After dinner, I was tasked with delivering Zaire's portion to him in his room. He had been taken away by Alexandre the moment we returned home.

I was worried, but Waltz told me that Alexandre never beat them for punishments. I wasn't exactly thinking he did, but I was worried about Zaire's condition.

Waltz kissed my temple, then darted away with a wish of good luck. I squeezed the tray's handles, then juggled it a bit to knock on the door.

"Zaire? It's me, Anwyll. I brought your dinner." I said a bit louder than usual. "May I come in?"

I heard a muffled grunt, so I took that as an okay. I turned the knob and pushed it open. The room was mostly dark, save for the yellow lamplight next to Zaire's bed. His left foot was propped up on a couple pillows, and a bag of ice rested on his ankle.

Zaire dropped his phone next to him while I closed the door and carefully hurried to his left side. I placed the tray on his nightstand, then awkwardly stood at his bedside while he slowly sat up. I slipped down to his feet and carefully shimmied the pillows forward to keep his ankle up.

"That's good." muttered Zaire, so I rushed to his side again.

"D-do you need help eating?" I asked, twiddling my thumbs.

"No."

"O-okay," I whispered, my cheeks warming. "If you n-need anything, just tell me."

I went to leave, but long fingers wrapped around my slim wrist. Zaire seemed surprised he had grabbed me, so he quickly let go with a disgruntled expression.

"Um, I'll stay if you want me to, but if you don't want me to be here, I will leave. I don't want to cause trouble."

Zaire huffed and shook his head. "Give me your phone."

I bit my lip. "I-I don't have one."

His jaw dropped. "What? Every teen has one! It's not right that you don't!"

"I barely had the right to sleep in a basement closet on a blanket."

Zaire's jaw clenched and he looked away. "I'm sorry."

"S'okay, Zaire. I'm finally happy!" I grinned, grasping his hand.

He stared at our hands, then slowly looked up at me with a small smile. "That's good."

I beamed and leaned down to kiss his cheek, but realized a bit too late where my lips hit. Zaire froze when I made contact on his scales, then I felt him snake his arm out. He flipped me onto my back onto the bed, his fingers wrapping around my waist.

"Did you do that on purpose to rile me up, Anwyll? Well, it worked." Zaire's lips pulled back to reveal a fanged smirk.

I squirmed, my eyes wide from surprise. "Z-Zaire, w-wait!"

His eyes widened. "Anwyll?"

I blushed and hid my face. Zaire leaned down and pulled my body close. I hugged his neck, firmly rubbing his shoulders. Zaire began to relax.

"Sorry, I was aiming for your cheek." I whispered, clutching onto him.

"I'm sorry for attacking you. Now my ankle aches again." Zaire sighed, rolling back to his position before, but took me with him.

"I'm sorry." I whimpered, hugging him. "I didn't mean it."

"I know." responded Zaire, and I felt him awkwardly pat my head. "I know I almost devoured you too, but could you please help me prop up my ankle again?"

I blushed as I sat up. "Of course, Zaire. Hold on just a second."

I carefully moved off his lap and shuffled on my knees down to his ankle. I repositioned the pillows and Zaire lifted his foot. He sighed with relief once I placed the ice back on his ankle.

"Ooh, shit...that feels great. Thank you."

"You're welcome." I giggled, crawling back to his side again. I sat back on my feet and watched him move the tray to his lap.

Zaire's caramel brown eyes darted up to meet my curious violet orbs. "What's on your mind?"

I looked away for a moment, then back to his face. "Alexandre told me not to worry about it, but I was worried anyway when you were taken away."

Zaire was just taking a forkful of the vegetable medley when he heard my words. He paused and lowered the fork.

"Are you asking about the punishment?"

I shamefully curled up. "I'm sorry!"

I felt fingers on my head again as the strangest sound came out. My ears perked up and put my chin on the bed to look up at Zaire. I couldn't believe it. He was actually laughing, and not with a dry or sarcastic tone. It was genuine.

I was in awe. Zaire was really beautiful when he laughed and smiled. His long eyelashes fluttered over his cheeks and he had a dimple on the left side. His fangs were tinier now, but they still looked sharp. The bright smile and flushed cheeks were so pretty.

Zaire slowly calmed down, wiping his eyes with the back of his left hand. When he caught sight of me staring, he blushed and hid his face.

"I'm sorry for laughing."

"What? No! Don't be sorry! I love your laughter, Zaire. And you're so much more beautiful when you smile." I beamed, stretching out on his bed like a slinky.

Zaire's cheek burned. "Shut it."

"Mmkay, Zaire."

A soft giggle slipped out and my tail wiggled happily. I reached out to touch his leg with my fingertips, then closed my eyes. I listened to Zaire eat, just silently amazed that I had gone from not being able to touch him to actually laying on his bed in under forty-eight hours. What magic was this?

"I was abandoned here two years ago, with the knowledge that my missing cousin Gavin was here and had been for years."

I startled, but then felt his fingers threading themselves into my hair. I scooted closer and curled up, so that he could pet my tail if he wanted to.

"I was upset, not only because the whereabouts of my beloved brother-like cousin had not been revealed for so long, but also because it was all so sudden. It was like they finally found a way to relieve the burden of my existence." Zaire sighed, gently playing with my ears. My eyelashes fluttered shut out of happiness.

"I wasn't that much of a burden. Sure, I had a few bad friends and went to some parties, but it's not like I was a full-on delinquent. My parents didn't seem to care no matter what I did, so I did what I wanted. They gave me pocket money to play with, since there was nothing else they could do. And, in all of my life, I had never received a kiss or any physical affection from my parents. The nanny, the cook, and the maid took care of me, and I'm still grateful to them for that."

"Mhm," I nodded, showing that I was still listening.

Zaire ruffled my hair, then left his hand in place. "Needless to say, when they found out I had a pet snake and heard from the cook that I had 'delusions' of seeing scales on my face, having a forked tongue, and slit pupils, my parents were happy to get rid of the freak when they found a flyer for this place."

"You're not a freak!" I exclaimed, pushing myself up onto my forearms. "You're so awesome!"

Zaire's cheeks flushed and he covered half of his face. "Th-thanks."

"Ah, sorry for being loud." I curled up again and rested my head against his thigh.

"It's fine." sighed Zaire, then stroked his fingers over my cheek. "So, all in all, my lovely parents neglected me and I became a scary delinquent."

"Scary? Oh c'mon, Zaire! You're sexy, definitely not scary."

"Are you trying to flirt with me?"

I eyed him with curiosity. "What's flirting? I'm just being honest."

Zaire blinked, then rubbed his face. "Right, I did overhear that you were innocent, but this is too much."

"Angel and Briar promised to teach me everything. Are you gonna teach me stuff too, Zaire?" I asked with a big grin.

Zaire blushed. "I-I don't know all that much, to be honest."

"Ooh, okay. Then we can learn together." I giggled, my tail thumping on top of my own body.

Zaire moved the tray and eased my fluffy tail onto his lap. I snuggled closer to him and nosed his knee for a moment before settling down again. His fingers carding through my tail felt amazing, so I was getting sleepy.

"I thought I would hate being with you, since you're just like a little kid at times, but I like it." whispered Zaire, so my right ear flicked in his direction show that I was listening.

"I think Sir Alexandre was right. I guess I did need someone to talk to, and I'm kind of happy you were the one picked for me."

I blushed from his words and peeked at him. "And I'm very happy you think so, Zaire."

Zaire tapped his chest with a nervous expression, but I got the hint and uncurled momentarily to maneuver myself back over him in a non-problematic way. Zaire seemed to relax once I was safely back into his arms. I nosed his neck, then settled my cheek on his shoulder.

"Was that true, Anwyll, about you wanting to love me?"

I blushed, but nodded. "I want to love you and the others individually, not just as a family. Is that too selfish of me to want?"

Zaire squeezed me closer to him. "No, Anwyll, it's not selfish. And I would love to be loved by you."

I lifted my head to kiss his cheek, then settled back down with a happy sigh. Zaire just held me against his chest, his heart pounding under my head. I didn't laugh, but pressed my lips to where his heart resided. Zaire's breath hitched, and I giggled at that.

"Are you going to ask me about Gavin?"

"No, but not because I don't care. It just seemed like a painful subject for you."

Zaire shifted a bit. "You're not wrong. When we were kids, we were as thick as thieves. We were like brothers and I loved that, since my parents never showed any familial affection for me."

I slapped an ear against his jaw, which made him chuckle.

"I guess it was ten years ago or so that Gavin told me his secret. He had been seeing things on his body when no one else could. Of course, it wasn't a secret to me, since I could see them. Gavin was shocked, asked me why, so I showed him my scales."

"Wouldn't he have seen the ones around your eyes?"

"Those hadn't grown in yet. I have patches elsewhere."

"Ooh, then I better be careful when I hug you." I grinned, kissing his cheek again.

Zaire laughed and hugged me a bit tighter. "Maybe so, but I enjoy being here with you like this."

"Me too."

He petted my head again while he continued, "Gavin was amazed. He didn't know that there were others. He asked why I never mentioned being able to see them, but I thought I was the weird one and I was scared that Gavin might reject me—call me a liar, as others often did when I mention my scales."

"Mhm, I understand. Mom hated me because she believed I constantly lied to her. I guess she tried to beat that out of me." I pouted, cuddling closer to Zaire.

Zaire paused, then slipped his fingers deeper into my hair, rubbing his fingertips over my scalp. I shivered, relaxing into him with a soft mewl. Zaire tightened his left arm around my waist and back. My tail wagged across the bed and against his left leg.

"Gavin already understood my fears and didn't blame me for not saying anything. He started to think there was more or us out there, and proposed to ask our parents about it. I was dead-set against that for a number of reasons. But Gavin was determined, and by the next day, he was gone. His parents gave me an innocent look when I asked, but they never spoke of him again. I was scared that would happen to me too, and here I am, ten years later."

"Wow, that's awful. I can't imagine how much pain he's still in."

Zaire tensed. "Wow, I'm a dumbass."

"Zaire, no swearing, okay?"

He patted my head. "I'll try." he murmured. "Anyway, I've been so busy with my own anger that I never asked how Gavin felt when he came here. He must have been upset."

"Yeah, but I have a feeling there's something more. Have you noticed, Zaire, that even though he's friendly, he's a loner like you?"

"What? That's impossible. Anytime I see him, he's laughing and talking with the others. And he was able to make friends really easily when we were children. I was just the socially awkward one, unable to put myself out there."

I stroked my fingers over his chest. "And still are, I will assume."

Zaire huffed. "Pretty much."

"I saw it earlier, Zaire. He was standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes alone. He looked unhappy."

"Well, no one really enjoys doing chores, do they?"

"I do!"

"You're an exception."

I giggled at his remark. "Maybe so, but that's not what I meant. He appeared to be lost in his thoughts. He looked angry, like you do at times, and he wasn't paying that much attention to what he was doing, so I walked up and asked if I could help. I accidentally scared him, which I still feel bad for."

Zaire ruffled my hair, sighing aloud. "I'm sure he didn't mind, though."

"Not that much, I think."

"But I can't believe Gavin was angry. He rarely got upset when we were kids." Zaire was full of disbelief.

I pulled my lips down. "Zaire, you're thinking back to when you were kids. It's been ten years. He was abandoned by his own parents eight years earlier than you. He would not have stayed the same friendly, sweet kid that you remember from that time."

Zaire was quiet, then he heaved a deep sigh. "You're right."

"Maybe we can help him talk it out? It can't be healthy to keep it in all the time. I did for years and now I've turned into a crybaby."

Zaire began to laugh again, dispelling the tension from a minute earlier. I giggled a bit and squeezed him. He seemed to be smiling more now, which made me really happy.

"We'll try one of these days, Anwyll, but for now, let's focus on getting me back to normal."

I beamed. "Okay!"