Chapter 134: Let the honeymoon start
The door had barely clicked shut behind Dax and the grandmother when Trevor slumped forward like a marionette whose strings had finally been cut.
"I feel like I was just interrogated by two different versions of the same ancient war deity," he muttered, one arm bracing against the nearest sofa, the other dragging across his face.
Lucas, still by the window, watched him with a slow blink and the faintest upward curve at the corner of his mouth. "That’s generous. I’d say one war deity and one event planner with imperial clearance."
Trevor groaned. "I knew I should’ve let you talk more. You’ve got the better mouth for diplomacy."
"I also have the better mouth for shutting you up," Lucas replied, walking over with the calm grace of someone who’d just survived court-level trauma and intended to make it everyone else’s problem.
Trevor grinned, tilted his head back to meet him, and reached out—no hesitation, no clever retort this time.
"Come here."
Lucas didn’t pretend to resist. He let himself be pulled down, one knee settling on the couch, then the other, until Trevor’s arms wrapped around him like relief made real. A quiet sound left Trevor’s throat, something low and wordless, as if his body had been holding tension somewhere deep in his ribs and only now remembered how to let go.
"You smell like safety," Trevor mumbled, dragging his nose along Lucas’s collarbone.
Lucas exhaled slowly, letting his weight settle fully in Trevor’s lap. "You smell like disaster and stress sweat. Congratulations on surviving your family."
"I deserve a medal," Trevor said into his shoulder. "Or a nap. Or—"
"A cuddle," Lucas finished for him, amused.