Izo was no closer to getting to Earth than the day he’d stepped off the Atrox Killboard. He still had no idea how he was going to get home, or if hanging around the creepy Senator’s house was actually helping or hurting his chances at this point. But there was one thing he knew for sure: with the possible exception of Ari, he did not like a single person in this room.
He tried to shake it off and look bigger, but that was no easy task while sitting in an overly-large couch surrounded by the ninety-eight percent Malforian demographic. Mort’s platform, arranged in a square, was a little less intimidating than the room of curious strangers. With Mort and Lrasa on either side of him and Ari on the other side of Mort’s friend, the platform held on its opposite end only two people Izo didn’t recognize—a pair of nearly identical Malforians, both slightly older and stuffier than the two playboy Senators. If worse came to worst, he supposed there’d only be four apex aliens against the lost teenager from Earth and the universe’s smallest intersexual pop star.
Izo leaned over to the Senator. “If I promise to never sass you again, can I go back to my room?”
“Like I’m going to take that deal,” the Senator whispered back. He patted Izo on the shoulder. “Relax. The twins came all this way to meet you. They just want to ask a couple of questions and get to know you a little. That’s all.”
“That is, unless more is on the table,” laughed the larger of the two twins. Heavyset and indistinguishable in the face from the Malforian beside him except for a slightly larger frame, Izo got the distinct feeling he enjoyed creeping out Avarians. “You come face to face with a once-in-lifetime beauty, you take whatever interactions you can get. Don’t you, dear sister?”
“Behave yourself, Bvoscar,” chided his companion. Tall and pale, she wore her long silvery hair in thin braids. In a gleaming red ensemble and a big hat, she was the fanciest Malforian Izo had ever seen.
Fawning at him, she let out a squee. “I just can’t get over it, Mort! It’s like looking at something straight out of a fairytale. He’s so little and cute!”
Izo made a face. “I’m five foot eight, lady.”
“Is that large on your planet?” she asked.
“It’s… not short for a Chicano.”
“Will he get any larger than this?” Bvoscar asked Mort.
The Senator shook his head. “Males from his planet reach full height just after puberty. He may grow a bit more, but most stop between the age of eighteen and twenty.”
“How old are you now?” the female twin asked Izo.
“Nineteen.” He turned to Mort. “But I could always be a late bloomer.”
Mort laughed. “Of course, you could. And anyway, it doesn’t matter. He can fly; he can be as big as he wants.”
“Exactly,” Izo agreed, glaring around the platform. “And I’ll fly up and pee on the next person that calls me short.”
Mort held out a hand to Izo with a flat expression. “Speaking of, not to disappoint you, Tig, but I assure you though he may seem fairytale-like from a distance, in person there’s nothing particularly mystical about him. He’s just a normal Avarian who happens to be the only one of his kind. Please, don’t feel the need to put on airs around him. Ask him whatever you’d like. He may be rude or sarcastic, but…” He shrugged. “I can also promise he won’t hold back.”
“All right. I have a question for him,” said the female, Tig. Sitting forward, she smiled warmly. “We’ve all been hearing rumors you’re joining the Imperial racing team. Any truth to that?”
“I guess I technically tried out and qualified.” Izo gave a noncommittal lift of his shoulders. “Might as well give it a shot.”
Tig frowned. She glanced at Mort. “Are we not serious or excited about this?”
“Of course we are,” answered Mort, handing Izo a drink. “He’s being bashful. Tomorrow is his first day of practice. He’s going to be amazing.” The Senator mussed Izo’s hair. “The head coach says his try out time had one of the best off-the-block accelerations in the tri-galaxy.”
“And my last run broke the fourth wall,” said Izo.
Mort smiled in embarrassment at the twins. “That’s not exactly what happened…but everyone who attended in person agreed it was certainly a sight to see. The coach was very eager to get him started as soon as she reviewed his times.”
“Good! We look forward to seeing him in action as well. I know everyone is very curious to find out what he can do,” said Bvoscar.
“As a Gravity Sprite, I’m sure you’ll be a natural,” Tig said to Izo.
Izo shrugged in agreement while taking a sip of his drink. His eyes widened—it was surprisingly good, smooth and bubbly with just a touch of melon flavor. He looked down at it, impressed. “What’s this called?”
“That’s called ‘the good stuff,’ and you’re going to get used to it living here, my boy,” Bvoscar chuckled before turning back to Mort. “Speaking of living here,” said Bvoscar, his voice suddenly dropping with insinuation, “It’s come to our attention that this lovely creature has been staying with you already for…what? A whole month now?”
“A couple of weeks,” said Izo.
“It’s been almost a month,” agreed the Senator.
“Mhmm,” said Bvoscar. “And during all that time together you and your supposedly virginal guest here never…” Bvoscar pointed between them and grinned.
Izo narrowed his eyes.
The Senator smirked and covered his mouth. “Why whatever are you accusing me of?”
Bvoscar tipped his head affectionately. “Nothing untoward, my dear boy! You know I’ve adored you ever since you were small.”
“And, likewise, I’ve always admired and been honest with both of you,” said Mort.
Bvoscar broke into an even wider sharky grin. His age showed plainly the deep-set wrinkles of an expression often used. “Of course, of course! But you have to realize I still have eyes in my head. A person says they have a nineteen-year-old, one-of-a-kind virgin living in their home…particularly one who looks like that…” Bvoscar’s gaze slid slowly down the Earthling. “You can’t help but wonder.”
Izo sneered and started to stand.
“You can stop wondering,” Mort said, holding out a hand to stop him. “There’s nothing between Izo and I. And it wasn’t from lack of interest or trying, let me assure you. I was simply too late; Izo’s already been spoken for,” said Mort.
“Even so, you’re telling me there haven’t been any midnight mistakes? No run-ins in the hallway? No drinks after dinner or accidental wanderings onto the same patio late at night? Really? Not even once?” A cool smile played across Bvoscar’s face. “You honestly expect the Mountain to believe that, Mort?”
“The Mountain can believe what it wants. It’s immaterial.” The Senator spread his arms over his head with ease. “I’m here purely as his protector and sponsor. There has not now or ever been anything romantic between us. If you don’t believe me: ask him.” He gestured at Izo.
Izo quickly decided now wasn’t the time to disclose anything personal. “It’s not like that. I’m just here until I figure out how to get home.”
“Hmm.” Bvoscar threw a look to his twin. “What do you think, Tig?”
Tig’s shark-eye flashed between Izo and the Senator. “I think Izo’s very sweet, and Mort has always been a perfect gentleman.”
“True, but how does that answer my question, dear sister?”
“I think it means they aren’t going to answer your question, dear brother.”
“Ah. I see.” Bvoscar nodded knowingly. “Very good, then.”
Mort chuckled and shook his head. Izo folded his arms and did his best to set the place on fire with his mind. He would have gladly burned himself too if it would have taken the rest of them down with him.
“Well, I know the truth, even if these two are too precious to admit it,” said Lrasa, cutting in rudely. “I have it on very good authority that Izo likes sex. In fact,” he said, turning to the youth, “he told me so himself the very first night we met.”
Izo stared in confusion. He had no idea what the shorter Senator was talking about. Then it suddenly hit him like a thunderbolt. He snapped his fingers and pointed. “You were the other guy at the club that night!”
Lrasa’s mouth dropped open. Beside him, Mort snorted and nearly fell forward, he was laughing so hard.
The smaller Senator searched Izo’s face with pain. “You didn’t remember me until now? Izo, I’ve visited you twice a week since you moved in.”
The Earthling grimaced. He hadn’t put it together.
“Don’t feel bad, Izo,” Ari said, touching her hair and not looking at any of them. “No one can seem to remember Lrasa at election time either.”
At this, the twins threw their heads back and roared with laughter.
“I would be angry at you, but I’m just amazed your mouth isn’t too full to talk,” Lrasa said, snapping at Ari.
“Watch it,” the Senator told his friend.
“Speaking of watching it…” Ari suddenly sat forward to glare at the Earthling. “Izo, where’s my purse?”
Izo froze. He looked down at his side. The purse wasn’t there. His head swiveled as he searched the immediate area, but the stupid bag was nowhere to be found. He looked up at Ari with an embarrassed expression.
Ari’s eyebrow drifted up. “Well?”
“It was just here. I—I’ll look for it.” Izo floated off the chair and toward the nearest platform below.
“Have you seen a purse lying around? It’s silver and shiny,” Izo asked hopefully. The group smiled in sympathy but shook their heads. Izo scanned the area. Even with every eye in the room resting on him, he could still feel the Aurelian singer burning holes into the back of his head. He looked up at her sheepishly. “Maybe it fell after I sat?”
Ari turned her angry expression toward the Senator. Izo took the opportunity to zip left and right near the ground below. His movements were drawing attention and whispers from around the room, but it felt more important to keep the mean singer from attacking him again.
“This is why I hate lending things to your house guests,” the singer told the Senator, her voice somehow echoing all around the room. “They’re always losing my stuff. The fabric on that piece had some of the rarest and most delicate natural fibers in the universe. They say they’ll take care of it, but deep down they don’t care because they know it’s not theirs.”
“He obviously didn’t mean to misplace it,” said the Senator. He shouted down to where the Gravity Sprite was still floating and trying to peer between people. “Izo, do you remember where you saw it last?”
Izo shook his head up at the platform. “I know I had it when I arrived.”
“Then it’s got to be around here somewhere. We’ll find it. Come back,” said the Senator, waving him up. He glanced sharply at Ari. “It’s not a big deal.”
Izo zipped back to the platform and frowned sheepishly at the blonde. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose it. I’ll buy you another one.”
Ari tsked. “It’s not my money you’re wasting.”
“Exactly, so there’s nothing for Izo to apologize for.” The Senator gave the Earthling an encouraging pat on the back as he climbed into his seat again.
“I’d be happy to punish him if you don’t want to,” said Lrasa from Mort’s other side. “Sometimes a strong, loving hand is exactly what a young Avarian needs.”
Izo flipped him the bird.
“No one’s punishing anyone. It was an honest mistake.” Sitting back, the Senator placed an arm around both of Izo’s shoulders. “When I took him in, I swore to help and support him. That means supporting his mistakes too.”
Izo’s face pinched. “Huh?”
“No one give it another thought,” the Senator shushed everyone. “As long as he’s here, he doesn’t have to worry about anything. It doesn’t matter how big or small; I’ll take care of it.” He gave the Gravity Sprite a reassuring squeeze. “You’re protected here.”
“Makes you wonder why he wants to leave and get several million lightyears away,” whispered Lrasa to Tig.
“He doesn’t want to leave,” snapped Mort. “He misses home. It’s different.”
Lrasa shrugged. “I’m sure that’s what I’d tell you in his place too.”
The Senator gave his friend a look like he was almost ready to push him off the platform.
“Speaking of missing things, I understand the agent is still unaccounted for?” asked Tig. She shook her head in confusion. “That part I didn’t understand. Was he a part of the kidnapping too?”
“I told him about the kidnapping at the end, right before he disappeared,” said Izo. Thinking it over, he frowned. Maybe it did make sense that Deneus left after all. He sighed and looked down. “He didn’t know anything when it all started.”
The Senator held out a finger. “We can’t be entirely sure what he did and didn’t know; he disappeared before anyone could ask him.”
“I know when he found out. I’m the one who told him.” Izo turned back to the twins. “Deneus didn’t know what was going on. He was a good guy.”
“Then why disappear? Why avoid the authorities?” asked Bvoscar.
“I—I don’t know,” answered Izo honestly. “Maybe he was scared of being accused along with everyone else?”
“Or maybe he had something to hide from everyone else,” whispered Bvoscar to Tig.
Tig nodded with a knowing look. “There were rumors he was working with the Malforian mob.”
“I heard he was tangled up in Avarian trafficking,” agreed Bvoscar.
“What? No,” said Izo. “Deneus would never do anything like that. He tried to protect me.”
“The truth is,” the Senator said, holding out a hand between Izo and the twins, “we simply don’t know. The investigation is ongoing at this point, and there’s been nothing conclusive. Unfortunately, we’ll just have to wait to see if anyone can find him to understand what he was thinking. What we do know, in the meantime, is Izo’s kidnappers are gone, and he’s finally safe.”
“Mort’s right,” Tig told her brother. “Izo’s safety is the most important thing here.”
“Mmm, quite right,” said Bvoscar.
Turning to Izo, Tig broke into a charitable smile. It was so sweet and demoralizing, you would have thought she’d heard he was being dissected later that night. “Tell me, do you miss your fiancé and home world?”
“Y-yes,” said Izo, awkwardly. “I miss Earth and Hanako a lot.”
Tig nodded in rapturous sympathy. She looked half ready to break into tears. “You poor, sweet thing! I couldn’t believe it when I heard what happened to you. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how you’ve endured, to have no idea where the love of your life or your home planet is? It’s unimaginable!”
“It’s a terrible thing to lose your birth planet,” agreed Mort. “Sadly, neither Izo nor his fiancé knows where the other is. When Izo’s kidnappers took him, they did it suddenly and without warning.” He turned to Izo. “The two of them were planning to start a family too. Weren’t you?”
Izo shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “That’s kind of private.”
“Completely understandable. I’m sure it would take a while for a heart to heal and open itself to anyone else,” the Senator said with a meaningful glance at Lrasa. “Anyone with half-a-brain could easily understand that.”
“I don’t know. Ari seems to bounce between lovers pretty fast,” said Lrasa.
“Some don’t take as long as others,” replied the singer.
“Is that an invitation?” asked Lrasa. “Because I could kill ten minutes.”
“Would you two stop it? We’re talking about Izo.” Tig turned back to the Earthling. “Tell us, was your fiancé also a Gravity Sprite?”
“Hmm? No.” Izo shook his head. “Hanako isn’t Avarian.”
The Senator cleared his throat. Tig had begun to frown deeply, and her brother had broken into a matching look of arch disapproval. Izo looked back and forth between the three of them. “Did I say something wrong?”
“I would think so. You realize pairing with a non-Avarian makes it more difficult to pass on the Gravity Sprite gene, correct?” said Bvoscar.
“I wouldn’t really know,” said Izo.
“And aren’t you only half-Avarian yourself?” asked Tig hotly.
“Yeah, but—” Izo blinked. “Wait, how do you know that?”
“How sure are we about him going back to this long-lost female from his planet?” asked Tig, turning on Mort. “Because while I certainly understand how he feels and of course anyone should be free to choose love if they really want, isn’t maintaining the species an important element to consider as well?”
“Well-said,” agreed Bvoscar.
“After all, finding the right match for any Avarian is an incredibly touchy matter. For someone like a Gravity Sprite, I’d think careful forethought would be even more important.” She turned on Izo. “Be honest, how much did you really consider the repercussions of this engagement?” Her eyes glowed with intensity. “It affects more than just you, after all.”
“Maybe,” said Izo. “But it sure as hell doesn’t affect you or anyone else—”
“He was in love,” interrupted Mort. “He didn’t have to think it through or consider the repercussions because love isn’t about making smart choices. Or doing what makes sense in the long run. It’s about finding a certain feeling with someone. Regardless, now isn’t the time to chastise him about his past. Even if we don’t agree with his earlier decisions, I’m sure we can sympathize with his plight. None of this was his fault. He’s suffered a great and profound loss, and it’s going to take some time to get over it.” He patted Izo’s back. “I for one am happy to support him no matter what.”
All around the room, whispers of genial agreement seemed to sweep through the other platforms. Izo looked around in confusion. Several of the Malforians present had turned to glance sadly at him. None seemed more distressed than Tig, though. “Of course, you’re right, Mort. I shouldn’t be angry with him. I can’t imagine losing my first love and my home world.”
“Birth world,” corrected Mort.
“Yes,” said Tig. Sitting up, she smiled brightly at Izo. “I’m sorry if I got too involved. It’s just—I already adore you so much! Please forgive me. I only mean well.”
“I think we’re all feeling a little over-protective of him at the moment. No surprise there though—he’s a genuine find. You’re a lucky Malforian, Mort. I’ve never been so delightfully impressed or jealous in my life.”
“You’re too kind,” said the Senator.
“Anything he needs, you let us know,” said Bvoscar.
“And please come and visit us soon,” said Tig to Izo. “We want you to feel nothing but welcome in your new home.”
Izo scratched his arm. “Thanks, but this isn’t permanent. Earth didn’t disappear. I’m still going back. It’s still home.”
“That’s right.” Mort ruffled the Earthling’s hair before turning to the twins. “He’s been gradually working through it. But it’s not easy. It’s been a lot to process.”
“There’s nothing to process,” said Izo. From all around him people in the room seemed to be sadly disagreeing with soft whispers. Izo sat up and wanted to argue with them, but Mort held him down by one shoulder.
“I think he was just taken from home so suddenly, and his kidnappers had been promising to take him back for so long… I don’t think there was ever any time to grieve.” Mort continued. “But he’s shown a lot of fortitude by trying to start over—”
“I don’t need to start over,” insisted Izo. “I’m going back to Earth!”
“Izo, why don’t we go upstairs?” offered Ari. Her expression was as pliant and gentle as a kindergarten teacher’s. “It’s getting late. You still have to get up for practice tomorrow.”
“No,” said Izo. “I’m not tired and I—”
“That’s probably for the best,” Mort agreed with Ari. He turned to the Earthling. “Thank you for coming. I know you were nervous about it. I’ll see you tomorrow after work.” Then, returning to the twins, he left Ari to pull Izo up from his seat and towards the platform’s door. “This is why the Mountain’s support for the Swords is so deeply appreciated,” continued the Senator. “It’s for finding and protecting rare talents just like Izo all around the universe.”
“Of course,” agreed Bvoscar.
“Let’s go,” said Ari, pushing Izo toward the platform’s door as it neared the ground.
“I said I’m not tired!” insisted Izo. All around them the room echoed with fawning laughter at his show of apparently adorable defiance. Izo glared up furiously in multiple directions. But it only seemed to make their pandering sympathy worse. Unable to think of any way to make them stop, he eventually buckled and let Ari nudge him off the platform and toward the room’s exit. In honesty, he didn’t actually want to stay.
“I’m just so glad you found him instead of someone else, Mort,” said Tig from behind them. Their voices had already begun rising into the air again.