"I…Okay," Kaz said, shoulders slumping slightly as he gave up. He was tired. The outburst had taken a lot out of him, especially the jolt of electricity. You're just like your daddy now, Kaz. The prince is finally the heir, his mind snickered
Vaughn noticed how exhausted Kaz looked, so very carefully, he lifted Kaz bridal style into his arms. He carried him to the bathroom, setting him down on the edge of the sink. He crouched down, searching through a cabinet for gauze and bandages.
Kaz slumped back against the wall, glaring down at his bloodied wrists as he resisted the urge to just fall asleep on the counter
Vaughn stood back up and gave Kaz a worried look. “You okay?” He asked gently. He held one of Kaz’s hands and turned on the sink water. “This’ll sting a bit,” he warned before moving Kaz’s bloodied wrist under the water.
Kaz winced but said nothing as the water hit the cuts. He refused to look at them. If he had his way, he would have just let them bleed out. He deserved it, especially for hurting Vaughn
Vaughn did the same to the other wrist, then gently dabbed at the cuts with a bit of gauze. “Kaz, are you okay?” He repeated as he worked.
“As okay as I can be,” Kaz muttered quietly, fixing his gaze on the white tiled floor as he waited for Vaughn to finish with him. He wanted to dissolve into the floor, but unfortunately he hadn’t mutated that way
“Baby..” Vaughn said in a worried manner, now wrapping fresh bandages around Kaz’s wrists and upper forearms. Kaz was obviously upset, it was easy to tell now that he knew him better.
“What?” Kaz asked softly, finally turning to look at Vaughn. He was obviously tired and upset, and his grey-violet eyes were shiny with held back tears
Vaughn finished with Kaz’s cuts and leaned his hands on the sink on either side of Kaz. “Please talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong,” he pleaded quietly, noticing the tears. They were black, but still tears none the less. “Please don’t cry,” he added lightly, bringing a hand up to rest on Kaz’s cheek, eyes full of sadness and worry. “I don’t want to see you so upset.”
“I…” Kaz broke of in a sniffle, reaching up to wipe at his eyes. “I feel so horrible. I hurt you, Vaughn, when I told myself I wouldn’t hurt you. And then I went and zapped you like a goddamn bug zapper,” he said, his voice growing more choked as he spoke
“It was from the mutation, you couldn’t have helped it,” Vaughn soothed, wiping any of the black tears away with his thumbs lightly. “You has no way of knowing that would happen, I know you would never willingly hurt me…”
“I’m so sorry,” Kaz repeated, a small sob escaping him as he stared down at the floor. “You don’t deserve something like me that might hurt you like that.”
“Baby, no… We are all going to go through mutations, so things like that are going to happen. You’ll get used to it,” Vaughn said gently, pressing a quick kiss to Kaz’s lips.
“Well, maybe you might not turn out a monster,” Kaz mumbled, wrapping his arms loosely around Vaughn as he pressed his face into the front of his shirt
“You never know.. And you aren’t a monster, okay?” Vaughn asked softly, arms wrapping around Kaz. He pressed his lips to the side of Kaz’s head, breathing out softly.
“But you saw what happened. I…I…” Kaz broke off, the weight of what had happened hitting him like a train wreck. “I turned into my dad,” he said quietly, his tone turning choked again
Vaughn shushed Kaz softly, shaking his head a bit. “It was Kaon, not you,” he pressed, his hand caressing the side of Kaz’s cheek gently.
"But he's part of me, Vaughn. The me I was supposed to be if I had gone with my dad all those years ago," Kaz sniffled. He didn't want to explain his history with his father, but he knew Vaughn would probably ask. How was he supposed to explain his dad wasn't human?
“He’s a part of you, but you’re still you. Try not to worry about it, it’s okay,” Vaughn soothed. He wiped away any extra tears with his thumbs, being gentle with his touches. He pressed a gentle kiss to the bridge of Kaz’s nose, lingering for a moment.
"I'm sorry, I'm probably really bothering you right now," Kaz muttered after a long moment, looking down at the floor shamefully again. He knew he tended to be self-hating and pessimistic to the point of being annoying, and the last thing he wanted to do was irritate Vaughn into ignoring him
Vaughn took a deep breath, shaking his head a bit. “Kaz, you aren’t bothering me at all. I’m just concerned for you. I don’t like to see you like this,” he murmured in a sad tone. This was Kaz’s train of thought? He hated that he had put on the impression that he would get annoyed by Kaz.
"Are…Are you sure?" Kaz asked quietly, something twinging in his chest at the words. He was used to everyone getting sick of him after more than 10 minutes in his company, even in relationships. Was he really not bothering Vaughn?
“I’m positive, I swear,” Vaughn answered, a sincere look in his eyes. He ran a hand through Kaz’s mess of curls, careful not to pull on the strands. He pressed an affectionate, firm kiss to Kaz’s forehead as a way to reassure him.
"Okay," Kaz finally answered. He was tired, and getting irritated with his own voice. He wanted to shut himself up and then go fall asleep in a corner somewhere, but he knew Vaughn would absolutely disapprove of that. So he hugged Vaughn loosely, pressing his face into his shirt as he took a few deep breaths