Chapter 7
Seven
When they’d left Spellbound, the sidewalk was mostly empty, having left a little earlier than the lunch rush.
But on their way back, they weren’t as lucky.
Taron and Zephyr immediately flanked Tony, keeping people away from him so they didn't knock the poor man around. Wash narrowed his eyes on Tony’s gait.
He might need to make a few tweaks for sharper movements.
He didn’t want Tony to get knocked on his ass every time he got jostled.
A sharp gasp preceded Peri bumping into him, trying desperately to avoid the masses getting too close.
Wash wasn’t overly familiar with fairies, but what he did know was that their wings were fragile and sensitive, prone to injury, and it wasn’t pleasant if people bumped into them.
He could tell by the way Peri kept jerking that he was trying to avoid people getting too close.
Long dormant protective instincts flared, and Wash grabbed Peri’s wrist, dragging the poor fairy close and throwing out his own wings in warning.
He didn’t often, it was just another thing he was ridiculed about, but the average person on the street knew better than to get close to a pissed off demon.
They kept their distance, giving Peri, and by coincidence Tony, the room to breathe while they walked back.
He projected fuck off energy, glare firmly in place for the rest of the walk, with a grip on Peri’s wrist to keep him close without getting near his wings.
When they stopped in the lobby of Spellbound, eyeing the line for the elevators, they took a minute to wait for the line to die down before making an attempt at finding space inside one.
Taron was unusually serious, a frown on his face as he checked over his mate, and when he glanced at Wash, he nodded in thanks.
“I appreciate what you did. I don’t like people jostling him.
If I could skip the sidewalks entirely, I would.
” His expression softened as he turned to face Peri.
“You could’ve, you know. I wouldn’t have been upset.
Jealous, yes, my abilities never quite allowed me to shift into something with wings, but not upset.
I would hate for you to get hurt just to walk back with us. ”
Peri’s wings fluttered, and his smile was a little strained when he admitted, “There are some species that really don’t like people flying overhead. I try not to unless there are other people flying around. I don’t want to upset anyone.”
Wash made an irritated sound, glaring at an intern too focused on their phone to watch where they were going.
They looked up in time to notice and spun around, hurrying the other way.
His reputation for being a grouch wasn’t nearly as bad as Maverick’s, but it was up there.
He wasn’t exactly known for being easygoing.
“You shouldn’t make yourself uncomfortable or risk injury just to make other people happy,” he growled when he noticed Peri watching him, his head cocked in question. “You matter more than they do.”
Taron snorted at that last comment, but it made Peri smile, his ears turning pink with a shy blush. Goddess, he was cute.
They waited long enough for a relatively empty elevator and rode together to the research floor.
Wash knew Taron was only doing it for Peri’s benefit, the shapeshifter could easily take the gold elevator straight to the top and just take another one flight down to his floor, but he and his mates stuck around, making sure Peri had a bubble around him so he wouldn’t get bumped and potentially hurt.
Ideas flooded Wash’s mind, coming up with ways that Peri could get to the floor he wanted without risking his wings.
The only other supernatural in the building with such fragile wings were pixies, and they were small enough to have their own tunnel system in the walls that kept them out of crowded spaces. That wasn’t an option for Peri.
With his mind on his projects, he barely noticed their arrival on the research floor, following blindly as Taron led the way out of the elevator. It wasn’t until he heard Taron chuckle that he blinked back to reality, frowning.
“Don’t worry, Peri. He’s fine. That’s his work face. When he looks like that, he’s deep in thought on whatever project he’s working on. It takes a miracle or the promise of food to get him to pay attention.”
“Shut up,” Wash grouched. “It does not. I’m just usually ignoring you.”
Peri snickered, covering his mouth with his hand to hide it, while Zephyr laughed outright, gripping Taron’s shoulder to pull him away before Taron could start another dramatic rant. “Come on, T. Let’s get Tony to his desk so he can have a break.”
The need to care for his mate drew Taron’s attention like nothing else could. He didn't even offer a response to Wash’s comment, spinning to give his full focus to Tony as they headed for the elevator.
“Thank you for lunch. It’s always a little awkward the first few days of a new contract. I never know who to eat with,” Peri said sheepishly.
That felt like a lie. The little fairy was popular when he arrived his first morning; the crowd around reception was proof of that.
And he’d already been temping at the company for a few days.
He must have been eating with other people before now.
Which begged the question, why had he come to Wash?
Had he been swept away by Taron’s enthusiasm while in his vicinity, or had he come looking for Wash specifically?
And if he had, what was Wash going to do about it?
Peri’s cheeks were still burning when Hugo excused himself and returned to his office, a pensive frown on his face.
When they’d gotten swarmed on the crowded streets on the way back to the office, Peri had considered flying just to keep himself out of range of any accidental bumping.
But he didn’t want to leave his new friends behind, and he really did try to keep his feet on the ground until he was more comfortable.
He didn’t like confrontation, and he’d gotten yelled at before for flying overhead and startling someone.
But the way Hugo had stepped in to protect him… It left Peri feeling a little breathless.
He was intrigued by the demon and wanted to get to know him better, but for the rest of the afternoon, he didn’t see Hugo anywhere.
The days before, he’d at least seen the demon on the research floor, speaking low with another researcher while they worked together on a project or monitoring some tests and taking notes.
For some reason, today was different, and Hugo never came out of his office.
Even when Peri was on the research floor helping string up some wires for a vampire in a white coat attempting to create a silent alarm that even werewolves wouldn’t pick up, he hadn’t seen him.
Peri hovered several feet in the air, attaching the wires to the device that looked like a chandelier, but none of his peeking glances around the large open space produced a grouchy demon.
His shift ended, and Dakota told him he could head home for the night. There were still a few researchers hard at work, and he could see light from underneath Hugo’s door down the dark hallway, but he never came out and Peri didn’t want to interrupt him.
Waiting around for Hugo meant he left a little after the worst of the rush.
He found a spot near the back of the elevator, keeping his wings safe, and sent a text to Kian to thank him for sending him to research.
He’d had fun so far. Kian responded with a thumbs up and requested that he check in at the end of the week so he could be sure Peri was somewhere he was comfortable.
Peri smiled at the thoughtfulness and agreed, tucking his phone away just as they arrived in the lobby.
He waited for everyone else to disembark before doing so himself and flitted a little away from the rush to another set of doors Kian had shown him off to one side.
They were a little inconvenient for most people, but Peri didn’t mind the extra steps.
He smiled and waved at the hydra manning the front desk, looking forward to the cake he planned to bake at home for Taron as both a birthday gift and a thank you for taking him out to lunch.
He hadn’t even allowed Peri to pay, which had been a surprise. The man deserved cake.
Like his thoughts conjured the man, Taron called out over the crowded lobby, waving him over to where he stood with Tony seated on one of the comfortable lobby chairs beside him. Zephyr was nowhere to be seen, but Peri assumed he wasn’t far. Those three were adorable.
Taking Hugo’s words to heart, Peri chose to fly to avoid the crowd and landed lightly beside Taron, who pouted at him.
“I’m so jealous. I want to fly.”
“Zephyr took us flying yesterday,” Tony pointed out. The human looked a little uncomfortable, though Peri felt it might be rude to ask why. He could see a bit of scarring on his cheek and hand, and he didn't want to bring up anything that might upset him.
“While I love flying with our mate, a thaisce, it’s not the same as having your own wings.
” He eyed Peri’s wings with more than a small bit of envy.
“They’re so pretty, too.” With a heavy sigh, Taron let his jealousy go and switched topics, asking Peri, “Did you spend any more time with our Hugo this afternoon?”
Peri shook his head. “I didn’t see him after we got back from lunch. Why?”
Taron’s face twisted with exasperation. “Because our head researcher, while brilliant, has a massive personality flaw. He gets sucked into his projects and will forget to take time to relax. I’ve been trying my best to remind him how to have fun, like bringing him with us to lunch, but I don’t think he enjoys being a fourth wheel.
I’d hoped with you there, he’d relax a little more. ”
Cocking his head, Peri asked, “He doesn’t know how to have fun?”
“Nope,” Taron replied, popping the ‘p’. “I mean, I guess he finds his work fun, but it’s not the same thing.
And Ozen is worried about him burning out.
” He eyed Peri thoughtfully. “Hey, you’re a little pocket of sunshine.
Think I could enlist you to help me? I’ve got a lot on my plate with two mates,” he grinned at the rhyme, winking when Peri giggled in response, “I could use the help when I can’t be around. ”
Nodding slowly, Peri said, “I guess I could help. I wouldn’t want him to get sick or something from working too much.
” He tapped his lips, thinking out loud.
“Does he like sweets? Or is there a project he’s working on that I could maybe help with?
He said he doesn’t need the help, but I’d need a way to draw him out of his office… ”
Throwing an arm around Peri’s shoulders, Taron leaned in close to whisper to him, “I knew I could count on you. Come sit with us. We’ll figure out some ideas to get our grumpy demon to lighten up a little. With a ball of sunshine like you on our side, we can’t fail.”
Peri wasn’t going to argue. It meant he got to spend more time with Hugo. And that sounded like a great idea to him.