6. Nice Things For Wren

6

NICE THINGS FOR WREN

Wren woke with the distinct feeling that something wasn't quite right.

It was too quiet.

He snuffled and jerked upright, only to realize that he was still in Fang's car. They'd stopped moving. They weren't on a highway.

"Fang?" Wren squeaked, panicking.

"You're safe." A large hand closed around his wrist. "We're parked and I was waiting for you to wake up."

Wren sucked in a deep breath and looked around. Fang was behind the wheel, seatbelt off, watching him calmly. In the backseat, Steffie babbled and kicked, shaking a stuffed rattle.

They were safe.

Wren blew out a breath, his pulse slowly steadying. "That was scary. I thought something had gone wrong."

Fang winced. "I'm sorry. I... I'm not sure how to wake you in a way that wouldn't scare you."

Truthfully, Wren didn't know, either. It was always unnerving to wake up in a strange place. "It's okay. We're safe."

He squeezed Fang's hand to show he was fine, relaxing more when Fang cracked a smile. Wren shuffled around and realized that his seat had been reclined. He didn't remember doing that.

"I pulled over and reclined it for you, when you were sleeping. After lunch."

They'd driven to a deserted rest stop for lunch sometime in the afternoon, after four hours of driving. Now, the sky was awash in oranges and reds, which probably meant that Fang had driven another four hours. "Where are we?"

"Small town in Utah. Halfway to your apartment." Fang looked kind of tired. Wren couldn't imagine what it was like, driving eight hours in a day.

Then again, his limbs were still kind of mushy, even though he was feeling a lot better than before.

"How are you?" Fang reached over to brush his fingers through Wren's hair.

"Better. Hungry." Wren's stomach growled.

Fang's smile was sudden and bright. "Good. We're at a restaurant."

There weren't too many cars parked around the brightly-lit place. But it looked warm and cozy, and more cars were pulling in.

"We'll get our food to-go," Fang decided. "I'd really rather not have Steffie in the middle of a crowd."

Had Wren been feeling better, he could've drawn up a boundary to keep Steffie invisible within a booth. But it would consume magic, and Wren's reservoir was slow to replenish. He had to save it for any possible emergencies tomorrow.

"Do they have an online menu?" Wren asked.

Fang handed Wren his phone, the menu already on the screen.

"Thanks. This is a lot easier than earlier today. At the coffee shop."

"I know. I remember." Fang trailed his fingers through Wren's hair, squeezing his nape lightly. Wren shivered.

"What're you having?"

"The carne asada rice plate. They marinate the beef real well here. And... two large bundles of fresh cilantro."

Wren stared at him in horror. "You like cilantro? You want two bundles of it? "

Fang smirked. "Yes. There can never be enough cilantro."

"I don't think we can be friends."

Fang laughed. "Good thing you don't have to be my friend, Birdie, to bend over for me."

Wren's cheeks burned. Whether it was because of the new nickname, or the other part of Fang's sentence, he wasn't sure. He ducked his head and poked through the menu, finally deciding on a grilled chicken burrito.

When Wren handed Fang's phone back, their fingers brushed, and a whisper of bliss shot through his arm. Fang sucked in a slow breath, glancing at Wren. It wasn't like that meant anything, right?

Fang went in to place the order.

"I guess he's not going to kiss me anyway," Wren said to Steffie. "So the cilantro-breath shouldn't matter."

He kept a lookout for anyone suspicious, heartened by Fang's side profile in the restaurant window. Fang's presence made him feel safe, especially when the man turned to watch the car, too.

It suddenly occurred to him that maybe Fang could hear him from inside the restaurant.

"Oh, crap," he whispered, slapping his hands over his mouth. Had he said anything else incriminating when he'd thought Fang wasn't listening? He couldn't remember.

Probably not.

Hopefully not.

Wren sank low in his seat, blushing and hoping Fang had a terrible memory.

It took forever for Fang to receive their order. When he did, he returned to the car, handing the warm bag to Wren.

"Um, you didn't hear anything," Wren blurted.

Fang glanced sideways at him. "Hear what?"

"Nothing." Wren sagged into his seat, relieved.

They drove to a motel that looked expensive. Fang parked next to the reception desk and hopped out. He returned after a while, moving the car closer to their room.

"Did you ask for a crib for Steffie?" Wren asked.

Fang's mouth pulled into a grin. "I bought one. I bought quite a few things for her."

"You bought a crib?"

"Like you said, we're trying to say undercover for as long as we can. I put quite a few things in the trunk. You probably missed it."

Wren turned, trying to peek at the things Fang had brought.

"Stay here." Fang left to inspect the room. A minute later, he returned and set Steffie in Wren's arms, before scooping them both up and carrying them all the way to the hotel room.

"I can walk," Wren protested weakly.

"Save your energy. I want you to take a shower later."

Wren froze. Shower times were... for Fang to watch. He blushed. "Oh."

Fang laid him down on a bed. A king-sized bed.

There was only one bed.

It looked large enough for them to sleep without touching, but... Wren hadn't thought he'd actually be sleeping in the same bed as Fang.

Of course, he'd imagined it as a distant possibility—a steamy, distant possibility—without any consideration that it would turn into reality.

While he tried to think, Fang moved the rest of their things into the room. Then he locked the door, and met Wren's gaze.

"Is everything to your liking?" Fang asked.

Why couldn't Wren stop blushing? "Um, yes?"

Fang snorted, but he was also smiling. "I have everything we need here, so I don't anticipate us stepping out tonight."

Wren squirmed off the bed and wobbled over to the window, checking the outside. "I think I should put up wards, just in case."

Fang looked concerned again. "Will those take a lot out of you?"

Wren shook his head. "Not a lot compared to everything else today."

He handed Steffie over, trying not to notice how securely Fang held her in his arms. Then he drew a line from one side of the door to the other. The runes came next, followed by a pulse of his magic.

Wren repeated that for the front-facing window, and the window in the bathroom. "It's done."

"Good. Thank you, Birdie." Fang smiled warmly.

Wren blushed and headed over to the bag of warm Mexican food, his stomach growling. "Where are we eating?"

There was a small table and two chairs near the door. They looked kind of uncomfortable, though.

"On the bed," Fang decided.

"You'd eat on the bed?" Wren said in surprise.

Fang shrugged. "We're only spending one night here. But even if it were my own home... I wouldn't mind. We've all got to live a little."

"I've never eaten anything in bed," Wren admitted. "My parents would've skinned me alive."

Fang chuckled and laid Steffie on the bed, then changed his mind and picked her back up. "Fireproof the top sheet."

Wren cast the spell. "It's safe from her now."

"You really are a great parent for her," Fang said. "If there's one thing a firebird baby needs..."

Wren squirmed and shrugged. "It was just a coincidence that I got her."

Fang laid out various boxes of takeout in the middle of the bed. They'd placed Steffie between the food and the pillows so she wouldn't accidentally fall off the bed, but maybe it wasn't such a great idea because she promptly rolled over onto her belly, grabbing the boxes.

Wren hurriedly retrieved her toys, surrounding her with them. "We should probably not take our time with dinner."

Fang grinned. "Afraid the sheets will look like abstract art?"

"Just because I'm eating on the bed doesn't mean I want to sleep on food-smeared sheets," Wren grumbled.

"I don't know. I think you'd smell great even if your body was covered in grilled chicken juices." Fang laughed, low and rich.

Wren's toes curled.

He tucked into his burrito, moaning at the tender chicken, the savory rice, and the salty cheese.

Steffie looked up and began reaching for his food. Wren sighed and pulled her onto his lap, grabbing a spoon to feed her some rice from it. "Here, hon."

Steffie chewed and tried to grab his burrito anyway.

Fang coughed to hide his laugh. "Here, I have something for her."

He unwrapped a package and handed Steffie a plain soft tortilla. Steffie immediately tried to stuff it into her mouth, except it slid against her face and went sideways.

Wren tore the tortilla into long strips so she could grip it more easily.

While she was distracted, Wren took a large bite of his burrito. Fang seemed to be enjoying his rice plate. He bit into his cilantro bundle and added scoops of rice into his mouth, followed by chunks of beef. The expression on his face was pure enjoyment.

"Is it really that good?" Wren blurted.

Without hesitating, Fang stabbed a piece of meat with his fork and reached over, holding it in front of Wren's mouth.

Wren blushed and ate it off his fork, making a surprised sound when the flavors exploded across his tongue. "Mmm."

Fang's gaze darkened. "You like it? There's more."

He opened a second box that turned out to be identical to his own, sliding it over to Wren.

Only then did Wren realize that Fang had bought more than he'd expected. There was another burrito, a quesadilla, some churros... "Can we actually finish all of that?"

"There's a mini-fridge and a microwave in this room, but I'll probably eat most of it if you don't want any leftovers for breakfast."

Considering how much bigger and heavier Fang was, it made sense that he ate a lot more than Wren, too. "Don't save any on my behalf."

Fang smiled. "I don't want you waking up hungry in the middle of the night. We could heat up some of this before we leave in the morning, or grab breakfast from a coffee shop."

Wren shrugged, reluctant to impose more than he already had. This was a really nice room, and some really good food. Fang was spending a lot of money on this trip. Just so he could see Wren naked.

"Anything you want," Wren blurted.

"We'll see, then." Fang gave him a lazy grin.

Wren held Steffie in his lap, soaking up the cuddles until she lost interest in the rice and tortilla, crawling back to her toys. He couldn't help but stare as Fang steadily devoured his cilantro. That Hell Vegetable just kept disappearing into his mouth.

"I'll brush my teeth," Fang said dryly. "You don't have to worry."

Had he... heard what Wren had said earlier? About being kissed?

Wren flushed. Fang's smile grew.

Amazingly, Fang finished most of the food. They split the churros, and Fang tucked the extra burrito into the room's mini fridge.

Wren fed Steffie again. He changed her diaper and gave her a sponge bath, and Fang set up her travel crib. While Fang cleared the trash and disappeared into the bathroom, Wren fireproofed Steffie's new crib.

He tried not to think about him and Fang being a team. Even if they worked well together.

Fang moved around Wren with grace and ease as though he'd been doing it for years. He watched as Wren rocked Steffie to sleep, and he watched as Wren wrote a spell on the side of the crib.

"What's that for?" Fang murmured.

"To, um, muffle any sounds from outside the crib. And to... blur things out." Wren's cheeks burned.

Fang's lips curved into that familiar, dangerous smile. "I'm glad we're on the same page, Birdie. Take off your clothes."