“What do you know?” he asked, reaching past Shiloh to poke Levi in the ribs.
Levi snorted. “Nothing. Just chill. Jericho says he’s fine.”
Nico made a few more attempts before giving up. The ride to Jericho’s house passed with Shiloh filling the awkward silence by rambling on about a show that had just dropped on some obscure streaming platform. Nico was only half-listening. Instead, he opened his gallery, looking at picture after picture. His whole life really was just him and Mal. There were some pics with their friends and some selfies, but mostly, it was Mal. Every significant moment of the last several months had included his boyfriend.
It took Nico three tries to get the code in for Jericho’s door. When he burst into the house, he found Atticus and Jagger in the kitchen. The boy sat on a towel on the counter, skin shiny, white squares stuck to his shirtless torso.”
“Do I even want to know?” Levi asked.
Atticus sighed. “The boys got into my kit while I was patching up his boyfriend.”
“What…is that?” Shiloh asked, sounding mildly horrified.
“Petroleum jelly and two by twos,” Atticus said, surprisingly calm as he plucked each one off the child and into the nearby trash.
“Nooo, Daddy. I’m a mummy. I want to keep them,” Jagger howled like Atticus was mortally wounding him.
“Where’s—?” Shiloh started to ask.
Before he could finish his question, there was a shout, then a muffled high-pitched squeal pierced the room. The bathroom door flung open, a naked preschooler barreling towards them, his upper body an alarming shade of orange. Almost the same shade as his hair.
They watched as Jericho tried—and failed—to catch the soapy boy.
“If he’s a mummy, what’s he supposed to be?” Levi asked, unable to contain his grin as they watched Jericho wrestle the boy into his arms.
“Oompa Loompa?” Nico guessed.
“Theybothgot into the kit. Because someone was too caught up in aBlueyepisode to pay attention,” Atticus said, glaring at Jericho.
“Oh, come on. It was the Bob Bilby episode,” Jericho grunted. “You know it was a targeted attack. They work together. They’re like…velociraptors.”
“Having kids seems wild,” Levi said, seemingly delighted by the chaos unfolding.
“The Bob Bilby episode is top tier, though,” Nico said.
“You watchBluey?” Atticus asked, using a rag to clean the goop off Jagger’s skin.
“Are you kidding?” Levi asked. “All they ever watch is anime, cartoons, and nature documentaries. They’re, like, childish and old at the same time.”
Atticus shook his head. “Malachi is in the spare room…sleeping.”
Oh, right. The reason they were there. Nico’s stomach churned, his heart in his throat as he stared towards the door. What was he going to see when he got in there? Was Mal’s face mangled? Was he so beat up he would have to miss work? Could they even afford that?
“How is he?” Nico asked anxiously. “Physically, I mean.”
Atticus shrugged. “Honestly, it could have been much worse. His ribs are bruised up. He’s got a black eye, a swollen lip, a few abrasions, four stitches in his hairline, and a minor concussion.”
“How could it have been worse?” Nico cried.
“He could be dead?” Atticus supplied. “Or, you know, kidnapped.”
“Oh, my God. I didn’t even think of that,” Nico said, falling against the counter.
What if they’d taken him?
“Listen, he’s probably going to feel like he got trampled by a horse for a few days. But he’ll live.”
“Willthey?” Nico asked.
