“I can give you that,” Cass murmurs. “Whenever you’re ready, just say the word and we’ll go back to her, yeah? We’ll go home. Somewhere safe. Somewhere the rest of the world can’t get to us.” His arms tighten. “I promise.”
And right here, right now, in this clearing untouched by civilization with Cass’s arms firm and solid around him, JJ closes his eyes and lets himself believe the words.
25
JJ’s eyes are still a little pink and bloodshot by the time they rift into Cass’s kitchen, but Cass is hoping Desi just won’t notice. JJ stumbles the slightest bit on the landing, sleep deprivation and crashing adrenaline making him uncoordinated, and Cass quickly reaches out to steady him. “You okay, lackey?”
JJ gives him a small smile and stifles a yawn. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”
Cass’s heart hurts. After everything JJ has been through over the past three days, he really just needs a break from reality altogether. At the very least, he already changed into Cass’s coziest sweats back in the clearing—at the same time that Cass swapped out his admittedly fashionable toga for civilian clothes—so he’ll be ready to sleep the moment he puts his head down.
“Ten minutes,” Cass says quietly. “Just long enough to see Desi. After that, we’ll get you into bed, okay? I promise.”
“Okay,” JJ whispers back.
And, like she was summoned by their thoughts, Cass suddenly hears the pitter-patter of little footsteps sprinting down the hallway and skidding into the living room.“JJ!”Desi shouts, happiness and anxiety bleeding into each other, and she races towards him.
JJ immediately drops into a crouch, arms spread wide. Cass isn’t sure how well the man can stand up to a flying Desi grenade at this point, so he hastily braces his leg against JJ’s back, absorbing some of the impact when Desi crashes into him with a flying tackle.
JJ doesn’t seem to mind. “Desi,” he mumbles, hugging her tightly. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she whispers back, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. “I missed you.”
JJ’s eyes squeeze shut. “I missed you, too, sweetie.”
Warmth flushes through Cass’s chest. He takes a deep breath to clear out the sensation. Having JJ back with them again, watching him finally reunite with their daughter, seeing the clear love between him and Desi?—
You. You and Desi. The three of us.
Cass never imagined he would get his own little family, but all at once, he sees the appeal. Sees the appeal of him and JJ watching Desi grow up and go to school and become her own person, sees the appeal of them gathering around the kitchen table for meals and curling up on the couch for movie nights?—
Sees the appeal, maybe, of collapsing into bed next to JJ after a long day and falling asleep in each other’s arms.
“Cass?” Cass pulls his gaze away from his co-parent and their daughter to see Obie and Ez hovering a few feet away, watching the scene with indecipherable expressions. Obie’s eyes meet Cass’s. “Everything good?”
“Yeah,” Cass says, and he smiles. “Yeah, everything is great, actually.”
Ez’s gaze lingers on Desi’s face tucked against JJ’s bare neck. “The enchantments?”
Another rush of heat surges through Cass. This one feels distinctly lower than the first. “Gone. Corrosion spell included.”
“Huh,” Ez says, and cautiously, she walks over to JJ. When he looks up at her, his arms still tight around Desi, Ez sticks out a hand. “Good to see you alive, Jackson.”
JJ’s eyes widen, and Cass nearly starts with surprise. JJ seems to recover faster, reaching up to shake Ez’s hand. “Thank you,” he says sincerely. “And thank you for watching over Desi.” Unbidden, his eyes shift to Cass. “And Cass.”
Cass’s stomachswoops.Ez looks like she’s barely resisting the urge to make fun of JJ, Cass, or both of them. “Of course,” she says gravely, showing an impressive amount of restraint as she steps back.
Obie takes her place, reaching down to clap JJ on the shoulder, and suddenly, Cass realizes what he and Ez are doing.
They’reacceptingJJ. Before, he was just Desi’s other co-parent, the stray hunter Cass picked up along the way, but now?—
Now, they’re seeing him as the man who was willing to give his life to save Cass and Desi. And watching Ez and Obie—and JJ, sleep-deprived though he may be—honestly trying to be friendly does things to Cass’s heart that he doesn’t know how to fully describe.
Obie seems to notice JJ’s bloodshot eyes and shaky hands before Ez does. “Now that everyone is safe, we’ll get out of here and let you get some rest,” he says, stepping away and shooting Ez a meaningful look. “Cass, we have every defensive spell known to demonkind wrapped around this house, so you should be good. Not even Gutierrez could find this place.”
“And I set up an alarm spell that’ll notify both youandme if anyone tries to tamper with the spell work,” Ez adds. “So just call us if you need us, okay?”
“Sounds good,” Cass says, and impulsively, he steps forward to pull them into a tight hug. “And thank you. For everything.”
