Page 101 of Kit
“I think if you just put aside the whole ‘monarch’ thing, it would be for the best,” Nick said. “We’re family. And if anything, I think if you defer to Connor in any way, it will only make him uncomfortable. I think that’s part of the reason he doesn’t like going to Vi’s even though Laurence begs him.”
The advice went against Kit’s instincts, but Nick knew best how to get along with his own family. “Very well.”
“And…” Nick’s face grew red. “I’ll just say this now. I went overboard with the presents.”
Kit’s gaze jumped to his wonderful gloves. “There are more?”
“So much more. An embarrassing amount more. We were apart, and I kept wondering if you’d like certain things, if you’d hate them—and so I started buying the things I wanted to see your reaction to. It might have become a little coping mechanism.” Nick breathed out hard. “I’m glad you didn’t dump me because arriving with a ship full of presents and getting turned away would be hard to live down.”
Kit’s tail curled against Nick’s legs, hovering without tripping. “You do not need to woo me,” he said, though the thought pleased him greatly, “I am already yours.”
Nick missed a step. He recovered before falling, and his eyes flashed to Kit’s face. The redness of his cheeks spread. He swallowed hard. “You can be so…” Nick puffed out his cheeks. “You’re it for me, Kit. I’ve never been in love before you, and I never will be after.”
“There is no need for ‘after’, is there?”
“I’ll do my best so you’ll always think that,” Nick said.
Kit hummed his agreement. “Me as well,” he said. He wished to grow closer to Nick’s brothers and father, his family that he cared about so deeply. He wished to see the café where he’d discovered his love of coffee, the school where he currently studied, and the ‘car’ that he rode. Kit wished to find where he would fit into Nick’s world. He knew already that Nick fit seamlessly into his own here in Aridia. And he understood Nick’s sentiment; there were many things he wished to show Nick, simply to watch his expression change.
“Mini would like to bring you to collect Lua grapes.”
“Steal Lua grapes, you mean?”
“Yes.”
Nick barked out a laugh. “God. I can’t even imagine what Vi would think if she found out I joined in with that.”
Kit began to hum his agitation, but Nick cast him a placating grin. “I’ll do it. I know you just want to try the wine I make. Incidentally, I have a book on winemaking in that box you’re carrying.”
Kit mirrored his grin, delighted that Nick was willing to partake. “When we go to your home, Mini would like to come.”
“Of course.” Nick didn’t hesitate. “I figured you two were a package deal.”
Kit cast his gaze to where Mini trotted ahead. That Mini and Nick got along was a considerable relief to him; he wasn’t sure what he would have done had they clashed, given that he needed both.
“I bet he’ll be speaking English before anyone has a chance to learn your language,” Nick said. “I can’t give the lessons unfortunately, but I asked Laurence to help tutor you both if you agreed to come home with me.”
At Kit’s quizzical look, Nick nodded to his arms. “The symbols are burned into my skin. Maybe one day they’ll fade, but they haven’t shown any sign of it yet. I suppose it’s handy for me to always be able to understand you, though they didn’t seem to do anything in my world, so…once we’re through The Tear, I could pick up the lessons? But while we’re here, it will have to be Laurence.”
Kit’s eyes slid over the black markings etched across Nick’s arms. His gaze snagged on the white scar on his forearm. It cut through the symbol that had protected him from Desre in a raised bump, yet the symbol was intact, reformed above the white scar tissue.
“That”—Nick followed his gaze—“happened when I came back through The Tear. The symbol fixed itself. I’m going to have to do a few lessons with Vi, but I don’t think it’s harmful.”
“Your back healed well.” Kit’s mind shifted to the other injuries Nick had left Aridia with.
“Not a mark.”
Kit hummed, and Nick slid a suspicious look his way.
His tail twitched. “I used some…”
“Please tell me you didn’t rub that god’s ashes into my back.”
“I used the well water,” he admitted.
“Kit!”
Kit looked away. He did not apologise and would not. Desre had used the well water on Kit’s injuries many times growing up; he knew its healing effects intimately. He’d rubbed it onto Nick’s arm too, though annoyingly, that had scarred regardless.
“You’re unbelievable,” Nick said, a glint in his eye.
“You make such remarks often. It is meant in a good way, yes?”
“Always,” Nick promised.
Kit’s tail curled contentedly around Nick’s waist.