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“You confuse me too.”
“I do?”
“Yes.”
Carter frowns, unsure how that’s even possible. “But… how?”
Sir reaches over, his thumb dragging along Carter’s bottom lip to wipe away a bit of whipped cream there. He brings it to his own mouth to suck it clean, eyes never leaving Carter’s. Carter swallows a whimper at the action as he tries to remain focused on the important conversation they’re having. Except, sir is distracting, the man just staring at Carter like he’s a piece of abstract art; beautiful, but complicated.
“Sir?”
“Nathan,” he says softly, his eyes squinting fondly at Carter. “Please call me Nathan, Carter.”
Carter nods dumbly, feeling a bit like this man has pulled him into a trance. “Nathan.”
“Good boy.” Nathan’s lips twitch before he tears his gaze away from Carter. “You make me doubt everything I’ve ever known.”
Feeling as if the air has been knocked out of him, Carter is breathless when he asks, “What do you mean?”
“You-” Nathan stops, shaking his head as he laughs humorlessly. Then he grabs the remote and says, “We should put a movie on. Would you like to pick?”
The topic change is the opposite of subtle, and Carter wants to call Nathan out on that. He's too afraid, though. It's clearly a sore subject if Nathan is acting like this. He should be smart. Leave well enough alone.
Knowing he might not ever get another day like this again, Carter shoves his lingering thoughts and questions aside. "I'd like that. Thank you."
Nathan turns the TV on before handing Carter the remote. It’s one of those huge fancy smart TVs, but it doesn’t take long for Carter to figure it out. He pauses when he sees the assortment of apps, though, unsure if Nathan wants him to purchase a movie or browse one of his subscriptions. Nathan seems to read his mind. “You can go to that app on the left and buy something.”
Carter does so, too giddy to be nervous as he scans the familiar titles he thought he’d never get the chance to see again. His cheeks hurt from how hard he grins when he finds one movie in particular. “Can we watch this, Nathan?”
“Hmmm?” Nathan looks up from his phone, squinting at the TV in a way that Carter doesnotfind endearing. Then he raises an eyebrow at Carter. “Harry Potter?”
"I love Harry Potter. Maison used to read me all the books, and then when they started coming out in theaters he'd bring me. We'd get straws from the concession stand and pretend we were wizards." Carter's eyes meet Nathan’s, his smile dropping a few levels as his reality sinks in. He darts his eyes back to the screen and shakes his head. "We can watch something else."
"No, let's watch Harry Potter."
"Are you sure?" Carter asks, looking up at Nathan through his lashes.
Nathan’s smile is warm and, if Carter isn’t mistaken,fond. “I’m sure. Though I don’t have any straws, so I suppose Maison is better than me in that regard.”
For some reason, this makes Carter laugh. Maybe it's just the easy way Nathan talks about his brother, not making Carter feel guilty or anxious about the subject. Maybe it's just the goofy smile Nathan gives him when he says it. Maybe it's something else. It doesn't matter. What matters is that when Carter laughs, Nathan’s whole face lights up, and then Carter is trapped in this moment of awe as he stares at the man who stole his whole world from him, forgetting for just a second why he hates him so much.
Carter snaps his attention back to the TV and fumbles with the remote until the movie has been purchased. Then he stuffs his mouth with a pancake bite to make sure he doesn't say something stupid.
Within the first few minutes of the movie, Carter learns 3 very devastating facts about Nathan.
One: Nathan has never seen Harry Potter before. None of them! When asked, he also admits to having never read the books either. Carter can’t decide which is a worse offense, the whole sex slave thing, or being a person who has lived a cold, lonely life without the joy of Harry Potter in it.
Okay, obviously that’s dramatic as fuck, but it’s still a pretty bad offense on its own.
Two: Nathan is one of those people who asksquestionswhen watching a movie.
So. Many. Questions.
“You just have to watch!” Carter says with a laugh for what must be the 5thtime in as many minutes. “It’ll explain.”
Three: Nathan is apouter. The tall, muscular, dark and dangerous man fuckingpoutswhen he does not get his way.
By the time the second movie is over, Nathan has come to two very important conclusions: Snape is obviously a bad guy, and everyone who doesn’t see that is an idiot.
