Page 28 of The Arrival
“Out of what?”
“Honey.” Simone looks up at him. “One to fifty.”
“Twenty-two?”
Nino suddenly chuckles, shaking his head. “Jae, everything you say is a question.”
“I’m naturally inquisitive. I’m a doctor… a vampire doctor.”
“Alright,” Simone interrupts, sliding his finger against his phone screen. “Twenty-two… Do you want children?”
Jae’s jaw drops, a look of sheer terror plastered on his face.
Asao huffs from the patio. “That took a turn.”
“I… ah…” Jae shifts his gaze to Junichi, who also wears a look of less exaggerated but undeniable concern. The doctor rubs his fingers against the top of his ombre-blonde hair. “Well… no. But—”
“Oh, thank God.” Junichi exhales and slumps. He laughs. “Shit, that was a tense moment.”
“We probably should have talked about that before now, but no, I definitely do not.”
“Same. Dios mío.”
Haruka folds his arms. “I find it ironic that you do not want children, Jae.”
The doctor shrugs. “It’s weird, I know. I have a passion for helping other people grow their families, but personally, I have no interest. It’s a bit like teachers who don’t want kids. They’re in it all day every day, so they don’t want to go home to it as well.”
“Harukaaa,” Simone sings, waving his hand in a flirtatious movement. “Will his highness take the next turn?”
With his arms still folded, Haruka stares at Simone. He has definitely not agreed to take part in this strange exercise. But he jumps at the sensation of Nino pinching his waist.
“Go on,” Nino encourages. “Pick a number.”
Sighing, Haruka looks back to Simone. “Forty-six.”
“Okaaay… what is your worst quality?”
“Damn,” Giovanni says. “These questions are all over the place.”
“That’s the fun of it,” Simone exclaims. “The spontaneity! And I doubt that his royal vampire majesty even has any bad qualities?”
Haruka ruminates. In his estimation, he has many undesirable qualities. They run like a long, heavy list in his mind: He is introverted and lazy. Old-fashioned. His aura is overwhelming and oppressive. He doesn’t understand literary references past the twentieth century and—
“Tesoro?” Nino slides his hand into Haruka’s palm, then squeezes. “Don’t, alright? It’s not a serious question. For me, you’re perfect. And my opinion matters most, right?”
Ignoring the tightness in his throat, Haruka nods. “Yes.”
“You leave wine glasses all over the house,” Asao declares. “And I have to find and catch them all, like Pokémon.”
“And you lie to me about your smartphone,” Nino says, bumping his shoulder again and grinning. Squeezing his palm a little tighter. “You hide it in weird places, which is annoying but also makes me laugh.”
Simone shimmies his shoulders. “Mmm, sounds like some kinda cutesy foreplay.”
“Nerds,” Giovanni gruffs, reaching for a biscuit.
Haruka takes a breath, the dark cloud that had settled over him breaking as he glances at his mate and Asao. “I’m not sorry about either of those things.” Nino leans in, angling his head to stamp a quick kiss against Haruka’s neck, just beneath his jaw.
“I… I would like to answer one, if that’s okay?” Sydney lifts a palm, timid, like a student answering a question they aren’t sure about but want to try.
