Page 99 of Ravenous

“If he works in a kitchen he already has,” Liam stated as Owen nodded beside him.

Finn chuckled, typing away.

Ollie says hello, and maybe they think it’s a fancy broccoli?To be honest, Finn had no idea what broccolini was but Jax’s rants were always entertaining. At first, Finn had been cautious about his new siblings, even after he’d reached out to them, but once they’d met in person, he threw that caution right into the wind, taking his therapist’s advice and opening up.

He and Jax talked in the group chat nearly every day and since he lived an hour away, they’d hung out a few more times. However, Jax was the master of not revealing much about himself, and even though they’d had lengthy conversations, Finn still didn’t know if Jax was stiff because he hated his job or if that was his personality. Either way, he seemed to take a liking to Finn and had slowly become a more permanent fixture in his life.

Megan dropped in the chat a few times a week to say hi and send a cute photo, and she planned to fly in for another sibling lunch, this time with her daughter - Finn’s niece. All of a sudden, Finn had been promoted from Just Finn to Uncle Finn and he knew that he had big shoes to fill if he wanted to be anything like Joe. Of course, Ollie would be there too; he’d been promised the next meetup. However, he’d already met Jax on a video call via Finn’s phone, and they were now, according to Ollie, besties.

Finn wondered if that was dangerous.

Tell him I hellooooooo and trust me, they’re not thinking at all. Ugh, my break is over I have to get back to the dungeon.Jax’s reply had a GIF after it of a cat missing its jump and falling out a window.

Good luck.Finn sent him a thumbs up.

“By the way?” Ellie still hovered near the back of Finn’s chair, apparently reading his texts. “I saw your brother, he’s hot. Like, in a fighting demons in a post-apocalyptic world sort of way.”

“Wait, when did you see him?” Scrunching his eyebrows, Finn looked over his shoulder at her.

“During your family reunion at the restaurant. I stopped by to hang out with Quinn during her shift and ended up hiding in my car for an hour. You three tookforeverto eat.”

“You were there? Why didn’t you come in and say hi?”

Ellie rolled her eyes but Finn could tell she was a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t want to interrupt and have you blab about me and Quinn to everyone.”

“Hey!” Finn protested, indignant. “I don’tblab.” He made quotes in the air with his free hand and his cake.

One of her drawn-in diagonal eyebrows raised. “You’d tell Ollie and he’d tell Tommy. I wanted the element of surprise. Besides, I was comfortable watching your hot brother from the comfort of my air-conditioned car.”

“Biz is right, heishot,” Ollie nodded.

Quinn tilted her head in thought. “I mean, I don’t like men but, if I did? I’d give him a nine.”

“No, no, that’s enough.” Finn waved a hand back and forth, the other one still holding his precious cake. “Subject change, please!”

Ollie let out a peal of laughter so full of joy that Finn forgot about the teasing. All he could do was stare, captivated once again by how radiant Ollie was under the sunlight. The entire time Finn had known him, Ollie had tried to shrink, to be less than who he was out of fear. But now he bravely took up space, allowing himself to exist while standing up to the unpredictable future, and that strength looked good on him.

The hours went by far too quickly, and after a series of hugs, thank yous, and goodbyes, Finn got to drive Ollie back totheirplace, to start the rest of their lives together. Although Ollie dozed in the car, he perked up once they pulled into the complex, vibrating with excitement as Finn parked in the garage.

“Thank you, again, for letting me live here. I mean it, I’m going to pay you rent-”

“Sunshine, we’re not talking about that now.” Finn pretended to snatch his nose. “We’re going inside and you can tell me if I set up your vanity right.”

“Okay.” Ollie bit his lip. “I still can’t believe that we’re living together.”

“It’s gonna be like a constant sleepover with your best friend!” Finn got out of the car and Ollie quickly followed.

“Yes!” He latched onto Finn’s back. While he hadn’t reached his eventual goal weight, he was getting to a good place because Finn happily pitched forward.

“I’m trying to get inside.” He wiggled a little as Ollie let out a snort.

“You’re supposed to say thatlater.”

Finally, the door swung open. “After you, brat.”

“Aren’t you supposed to carry me across the threshold?” Holding the bouquet of sunflowers, Ollie blinked his large hypnotizingly blue eyes at Finn and he crumbled.

“Of course.” Hiding his smirk, Finn stepped in, sweeping Ollie off his feet so quickly that he let out a whooping squeal.

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