Ryan had spent the better part of the past two days pacing.

Had it been any other girl in the galaxy, he would have had little doubt what an invitation to a date in her guest suite meant. Oh, he would have verified it when he got there, of course, but he would almost never be surprised.

But this was not any other girl. This was Lady Thyllia Fand. No – that wasn’t what caused his gut to churn.

This was Thyllia.

This was the girl against whom he measured all other girls. Not literally – he’d dated plenty of humans – but figuratively. She was pretty and smart and kind; she had her big sister’s keen intellect, but her core was softer than Pryvani’s.

He had adored her when he was too young to know what that meant, and when his psychosocial age and hers had crossed, he’d considered seeing…but he had talked himself out of it. More than once.

He rode the tram through the compound – a relatively new installation, it had been installed as a prototype for the one they put in at Titan Station – and headed toward his destination. He had a couple hours. He figured he’d stop by and see his parents. Calm himself down before he went on the date.

If it was a date. If he wasn’t reading something into the situation that didn’t exist.

The pod stopped and let him out at his old condo; he walked to the door, and hit the human-sized chime.

He waited for a few moments; it occurred to him that he didn’t know if his parents were home. But soon enough, there was an answering call over the comm.

“Hello?”

“Hey, dad. Just stopping by….”

The door opened almost immediately. He chuckled, and walked into the apartment. He had to admit, it was always nice coming out of the full gravity of Avalon to the 1/3 G of the compound; he found himself bouncing along with each step, just as he had throughout his childhood, heading toward the kitchen as much out of habit as anything.

“Hey, sport!” Alex called from across the living room. “You should have told us you were coming! Your mom would have taken her nap later.”

“Well, for goodness’ sake, don’t wake her up for me. She needs her sleep. She’s only got another Imperial month left.”

“And she will not hesitate to let you know it,” Alex said, coming up on his son. “You ready to be a big brother?”

“Not remotely. You ready to be a dad again?”

“I never stopped,” Alex said, finally reaching his son, and giving him a hug. “So why are you in dress black?”

Alex sighed. “Well, I’m actually on my way to see someone.”

“Who is she?” Alex asked, with a grin.

“Thyllia,” Ryan said.

Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “Thyllia? Thyllia Fand, that Thyllia?”

“How many more Thyllias are there on Avalon?”

“None. Well you’re certainly dressed nicely. What are you doing, she going along as an avatar to the symphony or something?”

Ryan sighed, and grimaced. “Actually…she wanted me to drop by her suite up here.”

Alex looked at his son a long moment, and shook his head. “Well. Always knew this day would come. Son, I think it’s time we had a talk. You see, when a man loves a woman, very very much….”

Ryan’s look caused his father to stop, and grin.

“Well, what do you want me to say? Congratulations? Given that you’ve been carrying a torch for Thyllia since literally the day you met her, the only thing that surprises me is that it took you this long to ask her out.”

Ryan coughed. Alex studied his son’s face, and sobered a bit.

“She asked you out, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Ryan said. “I mean, I think she did. But…I mean….”

Alex shook his head. Ryan didn’t look like either he or Rixie, of course – but that didn’t mean he’d inherited nothing from them. He could see in Ryan’s mannerisms, in his pauses, in his subtle glances downward…well, Alex saw something very familiar.

“She did. But you’re worried you can’t possibly measure up.”

Ryan blinked. “Well…yeah.”

Alex smiled, and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “That’s fucking stupid, Ryan.”

Ryan looked at his father, and shook his head. “But dad, I mean….”

“Ryan, we adopted you almost one hundred Earth years ago. And for ninety-six of those years, your mom and I loved you, and loved each other. Only on that last one, we were always kind of afraid…because both of us were idiots, who were worried we couldn’t measure up.”

Ryan looked at his father. “That’s fucking stupid, dad.”

“I know. And so does your mom, who being the brains of the outfit finally demanded that we get over our stupidity and get engaged, so you won’t have to continue to be our illegitimate adopted son. But it took us a long time of worrying – your mom that she had trapped me, and me, that your mom could do so much better. Especially with someone more her size.”

“But you guys…I mean, you’ve always loved each other. I mean, it’s ridiculous how much you loved each other!”

“No, it’s very nice,” Alex said. He smiled serenely. “Quite wonderful. I hope everyone gets to have this. It’s as good as it gets. But Ryan, that’s my point. Your mom and I loved each other with all our hearts and souls…and we still worried. And the worry was stupid.

“Look, I don’t know if you’re good enough for Thyllia, or if she’s good enough for you. But the only way to figure that out is by going on your date and not worrying about it. If Thyllia doesn’t like you, she won’t keep dating you, and that’s that. But let her make that decision.”

“But…I mean, she’s famous, and beautiful, and I…I mean, what have I done?”

“What have you done? You’re one of two humans alive in command of a capital warp vessel! You’re a Captain in the Avalonian Guard! And you’re my son, for God’s sake! Thyllia Fand should be lucky you’re dating her!”

Ryan sighed. “I just…I mean, I’ve had a crush on her since I was a kid.”

“You’ve had a crush on the idea of Thyllia. That’s swell. This is actually Thyllia, the person. Who uses the bathroom and gets colds and is cranky sometimes, like everyone else. Real Thyllia invited you on a date. Have fun, and quit worrying; worst thing that’ll happen is that she decides she doesn’t want to ever see you again. You’ll survive it.”

Ryan laughed, and hugged his father tight. “You know, I’m not sure which one of you two is the brains of the operation.”

“It’s your mom. I’m the comic relief,” Alex said. “But I will always pull it together for my son.”

There was a distant quake, one that grew steadily louder and heavier.

“Guess your mom’s awake after all,” Alex said.

“Alex, can you get me an egg? I think an egg sounds good. Where are you?”

“Down here,” Alex called. “Ryan, you want to join me in the holohouse while I make your mom an egg?”

“Ryan!” Rixie grinned, and waddled over toward him. She looked down, as if considering kneeling, but Ryan shook his head and waved her off.

“It’s okay, mom, I’ll go to the holohouse. You kneel down, there’s no way dad and I are picking you back up without heavy machinery.”

“Hmmf. I’m not that pregnant.”

“Pregnant? I’m just talking about the fact that we’re teeny,” Ryan grinned.

Rixie’s husband and son reappeared presently in holo form soon enough, with both of them working to get dinner around. Alex had learned during Rixie’s pregnancy that if anything made her hungry, he should make it as soon as possible; she hadn’t felt like eating much over the course of the pregnancy, and that worried Alex, even as Rixie maintained she was fine. Brinn kept saying she was doing perfectly well for a Titan with a hybrid pregnancy, and Brinn would know better than almost any doctor alive.

They chatted for a while about this and that; Alex good-naturedly claimed they intended to name Ryan’s sister Hermione after a character in a book he’d once read; Rixie reminded him that she’d vetoed it at least seventy-nine times, and besides, they’d already agreed on Asteria. Ryan chuckled; his father had been tweaking his mom for his entire life, and it was good to see that wasn’t changing.

Finally, after Rixie ate about half her egg and a bit of silagas toast, a third of a glass of mosaberry juice and some antacid, she turned to her son and said, “So why are you wearing your dress uniform, Ry? Hell, they’re worse than ours. At least we didn’t have those ridiculous hats.”

“Ryan’s got a date,” Alex said, cleaning idly in the kitchen.

“And who’s the lucky girl?” Rixie asked with a sigh. She couldn’t really complain that her son hadn’t settled down – she’d made her forties before she got engaged, after all. That said…she kind of hoped her son would settle down.

“Thyllia,” Ryan said, looking down just a bit.

“And yes, that Thyllia,” Alex chirped.

Rixie raised an eyebrow, but kept her comments to herself for the moment. “Well. What are you two doing?”

“Stop hassling the boy!” Alex said. “They’re doing date stuff. Speaking of which, you said 44:00, right?”

“Right,” said Ryan. “I should get going, probably.”

“Definitely,” Rixie said, struggling to her feet and straightening his rank insignia. “Well, say hello to her for us, and have fun. And Ryan, don’t worry,” she said, with a wink.

“I won’t,” he said, standing up and disappearing. Soon enough, he reappeared, normal size, and sauntered across the living room toward the door. “I’ll see you guys later!”

“Yup,” Rixie said. She waddled over to the door, and knelt down; she was damned if pregnancy was going to stop her from doing this. Ryan sighed, and walked over to her.

“I love you, mom,” he said.

“I love you too,” she replied, and with skill borne of years of practice, she reached down and plucked his hat from his head. “Trust me. Lose the hat,” she added, with a grin.

Ryan laughed. “Well, I’m inside…I guess regs don’t require me to wear it. Thanks,” he said. “Both of you.”

Ryan disappeared into the hallway, and Rixie sighed as the door closed. “Alex, my love?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Don’t shut the holos down quite yet,” she sighed. “I need some help getting up.”

* * *

Ryan hopped off the tram outside of Pryvani’s home, which was roughly as large as the rest of the compound. Which he supposed really was also Pryvani’s home – she just let all her friends crash with her.

He didn’t go to the main entrance; oh, you could get to Thyllia’s suite through Pryvani’s palace, or mansion, or what have you. But it also had a private entrance – and for that matter, it also wasn’t so much a suite as a full apartment, the same size as his childhood home.

It’s nice to be rich, after all.

Ryan walked to the door, and took a few seconds before he forced himself to hit the call button. He took a step back, and three quick breaths.

“Hey, Ryan, just a second,” Thyllia voice crackled from the intercom.

“No problem,” Ryan said. He chuckled. Sure. No problem. Just waiting on a date with my dream girl. If I haven’t completely misread this. If she doesn’t want to just catch up….

The door opened, and Ryan looked up at Thyllia. And he had to fight, with all the willpower of a Carey, not to let his jaw drop.

She was wearing a short gold dress and no shoes, and she dropped into a crouch that she had to know gave Ryan a very clear view of…well, the fact that this was most definitely a date.

“Hey,” she said. “You got all dressed up for me?”

Ryan smiled. Okay. If she was wearing that dress, and crouching…like that…she had to be at least a little interested in him, too.

“Well, Thyllia…not everyone can look as lovely as you. I have to step up my game.”

Thyllia grinned. “You know,” she said, “I think that’s the first time you’ve outright complemented my looks since I was baby-sitting you.”

Ryan smiled, and looked down. “Yeah, well…I have to admit, I’ve been a little intimidated by you.” He took a breath, and looked back up, and didn’t hesitate short of the hem of her skirt, or tarry on her breasts, but looked into her deep, brown eyes.

He’d never thought clearly while looking into Thyllia’s eyes, and he was wondering why he had ever wanted to.

“But I’ve thought it, you know, pretty much constantly. And I’m hoping to make up for lost time.”

Thyllia grinned, and lowered a hand to him. He climbed aboard carefully, and she lifted him up. He was so light, still, she thought. Almost as light as he’d been when she’d first picked him up, when he was but a toddler.

He’d been a cute kid. But she looked him over, and smiled; he had long ago grown up. And he was a devastatingly handsome adult.

“Well, Captain Carey, for the record…you’re not the only one who probably should have spoken up sooner. Care for a drink?”

She closed the door, and carried him over by the couch; the lights were dimmed, and a couple of candles were burning – well, to the human, blazing – and the shades were drawn, letting the light of Herekleos shine in on the couple. She set him on the coffee table, and sat herself on the ground, tucking her legs beneath her.

“Kapavi?” she asked, pouring out a glass for herself.

“Please,” Ryan said, as he disembarked for the table. Thyllia picked up a device and set it atop the bottle, and pressed a button. It filled a bottle quickly, one that was largish by human standards – more of a jug, really – but one that a human could handle. She took the half-thimble sized container and handed it to Ryan; she’d been wise enough to have a glass set for him.

“I’d pour, but my hand’s not that steady.”

“It’s okay,” Ryan said, picking up the jug with a grin. “I spent two summers working at my dad’s bar. I can pour Kapavi in my sleep. Just, you know…probably not that size.”

Thyllia laughed as he poured out the wine. “Well, how about we pour for ourselves at our own scales, then?”

“Sounds good,” Ryan said. He raised a glass. “To Lady Thyllia Fand; I am grateful you have lowered your standards enough to date me.”

She laughed, and raised hers. “To Ryan Carey, who evidently does not realize how far above my standards he is.”

They drank, and Thyllia smiled. “So before I take advantage of you,” she said, carefully setting her glass on the table beside him. “I really did mean what I said about talking. I haven’t had a chance to talk to you in ages. I kind of miss it.”

Ryan smiled. “Most of our conversations were about me playing Ishin-Bozh and trying not to let you know I thought you were pretty.”

Thyllia’s eyes sparkled and she shook her head. “Not at all! When I’d gone off to college, and you were…well by that point, you had to be about my age in human years – I called in originally meaning to talk to my sister. You were handling comms, and you asked how I was doing. And I was just…miserable. I told you that…and you told me I could handle anything a college could dish out. I don’t know as I ever told you how much that meant to me. I needed to hear it from a friend. Not just my sister, or Zhan, but someone I knew, someone I liked.”

“Well, it was the truth. You’ve always been kind, and caring, and patient and smart. And now you’re basically the Empress of New Trantor, from what I read.”

“Why are you reading about social life in New Trantor?” Thyllia asked, her eyes narrowing.

Ryan blushed, and grinned sheepishly. “Wasn’t reading about New Trantor. I was reading about you.”

It was Thyllia’s turn to blush. “Well. Don’t trust everything in there.”

“You’re Pryvani’s sister, of course I don’t. I know you don’t play the game quite like her, but still, there were some things you said about Interior Minister Qorni that I know were backhanded shots.”

Thyllia laughed. “Oh, you saw that? I couldn’t help myself, she’s been such a slag about humans. I had to get in a poke.”

She took a sip of Kapavi. “I know, that’s got to worry you, and that’s a reason I wanted to talk before we started, you know, other things.”

Ryan looked up at her. “I’ll admit, the long-distance thing will be tricky. But I do have a fair amount of leave saved up, and I’ve been into the Titan part of the Empire before, have my papers as a pet. Even have a chip – my dad recommended it. You’ll have to buy me from my mom, though…which is weird, so forget I mentioned it.”

Thyllia giggled. “I don’t want you as my pet, Ryan. And that’s part of what I wanted to tell you. I’ve already told Pryvani. I’m going to be spending less time on New Trantor…and more time here.”

Ryan blinked. He tried to think of how to phrase this, and not just to throw out an off-handed marriage proposal – or worse, ensure there wouldn’t be one. “I like you, Thyllia, a lot, but I don’t want you to…I mean, we literally just started dating like fifteen minutes ago, I don’t want to make you….”

Thyllia covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes crinkling with mirth. “I’m sorry, I kind of made that sound…it’s not about you, Ryan. Or I should say, it’s not just about you. You’re the icing on the cake, to borrow an Earth phrase.” She paused, considered her words, and then shrugged. “The fact that you’re interested in me is…amazing. Wonderful. But I’m not just moving back here because of that. Though if I was wavering at all, that would convince me.”

Ryan breathed out in relief. “Good. I mean…I want you to be around as much as possible. Really. But…I would be a lousy friend if I kept you here when you could be out in the wider universe.”

“That’s just it. I’m sick of the ‘wider universe.’ I didn’t understand it when I was younger, why Pryvani lived here when she could live anywhere in the Orion Spur. Oh, I didn’t dislike it – there were nice people here, and good friends, and the opportunity to baby-sit the Careys’ sweet kid, but there were the lights of New Trantor and the capital at Tuaut. Even Tremarla seemed exciting when I moved there for school. And it is exciting. It is. But….”

She looked beyond Ryan, at the huge disc of Herekleos. “This is home, and this where my family lives. Not just Pryvani, or Zhan, or their children – the humans who live here, too. You’re as much a part of my family as anyone, and not just because of my brother-in-law.”

She smiled at Ryan. “Most of the people my age think humans are people. But that doesn’t mean they think you’re, you know, people. They think you’re almost people, but kind of not, but you should probably have the rights of people, but they don’t think about it that deeply, and…well, it’s annoying and obnoxious and I’ve had more than a few arguments with friends who didn’t understand why I was so adamant that human voices needed to be heard and centered, that human thoughts were as deep as those of any Titan. Because they never knew humans the way I did. They never saw you running things on your own. Gods, you’re commanding a ship that flies to and from Earth on a regular basis, and Earth…they’ve got to be getting close.”

“The Alcubierre is getting upgraded to Warp 0.6, and once it does, Captain Martinez is going to be flying it here.”

“See? And in another few years, you’ll be recognized as Class One, and when you finally are, you’re going to be amazing, and they…they don’t see it.”

“Thyllia,” Ryan said, gently, “my dad’s told me how humans were treated when he first got here, back around the time Pryvani adopted you. Titans are a lot better now. Perfect? No, but still… You don’t have to abandon Titan society just because they’re not all the way there yet.”

Thyllia smiled. “I’m not. And it’s not just that. It’s…when you’re in New Trantor, there is the pressure to show up in society, attend the right gatherings, say hello to the right people, and I can do that. And I will – I’m not going to be able to leave New Trantor completely, not with my responsibilities to the company. But while I’ve got a real friend or two there, I have so many more ‘friends.’ People who are interested in me because I’m ‘Lady Thyllia Fand, Sister of Senator Pryvani Tarsuss.’ And I’m sick of having to waste my time with them when I could be with people who know me as Thyllia, who went through that phase where she copied her big sister’s hairstyle, …which was a bit of a moving target, let’s be honest.”

Ryan laughed. “Yeah, I remember that. Your hair looks better brown. It suits you.”

“See? Ryan…I’m not saying I’m coming back here forever. And I know, it’s silly of me to be talking about this when we could be making out, but….”

“It isn’t,” Ryan said, finishing his wine. “Thyllia, you have more money than you can ever spend. What’s the point of it if you aren’t happy? And if we’re going to do more than one of these date things – and I hope so, especially because that making out we’re going to do sounds like a lot of fun – then I want you to be able to tell me when you’re worried. That’s…really, that’s the point of this, I think. To have someone who listens to you when you’re scared. And then lets you fondle them afterward.”

Thyllia leaned forward and kissed Ryan, tenderly but earnestly. It took Ryan a moment to process that; the sensory overload of Thyllia, breath laden with Kapavi, brushing her lips over him made him stop thinking altogether for one amazing, eternal moment. When they broke at last, she pulled back just a bit, and without warning, scooped him up, and set him atop her breast, leaning back against the couch.

“I’m not completely done talking,” the ground rumbled underneath him. “But the nice thing about you being the size you are is that you can listen to me and fondle me at the same time.”

“Zuh….” Ryan muttered, as he adjusted to the change in position. His perch moved with each breath she took, and he had a view primarily of her décolletage. Thyllia wasn’t overly endowed for a woman, but at her scale, she really didn’t have to be.

“If you don’t want to talk, of course, I understand,” Thyllia’s voice cooed from above, he could practically hear her smile.

“It’s okay, I can multitask,” Ryan said, taking a deep breath and laying back on the soft, yielding floor. He was, he realized, quite glad he’d dated Sorcha. Touching a giantess’s breast for the first time was daunting, and touching Thyllia’s breast for the first time made daunting look easy. He doubted he could have survived both simultaneously. He took in another breath, and inhaled the intoxicating scent of Thyllia’s perfume – and realized immediately that she wasn’t wearing any. She was intoxicating all by herself.

“Well then. Make yourself at home,” Thyllia said, enjoying the feel of Ryan laying against her. So trifling a weight – and yet she felt him keenly, as if electricity was pouring from his body.

For a while, they just lay like that, enjoying each other. Finally, Ryan broke the silence – surprising himself more than her.

“Thyllia – I know this is a bit of a non sequitur – but …how did you handle it when Odin was born?”

“Well…poorly, I suppose. I was worried that…well, I mean, it’s silly, now, but Pryvani and Zhan loved me. I’d never had that before. Syon Fand birthed me, and my dad…well, when Yvenna Mirendy seems reasonably nice, you know something’s terribly wrong.”

“Anyhow, when Odin was born, I was scared that Pryvani and Zhan would forget about me. But they didn’t. My relationship with them was always different than their kids, because I wasn’t their daughter, but that didn’t mean they did anything but love me, ever. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing.” Ryan muttered, regretting this line of the conversation. “It’s stupid. I mean, you weren’t stupid, you were a kid. I’m stupid.”

Thyllia gasped. “You’re worried about your parents’ new kid, aren’t you?”

“Told you it was stupid. I mean, I’m an adult, and I don’t really need them anymore, so if they don’t have time for me….”

“That’s not true, and even if it was, why do you think they won’t make time for you?”

Ryan sighed. “It’s stupid. Never mind.”

“Is it because she’ll be their biological child?”

Ryan leaned against Thyllia, and groaned, just a bit. “This is probably not the best date conversation. But yeah. I mean, I was nice, but….”

“…but you’re worried they won’t be interested in the adopted kid once the ‘real’ one comes along. That’s silly, Ryan. And totally understandable. But I’ve met your parents. And if there’s any part of them that doesn’t think you’re their son, they’ve hidden it completely. And, I mean…your mom was a Hoplite, Ryan. Your dad lost his parents when he was kidnapped. You fit into their family perfectly. If anything, your sister will be the weird one. Kid born to two parents who are able to keep her – she’s the oddball.”

Ryan laughed. “Hadn’t looked at it like that.”

“You should tell them, you know,” Thyllia said gently.

“Nah, they’ve got enough to worry about.”

“And you think you’re not part of that worry?”

Ryan smiled. “I suppose I’m worried I’m not.”

“Well, you are. So there.”

Ryan was quiet a moment, then turned, and clambered up her bare skin onto her shoulder. He leaped for a strand of hair, and used it to traverse her face, coming to rest on the side of Thyllia’s nose, peering into her right eye.

“Thank you,” he said, rubbing the skin of her cheek.

“You know, I would have given you a lift,” she said, eyes crinkling with mirth.

“I know. But Ishin-Bozh has never shied away from a challenge,” he grinned.

“Hmm…that is true. So, my little thumb-sized swordsman,” she said, huskily. “I’ve listened to your problems. Does this mean I get to fondle you now?”

Ryan kissed the bridge of her nose gently. “Princess,” he said, “you can fondle me whenever you like.”