(no subject)

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel enters the bedroom with a towel in hand as he carefully dries his hair. He ignores Micah's presence for the moment, fetching a pair of jogging shorts from a drawer and slipping them on before picking up a comb and bottle of leave-in conditioner.

He sits on the bed, hair swept over his shoulder, and opens the bottle, squeezing some into his palm and working it his damp hair. Staring at the floor, he begins the arduous task of combing out his hair and braiding it back for bed.

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[nathaniel_kitten]

There's a moment of hesitation. If the hair was pulled back, Micah would see the bite wounds.

But he had to braid his hair; sleeping with it free would lead to a massive mess come morning.

Nathaniel sighs and nods. "All right." He hands over the elastic band that could tie off the braid when Micah was done.

[chartreuse_eyed]

Micah takes it, and settles back to start braiding Nathaniel's hair back. When he pulls it away from his neck, the bite marks catch his attention, and make him curious, but he doesn't ask just yet.

"Feel any better after a shower?"

[nathaniel_kitten]

"It helped to relieve some of the tension in my shoulders," he says.

Nathaniel closes his eyes and savors the touch of Pard.

[chartreuse_eyed]

He can still smell Asher on him, and that combined with the subdued nature makes him wonder. Even if Nathaniel isn't the loudest one of the group, he's usually not this quiet.

"That's good," he murmurs, finishing the braid and tying it off. "What did Asher do to make you so quiet, little one?"

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel tenses, his back straight and his limbs still. It takes him a moment, and the breath leaves him in a quiet rush.

"Nothing I didn't want," he insists, looking over his shoulder at Micah. "I promise, I wanted it."

[chartreuse_eyed]

Micah merely raises an eyebrow at the sudden stillness, reaching a hand up to pet the column of Nathaniel's neck, resting it on his shoulder. "And what was that?"

He wants the leopards happy, and Nathaniel is close to him, and Anita; he's a sweet boy--he knows his real age, but he comes off so much younger, sometimes--and Micah envelops him with strong arms, and purrs at his back, barely loud enough to be heard over the gentle vibration.

"Tell me, Nat. I don't like knowing you're upset."

[nathaniel_kitten]

"Asher didn't upset me," he murmurs. "I fed him and we were together."

And he knows Anita wouldn't stand for sex between them, among other things.

[chartreuse_eyed]

"Together?" That has a fairly open definition, that word.

Micah has no intention of telling Anita everything; sometimes, there are little problems that don't need a trigger-happy necromancer--and as much as he does care for the woman, she can be trigger-happy--to solve them.

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel nods, eyes vulnerable.

"We made love."

Which was a hefty statement, since it was usually all about fucking when it came to the men and women in his life.

[chartreuse_eyed]

Micah pulls him close, laying his chin on Nathaniel's shoulder, reaching up to brush the long braid aside, and work his fingers down that sleek back. Nat had a good body, but right now he was entirely too tense.

"Did you enjoy it?" It isn't a perverse question, but he really does want to know what's wrong. "Or was that what unsettled you?"

[nathaniel_kitten]

"I asked him to." Nathaniel bites his lip a little, settling comfortably against Micah. "Can you love someone so quickly? Can you love someone in such a short span of time?"

He laughs softly.

"Well, you can, because you love Anita. Can I love Anita and be allowed to love Asher?" They both know the answer to that question.

[chartreuse_eyed]

"You can love more than one person with equal degrees of intensity, Nat," he says as he rests his arms around his waist, comfortable with the closeness. Though he's listening to how Nathaniel sounds while he's talking, he's wondering if Asher didn't just roll him, and this is the aftereffect. He hasn't fed that particular vampire before, though he's heard of what his bite does.

He doesn't know if he'd call what he has for Anita love, yet. But he won't express that, not to anyone. "Hasn't someone made love to you before now?" The uncomfortable...innocence is all but tangible, discussing the softer side of intimacy.

[nathaniel_kitten]

"Only Asher."

It wasn't that he was a virgin, as anyone in the pard knows. He frequents Narcissus In Chains often enough for everyone new in the pard to know that.

"And I don't doubt I could love them both, but I also know Anita. I know she doesn't allow Jean-Claude to be with Asher. She won't allow me with him, either. Not and... and stay hers."

[chartreuse_eyed]

Micah won't ask if Anita's important enough to Nathaniel to give up Asher. He knows the answer to that question. He knew something of Nat's sexual preferences, having been called to help heal Anita right after she'd come back from the BDSM club.

He only gives a gentle rumbling purr, wondering what there is to defuse the seemingly unforgiving situation Nathaniel's in. Anita has a hitch with two men in bed together that Micah doesn't understand, but accepts for now. How it will change, or if it will, now that Nat's int he mix is something he can't quite guess at.

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel swallows.

"But that's only half the problem," he whispers. "He couldn't roll me when he fed, either time, tonight."

[chartreuse_eyed]

Well that answers an earlier supposition, and twists things up nicely. Micah leans over one shoulder and gives Nathaniel a questioning look.

"He couldn't? Or didn't?"

[nathaniel_kitten]

"Couldn't."

He licks his lips and closes his eyes.

"I have the first mark."

[chartreuse_eyed]

He gives a little soft sigh. "Where was this?" He's never been much for the territory lines, but really. It does inexplicably make a difference, in this city.

"That's...going to be interesting." He didn't know Asher well. He hardly knew of him, period. But he wasn't going to let him toy with one of his leopards; it just didn't come into the equation.

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel opens his eyes.

"In Asher's room."

He's just not specific about which room, since it had occurred in Milliways.

Technically.

"It's going to be difficult. Damian says any master vampire will see it. If Jean-Claude tells Anita..."

He could lose his home, his safety, his Nimir-ra, because Anita was not known for being forgiving.

"It was an accident. He didn't mean to do it, but it's done, and I don't care that he didn't intend to mark me. He did," he says almost defiantly.

[chartreuse_eyed]

"If Jean-Claude tells Anita, and she has a problem with it, I'll deal with her," Micah says. There are subtle differences in a shifter being a Nimir-Ra, and a necromancer with the powers of who-knows-what.

"You won't lose your place here, Nathaniel. Anita might not be thrilled with the idea of you being in bed with Asher, but you'll stay in the house with us." Maybe not in Anita's bed, but she has enough company there, and they all know it.

"Just...don't let him do anything to you, little one. I like you happy, Nathaniel."

[nathaniel_kitten]

He feels his eyes sting with tears as he smiles, and it's a sweet smile.

"He makes me happy, Micah. He really does. I feel..." Nathaniel thinks back to the first time there had been pleasure between them in Milliways, during that feeding, and what Asher had said afterwords. "I feel treasured."

[chartreuse_eyed]

"Of that, I am very glad. You should be treasured, Nat." It's safety, the safety and happiness of his leopards, that makes Micah content. He enjoys knowing all his ducks are in a row, figuratively speaking.

It would be literal, but ducks are hard to catch sometimes. "I'll have to talk to him, sometime," he nearly purrs, brushing his cheek against Nathaniel's.

[nathaniel_kitten]

Nathaniel returns the gesture, his own purr blossoming in response to Micah's nearness, the warmth of SAFE radiating off his Nimir-raj.

"You won't tell Anita?" he whispers.

Though he knows Micah would not betray his confidence, he still needs to hear it.

[chartreuse_eyed]

"I won't tell Anita," he repeats. "I won't tell anyone you don't want me to, little one."

There is the slightly problematic possibility of Jean-Claude telling Anita, but they'll cross that bridge when they come to it. He holds his leopard close, transcending the nearness of brothers, falling short of lovers.

It's the safeness of Pard.

[nathaniel_kitten]

"Damian knows, but only him."

Which meant Micah could talk to Damian about it if he wanted to.

He melts into the embrace, purring softly, reassured by the promise he'd have a home.