don’t know me very well if you think that,” Fabricio said placidly.
Kovit blinked, a confused frown forming on his face. “What does that mean?”
Fabricio sighed, clearly not wanting to talk about this. “There are very few things in this world that would make me happy. Your death really isn’t one of them. Would I be relieved if I never had to worry about you hurting me again? Sure. But would I be happy? Not particularly.” His lips pressed into a thin line, and it looked like he was debating saying more before he decided against it. He turned to Nita and asked, “Would you like some tea?”
“So you can poison me with chemicals you found in the bathroom cupboard?” Nita snorted. “No thanks.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not the one who uses poison here.”
“Nonetheless.”
He shrugged. “Would you like something, Kovit?”
Kovit quirked a smile. “Is it actually poisoned?”
Fabricio rolled his eyes. “No. I’ll drink out of it too to make you feel better, if you want.”
Kovit was silent for a long moment as he watched Fabricio before he said, “All right.”
Fabricio turned back and pulled two cups from the pantry. One was a regular mug, which he plopped a tea bag into, and the other was brown and looked more like a little gourd than a mug. He put a metal straw in the gourd with a filter on the bottom.
“What is that?” Kovit asked.
“Maté. I love it, but it’s an acquired taste,” he said, filling both cups with water. The maté cup looked to be ninety percent leaves, ten percent water. No wonder he needed a straw with a filter to drink it. “I figured you’d probably prefer the mint tea packet.” He tilted his head at Kovit. “You’re free to try the maté, though.”
“Is it bitter?” Kovit asked.
“Very. But I’m sure there’s sugar here somewhere.”
“That’s fine. I’ll stick with the mint.”
Fabricio held up the mug to show Kovit and then took a sip. “Good enough?”
Kovit smiled slightly. “I’m satisfied it’s not poisoned.”
Fabricio brought it over to Kovit, holding it carefully in his bandaged hands. Kovit took it and just held it. He looked down into the depths of the tea and finally cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
“You’re not supposed to say that until you’re done.” Fabricio’s voice was light. He seated himself across from them, bringing a thermos full of water with him to refill his maté cup.
Kovit finally looked up. “Why are you being nice to me?”
“I made you tea, that’s all.”
“But why?” Kovit put the cup down. “I’ve hurt you.”
“Yes.” Fabricio sipped his maté. “I recall, thanks.”
“So, why are you being nice to me?”
“Would you prefer I be mean to you, Kovit? Scream and run around the room flailing my arms?”
Kovit snorted softly. “No.”
Fabricio sighed and put down his cup. “Fine. You want to know why I’m being nice to you? I’ll be blunt. I don’t want you to hurt me anymore. I figure if I treat you like a human, maybe you’ll treat me like one.”
A bitter smile crossed Kovit’s face. “So it’s all fake. You’re just pretending I’m human to manipulate me.”
Fabricio gave Kovit an disgusted look. “You are human. I can’t pretend something that’s already true.”
Kovit blinked. “Pardon?”
“I’m just pretending you don’t scare the shit out of me, and I’m trying to pretend what happened in Toronto was a bad dream so I can function normally around you.” Fabricio picked his maté back up and held it close. “But I’m hardly pretending you’re human. That’s just a fact.”
“I’m a zannie.” Kovit’s voice was soft. “Not many people consider that human.”
Fabricio shrugged. “You said you grew up in captivity in the black market, right? No offense, but I don’t think you exactly met the most exemplary side of humanity over there.”
“I met plenty of people who weren’t part of the black market too.” Kovit’s eyes went dead. “They didn’t consider me human either.”
Fabricio’s lips quirked. “Ah. Well, if you treat people as less than human, then you shouldn’t be surprised when they treat you the same. You dehumanize them as much as they dehumanize you.”
“So what? You think if I’m nice, they’ll be nice back?” Kovit’s smile was deeply amused. “You’re living in a fantasy world. I eat pain, and that scares people.”
“Sure it does. But lots of people are scary—terrorists, fascists, racists. That doesn’t mean they’re not human, much as some people might wish.” Fabricio’s eyes met Kovit’s. “You’re a sentient, thinking being. You choose who you hurt, and if you hurt someone.” Fabricio