Page 83 of Sugar

“Mm. Cosimo’s here too, but he’s visiting his cousin or something, so he’s not staying with us until we hit the road for Connecticut. Piper suggested we carpool so they can fight over who drives.”

“Well,” Juno said flatly as he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table, “at least I don’t have a dog in that fight.”

“I…fuck. Does that suck? Feels like that sucks.” Oliver dropped to the couch and twisted, shoving his feet into Juno’s lap the way he always did. It was automatic to take them and rub at the arches of his feet. He had a sudden and profound memory of doing that when Oliver was eleven and crying because he was getting foot cramps.

God, how different their lives were now.

“It does suck. A lot of this sucks big, gross, sweaty ass,” Juno admitted. He laid his head back and closed his eyes. Sometimes it was easier that way—to give his brain a break from trying to fill in all the holes that were there now. He hadn’t developed hallucinations that a lot of people did—his doctor told him in no uncertain terms that he was very lucky and to not panic if they did start up. But so far, it was just nothingness. “I sold my car and got some cash out of it, which was nice, but I miss it. I hate taking Ubers. And I hate the bus.”

“You have a whole entire boyfriend who is retired,” Oliver said, utterly indignant. “Is he refusing to give you rides?”

Juno snorted as he dug his thumbs into the ball of Oliver’s foot. “No. He gets annoyed with me when I won’t let him. But I need to do it myself. Not all of it, you know? But some of it.”

“I…yeah. I get that,” Oliver said quietly. He paused for a beat, then said, “Oh my God, you and Miles are totally a joke.”

Juno blinked his eyes open. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You know, a blind man and a deaf man walk into a bar?”

Juno smacked him for that one. “Is this what’s going to happen to me now that I’m dating an older guy? I start telling shitty dad jokes?”

Oliver laughed happily. “It might. And it feels amazing.”

Juno was hard-pressed to argue. He loved Piper and all the life, experience, and even baggage that came with him. He could close his eyes and see a future—years from now when they were both old enough that the decade and a half separating them no longer mattered. He could picture them on their porch at night, curled together on a porch swing, Piper describing the way the fireflies looked as they danced across the yard.

It wasn’t the worst thing.

“Yeah. That’s the look,” Oliver said.

Juno said nothing, but he couldn’t help his smile.

Miles was less annoyed with him. At least, as far as Juno could tell, though he’d always been the quieter one. But that was what always made him more unpredictable. Everyone underestimated him—even Oliver and Juno from time to time.

But when he came inside, Oliver jumped up from the couch and shouted, “I was fucking right! He can’t see!”

Miles sat next to him and held his hand first and then hugged him for so long Juno got a little twitchy. He pulled back and tilted his head so he could really look at Miles, and God, he looked even better than the last time Juno had seen him.

“You knew this was happening. When you came to see me a few months ago?—”

“I knew.” Juno stared at Miles’s shining new processor on his head. It was sleek and black, and it had a little decorative cuff on the earpiece that he knew Emmett had bought him. It gave Miles flair that he usually didn’t wear, especially when it came to his CIs. But it did something to Juno’s insides, knowing he was embracing it instead of just living with it.

It was partly why he wanted a fancy, sparkly cane once he found the courage to use it all the time.

Oliver scoffed at Miles’s lack of reaction and excused himself to the kitchen, where Piper and Victor were cooking, and Miles took the opportunity to move a little closer—almost like he’d been afraid to impose himself before.

Juno just sighed and pulled him close until they were cuddling.

“Are you okay?” Miles asked.

Juno shrugged. “Some days, I’m good. Some days, I’m less good. Today has been pretty amazing. I missed you a lot.”

“Why didn’t you say something before? Did you think I wouldn’t get it?”

“I was in denial—but also not. It’s…it was weird. It’s hard to explain in words,” Juno confessed. “When Piper asked me what was wrong, I told him because he was pretty much a stranger at the time, and it felt safe. I know that’s a shitty thing to say.”

Miles just laughed. “It really isn’t. It’s weird, but it’s actually harder to be vulnerable with Emmett and Cosimo now that we’re, you know, official.” Juno could see Miles’s fingers twisting around each other—his old nervous habit. “They make me feel brave. Like, I’m learning sign language finally. Emmett’s been editing my work and giving me critique. Cosimo feeds me oranges once a day because he’s convinced that if he doesn’t, I’m going to get scurvy. And every time I have a bad day, I almost don’t want to tell them because it’s too real, and they’re so invested in me.”

Juno burst into laughter. “Babe. You were kind of bad at taking care of yourself. Can you blame them?”

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