“Is it bad?” Was he cursing at him?
“No,” she quickly corrected. “No, not at all. There’s no exact translation, but it’s something similar to darling or sweetheart in old Igna.”
Darling or sweetheart?
Kaz tried to contain his grin as he turned and headed to find hishahzi.
* * *
As expected, he found Nate hunched over the middle sink in the bathroom. His breathing was uneven and his eyes were squeezed shut. There was water dripping from his chin, a sign he’d washed his face, probably in an attempt to clear his head. An attempt that had failed miserably, if the sight before Kaz was any indicator.
He didn’t hear Kaz enter, flick the lock, or approach, startling the second he felt one of Kaz’s hands settled around the back of his neck. His eyes flashed open and met his in the mirror a second before a small sigh of relief slipped past his full lips.
“Breathe, Pretty Boy,” Kaz instructed, his thumb running through the short hairs at the base of his skull in that way he knew Nate liked.
“Kaz.”
“One step at a time,” he said. “Let’s get your breathing back to normal first, hmm?”
Nate exhaled shakily and then gave a small nod.
“Good boy.” Kazimir wasn’t used to taking care of things, let alone other people, but it occurred to him that he’d slipped into that role with Nate subconsciously. From the start, he’d known exactly what to say and do to calm his pretty racer down. Sure, he’d used that knowledge as a means to manipulate him, but that didn’t change the outcome any.
He was the only one who could get through to Nate whenever he was in this state of mind.
He was the only one who’d ever even tried.
He thought back to when they’d bumped into one another at therapy, what Nate had said to him when he’d mentioned his father. In some ways, Nate was the only person who’d tried with Kazimir too.
“You’re special.” The corner of Kaz’s mouth lifted when Nate’s eyes sought out his reflection in the mirror a second time. “What? Don’t believe me?” If that were the case, he’d prove it to him the same way he intended to prove it to his sister.
His sister, who’d apparently helped with Nate’s parentification their entire lives without realizing. Kazimir had placed the blame up until this point solely on Nuri, because from all the stories he’d been told, that seemed like the case. But now…Listening to her, seeing that even as a full-grown adult she still didn’t recognize what Nate had gone through…
Kaz snuffed out the anger that threatened to rise again, knowing it wouldn’t be useful here. He needed to remain relaxed, that way he could coax Nate into calming as well.
Which meant leaving out the revelation he’d just had back at the table.
Eventually, they were going to have to talk about it, because there was no way Kaz could execute his plans without Nate’s cooperation, but that could wait for now. Something told him his pretty racer wasn’t quite ready to hear it yet anyway. He no longer fought Kaz whenever he was near, but there werestill moments of hesitation, moments that made it clear he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, either so he could make his great escape or so Kaz could.
“Should I tell you why I like you?” he asked, only for Nate to snort.
“I’m not in the mood to listen to how much you like my ass, Kazimir.”
He chuckled. “That’s not at all what I was going to say—although, for the record, yes, I do.” It was tempting to grab a handful of that spectacular ass, but he refrained. “Your humor is up there though. Dry and sarcastic. Bet all of your friends think your sense of humor is more the charming, friendly style, don’t they?”
“Only the ones who don’t really know me,” Nate admitted.
“Is that what your sister meant?”
“You already know it is. You’ve pointed out how different I am in front of people already. And, unlike her, you know the reason.”
He was referring to his file from the therapist. It’d been loaded even though it’d only been his first visit, and there’d been no past records to transfer over. From the outside, Nate appeared to be a well-rounded boy next door.
“I like that you’re good at hiding,” Kaz said, smiling when Nate quirked a brow. “It means you’ve got strong survival instincts. But you don’t have to hide with me, Pretty Boy.”
“More like I can’t.” He straightened, the move causing Kazimir’s hand to fall away. “I didn’t have a choice in all of this, remember?”
“I did pursue you relentlessly,” he agreed, shifting so that he could cage Nate in between his arms, planting a hand on the sinks at either side of his hips. It brought their faces closer, and Kaz debated whether or not it would be appropriate to kiss himnow or if Nate needed a bit more time to shake off the remainder of the attack he’d just had. “I like that you gave in fairly quickly.”
