“Sit.” Jones pointed to the bed and shut the bedroom door, then turned to look at Andraeon. The look Andraeon gave him in return was anxious and wary, as though he was bracing himself for bad news. Jones studied him in silence, trying to decide if he was still angry—and how angry—or if he even wanted to do this now, when he was so tired and Andraeon was looking at him like a puppy waiting to be kicked.
“Say something.” Andraeon broke the silence, offering his quick, hesitant smile. “Don’t just stare at me.”
“Is this going to be a problem?” Jones asked. “You and Emily.”
Andraeon bit his bottom lip and looked down at the floor, digging his bare toes into the thick grey carpet. There was still dirt streaked across his face and Jones felt an absurd urge to go over and wipe it off. Instead he remained by the door, keeping that distance between them, and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I don’t want it to be a problem,” Andraeon said finally. “She doesn’t like me though.”
“She’s a scared little girl,” Jones said sharply.
“Don’t take it the wrong way, Jones. I just meant that I’ll try my best, but she doesn’t want me around and she’s already shown she can send me wherever she wants. Do you expect me to just sit back and take it?”
“I expect you to show a little more compassion. She’s six. You’re...” Jones fumbled a little, realizing he had no idea how old Andraeon was, but continued with, “An adult. I can talk to her and try to make her understand that it’s not something she should be doing, but I definitely don’t need you taking it out on her.”
“I’m not going to take it out on her! Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jones, I’m glad you have that high an opinion of me.” Andraeon dug his fingers into the blankets, pulling them up into his fists. “All I’m trying to do is tell you what the problem is, and you’re blowing it totally out of proportion. Do you really think I’m going to do anything to a kid? Your kid?”
“I have no idea what you’re capable of.” Jones said it without thinking and immediately regretted it, but before he could even open his mouth to apologize, Andraeon had crossed the room and socked him across the jaw. He stumbled more out of surprise than real pain, and lost his balance when Andraeon gave him a hard shove, knocking him flat on his ass.
“You know what I do have a problem with?” Andraeon snarled at him. “You and your... your general dickhead attitude. You’re always jumping to conclusions and you never really listen to what anyone else wants. And you know what, maybe it makes me an asshole too, but Emily was right, I’m jealous. And I’m afraid. I’m afraid that now you’ve got Emily back, you’ll decide you don’t need me to stand in for her. ‘Cause I’m pretty sure you only rescued me because you felt so guilty about not rescuing her.”
“That’s not—” Jones started but Andraeon didn’t let him finish.
“You’ve already left me once, Jones, and I know if it came right down to it, you’d leave me in an instant for Emily. I know she’s your daughter and you love her, but I love you, okay? I love you. And I don’t want it to come down to a choice between me and Emily.” Andraeon scrubbed at his damp eyes, voice shaky and cracking like he was just hitting puberty. “’Cause I’m never going to be the choice you make. And don’t even try to make any noises about how it’ll never come to that, because it might. You know as well as I do that you’ll stay with Emily, because you have to stay with Emily. You’re her dad and she needs you.”
Jones heard the underlying ‘I need you too’ even though Andraeon didn’t say it out loud and instead just used the dirty collar of his shirt to wipe at his face. The anger had softened out of his features and been replaced with a bone-deep weariness and something that looked a lot like grief to Jones, who had seen the expression so many times in the bottom of a pint glass. He almost reached up to pull Andraeon into a hug but something told him not to, not this time. Instead he leaned back against the wall and waited for Andraeon to finish fighting some internal struggle.
“I needed to get that out,” Andraeon said after a moment. “I don’t know where we go from here.”
“Where do you want to go from here?”
The ghost of a smile curved up the corner of Andraeon’s mouth. “Oh, you know, the fairytale ending where the evil queen is vanquished and everyone lives happily ever after.”
“I don’t think I’m that sort of white knight,” Jones said. “I can’t even promise that I’ll always be around, not right now. Maybe later, when things have settled down.”
“I know.”
“I’ll try, Drae. I can promise that much.”
“I guess that’s good enough.” Andraeon made an obvious effort to smile and crouched down, reaching out to gently touch Jones’s jaw. “I’m sorry I hit you. Does it hurt much?”
Jones snorted a laugh, startling them both. “I’ve been hit harder by old ladies. You might be able to throw people through walls with your mind, but your punches suck.”
Andraeon looked at him uncertainly then grinned. “Teach me then. I want to learn all the stuff you know. You promised to show me how to shoot too.”
“Why would you want to learn that?”
“Because I do. I can’t always rely on ‘throwing people through walls’. And I have to admit, I’m a little insulted that you think old ladies hit harder than me.”
“Old ladies are vicious. The smaller they are, the harder they hit.” Jones held out a hand. “Help me up.” He let Andraeon take his hand but pulled him forward before he could get up, so that Andraeon fell against his chest, straddling his legs. Sliding his other arm around Andraeon’s waist, Jones kissed him, tasting faint traces of salt and earth on his lips. Andraeon stiffened for a moment then relaxed against him and slid a hand around the back of his neck.
A knock at the door interrupted them before Jones could do much more than that, and Kaede’s voice asked if everything was all right. Jones called back an affirmative, fighting to keep his voice even as Andraeon dissolved into silent laughter, burying his face against Jones’s neck. It tickled and Jones hissed at him to knock it off, fighting off a sudden wild urge to start laughing himself. There was silence beyond the door but he sensed Kaede was still there, and suddenly knew that she was well aware of what they were doing. For a moment he felt like a teenager again and heat rose in his cheeks.
“I’m going out for a bit,” Kaede said after a pause, and he was pretty sure he didn’t imagine the amusement in her voice. “I’m glad you two have worked out your problems. Emily’s still sleeping peacefully and probably will be for most of the afternoon. I left my number in the kitchen. Can you call me if you hear from Shasta or Shiki?”
“Will do.” Jones started as Andraeon slipped both hands under his shirt, making the second word come out jerky. He gave Andraeon a dirty look and just got an angelic smile in return. “See you later.”
“Have fun.” Her footsteps faded away down the hall, and a short time later he heard the sound of her car pulling out of the driveway.
“You are a brat, Drae.” He tipped his head back against the wall. “I’m not going to be able to look her in the eye for days.”
“Could’ve been worse.” Andraeon’s hands slid down across his stomach to pop open the button on his jeans. “And now we’re pretty much alone.”
“Mmm. One thing first.” Jones pushed at him until he got up, and shoved himself to his feet, leaning in like he was going to whisper something in Andraeon’s ear. Instead he ducked down a little and threw Andraeon over his shoulder, then headed for the bathroom. “You need a shower.”
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