"You're not listening," Anastasia sounded half-amused and half-annoyed.
Kai grunted. "I am."
"Liar. What did I –"
"You said your sister isn't coming and that means you'll have more space for your second cousins but it also means you'll deal with them alone," said Kai flatly. Anastasia huffed. He cracked a smile, but only because he knew she couldn't see him. "I told you I was listening."
Anastasia laughed, and then lapsed into silence. It wasn't awkward, or even tense – it was just right, like how they could sit in the same room together without saying a word and never feel the need to break the silence. Kai welcomed it, angling the phone so it rested between his shoulder and ear. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the lake, watching as it interrupted the smooth surface and skipped a few times before disappearing under water.
Anastasia was the first one to break their companionable silence. She usually was. "Have you smashed the prototype yet?"
"No," Kai lay back on the grass, closing his eyes against the rising sun. "It's getting there, though."
"How long do you think it'll take?"
Kai grunted. Anastasia didn't speak, merely waited patiently for his answer. He gave it eventually, just like she knew he would. "Maybe a week."
"I shouldn't be gone for longer than that anyway. I'll be back in time to make another one. Is Chief still recording your practice sessions?" Kai hummed in response. "Good, because those will really help me when I get back."
"How was the funeral?" asked Kai.
Anastasia hesitated. He could almost see her chewing on her lower lip, looking away and tapping her fingers against the nearest flat surface in agitation. "The burial was fine," she said finally. "The family wants to do a memorial in a few days, though. And there's the will."
"You should stay for that."
Anastasia snorted. "They haven't left me anything, Kai. Tatiana and I have trust that we can access after we turn 21, and that's about it. I'm on my own and I'm okay with that, but I don't want it thrown in my face too much."
"I didn't stay for my grandfather's will reading either."
Kai had spoken without thinking. He blinked, trying to understand where that sentiment had come from – he had gone to Voltaire's funeral last year like any other family member, but he had hightailed it out of there before any mentions of inheritance could be brought up.
"Why?" Anastasia sounded genuinely surprised. "If a nut-job like your grandpa had left me anything I'd blow it all off in a week just to spite him."
Despite himself, Kai laughed at her words. It was a short laugh, unexpected and abrupt – he was smiling afterwards, but otherwise there was no hint that he had made a sound. Anastasia was strangely silent on the other line. "What?" asked Kai.
"I made you laugh," she sounded just as surprised as he felt. "Morbid jokes really tickle your funny bone, don't they, hot shot?"
Kai rolled his eyes, all traces of humour gone. "I told you not to call me that."
"Sorry, I forgot you prefer it when I say your name."
"I didn't say –"
"I mean I know you aren't gay and all but sheesh lay off a girl, would you?"
He was smiling despite himself now. "You're not funny, Anna."
"Is that Kai-talk for 'I miss you'?"
"You're insane."
"Yup, you definitely miss me. How is Tala dealing with my absence?"
"He says you're a better training partner than me."
"Is that because I always lose?"
"Probably."
"Dammit, I thought I was really getting through to him!"
Kai grunted in amusement. Anastasia chuckled softly, and he heard a door close behind her – she has just returned from her morning walk, clearly. He heard quiet noises, sounds he had come to associate with her daily routine over the past week since the first day he had called her on a whim and had kept up since then. She kicked off her shoes, held the phone away from her ear as she undid her hair, and collapsed onto her bed with a huff. She blew a piece of hair out of her face. She sounded exhausted even without saying a word.
"You need sleep," it wasn't a question. Anastasia was excellent at communication on a good day, but the fact that she responded to his texts – and Tala's – at all hours of the day and night told him she was spending most of her time on her phone, in her room. Alone.
Like a child, though, she refused to admit that she was doing something wrong. "I'm not tired."
"You're a bad liar, Anna."
"Fine. I'm not used to this bed."
"You can sleep anywhere. You're just thinking too much," pointed out Kai. He didn't know why he cared, but he had stopped questioning his motives when it came to her long ago. He wanted her happy and healthy, and he no longer bothered to ask why. He just did what he wanted since it kept that annoying guilty feeling away. "Turn off your brain and get some sleep."
"There are nicer ways to say you want to get rid of me," she teased, but it was half-hearted. She knew he was right. She just didn't want to admit it.
Still, the fact that she thought he was saying any of this due to a reason other than concern for her well-being annoyed him. So, he broke his cardinal rule. He talked about his feelings. "If I didn't want to talk to you, I wouldn't call you every day," said Kai flatly. "If you sleep, I'll probably talk to you for longer."
At that, Anastasia giggled. "That has got to be the best incentive I've ever heard for getting some sleep."
Trust Anastasia to turn his attempts at being nice into something funny. Kai rolled his eyes. "I won't even say that isn't what I meant if you shut up and close your eyes."
"Oooh, and then what will happen?"
"Shut up, Anna."
"Good night, Kai."
"You better mean that."
"I do," she didn't sound as though she was making fun of him anymore. "You're sweet, when you want to be. You know that?"
"No."
"Whatever, superstar. Just one more thing."
Kai groaned. "What?"
"I miss you too. Bye!" and she hung up.
