"You look properly fucked. Good for you," Larson said, throwing his arm around me for a half hug before stepping inside.
"He's right," Rob agreed, pulling me in for a fierce, full-out hug.
"Fuck off, Lars," Niall grumbled as he walked out of the hallway in nothing but a pair of shorts.Unlike him, I had no problems with my lover's partial nudity.
"I have better things to do. Like finally fix the rain." Larson strode into the kitchen, and I saw the gleam of a bluish spell in his hand. "You can go back to bed after we're done with the magic. It's going to wipe Liv out anyway."
"Sorry about him," Rob said, his lingering grin at odds with his words as he released me.
Niall covered the distance between us and draped his arm over my shoulders.
Rob looked between us. "You two look cozy. Figured things out?"
"Yup," I agreed.
Niall kissed the top of my head in response.
"Finally." He winked. "I'm going to help Larson set up." He padded into the kitchen, and we looked over at both of them.
Lars practically vibrated with nervous energy. Considering how this had gone the last time, that was to be expected.
"You can still back out," Niall murmured to me. "He was supposed to wait until I talked to you."
"It's okay. I'm in," I said, ignoring the ball of nerves tangling in my stomach too.
We stoppedin our room for a quick shower before meeting the spellcaster couple in the kitchen. I'd gotten dressed in another one of Niall's shirts, mostly because it was comfortable, but also because I thought it might put him at ease.
I'd paired it with a pair of short, spandex shorts, but as far as he concerned, they didn't cover nearly enough of me.
I ignored his concern on that matter, like usual. We joked about it constantly, but he did accept that I was going to wear whatever I wanted.
"You’re sure it’s going to work this time, right?" I asked, as Lars disappeared into my pantry, undoubtedly looking for a snack.
"We’ve spent the last two years reviewing it, so it should go smoothly," Rob said. "Larson asked about a dozen other spellcasters to chime in too, and no one found any problems with it."
"What was the problem with the last one?" I tugged Niall toward a chair. He sat down next to me, his arm draping over my shoulders again.
Rob looked at Larson, who didn’t respond. He was officially just hiding in the pantry.
"Nothing was wrong with it,"Rob admitted.
Niall eyed the pantry. "Other than the way Larson tried to power it himself."
"Delusions of grandeur get to the best of us at times," Rob said lightly. "Now, Larson knows what to do if one of the fae we need has a possessive mate."
Larson stepped out of the pantry with an armload of snacks. "We just ignore them."
"I wouldn’t try that with Kat," I warned. "Callum isnotrational when it comes to her."
"We all tread carefully when it comes to that scary fucker." Larson plopped down in a chair.
Rob lifted two bags of takeout food I hadn’t noticed earlier. "We brought lunch as a peace offering."
"Painted our nails too, to get on your good side." Larson wiggled a hand of black-painted fingernails in my direction. We'd bonded over a good coat of shiny black paint countless times.
Rob handed me a bag of food, and I saw that his nails matched Larson's.
"As much as I wish it wasn't true, you bastards are already on my good side." I opened the bag, trying to ignore the dread that was gathering in my lower belly.
