“I know you.You’re, eh…”
“Sami.Adam.Hi.”
“Right!I remember.Hello.”
The silence felt loaded with something Baz couldn’t grasp.He looked between Sami’s slack face and Eevee, who wore the same puzzled expression as she did while doing a crossword.
“I’m sorry, how do you know each other?”he asked.
“Uh,” Eevee started, “Sami went to UChicago Law.We met at Student Services.”
“Really?How did I not know you went to UChicago as well?”
Admittedly, there was a lot of vital information he had missed out on.This was the last time he let Aya do the research for him.
“I don’t know,” Sami muttered.Baz had never heard his voice this meek.“I-I should go.Leave you two to talk.”
“No!”That was Eevee, somehow beating Baz to it.“Please, stay.I’m the one intruding.”
Sami nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest.Not leaving, which was a win.Eevee stood still too, and Baz was caught in the middle of the awkwardness that pressed down on the room like a descending ceiling trap.
“Something the matter?”he asked.
Granted, Eevee had never met any of his lovers.If she remembered what Sami had gotten into trouble for, she’d be twice as surprised to find Baz spending the morning with someone who had been caught selling drugs, even if they were his own meds.And Sami must be surprised to see his student service worker turn out to be the sister he had heard so much about yesterday.That was probably it.
Shaking her head, Eevee offered a not-quite-there-yet smile.“No.Sorry.I’m just surprised.You never mentioned you were seeing someone.”Accusation colored her words.
Called it.
“It’s complicated,” he said, trading a side-eye with Sami.The blood had returned to his beautiful face.
“Look,” Eevee said.“I know Dad surprising you was wrong.But he’s coming to our place this afternoon to talk, and since you’re taking this better than I thought, maybe you could join?”
“I don’t know, Eve.”He still had so many questions that he wasn’t sure he wanted answers to.
“I think he really means that he feels sorry and wants to do better!You know why he reached out again?”
“I don’t care.”He squeezed his lips together.The snark was too ingrained to just turn off.“Why did he?”
“Because he’s working with a therapist to become the kind of person we’d reconcile with.That’s good, isn’t it?I know you want to protect me, but if I can hear him out, don’t you think you can too?For your sake, not his.If just to move on.”
Admittedly, he did feel lighter, having spoken about the memories last night.If there was a way to heal that wound for good… that wasn’t just up to Baz, though.
“You really think he’s suddenly this brand-new person?”
“Maybe he doesn’t have to be brand new to be better,” Sami said.His bare feet padded across the floor.“I didn’t change in the past three months, and you went from refusing to buy me a drink to serving me dry toast on your balcony.”
“That drink again?Still?”Baz smiled.He might never hear the end of it, and that was fine by him.The thought of any kind of forever with Sami, even in the most obnoxious sense, was strangely comforting.
“Hey, I looked really hot that night and you were too busy pitying yourself to notice, so yes, I took offense.Sue me.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
Sami rolled his eyes.His fingers curled around Baz’s arm.“I’m just saying.Maybe there was a decent person inside of him all along.And maybe now, the side of him that loves you finally outweighs the side too stuck in his old ways to express it.”
“Wow,” Eevee said.“That’s very deep.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
