Chapter 20
Chuckling at the eyebrow-wiggling Dasan, Pyxlevir grabbed a seat at the dining room table.
Gramlithyn was across from him, and they shared a small smile.
While everything was new and awkward, Pyxlevir was pleased with his day.
Their emotional conversation over the weekend had changed little between him and his mate until he’d received a text inviting him to lunch.
Gramlithyn had needed time to think, and Pyxlevir appreciated that.
But he was pleased that Gramlithyn had taken the initiative.
Their earlier meal had been fun, and Pyxlevir was eager to do it again.
When Pyxlevir had returned to his office, he’d sent a group text to suggest to his current household that they eat dinner together.
Everyone had responded in the affirmative, but as Pyxlevir waited for his roommates to get settled, the vibe was tense. They’d ordered from the kitchen in the apartment building, and it’d arrived swiftly.
“Does anyone need anything?” Dasan asked. They each assured the hummingbird that they were fine.
“Let’s dig in,” Gramlithyn suggested.
No one spoke as they took their first few bites, and Pyxlevir didn’t like the uneasiness.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
The twins exchanged a glance, then Colburn’s gaze slid to Gramlithyn for a heartbeat before his eyes met Pyxlevir’s.
“Well, we were surprised by the dinner invitation. We’ve shared an apartment for over a month, and this is one of the few times the five of us have been together.
We were under the impression that we’d left our family homes for a reason. ”
Gramlithyn nodded. “You’re right, and I apologize.
I arranged for this apartment to give Pyx and I a chance to discover if we can mend our matebond or eventually break it, but I haven’t honored my part of the bargain.
That stops now. Pyx and I had a conversation this weekend, and I’m ready to stop hiding from my problems.”
“Good, because as far as Cris and I are concerned, if you decide to go the separation route, we’ll have to extend our time here to add another thirty days.
That’s the only way you could fulfill the requirements of the law and prove you tried to be mates for a full year,” Colburn replied.
“The first month you barely had conversations with anyone but Dasan.”
“You kidding? He’s been talking to himself more than to anybody else. At least he got a job, so we know he’s not sitting around this apartment naked on the sofa while we’re at work,” Dasan retorted.
Pyxlevir nearly fought the impulse to chuckle, but Gramlithyn’s expression was so annoyed that he lost the battle, which earned him a glare from the zebra-elf.
“He better not be; I put my bare feet on that thing,” Pyxlevir teased.
“Anyway, I think that’s fair, Colby,” Gramlithyn said. “I agree. The first month doesn’t count. We made no effort to reconnect except for a few late-night conversations no one else witnessed.”
Colburn smiled, and Pyxlevir relaxed. Their friends needed reassurance, but Pyxlevir didn’t doubt that no matter what the future brought, they’d be supportive. They were fantastic people he was glad to call family.
“I’m happy you’re finally trying,” Colburn said. “Honestly, Cris and I were talking last night, and we were going to confront you both soon. Either you were going to spend time together or we were going home.”
“I’m sorry I waited so long and made you feel like your sacrifice in leaving your family wasn’t worth it,” Gramlithyn said.
“Same,” Pyxlevir added. “I know you miss them.”
“We do,” Crispin responded. “But matebonds are important, and we want to be here for you both. If you’ll let us.”
“Yeah, I’m not missing anybody, but I’m here for everyone too,” Dasan added.
“Let’s promise to keep communicating,” Colburn suggested.
“None of us want to interfere in your matebond, so we don’t expect you to include us in everything.
You have to figure your relationship out on your own.
But it’s going to be a giant hurdle to persuade anyone to break your matebond permanently.
Convince us that’s the only option. Otherwise, I’m going to follow my gut, which is to tell you to thank Fate and work on figuring out why she matched you instead of trying to defy her. ”
Pyxlevir grinned at Gramlithyn and opted to keep the conversation light despite the stakes.
“We’ve decided as a team to figure out why she matched us.
Today was a big hurdle for me. I can eat carrots again without wanting to gag.
Gramlithyn smells like carrots to me, and everyone knows they are my favorite, so I had to hide how much I hated them for the past six years.
But we’ve talked and cleared the air, so now I can enjoy the best veggie again. ”
“Wow, did you get the carrot flower tattoo because of Pyxlevir?” Dasan asked.
“How did you know they’re carrot flowers?” Gramlithyn asked.
Dasan scowled. “You told me, dude. One time I asked you, and you told me they were carrot flowers. I didn’t believe you because I didn’t know carrots had flowers, so I looked it up. Wild carrot flowers are called Queen Anne’s Lace. It stuck in my head because I’m an Anna’s Hummingbird.”
“I don’t remember you asking,” Gramlithyn responded while Pyxlevir stared at his mate with wide eyes.
“But you didn’t know that you smelled like carrots to me,” Pyxlevir sputtered.
Gramlithyn bowed his head and poked at his dinner with his fork.
“No, but you also smell like carrots to me. I told you that at lunch. Whatever the future holds, you’ll always be an important part of my life.
We grew up together, and you were my first best friend.
So, when I decided to get a tattoo, I wanted it to be special.
I chose a vine to represent the connections in my life and put the wild carrot flowers around them to signify you. ”
Overwhelmed, Pyxlevir stared dumbly at Gramlithyn. Although he’d admired the gorgeous ink on the hybrid’s light green skin, not once had it occurred to him that he had anything to do with the design Gramlithyn had chosen to permanently ink on his flesh.
“Both mates having the same scent is cool,” Crispin said.
“I agree,” Gramlithyn muttered to his plate.
“The dragon is to represent my family. Everyone I’ve ever loved considers themselves part of the D’Vaire clan, so it made sense to pick that.
I have another tattoo higher on my arm. It’s a gargoyle.
An elven one to honor the two gargoyles I shared my teenage years with, and the elf is for the other half of my heritage.
That was important to me because I’ve embraced more shifter traditions than I did in my youth. ”
Colburn’s mouth dropped open. “Fucking hell, you have a gargoyle? That’s so awesome.”
“Next time he has on a T-shirt, have him pull up the sleeve,” Dasan commented. “I’ve seen it, and it’s well done. If I wasn’t so chicken, I’d have tattoos too.”
“If you don’t like needles, you can get a magical one,” Crispin suggested. “You can even remove it if you ever decide you don’t like it.”
It was Dasan’s turn to appear shocked. “No one told me that. I’ll have to figure out what I want.”
A zebra flashed into Pyxlevir’s mind, and he nearly ran for his phone to call Jeremiah to have him sketch something for him before realization dawned.
If he and Gramlithyn worked hard to build their matebond, he’d get a zebra.
One D’Vaire tradition Pyxlevir had always admired were mating marks.
It was an ancient practice available to anyone blessed by Fate; the goddess imprinted an image onto the skin of the couple.
Since Pyxlevir was paired with a shifter, he’d get a perfect replica of Gramlithyn’s beast.
Which was probably for the best because he was sure Kalthekor would lose his mind if he bent elven tradition enough to get his skin inked. His father was two millennia old and hadn’t even drunk a beer until he met Aristos.
“Is that all your ink, or are you hiding other tattoos?” Colburn asked.
Gramlithyn finally glanced up, and Pyxlevir grinned at him. It was small, but Pyxlevir didn’t miss Gramlithyn’s return smile as he swung his head to face Colburn to answer his question.
“Nope, just those three. I’m open to more once I have another design I know I can live with for eternity.”
“I guess I’m not supposed to take it personally that you have a tattoo representing everybody in this room except me,” Dasan remarked. Although his voice was light, as if he were teasing, the hummingbird shrugged awkwardly.
“Here’s the issue,” Gramlithyn said. “If I get a hummingbird that looks like you, everyone is going to think I’m in love with you or something.
As close as we are, that’s not what I want.
The gargoyle represents two different people.
As for the dragon, it’s for an entire family.
How do I explain getting you tattooed on my skin?
I’d love to have something to include you, but I haven’t figured out what it is yet. ”
Pyxlevir frowned in disbelief. The hybrid was missing an obvious answer. “Get a feather. One in black and gray, like the tattoos we can see. You’ll know it’s for Dasan, and so will he. That’s all that matters.”
“That’s actually a great idea,” Gramlithyn said.
Dasan cackled as he nudged Gramlithyn with his elbow. “Because Pyxlevir had to think of it, you should have to get it somewhere it can’t be missed, like your forehead.”
“While that’d be pretty funny, Pyxlevir’s the one who has to look at him for eternity,” Colburn said. “He probably doesn’t want a tattoo representing someone else stamped on Gramlithyn’s forehead.”
It pleased Pyxlevir that their roommates were determined to envision a future with him and Gramlithyn together. The last thing they needed was to face any further opposition or drama.
“Okay, fine,” Dasan said. “For Pyxlevir’s sake, I won’t insist. He and I can discuss options. We’ll get back to you, Gram.”
“Guess I don’t get a say even though it’s my body,” Gramlithyn muttered.
“Nope, you should’ve done it by now. We’ve been friends for, like, six years. You didn’t have tattoos when I met you, which means you’ve added all that ink without acknowledging me.”
“I didn’t realize you guys had known each other that long,” Pyxlevir said. “How did you meet?”
“I found a job at a crappy motel,” Gramlithyn said. “They needed help cleaning the rooms, and they’d let you rent one out pretty cheaply. Dasan was already working there.”
“Yeah, the guy who owned it was nice, but the place was run-down and basically in the middle of nowhere,” Dasan added.
“It shut down within a couple of months. Gram and I had already become friends, so we hit the road together and stumbled upon another shitty place to work. We’d save up some cash, do some traveling, then grab another job to fill our pockets again. ”
“Until we got overambitious in our desire to travel and asked some shady druid to teleport us to Europe,” Gramlithyn commented. “The druid was working with the fallen knights, and the next thing I know, Drystan and Conley are in my face demanding to know what the fuck I was thinking.”
“What were you thinking?” Crispin asked.
“I wasn’t. I was running because I was scared,” Gramlithyn said, meeting Pyxlevir’s gaze. “But it turns out I should’ve been an adult and talked to Pyxlevir.”
Pyxlevir was done looking backward. Yes, it had sucked for six years. But the last thing he was willing to do was lose his future to hold on to a grudge. He wanted Gramlithyn as a mate, and as long as they were working together, he was happy to dive eagerly into their matebond with an open heart.
His soul had ached for Gramlithyn, but he hadn’t pursued him.
The reason was simple. Pyxlevir had yearned for Gramlithyn to realize that having a mate wasn’t the end of the world.
In the deepest part of him, he’d wanted Gramlithyn to return ready to start fresh and make something of Fate’s gift to them both.
While Pyxlevir didn’t know yet if they’d be successful, he damn well hoped to wear a zebra mating mark on his arm someday.
His overthinking other half had run and left everything behind him. Pyxlevir didn’t have to ask why; he understood the desperation of having a matebond and not knowing if the other person wanted to rail at Fate or celebrate.
“It’s okay,” Pyxlevir assured him. “At least this way you met Dasan.”
“Good point, I’m fucking great,” Dasan enthused, making Pyxlevir chuckle.
“Obviously,” Gramlithyn asked. “In case you haven’t noticed, my first best friend was Pyx. I have unparalleled taste in friends.”
“I like how we’re not important in this equation,” Colburn said to Crispin.
“Nope, just two gargoyle-cougars being used so we can testify that Pyx and Gramlithyn hate one another so they can go down in history as the third known couple to break their matebond,” Crispin replied.
“Because that’s been my life’s dream. I can’t wait to go against Fate before I’ve found my own mate.
I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic about pairing me.
I’ll probably get a chimera who wants to kill me or something in revenge. ”
“Wrong, I want to rebuild my friendships with you both too,” Gramlithyn corrected. “But I can’t be greedy, and I have to prioritize. You guys are mad at me, and I deserve it, but I owe it to Pyx to use my energy working on our matebond.”
“Dude, all you have to do to rebuild your matebond is to be nice to Pyx,” Colburn said.
“We were pissed that you abandoned us without an explanation. But we get it now. Your matebond was intimidating, or something along those lines. It’s a scary thing being tied to another soul.
I don’t know everything about your choices, and it’s none of my business.
You couldn’t confide in me or Cris because we’re also besties with Pyx.
Hopefully, we won’t have to pick sides in the future.
But for now, we’re starting fresh and we want to support you both. ”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Gramlithyn replied. His eyes locked on Pyxlevir yet again. “My goal is to be nice to Pyx.”
“I won’t accept anything less than the nicest version of you,” Pyxlevir teased. He adored the twinkle in Gramlithyn’s pretty brown gaze. They had a long road ahead of them, but Pyxlevir was growing more excited by the minute to explore every aspect of their relationship.