The Man With The Gloves (mxmxmxm)

30. Now or never

"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star."
― Friedrich Nietzsche

"You're sure you don't want me to help you clean up?" Zephyr asked for the billion time through the bathroom's door.

"No, I don't" Fayez sighed, as he hastily dried his body with a soft towel and started putting a clean brief on. "Has Helmut arrived yet?" he asked, trying to soud casual about it.

"No, not yet." Zephyr responded. "Now, will you tell me why you asked the he- I mean, Helmut to come here? Why would you want him to be here during our date?"

"It's a surprise" Fayez lied with a grimace, before opening the bathroom's door and entering the hallway.

The other vampire was now sitting on the floor, with his chin resting on his fists. Although he gave Fayez his brightest smile, it was clear that he was exhausted, and that all his flirting was partly a way to maintain the appearances.

Why did Zephyr always seem to believe that his pain was too much of a burden for his mates to handle, when it was obvious that the three men would gladly spend their whole existence helping him, if it could somehow alleviate his sufferings?

"How about we lay down for a bit on the bed, while we wait for Helmut to arrive?" Fayez suggested, as he saw the smaller vampire wince in pain.

"Why, do I exhaust you that much, just by talking?" Zephyr tried to joke, before grabbing the helping hand Fayez was extending to him.

Fayez smiled politely, but the truth was, his mind was somewhere else.

What on Earth was Helmut doing? Did he really get his message? What if he didn't? After all, the man was always impossibly busy, you would believe he was running the goddamn place! Maybe he should have asked Nassiba instead.

"Do you sometimes miss your life at the castle?" Zephyr abruptly asked.

Fayez turned back to his mate and gave him a guilty smile. Right. They were supposed to be on a date, and right now Fayez was doing a very poor job at entertaining his mate.

"I sometimes think about my parents, but then again, you're the ones I want to be with the most." Fayez truthfully replied. "What about you? From the way you talked about them, I figured you're pretty close to your family."

"They are a lovely bunch. My parents are very old, so sometimes it's hard to understand each other, but I have a good relationship with them. I'm closer to my siblings, though, especially the youngest one, Lila."

"You're lucky to have such a loving family", Fayez commented, with a longing in his voice he was unaware of.

" I am." Zephyr agreed, before adding: "I miss them, but I have to admit I don't think about home very often. The three of you have become my whole world."

Fayez felt his cheeks start to burn at Zephyr's unexpectedly sweet words. The man was always blunt, and he was never afraid to tell his mind or remind his mates how much he loved them. Yet, Fayez was always shocked at being the receiver of such warm words.

His parents just weren't the kind to say "I love you" to their children, and they weren't huge fans of hugging and kissing either.

They might have been a bit warmer to his older siblings, though. Fayez didn't remember clearly, as his siblings were much older than him, and had already moved out of the castle by the time he was born.

Yeah, his brothers and sisters probably received more affection from their parents than he did. After all, for all he knew, they hadn't murder an innocent child. They must have been easier to love than he was. He couldn't blame his parents for not trying, though. He was the one always quiet and distant around them.