He looked over his shoulder again. “May I dress?”
Knight was watching him, and despite his face seeming quite fuzzy, Laurent could discern when the dark eyebrows furrowed at whatever he’d heard. He held out his hand in a gesture Laurent understood, so he turned around and squeezed it in greeting. “I’m Travis Mercier, but my friends call me Knight.”
Laurent dared to smile at the man, overwhelmed that they in fact shared their last name. “Laurent. Laurent Mercier,” he was eager to say.
Knight grinned so widely Laurent could recognize it from up close. “Where is your family from?”
“I…” He wasn’t sure if he should mention it, but it was too exciting a connection to pass on. “A small town east of La Rochelle.”
Knight gave a yelp and slapped his hand against Laurent’s arm. “We might be related. Mine too! I am very respected in the online genealogy community, so we should have no issues finding out how we’re connected. And contact your family there.”
Beast murmured yet another string of poisonous words, as if the family reunion somehow hurt his feelings.
Laurent smiled at the unexpected connection he had to this new world. “May I… I mean… the clothes the Oriental lady brought. Hopefully they’re more fitting than these?”
Knight stepped away in time to leave a clean path for Beast, who grabbed Laurent’s ear and tugged on it firmly. “What is wrong with you? Don’t call her that! She is Japanese-American and King’s girlfriend!”
Knight groaned. “Have you lived under a rock? Don’t use that word!”
“Oh, oh. I’m sorry.” Laurent grabbed the new shirt and held it in front of himself like a shield. “I forgot her name.”
Knight leaned over to Beast and whispered something, again leaving Laurent out of the conversation. Laurent sighed and decided to focus on himself instead, since it seemed nothing he said or did was right. At least he was a fast learner. He pulled on the new shirt, which in contrast to the one he got from Beast was verging on too tight. The fabric was strangely stretchy as well, as if it had tiny threads of rubber added to the weave somehow.
“Is this how it’s supposed to fit?” he turned to the two men and spread his arms.
Both Knight and Beast looked at him for the longest moment.
“You look fit in that T-shirt,” Knight said in the end.
Laurent dared a smile. “And that’s good?”
Knight snorted and nudged Beast with his elbow. “Look at that, he’s already fishing for compliments.”
Laurent felt his face heat. “That’s not the case! I simply wanted to know.”
“Just finish dressing. You need some more clothes if you’re to stay here,” Beast said, stepping back.
Laurent pulled his boots off, wary of Hound watching his every move, but as soon as he untied the baggy trousers, Beast pushed at Knight.
“Didn’t you want to go piss or something?” Beast groaned.
Knight raised his hands and started toward the bathing room. “Right. Right. Of course.”
Beast was silent for a moment, watching his friend until he disappeared from sight. He stepped closer to Laurent and leaned in to speak into his ear. “Look. I know you’re hiding something. Maybe you’re afraid someone is gonna go after you or whatnot. You need to stay here until I know what’s going on, but nothing bad’s gonna happen to you. Is that clear?”
Laurent swallowed, surprised by that statement, and he looked up at Beast, who despite towering over him, despite the scary dog, and the grumpy attitude, seemed to be on Laurent’s side. And didn`t Laurent need to stay here anyway? He gave a slow nod. At least he wasn’t being asked a thousand questions anymore.
Beast stared at him too, on the edge between blur and clarity, where his marked face seemed somehow softened yet sharp enough for Laurent to read his expression. It was an odd moment of silence that had Laurent’s cheeks heating for no reason at all.
Knight’s voice calling for Beast broke the spell, and Beast looked toward the bathroom. “What?”
“Why are there clothes in your bathtub?”
Laurent touched Beast’s forearm, surprised by how strangely textured it was. “Those are mine. I wanted to soak them overnight so that it’s easier to clean them later.”
Beast stirred, not moving by an inch. “Have you never seen a washing machine?” he asked in an oddly soft voice.
Laurent licked his lips. From the sound of it, he should have. He already liked the sound of it. A machine that would wash clothes, so that the people didn’t have to. How marvelous was that? “I have, I have! I just… I wasn’t sure if such a machine could deal with blood well. You see, that coat is very dear to me.”
Beast rubbed the back of his neck. “When I go to the mall, I could leave it at a dry-cleaners for you, I guess. But it has to dry first.”