“Couldn’t you imprint on someone else?” Ledger asked, unable to meet his gaze. “Literally anyone. Someone who isn’t one of us. A Devil of Vitality getting with another Devil? It’s—”
“Not impossible. Look at Madden and Berga.”
“I was going to say complicated. You can have anyone you want. Why does it have to be him?”
“It just does.” It wasn’t a good reason, but it was the reason nonetheless. Plain and simple. “It’s always been him for me.”
“You were children when you met. You hadn’t even hit puberty, meaning you wouldn’t have been able to create the bond. Don’t act like I wasn’t told to research this, same as you.”
Their parents had collected all of the data on Yurn and D’vitar they could, making both of them read through it. They’d wanted them prepared for what to expect as Pavel’s body changed while he grew, and they wanted to ensure they’d always have each other's back.
“The bond was completed when we met on this planet,” Pavel confirmed, mostly because there was no way around it and Ledger had to have already known as much. “That first meeting at the Princely Gala, when Kelevra was announcing his Retinue. The second we were within ten feet of each other, I felt it snap into place.”
It’d felt like that piece of himself had been waiting all that time, yearning for Zane.
“Even if you thought he’d react poorly, you should have just come clean with him,” Ledger said. “Zane may have taken all of this in stride. You don’t know.”
Pavel slipped his hands into his front pockets, watching the waitress linger at their table a little too long. It was Zane’s fault, of course. He was leaning in too close to her, keeping his voice low enough she had to bend to hear whatever nonsense he was whispering into her ear.
When she laughed and her blush was apparent even from this distance, he ground his teeth together.
“We can’t all be as laid back as you are,” he said once she’d finally walked off. “How are things with Nikita going?”
“You know.” Ledger shrugged.
“No, I don’t. That’s why I’m asking.”
“Whatever. I gotta run.” He pushed away from the window, clearly running from the new topic.
Pavel didn’t bother following, listening to the sound of his retreating footsteps until they came to a stop by his desk.
“Can I grab one of these?” Ledger asked, and it was on the tip of his tongue to tell him to take whatever he wanted before he remembered what he’d left there.
Pavel turned just in time to catch his brother reaching for the pack of Doc & Bro. “Stop.”
Ledger frowned and glanced at him over his shoulder. “What’s up?”
“Not those.” He cleared his throat, trying not to act suspiciously. “Get one from the kitchens on your way out. You’re stopping there to check in on your Tiger first anyway.”
For a moment, it looked like he was going to press him, but then Ledger dropped his arm. “Sure. Later.”
“Bye.” He stared at the six-pack of drinks for a moment, still annoyed with himself over it. Pavel should be above digging through the trash.
Apparently, he wasn’t.
With a heavy sigh, he turned back to the window, noting that Zane and his date had been served their entrees. He wanted to pull out his multi-slate and demand answers, order Zane to leave the other man, or better yet, slash him with one of his star crystal knives as proof this was all a taunt meant to piss Pavel off.
Though…
What if Ledger was right and the connection between them was all in his head? Pavel knew whathefelt, but when itcame to Zane, all he could do was hypothesize, and it’d be a lie to say he never gravitated to theories that leaned in his favor.
Zane had been resolute these past few weeks, icing Pavel out, leading him on. The deal had been he could reach out and initiate, but he never had, and now that the clock was winding down to the final hour, Pavel was no longer going to have to worry about sleepless nights, staring at his multi-slate, hoping it would ring.
Great stabbed a morsel with his fork and offered it to Zane, who leaned across the table and took the bite without hesitation.
As far as Pavel knew, the two had rarely, if ever, interacted prior to tonight. Either they’d suddenly developed feelings for one another, or this was yet another means for his doctor to fuck with him.
He was thinking in circles, unable to let this go.
