5. Weightless

Maybe it’s not my weekend, but it’s gonna be my year
And I’m so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere
And this is my reaction to everything I fear
‘Cause I’ve been going crazy, I don’t wanna waste another minute here.

— All Time Low

🎶

Everything was good for Cai, Angelico, and Rani. If anything, they were more than good. More than great.

They were perfect.

And Tika and his Fenne and Emil? Well, after Tika’s… less than graceful return to Earth (he would have you know that, contrary to popular belief, he never really planned to leave his children behind… he just wanted to explore a little!), things were… pretty OK.

You might even, on occasion, call them decent.

Watching the three fathers watch their daughters play together, one might actually call them happy, or contented…

…And proud.

***

Although Tika’s plans for his life had gone slightly askew, it hadn’t been all that bad. It definitely hadn’t been as bad as he had left it before he had decided to go on his failed “exploration” trip. And, of course, that all had to do with him meeting a certain someone.

A someone he had been ensured, at first, would never – ever – go for him. So imagine his surprise when she did.

Because Tika’s certain someone was none other than Nancy Landgraab.

Things weren’t immediately entirely great, mind you. Tika soon realized that being with Nancy also came with its fair share of rejections…

She didn’t seem to really do dates, for one, he found after he had been stood up for one.

Nancy Landgraab, Tika came to realize, was of a different caliber – which is why he was all the more surprised that this human, and an actually successful one at that, seemed to like him…

…Enough to be her boytoy, that was. She was still married to someone else.

But as the months went by, they began to meet more and more; and Tika finally dared to think that what they had, might actually be something.

That daring thought became even stronger after she met his very blue children and didn’t so much as bat an eye.

“So…” Tika looked at the ground nervously. “You’re not angry? Upset?”

Nancy shrugged, face morphed into the same rigid, nonchalant expression she always wore. “I’ve always suspected there be aliens among us. I’m just glad to know they aren’t threatening.”

Tika grinned at her… and slowly drew closer. “I can be very threatening.”

Nancy raised an unconcerned eyebrow. “I can’t imagine.”

And after a very successful Winterfest…

…Tika felt more confident than he had ever before about the new year – especially with Nancy right there by his side.

“You mark my words, Nancy… this year is gonna be my year.”

***

A new year, a new start. Tika was ready. After it became painfully clear that he could not expect to see the beautiful landscapes of his home planet anytime soon (or ever), he finally decided to come to terms with a new truth. So Sixam was unreachable… in that case, he just finally, officially had to embrace this new place; his new home. And with that, another realization hit. If he were to live on Earth, he would do so fully. Even if that meant having to let go of… certain parts of him, that were still irreversibly fixed on Sixam.

Even if it meant having to let go of people who had somehow become just as irrevocably linked to Sixam as he had been –

Because his vampire best friend’s sudden alien pregnancy?

That could not have been a coincidence. It had to be about him, and if there was one thing Tika absolutely refused to do, it was to let his fath–his home planet continue to determine the course of his life.

He just couldn’t allow that.

On a similar note, he realized that it was time he manned up and started taking his role as a father seriously, and with that came teaching them the clear, exceptionless lessons he should have taught them in the first place:

“Never trust a vampire.”

***

If you asked Tika, his year was off to a very good start. He had gotten the fresh start he so desperately wanted. After a particularly satisfying night together, he finally – miraculously- managed to convince Nancy to leave her husband for him.

“Please, baby… can’t you see how well we fit? I’d do anything… anything, to be with you.”

“Are we finally moving?”

“It’s not exactly the move I thought we’d make,” Tika mused – he was talking to himself more than his children. “But a great move nonetheless.”

And a great move it was.

Oh, and that new start? He could expect one hell of a new, fresh one.

***

A/N: Man, isn’t it just lovely when our Sims decide to throw one helluva mess (e.g. a random memory erase on a good friend) at us? I sure enjoyed trying to find an even minimally logical explanation for that one.