Chapter 12
Nathan
One of the benefits of living in a shared house is that there are usually other people around at mealtimes. Eating alone gets boring after a while.
Nathan has just taken a seat at the table crammed into the corner of the kitchen when Selene slips into the kitchen, grabbing a cold beer and a premade salad from the fridge.
“Nathan!” Her whole face lights up. She has one of the most expressive faces he’s ever seen, and when she smiles for real, it takes over her whole face. “Want company? Want a beer? I’ve got one spare.”
“Yes and yes, if you’re game. I’d offer you some pasta, but I’m starving.”
Selene chuckles, opening the frosty bottles and carrying them over. “Wow, I have had a day. Would you like to hear all about it while you eat?”
Nathan nods enthusiastically through a mouthful of food, grateful for the company.
“I told you I’m a camera operator, right?
Public events are my thing, you know, the kind of zoomed out footage you get with drones.
My Gift’s pretty strong, stamina wise, so I can hold one in the air for hours.
No batteries needed. Anyway, I usually do concerts and stuff, organised events, but today I got called in to film a protest. Some politician was opening a supermarket, bunch of veterans surrounded the store. ”
Nathan’s scalp prickles. “Oh yeah? What happened?”
“I mean, when I think about it, not much. They mostly held up their placards and chanted. They did this synchronised thing where all the placards whooshed up into the air, looked pretty cool on the drone. But it was really intense, you know?”
“Intense how?”
“All these super Gifted veterans, nines and tens, gathered together and pissed off. Just seems like it could go bad really fast.” Selene shrugs, lifting the bottle of beer to her lips.
“I’ve done news stuff a few times before, part of me was wondering if I should do more.
Not after today, let me tell you. I was glad to get out of there.
And guess who messaged me on my way home asking if I wanna get a drink tonight? ”
“Oh, let me guess, that guy you met last week? Nice.” Nathan taps his beer bottle against hers and takes a swig. He likes Selene. She doesn’t dwell on her experiences, looking forwards with a relentless positivity he admires. “You’re going, right?”
“Of course I am. I’ll go get ready in a few. How’s your day been?”
“The usual. Train people, train myself, shower, home.”
“No plans for tonight?”
“Nah. I’ll probably just read. Still in the process of making friends, you know how it is.”
“Ah, gotcha. I’m going out with some friends at the weekend, if you want to come?”
A smile bursts onto his lips, a reaction to the generosity of the invitation. “I’d love to. Appreciate the invite.”
“It’ll be fun. You dance, right?” Nathan nods, eliciting a beaming grin. “Great! Love a few drinks with friends and a boogie. You can borrow my friends, don’t worry.”
“Well, I do have one friend here.” The thought escapes his lips before he’s had time to consider if he’s ready to share the story.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. A friend, or maybe more of an ex. I don’t know if I told you I was born here?” Surprise flares in her eyes and she shakes her head. “Okay, well, I was born here, I grew up here, and for as long as I could remember Will was my best friend. I was seventeen when we bonded.”
“You have a bondmate? Wait, you said he was an ex. I thought broken bonds were super rare? What happened?”
Nathan shrugs. “It’s a long story. Basically, we were separated, the bond broke.
I thought it happened because I didn’t deserve him.
I ended up meeting someone who gave me hope, made me think maybe I do deserve him after all.
So I quit my job and came back, and Will turned up in the back of my car when I was driving the other night. ”
“What?” Selene splutters on a badly timed mouthful of beer. “Wow. Sounds like destiny intervened.”
“Ha, I’d like to think so. We met up and talked about everything. It was hard, but it was good to clear the air.”
“And?” Selene nods encouragingly.
“I want him back.” Nathan finishes his beer, the bitterness of it matching the feeling at the back of his throat. “But he has a boyfriend.”
“Shit.” She hops up, pulling the fridge open and retrieving two more beers. “Where does that leave you?”
“I don’t know. He said we should get lunch sometime. Don’t you need to get ready?”
“Are you kidding? This is like a fucking romance novel or something. Okay, if he said you should get lunch, that means the door’s a tiny bit open. We can work with that.” Selena’s eyes gleam with excitement. “You said yeah, sure, when are you free, right?”
“Um, no?”
“Seriously? Why not?”
“I just haven’t asked yet. I’m waiting for the right time. Plus, did I mention he has a boyfriend?”
Selene’s eyes narrow. “Right time, my arse. You’re scared.”
Nathan laughs at the look on her face. “Of course I’m scared. I just found him again, I don’t wanna pressure him. And he has a boyfriend.”
“Who cares about the boyfriend? Just ask him out for lunch.” Selene pokes him in the side with a sparkly pink nail. “It’s that simple.”
And it turns out it is.
The next day, Nathan waits in a cute little cafe, leg jiggling with nerves as he glances between his phone and the door. Will’s late, and Nathan is conscious that they have limited time; Will’s working today, and he only gets an hour’s lunch break.
Suddenly he’s there, pushing through the door, wearing his nursing uniform underneath a heavy dark coat. He catches sight of Nathan, and he smiles, eyes crinkling.
Nathan’s heart is suddenly in his throat.
He smiles back, watching Will navigate the busy cafe, meandering between occupied tables to reach the cosy corner table Nathan chose.
Should he stand and hug him? Or is that presumptuous?
He wants to hug him, turn just one of his many Will-shaped daydreams into reality.
Fuck it. He rises from his seat and steps forward, intercepting Will with a quick hug.
He feels so good in Nathan’s arms, solid and real.
Nathan shoves the longing aside, dropping back into his seat and taking a hasty sip of his hot chocolate.
Will shrugs off his coat, hanging it neatly on the back of his chair.
His top has short sleeves and Nathan finds himself glancing at Will’s forearms. He’s more heavily tattooed than last time Nathan saw him, a kaleidoscope of butterflies winding their way up his arm.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“It’s fine.” Nathan grins up at him. “It’s good to see you.”
Will smiles back, picking up the menu and scanning it quickly. “You order already?”
“Just the hot chocolate. Thought I’d wait for you.”
“You know what you want?” Will’s eyes catch his, and Nathan nods. “Okay, give me a sec.”
Nathan sips at his drink, watching Will as he considers his lunch options. He looks tired, and even his hair looks a little deflated, bun drooping at the back of his head.
“Are you okay? You look a bit worn out.”
Will glances up from the menu. “Yeah. Didn’t sleep well last night. Strange dreams.”
The waitress shuffles over before Nathan can ask for details.
“After you,” Nathan says courteously.
“I’ll have the chicken salad and a black coffee, please.” The waitress dutifully writes his order down on her pad.
“And I’d like the black forest gateau, please. I’m fine for a drink.” Another scrawl in the pad and the waitress moves off to take their order to the kitchen.
Will is frowning at him, an eyebrow quizzically raised. Nathan resists the temptation to reach out and poke the crease between his brows, like he would have done when they were young, without the weight of time hanging between them.
“You’re having cake for lunch?”
“Yeah, why not? Not sure why anyone would have salad for lunch when they could have cake. Especially fancy cake.”
Will laughs. “I dunno, I thought that eating well would go hand in hand with being a personal trainer.”
“Fuck, no. If anything it’s the opposite. I spend most of the day training so I’m damn well going to eat cake whenever I get the opportunity.”
A black coffee is unceremoniously deposited on their table. Will raises the cup to his lips even though it’s still steaming.
“Wow, you must be tired.” Nathan’s eyes snag on Will’s forearm, the contrast of the blackwork butterflies against his brown skin. “Your tattoo is beautiful, by the way.”
“Thanks. It took a long time to finish it. The sessions were kind of expensive when I was studying.”
“Do you have any others?”
“Just the butterflies. They go up my arm, over my shoulder and onto my chest.” He gestures, and Nathan’s eyes follow, grateful for the excuse to gawk at Will’s body.
“Sounds painful. I have one tiny tattoo, and that was enough for me.”
Will chuckles, the sound as warm as it is in Nathan’s memories. “I always forget the pain between sessions. And then I go back, and I remember, and swear to never do it again.”
The waitress brings their lunch. The black forest gateau looks incredible, decorated with fresh cream, ruby-red cherries, and shavings of chocolate. Nathan digs in, raising a bite to his lips and making little happy sounds as the rich chocolate cake crumbles on his tongue.
When he looks up, Will is gazing at him, an affectionate smile on his face. When Nathan catches his eye he looks down, spearing a piece of chicken and some lettuce.
“How’s your salad?”
“It’s fine. How’s your cake?”
“It is, without doubt, one of the best cakes I have eaten this week.”
Will laughs, nearly choking on his chicken. “Do you bake?”
“Not since I helped your mum with your birthday cake that time. I can’t cook. I can boil pasta, I can boil rice, I can chop things. That’s about it.”
“Nathan!” Will looks scandalised.
“What?”
“You don’t boil rice. You simmer it gently and let it cook in its own steam.”
“I guess your disdain for my methods means you can actually cook, then?”
Will nods. “I love cooking. I find it relaxing, following a recipe and ending up with something delicious.”
Nathan can’t tell if they’re ready for banter yet, jumps in anyway. “You’ll have to cook for me sometime.”
Will doesn’t wait a beat. “Maybe I’ll teach you.”
Joy fizzes through him, leaving a smile in its wake. “Hm, I’d prefer it if you just did it for me. I’m too easily distracted to follow complicated recipes.”
Nathan hopes he’s not pushing too far. It feels so easy, so natural to banter with Will. It feels like they’re picking up where they left off.
“It’s not that difficult. Even baking’s not that hard if you measure things carefully. Just imagine, you could have all the cake you ever dreamed of.”
“I’ll have to trust you on that.”
Conversation flows easily between them, meandering lazily from subject to subject. Will tells him about Jon, still living at home and still endearingly annoying. Nathan shares some of the more amusing experiences he’s had driving drunk people home after a night out.
And they talk about books. Books! Like highbrow intellectuals.
At some point Nathan’s phone interrupts the conversation, the shrill ring cutting off Will’s impassioned review of the last book he finished.
He rejects the call dismissively, gazing at Will as he picks up where he left off, enthusiasm undampened.
Warmth glows in Nathan’s belly. He wants everything with Will, of course he does, but it’s so nice, having his friend back.
“I missed you, Will.”
Will’s lips quirk, like he’s trying to hold back a grin. “I missed you, too.”
Nathan isn’t sure where to take the conversation from here. He could be completely honest, tell Will exactly why he came back, but… the boyfriend.
Will has a boyfriend.
And they only just found each other.
Sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut. Nathan can be content with having his friend back. For now.
Eventually the waitress comes for their empty plates. Nathan glances at his fitness watch, noting that his heart rate has been elevated for the entirety of their casual lunch, and that they’ve been at the cafe for almost an hour.
“Aren’t you due back soon?”
Will glances at his own watch. “Shit. Shit, yeah, I’m gonna be late. I lost track of time.”
Grown up Will obviously hates being late as much as teenage Will did. Nathan watches with a wry smile as he jumps up, panic on his handsome face. Shrugging his coat on, he pats the pockets, searching for his wallet.
Nathan stands, giving Will a quick one-armed hug. “Go, I’ll take care of the bill. My next session isn’t for half an hour.”
“Thanks. I owe you lunch or drinks or something. Soon, okay?”
“Sounds great.”
And then he’s gone, waving as he walks past on the other side of the cafe’s glass front, his long legs striding quickly away.
Nathan allows a dreamy, hopeful smile to float over his face for just a moment before he turns to the waitress to ask for the bill.