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“Turney…you sap of a man…” She walked slowly forward, towards it all. Shoulders sagging in defeat as she eyed a spatula that was orange and shaped like a pumpkin. “You gave into his cuteness again, didn’t you?”
Cormac did his best to ignore that the formally normal gym looked like a gothic vampire had thrown up all over it. Hanging bats…everything red and black… Some of the equipment was now vaguely coffin-like. It was…such an odd room to decorate.
Pulling his eyes away from the décor, he peered down at Theo who was on the bench press. His brother's features were slightly similar to his, but in truth, the male looked more like their mother. They shared the same deep brown skin tone, and their lips were the same; thick and plush. But while he had a more sculpted jaw, with harder angles, his brother’s jawline was gentler and more curved. Theo’s nose was also smaller and came to a point. At one time their hair style had been the same—faded on the sides with curls on top. But currently, Theo had a mass of curls that went past his shoulder. It kind of made him look like a rockstar.
Moving closer, he almost snorted when he realized the weights on the bar Theo was lifting were shaped like bats. Cormac would not be surprised if the shapes had fucked with the balance.
Sweat dripped down the wolf’s thinner form as he pushed the bar up and down. Sitting near his feet, looking up at him with adoration, was the purple and blue kitten, Sprinkle. She had grown a little bit, but wasn’t too much bigger than what he thought she’d been when Octavius had first gotten her. As far as Cormac knew, her fae blood meant it would be a good year before she reached adulthood.
“It’s not exactly safe for her to be in here,” Cormac mused.
Theo chuckled. “That is why I have my eyes transformed.”
He took in the startling golden color that made up the entirety of his brother’s eyes at the moment. While transforming his eyes into his wolf’s would allow Theo to see, his brother didn’t do it often. Normally, his eyes were a cloudy amber color—the cloudiness had been there from birth, and was not due to his blindness. It was actually rare to see the man with golden eyes, as his brother preferred to stay in his natural state in human form. Of course, the golden color of his transformed eyes was slightly problematic anyway. In public, Theo would have needed something to cover them up with, unless he intended to tell everyone who asked that he had weird contacts.
“Are you sure you are well enough to be doing all this? You’ve been hitting the gym pretty hard this last week or so. And…the party…are you sure about going? There will be a lot of people. Like, if we judge by how much that crazy bat is decorating…probably hundreds…”
While Theo had been smaller than him by the time Cormac had reached adulthood, he had never seen his brother this thin. Theo had improved in the weeks since being rescued. He'd put on some weight, and possibly regained some muscle, but Theo was still about thirty pounds lighter than he used to be.
As for the party… After what happened with their father, the Knights…and Cynthia…his brother had moments of panic. Cormac was worried that being surrounded by so many people would set him off. Well, he was just worried about his brother, period. So much had changed. A lot for the worst. And they still couldn’t get hold of their mother. He wasn’t sure what was going on there. She could be hard to contact, but usually not this bad.
* * *
Theo sighedand pushed the bar up onto the rack. Sitting up, he snatched his towel from the floor. Wiping at his brow, he met his brother’s worried gaze and winced. He didn’t want Cormac to worry. His little brother had been there for him, and still was here for him, as were Cormac’s crazy coworkers slash seemingly adoptive family.
So, while he wanted to say something that would ease those worries, he wasn’t sure there was anything he could say. For one thing, what Cormac needed to hear probably wouldn’t even have sounded true if he dared to say any of it aloud. He wasn’t about to self-destruct…but he really didn’t have his shit together either. Theo was hanging on. He was doing what he had to do to remain grounded and present.
Theo sent him a kind smile. “I’m well enough. And I need to get back in shape. I need to get stronger.”
“Yes, I get that.” Cormac rubbed his face, pushing his glasses firmly up his nose. “But, there’s no rush to get there. You need to give yourself time.”
“I refuse to be left behind when the time comes to go after that bastard,” Theo growled loudly. He winced and tried to draw back the rage. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to snap at you. I need to be there. I need to, Cormac. I can’t risk not being ready to go. For Cynthia…” His voice cracked. “I need to be ready.”
Cormac gripped his shoulder, eyes going glossy. “We would never leave you behind, Theo.”
Theo gripped his hand and smiled, trying to push away the negative feelings—something he had to do a lot lately. “As for the party… I’m going to need to get used to Octavius’ craziness anyway, aren’t I? Might as well start now.”
Cormac frowned, brow pinching. “What do you mean?”
He blinked, releasing his brother's hand. “Didn’t they tell you? Scarlett and Turney offered me a job. They want me to become the Accountant and Financial Manager for The Undead Detective Agency. From what they told me, they want me to keep tabs on spending, and monitor the company’s finances as a whole.”
His brother’s eyes widened almost comically, his hand slipping from his shoulder. “They want you to what?!” He gasped.
Theo chuckled. “I’ll take that as a no on the knowing part. While it was the zombies who asked me, Octavius apparently approved the offer. Though, my understanding is that the two zombies want me to help control Octavius’ business spendings…and there was a vague mention of preventing the vampire from taking jobs in exchange for goods and services. I don’t have all the exact details on that situation yet.”
Cormac snorted. “Apparently, on the first case they were paid in photocards.”
Theo burst into laughter. “Well then, I guess I will be denying some interesting requests. As I decided that I will be taking the job. The offer is…substantial, and well above average.”
“What about your old work…your clients?”
The smile slipped from his face. “I can’t go back. I don’t want to go back. I want to change my day-to-day. I need to. Maybe to you it seems like I am running away. And maybe I am. But I can’t go back to what, or at least how, I was working before… It reminds me too much of what, and who, I lost. I need change.”
Sadness crept into his brother’s expression again, and he hated that he was the one who put it there. When Cormac had been born, Theo had sworn to himself he’d give him a better childhood than he had ever had. And Theo had succeeded, for the most part. He and their mother had done all they could to keep a smile in place. They’d done what they could to shield him from Cléas. Mother, less so, once they divorced… and hardly at all once Cormac had turned eighteen… At least their father was no longer an issue now.
Either way, while he hated putting the look there, Theo couldn’t hide how he felt. Not about this.
Cormac gave him a sad smile. “If that is what you want, what you need, I’ll be supportive.”
