Page 117 of Fire & Ice

Loki snorts and leans back against the leather seat, crossing one leg over the other by manspreading and setting his right calf obnoxiously on his left knee. “I take it back. You have not changed one damn bit, brother.”

“It’s not like I can’t say the same about you,” Lawrence retorts, but there’s really no heat in his words. He slouches against Leander’s side, but his expression isn’t as hard as it might be, so Leander retains the hope that they’ll all get through this relatively unscathed.Perhaps,if they can collectively manage to even temporarily stow their bullshit, they’ll emerge better than they were going in.

God knows, Leander and Lawrence have been holding each other at arm’s length for years now, and Loki—Loki’s just beengone.It’s clear that they all want to leave their tumultuous upbringing and the uncertainty of early adulthood in their past, but they’re grown now. There’s no reason they can’t have a future together, one where they simply accept each other for who they are and meet each other where they’re at.

A happy ending, Leander thinks wistfully, as the siblings across the way catch his attention and manage to hold it. The original Truetts are sitting on the bus’ long bench seat, turned and tilted towards each other as they converse, the worldaround them seemingly forgotten. Nowthat’san aspirational bond between brothers.

After all, Beau and Tripp had far worse experiences growing up than any of the Grigoris—and they’re as close as family can be. They carry their abusive father’s name, a burden Leander can only partially understand, but they’re unbothered by it. Leander finds that he admires their resilience even more now, wants to study how they’ve managed it, to learn and steal their secrets for himself.

For now, he’ll just have to be grateful for what he has, which is as new a start as his blood family is ever going to get.

“Thank you both for being here,” he says softly, reaching out to put a hand on each of his brothers’ laps. He’s never bothered to be vulnerable with either of them before, but if he’s going to be taking his cues from Tripp, this seems like a good first step. “It means…it means a lot to me to have you both here, to have your support. I—I’ve been guilty of focusing on the wrong things, in the past. The money, I know that’s a point of—of contention—”

Leander’s cut off by Loki’s snorting again and squeezing his shoulder, but his voice when he speaks is uncharacteristically soft. “Not like you had any kind of role model to teach you priorities,” he says. On Leander’s other side, Lawrence nods in agreement, and those two being on the same page is enough to render Leander speechless.

“You’ve done well for yourself,” Lawrence chimes in. “I think we all have. The money is…” He shakes his head. “Well, I think we all know it’s there if we need it.”

“I’ll never touch it,” Loki declares. “Screw dear old Mommy and Popsicle, and all they never did for us.” He raises his glass and nudges Leander until he picks up his half-emptybottle of beer and begrudgingly does the same. To his surprise, Lawrence joins in, though his glass is definitely filled with seltzer, maybe a twist of lime if he’s feeling wild.

“Screw ‘em,” Lawrence declares solemnly, clinking his glass to Leander’s forcefully enough that it hits Loki’s, too. “To us,” he adds. “To Lee.”

“To Lee,” Loki echoes enthusiastically. “And to that smokin’ hot piece of ass he’s somehow managed to brainwash into marrying him.” Loki wiggles his eyebrows and laughs before tipping most of his drink into his mouth. Leander shakes his head, but he can’t stop smiling.

On the other side of the bus, Tripp looks up in time to catch his eye and wink, raising his hand almost shyly in a wave, which Leander returns.

“You two are disgusting,” Lawrence comments. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Yes,” Leander replies agreeably, glancing around to take in his drunken family and friends, truly beginning to absorb how lucky he really is. Wouldanyof this be possible, wouldanyof it behisif it weren’t for Tripp? Leander’s not a dramatic man, but he can’t imagine that would be the case.

Being Tripp’s best friend was always quite wonderful—skirting the edges of being included in his family was bliss.

But this? This isreal,and not only that, it’s reallyhis.Not something peripherally shared with him out of pity but to which he doesn’t actually belong.This ishishusband, his siblings—Beau and Bri included—his family, both blood and chosen, brought togetherfinallyin a way that Leander badly hopes will stay.

They’ll work on it,he’llwork on it. God knows, Tripp’s shown him how, shown him why it matters so much that they try.

Feeling overwhelmed with love and appreciation for Tripp, Leander touches his fingers to his lips and mimes blowing him a small kiss. In response, Tripp looks as if his smile might break his face in half.

“Disgusting,”Lawrence reiterates, with feeling.

Yes, Leander believes they’re all going to be just fine.

***

Lawrence’s church is modest, an incredibly old building with very little funding and not as much community support as it deserves, considering how accepting they are of anyone who wishes to attend. Despite that, Leander’s never made himself a home here, neverquitebeen able to reconcile the God Lawrence believes in with the state of the world and how badly so many “Christians” treat both others and each other.

It’s not that he doesn’twantto believe, Leander just can’t help feeling that God—if there really is one—left them all behind a long time ago, and that people like Lawrence are just talking to the empty sky.

The church itself is very pretty, though, with tall, elaborate stained glass windows that spill multi-colored light onto the worn pews, even in the early evening. There’s also the fact that it means something to Lawrence to be able to marry his brother here, which Leander can’t argue with.

Tripp could not care less either way—his exact words were, “that means it’s free, right?”

So here they are.

Ceremony-wise, this wedding is nothing like Beau and Briana’s ultra-traditional affair. Technically, they both have groomsmen and bridesmaids, but none of them are walking down the aisle. They’re all already seated in the first two rows of pews facing the altar, and there are plenty of other people behind them who are just as important to both Tripp and Lee. Found family, friends, even co-workers they share.

This is onebigfamily, coming together officially—but a family that already exists, nonetheless. There have never been “sides,” and they’re certainly not going to create any now.

The two doors that swing wide to the sanctuary are currently closed, leaving Tripp and Lee alone in the little foyer, awaiting their walking music to start. Since Mickey and Reina are the closest thing to parents either groom has anymore, the engaged duo also made the decision to forgo being escorted down the aisle (and subsequently, anyone waiting at the end). While both Mickey and Reina would have been more than happy to walk with either of them—one at a time, together, or whatever other mash-up they chose—even that touch of formality felt silly and ill-fitting to the vibe they were looking for today.

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