Thirty-One
Peri barely had time to watch Alistair hand off the paperclip baton to Wash before his boyfriend was off like a shot, flying faster than he’d ever expected. This leg’s hoops were high enough that Peri wouldn’t have been able to reach them, but Wash didn’t look concerned, beelining for the first one just as Maverick shifted and tore off after him.
“Eep!”
The force of the dragon’s launch knocked anyone closest to him on their ass, except Isaac who’d known to brace for it. Peri hadn’t even been that close and even he stumbled, steadied by Elijah who caught his arm.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” he breathed, smiling at him. “Thank you!” He turned for the mirror again, chewing on his lip. “I’m really glad I’m not in this leg. I think being chased by a dragon would be too terrifying.”
Alistair snorted, coming to stand beside them. “I second that, and he’s my brother-in-law. Wash looks like he’s alright though.”
Probably because Wash was two hoops ahead of Maverick. Taron being Taron hadn’t wanted to make it easy, so the hoopsmoved, making the racers unable to fly in a straight shot through them. Wash only had to backpedal once before making sharper turns to get through the hoops as they moved. It was a lot harder for Maverick and Brennus, who were both larger and couldn’t make sharp adjustments in the air.
“Is there sound on this thing? I want to hear what he’s saying,” Phoebe said from in front of her team’s mirror. When Peri looked back, he could see Brennus’s beak clicking like he was saying something, and when the staff whispered a spell, the squawk of his voice could be heard in all three mirrors.
“...against regulation! The rules never stated the hoops would move!”
They all heard Phoebe groan, and when Peri flitted a little into the air to see her, she had her face in one claw, her exasperation clear in her voice as she growled, “Stop complaining and move, Bren!”
Brennus couldn’t hear her, the spell didn’t go both ways, and continued complaining as he flew through the hoops, falling farther behind the two who were making their way back now.
“I had no idea Wash was that fast,” Elijah said, his voice awed.
Neither did Peri. He’d only ever teleported with Wash. Now his date idea to go for a flight together worried him a little. Would he be able to keep up with his boyfriend?
“Head’s up,” Alistair nudged him. “He’s coming.”
Sucking in a breath, Peri looked up, grinning at his boyfriend as Wash darted through the last hoop and dove for their group. He moved himself to the designated hand off spot, readying himself to take the giant paperclip and run, when the sound of thunder made him hesitate. In the spot next to theirs, Zephyr had shifted, much to Taron’s delight, and was already flapping his wings as he readied himself for his turn. Taron had handed out protection charms to everyone so Zephyr could participatesafely, and Peri knew they worked, Wash had approved of it himself, but when a zap of lightning hit the ground near Zephyr’s feet, Peri jumped and scuttled back, his eyes wide as he stared at the thunderbird.
Wash landed with a thud beside him, offering him the paperclip while looking over his shoulder to check how far ahead he’d gotten. Peri couldn’t make himself take it. He knew he was safe. He knew that. But his wings wouldn’t move. What if the charm didn’t work on fairies? What if he dropped it? One bolt would fry Peri’s wings instantly, and he’d never be able to fly again.
“Baby?”
Tears filled his eyes, he didn’t want to let his team down, but Zephyr took off, having taken the baton from Maverick, and lightning zapped off him in a five foot radius. Peri couldn’t get past him without putting himself in range of the lightning.
“Peri. It’s okay. I’ll do it,” Wash reassured him, but he was cut off by Zara, who shook her head.
“That’s against the rules. There’s a penalty if a team member sits out.”
A rule Taron had put in so no one could refuse to join without consequences. It was probably for Wash specifically, but Peri didn’t think it’d be him who was the issue.
With a frustrated growl, Wash pushed the paperclip into Peri’s chest, snatching him up and taking off. Peri could only cling to him, hiding his face, as Wash took him and the coil through the lower hoops, disappearing into the trees and coming back up in front of Zephyr when they had to get close to him.
He could hear Wash’s harsh breathing, feel the sweat on his skin, but he never complained or got mad at Peri for being too scared to take his turn. He just held him close, and when it was their turn to swing around, he used a cliff face to push off, sincethe added weight made it harder for Wash to do sharp turns like he had before.
They landed and stumbled, but were caught by members of their team, the paperclip handed off before Peri even looked up. Then Wash strode away, waiting behind a tree until Zephyr landed and shifted back.
“Baby… He shifted. You’re okay now.”
“I’m sorry,” he croaked, hugging Wash’s neck a little tighter.
“For what? Being afraid of something? Everyone is afraid of something.”
He found that hard to imagine. Wash didn't look afraid when he was being chased by a dragon, and he didn’t flinch flying directly under a thunderbird, even if they were using the trees for cover. He wasn’t afraid of anything.
“I was afraid of the dark when I was a kid,” Elijah offered softly. Peri hadn’t realized more people had come to check on him, and when he finally peeked out from Wash’s neck, Taron, Kian, Elijah, and Isaac were all surrounding him with worried frowns.