Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

ALAN

I 'd expected by the time we checked into the cheap motel in eastern Washington on Zahira's credit card, we'd all go to our rooms and crash. Instead, we ended up in the two women's room, bleary and exhausted but not ready to let each other go yet. Zahira and Erin sat with their legs up on one bed, backs to the headboard, side-by-side but with a foot of space between them. Roxi had run off as soon as we checked in, saying she was starving and cursing the appetite of her Earth form. From the look of the cobwebs by the ceiling, she'd hopefully find enough bugs to sustain her.

Jason and I sat on the other bed, and there was not a foot of space between us. Ever since we got off Royal's helicopter and said goodbye to him, Jason had stayed close, with a hand on my back, a touch on my arm, a kiss to my hair if I dozed. His presence was grounding, and I found myself reaching back over and over. My power still wanted to float off sometimes, looking for the near-infinite well we'd swum in for such a brief time. Holding Jason, loving him, was an antidote to that yearning.

Kevin looked up from where he sat on the floor, his back against the armchair Dale sat sprawled in. They weren't touching, but they were never far apart either. He asked, "What happened when the Pond tried to drown you, Alan? We couldn't really see." Dale nudged Kevin's shoulder with their knee, and he twisted to peer up at them. "What? I just want to know. He can tell me to shut up, like my dad always did."

The bitter twist of his mouth made me want to answer. So did the tension I felt in Jason and the way his arm tightened across my shoulders.

"I don't actually know. Not exactly. I think it was like Errante said. There were two forces out in that wilderness, one dark, destructive hunger and the other organized life and growth. What Underhill— sorry, Kevin— what NSEP was doing was tipping the balance. That hunger and burning and darkness was supposed to be locked down deep, but someone had coaxed it to the surface. They wanted to let it loose to feed on magic."

"Were they really that stupid?" Erin asked. "I could feel what lurked waiting to emerge there. It wanted magic, sure, but it would never have stopped with sorcerers. Ordinary humans might not have been as satisfying a snack, but that wouldn't have saved them."

I shrugged. "My guess? Either wishful thinking or someone misled them."

"Who was the guy in gray?" Dale asked. "He had to be their sorcerer, right?"

"We knew they had at least one, working for them or coerced," I pointed out. "The prison walls were strongly warded."

Kevin said, "He was the same guy that went on the trips I told you about. But I don't remember the globe thing before."

"From the way the Pond reacted when the globe hit it, I'd bet it was some kind of control spell." I rubbed my face. "If that fool thought he could control the Pond once it was loose…" All I could do was shake my head, remembering the towering force that rose up as it was freed.

"What did stop it?" Erin asked me. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't me." I pressed a hand to my chest where I still felt hollow, after being so immeasurably filled. "It was… I don't know. Life. Call it Gaia maybe. Balance. I went looking for something to work with and she was waiting for me. She said, ‘Let me in,' and I did. It was her power that forced the Pond back down underground."

Zahira frowned. "It wasn't destroyed?"

"No. That would be bad." I fumbled to explain what had happened. "Like Errante said, balance is important. The Pond— at least, the magic that created the Pond— is supposed to be there, under everything, a core of fire and destruction balancing out life and growth above. It'd grown too strong, emerging into the light and feeding, but all Gaia did was wrestle that destructive force back where it belonged and seal off the escape route."

"What happened to you?" Jason asked. "We couldn't wake you."

"When I let her in, it was like… like opening a tidal gate. She washed in and I was lifted like a little boat, and when she pulled back, I was sucked away somewhere. So much power all around me. Nothing mattered but basking in the light. Until you called."

"Until I helped echo his call, down inside Erin's magic." Roxi dropped from the light fixture onto the pillow by Erin's head and rubbed a paw over her nose. "Tasty bugs here. Juicier than in that other place."

I'd wondered why Jason's words had reverberated strangely, like he was down a well. I'd assumed it was my hearing not working right. "That voice was something you did, Roxi?"

"My talent." She sounded sad. "I didn't do enough to help before."

I eyed the minute creature half the size of my thumb. "What else could you have done?"

Underhill's voice boomed out of that tiny chest. "Hold! Put down your weapons!"

"Wait," Zahira said. "That was you? During the fight when Underhill said ‘Hold' except it didn't look like he was talking?"

"Yes. I should've done it sooner. Or back at the other place." Roxi switched to Underhill's voice again. "Let them all go! Open the gate!"

Erin held the palm of her hand for Roxi to climb into, then lifted her to eye level. "That wouldn't have worked. They wouldn't have obeyed without seeing him. You did what you could during the fight, and probably saved lives."

"I should have figured out much faster that the people with bracelets were sorcerers. I didn't talk to them for two years because it's forbidden to talk to humans. I could've learned so much."

Dale asked, "Where do you think the sorcerer who summoned you is?"

"Callum— that's the tall sorcerer— told me that there was a woman named Andrea who escaped over two years ago, at a time when there were very few sorcerers in the building."

"Before I was there, I guess," Kevin muttered.

"The guards were angry and searched the whole building. Perhaps she summoned me." Roxi drooped. "Perhaps I was meant to save her, to help her, and I failed in her hour of need."

"You couldn't help her if you couldn't find her," I said. "When did you talk to Callum?"

"In the truck. After you told me about the bracelets, I went to see the other sorcerers in their rooms and when they fell asleep, I hitched a ride in Callum's sleeve. He woke up on an airplane with the others, and when the guards herded them all into the truck, then we could talk. I asked them all if they summoned me and they said no, but Callum said that about Andrea."

Erin asked, "What happened to her? Do you want to try to find her?"

"No!" Roxi patted the base of Erin's thumb. " You are my sorcerer. You." She paused. "Although I wish I knew what became of her. Callum said they never heard from her again."

"If she was hiding when she called, that might explain your form," Coal mused. "A shrew is tiny and easy to conceal, but fierce. A fit for what she needed."

"But I didn't help her!" Roxi's voice rose. "I showed up and wandered around for two years like a useless lump, eating bugs and wondering where the magic my instructors promised was hiding. And she might've died . I was useless."

"You helped today," Erin told her. "Really. At a critical moment, you kept a gunfight from erupting."

"It wasn't enough. I didn't save your old friend."

My chest cracked at the reminder. Sylvester! I rasped, "None of us did. We all fucking failed." Jason hugged me tighter and I hid my face against his chest. My eyes stung and my throat ached. The vision of that damned dark Pond swooping down to take Sylvester from us, extinguishing that brilliant light, that wonderful man that was Sylvester Oakbree— I clenched my teeth and breathed through my nose.

The room was quiet. I heard someone take a ragged breath.

Kevin said, "I want to kill Captain Poe. I want to rip his head off and stuff it up his ass."

Sunny's dry voice replied, "That's admirably specific."

I choked and laughed against Jason's dirty T-shirt. The smell of his sweat and skin kept me from falling apart. Could've been even worse. I might've lost them all. I pushed myself back upright and said, "I'd help. Maybe we could start with his baton. Sadistic motherfucker."

"Me three," Jason said. "And I barely met the guy before he committed murder and arson."

"Fond of using his cattle prod," I told him, and his arm clenched around me. "I'm okay," I murmured. "It was just unpleasant."

"Count me in," Sunny said. "Sadly, the trick will be finding Poe. Perhaps sorcerous NSEP or the FBI or whoever else gets called in to help the kidnapped sorcerers will have better luck."

I remembered Poe's drawling amusement at my helplessness, his casual competence, and shook my head. "I hope, but I bet he had a plan. Poe struck me as the kind of guy who likes to be three steps ahead of everyone else. He's probably off in some lair, laughing about how he came out on top again and left chaos behind him."

"Can a lair be in a place called Missoula, MT?" Roxi asked.

"It could be anywhere. Why?"

"I spent my time watching all the humans in that prison. And in the last two weeks, Captain Poe put a lot of his things into boxes and wrote on the boxes an address called Missoula, and three times he took them away when he left the compound and came back without them." Roxi twitched her nose. "I crept out and crawled on one to see what he was writing and I remember it. Where is MT? I studied Earth geography but I forget."

"Montana, next state over," Erin said. "You remember the whole address?"

"Yes, of course."

"You brilliant child," Sunny said. "Well done."

"I'm not a child," Roxi complained.

"From my ancient point of view." Sunny ruffled his wings.

"You're not ancient," I protested.

Sunny cawed a laugh. "You keep telling yourself that, boy."

For a second, an echo of Sylvester in his words made my breath catch. I wasn't the only one, as Erin's gaze leaped to meet mine.

Even Sunny faltered. "Sylvester will be missed. Always. But we will avenge him. Tomorrow, though, since sleep and food and planning must come first. Tell your sorcerer the address, Roxi, and have her write it down for us. In the morning, we will plan how to make Poe pay."

"My sorcerer. Yes." Roxi rubbed her head against Erin's thumb. "Though I still feel guilt?—"

"Don't," Coal snapped. "Do they still tell the story of Whisp and the swapped summoning in the Institute?"

"Yes."

"What story?" Dale asked.

Sunny told him, "Once there was a wayward young Voyager named Whisp, whose sorcerer-connection instructor at the Institute gave him very bad advice?—"

"That's not how my instructor said it went," Roxi protested.

"Who's telling this story, youngster? You or the person who was there?" Sunny clacked his beak. "So Whisp had finished his training, and one day shortly afterward, he felt a pull. A summoning. It felt odd to him, not quite right, but his instructor had told him not to ignore a summons under any circumstances, because he might not get another. His instructor felt Whisp was frivolous and ill-suited to becoming a familiar, and what were the odds a compatible sorcerer even existed?"

"Does that happen?" I asked. "Where a familiar— a Voyager— trains and then is never summoned? I know lots of sorcerers try and fail to ever get a familiar. I figured all of your people were snapped up as fast as they graduated."

"Ah, no, some go through the training and never feel the pull. Some, of course, are summoned the day they graduate, and more times after that." He preened his beak on his feathers.

I hid a smile. "What happened to Whisp?"

"He followed the summons and found himself in an Earth circle, brought there by a very strong older woman with a stern face, expensive clothing, and an aura of power. Her workroom was lined with ancient books and warded by complex spells. She asked him if he consented to be bound with her, linked as sorcerer and familiar."

I saw Dale's lips twist at Sunny's dour tone. Yeah, doesn't sound as if that was a good thing.

"Behind the sorcerer," Sunny went on, "was her young apprentice, a boy of eighteen, tousle-haired, shaking his head at Whisp and making throat-cutting no gestures. And Whisp did not feel pulled to this woman, at all. Despite her obvious status, she felt cold and alien. Rules of a summoning said that Whisp could decline and return Home. Instead, Whisp asked if she would open the circle. And when she did, he marched his furry rabbit-self right past her and up to the apprentice and said, ‘I would bond with you. You smell wonderful.'"

Kevin looked anxious. "I bet the sorcerer didn't like that."

"She did not," Sunny agreed. "But familiars are partners, not slaves, and there was nothing she could do. Whisp and the boy became bonded. Whisp protected the apprentice from the cruel whims of his mistress and once the young man was free of his apprenticeship, they had many adventures together. And though our instructors used the tale of my cousin Whisp as a caution about following the wrong summons, I like to see it as a hopeful story. Follow your heart and don't let hidebound traditions tell you what to do."

Coal bobbed his head. "That's a lesson for you, Roxi. Even if this Andrea was the one who summoned you, you might've walked right past her and still bonded with Erin. Don't look back."

"Noted," Roxi said.

"Are we really going to go after Captain Poe?" Kevin asked. "He's scary. I hate him but wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to get near him ever again."

"We'll need a plan," Jason told him. "Some backup, and someone to take custody of him, since we're not going to go in screaming vengeance and just shoot him."

"Sounds okay to me," Kevin muttered.

Sunny said, "Let's not do anything that forces you to change your name and flee to Bolivia."

Kevin stared at him. "You don't think I'm already screwed? I participated in a kidnapping. A bunch of kidnappings. And two murders."

"As the most junior agent following orders," Dale pointed out.

"Deserted my post."

"You were magically kidnapped by us."

"Attacked my superior officer."

"To prevent a murder."

"Fled the scene of the crime."

"You ran from a forest fire."

"Deserted again."

"Protected vulnerable witnesses." Dale waved at me.

Kevin laughed at that. "Like I'm the one doing any protecting around here."

Dale tilted their head. "You wouldn't protect me if Poe showed up?"

Kevin twisted to look up at them. "Of course I would."

"Well, then?"

Jason said, "We'll all vouch for you, and hopefully, you won't end up in too much trouble."

"You people don't even know me, though."

"You got the unicorn's nod of approval," Coal pointed out.

"That was the weirdest thing of all. Talking to the unicorn. It was like I was shedding layers of skin and the person underneath was someone new." Kevin ran a hand down his face. "And when I say weirdest about the last forty-eight hours, that's saying a fucking lot!"

"Are you sorry?" Dale asked. "Do you wish you hadn't had that ticket in your pocket, hadn't crossed the Carnival gates?"

"No!" Kevin turned, kneeling up to look into Dale's eyes. "Not one bit. If I hadn't, I'd have been with the rest of the guards, holding a gun on the hostages. If I hadn't, I wouldn't know…" His voice tailed off and he seemed lost for words, his gaze still locked on Dale's.

"Right," Sunny said briskly. "Time for us all to turn in. Ain't no one properly rested from sleeping four hours on a small plane. Move it, people. Bedtime. Tomorrow, we hunt the pusillanimous possum Poe."

"Don't insult possums," Zahira said. "But I agree."

I rolled out of Jason's arms and off the side of the bed, pushing to my feet as I went. I still felt hollow and empty, my power yearning off after Gaia, but maybe some sleep would help. Or, as I saw Jason get up and stretch, those yummy arm muscles bulging, maybe something else. "Good night, peeps," I said. "And… thank you. Thanks so much." Awareness of what they'd all risked hit me in a wave and I grabbed Jason's arm. "Seriously, you could've died saving me." Sylvester did die. Dale and Erin had lost him, as much as I had.

Sunny landed on my shoulder and rubbed my cheek with his head.

"Shut up," Erin told me firmly. "Like you wouldn't have done exactly the same if they'd kidnapped me."

That helped, because yeah, I would've.

Jason tugged me toward the door. "I'm going to put my man to bed and sit on him till he gets some rest. See you all in the morning."

As we stepped out into the cool evening, I shivered and hugged Jason's warm arm to me. "Sit on me? Is that a promise?"

"Is that what you want? I'm covered in tree sap and I need a shower, but once I'm clean, I'm yours."

Sunny squawked by my ear, "That's my cue to go find a nice strawberry patch to raid or mud puddle to bathe in for an hour."

"Like you ever bathe in mud puddles," I told him.

"Better than needing brain bleach." He sprang off my shoulder to a nearby bush.

"Hey," Jason retorted, sliding his arm around me as he fumbled for the key to our unit. "You were the one pushing us to hook up in the first place."

"Yeah, but I figured some nice, dignified missionary sex. Not all the weird positions and noises you two manage." Sunny winked at us.

"Like you didn't used to peek at my porn over my shoulder," I noted.

"It was educational. Have fun, boys. I'll be back in an hour." Sunny winged off down the street, his colors muted by the darkness.

"Shower first." Jason opened the door and ushered me in. "Want to join me? Or you could have first dibs."

I touched a pencil-drawn ward by the door, and Erin's magic sealed our space. I hadn't dared use my power since Gaia flooded through me and then ebbed, leaving I-don't-know-how-much behind. Thinking about reaching for all that power again felt like craving crystal meth— an amazing high in wait, with the little screaming voice in the corner saying it might kill me. Or maybe I'd find there was nothing left there, and that would kill me differently. "Together." I wanted Jason right there beside me tonight. "I'm almost as grubby as you are."

"Sounds good. You start the water." He rummaged through his backpack leaning in one corner. "Maybe I should've packed fewer snacks and more underwear. Ah, one clean pair. Who gets it?" He waved a pair of boxer-briefs like a flag.

"Those are yours. They'd fall off my ass." I forced a grin. "Guess I'm going commando."

"My favorite." He came to me, though, and wrapped me in a hug that said he saw the shakiness behind my grin. "C'mere, fiancé. Hang on to me."

"Fiancé." Oh yes, that's a good feeling. "I almost forgot."

I felt as much as heard the gurgle of laughter in his wide chest. "What? Forgot the romantic moment you said, ‘Maybe we should stop living in sin and get married?' How could you?"

I bopped his shoulder. "It was romantic. Afterward, anyhow." I remembered his lips on my ring finger and the starlight in his eyes.

Jason set a hand under my chin and raised my face. That same look was in his eyes, here in a dimly lit room under a dusty fixture. Maybe it was just how Jason always looked at me. He kissed me, slow and deep. "Yeah, it was romantic. I'm happy to do without the flash mob, anyhow. Or something cute with your kids spelling out the proposal in sign language."

I bopped him harder and he laughed.

"Ouch, I'm kidding. I know we agree about public proposals. That moment was just for us. Now I want hot water and you. Sadly, in exactly that order."

"Same here." I led the way to the bathroom, shedding my sweatpants along the way but dumping my shirt and underwear on the counter. I could wash them out and they'd dry by tomorrow.

Jason was slower to undress, and I stood by the shower, adjusting the temperature and watching him in the mirror. All that muscle, all that strength, and the man underneath was even more of a gift. He caught me looking and flexed his arms, his lips curved up, eyes bright. After everything that had happened, Jason was a shining truth in my life. "Let's get clean fast," I said. "I want you to take me to bed."

Despite the sudden need that had me breathless and half-hard, we lingered under the water, hands on each other's skin, enjoying the luxury. This water was tamed and chlorinated and didn't speak of Gaia's power to me. I could enjoy being crowded up against Jason so we both caught some spray, sluicing the motel soap off his chest with my hands. He kissed me, this time with more tongue, then pulled back. "I want a bed and solid footing, not this tub."

"Footing?" I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Planning something fancy?"

"Not unless you want me to."

"No," I said. "I want a bed under me and you on top of me and inside me, all around me, so the only thing I know is you."

I topped a lot more than Jason did, but he nodded and his erect cock bobbed like he didn't hate that idea. "Take a towel. Stretch out. I'll be right there."

The bedroom felt chilly after the steamy heat of the bathroom, but Jason was always warm. I stripped the covers, laid down the towel, and stretched out.

Jason went to the backpack and squatted, gloriously naked, showing off his thick thighs and the dimples in his ass. He got out a tube, squeezed a little on a finger, and slipped it between his own ass cheeks.

"I thought you were topping." I wouldn't mind the reverse, but I ached to be pinned down and filled.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't bring lube, so I wanted to try out the aloe sunburn ointment up my ass first, in case it stung."

I hovered between teasing and a sweet warmth that made my throat tight. So like Jason to take the risk himself. I said, "You forgot lube? What kind of Boy Scout are you?" I hoped he could tell I meant I love you .

"I grabbed my offroad survival pack. Very few stray dildoes winging their way through the wilderness looking for a good asshole." He straightened and prowled toward me, the tube in hand. "Feels okay. Might not be as slick, though. Might have to work to take me in that tight ass of yours."

"I don't mind a little work." The sight of naked, eager Jason shortened my breath. "I'm up to the job."

"I'll get you all warmed up first." He tossed the ointment tube onto the towel by my hip and crawled up beside me, eased over between my legs, and slowly lowered his weight onto me.

Perfect. So perfect. Jason's solid bulk anchored me, pinning me to the bed. I was safe and warm and wanted, there in the cradle of his arms, with his mouth coming down on mine. I closed my eyes, shut off my brain, and just let myself feel.

His lips were chapped but soft, his chin rough with more stubble than he usually allowed. The rasp of his cheek over mine as he bent to kiss my neck made me shiver. I locked my hands in his hair and wrapped my legs around his hips, caging him against me. He worshipped my neck and jaw and mouth with lips and tongue and rocked firmly against me, his dick prodding up the crease of my thigh, mine rubbing against the rough curls of his treasure trail.

I hung on to him and let the scent and sounds and feel of Jason submerge me in pleasure. Every rub and rock and breath sank me deeper, hotter. Don't think, don't think, just feel.

"You're quiet," he murmured against my mouth. "Doing all right?"

"I need you." The words lit a fire inside me, and a dull throb of arousal flared into fierce desire. "Fuck me, Jase."

"You have to let me up first."

I untangled my fingers from his hair and let my legs slide down his ribs to the bed. Jason sat back on his heels and ran his heated gaze from my lips to my thighs. "Jesus, you look so good. Let me…" His words trailed off, but he reached for the ointment and popped the top.

We'd done this before. I'd had Jason's thick fingers inside me, opening me up, but somehow this time was different. The ointment was thicker and stickier, so my ass clung to his fingers as he worked, but that wasn't the reason. Time slowed. I saw every line and angle of this man, the way the blond hair grew on his biceps and the way his forearm flexed as he spread his fingers inside me. I'd thought I knew every inch of Jason and yet I saw tiny marks I'd never paid attention to— the way one eyebrow was more quirked than the other, the faint freckles that dappled his nose and throat, ready to darken in the summer sun, the thread of a scar that disrupted his hairline at his left temple.

All perfect. All precious. His fingertips hit my prostate and drew a moan from me.

"There you are." Jason rocked his fingers in deeper, then pulled out and came back with a third.

I breathed through the stretch, my body humming with need that swamped any resistance. "Now, Jase."

He didn't ask if I was sure, just did as I told him, slipping his fingers out and slicking up his cock. Precum beaded at his slit and he smoothed that around the fat head and pumped his veiny shaft through his fist, watching my face.

"You are so gorgeous, no fair." I grabbed my knees and pulled up and open. "Come on. Get in me."

Jason braced himself over me and guided his cock to my opening. The first push sent a flash of pain through me— crackle of a Taser— No. I yanked my thoughts back to here and now, to Jason's gray eyes fixed on mine, to the urgency of opening up and letting him into me, our bodies moving together, heat and need. He eased back, pushed in harder, and the relief as my ass gave way made me groan.

"Oh, yeah." He rocked into me, beginning a familiar rhythm.

This is us, this is Jason, mine, safe. My thoughts splintered. I pulled my knees wider. All I could come up with was yes and please and now . I didn't need more. Jason's cock and his weight and his hands and his low, deep grunts were my whole world. He bent to kiss me and his mouth stole my breath. My vision tunneled, my cock bobbed futilely against my stomach. "Come on. Come on!" I begged.

"Ngh." Jason shoved deep, his groin hitting my ass as he filled me. "Jesus, Alan." He sped up that rhythm, and only his arm braced above my shoulder kept me from being jolted up the bed as he thrust in, and in, and in, and in. Arousal spiraled in me, heat from ass to balls, an ache in my cock that didn't, couldn't, wasn't quite…

With a deep groan, Jason bucked against me. A red flush climbed his skin and his muscles tensed. I felt him jerk inside me, heard the gasp of his breath. I clenched around him as tight as I could.

"Fuuuuck!" He pumped his hips hard and fast, arms shaking, then reached down, eased out of my ass, and slid down the bed. Lowering his head, he took my bobbing cock in his hot mouth. Two long sucks, one flick of his tongue against me, and I was done.

I dropped my legs to the bed, grabbed his head, and lost myself down Jason's open, willing throat. He took every drop, then sucked and licked me, drawing aftershocks and shivers until I let go of his hair and pushed his forehead. "I'm toast. Holy cow." My ass ached in the best way and I felt limp and soft and cared for and lazy.

Jason eased across my leg to lie beside me, then gathered me against his chest. "You think married sex is better than engaged sex?"

"I think better would kill me." Suddenly, emotions welled up like a crashing wave. I found myself gasping for breath, clutching Jason like he was a rock and I was drowning. "Sorry," I sobbed. "Sorry. That was awesome. I don't know why…"

"Shh." Jason hugged me fiercely and kissed my forehead. "It's been a hell of a few days. You can fall apart. You're safe here with me."

And even though I felt like a fool, bursting into tears after getting perfectly fucked, Jason was right. I felt safe in his arms. Sylvester was gone, and a whole lot of shit I hadn't processed lurked in my head, but this? This was the solid rock of my life and I could be myself here as nowhere else in the world. I gasped out, "I love you… so fucking much."

"Good thing, since you're marrying me."

A sob and a laugh tangled in my throat till I choked and had to sit up. Jason softly thumped my back. Once I got breathing figured out again, I located tissues, wiped my face and ass a bit, and eased back into his arms. Closing my eyes, I rubbed my damp cheek against the soft curls on his chest.

"We'll make Sunny be the ring bearer," Jason murmured.

"Hell, no. He'd probably take the rings to the casino and play poker with them."

Jason eased me into a more comfortable position. "What are the odds of at least one risqué limerick while he pretends to just be a parrot repeating things?"

"Does the sun rise in the east?"

"We'll keep him away from Kendra." Jason's voice was starting to drawl with fatigue. "Don't want to give the kid ideas. Maybe he can annoy Aunt May. Serve her right."

I realized Jason was thinking about a real wedding. About everyone we knew watching us say vows, a party, a celebration… family . To my surprise, I was perfectly all right with that. Even though we had one more bad guy to stop before we could make it happen.