Page 39 of Anything But Convenient

I squeezed Archie’s shoulder to get his attention. When he looked my way, understanding filled his features.

“Orion,” he called out softly. “Orion, it’s us. Archie and Takeshi. We’re… we’re here for you. It’s ok.”

Surprisingly, the words broke through his haze. He was still breathing as if he’d run a marathon, though his eyes weren’t that glassy hue that meant he wasn’t here with us.

“Takeshi? Archie?” Orion’s voice was raspy and thick. He shook his head. “Fuck. I… that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Archie pulled away from my arms, his body straightening as he took in my friend. “It’s ok, Orion. You didn’t hurt us. We’re fine. See?”

He spun around, then motioned for me to do the same. Once Orion confirmed he didn’t lay a hand on us, his body sunk to the floor against the wall.

I dropped with him, then pulled Archie into my lap. He grumbled about it, though didn’t fight me once he saw the smile on mine and Orion’s faces.

“So this is going well for you two then?” he teased.

Archie blushed. “We’re not here to talk about us, but yes, if you must know, we’re good. My husband is amazing.”

“Is he? Looks like this might be more than a quid-pro-quo thing. Maybe Tank is a matchmaker as well as an asshole.”

I chuckled at the description. Tank would definitely be a good wingman, however, matchmaking wasn’t anything I’d ask him for.

And yet, he’d somehow known Archie and I would work well together. I knew it was still early days though. Things weren’t solidified. We weren’t in love with one another.

There was lust. There was mutual fondness.

But love was yet to be seen.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Archie asked Orion carefully. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener. Or I can talk if you don’t want to? I have lots of thoughts rattling around this big head of mine.”

Orion shook his head, then tipped his head back. “I’m guessing Takeshi figured out why I reacted the way I did. It’s not something I advertise to people, which is why no one aside from Tank knew about my past. I’ve never had a reason to face it before now, you know?”

“The way Takeshi put it, you guys did security before all this Gilded Ones mess, but nothing to this level. I’m sorry you’re having to open up old wounds.”

My husband was a fucking saint. Listening to him diffuse the situation made me wrap him up even tighter. He grinned at me, then turned back to Orion.

“How old were you?”

There was nothing, then he whispered back, “Nine. It was a week before my tenth birthday.”

I laid my head on Archie’s shoulder, no longer wanting to read the emotions on my friend’s face. The small glimpse I’d caught nearly tore me to shreds.

He was hurting.

Even now, his emotions were a mess of confusion, pain, and regret.

Though the last part I couldn’t really pinpoint.

From there, the floodgates opened. Orion gave us his entire story from start to finish. I wasn’t sure how long it took, only that I couldn’t have stepped away if I wanted to.

“So that’s it. Now you both know,” he finished, eyes downcast between his bent knees.

Archie crawled forward, putting himself right in front of Orion. I followed and positioned myself on his side. As he reached for one hand, I grabbed the other.

Orion’s gaze shot up. Tears poured down his face, transforming his normally suave self into the broken boy who just shared his trauma.

“You're brave, Orion. And so, so strong. You’re a survivor, just like the people you recently helped. It doesn’t make you any less to have gone through this. You’re not alone. You’ve built a family who is here to support you no matter what you share with them,” Archie said firmly.

“Thank you, Archie. I’m really glad we found you.” Orion patted his shoulder, then stood and moved to leave. “I’m going to hit up the restroom, then rejoin the group. You two may want to get back in there before they send out a search party.”

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