“Now you sound almost sophisticated,” Quirion taunted.
“Keep it up, brother mine, and this fish dish goes back to Crete.” Dre held up a paper bag. Quirion snatched it before his brother could make good on his totally needless threat. With a chuckle, Dre handed Milo another paper bag and put two more on the table next to the letter. “Let’s eat, then you can discuss some more.”
“Oh, Dre, you are the greatest mate I could wish for!” Sammy kissed Dre again, meaning every word, which made it a bit awkward for Quirion who wasn’t used to such open displays of adoration. If Mildred was feeling particularly loving, she would sometimes give a croak when he came home.
Quirion glanced at Milo, who was busying himself with his paper bag, which contained Mexican food, if Quirion’s nose wasn’t leading him astray. This young man who’d been holding his interest for years now was the second reason why Quirion had started to spend more time with his brother-in-law. He hoped that by studying Sammy, and Sammy’s interactions with Dre, he would gain insight in how to treat Milo and make his interest known without blurting it out and sending the human running for the hills. Or ocean, in case of his dimension. Though the more he studied Sammy, the more Quirion was convinced that he maybe needed to set his bars a little lower, which was why he had started including the rest of his family in his observations.
Dre was no help. He was eating up Sammy’s adoration with a spoon, beaming as if traveling around the world demon-style to get food on the table was some great feat of strength and endurance. The worst thing Dre had probably faced was the line in front of the restaurant on Crete. It was very popular. Quirionput the stationery aside to prevent stains. Milo helped Sammy distributing the tableware then they sat down to eat.
“Hmm, seems like I chose the right moment to come by.”
Quirion sighed. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he had to put up with Dre, now their father was here as well.
“Dad!” Sammy squealed, jumped up from his place and raced around the table to hug the demon king, who had just appeared between the living room and dining area.
Alerion smiled and lifted up his son-in-law, squeezing him gently.
“It’s good to see you, son.”
“Yeah, so nice to see you,Dad.” Dre sounded a little miffed and Quirion could actually relate. Even though he had spent most of his life actively avoiding his family, it was a little jarring to witness their father directing all his affection to Sammy. Of course, because it was Sammy, it was somehow okay. It was more about the principle.
Alerion didn’t seem bothered by Dre’s tone. “I’m always happy to seeallmy sons,” he declared haughtily.
“Yeah, yeah, but Sammy is the golden boy.” Quirion waved him off. “Why are you here and where are your mates? I rarely see you without them.”
“That’s because you rarely see me.” Alerion winked, as if he wanted to take the sting out of his words. He needn’t have bothered. Quiriondidsee his father rarely, on purpose. “I’m here because my darling mates, who are under a lot of pressure at the moment because of a business merger that’s proving a bit more difficult than they anticipated, have told me Milo had dared to question their intake of caffeine. Of course, I immediately went to investigate.” Alerion turned to Milo. “What do you have to say for yourself, young man?”
For a moment Milo seemed to be poised to flee. Then his shoulders sagged. “They were already hyped when they came in.And it was late. Like six o’clock late.AndSammy has told me how they get when their caffeine levels reach a certain threshold. To me it looked as if they were already past that.”
Alerion patted Milo’s shoulder and he only flinched briefly. As relaxed as Milo was around Quirion and Dre, the demon king had yet to gain Milo’s trust. “That was very sweet of you. And yes, they are way past their normal levels of jittery juice.” He sank down on the chair next to Milo. “This merger is really bugging them.”
“Oh, can we help them somehow?” Sammy had brought another plate for Alerion and was now shoving more than half of hispaellaon it. Then he stole some of Dre’ssouvlaki, two of the giltheads from Quirion and a taco from Milo. The newly assembled dish then found its way in front of Alerion, who nodded gratefully.
“Thank you, Sammy. And no. I’m afraid this is something they have to deal with themselves.” He took the fork Sammy handed him and speared a piece ofsouvlaki.
Quirion took this as the cue to start eating because he didn’t want to lose more of his food to any other unbidden guests crashing their dinner.
They ate in silence for some time, Dre trying to share part of his plate with Sammy, only to be rebuffed with a sweet, “You need your strength, my beloved, eat.”
Quirion leaned a bit forward to protect his plate, much like a lion would its fresh kill. It was an automatic reaction learned during his teenage years when Dre had been the child. Demons had healthy appetites and growing demons were bottomless pits who knew no mercy—and certainly neither friendship nor brotherly bonds—when it came to food. You either learned to protect what was yours or you went hungry.
Out of nowhere, a taco and an enchilada landed on his plate, deftly maneuvered around the protective wall his arms hadformed. Quirion looked up to Milo, who smiled softly. “You need your strength, too. We still have to write this letter.”
“You’re writing a letter?” Alerion looked up from his food. “I thought these days emails were the thing to do?”
“They usually are, Dad, but this is a special occasion.” Sammy beamed at Milo. “This young genius here has gotten a letter from a prestigious society who is offering to fund his research! It’s super-important to get the answering letter perfectly right, which is why Quirion and I have been discussing the entire afternoon.”
“Discussing?” Alerion lifted a brow.
“It really was a discussion and not all-out war,” Dre explained. “Still can’t believe I’ve seen that.”
Sammy elbowed Dre, which spared Quirion the trouble, though he thought he would have done a better job. His brother certainly wouldn’t have kissedhimafterward!
“Don’t make us sound like some uncivilized barbarians!” Sammy looked indignant. “I told you, our discussions might seem a bit intense, but they are held in loving spirit.”
Quirion decided not to comment on that. As sweet as Sammy was, his loving spirit could be quite vicious when it came to certain topics. Another reason Quirion liked him. He could respect a man with firm principles, even if said principles went against his own, which were also as firm as flint. Maybe even more so.
“I’m sure your discussions with my oldest son are nothing but bonding between brothers,” Alerion smoothly interjected. “Now, the letter? Congratulations, Milo, by the way. What’s the name of the society?”
