Page 91 of Gates of Tartarus

Smiling back at her, I take the little avocado necklace from her and put it on. The first Christmas we spent living together, Gemms had gotten us “sister” necklaces. One side was an avocado with the pit still in it, and it had a cute little emoji face. The other side matched the emoji face but, instead of a pit, had a hole in it. When you put them together the pit acted as a magnet, and it looked like a real, whole, little avocado. Looking in the mirror, side by side, I wrap my arm around her in a side hug, and she hugs me back. We match each other in a strange way – outfits, space buns, make up, necklaces. And while she’s tiny and I’m tall, while she’s alabaster and I’m golden, while she’s purple haired and I’m raven haired, we match. We look like we’re family.

“I don’t know how to go back out there,” I whisper softly. “I feel like... like things are running away with me.”

She nods. “It’s okay, Kai,” she says seriously. “I’m here. Okay? I’m here to help.”

Grabbing each other’s hands, we walk out together.

“Well holy hell!” she blurts out in shock the moment we walk into the living room. “They’ve multiplied.”

Our normally cozy cabin has become positively tiny in the fifteen or so minutes we’ve been in the bedrooms. Walker and Smith are perched uncomfortably at the dining-room table, Jonah is still hovering in the kitchen making breakfast, Lachy and Deo are on the couch, and Hook is at the open door, looking completely perplexed.

“Uh, hey, guys…” Hook says, confusion clear in his voice.

“Hey, babe!” Gemma chirps, floating over to him and giving him a quick kiss.

He looks down at her affectionately and says clearly and intentionally, “I know you guys don’t like having people in your space, so I waited.” And bless him, because either could snap him like a twig, he shoots chastising looks at Walker and Smith.

Walker, seemingly abashed, mumbles, “Sorry, Kai. Figured since the others were already here it wouldn’t be a big deal.”

I raise an eyebrow and tilt my head, pursing my lips, thinking through my response.

“You, uh, like Christmas, huh?” he continues, trying to seem casual but failing.

Opening my mouth to snap back at him, Gemma reappears at my side and points to the door. “I must have left the gate open. Sorry, Lach,” she mutters. “Out!” she continues firmly. “If you didn’t have an explicit invite from Kailani or myself, take your ass outside our private space and wait on the porch. No, not you, Hook,” she says, exasperation and affection warring in her voice. “Youalways have an invitation.”

He looks at me, and I nod. “True dat,” I say seriously. “Foe show,” then blush. This entire thing has me off kilter. Gemma looks at me, mouth pressed in a thin line, and I can tell she’s trying not to laugh. Walker and Smith look like they’re going to protest, but Jonah breezes past them, pushes a plate of food into my hands, kisses my cheek, and says happily, “I’ll wait on the porch!” I think he knows he could have stayed but wants to lighten the tension, so he walks out. Smith reluctantly follows, and Walker, even more reluctantly, also leaves. Now it’s just Deo, Lachy, Gemma, Hook, and myself, and Hideo and Gemma have locked eyes in a strange, private battle.

“Did Kailaniinviteyou into the cabin, Hideo?” she asks carefully.

“Not precisely,” he answers in his cool, clear way. “But I think that–”

“Well,” she interrupts, voice saccharine sweet. “If you weren’texpresslyinvited, you can wait outside.”

Their back and forth continues as I stare at my sandwich. It always makes me feel like my parents are fighting when we’re together. Lachy looks back and forth between them, confused, as Gemma turns to me and says, “Do youwantHideo here, KaiKai?”

Flustered, I shove a bite of too hot sandwich in my mouth, spitting it straight back out, and cry out, “AH! Ah! Too hot! Traumatized taste buds! Fuck! The cheese was too hot!” Everyone is staring at me likeI’mthe crazy one, and I mumble inanely, “Speaking of cheese, do you know cheese existed before language did?”

Deo and Gemma exchange reluctant, amused glances. “Awwww shit. Okay, Tanaka. You can stay. I can’t handle cheese facts. Come on, Hook.” Grabbing his arm, she drags him towards the rooms. “You okay?” she asks quietly, and I nod. “You headed out, I assume?” she says, and I nod again.

“I guess so. Work stuff.”

Waggling her eyebrows at me, she teases, “Sweet. Don’t come back anytime soon, ya hear? Wouldn’t want to sully that innocent little mind of yours. It’s about to getlooooud...!”

Covering my eyes and peeking through my fingers, I expect Hook to be blushing, but he’s too busy shooting a devilish look at Gemma, dark promises hidden in his flashing eyes, and I give her a knowing wink.

“Right… well, I’ll text before I… uh... yeah. Have fun, kids.”

“Looooooove you, Kai!” she croons laughingly, and I blow her a kiss, surprising her, but she mimes catching it and puts it in her jean’s pocket. Grabbing my boots and my jacket, I flop on the couch beside Lachy to lace them up. He wraps an arm around me and pulls me back against him. Giving in briefly, I snuggle him, breathing in the warm, wintery smell that’s uniquely Lachy, and I smile against his chest. “Okay, Bear,” I mumble against him. “Duty calls, I guess.”

He stands, then pulls me up against him, wrapping me in his massive arms, and kisses my cheek with his scratchy beard. “Alright, Suge. Keep me updated, okay? Let me know what’s going on. If you need to crash at my place tonight, just let yourself in if you think it’s too late. You have your keys?” Grabbing them from the bowl by the front door, I shake them in his face. I can sense Deo tense behind me, then force himself to relax.

“Hey, nice to meet you, Lachlainn,” Hideo says, voice studiously friendly and warm.

Lachy answers in a matching tone, “You too, Hideo. Be seeing you sooner rather than later I expect.”

Deo nods, and the two exchange a strange, somewhat awkward bro-hug, kind of shaking each other’s hands and pulling each other into a half embrace, weird shoulder-patting thing. Hideo releases Lach’s hand and grabs my bag from me, slinging it over his shoulder. “Alright,” he says, smiling down at me. “Let’s go find out what’s up with the porch brigade.”

Waving at Lachy as we leave, he faux-frowns at me. “What, no kiss?” Laughing, I blow him one too, which he catches and puts inhispocket, smiling at me. Through the open door, Smith, Jonah, and Walker watch the exchange through careful eyes, but I’m too distracted by the cold bite of the morning air to try to figure them out.