Chapter 13 #2
By the time I woke, the apartment had been cleaned. I poked my head out of the blanket pile we’d been tucked into. Blue plastic bags of fabric had been piled by the door. I stared at them. Evidence of the massacre.
“Sorry, Juniper. We didn’t know if you’d want to try and salvage them or not,” said Adrian, who had noticed I’d woken up. Despite my nap, I still felt exhausted as I looked at the bags.
The door opened, and I heard Vander swearing as a mattress came into view.
“We should have just gone via the balcony,” he was saying.
“No, it’ll fit, dude,” came Ez’s voice, and I watched as they somehow managed to navigate the mattress from the narrow staircase into the apartment.
“What’s that?” I asked, looking at it.
“Oh, well… it’s not much, but we went out and got some of the basics," said Ez, trying to tug the mattress over to my room by himself. I felt his aura split the air as he heaved, but it still wasn’t moving much.
“It’s the angle, you dolt,” said Vander, giving the mattress a kick. Freed from whatever physics had been holding it in place, both it and Ez shot across the room.
I laughed and both golden-green and blue eyes turned to look at me.
“What?” I said, eyes flicking between them.
“Nothing,” said Vander, while Ez said, “Sick. First laugh is on me.”
“ You were the joke. I got her to laugh first," said Vander smugly, and nodded to Adrian, who followed him down the stairs.
Ez started to wrestle the mattress into my room, and I bit my lip, following him inside. Where our nest had been, it now looked so… plain. Bright light shone in through the window, and the rugs had been piled neatly to the side, exposing the pale wooden floor. The hangers that had held up our canopy were still there, some of the fabric missing, and the lights were all turned off. Ez was dragging the mattress onto the bed frame.
I wrapped my arms around myself, blinking at the room. I’d had the nest for so long, I’d forgotten what it was like to be without one. Without a place to crawl into and feel safe, one that smelled of me and Kit and the various items of clothes from the pack that he’d tried to hide. I fought the urge to slink back into the pile of blankets on the floor and hide in there forever.
Ez straightened the mattress, and caught sight of me by the door. He jogged over. His shirt was sticking to his chest and his watermelon lemonade scent thick in the air as he neared.
He hesitated for a second, and then pulled me into a sweaty hug. I didn’t hug him back, but I didn’t push him away.
“I’m so sorry we weren’t here,” he said. “I can’t believe they did this, it’s so messed up. Jhin said they should have had a warrant, and it needed to be signed by a judge, and he’s filing a complaint right now. So we’re gonna fix this for you, okay?” He was speaking into my shoulder and it was slightly muffled, but he gave me a squeeze and let me go.
I shrugged numbly.
“You don’t owe me anything,” I said. “You’re not even my pack.”
“But we will be,” he said confidently. I stared at him blankly. This again?
“Well. Whatever happens, I know how I feel right now,” he went on. “And right now, you’re ours and we weren’t here with you.”
The words seemed to sink into my soul, my heart, and it started to race as I realized that I felt the same way he did. Right now, I did feel like I was theirs. Which was definitely not how I should be feeling. Shit. I was fucking this up so bad.
I’d fucked Vander, and I’d ambushed Adrian, I’d let Ez cuddle me during the movie, and I’d tried to comfort Jhin last night. I should have told them they couldn’t stay, or maybe I should have left, because now the thought of living here without any of them was unbearable.
But staying permanently, like Ez was suggesting, wasn’t an option. Kit would be in the bond and, if I joined, he would know how obsessed I was with him. And he’d be stuck with me, and I’d be stuck loving a person who didn’t love me back for the rest of my life.
“We got some new pillows for you,” Ez was saying as my heart fell apart in my chest. “We looked at nesting needs, but it was like, one scent-free pillow or fifteen ones that smell like a factory, so we went with the factory ones. Sorry.”
There was a lump in my throat again as I looked at the haul. They’d bought us new pillows? I crouched down and picked up a fluffy yellow one. It was the softest thing I’d ever felt in my life. It smelled a bit plastic-y, but that was so much better than the myriad of smells that came with a second-hand one.
“Do you want us to help you set up?” Adrian asked. He and Vander had come into the room at some point. Ez shot me a hopeful grin. I swallowed and stood up.
“I think that you guys should have this room now. It’s bigger. And if he wants, Kit could have his nest in here. And I’ll… I’ll make one in the spare room.” My voice dropped to a miserable whisper at the end.
I looked up at them. Adrian looked concerned, Ez confused, but Vander was looking right at me, a grim understanding on his face.
He nudged the pillows at his feet.
“These ones were our best guess at what you like,” he said. I walked over and looked at them. They were smooth and heavy, with one long white, funny-shaped roll that was almost as big as me. I picked it up and realized it was a shark.
I loved it.
“Thanks,” I muttered, taking my new favorite pillow to the spare room and setting it down on the bed.
There was a knock on the door, and Adrian poked his head in, arms full.
I waved him in and he sat down next to me, setting the pillows down.
“I, um, saw this when I was out,” he said, pulling something out of his pocket. He held it out to me with a shy smile. “Got it for you.”
I looked down at his hand. It was a little circular keychain made of clear plastic. Inside was some bright blue water, and in the water, colorful fishes floated around, bobbing with every tiny movement. I picked it up from his hand, and my fingers brushed against a button on the top. I clicked it, and it made the whole thing light up with a blue glow. It was pretty, and cozy, and felt so precious.
I swallowed, my eyes pricking with tears.
“Why?” I asked in a thick whisper.
“I thought it’d cheer you up,” he said, his large eyes examining mine.
“Well, don’t. Don’t try to cheer me up.” My hand clenched around the keychain as I continued. ”What are we Adrian? We’re not friends . We’re nothing. I’m just your scent match’s roommate, and soon I won’t even be that anymore. So just stop. I don’t want your flowers. I don’t want you protecting me, or holding my hand, or cheering me up. If you want to be nice to me, leave me alone, alright?”
I opened my hand and let the keychain fall to the floor.
“Juniper—” he said, and he sounded so hurt, but fuck him because that wasn’t on me. I didn’t want any of this.
“Just get the fuck out of my room,” I said, not even managing to make it sound angry.
He stood up, and walked toward the door, hesitating as he opened it.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Fuck. Off,” I gritted out, turning away from him and tugging the shark cushion into my arms, tears finally pouring down my face.
KIT
I woke up in a pile of delicious-smelling blankets, my hair plastered to my face, and I had one moment’s happiness before the memories came back.
I scrambled out of the pile and lurched to my feet.
The disaster that had been our apartment was now tidied. Vander was on the couch, and I nervously avoided his eyes. I stopped outside our nest room, heart hammering. I hadn’t seen inside earlier, but I knew it was gone. There was too much of it in the bags lined up along the wall.
There were footsteps inside and some voices. I cracked open the door, finding a bright, empty-feeling room where our nest had been. The rugs were spread out in a path that led to the bed.
“Hey,” Adrian said kindly, coming over and rubbing my back.
“Oh! Kit, come see this, we made it for you!” said Ez, bounding over. He tugged my hand toward the bed, and I realized I was wrong—it wasn’t empty. They’d made a nest; or the beginnings of one.
“Oh, wait, hang on.” Ez scrambled over to the window and pulled the curtain, getting rid of the daylight.
There were fluffy pillows and blankets arranged on the bed, and some glowing lamps on the wall that gave off a warm light. I walked over, trailing my hands over the soft pillows. They all smelled new. The blankets were ours, having largely escaped being torn apart, but I noticed they were ones where Juni’s smell was fainter.
I swallowed. It was a new nest. And it was just for me, with the soft, fluffy, airy parts and none of the heavy, smooth, squishy parts that Juniper preferred.
”I know it’s probably rubbish, but we had to do something,” Ez said.
“Where’s Juni’s stuff?” I asked.
Adrian glanced towards the door. “She said… she would make hers in the other room, and that we should all move into here. But, we made this for you, Kit. We can sleep in the living room, if Juniper is okay with that.”
“But please, please let us stay here,” Ez piped up. “Because I’ve been dying to have, like, proper cuddles and it’s been torture sleeping in your room without you?—”
Adrian cut him off with an elbow to the ribs.
“Don’t pressure him,” he muttered.
Juni was setting up a separate nest? Without me?
The rejection stung, a sharp pain that dug right into my heart. She must be panicking and not thinking straight. She couldn’t sleep alone. When we first moved in together, I'd routinely find her sitting on the couch in the middle of the night, trembling with fear. I’d started camping in the living room with her so she could sleep until I just suggested we sleep in the same room. I’d convince her to move back in with me, I was sure. But in the meantime, I didn’t want them all sleeping on the couches. Maybe I could even convince her to share with me while the pack was here? Maybe that would be a long shot, but I could try. I realized Ez and Adrian were both staring at me, waiting for an answer.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I said. “If you’re sure you want to stay with me, that is.”
“Yusss.” Ez punched Adrian in the shoulder and then tackled me back onto the bed, sending a pile of pillows toppling to the floor. I had a moment to look up into his yellow-green eyes, to take in his delighted grin, before he leaned down and kissed me.
His lips met mine, his warm tongue pressing hungrily into my mouth. It obliterated every other thought from my mind except this: Ez’s watermelon lemonade scent filling my nose, his hand slipping under my shirt, skating along my navel. I kissed back, my fingers tangling in his golden hair, as I welcomed his touch. Pleasure sparked along my skin, and I pouted as he broke off the kiss, giving a bright little laugh and resting his forehead on mine.
“You’re perfect,” he said, gazing at me, and then Adrian was yanking him back by the neck of his t-shirt.
“Ez, you can’t just do that,” he said, shooting me a horrified look. “What if he didn’t want to kiss you?”
“He wanted to kiss me,” Ez said smugly, winking at me. He looked like a naughty cat being held by the scruff of his neck.
“Uh, it’s okay,” I said, propping myself up on my elbow and giving a sheepish grin. That had been a really nice distraction from my depressive thoughts.
“Don’t worry, Kit, he’s just jealous. Right, bro?” said Ez, yanking his shirt free from Adrian’s grip. Adrian had gone bright red, his eyes darting to me. His mouth opened, but he wasn’t sure how to answer the impossible question.
“You’re welcome,” said Ez, sticking out his foot and shoving Adrian, who yelped as he fell forward onto the bed.
He managed to avoid crushing me, his arms landing on either side of my head. His scent, the crisp, warm mix of cinnamon and pear, washed over me, as I gazed up at his bright brown eyes.
“Hi,” I said, peering up at him.
His face was still red as he shot a death glare at Ez. “I can totally kick his ass if you want me to,” he muttered, but he didn’t move away, his eyes roaming over my face. I could see the muscles in his arms, taut where he was steadying himself, and thought back to the other day when he’d rolled up his shirt sleeves to show more of his tanned skin. I wanted it off, I wanted to see the expanse of his chest, trace my fingers down his abs…
“You‘re really pretty,” he blurted out, and I could practically feel the heat radiating from him. “Or like—handsome?—”
“Either’s fine,” I said, giving him a smile. God, he was too sweet. “Thanks for helping set this up for me.”
“Course,” he said, the blush creeping to his neck.
I pushed myself up a bit more, bringing our faces closer, and he leaned toward me?—
“Time’s up!” said Ez gleefully, popping up by our side. “Should have really taken the chance…”
He laughed as his face was shoved aside by Adrian, who pressed down for a kiss. It was a gentle kiss, sweet and brief. Almost shy. Then he pulled up, tugging Ez away with him.
“Come on, let’s give him some time to settle in.”
“Aw,” Ez whined as Adrian tugged him away. “This is the thanks I get for being an awesome wingman?”
They left me alone, with nothing to distract myself from the lack of Juni. Or the buzzing horniness their brief kisses had left me with.
Adrian was clearly better at reading the room than Ez was, but honestly, I wished they’d both come back and just fuck my brains out.
I sighed and looked around again. I walked up to the closet and opened the door, tugging out one of Juni’s old shirts from the bottom before hurrying over and shoving it under a pillow in my nest. I curled up on top of the familiar smell of sour cherry and spice.
I wasn’t ready to let her go yet.
* * *
Juniper had come out from the spare room, her headphones in. I’d been hoping to talk to her about the whole nest thing, but headphones meant she was in a bad mood and not ready to discuss anything yet. She glared at anyone who looked at her. Jhin had come back, checked in with Juni, and then started moving the rest of their stuff over to the nest room.
I was going over to see if they were done, and my hand was on the doorknob when I froze.
“Who the fuck finished my Greek yogurt?” Juniper shouted from the kitchen.
Alarm bells sounded in my brain.
Oh shit, that was me. I’d meant to replace it before she noticed, but I forgot. I heard her slam the fridge door and acted on instinct.
Flee .
I wrenched open the spare room’s door and ran inside, crashing into Vander. I’m sure he was shooting me a murderous glare, but right now I was much more afraid of Juniper.
“ Hide ,” I hissed, shoving him back toward the closet. I felt his arm on my back, resting protectively, but didn’t have time to register that as I pushed us both inside and shut the door.
“Kit!” Juni shouted. “I swear, if this was you again ? —”
Fuck.
Juni was still emotionally unstable—we all were—and she took food theft very seriously. I remained absolutely still, barely letting myself breathe as she opened the door to my room.
Vander gave a quiet snarl from above me. I gripped his shirt, squeezing my eyes shut and silently pleading with him to not give us away.
It was silent, then my door closed forcefully.
“Where are you going?” I heard Ez ask. Juniper snapped something at him, and then I heard the front door slam.
As I heard her footsteps clomp down the stairs, I let myself breathe again, and was flooded with Vander’s sharp frosted scent. He was so tense and twitchy against me, stress leaking out into the scent that surrounded us.
My omega brain didn’t like that, and before I could stop myself I reached out with my hand. It brushed against his chest, trying to soothe, to calm his scent.
Mistake .
There was another snarl and I was being pushed back, my offending hand being pinned above me in the dark. There was just enough light that I could see his beautiful eyes glinting with rage.
Instead of being scared, a traitorous shiver ran down me, tingling down my spine and straight to my groin. Fuck, was he trying to make this mind-numbingly hot?
“Yogurt?” he hissed. “You expect me to believe you pushed me in here because of yogurt ?”
“Why else would I do that?” I asked, trying to squirm away before he realized how aroused I was. He was millimeters away from feeling it rub against his leg.
“It’s a pretty shitty manipulation tactic,” he said. “You’re sneakier than I thought. Triggering my protective instincts and then trying your soothing shit is not going to make me like you.”
I blinked up at him.
I’d triggered his protective instincts?
“I really was hiding from Juni,” I said in a small voice, looking down. “I didn’t know you were in here.”
“Hiding because of yogurt.” He didn’t sound convinced.
“It’s Greek yogurt?” I said, and he growled. I continued hastily, “Shit, Juni gets so mad about her food. She yelled at me for like, half an hour last time and it’s the only time she ever yells at me and I can’t take it today?—”
“Stop.” He cut me off, jerking my hand back, and I barely suppressed a whine. “You may have the rest of the pack under your pretty little thumb, but if you think you can leash me, you’re wrong.” He tilted my head up, making me look him in the eyes. “You can’t handle me, little omega.”
If I was aroused before, it was nothing to the sheer wave of desire that hit me with those words.
My body was desperate to prove him wrong, to have him hold me down and prove to him exactly how much I could handle. As my scent perfumed in the air, I saw his pupils blow and for a second we stared at each other, chests heaving.
“You like that, huh?" His eyes narrowed. “You that desperate for a knot? Or are you such a little slut that anything will have you dripping?”
I gasped, another furious shudder raking my body.
I shook my head, my face burning. No alpha had ever talked to me like that before, and I sure as hell should have been offended.
Not fully hard and definitely dripping slick.
His mouth twisted into a smirk, and he leaned down bringing his face closer. My eyes darted to his lips, so close to mine now.
“No?" he said, and I jumped as his other hand touched my waist, fingers tangling beneath my shirt as he started pulling it up, revealing my rock-hard nipples.
I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut as he took one between his fingers, tugging it slightly.
Oh fuck .
My dick jerked in my pants, and I had to bite back another whine.
“Sure feels like you’re a desperate knotslut.”
I shook my head again as the humiliating words threatened to melt my brain. He was still playing with my nipple and my cock was painfully hard, my knees starting to buckle. Then he shifted, and I could feel his own hardness pressing against my waist.
The whine escaped this time, and I twisted, rubbing my length against his through the fabric. He huffed out a laugh, pushing me back, away from him.
“You prance around here, acting like you own this pack, but do you know what I think?" He leaned closer so his lips were brushing my ear. “You’re nothing but a pretty, needy omega hole for us to fill. See, it’s us who own you, little Kit.“
I was frantically nodding, pleading with my eyes, because fuck, yes. That’s what I wanted to be for him, nothing but a thing for him to fuck, please.
“Please, Alpha. Need you,” I panted, and now I was frantically straining toward him, rubbing against him, trying to feed the lust that was burning me up.
He let go of my wrist, his other hand pulling my shirt all the way off, and then he was gripping my ass, lifting me up like a rag doll. He elbowed open the closet door and cast me down onto the bed.
I looked up at him. He was still fully clothed, towering over me with a sneer on his face. Like I was an annoyance, like he might still walk away and leave me here trembling with want.
Leave me.
The idea was unprecedented.
Insulting.
So fucking hot, another whine tore from my throat, causing his cool eyes to flick to my face.
He started unbuttoning his pants, and I watched, biting my lip, as he drew out his thick cock agonizingly slowly.
“This what you want?" he asked, stroking it and drawing out a bead of precum.
“F-fuck,” I choked, my hands fumbling with my pants, tugging them off, spreading my legs apart and baring my neck to him. I was trembling as his dark, hooded eyes swept down my frame, lingering on the sight of my straining cock, veins protruding, a shade of red I’d rarely seen on it before. My thighs and ass were covered in my slick, and I could feel more coating me as he stroked his hand up and down again. The fucker looked like he was still considering, still not convinced, leaving me feeling bare and exposed and even more impossibly turned on.
I whined again, spreading even more, arching my back desperately, praying I would be enough for him.
VANDER
He was everything.
So fucking beautiful, spread out on the bed for me, his glasses askew, his pink hair sticking to his damp forehead, his flushed chest rising and falling with his panting breaths.
Mine . An omega begging for me, wanting me, slicked for me. Wrapped around my finger.
We own you, little Kit .
I knelt on the bed, still stroking my cock, enjoying teasing this out.
This is what I needed. This power. This control.
Fuck. I slid a finger down to where he was fully slicked, brushing against his hole, and heard his choked gasp, felt him arch against me.
“Beg me,” I said, eyes flicking back up to his face.
“Please.” His voice was a beautiful whine, breaking slightly on the word. It sent a surge of pleasure tingling down my spine.
More.
“No,” I said lightly, pressing my finger inside of him. “Try ‘Please give me your knot, Vander’.”
I saw his face redden even more, and he hesitated, his resistance making the words all the sweeter.
“Please give me your knot, Vander,” he whispered, trembling.
My name had never sounded so good in anyone’s mouth.
I let another finger nudge its way inside, smoothed by his slick. The sound he made almost had me coming right there, my cock painfully hard as it rubbed against the side of his thigh.
“Say ‘I’m nothing but a needy knotslut.’”
His dick bucked, a bead of white dripping down onto his trembling abs. His eyelids fluttered.
“I’m nothing but a needy knotslut," he panted.
It was devastating—his sweet scent and his breathy pants. The feel of his smooth, soft skin under me as I finally took my tortured erection and guided the tip down to him. He arched his back more, his hands grabbing fistfuls of the blanket, a tiny sob coming from his throat.
I lined myself up and plunged inside him mercilessly.
He let out a broken moan, writhing under me, sucking me deep inside. I groaned.
“Such a perfect, tight hole.” I moved my hand up towards his cock.
“Please,” was all he could manage as I took his pretty flushed length in my hand, giving it a stroke.
I withdrew, and his hand scrabbled for my hips, trying to claw me back. I lined up again, pressing just the head of my cock inside.
He whined, twisting, those beautiful dark eyes pleading for me.
“Fuck me, Vander, please,” he panted, nails leaving marks on my skin.
“Fuck what?”
“Y—your knotslut. Please. Use me. Knot me.”
I slipped inside again, eliciting another perfect moan, but didn’t sink my knot inside him yet.
“I don’t know if you deserve my knot,” I growled, and I ran my thumb up the underside of his shaft, letting the tip sink slightly to the slit at the top. Pre-cum was welling around my finger, and I looked up to find his eyes were wet, tears streaming down his face as he shook his head.
“I don’t,” he said, looking up at me. “But I need it, please .”
I shifted, letting my knot press up against the slick ring of muscle where his body met mine. I moved his thigh, wanting to see as I continued to press in, watching as his tight hole was stretched, as his body fought to take me. So perfect.
“Ah—yes, fuck, please—” he moaned, and then he sheathed me all the way with a cry.
I couldn’t hold back anymore; my knot swelling, trapping us together in pulses of white hot pleasure.
And then he was coming apart underneath me; begging and sobbing, barely coherent as I started plunging as much as I could, pleasure building in my back, tingling down my spine. He was mine , begging for me, coming apart at my touch, my direction.
His glasses had come off completely, and his face was contorted in pleasure, eyebrows drawn tight. His eyes were wet, his cute nose scrunched up as he panted, and his hands were still gripping the sheets desperately.
His dazed eyes met mine, and the pleasure surged in my cock as I released inside him. I grunted, then grabbed his erection, pumping as he cried out, coming, and pouring out onto his stomach.
The feeling slowly ebbed from my bones, my breathing slowing and my body relaxing. I looked down at Kit, flushed and sweaty and ruined beneath me and realized something. I hadn’t thought of Jhin once during that whole time. Kit’s aura was tangling with mine, reaching out and inviting me to let go, and in this moment, I was able to. I breathed in his scent, felt his skin touching mine and felt the weight of the tension and anger lift.
And my aura was settling, too.
I was still knotted inside of him, locked tight and forced to reconcile with that fact. Forced to look at him and admit that—ridiculous as it was—I believed him when he claimed he had pushed me in that closet because of yogurt . I’d been stuck trying to hate him, to tell myself that he was trying to control me.
He stared up at me, dazed. Vulnerable and naked to his soul, and he still gave me a shy, nervous smile. Stripped bare as I was, nothing stopped that smile from shattering every tenuous reason I’d given myself for hating him.
I swallowed.
When the fuck had I become so bitter? I’d been such an asshole to him and Juni, and he was still here, fucking smiling at me hopefully.
Giving me another fucking chance.
I rescued his glasses, and before I could stop myself, I settled them gently onto his freckled nose.
He blushed, bowing his head and burying his face into my chest, and the sweet gesture made another intense wave of guilt wash over me.
My hand came to rest on his arm, awkwardly stroking up and down, and he nuzzled closer, head still down, not meeting my eyes.
I cleared my throat.
“You, uh, okay?” I said, wincing at how weak that was.
He moved his head a little, but I didn’t know what that meant.
“Kit…” I swallowed again. What the fuck was I supposed to say? “I like you,” I managed.
His head bobbed up and his dark eyes met mine, eyebrows raised. He actually looked a little scared.
“I’ve been a total dick,” I tried again. “I’m sorry for not giving you a chance from the start. Fuck, if you hate me, I probably deserve it—” I cut off, because I didn’t know what I would do if he actually hated me.
“You don’t have to say that,” he said, not meeting my eyes.
“It’s true,” I said and he shook his head.
“No, it’s not,” he whispered, “It’s okay, I know. I don’t have anything to offer you guys except this.”
He gestured vaguely at his body and swallowed. “I’m not like Juniper. I always mess things up, other people have to always pick up the slack because I’m so stupid and such a burden. So you can go back to not liking me, cuz you said you’d bond me anyway…”
“What the fuck?” I stiffened. “Kit, you don’t believe that bullshit, do you?”
“S’true,” he said with a sniff.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I snapped, and his watery eyes met my glare. “Kit, I’ve been so fucking jealous of you, because of you . How much you do for everyone, even when you’re fucking terrified. Do you think any of us could have stopped Juniper from losing her shit on those GPRE fucks today? That’s not useless, that’s a fucking miracle. You helped her with her work even though you were stressed as fuck because that’s you .” I tilted his chin up to make sure he was looking at me.
“We need you, Kit. We need you to stay with us, to ground us, to remind us there's still something good in this world worth protecting. To keep giving assholes like me a chance to do better. And I don’t know all the other reasons yet, but I know they’re there and I’m going to fucking find them, and tell you those too, even if I have to pin you down like this so you listen.”
Kit blinked at me, shocked.
“I didn’t know you could talk for that long,” he said, finally, and I growled again.
“Little fucker.” I reached down and stroked his face. “So you believe me, then? That I like you?”
“Yeah, okay,” he said, bowing his head to rest on my chest again, his fingers coming up to play with my hair.
“No, Kit, say ‘I believe you, Vander.’.”
He gave a little snort, but his eyes met mine again, looking a little hopeful.
“I believe you, Vander,” he repeated, blushing a bit.
“And say, I’m too good for you, Vander.”
He hesitated on that one, and I glared again, before he repeated it in his soft voice.
“Good.” I shifted us so I could flip down on the bed next to him. I knew I didn’t deserve it, but I pulled him into a hug. He was looking at me nervously again, but a little happier.
“Thanks for being there for Juni,” he said. “I still need to get you a present for that. With the park, and my grandmother, and with the GPRE. And for getting her through the aftermath.”
His dark eyes met mine, and he gave a little contented sigh that made my heart flip.
“I think you’re really good for her,” he said, “I get her, mostly. But you’re both, um, fierce.”
I snorted.
“You mean we’re both angry fucks,” I corrected.
He hummed in amusement.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing you guys angry fuck,” he said, his face splitting into a grin.
“I bet you wouldn’t, you little pervert,” I growled, ruffling his hair. “I blame Ez completely for this scent match, you know. You’ve both got the same filthy mind under your innocent-looking facade.”
“Aren’t you lucky then,” he said, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“Hang on.” Kit was reaching behind me, to the side table, and he grabbed a small box. He settled back down against me and opened it, pulling out a vape pen.
“Cannabis,” he said with a shrug. “Want some?”
If I hadn’t already decided he was perfect, this would have done it. Jhin had banned me from getting high years ago.
“Who’d have thought you’d be the bad influence,” I said, plucking the pen from his fingers. “Let’s count sharing this as your thank-you present.”
Kit smiled.
He didn’t know that the real present would be seeing the look on Jhin’s face when he found out Kit vaped.
This was turning into a perfect evening.