prohibitions | When love became an act of defiance

"I know. It's something I'll have to deal with when the time comes but for now, you're stuck with me." There's a playful smile and a bit of a shrug. Heartbreak was painful to deal with, despite that, he planned to stay until his contract was up and heal afterwards. Its nothing he hasn't done before.

"They care a lot about you." He chimes in with. Having the staff raise you just meant more people cared for you, if they were there since day one. From his observations thus far, it seemed that way at least.

Jonathan went through the motions. Stripping Abel of his soaked pants, drying him off and helping him into sweatpants before leaving a folded stack of Abel's clothes in the shower stall before standing and trying to figure out where to hang the wet towel in his hands.

Now it was just him in a soaking pair of clothes instead. Seeing the other in something other than his usual formal wear took a bit of adjustment but he smiles nonetheless.

"They don't look half bad on you. Hopefully, they're more comfortable than your usual?" Jonathan ended up draping the towel over the nearest object that would allow it before he grabbed the first aid kits and took his own along with his belongings, tucking the kit under his arm as he looked at the other before gesturing to the bathroom door for Abel to walk out first.

He still had a question to ask, just one, though he figures he would ask it later.

Really though, who's going to be heartbroken. Jonathan or the man who'll still be stuck in his cage after the other leaves for whatever reason. "You really are a dumb dog," Abel says with a bit of a snort. His tone seems fond though. Like the other had finally managed to get passed those walls the other had put between them. Although, he still called the other a dumb dog.

"I suppose," he says. It isn't that he doesn't appreciate it, but there's just something about seeing how your own father looks at you and his thoughts that really changes how you feel. That, and he has heard the thoughts of the staff too.

He looks over the clothes that he was now wearing before tugging the pants up a bit. "You do realize these don't fit, yes?" Which is to say, they sit pretty low on Abel's hips and his t-shirt was a bit big on the slender man too. He looks at the other with raised eyebrows.

He follows the other out of the bathroom, pant legs dragging across the floor. Despite not being particularly tiny, Jonathan's clothes made him look smaller

As much as he hated the 'dumb dog' thing, as long as it didn't sound like an insult like it had been the first time Abel said it, he doesn't quite mind it now. Either way, this felt like progress after months of patient waiting, even though it took something like this to make it happen.

Jonathan doesn't comment again on the subject of the staff caring. Abel would know what happened in the estate, thoughts and all so really what looks like one thing to him, may be something else to the other.

Okay, now that he looks the other over again, Abel does look like he's practically swimming in his borrowed clothes. "I... may have overestimated that fact." He rubs at the back of his neck with his free hand.

There wasn't much he could do in terms of making the shirt fit better but for the sweatpants, tying them and rolling up the legs might work. Once back in Abel's room, he looks back at the other, catching the legs of the pants dragging along the floor.

Jonathan chuckles a bit before he stops and turns around fully, "Stop... lets make this easier on you." He walks over to the other, setting down his stuff on the floor as he kneels down in front of him to tie the strings at the waist, making it tighter and not so much a struggle to keep up. Before he turns his attention to the pant legs and rolls each side up a bit past the ankle.

"Feel better?" He asks, not quite standing up just yet until Abel commented on the fit. Collecting his things, he tilts his head a little, "Did you want company for the rest of the day or did you want me to leave you alone?" An honest question so he knew what to do now. Whether to retire to his room for the remainder or to go change and stick around as support for the other.

Abel gives the other a bit of a look. Their height difference was noticeable and he was built much thinner than the other. He supposes the other wasn't thinking about it and just wanting him out of his wet clothes and into some new, dry clothes. He's sure he has pajamas though. Somewhere... He knows he at least owns sleepwear.

"It's odd. Wearing these things." Maybe because he normally doesn't dress to be comfortable. Not that he didn't find his clothes comfortable. Form fitting and a bit stiff at times, but he did actually enjoy wearing the clothes he owned. He most definitely found them comfortable enough to fall asleep in them. Or maybe he's just that tired and unwillingly to put the effort to change.

He doesn't say anything for a moment as he mulls over Jonathan's question. What did he want? His impulse is to tell the other he's free to leave. He had given them the next few days off technically. On the other hand, was that what he wanted?

"I don't know," he admits after a moment. He glances around the room; raising his hand and cleaning all the blood away. He winces though as his hand shakes a bit. Moving his hands and fingers stung and it was difficult to move them. He'll have to heal them when his body can muster them or the next few days to weeks was going to be an absolute nightmare to get through.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it in time." While he's not entirely sure the other would since their wardrobes were very different and unlikely to change. Jonathan does give the other a sympathetic look as he waits for his decision, watching the other's hand shake and that wince of pain as he tried to use his hands.

"I'll come back then. I have something to show you anyway..." He ducks his head for a moment then looks over at the door, "Though... please don't be too spooked by it." He flashes a smile as he turns his attention back to Abel, "My folks used to do a similar method when we weren't having a very good day and it helped so... plus you've answered most of my questions. Seems only fair. "

Jonathan starts walking backwards in the direction of the door joining their rooms, "Be back in a few."

Once he's on the other side of the door, back pressed against it, he lets out a deep sigh. While shifting was a mostly painless transformation, it was still uncomfortable. He vastly preferred partials over full shifts anyway.

Walking over to the table, he sets down his belongings along with the medical kit before trying to find some paper and tape. There were still several hours before dinner time and while he decided to reveal his secret to Abel, he wasn't about to let that fact be known by the staff.

Thus, he writes out two separate signs; one he places on his door that read, Please leave dinner on the table., and a second on the table itself that read, Please knock on the door. We'll know dinner is here; Do not disturb further.

Jonathan's room was quieter than usual because he had taken Beau and Kiwi with him and they were currently in a cage at his parent's house. He heads towards his own bathroom, stripping out of his own soaked clothes and left them in a similar fashion as he had done with Abel's. The next series of minutes involved stretching and concentration.

Bones cracked and changed, fur replaced hair, teeth and nails grew longer. Instead of a very human figure standing in the bathroom, a bipedal, easily a couple of feet taller, werehyena stood in its place. A bit fluffier than its real wild animal counterpart and in his case, he's sort of a hybrid between the spotted and the striped due to his family's genetics.

Now, getting through doors was... a bit of a struggle. Compared to how wide and tall the doors were at his parent's or the fact that he never fully shifted at his own apartment left this as a bit of an ungraceful sort of thing.

He still kept his consciousness, so while he couldn't talk in this form, he still kept who he was; unlike the tales of werewolves who lose control on full moons. That logic didn't apply to most werecreatures. Jonathan huffs a breath before he knocks and opens the door, shuffling his way back inside Abel's room. Once clear of the door frame, he drops down to his hands so he didn't appear as tall as he gauges Abel's reaction to him.

By the time Jonathan returns, Abel had cleaned up all the blood on the walls and doors. He's no longer in the bedroom and has moved to the study of his room. The man was looking out one of the large windows in his study with a cigarette lit between his fingers. His hands shook a bit, but he seemed to ignore it as he took a drag from the cigarette.

He was using his other hand to lift the drapes to look out; almost like he was peaking out into a world he couldn't ever be apart of. It was a bit sad.

Abel turns away though and lets the drapes fall when he turns to face the other. He doesn't say anything for a moment. "Ah. This is why you got quite cross with me when I insulted you on the first day," he merely replies with.

For Abel, he has dealt with plenty of supernatural beings. His father, after all, was a successful and well known politician within the community. He had known that the other was different but he couldn't pin point the exacts nor was he actually the kind to snoop. He picked up thoughts naturally, but that wasn't really something he did on purpose nor was these kind of things really his business.

"Here I thought you were going to reveal something grievous." He took another drag from his cigarette. "My family is well known in the supernatural community, so I'm rather familiar with your kind amongst others. I can't say that I'm particularly spooked, sorry darling." But maybe that's relieving for Jonathan more than anything. The other kind of dismissing it and treating the other as he normally would.

"You're going to have to be a bit more blunt as to how this will help me though." Abel has never had any positive or therapeutic options to handle what he went through. He merely put bandaids on them and learned to bear and weather the trauma.

When Jonathan didn't immediately spot Abel in the bedroom, he made his way towards the study. He was oddly quiet for his size but he simply waits, siting down as he watches Abel look out the window.

One day... he hopes to get Abel out of here. Its a long off dream, one that may never happen but the other deserved a chance at an actual life that he enjoyed instead this gilded cage his father has kept him in.

There was a tense moment once Abel turned to face him, he lowers his head a little before tilting it slightly at the comment.

You weren't the first but it is the main reason why I dislike it so... when its used as purely an insult, of course.

As Abel explains his familiarity with his kind and others, it slowly calms his nerves.

Jonathan lets out a deep breath, one that he had been holding since he found the other, visually relaxing. It was a huge relief that Abel wasn't treating him differently nor that this form spooked him. He'd done something similar with someone else but the reaction was less than pleasant thus the source of his worry.

How he came across the listing for this job was just happenstance. He knew of Abel's father by name only, not really having a heart for politics but under the advice of his mother, he was recommended. And he's almost glad that he decided to accept this, otherwise, he may have never met Abel. Someone else could've easily been in his place, perhaps never finding the other in the state that he was in, leaving Abel to go through the motions alone.

He tilts his head and motions the other to follow before getting to his feet and turning back into the bedroom.

You'll see.

Jonathan walks towards Abel's bed, sitting in front of it as he pats a spot in front of him. Of course, he was going to ask permission to get up on the bed eventually but for now, he needed Abel at an easier eye level with him.

"I should have kept insulting you, really." Well, it's too late for that, but it would have been better had he. Although, he wonders if it would matter. Jonathan was a stubborn fellow and they didn't seem to care to listen at times. Bullheaded.

They really were a dumb dog.

Abel puts his cigarette out in the ashtray atop his desk and leaves the study room and back into the bedroom. He has an eyebrow raised and a curious expression on his face, but he supposed he'll just follow along. It's not like he's going to get any work done at the moment, and he's curious what the other wants to do.

He takes a seat at the spot the other had patted down. "So?"

You could have... honestly I'm surprised you stopped.

It really wouldn't have made much a difference. He probably would've lost his temper and vented in private but it wouldn't sway him from doing his job. Sticks and stones.

Jonathan very hesitantly holds his hands out in front of him, palms facing up as Abel takes the seat he patted.

Place your hands on top of mine.

He felt the need to be even more gentler than before, probably due to his size in comparison to Abel. Once the other had put his hands on his own, he stares at them for a moment. It really put into perspective just how big he was compared to a human and he's known this fact for awhile, still it amazes him.

With how he had wrapped Abel's injuries on his hands, this might not have the same effect he was going for. Either way, it meant giving the other some sort of therapeutic outlet for once.

Hunching over to the point where Jonathan's head practically hovered over Abel's lap, he lifts the other's hands towards the fluffier part of his neck.

Pet me. If it gets to be too painful, feel free to stop.

He lets go of his hold on the other's hands and lets his arms rest on the bed, almost wrapping his arms around the other. His fur was much softer than his real world counterpart and still smelt of his choice of cologne along with Abel's vanilla.

"Your eyes are always gentle when they look at me. I haven't figured out why exactly that's the case," Abel replies with. He doesn't really understand Jonathan. No amount of reading his thoughts really helps him understand. What did they gain by this? Being kind to him? Following what his father wanted would help him more than assisting his belligerent son. Abel didn't understand what the other could possibly want out of this.

People weren't kind just to be kind, surely.

The older man can't help but laugh a bit. "That's what you want me to do? To pet you?" That sounds a bit silly to him. What was petting the other supposed to do, really? Ignore the fact that he hasn't the slightest clue what is therapeutic and healthy and actually helpful because he's never had such options. "That's supposed to help me somehow?"

He's asking. Seriously.

At first, Jonathan isn't quite sure how to reply to that. He chose to be nice because he was raised to always be kind, even when others were not. There was nothing that Abel's father could provide that would really benefit him. He's worked for powerful people but their influence wouldn't help him advance much outside of being a name of his client list.

Money wasn't a point because he could make the same working for someone else. The job stability, on the other hand, meant he didn't have to jump to another client so soon. Yet, he gave the man none of his loyalty though. That immediately shifted gears months ago. Abel holds those cards now, whether he realizes or not.

I told you before... that you needed a friend.

There were more feelings brewing under the surface for the other man but he hadn't quite realized those yet. The hyena moves his large head to gently headbutt the other's torso, much like how a cat would where they sort of nuzzle afterwards.

Yes. Its a healthier method to deal with trauma, Abel. So... pet me.

People liked to pet animals because it felt nice or it provided some sort of comfort, that's where his thought process was for this. He may not be a smaller animal like dog or a bird, but he was still one.

Abel frowns a little at that. "What do you gain by befriending me?" It's not accusatory, but it was a question asked seriously. The man clearly didn't know what it was like to have people who offered their company with no strings attached. There was always a catch as far as he was concerned.

The man just lets his hands rest on the sides of Jonathan's neck. The man was simply bizarre to him. "Trauma?" The word is also foreign on his tongue. Was the other implying that what he was going through was traumatic? It was merely punishment, wasn't it? For disobeying his father.

For being as smart and knowledgeable as Abel was academically. The way words were applied to his own experiences were lost to him. A sheltered life where his entire world was sculpted by the hands of another and not of his own.

"You are a strange man, Jonathan."

Jonathan lifts his head up a little, just enough to look up at the other, tilting it as if he was confused by the question.

Your friendship? I don't need to gain anything else.

He didn't need possible favors or money or influence or whatever high society could provide. He had no need for it. The people Abel interacted with at socials and meetings were the very opposite in what they wanted or expected from others so he can understand where the question was coming from.

I know you and I come from very different worlds but I think its time you learned that not all relationships require strings.

So much of Abel was a mystery to him. And while he answered his more pressing questions in the moment, he felt like there was so much he didn't know about him. The way the other man says the word back to him like it was a question tips him off that he really didn't know how to might look from an outside perspective.

Punishment holds lasting consequences, does it not? I may not know your father's and yours entire relationship with each other but clearly whatever punishment involves leaves for traumatic experiences...

While Jonathan doesn't know about Abel's claustrophobia, he immediately equates the injuries and the state he found the other in to his father regardless. It does lead him to the question he did want to ask Abel though.

The hyena lets out a soft laugh, one that his kind was known for at the comment.

I may be but you are a mystery to me in comparison.

The man look rather conflicted by that answer. Doubtful even. "Why should I believe that?" Again, it wasn't really accusatory. It definitely seemed unlikely in Abel's mind though. He hasn't very much met people who were kind to him merely to be kind. Because they merely wanted his company for him. He didn't quite believe it could merely just be that. That Jonathan had completely genuine and innocent reasons.

He knew what was going through Jonathan's head though and knew the other wasn't thinking of some ulterior motive, which made this all the more confusing to him.

"Hmm." He doesn't really say more on the matter and mulls over Jonathan's words and his experiences. Had never really considered what lasting effects it left. There was never really time to fix things or anything. He had just kept going because he had no choice but to be resilient.

It's the first time he was considering that his current state was poor. He had always known that it wasn't quite right and that it was unfair, but this was really the first time that he had also thought about poor his conditions were in a multitude of ways.

It was a bit of an upsetting thing to think about.

He absentmindedly ran his fingers through the soft fur. "A mystery. How so?"

Even if you don't believe it, it doesn't change the fact that it remains true. I know that high society connections can be incredibly tempting for an outsider like me but I'm quite happy with what I have.

The hyena lets out a deep breath, lowering his head into Abel's lap and tilting it so the top of his head pressed against the other man's torso, closing his eyes for the moment.

I just... want to keep you a part of it. Even when my contract ends... I still want to have you in my life because I enjoy your company. Despite how much you drive me a little nuts sometimes.

Words were much easier to get out when he could just bury his face in some way. This might sound like some sort of confession and maybe in some way it was. Jonathan hadn't quite figured out his feelings for the other but he knew he wanted to keep this odd relationship with him.

Had the other kept on insulting him up until this point, maybe he wouldn't. He'd still help him but it wouldn't be at the same level as this.

Jonathan lets that part of the conversation drop as he lets Abel piece together the pieces that punishment was much deeper than he thought it was. To get him to see his situation as a whole beyond the surface level.

As he felt fingers run through his fur, he feels a little proud at that. When the question comes, he's quiet still. He's had plenty of time to observe thus far, make his theories.

Hmmm... well most of it I can guess. For instance, when we have to go out, social and meetings and whatnot, you seem so in your element and yet I can tell that you also don't like it and I'm not sure if its because you don't like interacting with such people or because you have to on your father's behalf.

Abel is skeptical. He doesn't quite thing the other is interested in anything his family or himself can offer, but he also can't believe that there isn't something the other doesn't want. His friendship? That's ridiculous.

"Well, that's not possible," Abel replies. "You won't have authorization to be on the estate grounds." Even if the other managed to be in the same place as him; he wasn't exactly an easily accessible guy. It was unlikely that Jonathan would get to speak to him again once he was no longer employed.

It wasn't even particularly because Abel was disinterested in perhaps keeping company with the other, but that he doesn't think it was plausible.

Abel mulls over those words for a moment. "It's easy to pretend to be something you aren't when you know exactly how to please people. It's why my father wanted me to do all this. I can win people over because I know what goes through their heads." He stops petting the other for a moment. "I just spent years being something I'm not." He's just a fake and he isn't quite sure what part of his personality is an act and what part of it was an honest part of him.

"I like people, but I don't really understand them." Probably a bit odd to hear someone who caters to charming someone, but people mystify him. He really only understood others in a shallow manner.

When you don't understand something, one tends to fear that thing. Abel was afraid of people.

Jonathan was the least suspect for anything remotely criminal and yet, he wouldn't mind for Abel. There's another soft laugh at that and the idea.

You say that as if that would stop me. I mean, getting arrested for trespassing doesn't sound fun... like at all... but its not like the estate doesn't have weak spots somewhere.

Magic was a tricky thing and perhaps he spoke too soon and Abel's father has some sort of magic barrier of some kind surrounding the grounds. Who really knows? Maybe that was just a movie sort of thing or maybe he just needed to take a walk around the grounds to make sure.

In retrospect, their paths would rarely, if ever, cross once his contract was up. Sure, there would be social functions he might be hired for but the chances of Abel attending the same ones were slim at best. If he's being honest, the idea of never getting to see the other again still makes his heart sink.

Jonathan is quiet while the other speaks. To know his father was using him like some pawn for winning hearts to gain what he needed was almost cruel. That the other man was playing the same role for years to the point he may not know how to truly be himself was rather depressing. He can't help but give a soft whine in reply to all it.

Is it because you don't allow yourself to get attached to anyone because they'll eventually leave?

Its then that he has an idea, lifting his head enough to look up at Abel, ears tilted back. It was a rather dumb idea really but if he got Abel to meet people that genuinely would enjoy his company at the same level as he did, that might help bring out more of his own personality besides his public persona he played. And who better to break that ice than his own family.

Come with me tomorrow. You gave me the time off, right? So why not take it off as well... away from here.

"It's one thing to get onto the estate. It's another thing to get to my room," Abel says with a shake of his head. The other seemed to think that it was going to be fine once he no longer was working. Maybe he should let the other be hopeful, but Abel had always been rather real about his situation. His father had done a good job to isolate him and he saw no real future. His cards had been laid out and they just weren't great.

The taste is bitter on his tongue though and he rather change the topic. For some reason, the other being sad for him bothered him more than the fact that his situation was honestly awful. He didn't like it.

"Who is there to get attached to?" Maybe the other was right. Maybe he was too scared to get attached to anyone, but he can't think of someone that has been in his life at a point where he could really get attached to them.

He raises an eyebrow when the other offers him to join them with their day off. "Yes, you have the time off, but that doesn't mean I have the time off." When has the man last had a day off? He doesn't take days off. "I'm not allowed to leave the estate except for work you know." Did Jonathan think that he could just waltz out of the estate without him getting into some sort of trouble?

Abel had a point. While he never checked the windows in the estate, he highly doubts Abel's actually open, let alone any of them. And he isn't about to make a scene and ruining the element of surprise by jumping through one of the windows to get to the other. That's just asking for more trouble.

Jonathan breathes out a rather defeated sigh at the thought. His contract wouldn't be up for a bit while longer so there really was no use lingering on the future when things very well may change before then.

People who've come before me? People who you see more often?

What does he know really? It was hard to picture Abel getting attached to any of the familiar faces he's managed to pick out of the crowds as of late. Then there was his father's intentions and none of it seemed to work out in the way he originally thought.

Jonathan lifts up his head, giving it a gently shake.

Your father isn't a mind-reader, right? So I'll handle it should something happen... just come with me. Please. I think it might do you some good and its not like you can get much work done until you heal so...

He was fully prepared to take responsibility for his request, he may get easily flustered but he can be a fairly decent actor when he needs to be. And he can't imagine lying to Abel's father, should questions arise, to be that difficult either.

"I don't have anyone like that. The only people I see are socialites at parties, politicians, and other business personnel," Abel says with a bit of a frown. Jonathan had surely seen his day to day long enough to figure that Abel didn't really have anyone he really had reason to get attached to.

Maybe that was incredibly depressing, but Abel didn't seem to have much of an emotional reaction about it. Couldn't really miss what he never had. Even as a child, he had been fairly estranged and kept to himself on the estate. He had made friends when he had gone to school for a short while, but he hadn't seen any of them since he had been removed from his private school to be home tutored.

Abel mulls over Jonathan's words for a moment before finally shrugging. "I suppose I don't see why not. You seem intent on not taking no for an answer, besides." What's the worst that will happen?

He also would be lying if there wasn't a certain amount of excitement of leaving the estate to enjoy himself. To perhaps live a normal day for once.

Abel truly was alone.

The hyena makes a noise, almost akin to a hum as he drops that part of the conversation. He ponders on it a for a bit longer, what that must feel like, how Abel could continue to be in such a situation after all this time.

That particular thought train is quickly tossed as Abel speaks again.

Jonathan's mood perks up instantly when Abel finally agrees to his request. His tail thuds against the floor before soft swiping can he heard as it wagged against the floor. Now he needed to heed to his promise.

You won't regret it.

He's a bit more affectionate than he should be as he lifts his head up further to nuzzle against the other, careful not to be too forceful so as not to put the other off balance.

He wanted Abel to experience life, even for a moment, without his father's influence. Even if its only for a day or two.

I do have to apologize in advance though... my folks can be a bit... much. But it'll be fun.

Abel had been mentioned to them since the beginning, especially to his mother, Sayre. Guess this meant he needed to check in with them again later, perhaps after dinner. They could easily stay at his own apartment instead but more positive interactions were something that he felt Abel should experience for a little while.

Ah, Jonathan's mood picking up makes the taste in his mouth far less bitter. If anything, at least appeasing the other makes him feel a little better, as little as that is. It'll be awhile for his own mood to pick up.

"I don't regret many things," Abel simply replies with. It's not exactly a lie. He can't say that there are things that he really regrets. Even making his father upset wasn't much of a regret. Were days like these god awful? Absolutely. He can't say he can regret it if he still continues to antagonize the man though. Everything else in his life isn't so much of a regret as just a monotonous everyday.

Bitterness though, was a feeling that he was well acquainted with.

"Well, if they aren't tossing their children into small closets, than I think I'll take whatever extra they happen to be." Ah. He hadn't really meant to say that. Slighting his father was one thing, but bringing up the particulars wasn't really something he liked to talk about.

That's good... I suppose.

To have little to no regrets was certainly some type of gift. Even through the thick of potential punishment, he guessed one needed to if life was like this. Add flavor to it and all that.

Small...closets?

Its not the most common thing to add so casually into a conversation unless it meant more than the other was letting on. Was that what happened? Was that the reason he found the other in such a state? If so then that made, Abel's father even more of a cruel bastard.

Jonathan shakes his head, taking a step back from the other only to hop up on Abel's bed and pull Abel closer to himself, curling up loosely around him. Abel will find himself deep in soft fur but with enough room to pull away if he wanted the space.

Never mind, you don't have to tell me.

Abel didn't need to tell him more about it if it was a sour subject, imagining it most likely was. He does answer back to the comment with a huff of breath.

They don't, by the way, though they can be a bit overwhelming. Too loving, really.

He knows are much his parent dote on him and his siblings, but it also translates to everyone that knows them; no matter how high they are on the food chain. And Abel was about to experience all of them all at once instead of in pairs like most would.

"Bugger." He most definitely doesn't want to talk about it. Not because he was ashamed about it, but that he simply had no intentions of burdening the other with what happens between his father and himself.

He also just didn't want to talk about it. Abel wasn't really someone who aired his grievances and bottled them up. Kept it to himself. He hadn't had someone to confide in before, besides.

Instead of talking about it, he just buries himself in Jonathan's fur. It was warm and soft. Comforting. He buries his face against the other and doesn't reply. The idea of being too loving seems so odd. Is it really possible to be too loving? Wasn't loving supposed to be a positive thing? How can someone be too loving? It didn't sound like it was possible. He can't fathom it.

"Too loving sounds odd," Abel says finally. "I can't say I understand the sentiment." Of course he doesn't.

Jonathan watches Abel for a few moments before his expression softens and he lowers his head against the bed. This was the first time he's ever had anyone other than family curl up against him like this and it was rather... nice.

Trust me when I say, you'll catch up on your missing decades tomorrow. Also, I didn't mean it to come off as if it was a nuisance... being too loving.

He pauses for a moment, staring at the comforter. All he's ever known was love and support while he knows the other likely hasn't and still doesn't. Thinking that Abel might get a bit overwhelmed by his siblings curiosity or his parents doting.

My folks get very easily attached so don't be surprised if you are informally adopted by them after the first day. Its a strange habit of theirs.

His bodyguard director parents had thought of their entire division as family. Stronger bonds means for a certain level of trust and thus a more uniform work style. It was enough to earn massive praise so clearly they were doing something right with it. The same could apply to his more artistic parents but swap bodyguards for models or a small close-knit team.

Jonathan imagines they'll take a shining to Abel, especially after everything he's told them about the man pressed against him thus far minus his abilities, of course.

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