“I just want your baby to be okay,” Dex said, and Quin’s irritation decreased minutely.
“The baby’s fine.” She rubbed her forehead and sighed. “I’m just tired is all.”
“Well, thanks for coming for us,” he said
Toni squeezed Dex’s arm. “That’s what family does, right?”
“We’re here when you need us,” Quin agreed, and warmth bloomed in Dex’s chest.
“Thanks,” he repeated, before voicing a question that had been nagging in the back of his brain. “How did you know, though? I texted Toni, not you.”
Toni replied before Quin could. “Figured it would be handy to have someone with more clout, given where we were going and who we were dealing with, you know? No one messes with the Dubois, even an ex-communicated one.”
At his claim, Quin splayed her hands and shrugged. “He’s not wrong. I may not like being a Duboi, but it comes in handy sometimes.”
“Yeah, and hitting ’em with a Marynoanda Duboi?” Toni winked at Quin, and the Daemon rolled her eyes. “Ain’t nobody stopping us.”
They all chuckled quietly, but the temporary levity faded as Cya heaved a deep breath, wiping at their cheeks with the heel of their hand. Loosening his arm around their shoulders in case they wanted to sit up, Dex drew their hair over their shoulder so it wasn’t falling in their face.
“Thank you,” they said, clearing their throat and saying it louder for the others to hear. “All of you, thank you. I never wanted this, and I’m sorry you had to—”
“Hey, none of that,” Toni interrupted them, rubbing their shoulder. “You’re one of us now, and we got each other’s backs. Always.”
That instigated another flood of tears, and Cya nodded, curling tighter into Dex’s chest. “Thank you.”
Quin exchanged a look with Toni, before hesitantly placing her hand on Cya’s tail again. “For what it’s worth, we understand some of what you’re feeling right now, because we’ve been there. Toni and I, we… get it. It’s not easy, but it does get better. And I promise, you’re more than they believed of you, more than you believe of yourself. You’ve got this, Cya.”
Chest hitching, Cya shook their head. “I don’t know howto—”
“You’ve got this,” she repeated with more feeling. “And in the moments you don’t, you’ll have us. You’re not alone.”
“Pack,” Dex reminded them, and they offered him a watery smile. It was small and trembling, but it was there.
The tender moment stretched, then snapped when Hemersyn said, “I hate to interrupt, but where exactly am I going?”
“Head to Gluttony,” Toni said as Quin settled straight in her seat again. “Glyma’s waiting for Quin there.”
When Toni rattled off his address, the Avia typed it into the GPS and directed the car toward Gluttony. Forty minutes later, they pulled up to the curb outside Toni’s building where both Glyma and Jude were waiting. Glyma helped Quin out of the car, and, still too pale, she wobbled slightly, leaning heavily on the Succubus.
Cya hid their face in Dex’s neck, letting him do the talking as Glyma checked in through the open window. After Dex reassured her that they were safe, the Succubus gave Cya’s hair a motherly stroke, then pecked Dex’s cheek, making him flush from the tips of his ears to his toes.
Jude replaced Glyma at Dex’s window, arms crossed over his chest. “All good?”
“We will be.” Dex kissed Cya’s head as they burrowed deeper into his neck. “Be extra nice to Toni today; he got triggered by Cya’s mom.”
Smirking, Jude angled his head back and up at the Elas as Toni hooked his arms around the human’s neck. “Oh? Was shehorrible?” he asked, butchering the last word with an exaggerated Maryno accent.
Toni snorted and nuzzled Jude’s temple. “She was very dramatic. I’m gonna need lots of healing kisses from you to get over it.”
“Meh, just bake a manicotti.”
“I know you’re joking, but I probably will,” Toni said, and they both laughed.
Dex didn’t get the joke, but he was happy to see the affection shared between them. There was still a tinge of melancholy hovering over them, but when Toni kissed Jude’s cheek, the human closed his eyes and smiled.
“Take it easy. Both of you,” Jude said to Dex as he threaded his fingers with Toni’s and led him back toward their building.
“Call if you need anything,” Toni added.
