Put On A Happy Face
Delores
I look at Aubrey eagerly, waiting for him to show the others. My foot has the strongest urge to thump excitedly, and I scold my bunny internally until she calms the hell down. I don’t want anyone to pay attention to us because I have a weird piece of prey energy making me fidget.
“Local Council members release statements about thefts of artifacts from museums across the continent. The items have been deemed minor works, with more historical than monetary resale value. Sources say the authorities of the cities where they were stolen are tight-lipped, not giving more than broad strokes regarding the methods of entry. InterPred states that they are coordinating with local forces, but they believe this is unconnected.”
Felix harrumphs in his seat as he stares at the paper. “Unconnected, my ass. Where was that line of bullshit buried?”
“In the arts section, near the personals,” I reply. “They definitely do not want anyone talking about it.”
Sighing, Aubrey scans the next page as the twins and I continue to discuss why something would be stuck that far back if it doesn’t matter.
He’s obviously still processing the information, so I leave him be.
Finally, when he looks up, our gazes lock.
His smile is brief, and it makes my heart skip a little.
“Thank you for being patient, snack size. I know you have questions, but my gut was screaming; I had to listen.”
Fitz spins a knife on his hand like a damn top, his expression casual as he gets his ‘zoomies’ out. “So what did you find, Hottie Gila Monster? Give it up, or I’ll use you for target practice.”
“Absolutely not, Fitz,” Felix says as he glares at the tiger sternly. “Not when we’re in public, at least.”
Aubrey shoots Fitzy a big, cheesy grin as Felix reprimands him, but he turns back to us quickly. “I think this personal ad has a code in it. My focus in this… environment… is less than optimal, so I’m uncertain. Chess and I might break it if we each copy it and work on it later.”
Nodding, the elder tiger darts his eyes to where our cheetah is chatting animatedly with the Shirdal woman and her friends. “We’ll try it there, but if there’s one in that paper, there might be more in the others you’ve gathered.”
I look at the stack Aubrey is hoarding with a tiny whine. “Felix, we can’t even read all of those. Really?”
“Baby Girl, we don’t have to read them all in their language. There’s an app for that, yeah?” My crazy tiger winks at me, his eyes sparkling with pride that he thought of it before me, despite his antsy fidgeting. “We’ll scan ‘em and save what’s sus.”
“I never think of that shit first,” Aubrey grumbles as he flushes. “I should, but it’s just so ridiculous.”
“It won’t be perfect, but it’ll get us close enough to cut a lot of time off. Good thinking, bro.” Felix smiles at his twin, and I swear, Fitz almost puffs up as much as he does when Chessie and I praise him.
Deep down, Fitzy is just a technologically inclined psycho who wants to be loved.
“Okay, so sort out the ones Fitz can scan while the rest of us work on others that we can read without assistance,” I tell the dragon. “That should keep us all busy while Chessie and Rennie are doing their thing.”
Aubrey hands the hyper tiger a stack of foreign language papers an inch thick, and the groan Fitz lets out makes me giggle. “Look, Spicy Skink, I’m not a robot. If you prick me, I bleed.”
“If the Princess pricks you, you scream.” Felix smirks as he takes two newspapers from Aubrey before accepting the snickering fist bump the dragon offers. “But again, I remind you all that we’re in public.”
“Jackass,” Fitz mutters as he shifts in his chair and pouts. “Just because you don’t know how fucking insanely good that is…”
I turn bright pink, swatting his hand. “Shhh! I’m not ashamed, but we don’t need someone spilling our private life to a blogger or freaking RipTok gossip hound. Imagine what that cranky old corpse nibbler will have us doing in her ‘masterpiece’ if she gets wind!”
His eyes widen and then narrow as the tiger flashes in them. “She’s too stringy to consume, but I could make an exception if you want to join me, Baby Girl. The family that filets together, stays together and all that. Plus, she has to taste better than that nasty asshole from Apex, right?”
Frowning, I wrinkle my nose. “My money’s on bitter as fuck with a garbage aftertaste, but who knows? Let’s put a pin in that for later, hmm?”
“Done,” the younger tiger says as he leans in to kiss me quickly. “Chessie can add it to the board when we get home—possible cannibalism if circumstances are right.”
I used to want to be normal once, but with mates like Fitzy, who the fuck would want that?
Everyone is mostly quiet as we work for the next hour or two.
Occasionally, one of the guys will grunt or growl—that gets attention from the rest of us, and we all stretch our cramped limbs.
Chessie is still gabbing away with his marks, and Rennie hasn’t returned from his creeping, but the sun is lowering on the horizon outside the train.
We’ve been in the dining car for a long time, but this is important, and as much as I’d love to escape to our cabin to snuggle up, we need to focus.
My eyes are gritty, though, and I definitely need to use the restroom.
Looking at Fitz, I push to my feet. “Escort me to the loo, baby? I've gotta move, and I definitely need the facilities.”
He practically jumps to his feet, grabbing my hand eagerly. “Fuck yeah. You’re not going alone, and we should all take turns draining the lizard before it gets busier in here for dinner.”
Aubrey arches a brow and the tiger shrugs when he grumbles, “Distasteful turn of phrase at best, Fitzgerald.”
“Don’t you always tell him you’re a dragon, not various forms of lizard whenever possible?” I reply as I bat my lashes. “Besides, that’s definitely better than any of the euphemisms for poo.”
Felix and Fitz share a look, snickering in tandem, and Aubrey gives me a rueful smile. “I stand corrected, lunchable. Off you go before they break out the Urban Dictionary.”
Chuckling as Fitz tugs me toward the passage to our cabins, I let my gaze rake over the other people on the way.
The viper guy is still in his corner working on fuck knows what, and Chessie’s table doesn’t even flinch as we head out of the dining car.
I knew my crazy mate would not take me to the public restroom the second he flew out of the chair, but I don’t mind.
I’m sure the upper-tier bathroom would have been clean, but ours will be even nicer—plus, Fitz will relax in the cabin rather than snarl at everyone outside the door.
“After you, Baby Girl,” he says as he opens the door, holding it open. I let go of his hand, stepping inside and waiting until he shuts it tightly before I relax. He opens his mouth to say something, and I shake my head.
“Nope. Nada. Nein,” I say before he can make a suggestive comment. “I actually have to use the bathroom, and no, I don’t need help, you weirdo.”
Fitz pouts, making a face at me. “Not into golden showers, and you know it.”
I huff a fond sigh as I head for the bathroom, trying not to laugh at his antics. “Yes, well, I’m infinitely grateful for that since I, too, am uninterested in those kinks. Now give me a minute to do this without being impatient.”
Hearing him flop on the bed, I scoot into the bathroom and take care of my pressing needs.
Once I’m done, I wash up and then pick up my brush to give my hair a little fluff.
I’m not really worried about how I look as much as it's a habit. Lucille drilled this sort of thing into me from the time I could walk, and I’m still struggling with breaking from some of those routines.
I haven’t weighed myself since Coach Z last did for the fateful match at l’Academie, and that makes me quite proud of myself.
Her obsession with my weight has been one of the more difficult things to slough off, and getting myself to stay away from scales has been one of my secret struggles.
I’m not upset about how I look, nor have I ever been, but having a mother with serious body dysmorphia has trained me in ways I didn’t realize until my first few months at Apex.
“Baby Girl, are you okay in there?”
My eyes widen and I put my palms on the sink as I look in the mirror, murmuring to myself silently.
Once I’m good, I blow out a slow breath, spritz myself with body spray, and then exit the room to face him.
“I’m great, Fitzy. I just wanted to run a brush through my hair and freshen up a little. See?”
Fitz leans forward, sniffing the wrist I hold out and groaning happily. “You always smell delicious, but I really like this homemade stuff. Did Frenchie McEyeliner get the recipe to make it at home? I hope so.”
“Yes, Renard got the instructions to make it with flowers from his garden. His mom was really excited to find out that he loves botany as much as she does, wasn’t she?” The wistfulness in my voice gets his attention, and the tiger rolls to his feet, pulling me into his arms.
“Delores Drew, your mom being shitty is not a reflection on you, and you know it.” His expression is stern as he looks at me, and I feel silly. Of course, he’s right, but it’s hard not to feel slighted when Rennie’s parents turned out to be much better than we all thought they were.
I press my forehead to his, murmuring, “I know. And no one else’s parents are secretly good guys, so it’s not like this will come up again.
It’s just… we all wish we could make our parents proud, even when we know that it’s not possible because of who they are.
Becoming an adult with the ability to see that more clearly hasn’t changed it, just made it easier to get over when it pinches. ”
“You will always have us, Baby Girl. Even if most of us have fucked-up families, the pouty poet will share his if we all make it through this fucking war. He loves you, and his parents thought you were fucking fabulous. Hard not to, and if they hadn’t, I would have slaughtered the entire fucking village, but still… ”
My laugh tinkles in the quiet room, and I put my hands on his face as I smile softly. “Fitzgerald Ulysses Castor Khan! You are out of your goddamn mind, and I couldn’t love you more if I tried.”
He grins so widely that it looks like his face is going to break before he whoops loudly. Backing away from me, he dances around the room as he sings, “She loves me, Baby Girl loves me, even though I’m crazy, she fucking loves me.”
Laughter bubbles up again as he prances around the room, shaking his perfect ass and doing the most ridiculous moves I’ve ever seen in my life.
I don’t know if he realizes it, but this is exactly what I needed.
Worrying about Rennie and Chessie triggered my insecurities, and by the time I came out here, all the tiny things I mostly moved past were needling me just under my skin.
I was spiraling for no reason, and now I’m giggling so hard that it’s making me a little dizzy.
“Careful now,” he says as he shimmies his way back to me with merriment in his eyes. “Don’t want you to get lightheaded and pass out. My bro would kick my ass if you conked your pretty head on something before I could catch you.”
“As if I could fall without you being there faster than the damn speed of light,” I say as he takes my hands and spins me around like we’re ballroom dancing. “I don’t believe it for a second.”
“Good, because I’d break the sound barrier and even then, I’d have to outrun Chessie. He’s fast as fuck, you know.” His pissy frown is adorable, and I bury my face in his neck as I hug him tightly.
Aw, look at that—even Fitzy gets a little insecure sometimes; maybe I’m more normal than I thought?