Several people gasped, and Wash’s eyes flicked back to the mirror just in time to watch Elijah stumble for a second time. Old instincts screamed at him to run and help, despite knowing Elijah wouldn’t appreciate that. He held himself back, gritting his teeth.
“Come on, come on…”
Alistair’s murmur was low enough that no one else heard him but Wash, who was standing closest to him. When Wash looked over at him, he was surprised to see electricity threading along the mage’s hands, his eyes glued to the mirror, and his body tense like he was just as poised and ready to run to Elijah’s aid as Wash was.
Wash understood the fear, especially because Alistair was Elijah’s anchor and linked to him in ways no one else could be. To distract him, Wash offered, “He’ll be alright.”
Alistair glanced at him, then back at the mirror, his face twitching against a grimace. “I know he will be. He’s tougher than he looks. It’s all me. He saved my life. I have a hard time being away from him now.”
“He saved your life?”
He’d heard a few things around the office, it was almost impossible not to hear some sort of gossip in that place, but he hadn’t gotten specifics. He hadn’t asked either. At the time when the rumors about Elijah swelled and Alistair came into the picture, Wash had been purposely making himself scarce. He didn’t want old habits to send him chasing down the people who might be making things difficult on his brother. He’d promised he’d stay away and blocking out all the gossip was the only way he could keep that promise.
Alistair nodded, glancing at Wash for a second before locking on the mirror again. He couldn’t tear his eyes away, and Wash didn’t blame him. When it was Peri’s turn, he’d probably do the same thing.
To make him feel better, Wash turned back to the mirror as well, watching as Elijah and Avery arrived at the same time to where the— “Are those giant paperclips?”
Not too far away, Taron cackled gleefully. Wash rolled his eyes.
Huffing out a laugh, Alistair shook his head. “Don’t judge Taron too much. He’s doing this for Eli. We’ve been meeting once a week to come up with new plans to get Eli out into the world. He’s spent so long having to hide. I want him to experience things and have fun. So if it’s over the top and silly, it’s probably Taron’s way of making him laugh.”
Wash grunted in response, watching Elijah laughing as he and Avery tried to heft the giant golden paperclips that looked to be at least two feet long and awkward to carry. The only person who had a slight advantage was Tom, a dwarf with thick muscles who ignored the awkwardness of the thing and tucked it under his arm, hightailing it back toward the trade off point.
“He looks like he’s having fun,” Alistair commented softly after another minute. “He doesn’t need help.”
It was said more to himself than to Wash, but Wash heard him anyway. He watched as his brother, who he’d once saw as fragile and always frowning, laughed and ran alongside Avery, the video capturing him stumble again and keep going like it was nothing. Alistair was right. He didn’t need help. He was okay on his own.
An old ache in his chest eased a little, a bit of tension that had been there since the day he stopped protecting his brother. He didn't need to protect him anymore. Elijah had grown up strong, and he had an anchor who refused to take his eyes off his mate. He’d be okay.
Tom burst through the trees first, but his advantage was only feet as Avery and Elijah came out right after him, breathless and flushed. They handed off their coils almost at the same time, with Tom handing his off to Isaac, Elijah handing his to Alistair with a quick kiss, and Kian taking his from Avery. They ran down another path, where they’d have obstacles to get through in a circuit that would lead them back.
Peri handed Elijah a bottle of water, their other teammates patting him on the back for his efforts before turning back to the mirror to watch the next leg.
While they were distracted, Wash edged closer, grimacing around the awkwardness as he told Elijah, “Good job.”
Elijah froze with the bottle an inch from his mouth, blinking a few times in confusion. It only made Wash feel more awkward, and he almost regretted saying anything to his brother. But he caught Peri’s proud smile over his shoulder, and when Elijah finally spoke, he felt like he could let out a breath. “Thank you. Alistair has had me working out with him since we met. I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason I haven’t collapsed right now. Running through a forest is a lot harder than on a treadmill.”
Wash kept his eyes on the mirror, a lot like Alistair had, this time using it as a buffer between him and the awkwardness hefelt toward his brother. “You kept your feet, though. Didn’t let the stumbling stop you. You should be proud of yourself.”
He saw Elijah’s warm smile out of the corner of his eye and felt another ache ease. It’d been a long time since his brother looked at him like that. Like his opinion mattered. Like he cared.
“Are they using spells against each other? Isn’t that cheating?” Zara, the leader of the entertainment division demanded.
Wash and Elijah both looked back at the mirror in time to see Alistair trip over a wind spell, tossing one at his brother as he fell before scrambling to his feet again. Isaac saw it coming and ducked, but tripped over his feet a second later, dropping the clip as his hands shot out to catch himself.
He heard Maverick growl nearby, and the area got a little smokey. He and Elijah shared a worried glance. The brothers might be having fun with each other, but Isaac was mated to a dragon. Dragons made even Wash’s protectiveness look like child’s play.
“Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to split the race into legs,” Elijah murmured. “Most of the couples here are mates, and mates are notoriously overprotective.” He offered a half smile to Wash. “You fit right in.”
Wash rolled his eyes, but softened it with a smirk. “Shut up. Peri likes it.”
“Good. I’m glad,” Elijah replied earnestly, chuckling as he watched Alistair snatch Isaac back from tripping over a bush, still watching out for him even while they shoved at each other and kept going a few seconds later. “They do the same thing during family gatherings. Wrestling and causing mischief. They’re really close.”
Wash could practically hear the longing in Elijah’s voice, and he felt bad for shaking his head, but he had to be honest withhimself. “I wouldn’t be able to do that with you. I’d be worried I’d hurt you. We can play games another way.”
He felt his face flush as Elijah’s head whipped around to stare at him. He was pretty sure he heard Peri gasp, too. Thankfully, neither had time to question him, because Kian came out of the trees with a grin, several paces ahead of the brothers who were too busy messing with each other to notice they were falling behind. When Kian snapped and a spell went up, tripping them both, they finally realized some of the spells that had tripped them hadn’t belonged to each other. Their shouts of outrage only made the fae laugh.
With Kian’s team in the lead, Wash knew he had to make up time in order to get Peri those vacation days he wanted. He didn’t need them, he had plenty saved up that he never used, but it was the principle of the thing. Peri wanted to win. Wash was going to make that happen. Even if he had to fly to do it.