Page 14 of What Makes an Alien a Dad?

Chapter 6

Kear

“You’re a warm, kind person.”

That was something he’d never heard anyone say to him before.

Kind?

Well, he wasn’t evil. He never hurt anyone on purpose, other than the fescods. But he wasn’t selflessly kind in the conventional sense of the word. He wouldn’t go out of his way to help a stranger, mostly because he rarely noticed them. He’d grown to view people as either troublesome or bothersome, and he’d learned to generally ignore them, staying away from them whenever possible.

Warm?

That was an even worse word to describe him.

He’d been avoiding any “warm” feelings all his life. In his line of work, it was often necessary. He couldn’t allow himself to feel when he was doing his work because then sorrow for every life he’d lost would destroy him.

He lingered by Maya’s door. Pressing his ear to it, he listened for any sound behind it, like more sobbing or the noise of her getting up again to eat another box of those cupcakes.

How much sugar was in them? The fur on the back of his neck rose when he thought about the havoc it must have wreaked on her system.

How did she even get her hands on those? He didn’t allow them in his clinic. A part of him urged him to launch an investigation and put an end to her supply source.

Another, more rational part, realized he couldn’t possibly control her every single action. Stuffing her face with cupcakes clearly was a coping mechanism. Something upset her so much, she disregarded the nutritional requirements outlined in the contract she’d signed. His cutting her off from sugar would not make her feel any better. He had to look at the root of the problem to fix it. And the root had something to do with the news she got from back home. He needed to find out what it was.

Satisfied that Maya safely stayed in bed and, hopefully, would be soundly asleep soon, he stomped back to his place and made his house AI call Alcus Hecear.

He remembered how late it was only when the screen of his house drone showed the sleepy face of the representative against a pillow in the dark room.

“Professor Kear Umhra Thormus?” Even half-asleep, Alcus wouldn’t forget his manners or drop the formalities, using Kear’s full name and title as per the custom in Voran. “Is something wrong with Madam Maya Gupta?”

“No. Um, yes.” Kear paced his spacious living room, the house drone following him closely.

Alcus slipped out of his bed and sneaked out of his bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him. He obviously realized this would be a lengthy conversation and didn’t want to wake his boyfriend, who must be asleep.

“Do you need me to come to the hospital?” Alcus asked, rubbing his eyes, his sleeping mask dangling from one of his horns.

The fur on the representative’s head was a mess, and his horns were bare of paint. That fact struck Kear the most. He’d never seen Alcus with undecorated horns before.

“Is it urgent, Professor?”

“Yes. Very urgent.”

“What’s happening? Where is she?” Alcus ripped his pajama top off, heading to his dressing room.

“In her apartment. In her bed.”

“Alone? What is she doing?”

“Sleeping.”

“Sleeping?” Alcus paused in his struggle with putting a shirt on over his head while the sleeping mask got tangled in it. “Maya is sleeping?”

“Yes.” Kear ran a hand over his forehead, suddenly realizing how ridiculous he sounded, dragging poor Alcus out of bed over a box of eaten cupcakes.

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