AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I mean, maybe. Or maybe I woulda thought you were cute.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Hey…” Kevin frowned at Al. “Maybe a dumb question, but, uh, how did you know what to do with my wings and all that?”
“I used to be a hunter,” Al said, smiling wearily. “We’ve had this conversation before, but heh, you forgot that too naturally.”
“Great. Wonderful.” Percy groaned. “More hunters.”
“Look, you’re gonna have to just get used to it. He’s your Uncle Al now too.” Kevin playfully nudged Percy’s side. “Hear that, Uncle Al? You got yourself another nephew now. ’Cause he’s mine and he’s staying.”
Percy eyed Al. “Yes, of course. Super. An uncle who might kill me.”
“No, no.” Al shook his head. “You’re safe from me. Both of you. I promise.” He winked. “Break my favorite nephew’s heart though, and I still know my way around a demon trap.”
Percy sighed heavily. “Shovel talk received.”
“Aw, this is beautiful.” Kevin smiled, genuinely happy. He could hardly believe how well everything was falling into place. Knowing he’d crossed paths with Percy so many years ago made this feel even more right than before, as if this was exactly where and what he was supposed to be. He held out his arms, waving Al and Percy closer. “Come on! Bring it in.”
“For the love of Beelzebub’s blistered balls,” Percy grumbled as he allowed himself to be dragged into the big hug.
Al chuckled and hugged them both tight. “Hey.” He beamed at Kevin. “Been a long time since I’ve seen you smile like that.”
“Probably been a long time since I’ve ever been this fucking happy.” Kevin’s smile only grew, and his chest was flooded with a wonderful warmth. He squeezed Percy and Al, sighing contentedly.
Percy grunted.
Kevin snickered. “I feel the start of a beautiful friendship comin’ between you guys.”
“Can we stop hugging now?” Percy sighed. “I don’t usually touch people this long if I’m not planning to have them inside me.”
Al laughed, and he gave Percy enough space to escape. He turned to pull Kevin in for another big hug. His shoulders trembled for a moment, and his voice was a hoarse whisper as he said, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I’m so, so sorry.”
Kevin tried not to crush Al, but he did want to hug him just a little tighter. “It’s okay. You’re here now. And I’m good. I’m really good.” He pulled back so Al could breathe. “Besides, you never would have let me take a road trip with a demon.”
“Hey! I might have surprised you.” Al laughed. “You know, we took one hell of a road trip together years ago. Do you remember any of that? When we went to hide your wings?”
Kevin narrowed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment, and then he grinned. “Yeah! Wait, did we go to theRudybar? Then for some reason flee theRudybar?”
“Hey! You remembered!” Al slapped his hand on Kevin’s back. “Yeah! Ran into some old hunters who didn’t like that I’d gotten out. Had ourselves a little tiff and then we booked it out of there. Right through the back door.”
“See!” Kevin smacked Percy’s arm excitedly. “I told you! Ihadrun out of that place that way before!” He laughed, delighted that at least one memory rolling around in his head was confirmed.
Percy rubbed his arm with a pout. “I didn’t say thatallyour memories were made up. Just that probablymostof them were.”
“Wait.” Al glanced between them. “You went back to Corby’s?”
“Yeah!” Kevin replied. “We were looking for my wings and I guess that’s why I felt like we needed to go there. That’s really the only part that rang a bell.”
“Well, I’m back for a while. You can tell me all about your trip and I can tell you about the one we took.” Al smiled. “Maybe you’ll even remember it this time.”
“You get your phone or whatever it was figured out?”
“Yeah, got the new phone. New number too. But then they found black mold in my new house. Can you believe that shit?”
“That sucks, but I’m really glad you’re here though. It’s nice when you’re home.” Kevin smiled and leaned into Percy, tilting his head to kiss his temple. “Got the whole family here now.”
“Yes,” Percy mumbled. “I love having family who can trap me at their leisure.”
