“I want to hug you,” Aries said sweetly.
Gem set his suitcase down to open his arms out.
Aries kicked his feet and Vin set him down before Aries tackle-hugged Gem.
He closed his arms around Aries and held him tight. Even though he’d checked on Aries after the injury, Gem still worried that there would be lingering aftereffects. It drove him crazy he hadn’t been there to protect his brother. Not that there would have been anything he could have done. Vin had been there and while he’d made the asshole pay after, it wasn’t enough in Gem’s opinion.
There was a huff to his left before Nix was pushing his way into the hug.
Gem wrapped an arm around Aries and the other around Nix. Inside, the jagged pieces of his heart glued themselves back together just having his brothers close.
It was harder being separated from Aries and Nix than Gem could have ever expected. He’d been the one to assure his brothers that they would be fine. Gem was not fine.
Starting over in a new city, fighting to establish himself as the starting goalie, and doing that without his brothers close. If it wasn’t for the man that Gem had connected with, he was quite sure he’d be a complete mess.
He drew back and smiled at his brothers. “I missed you both.”
“We missed you too,” Aries replied. He nudged Nix. “Didn’t we?”
Nix’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “I guess.” He gave a careless shrug.
“He did!” Aries stated firmly. “He was just complaining that you—”
Nix’s hand came up quickly to cover Aries’s mouth.
“Complaining about what?” Gem questioned.
“Not a thing,” Nix replied with a grin.
“Uh-huh.” Gem didn’t believe that for a second. There was no telling what thought had been in Nix’s head. “Don’t worry. I’ll get it out of you later.” He had his ways.
“Ugh!” Nix whipped his hand back, making a disgusted face, then rubbed his palm against his pants. “You licked me!”
“Don’t put your hand over my mouth,” Aries told him.
“As much as I would love to hear you two argue more, can we do it inside? It’s freezing out here,” Gem pointed out.
Evan grumbled as he picked up Gem’s suitcase.
“I can get that,” Gem offered.
“Let me show you to your room so you can get warmed up,” Evan replied. He passed by, still carrying Gem’s suitcase. “I don’t know why everyone complains about the snow. It’s not that cold.”
Nix cackled as he raced to follow behind his boyfriend.
Vin laughed as he took Aries’s hand. “We’re glad you made it.”
“Mom texted me earlier that their flight was delayed. Have you heard from them?” He’d really been looking forward to seeing his parents.
“They’ll be here tonight,” Vin answered. “Your mom was adamant, and I wouldn’t put anything past that woman. Even if she has to fly the plane herself, she’ll be spending Christmas with her boys.”
“She has to be here when we set out cookies for Santa!” Aries claimed.
Gem grinned. He hadn’t been surprised when he accidentally learned that his brother was a little.
With Gem’s experience in the scene, he’d come across all sorts of subs. The littles and pups were adorable, even if he wasn’t interested in the dynamic himself. He was also aware that Evan and Nix indulged, based on some comments that Nix had made, but he hadn’t pressed too hard over the phone. That was more of an in-person conversation to have.
“Are you coming?” Nix called from the front door. “I thought you were cold.”
