To his shock, even Zef offered him an affectionate greeting—a single, green hand on his shoulder. “I was greatly relieved when Toni said you were on the mend.”
Genuinely touched, Gem blinked away the burn in his eyes and smiled wetly at them all. “Aw, you’re all gonna make me cry. Damn it, now my makeup’s smearing.”
Wrapping Willow and Glyma in his arms, he hugged them back, offering Zef a brief squeeze to their wrist. The Mantodea dipped their pointed chinbefore pulling away, and Gem let them go without a fuss. They’d never been close, but he was honored that Zef felt comfortable enough to touch him at all.
When they parted, Gem dabbed at his eyes as Willow held up her compact mirror so he could fix his running mascara. He didn’t always wear makeup to work, but he’d needed the confidence boost this morning.
“Look okay?” he asked, and Willow nodded.
“Beautiful as always.”
With a simper, he kissed Willow’s rough cheek, then the top of Glyma’s lilac hair. “I love you all, but I can’t make coffee if I’m crying. So I’m leaving before you say any more nice things to me.”
He exited the kitchen to the sound of their laughter and was met with an armful of human. “Gem, oh my god, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Oh, Ollie, you precious little dew drop,” Gem cooed as he rubbed the human’s back and head. “Of course I’m okay.”
Rising from his crouch by the bakery case, Rusty lifted a hesitant hand in greeting. Gem returned the wave as Oliver stepped out of their embrace.
“I’m sorry I left Saturday,” Oliver rushed out. “I mean, I did have a crazy sex marathon, which was awesome, but I—”
“I wanted you to have a crazy sex marathon!” Gem said, clasping Oliver’s shoulders. “It’s literally all I’ve ever wanted since you told me about your eight-month dry spell.”
“Dry spell officially over,” Oliver said, and Gem squealed. “Seriously, you’re the best wingman ever, and don’t let anyone tell you different.”
Gem pointed at Rusty. “Vindication!”
“Why are you pointing at me?” Rusty demanded.
“But you’re good, right?” Oliver stepped back and ran his gaze over Gem, eyes pinched.
Gem ruffled Oliver’s blond hair and nodded. “I’m good. Now, tell me how cute I look and how much of a bad bitch I am, so we can all get back to work.”
“You look so cute and you’re the baddest of bitches,” Oliver said, and Gem preened.
“Thank you, Ollie. Now, stop fussing over me. You’re embarrassing yourself.” Gem winked, and Oliver snorted, giving him a weak shove as they took their places behind the counter.
As he passed Rusty, he leaned in and whispered, “Thanks for the pills.”
Rusty didn’t respond with words, but Gem caught an uptick to his cheek as the end of his tail drifted over Gem’s side. Normally, Gem wouldn’t dream of touching Rusty’s tail without express permission, but since Rusty had instigated the touch, Gem allowed one lower hand to drift through the fluffy fur.
He curled his fingers gently around the end of his tail and gave it the softest stroke. Rusty jolted, like he hadn’t expected Gem to reciprocate the affection, and a mix between a purr and a growl rumbled in his chest. Smiling smugly, Gem caught the Pyclon’s narrowed eyes and tongued at a fang as he shot him a salacious wink.
In response, Rusty flipped Gem off and rolled his eyes, and Gem snickered to himself as he took up his spot behind the espresso machine.
Work was uneventful, but as his shift drew to a close, exhaustion settled over him like a shroud. He’d had to take two more pain pills—courtesy of Rusty’s endless pockets—a few hours prior because that stubborn headache had made a reappearance, and weakness was invading his limbs again. But he pushed through, eyes on the clock as five o’clock ticked ever closer.
With only a half hour left, Gem took apart the espresso machine and started cleaning the parts as Toni waltzed through the kitchen doors, whistling along to the radio. Those pitch black eyes studied Gem in concern, and he scratched along his arm fins as he propped his hip against the counter next to the register.
“Hey, Gemmy, how you feeling, baby?” the Elas asked, and Gem shrugged.
“Okay. Better than yesterday. You okay? You look tired.”
Toni blew a raspberry. “I’m fine. I stayed up a little late, I guess. I, uh, was talking with Jude.”
Jude, Oliver’s best friend from across the veil, had caught Toni’s attention a few weeks back, and Gem was unsurprised that his interest in the human was turning quickly into a fixation. It was a very Toni-like thing to do as he was impulsive and borderline obsessive, but Gem knew, if he pushed back too hard, it would only ignite Toni’s stubbornness. Not that he thought Toni pursuing Jude was a bad idea; Jude seemed like a perfectly nice guy. But Gem had overheard Jude let Toni down easy the morning after they’d all gotten drunk at Zef’s drag performance, and he didn’t want Toni chasing after him anyway and getting his heart broken—another very Toni-like thing.
“Oh?” Gem said diplomatically. “And how is Jude?”
