“We do,” Crispin responded. “But matebonds are important, and we want to be here for you both. If you’ll let us.”
“Yeah, I’m not missing anybody, but I’m here for everyone too,” Dasan added.
“Let’s promise to keep communicating,” Colburn suggested. “None of us want to interfere in your matebond, so we don’t expect you to include us in everything. You have to figure your relationship out on your own. But it’s going to be a giant hurdle to persuade anyone to break your matebond permanently. Convince us that’s the only option. Otherwise, I’m going to follow my gut, which is to tell you to thank Fate and work on figuring out why she matched you instead of trying to defy her.”
Pyxlevir grinned at Gramlithyn and opted to keep the conversation light despite the stakes. “We’ve decided as a team to figure out why she matched us. Today was a big hurdle for me. I can eat carrots again without wanting to gag. Gramlithyn smells like carrots to me, and everyone knows they are my favorite, so I had to hide how much I hated them for the past six years. But we’ve talked and cleared the air, so now I can enjoy the best veggie again.”
“Wow, did you get the carrot flower tattoo because of Pyxlevir?” Dasan asked.
“How did you know they’re carrot flowers?” Gramlithyn asked.
Dasan scowled. “You told me, dude. One time I asked you, and you told me they were carrot flowers. I didn’t believe you because I didn’t know carrots had flowers, so I looked it up. Wild carrot flowers are called Queen Anne’s Lace. It stuck in my head because I’m an Anna’s Hummingbird.”
“I don’t remember you asking,” Gramlithyn responded while Pyxlevir stared at his mate with wide eyes.
“But you didn’t know that you smelled like carrots to me,” Pyxlevir sputtered.
Gramlithyn bowed his head and poked at his dinner with his fork. “No, but you also smell like carrots to me. I told you that at lunch. Whatever the future holds, you’ll always be an important part of my life. We grew up together, and you were my first best friend. So, when I decided to get a tattoo, I wanted it to be special. I chose a vine to represent the connections in my life and put the wild carrot flowers around them to signify you.”
Overwhelmed, Pyxlevir stared dumbly at Gramlithyn. Although he’d admired the gorgeous ink on the hybrid’s light green skin, not once had it occurred to him that he had anything to do with the design Gramlithyn had chosen to permanently ink on his flesh.
“Both mates having the same scent is cool,” Crispin said.
“I agree,” Gramlithyn muttered to his plate. “The dragon is to represent my family. Everyone I’ve ever loved considers themselves part of the D’Vaire clan, so it made sense to pick that. I have another tattoo higher on my arm. It’s a gargoyle. An elven one to honor the two gargoyles I shared my teenage years with, and the elf is for the other half of my heritage. That wasimportant to me because I’ve embraced more shifter traditions than I did in my youth.”
Colburn’s mouth dropped open. “Fucking hell, you have a gargoyle? That’s so awesome.”
“Next time he has on a T-shirt, have him pull up the sleeve,” Dasan commented. “I’ve seen it, and it’s well done. If I wasn’t so chicken, I’d have tattoos too.”
“If you don’t like needles, you can get a magical one,” Crispin suggested. “You can even remove it if you ever decide you don’t like it.”
It was Dasan’s turn to appear shocked. “No one told me that. I’ll have to figure out what I want.”
A zebra flashed into Pyxlevir’s mind, and he nearly ran for his phone to call Jeremiah to have him sketch something for him before realization dawned. If he and Gramlithyn worked hard to build their matebond, he’d get a zebra. One D’Vaire tradition Pyxlevir had always admired were mating marks. It was an ancient practice available to anyone blessed by Fate; the goddess imprinted an image onto the skin of the couple. Since Pyxlevir was paired with a shifter, he’d get a perfect replica of Gramlithyn’s beast.
Which was probably for the best because he was sure Kalthekor would lose his mind if he bent elven tradition enough to get his skin inked. His father was two millennia old and hadn’t even drunk a beer until he met Aristos.
“Is that all your ink, or are you hiding other tattoos?” Colburn asked.
Gramlithyn finally glanced up, and Pyxlevir grinned at him. It was small, but Pyxlevir didn’t miss Gramlithyn’s return smile as he swung his head to face Colburn to answer his question.
“Nope, just those three. I’m open to more once I have another design I know I can live with for eternity.”
“I guess I’m not supposed to take it personally that you have a tattoo representing everybody in this room except me,” Dasan remarked. Although his voice was light, as if he were teasing, the hummingbird shrugged awkwardly.
“Here’s the issue,” Gramlithyn said. “If I get a hummingbird that looks like you, everyone is going to think I’m in love with you or something. As close as we are, that’s not what I want. The gargoyle represents two different people. As for the dragon, it’s for an entire family. How do I explain getting you tattooed on my skin? I’d love to have something to include you, but I haven’t figured out what it is yet.”
Pyxlevir frowned in disbelief. The hybrid was missing an obvious answer. “Get a feather. One in black and gray, like the tattoos we can see. You’ll know it’s for Dasan, and so will he. That’s all that matters.”
“That’s actually a great idea,” Gramlithyn said.
Dasan cackled as he nudged Gramlithyn with his elbow. “Because Pyxlevir had to think of it, you should have to get it somewhere it can’t be missed, like your forehead.”
“While that’d be pretty funny, Pyxlevir’s the one who has to look at him for eternity,” Colburn said. “He probably doesn’t want a tattoo representing someone else stamped on Gramlithyn’s forehead.”
It pleased Pyxlevir that their roommates were determined to envision a future with him and Gramlithyn together. The last thing they needed was to face any further opposition or drama.
“Okay, fine,” Dasan said. “For Pyxlevir’s sake, I won’t insist. He and I can discuss options. We’ll get back to you, Gram.”