anvil Alex had made for her, and pushed the Hustain he’d tried to foist on her toward Tig, who was currently wrapped up in Ted’s arms, as they peppered Alex with questions about the holoemitters.

“So how long do we have?”

“About three hours. You’ll get an announcement when you’re down to 15 minutes.”

“And…how far does the simulation reach?” Ted asked. “How far does it go?”

“In answer to what you’re asking, yes, it goes all the way to Tigoni’s quarters. Myona’s got it rigged so that a couple roving holoprojectors will pick Ted up if you get out of range of the main grid. And yes, they’ll work like Tigoni’s quarters for both of you.”

Ted and Tig would’ve been embarrassed, but they were on a deadline.

“How will the simulation fill in my quarters that quickly? I mean….”

Alex sighed heavily. “Look, Myona and Niall tried to explain it to me once, and my brain started hurting. It works just fine, okay? Now scoot, will you? You don’t want to tell your kids that you wasted your chance to do this asking questions of the bartender.”

Ted and Tig did as Alex suggested, and nearly ran over Eyrn on the way out into the hallway, laughing giddily as they went.

“They’re in a hurry,” Eyrn said, with a chuckle.

“Probably on another tour,” Aerti said. “Lotta station to cover.”

“To be fair,” Naskia said, “things do look a bit different when you change scales. I can imagine Ted would be very interested to see things.”

“Franky, Tig will too,” Xú said.

“Does it bother any of you that we’re basically all wishing Ted and Tigoni a nice couple hours of sex?” Tatenda asked.

“No,” Xú said. “Now, if we were wishing them bad sex, that would be rude. So, Ambassador, is there anything else you need my governments to do before tomorrow?”

“We’re set, Shang Xiao,” Eyrn said. “There will be more to come, of course, but that’s why I’m moving back to Earth for a while. My government is ready to sign off, as long as you’re sure the UN will agree to disagree on sovereignty from Saturn out.”

“I’ve spoken with the Secretary-General. They aren’t thrilled, but they won’t reject the treaty over it. Besides, what you’ve given us – operational and transportation support, joint control of the territory, and partial operational control of Titan Station – it’s plenty for now. And we’re going to revisit it in thirty Earth years. Add that you’re going to continue defensive operations, I’d say it’s a win-win.”

“Good. And Centurium Starati, Captain Gwenn, and Captain Los will be coordinating with the JTSA on those patrols; I’ve made it clear to the Empire that we’re not protecting a preserve, we’re protecting sovereign territory, and so it’s prudent to show respect to each other.”

“Agreed, and…Eyrn, I’m sorry, I’m just getting distracted a bit. I…I never thought I’d say this, but āi yā you’re short!”

Eyrn burst out laughing. “I know, right? I remember when I got here, I was asking people to get stuff off the top shelf, just because I couldn’t. It was fun not to be a giant anymore.”

“You still do that to me, shorty,” Aerti said.

“Didn’t say I stopped.”

“Well, I’m going to enjoy it for the moment. I haven’t had the chance to feel tall for a while,” Mùlán said. Then, espying another woman, she said, “Senator! Thank you so much, this was perfect.”

“Oh, Niall and Myona did most of the work,” Pryvani said. “I just provided the emitters.”

“She’s too modest,” Eyrn said.

“No,” Xú said with a grin. “She’s falsely modest. Senator Tarsuss, I tend to think you know exactly how much you contributed here. And you should feel very proud of it.”

Pryvani would have started; she wasn’t particularly easy to read. She was impressed by Xú. She wondered, idly, if she could find a way to get her to Avalon…and then she closed that thought off. No, Xú was doing quite well where she was.

“Thank you, Shang Xiao,” Pryvani said with a wink. “I really did want to try to make up, at least a little, for the way things began here. I hope we’ve managed to at least mitigate the damage.”

Xú looked over the room. Ted and Tig were gone, of course, but together. The remainder of her crew was here. Yoshi and Gustavo were peppering Niall and a pretty red-haired Titan with questions about the holoemitters, with Yoshi occasionally apologizing to Lessy for not paying enough attention to her. (Gustavo was flirting shamelessly with the red-head, but Gustavo was always flirting shamelessly with someone.) Yelena was talking over the Lem’s brief attempt at escape with Crewmate Horous of the Gyfjon, who’d been at the helm during their capture; both were praising the other’s skill and each other’s ships. Viktor and a few of the other science officers were in an animated discussion with a group of Titan, Avartle, and Dunnermac scientists about the primitive life of Titan. Oliver and Dr. Geen were discussing the comparative physiologies of Dunnermacs, Humans, Ler, Avartle, and Titans, continuing an odd friendship that had consumed almost as much of their free time as Ted and Tig’s over the last couple weeks.

Her crew was spread around the room, talking to their Imperial counterparts as equals; only uniforms distinguished them. And what’s more, though the scale had made things easier logistically, Xú realized that had the holoemitters not been installed, the pairings would be pretty much identical.

“Senator,” Xú said, “Navarchos, Ambassador – you have more than made up for one man’s evil.”

She raised her glass – she was going to have to figure out how to get Hustain to Earth – and called out, “Crew of the Lem!”

“Yes, ma’am!” they said, in chorus.

“A toast. To the gracious hospitality of our friends at Titan Station, and aboard the Gyfjon, the Minitar, and the Xifos, and our friends throughout the Empire. May this be but the first of many times that our paths cross.”

The group – Titans and humans alike – raised their glasses as one, and drank.

* * *

It was several hours after the reception. Rixie and Alex had lost their drunk and were laying in the bed of their suite. Alex was reclining on Rixie’s nude stomach just above her navel, idly being petted by the titaness’s long fingers.

“Alex I…I need to apologize for something,” Rixie muttered, staring at the ceiling above them.

Alex sighed and sat up. This was one of his favorite views of Rixie. Her face was almost completely obscured behind her breasts and her body stretched out around him like a divine womanly landscape.

“Is this about Luke?” he asked bluntly.

Rixie sat up slightly so she could see the small figure on her stomach. “How…?”

“Darren told me what you said to him.”

“Oh.”

Alex sat cross legged and faced his…Rixie. “Look, Rix…Darren was right. It wasn’t your fault. You saved us all from a terrible fate.”

“Are you sure?” Rixie asked. “Yeah, you and Niall, Nick and Sam did all right. Pierce did very well…even Luke turned out okay, but…what about the others? We don’t know what happened to them.”

Alex shrugged. “True. Maybe some of them ended up horribly. If so, then that’s not your fault. It’s the fault of whoever put them in those situations.”

Rixie picked him up, and brought him to her face. “But they wouldn’t have been in those situations if I’d just tried a little harder to get you home. They’d have been on Earth getting on with their lives.”

Alex shook his head. “No, Rix. You know what would have happened? We’d all have been put in a mental hospital or something after we wandered back into town from whatever out-of-the-way place you Titans would have dropped us, because we’d have been raving about alien abductions.”

“But –”

“Okay,” Alex interrupted before Rixie could gain any traction. “Let’s play a game called ‘what if.’ First round: What if Alex had been sent back to Earth?”

Rixie sighed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head stubbornly.

“If Alex had gone back to Earth, Trell would have attacked Atlantis and gotten away with the Gateway project, killing Tulak and kidnapping Sophia in the process. Despite a valiant effort by the security chief, Rixie, she’d get away from Avalon and have just enough of a head start to make catching her impossible.

“Of course.” Alex continued. “There’s no Alex to free Sophia from where Trell left her tied up, so nobody is able to send Trell to dreamland with knockout gas. Nobody can fool the pilots into stopping so Rixie and the rest of our brave heroes can catch up. Result: Trell makes it to Archavia, Pryvani’s mother sells the Gateway to the highest bidder, the Archavian Empire is attacked from outside and is, if not completely destroyed, severely crippled. Leaving no one to protect Earth. Humanity is taken and either enslaved, consumed, or destroyed.”

Rixie shook her head. “You don’t….”

“Round two,” Alex continued forcefully. “What would happen if Niall Freeman had been sent back to Earth?”

“Alex –”

“If Niall had not been purchased by Naskia Bass, he would not have been able to convince her that humans were intelligent beings on par with Titans. She, and her father, would not have backed his attempts to gain employment in the University. Result: There would be no very public display of human intelligence put on for the entire empire, and human liberation would have been pushed back hundreds of years, if not indefinitely.”

“Okay Alex I.…”

“Round three!” Alex was almost shouting. He would make her understand if it was the last thing he ever did.  “What would life be like if Nick had been sent back to Earth?”

“Alex this really isn’t….”

“If Nick hadn’t been there, there would have been no one with the capability to disarm the bomb. Taron would have had the technical knowledge, but would have been unable to implement it. Result:  Bomb explodes spreading an unstoppable plague to the four corners of Avalon. And yeah, it was designed to kill Titans, but the human plague was still spreading. What are their chances once Pryvani and Brinn and Selil were dead? Once Syon inherits Avalon?”

Rixie nodded, tears running down her cheeks.

“We could go on like this all night. Sam’s movies, Pierce’s family, what Nonah Armac learned from Niall…hell, Loona Armac isn’t in the House today if she doesn’t take up Niall’s case back in college. And without Sam, Syon Fand is free and maybe running the Tarsuss Corporation. So what if we’d all made it back to Earth? Well, the overall result:” Alex concluded, “Earth: destroyed. The Empire: destroyed. Avalon: destroyed.”

Rixie sighed, rubbing her face with her hand. “Alex, you don’t know for sure if all those horrible things would have happened. Maybe if Trell hadn’t been distracted by you and the others, she would have been in the cockpit with the pilots, tripped on a piece of loose conduit and accidentally pressed a button that caused the ship to blow up.”

“Don’t care,” Alex stated flatly. “I know that my life, at least, would have been worse. Maybe I never would have realized it, but it couldn’t possibly have been better.”

The Titaness fell silent for a moment, as Alex waited patiently. He didn’t have to wait long before great shining drops fell from the corners of her eyes. Rixie didn’t cry very often. He could only think of a handful of times when it had happened. In fact she only ever seemed to cry in front of him.

“Gods above, Alex…” She spoke softly, and slowly, as if each word had to be forced through a barricade. “I… I want to believe that everything worked out for the best, I really do, but…”

Alex sighed. He reached out and ran his hand along the curve of her upper lip before leaning forward and pressing his mouth to hers. “Rixie, what do you need me to say?” There was a note of desperation in his voice. “Do you need me to say that I forgive you? I do, a hundred thousand times over. Do you need me to say there is no place I’d rather be than right here, with you? Because there isn’t.”

“How can I believe that?” Rixie whispered.

Alex’s eyes widened and he stepped back in shock. “…What!?”

“How can I believe that there really isn’t anywhere you’d rather be, that you really love me, when you’ve never been given the chance to choose otherwise?”

Alex gaped at her. “Is that what you think?”

Rixie nodded miserably, unable to speak.

“How can you possibly be that fucking stupid?!”

Rixie’s head shot up, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open, shocked.

“Alex –!”

“No, just shut up for a second Rix!” Alex snapped angrily.

Rixie blinked in confusion.

“Do you think I’m some kind of dumb animal?” Alex continued.

“What?! No of course I–”

“Do you think I’m incapable of making decisions on my own? That I don’t understand how things work?”

“No!”

“Would you ever trot me out to perform cute tricks for your friends, even though you knew it would be humiliating and degrading for me?”

“Never Alex! Why would you…?”

“Then why the fuck would you compare yourself to those Titans that would?”

Rixie blinked and her mouth worked soundlessly. “What?” she finally managed to squeak.

Alex sighed wearily. “There’s not a lot in this universe that will piss me off, but someone badmouthing the woman I love is right up there at the top of the list. I won’t stand here and listen to anybody insult you that way Rixie, not even you.”

“I….”  Rixie felt her heart thump in her chest and her throat closed.

“Rixie….” Alex ran his hand through his hair. “God almighty Rixie, you’re not some monster whose been keeping me locked in a cage and holding me prisoner for years. You think I would have had to practically beg you to put this chip in my back if you were? You do recall that was my idea, right?”

“Yes.…” The giantess nodded miserably.

Alex blinked, suddenly feeling a deep pit of sadness in his chest. “Fuck, Rixie… have you really been thinking of yourself that way, all these years? Did you think that I thought that about you?”

“No….” Rixie’s whispered. “I mean…I hoped…I didn’t want you to think that, of course…and I don’t know…sometimes I wondered….”

“You’re not some chain around my neck.” Alex felt tears running down his own face now, but he didn’t care. “You haven’t been holding me back…you’ve been keeping me safe. Do you get it yet?”

There was a long tense moment of silence as the Titaness stared up at the ceiling. Finally, Rixie took a deep shuddering breath and nodded. “I do. I… I believe you.”

“Good.”

“But…what about your home?”

“What, you mean Earth? Fuck Earth. Earth isn’t home to me… not anymore. My home – my real home – is right there.” He pointed at Rixie’s chest.

“My breasts?” Rixie asked, with a watery chuckle.

“Your heart, Rix.” Alex rolled his eyes and laughed. “Come on, I’m actually trying to be serious here.”

Rixie laughed again and wiped the tears from her face.

Alex sat down in her palm and sighed wearily. “I’m sorry I called you stupid.”

“No, you were right. I was being stupid.”

“No… well, yes you were… but what I mean is it was a bit hypocritical of me. I can’t really blame you for thinking you were trapping me, when I’ve occasionally thought that I was being a burden to you too.”

“You have?” Rixie whispered.

“Well… yeah. In my darker moments I’ve wondered if you wouldn’t be better off with a Titan man…or woman, I suppose. I mean…I’m the size of your finger Rixie…How could I not wonder if I was really…enough…for you.”

Rixie smiled softly. Her heart warmed to see Alex so…vulnerable. It also broke a little as she understood just what he was admitting to her.

“Oh, Alex….” Rixie gently stroked his back with her fingers, cupping him in her palms. “You are more than I could ever want, more than I would ever need…and no Titan, male or female, could ever equal you in my eyes.”

Alex smiled and kissed the tip of her finger. “Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that.”

“Besides.” A mischievous glint appeared in Rixie’s eyes. “There are things I can do with you that I would never be able to do with another Titan. Remember that meeting with the insufferable investor from Talos that Pryvani made me go to with her?”

“Ah yeah. The one I spent in your pants.”

Rixie nodded. “Ten years later and I still haven’t a clue what that meeting was actually about. Do you think Pryvani ever realized what we were doing?”

Alex snorted in amusement. “Where do you think Zhan was?”

Rixie chuckled. She brought him to her face and pressed him to her lips. When she pulled him away, he saw she was biting her lip and didn’t seem to be able to look at him. She almost looked… nervous.

“Rixie… what is it?” He asked softly.

“Marry me.” She whispered.

Alex’s eyes widened in surprise. He almost thought he’d misheard her. “What?”

“Marry me, Alex,” she repeated, finally meeting his eyes again. “Please?”

“I….Rixie….we’ve been together over twenty years. Archavian years! We’ve raised a son together…why now?” Alex sat down in the palm of her hand, suddenly realizing his heart was beating faster.

“Because… Because I’m tired of us never saying anything. We both love each other, and we both know that we love each other, yes? So why does it take a near death experience or an argument for us to say that? It should be easy to say by now.”

“Rix…”

“No, now it’s your turn to shut up for a second.” Rixie smirked.  “I love you Alex, and I want to be able to say it to you every day, and I want to hear you say it.  I don’t want to stumble over what to call you to other people. I want to yell it to the universe: ‘This is Alex Carey, he’s my husband. I love him, I’m proud of him and if you don’t like it you can fuck off!’”

Alex chuckled, as he always did whenever Rixie used Earth curse words.

“It wasn’t important to me for us to make it official, before. Maybe that was because of the lingering insecurities we both apparently had.” Rixie continued in a softer tone of voice. “Well, those are gone now. You had your chance to get away, you blew it, so you’re stuck with me,” she said with a grin. “But all joking aside, I want our relationship to make a statement. I want us to be the first human/Titan couple to get married after humans gain full citizenship. I think we’ve earned that right.”

“What about Niall and Naskia?” Alex asked wryly.

Rixie chuckled. “They already had their wedding. Besides, they already have ‘first human-titan child’ and ‘first human to teach at a university.’ This one is ours damn it.”

Alex placed his palm flat against Rixie’s, and looked up into her deep green eyes, and addressed her with absolute sincerity. “Rixie Tam…there is nothing I could ever be that would make me prouder than to be your husband. And nobody in all the universe I could love any more. Of course I’ll marry you.”

Rixie brought him back to her lips, and kissed him, softly, and had they remained there for all eternity, it would have been enough for them both. When they finally broke, she giggled, just a bit, and smiled.

“I love you, Alex,” she said.

“I love you too, Rixie,” he replied.

Rixie leaned back against her pillows before setting Alex back on her stomach. A comfortable silence stretched between them as she resumed gently stroking her fingers across his body.

“Alex?” Rixie’s voice drifted down to him from the darkness behind him.

“Yes love?” He mumbled, on the verge of being lulled to sleep by the warmth of her skin beneath him.

There was a moment of hesitation, then: “What do you think about having another child?”

Alex’s eyes popped open and he was suddenly wide awake. “You just proposed and now you’re talking children? Aren’t we moving a little fast?” he joked, but Rixie heard the slight note of panic in his voice.

“I’m serious Alex.” Rixie consciously did her best to keep her voice calm and soothing.

“Rixie, we already have Ryan….”

“I know, and I love him dearly… but he’s grown up now, he doesn’t….he doesn’t need us.”

“You know that isn’t true.” Alex ran his hand gently along the skin beneath his body.

“Well, all right…but, Alex…I never got to hold Ryan when he was a baby, I mean a little baby…I never got to….” Rixie’s voice trailed off.

Alex sighed. “All right, I understand but….I mean Rix, I’m a hundred and sixty-seven years old, give or take. I’m not as young as I once was.”

Rixie chuckled in the darkness behind him. “Alex, you’re not that old.”

“Well maybe not, but I’m betting the odds are the kid’s gonna come out your size….”

“Well…maybe,” Rixie muttered. “I mean we have so few examples to go on, who knows? But even if she does…so what? You did the majority of the work with Ryan. It’s only fair.”

Alex sighed, suddenly feeling every year of his one hundred and sixty seven.  But he smiled wryly up at her, anyway. “’She’ huh?”

“Yes. We already have a son, so we need to have a little girl.”

“A beautiful little girl with her mom’s pretty green eyes.” Alex mused, and he felt a little flutter in his stomach at the thought.

“And her daddy’s smile.”

Alex chuckled, and then became serious again. “Tell you what. I won’t say no or yes right now. This is something we need to discuss some more, together and with Ryan too. Then we’ll see where we go from there. Fair?”

“Fair.”

“Good.”

Another moment of silence passed between them.

“Alex?”

“Yes, my love?”

“I really want to have very dirty sex with you right now.”

Alex laughed. “Well. Okay. Go get your Iron Maiden helmet….”