Page 33 of Finn's Solace

"Levi," I said, my voice a tad breathless, and my cheeks heated up as he smiled at me.

"Hey, Finn." He was dressed in a simple black t-shirt—I was a little sad to see the lack of puns—and off-white pants, his hair perfectly styled unlike his usual messy do. I relaxed a little when I realized how nervous he was—why else would he look like he was just about to head to a work conference? Or church?—and took his hand in mine, giving it a light squeeze.

"Come see Penny."

He nodded quickly, and I led him into the living room, where Penny jumped to her feet with a wide grin, then threw her arms around Levi in a tight hug.

"Oof, you've gotten strong," Levi commented as he hugged her back, making her laugh.

"And you turned hot," she shot back, making me huff. Could she not flirt with my mate, thank you very much?

Levi laughed as he pulled back, his eyes roaming over Penny as his smile softened. "It's good to see you, kiddo."

My chest warmed at the apparent affection in his voice, and I knew Penny had heard it too, because her teasing smile disappeared.

"I'm glad you're alive and well, and that you ended up here."

"Me too," Levi said, then glanced at me, and repeated the words, "Me too."

"Okay, lunch is ready!" Papa called from the kitchen, and Penny clapped her hands.

"You two buckle up. I'll set the table."

"DoI need to buckle up?" Levi asked hesitantly, and I shrugged.

"I have no idea. None of us have brought someone home before, so this is a first."

"Really? None of you? Not even Penny?" Levi asked, clearly surprised.

"Dad has always been a little overprotective of Penny, and Dean or I were never serious enough with anyone," I explained with a shrug, and Levi nodded solemnly.

"So I am the first boyfriend and mate to be brought home, which means I'll probably get the full force effect of the parental inquisition."

I winced. "Sorry."

"Nah, I have nothing to hide. As long as I answer every question honestly, we should be good, right?"

"You're right about that," Dad said as he poked his head into the living room. "Come on, lunch time."

We joined the others in the kitchen and sat down, Levi taking Dean's usual chair beside me. Sounds from the pantry told me where Neya and Greta were, and Padfoot seemed to be napping in the grass outside. Papa had probably locked him out there so we could eat in peace.

"I probably should've checked this before, but is vegetarian okay?" Papa asked, shooting Levi a worried look.

"Totally! I'm an earth mage, so I try to eat off the land as much as I can."

"It's nice to have another mage in the family," Dad said, making Levi smile.

"You're a healing mage, right?" Levi asked as Papa started serving everyone, piling big helpings on every plate. It was an Indian thing, Dad had told me the first time Papa added more food to my plate after I'd said no multiple times. Apparently, Indian parents were big on serving their kids seconds and thirds.

"Yep, the best one there is," Papa answered for Dad, making him give Papa that besotted look he got on his face whenever Papa gave him a compliment.

Levi smiled as he took a bite of the curry, then made a delighted sound. "Wow, this is delicious, sir!"

"Call me Jai. And thank you, it's my mom's recipe," Papa said, smiling as he took his seat.

I shot Levi an impressed look, but he was too busy eating to notice. Penny caught it, though, and she gave me a wide-eyed look, agreeing wholeheartedly. It'd been barely five minutessince we sat down at the table, and Levi had somehow already complimented both my parents and gotten into their good graces. Maybe this wouldn't be hard after all.

"Finn's lucky to have you both as his parents," Levi said after a moment, and while it could've been just another attempt at buttering them up, I knew Levi meant it, and I was sure my dads could see it too.

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