A week later when they were certain the other aliens were definitely gone, for now anyway, James called his mother to let her know it was safe to visit if she wanted to and he would tell her everything.

Maze had spent almost every day since they’d moved out of the basement learning to cook human food and insisted — or rather demanded — James invite his parents over for a dinner party so he could practice more. James didn’t think he needed any more practice, he’d been eating the food Maze cooked every day for the past week and he had honestly never had such nice things, not even in restaurants.

He had been reluctant at first, unsure of how his mother would react to seeing an alien again after so many years and also of how Maze would react to his father, but after being reminded again by Maze that he could kill James where he stood if he didn’t do what he wanted, James had agreed.

It said a lot about how much Maze was looking forward to cooking for someone other than him that he hadn’t burst out laughing when James came out of his bedroom after showering wearing a pink shirt his mother had bought him that he hated. Instead Maze simply looked him up and down, nodded and went back to cooking, as though James had passed his inspection of appropriate dinner attire.

“What’re you making anyway?” James asked as he sat down at the breakfast bar.

“ Trout meunière and nicoise salad,” Maze answered as he chopped tomatoes.


“And for you?” James asked because he knew his friend didn’t eat any kind of meat.

Maze glanced up briefly and grinned, apparently please that James had remembered his aversion to meat. “Pasta primavera. Though I’ve made enough of both if anyone wants pasta instead. I think you will enjoy the trout though.”

“And dessert?” because there was no way Maze wouldn’t have made dessert. It was his favourite meal to cook and eat.

Another grin, this time wider, with far more teeth. “Guess?”

“You’re not…” James said slowly, trying not to get his hopes up, but when Maze nodded and full-on smiled he couldn’t help but grin back. “Well, you’ll have won over mum before she even makes it through the door.”
Maze glanced up at him again, this time frowning, and James explained with a smile; “Baked Alaska is her favourite too.”


Dinner started out remarkably well. When his parents arrived, James’ anxiety levels shot through the roof and apparently sensing his discomfort, Maze assured him the evening would run smoothly, even if he had to kill everyone in the room to make it happen. That made James laugh and he opened the door to greet his parents with a smile on his face.

His mother and father took surprisingly well to the tall green alien in his home, she had even hugged Maze when James had introduced them. Maze had been slightly startled and uncomfortable but he stood perfectly still and allowed the small woman to squeeze him around the middle.

Maze had likewise taken the fact that James father was a ghost in stride and spent the first half of the evening chatting with him about what it was like to be a spirit. It wasn’t until they were halfway through eating, after James had explained what had happened to him and how Maze had saved him, that everything began to fall apart.

“Sorry what?” James shook his head and turned his gaze back to his mother. He’d been staring at Maze and hadn’t heard a word of what she’d said until the last piece of her sentence; he’d never seen Maze so happy and sociable. “What did you just say?”

“Charlie was kidnapped too,” his mother mumbled through a mouthful of fish. “Oh don’t worry, everything’s fine now. But by the sounds of it, it could very well have been the same people that took you.”

“Yeh no I heard that bit,” James shook his head impatiently. “The next bit, the bit about Avery.”

“Oh,” his mother put her fork down and looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. “They let both of them go, but only because Avery agreed to help them.”

“She did what?” James breathed barely able to believe what he was hearing. Beside him he felt Maze tense, the conversation with his father forgotten as he waited to hear the rest.

“She helped them dear,” Hadley continued. “Something about their … ships? I’m not sure to be honest, it all sounded so far fetch that I just assumed she was pulling my leg.”


There was a loud clatter as Maze’s fork hit his plate and he stood abruptly, his chair scraping loudly across the wood floor. Without a word he shoved his chair back in, the plates on the table jumping as the chair banged into it, and stalked into the bathroom.

“Did I say something wrong?” Hadley frowned after the tall alien.

“No mum,” James sighed heavily and put his knife and fork down carefully before getting up. “I’ll be back in a second.”

James slipped into the bathroom and closed the door quietly behind him. Maze was leaning backwards against the basin, arms crossed and head bowed with his eyes closed tight.

“Maze?” he said quietly, taking a step closer. He wasn’t sure if the alien was upset or mad and he didn’t dare get any closer without knowing in case he finally made good on his promise to kill him where he stood.

“Get out,” Maze snapped in a dangerously low voice. Mad then. Perfect.

“Listen,” he sighed again. “I know that—”

“You know nothing,” Maze cut him off with a growl. He finally opened his eyes and glared up at James without raising his head, baring his teeth. “Your sister helped them. Your family will be responsible for my death.”

“No,” James shook his head. “No one is going to kill you, they don’t even know where you are!”

“They will find me,” he said dismissively. “They always do.”


“Listen to me,” James stepped forward and grasped his upper arms. He knew he was risking his own life by touching Maze when he was angry but he had to make him see, it was all a mistake. “She didn’t know! Avery just wanted to save her girlfriend, she had no idea what the repercussions of her actions would be. I’m sure if she knew she would nev—”

“Yes she would have,” Maze cut him off and actually snapped his teeth together angrily as he shook James’ hands off his arms. “You humans will do whatever you can to save your own skins and damn anyone else who might suffer! You are too stupid to think past your own—”

“Oh shut up!” James shouted. He knew his parents could probably hear them through the wall but it didn’t matter, he’d had enough Maze’s bullshit. “You keep going on and on about how stupid humans are for wanting to save our own lives but what exactly do you think it is you’re doing? Hmm? You’re throwing a tantrum in a bathroom because my sister might — not even definitely, but might — have been responsible for helping the other Ara’tan to get home which might result in them coming after you again. You’re doing exactly what you think humans are stupid for doing!”

“Don’t you dare yell at me like that,” Maze lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes. “I will—”

 
“Yeh yeh, you’ll kill me where I stand,” James rolled his eyes. “Get a new threat. Jesus Maze, you are so fucking stubborn! And rude! I have don’t nothing but try to help you since you saved my life and you’re treating me like garbage right now because my sister did something. My sister, not me! I’ve done nothing, so stop blaming me!”

The silence that followed his words was almost deafening. Maze stared at him with that same intense stare he always used when he was mad, and then all of a sudden the alien sighed heavily and closed his eyes again, a simple nod of his head was all the response and apology James was going to get.