{Earth}

Andrew hated tightroping. Especially with the multi-Probability shift that shadowed every face, every room, and every moment. Everything so eerily familiar and unbelievably foreign all at once.

Kyle illuminated Andrew’s history in his mind. He could see from their shared past where he took a step, what he wore, the breaths he held. And separate those events from all the others that existed at once.

Going it alone from here might prove difficult. And terribly lonely.

“Hey, are you ready to go?” Sagan arrived a few hours ago after they tried reaching her for two days.

Andrew memorized the features of her face. The pretty eyes, the cute smile, and the sweet freckles. So much warmth emanated from this one person. He designated her a pillar.

Few people qualified as a pillar, a foundation for his sanity. Their Probabilities aligned to match the core of the person in every instance. Sagan was a pure soul, and Andrew welcomed her presence.

“Everything squared away with Kyle, Pablo, and Lynn?” he asked as he turned back to the cliff overlooking the Mediterranean. The sun set beyond Earth’s Sphere. He voted in favor of renaming it after Rayne, the only other person who qualified as a pillar.

Sagan paled. “I’m still coming to terms with—”

Andrew suggested she not finish that sentence and shook his head sternly.

“Right. I’ll drop you off. Then check on Tameka. And then hopefully come back to welcome Legir.” As she listed off her tasks, her genuine smile grounded him. “I look forward to seeing him again. And of course X. Maybe not so much R.”

Conscience chuckled at her eyes widening in bewilderment. “He takes some adjusting.” Playing the part for her, Andrew ignored her screaming intentions. The real ones. At the first opportunity she could separate from her obligations, she intended to visit Razor’s Emporium. He glanced at the metal disc over her nacre and fought the urge to frown.

They survived so much without breaking. The Two Worlds trusted them to bend only enough to test the enemy’s strengths and rebound even stronger. Andrew held out his hand. Sagan took it and walked them to western Australia. Daytime here, he gazed out at the black fire that changed his world.

“What’s it like?” Even her curiosity sounded innocent and sweet.

“Like I’m living a billion lives at once with some differences being only slight but…” Andrew turned back to meet her gaze. “I fall into the major ones like bottomless pits drilled to capture me. Throwing me off and spiraling me into all the potential unknowns.”

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“Andrew?”

Sagan stepped aside, clearing the view to the zeppelin.

Lucas, a sight for Andrew’s sore eyes, triggered the worst fall of all. In an equal number of Probabilities, he betrayed them. And Andrew couldn’t discern if this was one such thread. He hated doubting a face, a voice, and a presence he came to love.

No matter how much the paranoia confused him, Imminent bombed Lucas’ chateau. That’s a loss, and the Icarus’s golden eyes dulled. He looked as if he needed some comfort.

Andrew crossed the field between them and wrapped his arms around his lover. Tightly. The powerful Icarus returned in kind and kissed his neck. Sagan appeared beside them, hopeful. They both laughed heartily as they pulled her in for a three-way embrace with her so tiny she barely reached their shoulders.

Warmth. Love. Sincerity.

Quite a break from the shit happening at the Ecology. And that’s when he decided not to share his assumptions with Lucas. Trust needed reestablishing before any further exchanges of “need to know” information.

A keening howl drew him from the nest of arms. “Pisces came home?” The night someone dropped all the Cascading Light on the Vittle crops, their pet Hellkite, Pisces, disappeared. He worried someone harmed her. He called out to her as he ran behind their home.

The red-scaled, twelve-foot tall beast with a croc’s snout and six arms whooped and fell to the ground. Instantly exposed belly.

“Aw!” Sagan cooed from behind him and rushed by to fawn over the beast.

Lucas sounded genuinely relieved. “I actually lost sleep over her. But the tart went and impregnated herself.” Interesting feat considering they were asexual and reproduced as such. He joined Sagan in spoiling the critter.

“Do we need to find a vet or something?” Andrew indulged the monster with his foot along her snout.

A light bulb went off over Sagan’s head. He’d testify in court that he watched it happen like in a cartoon. She peered up at Lucas. “Hey—”

“What is it this time?” As if he saw the look on her face, too.

She dared look sheepish in response. “Well, it’s wardrobe related.”

“Of course it is. You know I contribute in a dozen ways to the Shadow, but you three girls only ask me for clothes.” At her pout, he relented with a grin. “Go ahead.”

As Sagan put in a request for a dress, Andrew gazed out over the burning field. Cascading Light burned forever. He frowned.

One. The black fire only consumed the entire crop in one Probability. This one. The billions shifted and churned. The vines and vegetation mostly clear of ruin. Except this one.

Lucas’ hand on his shoulder startled him. The Icarus removed it immediately with remorse in his golden eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Fake it. “You’re fine. How’s progress on the new fields?”

He beamed with the good news. “Fifty acres planted already. Twice the amount here. We’ll restore it. Make it right.”

“Good to hear,” Sagan cheered. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have so many places to be. Love you both.” She kissed a cheek for each, waved, and walked into thin air.

“Has she lost weight?” Lucas asked once everything was all clear.

“Stress.”

“There’s plenty of that to go around. Speaking of which, I was drawing a bath when you arrived. Care for a soak?” As Andrew searched his face, Lucas’ expression fell. He covered it well. “Of course, you should rest alone. I can take one after—”

Andrew pulled those soft lips to his own and ran his fingers into Lucas’ sandy-blond hair. With permission granted, the Icarus melted to the Progeny. The kiss deepened, and Andrew moaned into his mouth. Should he hate himself for testing his lover’s intentions the whole while? For suggesting they fuck without complications or discussing current events? Feeling how much Lucas enjoyed the arrangement, Andrew decided the guilt could wait.

Sex now. Apocalypse later.