Hesitantly, he twisted some noodles onto his fork and brought them to his lips. It was barely enough to be considered a bite, but the spice assaulted his nose anyway, and the moment he put the noodles in his mouth, he regretted it. Tears filled his eyes as his mouth began to burn, and the urge to immediately spit it out made him cover his mouth with his hand. Sweat broke out instantly on his skin, and he felt a flush overtake him. He forced himself to swallow the bite, which felt like swallowing fire, and grabbed his glass of water, taking a large gulp. He choked when the water only made the burning worse, coughing and spluttering.
“Are you okay?” Tony asked, worried.
Peri waved him away, but no amount of water was making a difference. Why did his lips burn? He didn’t think the food even touched his lips.
“Water isn’t going to help. Here, eat this,” Hugo demanded, shoving a piece of bread at his face. Peri took it without question, taking a bite as soon as he could without choking again. Hugo had slathered it with butter, and the combination seemed to soothe the burning feeling on Peri’s tongue so much better than the water had. Hugo immediately handed him another once that piece was gone, watching with a stern expression as Peri nibbled on the second piece of bread and swallowed hard.
“Thank you… I… I didn’t realize it would be that spicy.”
Hugo’s eyes narrowed, studying him for a long moment. “You didn’t realize it would be spicy? It had a warning next to it on the menu.”
It had? Peri hadn’t noticed that. He looked down at his bowl again with a little more apprehension. He hated the idea of wasting food, but he didn’t think he’d survive another bite.
Without another word, Hugo reached over, snagging Peri’s bowl and replacing it with his own. The lighter broth was encouraging, and the smell was significantly more appealing. Still, Peri felt bad.
“You don’t have to–” He cut himself off, his mouth falling open when Hugo took a large bite of the noodles Peri had ordered without even flinching.
Even Taron looked impressed, eyes dropping to the bowl, then back to Hugo. “Now I want to try it. Is it really that spicy?”
Hugo lifted a shoulder casually, taking another bite. When he noticed Peri staring at him, he jerked his chin at the bowl he’d gifted him with a significant look. “Eat. It’ll help.”
While Taron tried to pester Hugo into letting him try the spicy noodles, Peri took a small bite of the dish Hugo had ordered. Notes of ginger, beef, and onions danced in his mouth, not a hint of painful spices to be found. Instead, the broth was milder while still flavorful. Peri let out a happy sigh, taking another bite with more enthusiasm.
Tony, who had been watching the play of events, tipped his head, his expression still holding a hint of worry. “Better?”
“Much,” Peri answered with a smile after swallowing his bite. “This is really good.” He turned to Hugo, who was now guarding his bowl and glaring at Taron while the man practically leaned across the table to get a bite of Hugo’s dish. It was only Taron’s other mate, Zephyr, who kept him from making a mess, holding Taron back with a fistful of his jacket and a smirk.
“Thank you. I didn’t realize what I was ordering. This is much better,” he said, drawing Hugo’s attention. Unintentionally, he distracted the demon long enough for Taron to twist his fork in the noodles, stealing a bite and popping it into his mouth with a grin. Hugo’s glare melted into a smug smirk as Taron’s eyes widened in horror, and he swallowed hard, fanning his mouth and sucking down water a lot like Peri had.
Zephyr laughed out loud at his mate’s panic, patting Taron’s back when he coughed and spluttered. “I warned you not to try it. You can barely handle spicy foods.”
“Oh my gods! How can you eat that?”
Hugo just shrugged again, taking another large bite. He noticed Zephyr’s curious gaze and shoved the bowl toward the man with a sigh, allowing him to take his own bite while Tony tried to rescue Taron with bread like Hugo had for Peri.
The meal was chaotic thanks to Peri’s poor choice of meal, but no one seemed upset about it. Taron launched into a tirade when Zephyr barely cleared his throat from the spice, both of them adamantly refusing to let their fragile human mate have his own bite.
Hugo ate his noodles without even a hint that the spice bothered him, giving Peri’s bowl a pointed look when he was too distracted by the group to eat. With a bright smile, Peri ate his noodles, enjoying the mild flavor so much more than the spice, and listened to the throuple banter with each other, with occasional biting but not cruel comments from Hugo. They were a fun group, and he’d take the moment of pain from the spicy noodles just to have a lunch as fun as this one again.
Seven
When they’d left Spellbound, the sidewalk was mostly empty, having left a little earlier than the lunch rush. But on their way back, they weren’t as lucky. Taron and Zephyr immediately flanked Tony, keeping people away from him so they didn't knock the poor man around. Wash narrowed his eyes on Tony’s gait. He might need to make a few tweaks for sharper movements. He didn’t want Tony to get knocked on his ass every time he got jostled.
A sharp gasp preceded Peri bumping into him, trying desperately to avoid the masses getting too close. Wash wasn’t overly familiar with fairies, but what he did know was that their wings were fragile and sensitive, prone to injury, and it wasn’t pleasant if people bumped into them. He could tell by the way Peri kept jerking that he was trying to avoid people getting too close.
Long dormant protective instincts flared, and Wash grabbed Peri’s wrist, dragging the poor fairy close and throwing out his own wings in warning. He didn’t often, it was just another thing he was ridiculed about, but the average person on the street knew better than to get close to a pissed off demon. They kept their distance, giving Peri, and by coincidence Tony, the roomto breathe while they walked back. He projected fuck off energy, glare firmly in place for the rest of the walk, with a grip on Peri’s wrist to keep him close without getting near his wings.
When they stopped in the lobby of Spellbound, eyeing the line for the elevators, they took a minute to wait for the line to die down before making an attempt at finding space inside one. Taron was unusually serious, a frown on his face as he checked over his mate, and when he glanced at Wash, he nodded in thanks.
“I appreciate what you did. I don’t like people jostling him. If I could skip the sidewalks entirely, I would.” His expression softened as he turned to face Peri. “You could’ve, you know. I wouldn’t have been upset. Jealous, yes, my abilities never quite allowed me to shift into something with wings, but not upset. I would hate for you to get hurt just to walk back with us.”
Peri’s wings fluttered, and his smile was a little strained when he admitted, “There are some species that really don’t like people flying overhead. I try not to unless there are other people flying around. I don’t want to upset anyone.”
Wash made an irritated sound, glaring at an intern too focused on their phone to watch where they were going. They looked up in time to notice and spun around, hurrying the other way. His reputation for being a grouch wasn’t nearly as bad as Maverick’s, but it was up there. He wasn’t exactly known for being easygoing.
“You shouldn’t make yourself uncomfortable or risk injury just to make other people happy,” he growled when he noticed Peri watching him, his head cocked in question. “You matter more than they do.”
Taron snorted at that last comment, but it made Peri smile, his ears turning pink with a shy blush. Goddess, he was cute.