Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Peri barely had time to watch Alistair hand off the paperclip baton to Wash before his boyfriend was off like a shot, flying faster than he’d ever expected.
This leg’s hoops were high enough that Peri wouldn’t have been able to reach them, but Wash didn’t look concerned, beelining for the first one just as Maverick shifted and tore off after him.
“Eep!”
The force of the dragon’s launch knocked anyone closest to him on their ass, except Isaac who’d known to brace for it. Peri hadn’t even been that close and even he stumbled, steadied by Elijah who caught his arm.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” he breathed, smiling at him. “Thank you!” He turned for the mirror again, chewing on his lip. “I’m really glad I’m not in this leg. I think being chased by a dragon would be too terrifying.”
Alistair snorted, coming to stand beside them. “I second that, and he’s my brother-in-law. Wash looks like he’s alright though.”
Probably because Wash was two hoops ahead of Maverick.
Taron being Taron hadn’t wanted to make it easy, so the hoops moved, making the racers unable to fly in a straight shot through them.
Wash only had to backpedal once before making sharper turns to get through the hoops as they moved.
It was a lot harder for Maverick and Brennus, who were both larger and couldn’t make sharp adjustments in the air.
“Is there sound on this thing? I want to hear what he’s saying,” Phoebe said from in front of her team’s mirror.
When Peri looked back, he could see Brennus’s beak clicking like he was saying something, and when the staff whispered a spell, the squawk of his voice could be heard in all three mirrors.
“...against regulation! The rules never stated the hoops would move!”
They all heard Phoebe groan, and when Peri flitted a little into the air to see her, she had her face in one claw, her exasperation clear in her voice as she growled, “Stop complaining and move, Bren!”
Brennus couldn’t hear her, the spell didn’t go both ways, and continued complaining as he flew through the hoops, falling farther behind the two who were making their way back now.
“I had no idea Wash was that fast,” Elijah said, his voice awed.
Neither did Peri. He’d only ever teleported with Wash. Now his date idea to go for a flight together worried him a little. Would he be able to keep up with his boyfriend?
“Head’s up,” Alistair nudged him. “He’s coming.”
Sucking in a breath, Peri looked up, grinning at his boyfriend as Wash darted through the last hoop and dove for their group.
He moved himself to the designated hand off spot, readying himself to take the giant paperclip and run, when the sound of thunder made him hesitate.
In the spot next to theirs, Zephyr had shifted, much to Taron’s delight, and was already flapping his wings as he readied himself for his turn.
Taron had handed out protection charms to everyone so Zephyr could participate safely, and Peri knew they worked, Wash had approved of it himself, but when a zap of lightning hit the ground near Zephyr’s feet, Peri jumped and scuttled back, his eyes wide as he stared at the thunderbird.
Wash landed with a thud beside him, offering him the paperclip while looking over his shoulder to check how far ahead he’d gotten.
Peri couldn’t make himself take it. He knew he was safe.
He knew that. But his wings wouldn’t move.
What if the charm didn’t work on fairies?
What if he dropped it? One bolt would fry Peri’s wings instantly, and he’d never be able to fly again.
“Baby?”
Tears filled his eyes, he didn’t want to let his team down, but Zephyr took off, having taken the baton from Maverick, and lightning zapped off him in a five foot radius. Peri couldn’t get past him without putting himself in range of the lightning.
“Peri. It’s okay. I’ll do it,” Wash reassured him, but he was cut off by Zara, who shook her head.
“That’s against the rules. There’s a penalty if a team member sits out.”
A rule Taron had put in so no one could refuse to join without consequences. It was probably for Wash specifically, but Peri didn’t think it’d be him who was the issue.
With a frustrated growl, Wash pushed the paperclip into Peri’s chest, snatching him up and taking off.
Peri could only cling to him, hiding his face, as Wash took him and the coil through the lower hoops, disappearing into the trees and coming back up in front of Zephyr when they had to get close to him.
He could hear Wash’s harsh breathing, feel the sweat on his skin, but he never complained or got mad at Peri for being too scared to take his turn.
He just held him close, and when it was their turn to swing around, he used a cliff face to push off, since the added weight made it harder for Wash to do sharp turns like he had before.
They landed and stumbled, but were caught by members of their team, the paperclip handed off before Peri even looked up. Then Wash strode away, waiting behind a tree until Zephyr landed and shifted back.
“Baby… He shifted. You’re okay now.”
“I’m sorry,” he croaked, hugging Wash’s neck a little tighter.
“For what? Being afraid of something? Everyone is afraid of something.”
He found that hard to imagine. Wash didn't look afraid when he was being chased by a dragon, and he didn’t flinch flying directly under a thunderbird, even if they were using the trees for cover. He wasn’t afraid of anything.
“I was afraid of the dark when I was a kid,” Elijah offered softly. Peri hadn’t realized more people had come to check on him, and when he finally peeked out from Wash’s neck, Taron, Kian, Elijah, and Isaac were all surrounding him with worried frowns.
Taron nodded rapidly, pointing at Elijah. “I agree with Eli. The dark was my worst nightmare. Now, as an adult, I’m more afraid of clowns.” He visibly shuddered. “They’re so creepy.”
Wash snorted, his hold on Peri unwavering, even after expending all that energy to get them through the race together.
When he noticed Peri’s attention was on him, he lifted a shoulder, completely unconcerned when he admitted, “I’m not a huge fan of deep water.
I can swim, but too much shit can go wrong under water.
I make Vilyra do the water based trials if I can get away with it. ”
They all went around, sharing their fears to make Peri feel better.
Isaac, despite his connection to nature, was afraid of spiders and would make Maverick move them outside whenever he found one in the house.
Kian glanced back at the mirror, and when he looked back at Peri, he didn’t need to say his fear out loud.
He’d told Peri about Dorian’s car accident right as they were falling for each other.
It wasn’t something he ever wanted to experience again.
Their reassurances helped, and they headed back to rejoin their groups just as the final hand off was being made. It was Ozen, Zara, and Taron up against each other. Ozen seemed to be in the lead, which was surprising, but Taron and Zara weren’t far behind.
“How’d he get in front?” Wash asked, finally setting Peri down next to him in front of the mirror.
“Phoebe,” Alistair answered, his tone impressed. “She failed to mention she used to be on the realm’s relay team. She zipped by all three of you without you noticing and gave the CEO’s team a big lead.”
“A lead they lost thanks to Kian’s traps,” Phoebe complained, poking at her teammate. “We’re on the same team!”
For a moment, Kian didn't know what they were talking about. But when he noticed Dorian’s sour expression, he started laughing and couldn’t stop.
Apparently, he’d tossed a few tripping spells in the direction of where the fifth leg would take place, hoping to trip up their opponents, but because he had been reassuring Peri and hadn’t been paying attention, he hadn’t noticed that the only person who was being tripped by them was Dorian.
He was wiping tears away, trying to apologize to his mate through his laughter, when Tony and another staff member rolled out the final ribbon.
They all turned in the direction of the open field where the final three were sprinting to the finish line, and watched in awe as Taron shifted mid stride into a…
“Why is he a chicken?” Brennus demanded.
That set Kian off all over again, and he had to lean against Dorian, he was laughing so hard. Peri giggled as he watched chicken Taron dart ahead of Zara, then Ozen, trying to take the lead.
“Who would have thought a chicken would be faster?” Alistair murmured, making Elijah snicker.
Unfortunately for Taron, his little plan backfired when he tried to cut in front of Ozen and shift back so he could cross the ribbon first. His forward momentum was a little too much for him, and he tripped, causing Ozen to crash into him.
Zara, who had been right on Ozen’s tail, didn’t have time to slow down.
All three went down together, crossing the finish line so close together, Peri had no idea who won.
Everyone looked around, trying to figure out if anyone else saw who might have crossed first, but no one spoke up.
“Uh…” Tony looked just as unsure as Peri felt, shrugging as he announced, “Three way tie?”
“A thaisce!” Taron whined, untangling himself from Zara and Ozen. He winced and hugged his arm the moment he was fully standing. “I was totally first!”
“You totally cheated,” Ozen pointed out. “You tripped me and Zara both.”
“I did not!” Taron gasped. “I tripped myself! You fell on top of me!”
Peri was so busy watching with fascination as the co-CEOs bickered that he didn't notice Wash’s shoulders shaking until he threw his head back and laughed.
Everyone, even Peri, was so stunned by the demon, it took them a minute to join in.
But Wash’s laughter was infectious and soon enough everyone was laughing.
There were discussions on whether to redo the final lap, but Taron was hurting after the fall, and neither Zephyr nor Tony wanted him to run again, so everyone agreed that the tie was the best outcome.
Taron was sent off to see the healer again, and the group said their goodbyes, everyone splitting off to head home and get some rest before returning to work the following morning.
“I’m a little sad it’s over,” Peri pouted, sitting on the edge of the bed and kicking his feet as Wash checked the room one more time to make sure they didn’t forget anything.
“Really? I’m glad,” Wash said offhandedly, snagging his phone charger from the bathroom counter where it’d somehow gotten left.
“Well, that’s easy for you to say. You get to see them all the time. When I go back to work on Monday, I won’t even be going back to the research floor. Kian is sending me somewhere else.” He stuck his lip out in a pout. “Sometimes being a temp is no fun.”
“So quit.”
He blinked up at his boyfriend, confused. “What?”
Wash shrugged. “Quit. There are plenty of jobs open in Spellbound. Pick any one you want. You just spent the whole weekend with the head of Supernatural Resources and the CEOs. They won’t turn you down.”
Peri shook his head. It was a nice idea, but he still didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life.
He liked working near Wash, but he wasn’t sure research was his calling, and he was pretty sure he’d have to go back to school if he wanted to do more than admin on that floor anyway.
He didn’t want to apply for jobs he might not end up liking.
Wash offered him his hand, their bags tossed over his shoulder, and his expression warm. “Come on. We’ll go back to your place and talk about it. I’m sure we can figure out what will make you happy.”
He took the offered hand, giggling and snuggling in close when Wash used the grip to spin him, always careful of his wings, and tucked Peri against his side.
Could he just do this for the rest of his life? He’d be Wash’s person, helping him stay relaxed and making sure he slept in his own bed each night. That would totally make him happy.