A wave of nausea sent Tarius’s stomach rolling to his feet.
“Skin cancer?” Aven asked. “Demir?”
“It wasn’t cancerous.” Demir squeezed both of their hands. “I’ve got a little scar, that’s all. But it was the night of Linus’s game, and I was so upset about the excision that I just went home to my men. I forgot until you called, Tarius, to tell me about the big win.”
“Fuck.” Tarius had no idea Demir was dealing with something so serious when he left that message. “You were handling all that alone?”
“I wasn’t alone. I had Oliver and Brandt to support me.”
“But not—” Tarius bit back his instinct to say, “not your family,” because Brandt and Oliver were as much family to Demir as his biological siblings. Sometimes, the more conservative views Tarius had been raised with reared their ugly heads, and he was always trying to do better. Tobebetter. “You didn’t even tell Dad?”
“Not until today. Well, he overheard me when I told Linus. The mole wasn’t cancerous, so I wanted everyone’s attention to be on Linus and his recovery, not on coddling me over a weird mole.”
“Dude,” Aven said. “Dude, you had a cancer scare. Be selfish for fucking once.”
“Dude, then I’d have to change my entire personality.”
Tarius tugged Demir into his arms and hugged him tight, angry and scared and so grateful that his brother was okay. “Thank you for telling us. I hate that you went through it at all.”
“Thanks.” Demir pulled back then kissed his cheek. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever tell you guys, but then everything with Linus…I always want to be as honest as possible with my family. I didn’t do that when I first started dating Brandt and…well, Dad punched him.”
“But he hasn’t punched him again in seventeen years,” Aven said.
“True. Dad’s mellowed a lot. He understands that love comes in lots of shapes and forms that don’t always adhere to societal norms.” He tossed Tarius a curious glance but didn’t continue the thought. “It’s been a long two months, but hopefully we’re done with intense drama for a while.”
“Forever,” Tarius said. “Our family has had enough.”
“We have, and I’m thrilled that Linus has Miko. I just wish you’d find someone.”
“Who says I haven’t?”
“You, you jerk.” Demir poked him in the chest. “Are you dating someone? Finally?”
“Who can say?”
“You can say,” Aven retorted.
Tarius laughed. “I could say, but we aren’t telling people until the Gala tomorrow night.”
“So, whoever walks in on your arm is who you’re finally dating?”
“Yep.”
“I am intrigued, and since Yosef and I weren’t planning on attending the Gala, we will now be buying tickets at the door.”
“You could save money and wait until people start texting you.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
They all laughed and hugged. Hugged for a long time. Because they were brothers, and they would always be united, no matter the battle ahead.
Branson didn’t get nervous about a lot of things anymore, not after the rollercoaster his life had been the last couple of years. He was confident in his work and his ability to master any computer software thrown his way, and he loved developing apps that made mobile phones more accessible for folks with disabilities.
No, he was nervous about his date with Tarius.
Not because they hadn’t gone out together before—usually to quiet restaurants their own families didn’t frequent, or to do simple things like browse a bookstore. They were both big readers and book nerds, even if their reading tastes differed a lot. Tonight’s Gala date was them coming out as a couple to their families. Demir and Aven knew that whoever Tarius showed up with was the guy he was dating, and Branson would be surprised if they hadn’t leaked it to the rest of the combined Higgs and Lars-Higgs clans.
Branson had mad respect for all those men, and he still found Chief Constable Brandt Lars-Higgs a little intimidating.
