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His eyes only met mine for a brief moment before flicking away as he said, “I wasn’t sure if you had a change of clothes, so I didn’t wash yours. But if you put your soiled garments in a pile, I’ll wash them with mine and Wey’s tomorrow. I’ve gotten in the habit of washing his”—he pointed at Wey with his thumb over his shoulder—“with mine because he’s been working so much that he ends up forgetting. I swear, if I let him, he’d wear the same filthy breeches until they were dirty enough to grow their own legs.”
“Hey.” Wey scowled at him. “That’s not true.”
“Uh-huh, right,” Nica said to him, then put his hand up to his mouth and stage-whispered to me, “It’s totally true.”
Wey scoffed, though he looked amused, and I smiled at Nica’s attempt to lighten the mood, but I was still feeling anxious and out of sorts. Nica continued to do some sort of nervous babble as I stood up, stepped into his space, and wrapped my arms around his waist. He immediately stopped talking and froze for one beat, then two.
For a moment, I was afraid he wouldn’t embrace me back. But then his arms came around me and pulled me into his chest—tightly. He gave me a hug, like he actually meant it, like he truly wanted me close to him. It was one of those huge bear hugs I’d missed so much since I’d left. He buried his face in my neck and took a deep breath. Although, he didn’t start purring. In fact, he hadn’t purred for me once since we’d first arrived. I didn’t want to read into that too much, but I suppose the reason was a simple one—he didn’t trust me, and he was still upset.
And really, could I blame him? I’d hurt him, physically, and then I’d… I’d left him behind, just like Wey had said.
Goddess, I had no idea how I was going to ever make it up to them.
After a minute, Nica whispered, “I missed you so much, little bird. So fucking much.”
Little bird.
Tears filled my eyes again, and I choked out, “I missed you, too.” I hugged him tighter as hope filled my chest. Yes, things weren’t great right now, but I was still his little bird and Wey’s precious. So I had to have hope that I could fix this. Eventually.
Wey was right, it was going to take a lot of work to get there, but I didn’t care if I had to spend the rest of my life making it up to them. I would do it. Happily.
My tiger and my gargoyle deserved so much more than I’d ever given them, and I promised myself right then and there that I would find a way to give them the world.
25
Theon
Braz had managed to fit another bed in the tent with Nica and Wey’s bed, so he and Florin squeezed into that one while I slept between my gargoyle and my tiger. I’d missed them more than I could’ve ever imagined—and I had a big imagination.
Now that I was finally with them again, I didn’t ever want to leave their sides. The only thing that would make this better was if Braz had pushed his bed up against ours so all five of us could snuggle together.
I’d been asleep for at least an hour when I felt my tiger shifter move away from me, and it immediately woke me up. My eyes blinked, my brow furrowed in confusion, wondering what he was doing. I didn’t call him back in case he needed a drink or to use the bathroom, but I did watch him to see where he was going.
Squinting in the dim light cast by the moon shining through the sliver of our tent’s flap, I watched Nica stand in the middle of the room for a moment. I couldn’t see him well, but he looked upset and unsure. As I began to sit up to go to him, he turned toward Braz and Florin’s bed.
I heard him whisper, “Braz? Are you awake?”
Braz sounded sleepy when he responded. “I am now. What’s wrong, Nica? Are you okay?” When Nica didn’t respond right away, Braz sat up. “What’s wrong, tiger?”
Nica moved from foot to foot, seeming nervous, which was so unlike him that my own concern amped up a few notches. But then he stepped forward, tucked his face against Braz’s neck, and climbed sideways on his lap as he tucked his arms under the half-orc’s shoulders. I heard Nica’s muffled voice say, “I missed you. So much.”
Braz only hesitated for a second before he embraced Nica back, holding him tight in his strong arms. “I missed my best friend, too.”
Nica purred at that—I could hear it from across the room—but his voice was shaky when he spoke. “You finally admit it, huh?”
Braz used one of his large hands to rub Nica’s hair and upper back. “Don’t cry. Everything’s okay now.”
“I’m not… the only one… crying.”
“How dare you accuse me of shedding tears. Half-orcs don’t cry.”
Nica let out a wet laugh. “Liar.”
Braz chuckled, but I could hear the emotion in it. Braz whispered something a little too quiet for me to hear, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them. Nica was not a small man by any means—he was huge and muscular—but somehow, when he was curled up in Braz’s arms like that, he looked tiny. Fragile.
My heart lurched in my chest because I was the reason he was so upset. I’d separated him from his best friend.
Wey’s arms tightened around me as he pressed a kiss to the skin on the back of my neck, then dragged his lips up to my ear and whispered, “Go back to sleep, precious. Nica will come back to bed soon. He’s missed his friend… They went over seven years without spending a day apart.” I sometimes forgot that Nica and Braz were a team of two for two years before Weylyn had been added to their group. I winced when I realized how hard these past seven months must’ve been on Nica and Braz both. “He needs this.”
