Curious to see what he had been eating on, Will takes the fork from the dish Kazimir had been eating and uses it to take a reasonable bite of whatever food was still left on it. He chews momentarily and nods his approval. The food here never seems to be bad. The chefs here could clearly teach the tavern owners back home how to properly sear meat. "Sounds lovely," Will mutters. He pushes around a small bit of food on his plate, a particular apple catching his eye from the small basket. He looks from Kazimir down to his plate.
Kaz exhaled faintly, leaning back against the headboard of the bed and shaking his head just a little bit. "I have missed you." he said softly. "Living this lifetime without you." Lanos had been an amazing friend, but they had not been his Martyr. No one could have taken Will's place in his life and in his heart.
Will nods. Of course, he had– had he missed Kazimir? The only recollection before their reunion had been nothing but night terrors and unexplainable phantom pains. "What had you been doing… Before I came into this life?" Already knowing most of the answer, Will moves his soft green eyes to meet the Snake's startling and sharp crimson.
"What do you mean?" he asked, raising his eyebrows faintly as he looked over at Will. "I have lived…a long time, in this life. How much of that history are you asking for?" he reached out to pick up a bun, cracking it open and spreading butter and jam in it, then taking a bite.
"Your family?" Will questions, without a doubt knowing the spot will be unpleasant and sore, but what will the Snake do about it? Kill him? "How you rose to power?" He already knows Kazimir had not obtained it peacefully. There's a thousand more questions on his tongue, but he leaves them unspoken, instead choosing to convey them with a simple look.
(Will "Your family?" Kaz: kills him on the spot)
Kaz frowned a little, looking down at the bread in his hands rather than at Will as he considered the questions. "Why do you want to know about it?" he finally asked. "It doesn't matter anymore." his family didn't matter anymore. He resisted the urge to bring his fingers up, to brush them along the old scar on his throat.
"Curious to see if there's any in-laws I'll have to meet." Will shrugs, grabbing the apple and taking a large bite from it. Granny Smith, his favorite bright greet tart apples. What he says isn't a lie. In fact, Kazimir's dodgy answer gives Will plenty of information to go off of. "I've asked a thousand questions about you. About this place," Will says after swallowing his bite. "Yet you've never asked me any in return."
He frowned again. "There are not." he replied, taking another bite of his bun, brows gathered together. "And…I have not asked questions because I did not want to pry. You seemed defensive, when you first arrived." he took another bite, still not looking at Will.
"Rightfully so," Will mutters, both agreeing with the defensiveness and Kazimir's reasoning. "But to move away from–" He glances at Kaz. "Clearly uncomfortable topics, you can ask me anything you'd like."
He shrugged his shoulders a little bit. "Mm, fine." he thought for a moment, squinting at Will as he thought about what to ask. "Do you have any siblings?" he finally asked. "Or even parents?" perhaps Will was an orphan. He doubted it. Kaz was always the one with the horrific childhood, though Will's sometimes was not great either.
He supposes it was coming eventually, but Will's heart lurches when he thinks of his parents. "I have no siblings, but my parents were more than enough." He pauses, thinking for a moment. "My mother, Victoria, cleans clothes for a living. She's… frantic? She needs something to do with her hands constantly." Thinking of her, he runs his hands through his hair. "She's always had mismatching clothes and a bun that was never really a bun at all. All of the hair would escape the ribbon before the hour was even up." He smiles, just barely.
"My father, Hugo, is a clockmaker. He's been doing it ever since he was a boy when it was his father's business and his father's before." If he closes his eyes, he can almost hear the constant ticking of their walls. "My father wanted me to pick up the craft, but even when I was little, I never had an affinity for the small cogs and hands." He rubs at his eye. "He's alright with me not wanting to carry on the business. He's a soft, kind man who wants the best for everyone."
Kaz nodded a little, focus still on the bun in his hands. He couldn't help the faint curl of jealousy that rose inside him as Will spoke, hearing how much the Martyr cared for these people. His own parents, he would rather were dead. The horrific things they had done to him as a child… he had never had a chance to be anything but this. He tore a piece off the bun, putting it in his mouth. "They sound lovely."
"They are." Will grows quiet and takes another bite of his apple. "I miss them." They have to be worried sick. His mother, already a woman riddled with anxiety had to have had the worst panic attack of her life. His father could've either scoured the village in search of him or locked himself away in his shop. There's no real in between with Hugo.
Kaz nodded again. "Well…you cannot go through the portal again for at least a week. It causes too much strain on mortal bodies." he replied softly. "I would not want you to be torn apart or driven mad." one of them being mad was enough. Both was too much. He already struggled too much with his own mind to wish taht on Will.
"I hate magic," Will groans quietly, though the heat doesn't back his words. He places his apple core onto one of the cleared plates and stretches his arms up above his head. Will has always been a tired man–exhaustion is far too drilled into his bones. Lately, it seems being around the Snake has only amplified his sleepiness. He yawns into his hand.
The Snake squinted at him for a moment when Will complained, then shrugged it off. He was done, and set the food aside. "Are you done?" he asked, picking up the platter and taking ir over to the door, handing it to a servant to be taken away, then came back to the bed, settling on the edge of it and watching Will for a long, quiet moment.
"Yes," Will answers, ripping one last piece of bread from a roll. "Thank you," he says quietly as Kazimir takes the remaining plates away. A moment of silence washes over them and Will locks eyes with the Snake. "What are you looking at?" He asks, momentarily wondering if he has some crumbs on his chin or something in his teeth.
Kaz blinked at him, shrugging a shoulder. "You." he replied calmly, giving Will a lazy smile as he moved to lay down on the bed, stretching out on the big, plush mattress. He made no move to grab WIll or pull him in, but there was plenty of space if Will chose to lay down with him.
Sighing, Will lays down on his back, his head against the soft silk pillows and his eyes staring holes into the ornate ceiling. He makes no movement closer to the Snake, nor farther away. "Oh," he only says in return. An odd chill striking him, Will quickly flips under the covers and pulls them to his nose.
Kaz watched him, shifting a little bit closer but still not pulling at Will. If his Martyr wanted to snuggle up close with him, then Will was free to do so of his own accord. Kaz had no desire to force that on him, not like this. They were both so new to each other still, in this lifetime, it wouldn't be right.
Will turns on his side to face the Snake. "Could you turn down the lights?" He asks softly, already feeling the pull of sleep. Part of him wants to fit himself right against Kazimir's side like a puzzle piece. The other part also wants to but is much less vocal about it.
Kaz nodded, reaching out to put out the lights, then settling down on the bed again. "That better?" he asked softly. There was still some light coming through the windows, the last rays of the setting sun, but other than that, there wasn't any light invading the space. Just a quiet dusk.
"Yes," he hums, turning away from the window. "Thank you." The words fall sleepily from his lips, a day of nothing taking quite the toll on him. Odd how he only learned to sleep when he was sharing a bed. "I think," he begins, slowly blinking his eyes trying to keep them open. "I will see you in the morning."
"You're welcome." he replied softly. "And, yes. I will see you in the morning." he gave Will a soft smile, pulling the blankets higher over the both of them, cocooning them both in warmth. He wanted to take Will into his arms, but didn't. Eventually, they would both be comfortable enough with each other to do that, but not yet. Not now.
And before he knows it, Will is fast asleep. In the enormous bed, he shifts closer to the Snake, rolling over so his nose is just barely brushing Kazimir's shoulder. In his sleep, he sighs.
