With time, Shadow would fit in, regardless of where he’d come from.
During their brief phone call, their friends had dispersed somewhat, and Gray was glad Rev wasn’t waiting for him with another passive-aggressive tirade. He and Fox were busy playing pool, Laurent attempted to work out how the jukebox worked, and Joker went off to chat up the pretty bartender. But the others waited, in the large booth, and as soon as Gray sat down, Beast demanded to know what the progress was with Magpie
Gray summarized the conversation in very few words, but he didn’t expect anyone to react with enthusiasm.
“We can do that,” Elliot said, leaning forward so abruptly he almost knocked over his glass of vodka and soda.
Knight, who had him in his lap, brightened up. “Oh, yeah, let’s just go there tomorrow. Me and Elliot are good with ghosts. It should be a non-issue.”
Beast frowned. “Magpie said it’s a difficult job. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now.”
“And what, wait?” Gray said, leaning against the backrest.
Knight nodded. “Yeah, no point in that. We will be cautious. No one wants to get sucked into some paranormal black hole, but let’s face it, Beast, that ghost won’t even know what hit him.” He clasped his hands together, and Gray spotted the glow of the sigils on Knight’s skin at the fringe of the fingerless gloves.
A Beatles song started playing in the background, and Laurent came back with a smile, carrying two beers. “I’m so happy it’s all going so well.”
Shadow jumped to his feet when Laurent put one bottle in front of Beast. “I’ll get you beer too. I’ve got money.” He reached into his pockets and pulled out a whole bunch of crumpled bills.
Beast gave Gray a sceptical glare.
“Don’t even ask,” Gray said once Shadow was off to join Joker at the bar.
Knight leaned over the table, cradling Elliot with one arm. The expression on his face didn’t predict anything good. “Soo, things going well, I see.”
Gray shrugged, not really wanting to discuss his relationship. Knight might think having sex with his man in public was the thing to do, but Gray would rather not answer any questions. Everything between him and Shadow was still fresh, and he couldn’t explain why their closeness worked so well without divulging into matters he didn’t want other people to know about.
“It’s still early stages.”
“Sure, sure. But you seem very set on him if you want to go on that mission. Wasn’t it only a few weeks ago that you let him out of the cell?”
Gray shifted in the seat, instantly uncomfortable, because Knight was right. He had treated Shadow like shit, and yet there they were, in love and perfectly happy. Minus the fact that Shadow could die in under a month.
A female scream saved him from answering any further questions, and instantly drew all eyes to the bar. Knight was the first to get to his feet and rush over, but Gray followed, just to make sure Shadow was fine.
The girl had tears in her eyes, and whatever Joker did, the last thing they needed tonight were cops.
“Everything okay?” Knight asked.
The bartender shook her head. “No! Oh, my God!”
Shadow was chewing something with a smug expression, and Joker laughed so hard he ended up bent in two and wheezing.
The latter caught his breath enough to speak and looked up with tears streaming down his cheeks. “She agreed to… give me her number… if Shadow ate the cockroach that ran along the counter.”
Gray knew he should’ve been revolted, because he’d kissed Shadow’s full lips just minutes ago, but instead he felt pride. Shadow was making friends so fast. He would fit right in with all the unusual people that hung around the club. “I need shots,” he said, resting his hand on Shadow’s hip.
The bartender dried a tear that escaped her eye, but she quickly offered him a choice of liquor, eventually pouring a couple of green-hued shots when he claimed he needed the strongest shit she had. Shadow made a point of paying, and left a too-generous tip. Oh well, they needed to make sure no one called the cops on them, anyway.
The first shot made Gray’s face twist involuntarily as soon as the sharp and bitter liquid scratched at the back of his tongue, but once it went down, he was left with a herby aftertaste and a pleasant burn leading all the way to his stomach. He laughed when Shadow barely dipped his tongue in the shot glass before recoiling so rapidly most of the green liquid spilled down his fingers. Gray mercifully finished the shot and took the two other ones to the booth, already feeling the liquor taking hold of him. Perhaps that was why entwining his fingers with Shadow in public came to him so easily. His mind was quickly becoming numb to worrying about stares and whispered comments, as if openly expressing his feelings for another man was the most natural thing in the world.