Page 27 of Lovesick Titan

Upon reaching Mal’s door, he knocked gently. It took only seconds for it to open.

The faint scent of Mal’s cologne greeted Danny, and he looked—wow. Besides the bruise around his eye, the rest of his visible woundswere nearly healed, and he still managed to look smug and self-assured. Beautiful. He wore black jeans and a lighter grey sweater that complimented him well compared to his usual darker style.

But his expression…Danny caught the edge to it, the way the smirk was nothing more than a mask, his body language stiff and defensive.

Then Danny noticed that Mal’s right hand, holding the door open, was wrapped in gauze. His hand hadn’t been hurt last night.

“Are you okay? Did something else happen?” Danny took an abortive step forward, but Mal flinched and didn’t move aside to grant him entry.

“Not sure that’s any of your business,” he said, his smile a bitter twist.

Sinking in on himself, Danny stared at his feet. “I know you probably hate me right now, and you have every right to, but will you at least let me explain?” He risked a glance up after the silence stretched too long.

Mal’s smirk had fallen away, but that only made him more difficult to read. Just when Danny was certain the man was about to shut the door in his face, he opened it wider. “Come in.”

Relief surged through his veins like a shock of lightning. He’d succeeded at step one: entry. Now he just had to get Mal to hear him out.

Danny pushed aside the flip of his stomach as he crossed the threshold. Mal didn’t ask him to take off his shoes, but Danny did so anyway. As he moved further into the room, he remained facing away from Mal and immediately started talking. He had to get this out of him before he lost his nerve.

“First, let me say how sorry I am. Which I know is hugely inadequate to make up for what I did. There is nothing lower than running out on you after you’d…and afterwe’d…” He clenched his eyes shut at the memory of just how awful a thing he’d done to Mal, and the man didn’t even know the half of it. “That was terrible of me, but there’s a good—an awful, really awful—reason why I left. And…” Why was it so cold all of a sudden, Danny thought as a shiver ran through him?

He opened his eyes, and when he took a breath, the puff of air escaped him like a clear stream of smoke. Slowly, Danny lifted his hands that were already shivering, and over the skin and his clothing formed a thin coating of frost.

“Mal?”

He tried to whip around, but his movements were already sluggish. Turning at a snail’s pace, he found Mal behind him with his back pressed to the door to stay as far away as possible, his left hand held outward sporting the amplifier that hadn’t been visible until now.

“By all means,” Mal said icily, with a fresh hardness to his expression, “continue. Your lies certainly have been impressive so far.”

Danny recoiled when Mal’s hand started to ice over as if he might blast him. “What are you doing?”

“Keeping you at a distance. Where you belong. Back up,” he gestured at Danny dismissively, “or you won’t just be feeling the cold field.”

Danny’s heart felt like lead in his chest, sore and heavy as he complied if only to keep Mal talking to him. “I know you’re upset, but I came here toexplain—”

“Oh, I heard your explanation,” Mal sneered. “To Vaughn. At the precinct this morning.”

“You…” The floor dropped out from under Danny as he realized what Mal meant. “The noise in the hallway, the officer I saw…that was you? But youleft.” Danny held up his hands to show he meant no harm, not anymore, he just wanted to move closer. “You didn’t hear everything—”

“I heard enough. About your plan. About what an easymarkI was.”

“Let me exlpla—ah!” Danny cried when he risked moving forward and a blast of ice coated his hands. He had to duck and push his hands outward to keep the blast from hitting his face. “Mal!”Shit, that stung…

“I warned you, Zeus. Hurts a lot worse without the suit on, doesn’t it?” Mal circled him as Danny stumbled against the sofa, sparking electricity through his hands to melt the ice. But with the cold field up, his powers were slowed and it was difficult to concentrate.

He got most of the ice off after a few frantic moments, but unfortunately for Danny, the frost remained and so did the numbing stiffness and pain.

“Wouldn’t try that again,” Mal said with a cruel grin, “or I might aimlower.”

“I w-won’t move, but...please, Mal.” Danny leaned against the couch as he rubbed his raw hands. He was shivering uncontrollably now. “T-Turn the field off so we can...t-talk about this.”

“Prefer to talk like this.” Finally, Mal lowered his hand, but the feeling of the cold field didn’t dissipate. “You’re something else, ya know that? Put on quite the show all these weeks. Never would have thought you had it in you. Except when you attacked me at the museum. That I know was real. What happened, huh? Got all mad thinking I’d teamed up with Ludgate and beat you to the punch? Sorry to disappoint, Danny, but the betrayal’s all on you this time. Though I did let you into the apartment, didn’t I? Guess I haven’t learned mylessonyet.”

The word spat from Mal’s mouth with venom behind it, the same word Danny had used when explaining things to Andre. But he hadn’t meant it likethat. “P-Please…you have tolisten—”

“Ihaveto?” Mal raised his arm again with a snarl and rose up taller in his anger. “Do I have to, Danny?”

Reaching out with a frostbitten hand, Danny barely inched his foot the slightest bit forward before another blast of ice froze it to the floor. “Stop!” he choked out. It was only marginally less painful than his hands with his pant leg and sock to protect him.

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