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Nathan’s eyes are squinty as he watches Carter like he’s expecting him to drop any second. Not in the mood for Nathan’s guilt, Carter pushes past him and goes into the bathroom first. He flips the light switch and steps inside to find… nothing.
“Don’t freak out, but I’m going to turn the light off. I’ll leave the bedroom light on and the bathroom door cracked so it’s not too dark, okay?” Nathan says behind him.
Carter curls his hands into fists and squeezes them as hard as he can. “Okay.”
The lights go back off. The bathroom door creaks slightly as it’s pushed nearly-closed.
“How am I supposed to see the present in the dark?” Carter asks, trying to focus on this so-called gift instead of the panic crawling along his skin.It’s dark, but not that dark. And Nathan can’t hurt you. He can’t even touch you in here,he tells himself. So breathe. And fucking relax.
Nathan walks past him, his shoulder brushing Carter’s. “It’s over here.”
Carter follows him. He’s a little thrown off when the man climbs into the empty tub, but he doesn’t ask any questions. He just climbs the steps to the massive tub - swallowing a moan of pain - and joins Nathan in the large basin.
Nathan reaches over and switches the window so it’s no longer frosted. Carter frowns as the party is suddenly displayed to them, a bird’s-eye view of debauchery and crime.
“I don’t really want to watch-”
“The sky,” Nathan says, cutting him off. “Forget all of them. Look up.”
With a sigh, Carter leans forward and turns his gaze to the sky. “What am I looking for?”
“Keep watching.”
Are they… stargazing? Is the space station visible tonight? Is there an eclipse?
Nothing is happening. Not even a shooting start.
This was so not worth getting out of bed for.
“Nathan-”
“30 seconds,” the man whispers, suddenly closer to him.
Carter shivers, but he doesn’t move away.
The seconds tick by.
“Can they see us?” Carter asks without looking down at the crowd below.
“No. That’s why I kept the light off. That, and the gift will be better in the dark.”
Carter relaxes a little. He hadn’t realized he was worried about people staring at him, but apparently he was.
More seconds tick by.
“It’s, uh - it’s a little late,” Nathan says, his voice surprisingly shaky. “Which is my fault for trusting Mica with-”
Whatever he had left to say never gets said because right then, a bright ball of fire goes flying up into the sky. It explodes, streams of light coming off it. And suddenly - fuckingmagically- there are a hundred tiny bursts across the sky.
Fireworks.
“You-” Carter has to stop and swallow hard to keep from crying. “You remembered.”
Nathan settles behind him, the fabric of his shirt brushing Carter’s naked skin. It hurts a little, but not enough for him to pull away. “Of course I remembered. They’re one of your favorite things.”
“Shouldn’t you be down there?”
“They don’t give a fuck. Parties are more fun for them once the boss has left.” Nathan rests a hand on Carter’s bare hip. Carter should tell him to fuck off, but the words catch in his throat. “This is where I should be. Where Iwantto be.”
