Page 126 of Lovesick Titan

Danny turned, expecting to be laden down with some additional bit of food only to find the woman standing with her hands on her hips a little too reminiscent of Captain Shan. “Yes, Mrs. Pak?”

“I put you and Mickey to work. You want equal trade for food?” Danny had said a little too often that he would prefer to do more for her in return. “Fine. You help repair shop tomorrow. Need new shelves. Real labor be good for you,” she pointed her finger at him.

“Of course, Mrs. Pak. Whatever you need. We’ll stop by tomorrow morning.”

“Good, good,” she nodded, then wagged her finger at him again. “You give Mickey kiss from me, yes? Sweet boy. Needs sunny boyfriend to keep from going sour.”

“Yes, Mrs. Pak,” Danny chuckled.

As she gave him leave to head off without adding to his burden, he felt his cheeks starting to hurt from having such a good day, such a fulfilling week. A month ago he might have expected this feeling to come with a hint of impending doom, because good times couldn’t last; something was bound to go wrong eventually.

But Danny wouldn’t let himself think like that anymore. Bad times would come again. Bad days. He just had to enjoy the good while he had it and get through the hard times when they turned up too.

“Danny!” Janey bounded down the sidewalk with her own large box in hand—the leftover donuts she brought to the abuse shelter.

Smiling back at her since neither of them could really wave, Danny met Janey on the sidewalk in front of the bakery.

“Ready for Sunday?” she asked.

“You bet. Mal’s really excited, not that he’d admit it. It’ll be his first real press event as Prometheus since the pardon. And for a good cause. If there’s anyone left in this city who doesn’t believe he’s a good man, being the spokesperson for the shelter’s fundraiser will make a huge difference.”

“I still can’t believe you convinced him to use his…well…popularityto get more attention on the fundraiser. He’s usually so private, always gave his own donations quietly, under the radar, you know? I hearZeusmight even drop by,” she said with a knowing slide of her eyes. Janey didn’t only deliver leftover baked goods for the men, women, and children at the shelter; she volunteered several days a week too.

“Funny. I heard the same thing,” Danny winked. “See you Sunday,” he called cheerfully as she hurried past him toward the shelter.

Sometimes it amazed Danny how quickly this neighborhood had started to feel like home, but then he thought about the people, simple genuinely good people just trying to live their lives, and it didn’t seem so strange. He even waved to Rashid—well, lifted his chin and gestured with the box as best he could—when Rashid caught his attention from inside the convenience store.

Simple genuinely good people just trying to live their lives—like Danny. And Mal. Like all of Team Zeus and the Titans. Even if they did have interesting night jobs.

Danny braced himself as he moved up to the second floor of the apartment building, too familiar with the coming routine to be caught off guard, especially when he had a rather large box in his hands that he did not want to disrupt. As soon as he got close to Carla’s door, he expected the way it burst open and an excited ten-year-old stood poised to ambush him.

“Freeze!” Michael called, holding his Prometheus doll out as if he were holding a gun.

Danny stiffened dramatically, surprised expression frozen in place, until Michael giggled and lowered the doll. “Takes a while for that ice to thaw, Michael,” Danny said rigidly. “I might need a minute.”

Michael giggled harder as he came out of his apartment with a curious tilt of his head. “Donuts?”

“Not this time, pal,” Danny relaxed. “This is for Mal. Not food,” he assured the young boy’s pout.

“Hey, Danny,” Oz peeked out of the doorway, holding baby Mai, who was even more alert now as a one-month-old, starting to hold her head up and blink around at what she could see with ever-growing curiosity.

“Carla still at work?” Danny asked.

“Heading home soon. I’ll tell her she missed you. But you can bet I’ll be at the morgue tonight.”

“Awesome. Yeah, I wish she could join us too.”

“Next time. For now we have to trade off. She needs to expand her babysitters. I hear your dad’s on the short list,” he snickered.

That didn’t surprise Danny at all. “See you later. And see you Sunday, right?” he smiled down at Michael. “Keep it cool until then, buddy, okay?”

Michael nodded and clutched his Prometheus doll closer.

The apartment smelled like lilacs when Danny entered. Mal had cleaned. He must be nervous about Sunday—he always tidied excessively when he was nervous, something new Danny had learned since moving in with him.

“Mal?” Danny called as he kicked off his shoes at the door. The lights were on, but he didn’t immediately see his boyfriend.

“Jumping in the shower!” Mal’s muffled voice responded from upstairs.

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