Page 23 of Sugar

“Better than me. But he’s not that sensitive.” Nix bit his lip and worried it between his teeth—his tell that he had something to say. Piper knew it was best to sit quietly and wait. “He wants to get married.”

“He proposed?”

Nix laughed softly. “He knows better than that.”

When he was little, Phoenix’s therapist told Piper and their parents that with his autism came something called pathological demand avoidance. It was why asking him to do anything at all resulted in an automatic no and, when he was really young, huge bouts of screaming before he learned to regulate.

He was better about it now. His first instinct was to push back and refuse whenever it seemed like someone was demanding something from him with the expectation of him saying yes, but he could take a beat and think over what the person was really saying.

A proposal probably wouldn’t have gone over the best, though, and Piper appreciated that Mads understood him enough to discuss marriage instead of popping the question.

“We’ve been talking about it for a few weeks. I wanted to get your blessing.”

Piper was shocked. “Kiddo, you don’t need my blessing. You have never needed my approval for anything. Will marrying him make you happy?”

“I don’t know,” Nix answered, probably a little too honestly. “I don’t think I care about marriage, but he has some good points. His insurance”—he ticked off on his fingers—“tax benefits—which I don’t get, but he does our taxes. And it’ll be better for us to buy a house. And I think for him, it has some emotional significance.”

“But not for you?”

Nix shrugged. “I love him whether or not he’s my boyfriend or my husband. It doesn’t change anything. But he likes the sound of me being his husband, and I want to do this for him.”

“So why do you need my blessing?”

“I wanted to participate in something traditional. I don’t care to ask Dad.”

Piper smiled and didn’t bother correcting his brother that typically Mads would be the one asking him. Or Nix should be asking Mads’s family. Instead, he said, “I’m honored to give my blessing. He’s going to be a great brother.”

Nix smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Will you come to the wedding?”

“Literally nothing could keep me.”

“It’s going to be next month.”

Except maybe Juno. Fuck. Piper bit the inside of his cheek.

“You’re keeping a secret,” Nix accused.

Piper let out a breath, annoyed at how well Nix could read him but also a little happy about it. “I met someone. A man,” he clarified.

Nix nodded. “Okay. At the mall?”

“Actually, yes. He owns a bakery, and we’ve been getting to know each other. I really like him.”

“Are you a couple?”

Piper shook his head. “Not yet.” Maybe not ever. He had no idea where he and Juno stood apart from sex and friendship.

“I don’t mind if you bring a sex guest,” Nix said.

Piper almost choked on his own tongue. “He’s not a…you know what, never mind. I’ll have to ask him. We’d kind of started planning to travel, but I’m not sure if he can go.”

“Will you be there if he can’t?”

“Yes,” Piper said. He wasn’t actually going to miss his brother’s wedding. Not for anything in the world. “Do you need help planning?”

Nix wrinkled his nose. “You can ask Mads. We plan to keep it really small with almost no people. But I’d like you to be my best man.”

Piper felt his chest constrict, but this time in the best way. He’d always known his brother would be worthy of finding the love of his life, but he worried that everyone he met would be too shallow or too impatient to deserve him. But Mads was perfect.

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