Page 45 of Soar

Gregori had never lived outside of his clan. Never been this far, for this long, away from other dragons. He had to be feeling homesick, at the very least. But he wasn’t complaining about it. Shouldn’t he be complaining or at least commenting on it?

Ugh, Salem really was an asshole. He should have been monitoring Gregori’s condition better than this. He knew it was uncharted territory. Gregori didn’t feel confident confiding in Salem, probably afraid of showing a weakness Salem could use in an argument, which was also on him.

He kicked himself a few more times. Stupid asshole. Why did he have to be such an asshole when Gregori had been great this entire time?

“If you’re feeling sick, or even just off, you have to tell me, okay?” Salem hadn’t been the best listener before now, but hewas damn well changing this immediately. “Don’t bury it, talk to me.”

“Well, right now, I feel hungry.” Gregori straightened enough to look toward the table, his nostrils flaring in a dramatic way. “I smell favorite foods.”

All right, Salem would let this go for now, but if Gregori thought the conversation done, he was very mistaken.

“I picked up some favorites on the way home. You didn’t have plans for dinner, right?”

“Uh, no, I didn’t.” Gregori dropped a kiss on his forehead before releasing him, heading for the table. “Good thinking, too. This smells delicious.”

Salem played along because forcing someone to talk never really went over well. He fetched plates while Gregori took packages out of the bag. He kept the conversation light and easy as they sat around the table and ate.

For all that Gregori said it smelled good, he didn’t really eat much. Salem was accustomed to Gregori eating a good three times what he himself would eat—shifting, flying, and using magic all consumed calories—but tonight he ate the same amount Salem would. Which was a very telling sign. Gregori wasnotfeeling well, but whether this was physical or emotional was hard to discern without his patient talking to him.

Patient. Ha. Even his brain didn’t know how to describe Gregori. Were they boyfriends? Mates? Something else entirely? And sadly, it was entirely Salem’s call. Gregori would agree to anything as long as he got to stay with Salem. Even trying to have aDefine the Relationshiptalk wouldn’t work because Gregori would agree to anything but breaking up.

Ugh, so frustrating.

“I’m dead on my feet.” Salem shot Gregori a quick side-eye as he rinsed his plate, prepping to put it in dishwasher. “How about we watch TV and unwind?”

“Sure. Anything you want to watch?”

He had to give Gregori something. Anything. “Wasn’t there a show you recommended? Because you’d read the book.”

It took Gregori a second. “Oh! Yeah,Apothecary Diaries. I read the manga for it. I haven’t had a chance to watch the anime, which is just sad.”

“Let’s watch it, then.”

Gregori gave him a puzzled look. “I thought you don’t watch anime?”

“I’ve never tried it,” Salem corrected. “I don’t know if I’ll like it or not but I’m willing to watch it.”

For a second, just a second, Gregori looked his usual self, delighted Salem met him halfway on something. It was just for a second before he went back into the exhausted state he was trying to hide behind a smile.

“I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s definitely not for kids.”

“Pull it up, then. Er…what app?”

“Crunchyroll. It’s fine, I’ve already added it to your TV.”

He had? Since when? Granted, Salem didn’t watch a lot of TV.

They piled onto the couch, Gregori with the remote in hand. He loaded the show and started it, insisting on keeping the Japanese and having subtitles. Which was fine; Salem didn’t mind subbed shows.

The first episode in and Salem was hooked. This really was pretty good. And Gregori was right, it wasn’t a kid’s show, clearly meant for teens and adults. Too much politics and adult themes for it to be okay for kids.

By the second episode, Gregori had gone from sitting upright next to him to leaning against his shoulder. By the third episode, he was lying on his side, head pillowed on Salem’s thighs. Salem carded fingers through Gregori’s long silky hair, giving him some affection and comfort.

This man clearly wasn’t feeling well. He also wasn’t going to admit it to Salem.

Salem couldn’t press, either. Well, he could, but on what grounds? As a friend? As a boyfriend? Or, as Gregori so dearly wanted, as a mate? It was hard to push forward when Salem didn’t know how to commit to a certain path.

In a medical sense, he could do—and had done—an exploratory surgery to find the root of a problem. If only Salem could do so on his own heart and emotions, that would be smashing. Dammit, this was why he avoided relationships; they got messy and he had no idea how to handle most of it. Hookups were so much easier.

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