smiles wistfully. “He trusts me. He opens up and shares. I think that’s the biggest and best gift I’ve ever been given. Even when he’s pissed off and lets me have it, I know it’s because he trusts me not to walk away. That’s big. He’s brilliant, funny, and a little bit feral. Okay, a lot feral. There’s a lot of street in him.”
“He’s not gentle,” Sionn remarks. “Don’t ever let that pretty face fool you.”
“Oh shit no, not a gentle bone in his body.” Kane laughs. “He dreams a lot. Goes off in his world and picks out words. You can see that when he writes songs. He disconnects from the noise around him, but I think a lot of people see him as this fragile, beautiful boy, and he’s a lot stronger than most people give him credit for. Hell, I don’t give him enough credit.”
“He can fuck you up nine ways from Sunday if you threaten him. To hell with the normal six. He’ll get you down on the ground and take you out.” Sionn rubs at his jaw as he speaks. “Fast little fuck. Hits hard. And often.”
“I told you not to sneak up on him.”
“Damie does it. Scares the shite out of Miki all the time. Sneaky bastards, both of them.” He picks at another pepper, then pops it in his mouth. “Learned my lesson. Never doing that again. Bastard cheats.”
“Miki’s a master at finding whatever is around him and taking you out.” Kane shrugs. “He doesn’t play well. I’m trying to teach him that sometimes it’s okay to just mess around.”
“Man’s crazy in the head. Something’s broken in that brain. Never knew someone to turn a game of Pool Chicken into a Raging Death Match.”
“Yeah, he’s got a problem sometimes,” Kane acknowledges. “We’re working on it. He does know how to play. But it has to be with certain people. Me and Damie so far. I think.”
“And the soul part?” I prompt.
“I’d have to say I first wanted to take care of him. Flaw I’ve got. I want to fix the world, you know?” He grimaces. “Hardest thing to learn with Miki is when to let him be and when to step in. But I think what drew me in was his fierceness. He’s wild, inside. Untamed in parts. I think I love that about him. He comes to me not because he needs to but because he wants to. He makes me lose my breath, and ah, when he smiles at me, it’s like it touches parts of my soul I never thought couldn’t be dark. He’s gentle with me. And if he loves you, there’s no going back. It’s full throttle. You’ll never have a doubt how much he loves when he finally does.”
“Your turn, Sionn.” I pronounce his name carefully. “Damien.”
“Ah, Damie’s different than Miki. More civilized, I think. I’d have thought of the two of them, Damie would be more aggressive, but he’s not. He plots more. He’d be the one to do a prank. A long con. Charming fecking git. Probably could coax a priest out of his collection plate if he’d wanted it.”
“Probably at least half Irish,” Kane slides in.
“At least.” The other man nods. “Of the two, he’s the gentler one, but he guides Miki. With me, he can relax. I think for a long time—even before the accident—so much of Damien’s energy was spent pushing things to where he wanted them to be. The band, his music—everything. Now he’s found Miki, he’s home and he can be with me and not worry. Kane’s a part of that too. He doesn’t have to worry so much about his brother. He can just be… Damie. It’s been good.”
“And the rest? The soul?”
“I’d have to say he’s someone I know will stand next to me, shoulder to shoulder. Kane and Miki are introverts in a lot of ways. They’d like to stay home and cuddle on the couch. I think Damien and I want to be doing things. We match each other’s pace. He lights fires in me. Motivates me. He’s a bit pushy sometimes, but he’s always the one who wants to see what’s over the next hill. He makes me believe I can do anything—accomplish anything. And then turns around and tells me he loves me. Does something to my insides.”
“You love him.” Kane is stating the obvious. Sionn’s face can only be described as besotted. “Yeah, I get it. Miki does that to me too. Something