“The plan is for just gaming and perhaps watching a movie later. But I’ll be bringing breakfast.”
“Oh good, we haven’t eaten yet. What did you plan on getting?” Dre was snooping through Barion’s drawers, pulling out the Jack Skellington socks Sammy had given Barion as a present because he had helped so much with their mating party. Barion expertly caught them, thinking wearing them was a good idea. Jon had lots of interesting T-shirts as well, so Barion didn’t feel awkward wearing his own nerd stuff.
“I was thinking about croissants and coffee from Avignon. You know the bakery I’m talking about.”
A happy smile appeared on Dre’s lips. “The one operated by the hedgehog shifters. Great idea.”
“There’s hedgehog shifters?” Sammy’s eyes were glowing with interest while he pushed a pair of ripped, heavily washed-out jeans into Barion’s hands. It wouldn’t have been his first choice, probably not a choice at all, but he trusted Sammy’s fashion sense—to a certain degree.
“Oh yes, mo grah thu, a very nice prickle that me and Barion have known for years. How about we accompany Barion to Avignon and have breakfast there?”
“You have the best ideas, Dre. I’m so happy to be mated to the most intelligent demon in the whole world!”
Sammy was laying it on thick, and Dre was eating it up with a spoon. Barion made gagging noises to disrupt the flow of the two lovebirds or he knew they would be christening yet another part of his poor home, and if there was any sex happening here, he would be damned if he wasn’t part of it, though not when Sammy and Dre went for it. That was just gross…and inappropriate. Perhaps one day… An image of Jon and him on the orange couch came to his mind unbidden, doing all kinds of funny things to the region of his groin.
Barion cleared his throat to distract himself from the direction his thoughts were taking. Time to get them all on a new subject. “Has Jon already talked to you about Milo?”
Both Dre and Sammy looked at him sharply. “What’s going on? Is Milo in trouble?” Sammy sounded so worried. He really had taken the young man who tried to sacrifice him to Dre under his wing. It was further proof how utterly crazy the man was and a warning not to mess with him. Barion was convinced Sammy was able to kill somebody with kindness.
“I don’t know. It’s just that the first evening I spent with Jon, we ordered pizza and Milo brought it. I thought he had stopped with the deliveries to concentrate on his studies. Does he need more money?”
Sammy sighed. “I thought I was paying him enough. He can’t work nights. He has to prepare for the tests to get into MIT. And he has to do this weird quiz to ensure he can get the additional scholarship. Dre, we need to do something.”
The urgency in Sammy’s voice almost had Barion regretting mentioning Milo’s troubles. He could have solved the problem by only telling Dre or by simply giving the lad enough cash. It wasn’t as if Barion was hurting for money, and upsetting Sammy was the last thing he wanted.
Dre took Sammy in his arms. “How about we talk to him when he comes in for work today, mo grah thu, to find out what is going on.” He turned to Barion. “Thank you for telling us, little brother. I’m afraid Milo isn’t one to ask for help when he needs it.”
Barion shrugged, a little uncomfortable with the compliment. In his opinion, he could have done a lot more than just leave the trouble on Dre’s and Sammy’s doorstep. “It’s fine. Just tell me if I can do anything. I’ve got lots of cash sitting around doing nothing. I could set up a trust for Milo? To see him through MIT?”
“That’s very generous of you, Barion, but Milo is adamant on earning it all himself. He won’t accept money as a present, which is actually one of the reasons we are so intent on helping him.” Dre shook his head, muttering something about stubborn-ass humans and how one could only admire or kill them, perhaps both.
Barion was now fully clothed and ready to get breakfast then play a game. He nodded at Dre and Sammy. “I’m getting those croissants. Are you coming?”
Dre looked down at his mate, who was clearly worked up. “I think we’ll pass this time. When we go there, I want Sammy to fully enjoy meeting the prickle and not worry about Milo or anything else. See you in Beaconville.”
“See you and good luck.”
* * * *
Half an hour later Barion appeared in front of Jon’s apartment door. He rang the bell and waited for Jon to open it. The zombie looked gorgeous in a white sweater with a reaper bunny saying Hippity, Hoppity, Your Soul Is My Property, and a pair of dark blue jeans that were almost as ripped as Barion’s own.
“Why are you ringing?”
“I thought that would be more polite than just popping up in your home, maybe doing something naughty.” Barion waggled his brows. He had meant it as a joke, but the way Jon was avoiding his gaze made him think it wasn’t far off the mark. “Wait! Were you doing something naughty? Without me?”
The teasing tone did what Barion had hoped. It tore Jon from whatever embarrassing thought he was caught in. He winked. “Could be. I don’t know if anybody has ever told you that, but the world does not revolve around demons.”
“Uh, hate to break it to you, but it actually does. Demons are the crown of creation.”
“Sure. Whatever you choose to believe. Now, did you bring breakfast?”
“I did.” Barion held out the paper bags with the croissants and some other pastries he hadn’t been able to resist with a flourish. “And aren’t you happy the crown of creation is able to hop between space like mundane creatures do with trains?”
Jon rolled his eyes and took the bags from Barion. “So glad. And I’m insanely happy this special crown of creation decided to share the perks of his existence with somebody as lowly and mundane as a zombie.”
“That’s who I am.” Barion grinned. “And just for the record, I think you being a zombie is cool. Much better than some stupid werewolf or vampire.”
“Rarer as well.” Jon went to the kitchen, Barion hot on his heels.
