âAnd here I thought I was special. Youâre killinâ me, Dulce.â
    John was nothing if not intuitive. His suspicions about Daveâs actions were completely on point. The blonde was indeed subtly apologizing for the incident, though perhaps considering that the incident in question was due to Johnâs own blunder that it should be him doing the apologizing instead. But Dave understands that what he did was not to be taken lightlyâhe struck fear into a Contractor. Such a phenomenon is completely insane and the chances of Dave being able to do that were astounding to say the least. Statistically speaking, it was a complete anomaly.
    But thatâs why Dave had been easing John back into his presenceâthat and admittedly he did have an ulterior motive. Nothing Dave does is without reason after all. Being in Johnâs home, on his territory, gave Dave better opportunity to snoop around, or at least thatâs what he would claim should anyone ask. But truthfully, his actions were more geared in the direction of simple pleasures. John is as close as Dave has ever gotten to an actual relationship and thus all the benefits that come with that are Daveâs to indulge in, the kissing, cuddling, hand holding, laughter, security, all of it. As selfish as it may be, all he truly wants is to keep that, to keep their charade going and hope that perhaps some day it wonât be a charade anymore.
    How foolish of him.
   âDid I ever say you werenât?â John replied, nuzzling the back of Daveâs neck. âJust because my dad got to me first doesnât mean your bath time cuddles canât be special too.â
   John figured that Dave would try snooping around his apartment. Considering he had done the same thing and gotten caught, he wasnât really sure what he would do in the event that he found Dave rifling through his things without a good excuse. Heâd play it off, probably; return the favor of not destroying the facade they had so carefully created together. But at least then they would be even and John wouldnât have that lingering sense of paranoia, wondering when Dave would get fed up with their little arrangement and decide it was time for phase 2.
   The sentiment is shared, though. This is the closest John has ever gotten to truly loving someone. He canât love any more-- he can fear now, he canât love-- but even before his powers manifested, he had always been the odd kid. Heâd come to terms with not having a significant other a long time ago, but with Dave, it felt... nice. The late-night house calls, the suspicious figure crawling into bed only to snuggle right up to his side, the presents and the dates and the smiles shared over a restaurant table.
   Was it foolish of him to hope it would never end?











