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It took him a moment to realise he’d lost Kai again, and when he looked around, he frowned seeing Kai standing at Quint’s table, offering him a hand.
Quint sat pale, unmoving, and Leo left the book and went over, his gut churning at just what Kai was threatening him over. Because, seriously, this wasn’t the playground anymore. Kai didn’t have to protect him.
* * *
Quint joltedas Leo came over, nudging Kai and sending a hard look at him before he offered Quint a smile.
“Sorry we’re late.” Leo dug a hand in his pocket. “You could have warned me Soho’s like a bloody rabbit warren.” He thumbed Kai’s way. “This is my friend, by the way. Kai. He giving you a rough time?” That hard look of his went to Kai again. “It’s a nasty habit.”
Quint finally found a way to swallow, and he stood a little awkwardly and shook Kai’s hand. “No, not at all. It’s… it’s good to finally meet you, Kai.”
And it was, so damn much as it hit Quint over his own major screw up. Kai and Leo lived together: they shared the same lounge, settees… touches on a TV remote. Why hadn’t he seen that it was a possibility? Why hadn’t Harry warned him it could happen? A Player’sand a Reboot’sessence mixing over time.
BecauseKaiwas Quint’s Leo.
Different name, different eye colour, hair, build… but the way Kai looked at him? The way he gave him that mix of wanting to hold and throttle him at the same time…?
Yeah, that washisLeo.
Quintshouldhave seen it. Kai’s look said that, but if that were the case—why the hell hadn’t Kai said anything to Leo? Leo would have told Kai his name. Kai would have been able to scent trace that Leo had been here with him, so why…?
Kai flicked a quick look to Leo, and it was there. The whole reason why.
Leo.
And now Kai’s look saidDon’t hurt him, for god’s sake, please.
Quint gave a short, sharp nod, a cough, his ability to speak lost, and he took his seat, indicating they do the same when all he wanted to do was hold Kai, go back to that moment they’d last held on to each other and it not matter a damn the world shattered around them. They had each other, and always would.
But Kai was right.
Leo.
He was caught between them and had no clue.
On the flip side, Quint could sense a million thoughts going through Kai’s mind. The need to forget the world and just be them, then the hard reality of how that would hurt Leo because neither of them would be able to explain the reason behind why they were meant to be together. Leo had said Kai had looked out for him: and that’s what Players did. They took care of the Reboots. That was evident with how Kai stayed in the background of Leo’s career. He'd have used multiple lifetimes of knowledge to guide Leo and get himself out in the public to be seen: enhance his chances of being seen by his own soulmate.
It would have worked two-fold for Kai as well: getting Kai out there for Quint to see.
Only Quint had lost his love for music and missed all the signs.
Kai was one of the oldest Players going that Quint knew, and all this just about proved it.
But the injustice of it all stung too much.
“Can…” Quint’s voice nearly broke. “May I order you both a drink? It’s table service, so someone should be along shortly. Are you hungry? The food here is pretty incredible. Here, let me get a menu.” He was babbling, he knew that, and Leo sent a kind smile his way, maybe an apology for Kai as well for making him babble.
“It’s fine,” said Leo. “We can eat later. The runners at the studio kept bringing us loads of stuff all day long, plus Kai here’s eaten about a grand’s worth ofMaoams.”
Quint looked at him and Kai offered an unusual blush. “What can I say? New obsession. I love ’em.”
“Yeah?” said Quint. “Me too.”
They shared a look, then Kai glanced away as if trying to ration the amount of eye-contact he was giving Quint. Quint took the hint, but Leo frowned his way.
“So, how did it go today?” Quint needed to push the conversation away from anything to do with the two of them.
“Pretty good,” Leo said flatly. “We managed to get a lot done, plus the guys in the studio seemed pretty pleased, which helps.”
