“No? I am a little worried about you. And I really am hungry. So I really do think I’m going to get me a milkshake. If you want one, I could get you a caramel one.”
“Can I have pineapple this time?”
“Absolutely! Let me run the trash out, and I’ll grab milkshakes, and I’ll be home in two shakes.”
Mercury grinned at him. “That’s a lot of shakes!”
It felt so good to get a smile.
He took the trash bag and tapped on Kami’s door quietly, pleased as hell to see Reno answer the door.
“Hi, Reno, I’m going to go down to get milkshakes. Would you like anything, or would you like to come with me and help me carry this heavy trash bag?” He let his hysteria show in his eyes.
“I would love to,” Reno chuckled and called back to Kami, “I’m gonna go get milkshakes. I’ll bring one back.”
“Cool. Bring something for this monster who’s teething.”
They made it far enough away from their doors that Mercury couldn’t hear them, and then he groaned. “Something’s wrong with Mercury,” he said. “He’s driving me crazy.”
“Mercury is the size of a house. I’m pretty sure you don’t get to decide that he makes you crazy.”
“I know. I do. But nothing I say or accomplish helps. Nada. Zip. He alternates between ripping my head off and bursting into tears. What do I do?” He needed help, dammit.
Reno frowned. “What’s he doing?”
“What do you mean, what’s he doing? I just told you.”
“No, I’m serious. What exactly is he doing that’s weird, that’s not just being grumpy?”
Oh, he got it. “Cleaning. He’s cleaning everything. Things that aren’t dirty. Things which don’t have any parts which could possibly be dirty.”
Reno visibly relaxed, and it was bizarre, but also incredibly decent in a way, because Talon felt as if he could relax too.
“What? What is it?”
Reno offered him a warm smile. “He’s nesting, which means he’s getting ready to have the baby. Give it a couple of days tops and you’ll have a kid.”
“Oh, is it that easy?”
“Well, it won’t be easy. It’s going to be a couple of tough, tough days. But it’s normal. He’s getting his place ready for your new baby, so my suggestion is to stay out of his way, do anything he asks, make sure you feed him and get him hydrated. I would also let Rowan know just so that he is available to be on call.”
“I can do all of those things. In fact, I’m getting him a pineapple milkshake right now.”
Reno nodded. “Yeah, Kami’s gonna go over and check on him. Maybe the teething wonder will distract him for a minute.”
“Oh yeah, I heard. Hopefully, a milkshake helps?”
Reno shook his head. “I don’t think anything helps. She’s just miserable.”
“Poor baby. I hate that she’s hurting.”
“I hate that Kami’s going to tear his hair out.” Reno winked, obviously trying to ease things back, but the tension was right there.
They had this total simpatico thing going on where their hailees were unhappy and neither one of them knew what to do to help because there was nothing they could do. This was just nature taking its course.
“Well, if there’s anything I can do, including calling the healers and having them come over, just let me know.”
“Ditto, man. If you need us for some reason, just holler. We’ll come. I bet Triton would do the same thing. Heaven knows he’s been through this.”
