Chapter Two
Tony felt stupid every time he checked his phone, but he still couldn’t help himself.
It was like this every year since his parents disowned him.
He kept hoping this year would be the year they’d call.
He was mated now, with a good respectable job, and a nice house right on the ocean.
By all accounts, he had a good life. A life parents would be proud of. Well, parents that weren’t his.
Setting his phone down on his desk, he let out another sigh. He kept telling himself to stop checking. It only made the ache in his chest worse when he did and nothing new appeared on the screen.
“Knock, knock,” a familiar friendly voice spoke, pulling his attention away from his phone and toward the open doorway. He always left it open now unless they were out of the office. People liked to come visit him, and he never said no to a visit.
Avery was followed immediately by Isaac, who looked disheveled like he’d just flown in with his dragon mate. His cheeks were a little pink, too. Maybe from the cold?
“Do you want coffee? You look cold,” he offered.
Isaac’s cheeks darkened, and Avery snickered, shaking his head.
“Oh, believe me, he’s not cold.”
“Shut up,” Isaac smirked. “Like you’re any better.”
Avery just shrugged, unconcerned. Tony realized his blunder and felt his cheeks warm. Maybe he should have guessed. They were all mated. Isaac wasn’t the only one who ended up mussed up at the office.
“So where are we going for lunch today?” Avery asked, changing the subject.
They met twice a week to get lunch together, which Tony truly enjoyed. He’d missed having friends after he got out of the military. Since Avery and Isaac knew about his injury, they never suggested anything he couldn’t get to on his own either.
“There’s that new Italian place one street over,” Isaac suggested. “My warming spell will last that long so we won’t have to freeze getting there.”
Tony beamed at him. He didn’t mind the cold, but the winter weather didn’t do great things for his injury.
Being friends with a mage came with perks.
Since Isaac hated the cold, he always used a spell to keep himself warm walking outside, and he was kind enough to share the warmth with his friends when they all went together.
Isaac chuckled at Tony’s enthusiasm, waving them toward the door. “Come on. I’m starving.”
“I’ll bet,” Avery teased and got a poke in the side from Isaac in response. He laughed and danced away. Tony watched it all with a smile. Maybe his family wouldn’t call, but at least he had his friends. And his mates.
They took the elevator up to the top floor, then the gold elevator down to the lobby floor like he always did.
It was a little weird, but the elevator rides stopping along the way could take a while.
The express elevator was better for his injury.
Avery and Isaac never complained, chatting about Avery’s newest book he was working on.
“What do you think, Tony? Werewolf romance or demon romance?”
He was surprised they were asking his opinion. He had just been happy to listen in. “Oh, um… I’m not sure. Werewolf?”
Isaac pointed at him, his expression vindicated. “See? It’s the knot thing. It’s fucking hot.”
“What’s a knot?” he asked, because he doubted it was anything about a tangled string.
Snorting, Isaac patted his shoulder. “Ask your mate. I bet Taron could shapeshift into something with a knot.”
That was a curious thought. He’d seen Taron change small parts of himself, but he never fully changed into something else, especially while they were in bed.
He would bet good money that Taron would be into the idea.
It was Zephyr who might complain. He was content with how things were, and he’d told Tony more than once how much he loved Taron’s chosen form. He was beautiful, they both thought so.
They walked with Avery and Isaac flanking him the entire way to the restaurant.
It helped prevent him from getting jostled around, which made the trip easy and pain-free.
He sent a text to the group chat he had with Taron and Zephyr, letting them know they arrived safely, and tucked it away again, following the hostess to a booth. Avery shook his head.
“Oh, we’d prefer a table, if that’s alright. We’re happy to wait.”
The hostess tengu cocked her head, taking in their group a little more closely before nodding. “I can do that. This way.”
The move was purely for Tony’s sake, he got stiff in booths, and he appreciated Avery’s immediate redirection to ensure his comfort. He sat at their new table, sighing a little. The chairs here were comfortable. That was a definite plus.
After making their orders, Avery turned his attention to Tony, asking, “What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Ozen and I are integrating more human traditions and it’s been a while since I’ve celebrated. Not since my parents died. I’m worried I’m forgetting something.”
The ache in his chest grew a little. Christmas with his family was his favorite time of year growing up. No one complained about him or made snide comments. Everyone joined in on cooking a big meal, shared stories, and were just together and happy.
Clearing his throat around the lump forming, he asked, “What do you have so far?”
“Baking and decorating cookies, putting up a tree, presents…” He ticked off each item on his fingers, his eyes staring off into space as he tried to remember it all. “My parents used to go caroling, but I won’t be doing that. I can’t hold a tune.”
Isaac snorted. “Neither can I.”
Tony considered him thoughtfully. “Do mages go caroling?”
Shaking his head, Isaac took a sip of his water before answering. “Nope. There are some similarities in traditions, like we share a meal and do the gift exchange thing, but our presents have to be handmade. I’m not sure that’s true for all mages, but it is in my clan.”
Tony nodded. “That’s a nice idea. My family’s gifts were always acts of service. I detailed my mom’s car one year. She really appreciated that.”
“That’s sweet,” Avery commented. “Is that a tradition you still do?”
The thought of trying to get away with doing things for Taron and Zephyr without them hovering like mother hens was kind of funny.
He chuckled, shaking his head at the thought.
“No. My mates have a hard enough time letting me cook on my own once a week. I don’t think they’d like it as much as my parents did. ”
“Well, cooking a meal is an act of service, isn’t it?” Isaac countered. “If it’s something you enjoy, you can always do that.”
He pursed his lips thoughtfully, pausing to think about it while the waiter dropped off their food.
“I guess? I think I’d prefer the way Isaac celebrates.
I know Zephyr appreciates handmade gifts.
He still has a song Taron wrote for him when they were together the first time.
And they wouldn’t worry so much about me as long as I wasn’t doing anything crazy.
” He turned his attention to Isaac again. “What do you make?”
His friend rattled off a list of things he’d made for his family in the past, but they were all magic-based. If Tony wanted to make something for his mates, he’d have to do something more simple.
“Does giving signed copies of my books count as handmade?” Avery asked with a pout. “I’m not great at crafting. I can draw stick figures, but that’s about it. And no one is allowed to trust me with hot glue. I nearly burned my fingers off once trying to make an entire book from scratch.”
That made Tony laugh, and Isaac snickered.
“Now I kind of want to see your stick figures,” Isaac teased. “Can I have a drawing?”
Avery stuck his tongue out, but Tony considered the idea more seriously.
He wasn’t an expert by any means, but he did some rough drawings during his time in the military.
Sometimes there was nothing better to do while out in the middle of nowhere.
He hadn’t tried drawing again since his injury, but he had another appointment with Doctor Chapman in a few days, and he was usually pretty loose and limber right after.
He should be okay to draw a few pictures.
“I think signed copies are fine,” Isaac said, drawing Tony’s attention back to the conversation. “It’s technically handmade, because you had to put the time and effort into writing the whole thing. I couldn’t imagine writing an entire book.”
Tony nodded in agreement. For one thing, he was too busy wrangling Taron to write an entire book.
Avery had skills to be able to remember all the information in his books and still have time for his mate at the end of the day.
He even took on some admin tasks for Ozen if his secretary was out. His friend was a really smart man.
“What else?” Isaac prompted once they moved on from the gift idea conversation. “What other traditions do humans do for the holidays?”
“I think my favorite part was watching movies together. Cheesy holiday movies were our family go-to. What about you, Tony?”
Rubbing his chest where the ache throbbed every time he thought about his family, he admitted, “My favorite part was the quality time. No one was fighting or complaining. We all worked together to make dinner and sat down to eat as a family. It didn’t happen often enough, and I loved it.”
Isaac’s hand settled on his good shoulder, and when Tony looked up at him, his smile was warm and comforting. “It’s okay to say you miss it, Tony. It sounds like a really nice tradition. I can see why you liked it.”
Avery, who looked close to tears, gave a decisive nod. “You know what? We’re not going to let them take that tradition from you. We’re having Christmas dinner. What day works best for everyone?”
They discussed dates and shared calendars before Isaac suggested, “We should invite more people. Make it a party. I’ve never celebrated a human Christmas before. I’m sure a lot of our friends would be curious.”
Avery nodded slowly. “Okay, sure. But the kitchen at my place wouldn’t be big enough for more than four or five people, I think. Unless we rotate people in and out? How many people do we even need to cook the meal?”
“Would Maverick’s kitchen be better?” Isaac suggested, then wrinkled his nose. “Somehow I get the feeling he’ll be a butthead about it, but it’ll probably be fine.”
While they discussed logistics, Tony felt the ache in his chest ease a little.
Drawing in a breath, he let it out slowly, ignoring the way it shuddered at the end.
He was not going to cry about it. His family made it perfectly clear he didn’t belong with them.
He had a new family now. He’d much rather spend the day with friends and his mates instead.