“Emotional support doesn't fix alternators.”
“No, but it improves morale.” Nate grinned. “Cal works faster when he's happy. We make him happy by being adorable.”
Cal's voice floated from under a car on the lift. “He's not wrong. They're like workplace mascots. Very motivating.”
Mason appeared from the back, coffee in hand, expression as flat as ever. “They're a safety hazard is what they are. Can't walk three feet without tripping over them being cute at each other.”
“That was one time,” Evan protested.
“You knocked over an entire rack of oil cans.”
“Because Nate was distracting me.”
“I was standing there,” Nate said. “Just standing. Existing. Not my fault you find my existence distracting.”
“Your existence is extremely distracting.” Evan's hand found Nate's waist, pulled him closer. “It's a design flaw.”
“You love my design flaws.”
“I do. Every single one of them.”
Gideon made a sound that might have been a laugh, quickly suppressed. “This is what I deal with every day. Every single day, this level of saccharine.”
“You love it,” Nate said confidently.
“I tolerate it.” But Gideon's eyes were warm, watching them with the kind of gruff affection that spoke of deep attachment carefully disguised. “Now get out of my garage before you contaminate the equipment with your romance.”
“That's not how romance works,” Evan pointed out.
“I don't care. Out. Both of you. Take Michael to the mill before he decides to walk there himself.”
Nate made a show of being wounded, hand pressed to his chest. “Rejected. Cast out. Abandoned by our own people.”
“You'll survive.” Mason took a sip of his coffee. “Tragically, you always do.”
“See if we bring you coffee tomorrow.”
“You've never brought me coffee.”
“And now we never will. This is the consequence of your cruelty.”
Cal slid out from under the car, grinning. “I'd like coffee. If you're offering. No cruelty here, just honest appreciation for your disgusting love.”
“Cal gets coffee,” Nate declared. “Mason gets nothing.”
“I'll survive.” Mason's voice was dry as dust, but there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. “Somehow.”
I watched them banter, watched Gideon pretend to be annoyed while clearly enjoying every second, watched Calcontribute from under various vehicles, watched Mason deliver deadpan observations that somehow always landed perfectly.
This was what Nate had found. This family that had grown around him, adopted him, made space for his presence and his love and his stubborn refusal to be anything other than exactly who he was.
And somehow, they'd made space for me too.
“Alright.” Evan finally pulled away from Nate, though their fingers stayed tangled together until the last possible second. “We should actually go. Dad's going to wear a hole in the floor if Michael doesn't show up soon.”
“Tell Daniel I said hi,” Cal called. “And that he owes me twenty bucks from poker.”
“He maintains that you cheated.”
