Dane pulled his own wallet out, thankful that Tommy had packed the worn thing in his suitcase. He pulled out a card and handed it to the cashier.
“Just use this one,” he told her.
Bas shook his head. “I can’t take your money, Dane.”
“It’s stuff for all of us, so it’s okay. Besides, once you get your card fixed, you can pay me back. No biggie.” Dane shrugged. He had plenty of money and never used it. At least it could do some good if he could help Bas. His friend seemed on the verge of tears. Dane wondered if it was okay to touch him or talk to him to help him somehow. He reached out and grabbed Bas’s hand, squeezing it for a moment before letting go to allow Bas to finish stacking things onto the cart.
Bas sighed and nodded.
“I’ll call my attorney in the car and find out what’s going on. I’ll pay you back right away. I promise.”
Dane signed for the purchase, put his card away, and took a firm grip on Bas’s hand. Tension had spiked through his shoulders, and Dane could almost see the thoughts turning in Bas’s head. He helped push the cart out the door and toward the waiting SUV.
Once they stopped and Mrs. C got out to help load up, Dane pulled Bas into a hug. “Don’t freak out about this. It’s just money. Money is not more important than you. Whatever’s wrong can be fixed. Do not let this mess with your head.”
Bas took a deep breath and a second later hugged Dane back.“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You’re right. I just felt like I had a good week, you know? Things were going smoothly. Even though my parents served me with papers saying they’re suing me for everything, my friends were there, the house came together, and I guess I was just cruising on auto.” He shook his head and began stacking things into the back of the SUV. “Should have known something would have come along to knock me down.”
Dane climbed into the car and adjusted the piles so everything had room.
“Did something happen?” Mrs. C asked him quietly.
“Nothing that won’t be okay,” Dane assured her. If Bas could get him through this eating thing, he could get Bas through whatever money thing might be happening. Once the cart was empty, Dane hopped out, grabbed it, and pushed it up to the door before joining them back in the car. He slid in to his empty seat and immediately took Bas’s hand. Bas was on the phone.
“Are we still going to the store?” Mrs. C asked. Bas shook his head.
“Yes,” Dane told her. “Please. We have lots more on our list to get. Will the meat be okay in the car?” He thought back to all the bags of nastiness. “Do we need to stop at Bas’s place first?”
“It’s cold enough out to be okay for a bit. Once we get to Sebastian’s place, I’ll help him package everything up. You can help put the other things away.” Mrs. C patted his hand and drove them toward the grocery store.
Bas argued with whoever was on the line for a few minutes. Sometimes his grip would tighten. Other times he tried to pull away, but Dane wouldn’t let him. Bas had spent the last twenty-four hours trying to keep Dane from losing himself inside his own troubled mind. Dane liked the idea of being able to return the favor. When Bas finally clicked the phone closed, he seemed angry and tired.
“Everything okay?” Dane asked.
“The account is temporarily frozen until a judge reviews the case my parents are bringing against me to get my gran’s estate.” Bas glared out the window. “I don’t get why they hate me so much. I shouldn’t worry. My attorney assures me that it will be an easy case. Gran had a lot of things in place to make sure my family couldn’t take the money from me. But it doesn’t make it less frustrating. I’ll have to take more money out of my savings to pay you back. And we’ll shop more modestly at Whole Foods.”
“You can borrow from us if you need to, Sebastian. You’re feeding our kids too,” Mrs. C offered. “Ru and Adam are at your place almost as much as they’re at home. You know we’ll help in whatever way we can.”
“I can pay for whatever we need,” Dane said. “Money isn’t really an issue for me. I have lots and nothing to do with it but spend it on rehab. I think my therapist would be proud of me for spending money on food.” He smiled at Bas and pulled him across the seat so he had no choice but to look at Dane. “You’ve made it through a lot, and we’ll help you get through this too.”
“I just feel like I should be the one taking care of everyone, not everyone taking care of me. Everyone around me gets shit on ’cause they know me. I feel awful because it keeps happening.”
Dane thought through the past couple of days, and the week that he’d known Bas. Tommy had filled him in on a lot of history, but so had Bas. “Seems likeyouget a lot of crap from people for no reason. You didn’t ask those boys to hurt you. You didn’t ask for your grandma to die or your parents to abandon you. You didn’t ask for someone to vandalize your garage. None of those things make you weak or a burden or troublesome. In fact, getting through all that makes you pretty strong.” The SUV parked for the second time, and Dane leaned across to touch Bas’s face. “Don’t you realize that you’realreadya unicorn? That we all strive to be like you?”
Bas shook his head, obviously fighting unshed tears. “I’m not.”
“You are. A fierce one, with fiery wings and slanted eyes ready to rain down laser beams.” Dane kissed Bas lightly on the cheek. “I’m not a monster for liking a unicorn.”
“But I don’t know if you really even like me or if I’m just convenient for you. Someone to take Ru’s place and prove to you that being gay isn’t bad. I don’t even know if you like guys or are just thinking you do because you admired Ru so much.” Bas groaned and pulled away. “Forget I said that. It’s not what you need to hear. My troubles should not be cast on you.”
Dane let him go. But thought hard about his words. Was Bas right? Was he projecting? Mimicking Ru? Dane had been learning to analyze what he was feeling. What was he feeling? Grateful? Or something more?
They headed inside, Bas grabbing a cart and heading to produce. He still seemed angry, examining vegetables and fruits like they were things to be used as weapons instead of food.
The more he thought about it, the more everything Dane had said was true. Bas was already a unicorn, and Dane liked him, felt comfortable with him, enjoyed touching him. His therapist said that focusing on what brought him joy instead of fear would help him get better. His friends brought him joy, so did cooking, and ponies. He liked Bas. Bas seemed to know whenever Dane was in a mood and how to fix it. He didn’t hesitate to touch and comfort. He did pull away when he was in pain and uncomfortable. And he didn’t look at Dane like he was broken, sick, or crazy.
Hmm. Dane walked forward and grabbed Bas’s hand, folding it tightly in his own grasp.
“You said it was okay if we weren’t ready. That we can still be friends. We can still hold hands, right?” He didn’t feel so alone when linked to Bas. It didn’t matter who looked at them. He was sure whoever saw them would look at the beautiful man next to him and forget Dane was there. That worked for him. Plus the worldshouldsee Bas. He was a badass unicorn.
