Page 30 of Sugar

Piper shook his head against the side of Juno’s. “No. It’s over sixty-five hundred light-years away.”

“How far is that?” Juno asked very softly.

Piper smothered a laugh against the side of Juno’s hair. “Trillions upon trillions.”

“But is that what it really looks like? I mean…did some satellite take photos? How the hell could one even get there if it’s that far?”

Piper traced lines up and down Juno’s arm. “Some nebulae can be seen from Earth with the right telescope lens. They don’t look like this,” Piper said, pointing up at the image. “But some of them are too far away. The Soul is much too far for a telescope.”

“So how do you know what it looks like?”

“It’s a sort of…rendition,” Piper said. “I have a colleague—he’s blind—and he creates images like this based on sound.”

Juno stiffened. “You have a blind friend?”

“Colleague,” Piper corrected. “We worked together a few times on a couple of research papers early in my career.”

Juno relaxed a little. For a moment, he’d been worried Piper was bullshitting him to try and make him feel better, though in all honesty, he knew Piper wasn’t that kind of man. “And that’s how he saw that nebula? With sound?”

“The Soul Nebula isn’t his,” Piper told him. “That was just the one I fell in love with the most, and the images were created the same way my colleague does his.”

“Are you trying to give me some sort of pep talk?” Juno said, a little irritated. “A blind guy can paint nebulas, so you can bake your little cupcakes?”

Piper laughed softly and kissed the side of his neck. “Not exactly like that. I’d never belittle your cupcakes. But yeah, maybe I am a bit. Your situations aren’t the same. He lost his sight when he was, like, two, I think? And he’s not a baker. He’s always had a mind for astrophysics.”

“But let me guess, he didn’t let his disability stop him from accomplishing anything?” Juno asked, bitterness rising in the back of his throat.

“Oh, I’m sure it has plenty of times. I don’t know him well, but if he ever went through the phase of wanting to drive, I’m sure his disability stopped him from doing that.”

In spite of his mood, Juno smiled. “I…okay, fair.”

“And if he ever visited any museums, any famous art he’s experienced has probably been a replica. They don’t let you get frisky with the David’s dick, as far as I know.”

Juno burst into laughter. He couldn’t help it. “Oh my God.”

“What I’m saying is that people do get on with their lives even when their body’s limitations get in the way. I did.”

Shit. Juno had all but forgotten that Piper had given up his entire career because it had wreaked havoc on his body and stopped him from being able to do it anymore. Even if he had been ready to quit, he was still given no choice in the matter.

He shuffled so he was facing Piper. He couldn’t see him well in the dark—just the edge of his profile. The starry lights were too dim. He traced a touch over his jaw. “I’m going to be pissed off for a while. And scared.”

“I know. And I wasn’t trying to give you some football movie feel-good speech so you can go win the championship or whatever,” Piper said. “My point is that Magnus wanted to be an astrophysicist, so he did it. And when he needs help, he takes it when it’s offered. If he’d been a stubborn ass about it, he wouldn’t be where he is today.”

Juno hated that Piper was right. He hated that it was a glimpse into his future—that he didn’t have to lose everything, but it meant he’d have to start trusting people. Something he wasn’t good at.

“What do you want me to say?” Juno finally asked.

Piper cradled his face. “I want you to ask me for what you need. I want you to tell me where we’re going. I want you to let me take care of things when you can’t.”

Closing his eyes, Juno breathed in the scent of him—clean and musky. He felt the power in Piper’s hands, listened to the steady breathing making his chest rise and fall. “Okay.”

“And—”

“No,” Juno said. “That’s all I can give you right now.”

Piper relented immediately. He dropped one hand and used the other to pinch Juno by the chin and kiss him, soft and slow, full of hot, wet tongue. Juno went warm all over, rolling his whole body into it. They kissed for long, lush minutes before Piper broke it off and pressed their foreheads together.

“Let’s go back into the kitchen and start planning. I know you have more ideas, and we should get them down before we get distracted.”

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