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Gary was worried about getting the wrong food for one of the creatures. He’d been a waiter, and that hadn’t gone well, but he was determined to get it right this time. He found another bottle of hot sauce.
The hot sauce hit the ground as Nora and John appeared. Gary paused. The last time he’d seen John, John had called Gary an idiot and then begged him not to go with a demon. When he’d found out that John had gone after Ray, he’d thought that was it. He’d never get to see him again or even say goodbye. Whatever he felt about John, he hadn’t wanted it to end like that. Sending the Fairy Godmother after him was John’s only chance, and Gary had known it. John was back, though. He looked okay, considering that he’d made it through hell.
Gary ran towards John before he could think, barely noticing Nora. He put his hands on the sides of John’s face and kissed him. He’d thought about what he’d do when John made it back. This had been a possibility in his daydreams, but Gary hadn’t expected to go through with it.
John grabbed Gary back, pulling him in by the waist to get him closer.
Gary paused when he remembered Nora was there. She was staring at the coin in her hand. John released Gary and took a step back, leaving his hands on Gary’s arms for longer than he had to. Gary adjusted his suit jacket and couldn’t take his eyes off John.
“Where’s Ray?” Nora said, not making any comment about what had happened.
John was talking, saying something about souls and bodies. He gave Gary a half-smile with his teeth, and made eye contact with Gary, though, so that was a win.
John sat down in Ava’s office. He hadn’t been expecting to get called in for a meeting the day after his escape from hell.
“What’s the deal, Sharpie?”
“It’s about Gary.”
“What about him?”
“Well, we’re being nice to him now.”
“Like, in an official capacity?”
“Yes. I’m having meetings with all of the Legends to discuss what we’re going to do differently. You missed kind of a showdown. Uh, so for you… I know you were nicer to him than any of the rest of us, and I know it was complicated, but…”
“I was awful to him too.”
“And I’m saying this to everyone, so we just have some basics to cover. No nasty comments. And no making him do non-Bureau work. When he’s on the clock, I mean. That was actually mostly there for me. Uh, there’s some more stuff here about not risking his life on-duty without the consent forms. I’m mostly concerned about the “hostile workplace” thing, but I think for you especially, that’s tied in with personal stuff that I don’t want to get into. Just… be nice to him, okay?”
“I’ll do my best,” John says.
“Good talk,” Ava says. She mostly looks relieved as she slides the HR form at him. “Just sign at the bottom."
John had called from the Waverider a few hours earlier to check if Gary wanted him at D&D. Gary had agreed, so John was staying after the session, waiting for the other players to leave.
“Why are you really here?” Gary asked, as soon as they’re on their own.
“I wanted to apologize. I never got a chance to say sorry for what I did. I shouldn’t have used you to get to that unicorn, and I shouldn’t have called you an idiot.”
“Everybody else did it too.”
“That doesn’t make it better, sunshine. I was the one who was supposed to treat you well. Instead, I gave Neron material to use to play you.”
Gary ignored the apology. “What happened down there? Nora said you were in bad shape when she found you.”
“In Hell? Lot of stuff. Met the little girl I accidentally sent down there. I was… if Nora hadn’t gotten there, I’d be a lot worse off. What happened with you?”
“Oh. Neron helped me take over the Bureau with the demon-nipple. He hypnotized everyone into thinking I was cool. People did whatever I asked, so I made them say they liked me. Then Mona went into her other form and chewed it off. But I still had the Fairy Godmother. She tried to get me to wish for her to kill the Legends. I had her do a lot I regret, but I didn’t let her use me to kill them. But, uh, the Legends talked me down from it and said they’re cool with me now. I sent the Godmother to help save you, but I didn’t realize she was Nora now. Then you got back, and…”
“You still had her save me.”
“Yeah. I still, um… I couldn’t let you die.”
“Thank you,” John says quietly. He moves closer to Gary, relaxing on his shoulder. "I can't believe I missed you being all bossy. That must have been hot."
“John, I’m going to ask you something, and I need a real answer. What’s going on with us? And I know we’re, like, coworker-adjacent. In terms of the other stuff. What do you want? Long-term?”
John knows better than to try something too witty.
“Something more than an off-and-on friends-with-benefits would be nice.”
“Are you for real, John? Because I don’t think I can handle it if you keep me on the line like this.”
“I am. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but-”
Gary kissed him again. Before, he'd always been guarded, sure to always be in control. This time, John leans on Gary and lets himself completely melt.