Tel, a History

Candy-ler: “Hello Mr. Tel! <3 Mh… You look familiar… did we met before? Anyway, my Name Is Candy, and yes I sell all kinds of sweet treats. Would you like to come inside and try some?” the young salesman smiles and invites the other man into his little house with a polite gesture.   Tel:  “We may have met before!” He followed the other into the house with a big grin, removing his hat to be polite. “And I would never refuse treats. What have you got, sweetheart?”      Candy-ler: He chuckles and brings him to the Kitchen. “Please, take a seat.” he points on a couch near the window. “I have many tasty sweets for you to try. I just finished my Halloween selection with sour truffula bark, caramel fruits, rich cream Barba-loot-Pops and spicy cinnamon and ginger candy. Of course all the classics are still available.” he smiles and shows him a card with all different kinds of candy. “Also… you really should try a Thneedy.” he winks   Tel: “Oh goodness! A Thneedy?!” He took a seat and crossed his legs, clasping his hands together excitedly. “That sounds pink, fluffy, and delicious. Is it perhaps a cotton candy of some kind?” He asked with a grin.    Candy-ler: he nods “Yes, you could say so. You can have it in all colors of the truffula trees. Light pink, pink~ even purple.” he looks at Tels suit and grins, his tooth gap showing “what color can I bring you?”   Tel: Tel glanced up in thought. “I’d really like a purple one, I believe.” He leaned forward on the table and laced his fingers together. “It’s my favorite color, you see.”    Candy-ler: “Oh~ I kinda guessed.” he chuckles and walks to a striped box in the kitchen, opening it and pulls out a purple, fluffy Thneedy on a paper cone. He ofers him to Tel. “Here you are Mr. Tel, matches perfectly with your coat!” <3   Tel: He reached out and took the Thneedy, admiring the scent. “Mmm…” He giggled cheerfully before taking a bite of the fluff. “Mm. So soft and sweet! What made you think of these?”    Candy-ler: “Well, let’s say a happy… coincidence.” he smiles and removes his tophat, placing it to the side.”I didn’t had any luck with selling my Thneed so I had to think out of the box. Oh… would you like some tea or cofee? hot chocolate maybe?” he tilts his head   Tel: “If you’d be so kind, some hot chocolate would be lovely! You say your Thneeds didn’t sell well? How odd!” He nibbled thoughtfully at his Thneedy.  “I still sell those.”   Candy-ler: He nods and heads back to the kitchen, while preparing everything he says: “Now that I think about it, it wasn’t my fate to sell Thneeds. The Candy business might be small but it keeps me alive and fills me with joy.” Soon the room was filled with sweet chocolate scent. “But you still sell Thneeds successfully, Mr. Tel?”   Tel: “Oh yes! People love my Thneeds.” He finished up the Thneedy and licked his lips. “I have a number of business ventures on the side, but for the most part, Thneeds have been a success for my company.”    Candy-ler: Candy walks over with two mugs of hot chocolate, whip cream and mashmallows ontop. He places one infront of Tel and takes a seat on a chair “Business ventures you say?” he looks interested.   Tel: “Oh yes! A while ago, we started selling Truffula wood tap shoes. I called them Thaps! They make a lovely sound when they tap.” He took the mug and smiled. “Mm~! This chocolate looks divine!” He sipped some and breathed a contented sigh.  “Because we grow truffula trees in my green houses, we can create all manner of things with the wood and the lovely tufts.”    Candy-ler: He smiles seeing the other man enjoying the hot chocolate. “That’s interesting, so you are using the whole tree and not only harvest the tufts. But seems like you think twice and grow new trees.” he nods “In green houses… you sure met the Lorax… didn’t you?” he sips from his mug looking at Tel interested.   Tel: He nodded. “The Lorax may not like this if he knew, but… He’s actually the reason I’m successful. He did something to me that caused these powers that I have… Kind of… Psychic powers. I had a dream of the awful future I would create if I didn’t grow more trees, and I figured a way around it.”   Candy-ler: Candy places his mug on the table and watches Tel “The Lorax gave you Psychic powers…? So you can see your future? That comes pretty handy for a salesman, if you are able to make a change on bad things. What you obviously did. I just wonder that the Lorax let you be… green houses are probably not his idea of pure nature.”    Tel: “I haven’t seen him since that first day. No, he’d probably hate the green houses. But… If I could just make him understand, he might see that my way is better for all of us… I’m not hurting anyone!”    Candy-ler: “I hope he let you be… I mean… when you’re not hurting the environment. How bad can it possibly be…?” he raises an eyebrow and shrugs smiling a wry grin.   Tel: “Exactly!” Tel placed his hot chocolate down on the table. “There are several places around my town where I’m even protecting the trees. I’ve got reserves, and there’s a little forest. He should be happy. I’m doing it right. I’m not bad..” He picked up his mug again and sipped it. “Do you have a lot of truffula trees around here?” 

Tel: There was a knock at the door and an impatient purple clad businessman tapped his foot. Impatiently. His dear friend was not answering his texts and something is amiss. Very amiss! “Broady, darling?”   Broadway: In an instant Erin panicked. He was up and running for the door, half falling against it.   “Don’t come in!” He called through the thick wood. “Not today! After Halloween!”   Tel: “After Halloween?” The man leaned his ear toward the door and raised a suspicious eyebrow. “You’ll miss my birthday, Broady-Bear. What’s wrong?”   Broadway: He whimpered, trying hard not to bite his bottom lip because of his sharp teeth. “I’m not…myself right now,” he said with  a nervous laugh. “Trust me, you don’t want me at your birthday. I wouldn’t want myself at my own birthday right now.”   Tel: At this moment, Tel sensed his friend needed him, and that had nothing to do with psychic powers. “Don’t talk about your beautiful self that way, precious. I am absolutely coming in!” He proclaimed. He tried to push the door open.   Broadway: Erin wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted desperately to shove the door closed, but he had no idea how strong he was at the moment and didn’t want to hurt his friend. So he backed up instead as the door opened, trying to hide behind it even as Tel stepped inside.   Tel: Tel stepped inside triumphantly and glanced back toward the door. “What’s behind door number one?” He asked with a grin. The grin faded when Broadway didn’t come out. “I’m going to shut it, dear…” He warned. “Are you alright…?”   Broadway: Erin could only whimper in reply. Though the more flustered he got, the more the patches on his skin began to glow.  “Oh god!” He squeaked, running out from behind the door and stumbling over the back of the couch to land on the other side. “I’m glowing! Why am I glowing?!” He wheezed heavily, things  slowly starting to click in his brain. He was a fish of some sort, with sharp teeth and apparently he glowed. That  only mean that he had to be some sort of carnivorous, deep-sea monster.    Tel: Tel stared after him incredulously. “What on earth!?” He shut the door and ran to catch up with him. “Broadway— Calm down! W-wait, sssh…” He moved around the couch and knelt next to him. What in the world happened to him? This creature was definitely his dear friend, but… Slippery looking with fins and… He glows. “It’s alright. No need to run from me.”   Broadway: Erin tried to make himself breathe, pulling away from any touch Tel would offer as he held himself. “I-I just..I don’t…At first I was really hoping this was just a nightmare, but it’s not…” Finally he calmed himself, looking up at the other.  “Sorry, I just…I feel really gross.”   Tel: Tel gave a sympathetic click of his tongue. “No. You’re not gross, dear. Just unique.” He reached out and pulled him close for a hug. “Think of it as a new experience… It’ll be over before you know it.”   Greedler: It was around then that Greed stalked out of the bedroom, having spent a chunk of the morning modifying an old pair of trousers to accommodate his freshly sprouted tail. His new form came with an appetite to match–he was absolutely ravenous–and he was almost positive there was a steak in the refri– He stopped dead in his tracks when he came upon Tel and Broadway in the living room. Tel’s arms were wound around Broadway’s middle, and… Red. He was seeing red. Smoke billowed out of his nose and mouth as he fought to keep himself from instinctively charging at the purple clad man. “What. Are. You. Doing?” he ground out, latching a clawed hand onto the nearby door frame, his talons sinking into the wood.   Broadway: Erin still didn’t feel right about the human man touching him, but he leaned into the hug none the less; turning in his grasp to lean back against him. It was then his eyes fell upon Greed. He tried to offer the other a comforting smile. He didn’t realize how strange it would look considering the fact that he, himself was still technically naked.  “Hey..I was just telling Tel about the whole..” He paused to motion to both of their bodies. “Situation. I still can’t get over the fact that our..Y-you know..things are missing.” And at that he pointed between his own legs unhappily.   Tel: Tel had indeed picked up on how odd this looks to Greed. He frowned up at him defensively. What had turned innocent Broadway into a slick and pretty fish creature had transformed Greed into… A monster. He took a deep breath. There was no reason for the other man to worry. He didn’t intend to steal his husband. He had been cuddly with Broadway for as long as he had known him and henceforth Greed would need to deal with such deeds.  “You need to calm down.” He sneered as he studied the creature. He just barely processed what Broadway had said, then glanced down, slightly curious. Things are missing? He unconsciously pressed his hand on his friend’s lower stomach. At that moment, there was a slick noise, and something long and phallic shaped slipped out of Broadway’s body exactly in the area where this… Missing part should be. “A-aah… We found it.” Tel said loudly, averting his gaze quickly. His cheeks flushed.     Greedler: His eyes snapped from Tel’s face to Broadway’s… oh. “OUT,” he bellowed, more smoke pouring out from between his teeth as he charged at the intruder, claws ready to strike.   Broadway: Broadway squeaked loudly, his body glowing brightly in embarrassment as he reached for one of the couch cushions to cover himself with. “Y-You should probably go now,” he said to his friend, unwilling to make eye contact with him.    Tel: Tel jumped up and threw his hands in the air, backing away. “It was a mistake!! You’re obviously out of your mind!” He shouted angrily back at Greed, his voice rising in pitch.    Greedler: In an instant he was on Tel, ripping him away from Broadway and dragging him to the front door. He wrenched open the handle and all but threw the psychic outside. “And STAY OUT,” he roared, a narrow jet of flames shooting out with the words. Before Tel had a chance to reply, the door was slammed shut and locked, Greed himself standing in front of it, his back still to Broadway. His shoulders heaved as he fought to compose himself again after his little… outburst.   Broadway: The fish being shivered as he watched his mate toss the other out. He knew he should be angry, but there was just something so alluring and powerful about the way the other was acting.  Erin kept the pillow in front off himself, honestly embarrassed that the re-discovered  thing between his legs now wouldn’t go away.  “Greed,” he called softly, looking at the other through half-lidded eyes.    Tel: Tel, eyes wide and fists clenched, swallowed and let out the breath he was holding before standing, brushing his clothes off and smoothing his hair. He… he could have died. But he didn’t. At least Greed had some humanity left. He turned and kicked the door. Hard. “You deserve worse, you gangrenous wart!” He shouted. “I swear to Suess.” he added with a grumble as he turned to go. Broadway was safe with Greed… Even though he was acting like a murderous feral beast at the moment. If it ever turned out that he wasn’t…  He sighed and started his walk home. His limo seemed to have left without him… He’d need a new driver…   Greedler: Luckily for Tel, the front door was nearly soundproof, so whatever he’d yelled went completely unnoticed. Greed huffed out another little puff of smoke when Broadway spoke, turning to face him and– His eyes widened. The look his husband–his mate–was giving him was unlike anything he’d seen before. He found himself advancing on him, bracing himself on the back of the couch as he dipped in for a hungry kiss.

Tel: Tel slipped out of bed and stretched. He brushed his teeth with his hello kitty toothbrush, then threw on his suit and slid happily out of his bedroom off to his office.  All ready for the day~   Henry: Henry smirked as he snuck up on the other. He poked the other man’s side before pulling him into a dip and a loving kiss. “Good morning, gorgeous~”   Tel: Tel made an eep noise when poked and wrapped his arms around his lover when dipped.   “Henry! Darling~ Good morning. I can’t believe I didn’t sense you~”   With a toothy grin, he lifted Tel into his arms, rather than pulling him back from the dip.   Henry:“I’m getting good at sneaking up on you~” He teased, giving the other’s rump a loving squeeze as he held him. “I like seeing that cute, surprised look you get.”   Tel: Tel giggled and wiggled his legs playfully. “I was just about to have some breakfast! Maybe I could have them make you some steak tartare or something and you could eat with me?”   Henry: “Sounds lovely~” He purred carrying the other off to the kitchen. “I’ll just have to brush my teeth before I kiss you again. Which means I need to get as many kisses from now till breakfast in as possible.”   When they reached the elevator, he set Tel on his feet once more, pinning the other to the wall to kiss him deeply.   Tel: Tel wrapped his arms around Henry’s neck and returned the loving kisses. He stretched out one of his long legs to press a floor on the elevator panel, which then closed the door. He had accidentally pressed about seven different buttons, so it might be a while before they would be delivered down to the foyer.   Henry: Henry gave a chuckle. Instead of letting Tel put his leg back down, he pulled it around his own waist; running his hand up and down the other’s thigh.   “I’m sorry we haven’t been getting to spend as much time together lately,” he purred between kisses. “I feel like we should both take today off to just relax. How’s about a date-night, bonbon?”   Tel: Tel giggled, his cheeks flushing lightly. “Of course. I’ve been working quite hard lately. It’ll be nice to just relax. And you can tell me all about what you’ve been up to~”   Henry: “Well, I don’t really know if you want me to go into detail on that,” Henry said, actually sounding a little nervous for once. That was why he’d been working so hard on Tel not being able to read him. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally flash some bloody memory scene to his beloved boyfriend.   “I’d much rather hear about what you’ve been doing this whole time.” Tel: Tel gave a little sigh as his smile fell. A small point of contention between them was that Henry wouldn’t talk about himself. “Henry… I love you. I want to know all about you. It’s not as if I’m going to judge you…”   Henry: “It’s not a matter of you judging me, love,” Henry said, shaking his head. “It’s a matter of the things I see. The things I do. I don’t like the fact that I do it, or that I’m enjoying it while I do it.” He sighed, pulling away from the other enough to really look at him.  “When I’m with you, I don’t want to think about all of  that stuff. And that’s why I block my thoughts from you. because believe me, you don’t want to see it. I just want to focus on you, and your candy, and your cute little Hello Kitty things, and just think about normal life.”   Tel: Tel pressed more elevator buttons with his foot. “I understand. But I don’t like it. I want to be here for you and I want to be a part of your life. You know I hate just waiting at home while you get yourself into all kinds of danger.”   Henry: “Tel, you really don’t comprehend what you’re asking of me,” Henry said, shaking his head. Honestly he was getting frustrated with this. Every time he came home, Tel was asking him over and over again. “Fine. I’ll show you. But just once. You’ll see why I never want to talk about it.” Henry took a deep breath, letting down all of the defenses he’d tried to build against Tel’s powers.  “Alright, read my mind.” What Tel would see is far more bloodshed than any human should be able to witness. Ripping bodies, assassinations for mafia men, thefeeling of being shot, the taste of human flesh in his mouth. It would all be shockingly intense simply because Henry had been holding it back for so long. But the most horrible memory was of when Henry didn’t let himself eat enough. He’d lose control completely.  Back when he was Helena, the monster inside of her would take control and come out of her, dragging her body along for the crazy rampage. But now? No, now Henry himself would change into something he himself couldn’t comprehend. Something horrible.    Tel: Tel frowned. Why couldn’t Henry just talk about himself? Making Tel use his powers just to find out what his boyfriend has been up to lately… He took his face and pressed his forehead against Henry’s. The horror and bloodshed rivaled and beat his own nightmares to a pulp. He could only stand it for a moment before recoiling with a gasp, placing his hand on his chest and smacking against the sidewall of the elevator. “Aah… Henry...”    Henry: “And that is exactly why I don’t want to talk about any of it. Because basically anything I do when I’m not around you is that.” And up went his guard again as he tried to help Tel pull himself off of the elevator wall.  “Other than that, there’s not much to tell. You already know about what I was like when I was Helena. I do all of that shit, I stalk my friends, and then I come home to you. That’s why I just like living in the here and now  and just enjoying the life I have when I’m in your presence.”   Tel: Tel shakily took his hands and bit his lip. “I’m having a hard time believe that… was you…” He said quietly.  He didn’t want Henry to think anything would change now… But it was hard to just leave it alone.    Henry: “But it was,” Henry said with a sigh. “That’s what I have to do to survive. And if I don’t… well you saw what comes of that.” He frowned, reaching to rub his belly where the old demon used to be before they merged somehow.  “To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what I look like when that happens. But I feel like some sort of bug.” Wouldn’t be surprising considering the demon that used to be in his gut was basically a giant tapeworm.  Henry actually gave a shiver, trying to push all of the thoughts out of his mind for the moment.  “Anyway… How  about we go pet some bunnies before breakfast, yeah?” He was sure the last thing Tel would want after all of that would be to eat.   Tel: “I know… It’s necessary.” Tel fell against his chest and clung to him. “But maybe… You don’t have to be so violent, just to eat…?”  What if there was a quicker way to kill his prey… Or something?!  And here it went. He sighed, reaching to rub his temples.   Henry: “Tel, you don’t get it. I have no control over how violent I get when I go into a feeding frenzy. I have control enough to get them somewhere private, and then  it all just..lets loose! Besides, I have to keep them alive for as much of the feeding as possible. Even though I’m physically eating their bodies it’s the life force that matters most.”   Tel: The elevator came to a stop on the second floor and the door opened. Tel bit his lip and glanced away. “There must be a way to break the curse. There has to be something we can do to get your humanity back.”    Henry: Henry flinched at that. Did Tel really have to go there? “Tel,” he said, unable to hide the angry growl in his voice. “What do you not understand about the fact that I’m not human?!” He really didn’t mean to shout, but he was so filled with rage for a reason he didn’t even understand.  “There’s nothing we can do about this! I’m stuck this way for the rest of eternity, and there is no way to fix it. Do you get why I’m male now? Because I somehow meshed together with it! I’m a demon, Tel. A vicious, man-eating, disgusting..” He trailed off, breathing harder than he should have been. Something didn’t feel right.  “I have to go.” The redhead turned to storm out, not wanting to take out any more of his anger on the other man. Something felt off, and the last thing he wanted was to actually hurt Tel.   Tel: “Henry— Aah.. I’m sorry, you’re not disgusting, I’d never say that!” Tel shouted after him. He rushed to catch the back of his coat.    Henry: Henry’s body wasn’t moving right. but if that didn’t tell Tel that something was wrong, the way the man nearly swiped at him would. Henry managed to stop himself from hurting the other just before making contact, quickly pulling his arm against his own chest as he turned to look at him. There was something in Henry’s eyes that gave away that he wasn’t in complete control right now. Like he was fighting with something.  “Don’t touch me right now,” he commanded, shakily managing to pry Tel’s hand away from his coat. “I don’t want to hurt you. Just let me leave.”   Tel: Tel looked desperate, keeping his hand outstretched for a moment before letting it fall to his side. “Okay… Goodbye.”  He looked down. Henry is not the demon. The demon is the demon, and the rest of him… is Henry. Otherwise, there would be nothing to fight… Right?   Henry: He hated seeing Tel like that. He just wanted to take the other into his arms and hold him, kiss him, and tell him everything was going to be  alright. But at the same time he felt an overpowering hunger, and it wasn’t safe for him to stay. “I’ll be back later,” he said, turning once more to scramble out of the factory.   Tel: Tel made his way back up to his bedroom and took a shower instead of eating. He got dressed afterward and headed back down to his office.  There had to be something to be done to help Henry. As rich as he was, as many connections as he had, there was no one he knew of that could help him support a cannibal. Trying to help Henry not have to hunt has…implications.  They were lucky the press hadn’t gotten hold of any of this…  He sat down at his desk and put his head down with a sigh. Poor Henry. And now he’d angered him… Implying he had less humanity… Implying that he should have humanity… But he did. At one point. Didn’t he? Didn’t Helena? He put his face in his hands.      A few days later   Henry: The cannibal had to admit to himself that he was nervous as he made his way back through the factory. He had almost hurt the other, after all. Even if he’d stopped himself, he’d shown Tel what he was really like and now he was afraid the other man wouldn’t want to be near him any longer.  He cleared his throat slightly as he made his way into the office, not bothering to knock. This wasn’t the time of day Tel had his meetings. Henry always had his schedules memorized, whether he was there or not. He always found out.  “Hey,” he said softly, moving to sit on the side of the other’s desk.    Tel: “Henry…” Tel smiled, a hint of sadness in his expression. “I missed you… Where… Oh, well I…” He looked down. Would Henry even want to be asked questions about where he’d been?   Henry: “I missed you too,” He said, reaching to take Tel’s hand; interlacing their fingers. He felt a wave of discomfort flow through him when the other asked ‘where’, but he took a deep breath and let it out.  “The red light district,” he answered quietly. “Downtown. Most people don’t know it’s even there, but it is. It’s where I do all of my..uhm…’hunting’ for the most part.” He ran his thumb nervously over the other’s knuckles.  “Admittedly it’s..a little harder for me to hunt as a man than it was a woman. I don’t like hurting ladies if I can help it. That and, honestly, they’re too fatty. Men are more lean and meaty.” He couldn’t believe he was talking about this. The more he spoke the more nervous he felt inside, even if he looked cool and collected on the outside.    Tel: Tel’s mind raced with questions.  Why didn’t you call? Were you angry with me? Did anyone hurt you?  Oh god I hope he wasn’t lonely.  Did you get enough to eat?  He took a breath, sensing how nervous Henry was. They needed it to be okay again.  He scooted closer to him and leaned on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I just worried, is all. Nothing is going to ease that short of following you and trying to do it all for you. But obviously… That’s not possible. I’ve spent the past couple of days trying to think of some way to help you.”   Henry: “Tel…” Henry pulled the other up onto the desk with him, holding him close. “No matter what I do, I just can’t make you understand,” he said, pulling Tel’s chin up to look him in the eye. “Just being here with youhelps me. Not having to think about what I do outside, and getting to spend happy times in here or upstairs, or out on the town with you is what helps me. You give me peace of mind.” He kissed the other man’s forehead before nudging their foreheads together. “All you need to do to help me is be here for me. Hug me. Kiss me. I know you hate waiting at home while I go out and do what I do. But I don’t want you there with me. You wouldn’t see me the same anymore, and I don’t want you exposed to all of that violence. It’s not that I think of you as weak. I don’t think that at all. In fact, I think you’re amazingly strong. I just don’t want you to have to be around something so…inconvenient, gross and sickening. And by that, I mean what I do, not necessarily me.”     Tel: No. He does not like to wait at home. Alone. While his love goes out and does dangerous, violent things. While occasionally, he may expect a visit for cuddles and perhaps a romp with not even a sliver of hope for the future.  Like a house wife. Better stay home… He may come today… He rubbed his shoulder.  “I want to ask you something… And I don’t want you to get angry, dear.” He took his hands. “Have you given up? Do you still have hope that we can break the curse?”   Henry: “Yes. I have,” Henry answered bluntly. “There might have been hope back when I wasn’t fused with it. Back when perhaps there was some way to get it out. But now? There’s no way. He and I…are one in the same. I hate it, I really do, but there’s no way to reverse it. There’s no way to make me normal again. There’s no way to make me fully human again.” He took a deep breath, looking to Tel not with anger but  with sadness.  “And if you want to stay together, you’ll have to learn to accept that. There is no way to stop this. No matter how much you wish and pray or ask the greyfaces. This cannot be reversed.”   Tel: He pursed his lips. “You shouldn’t threaten to leave me for being an optimist. And at no point have I said that I intend to leave you. But you should know me. I don’t just sit back and accept things. You’ve lost hope entirely… You don’t even want to entertain the idea that you could dream of one day being free.”   Henry: “Tel, stop!” He finally shouted. “You shouldn’t suggest things you don’t understand! You don’t think I want to be free? I do, but it is never going to happen. It is impossible. It’s not a matter of you being optimistic or not. It’s a matter of being realistic!” He pulled away from the other, moving to stand.   “What don’t you get about the fact that you talking about me being freehurts me? Because I know it’ll never happen.” Why wouldn’t he make Tel understand? Why wouldn’t he get it through his head? “I’m not threatening to leave you, okay?! I’m telling you to look at the situation at hand and decide if you can actually deal with this or not. If you can deal with me. Because this situation isn’t changing. I can make myself come home to you more. I can make sure I don’t disappear for days on end. But there is no way in heaven or hell that this curse is being lifted. Ever.” He motioned to himself as he looked to the other. “This is me. And you need to get used to that…I don’t know how many times I have to say it before you accept it.”   Tel: The last sentence hung in the air a moment.  Tel took off his glasses and his hat and tossed them on the table, then rubbed the bridge of his nose, then glanced at him, running his hand through his bangs. “Henry, I’m sorry. We’ve been through this and been through it. You’re right… I’m just used to getting whatever I want.” He sat in the chair and looked down. He was also used to being able to read people… But right now he didn’t know how badly he had upset Henry. Would he leave again? Was it all his fault?  “Henry, I’m sorry…”   Henry: Henry let out a sigh, reaching to rub  his temples.  “It’s not a matter of getting what we want. Because trust me, I want this to be gone too, but it won’t be. I have to accept how I am and learn how to live with it. But I’m also trying to work with you. I’m trying to be more open and talk about what I do, like you wanted. I’m coming home as much as I can, and making sure that’s more than I used to,like you wanted.” He moved slowly to sit beside the other again. “I’m trying hard to do everything you’re asking of me, but having hope is just something I can’t do. And I really need you to realize that. Dropping this subject is really something I need you to do. I asked you to let me have my privacy about what I did, and you forced your way in anyway. So at the very least, just…leave this be? Because fighting over it wont help, no matter what we do.”   Tel: Tel pulled up his knees. “All of those things you’re trying to do… For me. I’m sorry it’s hard. I acknowledge that being with me is a lot of /I want I want I want/. And I’ll work on that as much as I can…”   Henry: “For the most part I can deal with it. But… you just settled on a very touchy subject, and one that can’t be changed.”   He stood once more, moving to pull the other gently from the desk.   “Let’s just… go to sleep, yeah? I’m tired. You look tired. We can have some nice dreams together and then talk more in the morning, okay?” He cooed, guiding the other to his bedroom.

Broadway:  Tel! *clings to* You need to come over to my place at some point so we can have another sleep over.   Tel: “Oh! Is it alright? Your husband doesn’t mind?” He scooped the actor up in his arms. “Oh, if he decides to play too, I can paint his nails! Little stars and money signs~”   Broadway:  I don't think Greed would mind, though I don't think he'd want you to paint his nails. Especially not the money signs. He uh-- *trails off awkwardly, biting his bottom lip* His factory is gone.   Tel: Tel frowned and plopped down in his office chair with the young man in his lap, looking concerned. How were they taking care of themselves, then? He pet Broadway’s hair thoughtfully. “You didn’t tell me you two were down on your luck. What happened?”   Broadway: He felt himself relaxing in the other's grasp the more Tel played with his hair. "Well, I've got my own business going now, but sometimes I feel like a jerk. I don't want to rub it in his face after everything that happened. I've got my own chain of coffee shops now."   Tel: “The coffee shop is a chain!! Do open one near my factory~ I’ll definitely grab some tea there! But oh, I’m so worried about you two. How is he taking it? And… What happened to the factory, dear?”   Broadway: He reached to rub his own arm nervously. "It's all kind of a long story. I guess I can shorten it by saying he followed the 'destiny' of other Once-lers. The last tree fell." Erin gave a sigh. "He said he'll never really get over it, but he's trying hard to move on. I've been giving him work in my company so he doesn't feel like he has nothing to do. And he's taken up painting."   Tel: Tel sat back and a strange, worried or possibly disgusted look came over his face. Destiny? Not a chance! Not with the greenhouses… Not with the other projects… Why should that worry him? Nothing to do with him. These other “Once-lers”, they just… They’re just doing it wrong.   “That’s such a shame, darling… Such a shame. Such a shame… At any rate, um… A sleepover, you said?”   Broadway: “Yeah! So long as you don’t mind that Aussie is crashing there right now. He finally came back from Australia. And I got a new cat! I should show him to you.”   He reached with his left hand to scratch his cheek even despite the fact that it was still in a brace from his accident.   “But we could watch movies and have treats together. I’m sure Greed would enjoy some company too.”   Tel: “The more the merrier. Maybe I can paint his nails~ Are you sure Greed wouldn’t want to? If we’re all doing it~”   He glanced down and noticed Broadway’s arm, since he was thinking about painting nails. Facts started to flood into his mind. A car crash? He was in a coma?! And this was recent! How come nobody informed him? He was always missing things in Broadway’s life.   “Darling I… I hadn’t heard about the car crash.”   Tel: Erin flinches at that, looking to the other in shock. Sometimes he forgot his friend was a telepath.   “I… Sorry. You were just so busy. I didn’t want to bother you with it. I feel bad enough that Greed had to deal with it.” He reached to fiddle with the brace. “I’m fine, really. It’s just a sprain.”   Tel: “That’s awful. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were in the hospital… I don’t mean to be so busy. Perhaps I need to slow some things down around here… I suppose we ought to head back to your place, hm?”   Broadway: “Well I wasn’t really… In the hospital. So you didn’t miss out on that.” He laughed nervously. Though when the other suggested coming over right that moment he was a little surprised, if not pleased. “Really? Sure, let’s go!”   Tel: “Ah…” He stood and placed Broadway on his feet. “I’ll call the limo around.” He picked out his phone and sent a text. “They’ll be out front in a moment.”   Broadway:  Erin nodded, taking his friends hand and pulling him towards the door. It had been so long since he’s been in Tel’s factory, but he will knew his way around.   Soon enough they were in the limo and Erin gave the driver instructions.   “Tel, I told you we technically live on Disney property, right? We have our own mini castle.”   Tel: “Ah! Yes, I haven’t been to your new, um… Castle. I can’t wait to see it.” He grinned. They pulled up before long and Tel bounced in the seat excitedly. “I like it! You should get yourself a moat and fill it with dolphins.”   Broadway:“I totally would if Greed would let me,” he said with a chuckle. “It was enough of a fight trying to get him to let me have the cat. Oh you’ll love Richard! He’s so snuggle.”   And completely hairless, but still. Erin took the others hand and helped him out of the car before pulling him towards the door.   “Tada~”   Tel: Tel hurried behind him to the door. “It’s so nice! I love all the flowers! You’re like a princess. Is there a balcony here?”   Broadway: “Nah, no balcony. But there’s a space where there was supposed to be an elevator. We turned that into the cat’s room.”   He pulled the other inside, showing him all around the fancy mini-mansion.   “I really do love this house. And we have this awesome ‘outdoor kitchen’ for barbecues! The garage is pretty huge! That’s where Aussie’s staying.”   He paused for a moment, honestly having trouble remembering.   “I forget, have you met Aussie before?”   Tel: “Yes, we’ve met. Is he having trouble with a factory, as well, or?” Tel asked idly.   Broadway: He checked his phone as his husband texted him back, admittedly still worried about making Greed mad. So he pulled his friend into the kitchen as they spoke to try and stay out of the other’s way.   “Oh no. Aussie doesn’t have a factory. Never did. He usually finds work in other people’s factories though. He never really got through the invention stage of being a Once-ler. He kinda just stuck to building things.”   He looked through the fridge before pulling out some cheesecake brownies.   “You hungry?”   Tel: Tel’s eyes widened as his weakness slipped out of the refrigerator. “You know I am, darling! By the way, is Greed coming home soon to join in our fun? And…” He glanced away. “Why would he be angry that I’ve come? Sorry, I… Couldn’t help it.” He’d read his friend’s mind again.   Broadway: He stiffened slightly when the other read his mind, but smiled timidly; meanwhile forgetting to answer about Greed coming home.   “W-well I…feel like I’ve been bringing a lot of friends home without his permission lately. To be honest with you, I really feel like a jerk. But at the same time, I’ve gone so long without seeing all of you. I don’t feel much like I can help it at this point.”   He reached to rub his arm brace nervously.   “I’m so afraid of losing you again that I jump on the chance to take any time with you that I can.”   Tel: Tel smiled and took his good hand in both of his. “No matter what happens, you won’t lose me for good. I’ll keep coming back like that top you think you’ve sent to the thrift store seven times.” He laughed. He really had a top like that! “Now, let’s have some chocolate!”   Greedler: He’d intended to sleep, he really did, but between the harassing messages and the commotion from the living room, he spent the night mulling over all of his life choices up until now. It wasn’t until the sun had started spilling into the master bedroom that he realized that everything had gone silent.   Maybe they’d left…?   He shuffled down the hall and peeked out, his mood brightening upon catching a glimpse of his husband passed out on the couch. Perfect! Now all he had to–   He froze abruptly when the rest of the scene came into view. Broadway was certainly passed out on the couch, somehow managing to sit upright… with Aussie sprawled out across the entire piece of furniture beside him, and Tel’s head in the young actor’s lap.   His shoulders trembled as an inexplicable wave of jealous anger hit him. This was exactly what he was worried about! Why couldn’t anyone else see how these guys were? Everybody was all over Broadway–HIS Broadway–and he just–   He stormed across the room, navigating around the mess of pillows and snacks and… nail polish?… on his way to the kitchen, continuing to seethe. How dare they take advantage of Broady’s friendly nature! How dare they–   “Husband!” came a gravelly little voice from somewhere by Greed’s knees, snapping him out of the nasty loop that had begun to play in his head. He glanced down only to see Mike tugging at his trousers.   “Uh… what? No, I’m Broady’s husband, not–”   “Husband!” Mike repeated, then started to point out toward the living room again, babbling away in the weird language all of the little yellow creatures seemed to share.   He blew it off for a while, instead fumbling around with Broadway’s new coffee machine for a while until Mike’s wails became more than his sleep deprived brain could bare to deal with. Greed stared at the bouncing being, straining slightly to figure out just what he was trying to say. Something about… the television…?   Another look into the living room and he somehow managed to figure out just what Mike was trying to say. Apparently the trio had watched Broady’s favorite film last night and had fallen asleep without turning anything off, causing the menu screen to repeat itself endlessly for hours and Mike, somehow having the presence of mind not to try to fix the situation himself, was slowly going insane from it. Huh…   He crossed over to manually shut off the screen, glancing back at his zonked out lover. The scene still put him on edge, but he forced it down, instead moving to hover behind the couch, gently resting a hand on Broadway’s head, gloved fingertips moving through his hair.   Broadway: Slowly Broadway began to stir. The position he’d fallen asleep in hurt his neck a bit, and it took him a moment to figure out why he felt so stuck. But as his eyes fluttered open and fell upon his husband, he offered the other man a smile.   “Hey,” he cooed, reaching up to run his hand along Greed’s own lovingly. He pulled the other’s hand closer, kissing his gloved palm.   Truthfully he was still groggy, but Erin wanted to try and get up to hug his husband. But being between Aussie’s legs somehow and under Tel laying on him, he couldn’t seem to squirm free.   “Tel,” he half whispered, trying to shake the other awake. “I need my legs back.”   Greedler:  Most of Tel’s clothes had made it onto the floor in a proper heap. He had been sleeping in only his dress shirt and pants, quite un-tucked and messy. His eyes fluttered open. Broady’s husband had finally arrived, but he’d missed all the fun. He seemed to be upset. He smiled at his friend and groggily sat up. “I’ll release you for now, darling.” He joked. “Hello, Greed.” He twiddled his fingers at the other in a jovial greeting.   Broadway: He felt his knees go weak at the kiss. It was just the tiniest gesture, but jeeze…   “Oh. Hey.” Whatever emotion his voice usually held had gone completely flat the moment he was made aware of Tel’s presence again. Great.   “So… you guys had fun I guess?”   Broadway: Once Tel was off of him, Broady managed to squirm out from between Aussie’s legs to stand. He reached to nudge the blond, but he simply wouldn’t move.   “Aus?” He said softly, shaking the other lightly. Nothing.   The ravenette reached to pick up Aussie’s hand, letting it flop back down onto his stomach.   “Yeah he’s not getting up,” he mused with a small laugh. He motioned for Greed and Tel to follow him into the kitchen, offering Mike a smile on the way past.   “Yeah. We had loads of fun.”   He felt the need to go right to his coffee machine, but did pause to pull Greed into a good morning hug and smooch once he got close enough.   You should have joined us. We had a Disney movie marathon, had lots of snacks, painted Tel and Aussie’s nails, some hair braiding and stuff. I know it sounds pretty girly, but I think you would have had fun.”   Tel: Tel followed, straightening his dress shirt and running his fingers through his hair to smooth it. He made a little pssh sound as Broadway described their night.   “I don’t believe in classifying actions as girly, darling. We had a very Tellish evening, to be sure!”   Greedler: And Greed fell in line behind Tel, keeping his distance from the pair. Mike had disappeared again, and he felt himself actually halfway missing the little guy if only because of his tendency to be a reliable distraction.   “Aha, yeah. I didn’t want to interrupt anything, so I…”   He let himself trail off, roaming around the island to hover on the far side of the coffee machine to watch it chug away, his fingers drumming on the counter top to match the rhythm.   Broadway: This was weird… Why was Greed pulling away so much? Why did he seem so very sad?   “Get over here, you,” Erin teased, moving to grasp Greed’s hand and pull him closer. “You wouldn’t have been interrupting anything. I didn’t realize you were going to hide the whole time.”   He laced his fingers together with Greed’s before reaching to slide his free arm into Tel’s to give his friend a slight squeeze.   “We’re like one big happy family. No one should feel like an interruption. Right, Tel?”   Tel: Tel smiled, showing all his bright, shiny, monstrously sharp teeth. “Of course. One, happy family. The only problem is, if you’ll permit me to say, there’s really no need to be intensely jealous of one’s family, is there, Greed? No reason to be plotting ways to get rid of ones family? No one would happen to be worried that beautiful, lovable Tel with a cute little plump bum might steal away their equally adorable husband— whose wedding he obviously attended and supported. Hm? Broady, you ought to know what’s going through your husband’s head at this very moment. He’s insecure. He thinks he’s ruined you because of some gray face who visited him. And… He thinks he can hide his feelings standing in a room with a man whose nickname is short for Telepath. I don’t mind if you hate me, Greed. But you need to work out why, darling. I’m quite harmless.”   Greedler: And all at once he pulled away again. “Don’t,” he growled. He’d only really ever had contact with one mind-reader, and Overmind had been perceptive enough to understand that he didn’t like it when his thoughts were pried into and, as such, had kept his abilities to the bare minimum. What Tel was doing was not only invasive, but downright violating.   Broadway: “T-Tel,” Erin said, putting his hands up nervously. “I don’t mind if you read my mind but please don’t read–”   And  all at once he stopped, Tel’s words actually clicking with him.   “Wait…one of those greyfaces told you you ruined me?” He asked, anger suddenly flaring up in the actor’s eyes as he picked up one of his plain coffee mugs. “Do they even know me? Do they know how much you’ve helped me? Do they have any idea how happy you’ve made me?”   Oh god, he was seething.   “How dare anyone tell you anything like that. Where are they? Are they still in the house?” he asked, hands shaking. “I swear go God I’ll–”   He swung his arm, accidentally breaking the coffee mug against the counter.   “O-Oh..”   In a flash, Mike was there. The little guy cleaned up the mess, threw it away, and waddled back out of the room.   Erin seemed used to it at this point, thanking the other grumpily as he ran his fingers through his bangs.   “I just..I can’t..” he wheezed softly, still amazingly angry. “You haven’t ruined me. If anything you’ve made me a better person. And you’ve made me a hell of a lot happier than I’ve ever been.”   Tel: Tel stepped back and put his hands behind his back. It was painful to see Broadway this upset, but… Now, at least, they wouldn’t go on like that for months before Greed would finally say something. He knew he hadn’t handled that well, and in fact he’d been an ass, but it wasn’t as if Broadway’s husband would have ended up his friend anyway. Especially harboring such feelings. He raised an eyebrow at Mike, whom he had just noticed. What in the world is that thing?   “I’ll refrain.” He declared.   Greedler: He visibly tensed as Broadway ranted, actually reaching out to try to soothe him right up until he shattered the mug, causing him to withdraw once more. He’d never intended for his husband to find out about the messages, much less for it to come out like this. It was his cross to bear, after all. The whole situation just served to put him even further on edge. “I’m not insecure,” he ground out, lying between his teeth. “And I just…” He trailed off again, not actually knowing what else to say. Half of him honestly believed what he’d been told, that he’d completely ruined poor Broadway’s chance at a nice future. After all, the poor guy had to put up with, and actually try to care for, the man who had single-handedly nuked an entire ecosystem for profit. Never mind that he’d managed to provide for the younger man for the years they’d been together prior to the fall, allowing the then-struggling actor to keep his little cottage and be able to afford to eat on a regular basis, amongst a slew of actual luxuries, and… … And maybe Broady had a point after all.   Broadway: “Greed…” Broady said, trying to calm himself. “Even if you were, you have nothing to be insecure about. I mean it when I say I don’t have eyes for anyone but you. And sure… we’ve been through some rough stuff and bad times, but that doesn’t mean you’ve ruined me.” He reached for the other’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.  “Do you remember how I was when I first met you? I was working multiple jobs, struggling to pay off a house I’d gotten for myself and a person who didn’t give a damn about me. I felt worthless. Sure I had friends, but I didn’t really have time to be with any of them. If anyone thought I was better back then, they’re stupid and crazy.” He reached to pull the other’s hand up to his lips to kiss.  “I know you’re still upset about… you know.. And you have every right to be upset. But don’t listen to anyone that says you’re bad for me. Look at everything that’s happened.” He motioned to the house around them.  “We live in a beautiful house, we always have enough to eat, we get to spend time with each other–” he paused to motion to Tel. “–I actually get to spend time with all of my friends, I have my own business now… There’s nothing wrong with what you ‘did to me’. Sure the tables have turned a little, but that doesn’t mean you’re bad. You gave me the confidence and the ability to do everything I’ve been able to do.”   Tel: “Everybody gets down on their luck sometimes.” Tel chimed in, his head in the refrigerator. He pulled out the rest of the chocolate cheesecake from the night before and grabbed a spoon out of a drawer. He felt pretty good about this outcome… Hopefully Broadway could make his husband feel better, knowing what was going on.   He took a big bite of chocolate cheesecake and licked the spoon clean, watching the two.   Greedler: in his chest that only Broadway seemed to be capable of giving him. He still felt terrible, but…   Completely ignoring their guest, he moved to wrap his arms around Broadway, pulling him into a very clingy sort of hug, mumbling something against the other’s neck.   Broadway: He gave the softest giggle, smooching his husband’s ear before whispering a soft, “I love you.” After which he looked to Tel; his arms happily around his husband and swaying him side to side lightly.  “Are you going to eat that whole cake by yourself?” He teased. Not that the thespian really minded, of course.  He pulled Greed’s face away from his neck enough to smooch his nose, and then his lips. “Now, who’s up for breakfast?”   Tel: Tel smiled and set the cake on the counter. “There’s still a bit left for you two. If Greed is into having cake for breakfast. I’d best get going soon… I have a lot of business to take care of, unfortunately. I’d like a hug too, of course.”   Greedler: He felt himself slump against Broadway, his body finally giving up as the last of his anger a humiliation drained away and the lack of sleep finally began to take its toll. “Mmn… can we… go to bed?” he murmured, lips just below his husband’s ear.   Broadway:  Erin nodded with a soft smile. He bid his friend farewell, giving Tel the rest of the cake, a tight hug and a smooch on the cheek before the man would leave. After which he lead his husband back to the bedroom to lay with him and let him get some well-earned sleep.   Aussie: Aussie meanwhile was finally waking up.   He looks around, spotting no one in the room. He couldn’t hear anyone, either.   “Hey, where did everybody go?”

Henry:   -Finishes placing the last flower petals-   There. Perfection!   -grins and sneaks out of the room to wait for Tel’s reaction-   Tel: Tel slipped into his office to find the room done up for Valentine’s day, with red rose petals, candles, pearls… And a place setting for one, with a delicious looking piece of chocolate cake. He gasped lightly. Who had the time to do this while he was downstairs?   There was no way Sharderai had been able to hide this from him. Evalana hadn’t been thinking of something like this? It was too romantic… And Sharderai or Evalana would have stayed behind. No. It had to be Henry! He hadn’t been around for the last few days. Why would he leave the cake and run off? If it was meant to be a Valentines celebration, shouldn’t they be together? He walked over and sat down in front of the cake. He bit his lip.   Henry wasn’t here because it would be difficult for him to celebrate Valentine’s day? It’s all about eating chocolate… But they would be able to enjoy Valentine’s day just by being together, right? He sighed. Where could he have gone? He felt tears welling up. “Henry? Are you in here, somewhere?"   Henry: The cannibal shifted slightly, hesitant to reply.   “I’m in the air vents, love,” he finally said, though quite awkwardly. “Valentine’s day is actually…quite dangerous for me. Or rather, for anyone around me.”   He sighed softly, shifting uncomfortably in the tiny space. He wanted nothing more than to come out and take Tel into his arms, but for now he stayed right where he was.   “What with all of the chocolates and the cakes and all of the delicious things that I can’t eat anymore, I’m just far too hungry. So much so that I have a hard time controlling myself. And what with everyone eating all of those sweets….Well, with just you it’s fine. But all of them smell like chocolate now. Like the entire world has bathed in it, and it drives my senses crazy. I just don’t want to hurt you…”   Again he shifted, trying to somehow find more space.   “Once all of the chocolate madness dies down, I’ll take you out to a proper Valentine’s dinner… Alright? I promise.”   Tel: Tel made a confused face. “Hurt me…? I..” He didn’t believe Henry would ever hurt him. “If it… If it makes you more comfortable, we can go out in a few days… My poor Henry!” He looked up toward the air vent— Of all the places to hide… So undignified, he must be very uncomfortable. “I love you, darling…”   Henry: “I love you too, dear,” he nearly purred. “You can bet that once it’s safe again, I’ll be smothering you with kisses and affection~”   He gave a tiny grunt as he wriggled about.   “But..uhm…Excuse me for now. I need to find a way out of here. Even in this body, apparently my hips are large enough to get stuck.”   For once, he actually let out a bit of nervous laughter.   “I’m going to see if I can make my way back down to the basement. I’ll see you again soon, my Sweet~”   And with that, Tel would hear him slowly starting to shuffle away.   Tel: He sighed a little and poked at his cake. How he wished Henry could enjoy this cake with him… “Goodbye, dear…” He said quietly.   Helena: It took some time for Helena to make her way back up to Tel’s office from the basement. However once she did, the woman all but threw the doors open.   “Guess who’s back, darling~” She purred, sauntering over to the man’s desk. She sat herself on the corner, smirking as she leaned in to lick the tiniest bit of chocolate away from Tel’s lips. “How’s about we move that lovely dinner plan to now~?”   Tel: Tel sat with his mouth open, watching the woman who had sauntered in the door. “Hen— Helena!” He grinned. “Darling!” He jumped up out of the chair and took her hands, bringing them to his lips. “Dinner~ Yes! Where do you want to go? We could go anywhere, darling~ Oh, but first, the cake! You can… You can eat it? Cake? Chocolate? How did…” He laughed lightly.   Strange magic has allowed them to enjoy their Valentine’s day together.   Helena:  She gave his hips a squeeze, pulling Tel into a sudden dip to kiss him.   “Cake, chocolate and so much more! I can eat any type of normal food again~,” she cooed, pulling him back to his feet to hold him close. “Of course I’ll share it with you, my sweet~ And then, let’s go out to the fanciest place in town! Multiple courses, Champagne, the whole she-bang! What do you say?”   Tel: Tel blushed, having been dipped by Helena. He mustn’t forget, man or woman Helena was still Henry and Henry was still Helena. She was going to act the same either way.   Really, they’d been together like this much more often in their dreams then real life. He grinned, straightening his coat. “I say, we should have the time of our lives, tonight. Dinner, supper, dessert, drinks, and swing dancing til the dawn, darling!” He took her hands and twirled in a circle cheerily.   Helena:  “Yes! Yes that sounds perfect~” She cooed, twirling around with him.   “What are we waiting for, my love? Lead the way to the car! Perhaps we could do a little bit of fun shopping as well? I haven’t gotten a new dress in…well it feels like it’s been Years! I want to look my best out on the town with you.”   Tel: “Shopping it is~!” Tel took one of her hands and ran ahead of her to the limo. He was in such a hurry, his hat flew off and he didn’t care.

Henry: The cannibal casually snuck up behind the other, slipping his arms around Tel's waist. "Well hello there, darling~"   Tel: Tel jumped and laughed happily. “Henry~” He squirmed around and gave him a kiss. “How are you today?"   Henry: He smiled, dipping the other to kiss him once more. "Why its gotten amazingly better now that you're here in my arms, darling~" he purred, nibbling up Tel's neck to smooch his ear. "And how has your day been?"   Tel:“Ooh~ Henry.” He put his arms around him for support and ran his fingers through the other man’s red curls. “It’s been a lovely day. I got a call from Broadway."   Henry: Henry paused at that, perking up with sudden interest. "Oh? I haven't seen him since the whole wedding deal. How is our little fluff-bucket?"   Tel: “He seems to be doing alright. He moved to Florida quite suddenly.” Tel giggled. “Can you let me up?"   Henry: Henry's eyes widened slightly. "He did /what/?" Though he shook himself out of his shock, smirking and picking up Tel all together. "Never~ I'm gonna hold you all day long~"   Tel:“Oh are you? What if I wiggle? What if I make it hard?"   Henry:  At his lover's jokes, Henry's smirk only grew. "Then I'll just have to make it even /harder/ for you to escape, won’t I?" He cooed, nibbling the other's ear where he'd left off. As he held him, he easily reached under Tel to grope the man's bottom tightly.   Tel:“Ooh! Henry you naughty boy. Let’s do something fun.” He giggled. “I want to go somewhere… Do something… or just talk. Hm?” The Telepath wiggled his legs. “We should play a game. Maybe dress up.”   Henry: Henry chuckled, rocking the other lightly in his grasp. "Darling, /anything/ we do together is fun. Anything your heart desires is fine with me. But if we're going to play dress up, we should go downtown to the old antique shops and find gorgeous vintage clothes. Don't you agree?"   Tel: “Oh goodness, I’m so excited!! We’ve got to find something dapper. Or… Flapper~"   Henry: The cannibal gave a bittersweet smile. "Makes me wish I could don my old flapper outfits with you. but my body shape doesn't quite fit the bill anymore. Oh well! No matter~ Let's get you all dolled up, shall we?" He grinned, trotting along with the other to get outside and to the car. "I'll drive~"   Tel: “I think you’d still look lovely, whatever you put on. I can’t wait~ I love dressing up.” He allowed Henry to carry him out to the car. “You’re so strong, darling.”   Henry:  With a chuckle, he opened the car door to gently set Tel down inside. "Well, that's what happens when you've got odd demonic forces mixing together inside of your body, darling~ Inhuman strength tends to happen." Henry leaned in to smooch the other's forehead. "Thank you."   Tel: He smiled softly. “I love your odd demonic forces, sweetheart.”   Henry: The tiniest flush appeared on the pale man's cheeks, though he tried to will it away quickly. He stole a kiss from Tel's lips before wandering over to the driver's side of the car to climb in. "All buckled up, My love?"   Tel: Tel clicked his seat belt. “I am. Just… Drive carefully.” He laughed lightly.   Henry: With a scoff, Henry gave the other a disbelieving look. "Don't I always?" And with that, off then went! Albeit, off they went at Henry's normal crazy driving pace.   Tel: Tel clawed the seat through the ride, at several points, yelling out, “HENRY."   Henry: Once he found a parking spot he liked, Henry suddenly swerved; the car spinning a few times before sliding gracefully into the parallel parking spot. "There! Flawless as always~ Would you'd agree, darling?"   Tel: Tel sat for a moment, stunned, before regaining his senses and smoothing out his hair, which had been quite mussed up. He unstuck his nails from the seat and nodded. “Of course!"   Henry: Henry pulled off his seat-belt, trotting along to open his lover's car door for him. "Shall we, darling~?"   Tel: Shakily, the telepath hopped out of the car and took his dear Henry’s hand.   Henry: And with that, they wandered off into the shop with Henry in the lead to have their silly, happy fun-times.   Tel: Tel and Henry tried on very many dresses and dapper suits.

Broadway: *drums fingers along the desk*   …   *glances at phone*   …   *picks it up and dials Tel’s number*   …   *waits patiently*   Tel: Tel was sitting at his desk doing a bit of paperwork. His phone began to ring. ‘Hello Kitty~ Konnichiwa~ Kitty wa minna no ninkimo–’   Tel picked up the phone. “Broady, darling, is that you?! I haven’t heard from you in ages!”   Broadway: “Tel!,” he squealed happily. “It really has been! I’m sorry I hadn’t called sooner. We came to Florida and then just kinda..moved here..and then I’ve been doing all kinds of business stuff. Oh I wish you could see it all! You’d be so proud of me. How have you been?”   Tel:“Oh darling! I I am proud of you. But you never told me you were planning on moving. I’ve been such a busy bee. Meetings and paperwork and what not. How is Greed doing?”   Broadway: “Well..” He laughed nervously. “We never really planned on moving. Greed kinda surprised me with this house and we just..never really came back. Oh it’s gorgeous here!”   The actor turned business man swung back and fourth in his chair slightly.   “He’s good. Getting a little bored here, so I made him my assistant! And we’ll be doing some more traveling soon. World traveling, for business purposes.”   Tel: “Ah. World traveling, well that sounds like a lot of fun! When are you coming back to see me, hm?”   Broadway: “When do you want me to come back and see you, hmm~?” He asked with a chuckle.   “Also, you know you’re more than welcome to come visit us any time, right? You could probably use a nice Florida vacation. And we’ve got the most lovely pool you can sprawl out next to.”   Tel: “I want you to come and visit all the time? Why don’t you come stay? You can stay in the guest room, or in my office. Forever.” He chuckled. “But at some point, perhaps I could take a visit to Florida.”   Broadway: “Forever, huh?” He gave a small giggle. “Somehow I don’t think Greed would like that very much. But I agree. We should both plan trips to see the other.”   Tel:“You would most likely get bored. And Greed would, as well. I mean, living in my office forever."   Broadway: "But hey, endless candy, right? And you could take us out on the town.”   Tel: “That’s right! There’s always candy in the desk, and we can surely go for walks.” He giggled, swirling in his office chair.   Broadway: “That sounds perfect! How about I call you back tomorrow and we arrange the details?”   Tel:“Of course! Just be sure in the meantime that nothing catastrophic happens and you don’t end up in another dimension or moving to another state or something. I’m going to implode if I don’t get to have a sleepover with you soon."   Broadway: The actor tried to cover his mouth, hoping to keep the giggles from escaping. However, he could not.   "I’ll talk to Greed about it. We need to figure out our travels and maybe since we want to leave relatively soon, what we’ll do is stop in there first and then you can have your sleep over. Then we can leave from there rather than here to get to where we need to go. Doesn’t matter if it’s out of the way. You’re worth it.”   Tel: Tel had a bit of a giggle fit. Once he’d calmed down, he sighed. “Thank you, darling, I know. I’ll be waiting. I think I’ll go get my jammies on right now! Tell Greed there’s going to be ‘smores and hair-doing and nail-painting, mine of course, and pillow fighting and Disney watching. This will be— The most epic sleepover that ever was! You can count on it."   Broadway: “Something tells me he won’t participate in most of that, but he can sit and be a grumpy puss. At the very least, I’ll be having loads of fun with you. I’ll just get him to smile later~”   The actor grinned as he leaned back in his seat.   “I’ll call you back when we have a specific day set, okay? I don’t want to keep you waiting too long, now do I?   Tel: "I’m just going to throw pillows at him until he returns fire.” He grinned. “Right, you wouldn’t want to keep me waiting. I’ll implode. Such a mess. Chocolate everywhere.” He giggled. “Oh dear that’s morbid, alright, I’ll let you go, darling."   Broadway: "You’re such a silly thing. I’ll talk to you later, Tel.”   And with that, he reluctantly hung up; rushing off to speak with his husband about their future travel plans.   Tel: Tel smiled and hung up the phone. He was looking forward to dear Broadway’s visit, for sure.

 Henry: *pulls into a hug* She’ll find me attractive too~ I can guarantee that.   Tel: Tel smiled and leaned his head against Henry’s chest. “I’m sure. I don’t know how anybody wouldn’t.” He giggled.   Henry: “Oh, you’d be surprised~”   He leaned in to smooch the other’s forehead, playing with his hair.   “Hey… we haven’t gone dancing in a while. How’s about you and me go have a night on the town?”   Tel: “Yes! That sounds wonderful. Do you know where you want to go?” He ran his fingers through Henry’s hair and smiled.   Henry: “No idea~ If figured we’d find some fancy country club in the rich side of town and sort of… I dunno, crash a party?” He suggested, closing his eyes as he leaned into the touch.   Tel:“Crash a party? Haha… Maybe we don’t have to go anywhere fancy. I don’t know. We could hit the town and find the night clubs~” He giggled.   Henry: “Whatever you’d like, love,” he purred. Suddenly his hands would find Tel’s rear, giving it a firm squeeze before he pulled the telepath up off the ground to hold him. “So long as I’m somewhere with you, I don’t care where we go.”   Tel: Tel looped his arms around Henry’s neck and laughed again. “That sounds lovely. How are you lately, dear? You’ve been eating well?”   Henry: “As well as I can,” he cooed, rocking the other side to side in his grasp. “There are only so many scumbags in this city. I almost dread running out. after all, I try my best never to eat the good people around here.”   He suddenly smirked, leaning in to kiss the other’s neck.   “Well, except for you, of course~ But that’s a completely different type of eating, my sweet, lovely little dessert~”   Tel: Tel giggled and shrugged up his shoulders as if he’d been tickled. "Henry~ You’re so silly. You should save that kind of talk for later."   Henry: “You know I can’t help it~ You’re always looking so delicious~”   Instead of the other’s neck,he then went for his lips, kissing a few times before he finally started off towards the door with the other in his arms.   “Let’s go, darling~”   Tel: “Oh! Right now? If you insist, darling! Where are we off to?”   Henry: “I already told you I don’t know, silly~ We’ll head down there and you pick where we go. Sound good?”   Tel: “Sounds lovely. Are you going to carry me the whole way?”

Tel: Wearing his best exactly the same suit, Tel stepped up to Broadway’s door at the hotel he was staying at and knocked. He had a bouquet of flowers and a pink teddy.   “Broady darling~” He called. “Are you alone in there?”   Broadway: After a moment or two, there was a creaking of the door opening.   "Oh no, I’m never alone,” he cooed, holding up the little rabbit he’d been playing with just moments ago. The same Rabbit Henry had given him. But otherwise, there was no one else.   Though upon seeing the flowers, Broadway gave a play dramatic pose.   “Why Tel! Are you trying to get me to elope with you just 24 hours before my wedding?”   Tel: “Yes, darling! I’m here to steal you from your darling Greed. You and I tonight. I’ll take you away to a beautiful scene full of— Well, you’ll see. Are you ready to go?” He grinned. “I’m afraid the rabbit would find himself slightly out of place.”   Broadway: He laughed a little, kissing his rabbit on the head and gently putting the little one back in his cage before he once more joined Tel ouside of the door.   “And where exactly is this beautiful scene you’re taking me to?” He asked, batting his eyelashes at the other.   Tel: He began to lead the actor down the hall and outside, where his limo was waiting. “It’s inside my factory. We’re not going anywhere strange. But don’t worry… It will be positively splendid. You’re brimming with energy tonight, lollipop. I’m so glad you’ve found the man you’re going to be happy with for the rest of your life.” He scooted Broadway into the limo and slipped in next to him.   “But tonight.” He cooed as he shut the door. “Is not about him. Home, John.” He instructed the driver before shutting the little window.   Broadway:  Broadway nearly vibrated in excitement. He had no idea what was going on, but it would be fun, right? After all, he’d been so excited all day over the wedding itself that he’d nearly forgotten what Tel said he’d do.   “Soooo, when are you and Henry getting married?” He teased, nudging Tel with his elbow.   Tel: Tel twitched. A sort of confused look crossed his face. Married? Him? He didn’t know how he felt about such a solid commitment. Perhaps a few years ago, he would have considered settling down. What was the problem? What had changed?   There was a fear, perhaps. Some of the thoughts that crossed his mind were possibly irrational.   He laughed. “Oh, I don’t know. Henry and I haven’t been together long enough to talk about such things. Can you really see me in the domestic scene? Haha… Picture me wearing a white wedding dress? No, dear… Not for a while."   Broadway: “Well maybe you wouldn’t be the one in the white dress,” he teased. “But..Greed said something similar to me a long time ago. And look what happened. Besides… You and Henry have both… kinda been broken in the romantic sense. But look at you two? He makes you happy, right? And I know you make him happy. Your broken pieces fit together. And maybe with some time, you’ll see that you’ll want something similar.”   Tel: Tel’s mind pictured Helena– beautiful and sweet in her delicate white dress– He’d have it made for her form. And she would walk up to him, as he waited for her in a traditional black tuxedo. He would take her hand as she joined him at a real church alter. They would share the most tender of kisses…   What was that.   His lips parted slightly and he looked over at Broadway. "Broken?” He repeated quietly. He shook his head slightly, ushering the thought away. “At any rate, let’s think about tonight. I’ve got such a lovely party planned for you.”   Broadway: The actor said nothing, but smirked when he saw the look on Tel’s face. He knew his friend well enough to read him.   Though he did give a little laugh.   “And I can’t wait for that! Are we almost there?”   Tel: “Yes!” He announced, sitting back. He would see Henry at the party, and that strange and uneasy feeling thoughts of a marriage had brought up would go away.   Soon, the limo pulled up in front of the factory, and Tel stepped out, putting out his hand for Broadway. “We have arrived."   Broadway: Broadway all too eagerly took the other’s hand, stepping out of the limo. He was nearly bouncing in place, looking up at the factory in excitement.   Let’s go! Let’s go!   Henry: Henry could see their bouncing little bunny from far away, and the cannibal grinned as he snuck up on the two.   Oh so casually, he wrapped an arm around each ravenette’s shoulder, giving both Tel and Broadway a squeeze at the same time.   “Well look who it is! My two favorite boys~” He purred.   Tel: Tel smiled and leaned his head on Henry as they walked. “Hello, Henry.” He laughed. “Broadway is very excited. Aren’t you, dear?"   An employee opened the front doors wide for them and led them to the ball room. As the ball room door was thrown open, it could be seen to be completely decked out in the colors of Broadway’s new Cafe. As far as ball rooms go, Tel’s was about six times as big as one would expect. This night, it was eloquent, decorative, and packed with people. Many of them were Broadway’s friends. Some were… Well, suspiciously scantily clad men.   There were several areas. In one area, there was a stage where performers were singing a song from one of Broady’s favorite, well, Broadway shows. There were seats there, and an area for dancing. Another area had televisions set up, the ground covered in pillows, and the movie Frozen playing on all of the sets at once. And of course, there was the food. Coffee themed sweet snacks and frozen drinks, as well as hot drinks, tea, and alcohol.   Broadway: Broadway had been about to greet his dear friend when suddenly the door opened. His heart stopped as he looked around. What should he go to first? The little coffee themed sweets and cakes? The dance floor? The movie?   He let out quite the loud squeal, reaching up to cover his mouth. The poor boy was on overload, and if he hadn’t been vibrating before, he sure was now!   Funny thing was, he didn’t notice the scantily clad men at all.But he was running in place, still unable to decide what to do first.   “Oh my god, it’s glorious! I don’t… you… we… I…” He wheezed softly, only able to shout out a “Thank you!”   Henry: Henry chuckled, leaning in to smooch Tel’s neck before he released his lover. He suddenly picked Broadway up, giving the other boy a twirl before he set him back down again.   “This is your bachelor party, sweetie~ Live a little!”   And with that he pat Broady’s head.   “Go get yourself some of that cake I see you staring at. We’ll be right behind you~”   Tel: “Look at the darling.” Tel said, leaning on Henry again as Broadway ran off into his party. “He’s too precious. Greed had better treat him well.”   Many of those in the room cheered as they saw the actor turned business owner enter the room.   The scantily clad men came over and showed off for him. Tel giggled as he noticed, and Broadway pretty much did not.   “Shall we head over there?”   Broadway: Broady indeed did not notice in the slightest that, that was what the men were trying to do. His inner business owner took over, and soon he was sweetly handing out pastries to all of the man who had approached him. To him, they were just normal guests of the party.   He didn’t notice their outfits in the slightest.   Oh no, he was far too busy trying to get his hands on the coffee calling his name.   Henry: Henry grinned, gently pulling towards the other.   “Oh don’t you worry your pretty little head~ Greed’ll treat him right. And if he doesn’t, you and I will swoop in to the rescue~”   He leaned in to smooch Tel’s cheek before he realized that Broadway truly had no clue what the strippers were there for. Burying his face against the back of Tel’s shoulder was all he could do to keep himself from laughing.   Tel: Tel was skimped on his kiss. What was Henry laughing at? He looked over at Broadway and smiled widely. The strippers, an irreplaceable facet of the common bachelor party, were standing, confused, as Broadway handed them sweets. He giggled along with Henry. “We should really head over there.”   Broadway:  Indeed they were confused. Though they did seem to enjoy staring ad Broady downed and entire cup of coffee in one go.   In an attempt to properly do his job, one of the strippers accidentally let some frosting fall onto his bare chest.   “Oh my! Looks like I creamed myself a little bit, “he purred, moving closer to the actor.”Wanna help me clean it off, sweet cheeks?”   The others snickered, expecting his trick to at least fluster the actori even the tiniest bit.   …Only it didn’t.   Broadway looked to the other innocently, mouth full of cake, as he cheerfully offered the other a napkin.   Henry: Henry nodded, gently guiding Tell towards their dear friend. However seeing the Stripper’s antics and Broadway’s reaction to them caused the cannibal to have to bite his own hand in order to keep from laughing out obnoxiously. Though he couldn’t keep the giggles from escaping.   “Oh god… I can’t,” he muttered around his gloved hand as they reached Broadway.   Tel: “Careful darling. Teeth.” Tel reminded. They both had to be careful of that little problem.   “Having fun, boys?” Tel asked them as he picked up a chocolate from a platter. He gave it a subtle lick and sucked on it a bit. He giggled, regarding the stripper with the frosting on his chest.   Broadway: Seeing Tel, though he’d just seen him moments before, Broady’s eyes absolutely lit up. He leaned against the other as he munched, damn near snuggling the man on the spot.   And once more leaving the strippers quite confused.   “This is great! I don’t know these guys, but I’m sure we’ll all be good friends, right?” He asked cheerfully.   Henry: Henry had to take deep breaths, slowly lowering his hand from his mouth. It was true that he’d heal right up, but Tel had a point.   “Of course, sweetie,” he cooed, ruffling Broadway’s hair.   He could be far too cute for his own good.   Tel: You’ll ruin your gloves, if not your hand. Tel’s voice said in Henry’s mind.   “Yes! Of course you can be good friends with them.” He giggled. “I invited as many friends as I knew, and I did hope you’d meet… new ones."   Broadway: “Oh Tel, you’re the—”   This was the problem with putting all of Broadway’s favorite things in the same room. He couldn’t focus.   Hearing Let it Go starting to play not only on the movie in the corner, but on the stage as well completely caught his attention. In one swift motion, he was running for the stage; sliding onto hit on his knees to steal the microphone from the actual singer. And with that, Broady proceeded to belt his heart out.   Henry: Henry turned around quickly, biting his bottom lip as he let his gloved hands hold onto the table for support. Broadway was far too amusing for his own good.   “I’m not going to be able to breathe tonight, am I?” He squeaked out between giggles.   Tel:“Not breathing is going to make you very uncomfortable.” He giggled. Watching Broadway on the stage, and the displaced singer he’d hired, he smiled wider. “Look at that… Perfect. I’m so glad he’s enjoying himself. I’m going to go and sing with him.”   Broadway: As soon as he saw Tel coming towards the stage, Broadway grinned.   He held his hand out for the other, honestly hoping Tel would jump on stage with him. Why not? Tonight was his night!     Henry: Henry trotted along after the two, finally getting ahold of his little breathing problem.   Tonight was going to quite fun, that was for sure. He only wished that he could eat he delicious food Tel had spent so much time picking out to make the entire evening perfect.   Tel: Tel smiled back at Henry. When he reached the stage, he reached out, stepped up and took Broadway’s hand, beginning to sing the song with him at the refrain.   Broadway: His grin widened, and as Henry came closer, he offered his hand out to the redhead as well. Again, Why not?   The song was nearly over, but the other man was welcome as well. They could all share a mic.   Henry: Henry was shocked at first, but how could he resist the two up on stage? They were far too cute for their own good.   He took the outstretched hand, hopping up onto the stage with ease and joining them for the very last chorus.   The rest of the party broke into a happy, albeit drunk, applause as the song ended, and Henry pulled an arm around each of the others to pull them into a bow.   Tel: Tel’s face flushed. He hardly ever had a chance to sing anymore. Perhaps it would be a karaoke night. He’d bring it up with Broadway. He smiled sheepishly at the audience as they came up from their bow.   Broadway: “You know, you’re really good at that,” Broady mused. He bumped hips with Tel, then Henry. “Both of you!”   Henry: “Ah, shucks,” Henry teased, waving it off. “Thank you kindly.”   He grinned, bumping hips right back.   “I kid~ I kid~ Thanks, sweetie.”   Tel: Embarrassed, Tel bumped him back and turned, jumping off of the stage. “I’m going to get some chocolate!"   One of the strippers told him he could smear chocolate sauce all over himself.   "No thanks, dear.” Tel answered,   Broadway: Broadway smiled as he watched the other, slipping off of the stage to wander off in the room. There were so many wonderful things he needed to find before the night was over!     Henry: “Sorry, boys~ He’s mine,” Hey purred, wrapping his arms around Tel from behin to squeeze him as he ate his chocolate.   He glanced off toward Broady, musing to himself as the other ran around.   Tel: Tel nibbled on a chocolate covered strawberry. “It’s a lovely night for a party.” He mused. “Though he hasn’t had anything to drink, yet. The night is still young… He can get drunk tomorrow at the reception.” He giggled.   Broadway: Broadway could hear the band beginning to play the song True Love’s Kiss from Enchanted, and as it played his heart melted.   He was far too excited for the wedding. His heart felt like it was putty and about to burst all at the same time. He wiggled in place as he listened to the song.   The actor simply couldn’t wait for the next day when he and the love of his life would be heading back to their hotel room really, truly married.”

Henry: Finally Henry had managed to get himself active enough to clean up the room. It took a lot of doing. The Ick had managed to get itself lodges in all kinds of places. Blankets, floor boards, the walls. It literally took Henry hours to get everything looking semi-decent again.   He got rid of all of the evidence of what happened on his way out. If Snug noticed anything at all about Tav’s room, it would be that it was surprisingly clean, and that some blankets were missing. But otherwise, it looked completely normal.   He made his way home, showering and pulling on clean clothes before he finally made his way to Tel’s factory.   Everything still hurt somehow. Most of his injuries had healed, but there were still some scratch-like marks on his chest over his heart.   Henry climbed into the bed long after Tel had gone to sleep; snuggling up against the other’s back and holding him as though he were afraid to loose the telepath. After all, if Tavish loved him and was willing to hurt him that much…   Well, if the mongoose ever tried to hurt Tel, Henry wouldn’t just sit around and let it happen.   Tel: Tel woke, about halfway, as he was squeezed by his lover that he’d been worried about all day. Henry seemed sad. There was an aura of some kind of terrible event, a tragedy. Tel thought, staring silently ahead in the pitch black room. His eyes felt wet. He turned and rolled over, taking Henry’s face in his hands. He gave him a kiss, then curled up against him. “In the morning, you wake me up before you go…” He ordered. “And you explain where you’ve been."   Henry:  Henry didn’t mind the kiss at all. In fact he needed it. However when the other spoke the cannibal froze up. There was a deep fear in his belly of telling the other about what happened. What would Tel think of him? The last thing he wanted to do was chase the other man away. But obviously, he wasn’t going to lie to him.   The cannibal merely nodded before sleep overtook him. His body needed it desperately to try and finish healing, and as scared as he was Tel’s embrace was warm and safe.   Though as he awoke the next morning, he wasn’t looking forward to what he had to do.   “Tel..?” he said softly, trying to  carefully shake the other awake   Tel: Tel blinked his eyes open. He gave a sleepy smile when he realized Henry had stayed.  "Good morning, love.“   His arms slipped around Henry’s shoulders. He needed to know what had happened that felt so tragic. He could have read his lover’s mind and been done with it, but that would be simply invasive. He had made the decision a long time ago not to use his powers in that way. If something had happened that was traumatic and upsetting, it would only make it worse to also violate his privacy. "Are you alright?” He asked in a gentle voice.   Henry: Henry’s body gave the slightest of trembles at the touch. All of his nerves were going crazy, and not in the good way. His own arms moved right back around Tel, perhaps just a bit to tightly as his face nuzzled into the other man’s shoulder.   “Not really…,” he admitted. “It…I…”   Where to even start?   Henry reluctantly pulled away from the other, averting his golden gaze.   “Tavish..went missing after I told him about you and me.I didn’t understand why. I was stupid for that… He said he was going for a walk, and he never came back. Those times I wasn’t with you..whenever I wasn’t feeding, I was out looking for him. I was worried, but I thought he’d be fine. That he could handle himself. And I was an even bigger moron for forgetting that he also had a room at Snug’s house..” He explained nervously.   “When I realized that, I went there. Tavish was in horrible shape. He was leaking this weird, green-blue…gelatinous…stuff. I don’t even know what it was. But coming out of a mongoose that’s nearly stranger than it coming out of a human. I got really worried, I tried to help. But he got really mad at me..and then..th-then he told me it was my fault. That he loved me, and that I’d hurt him.”   He shuddered once more, reaching to try and hold himself.   "I never realized it. Because whenever I’d say ‘I love you’, he’d refuse to say it back. Just acted like we were really good friends that fucked every once in a while. I thought that was all he wanted. And he had no problem with me being with other people..And I just…”   God, he felt like shit. Henry reached up to try and wipe the tears that formed away before they could fall, feeling like he was weak for crying. He wasn’t his cool, calm, suave self, and he didn’t like that one bit. The cannibal was an absolute mess.   “When I refused to leave, he socked me in the gut…and he hit me so hard my vision actually went blurry. I couldn’t see any of what really happened after that but..he changed somehow. Got bigger. And then he just..started hurting me. Told me that I was going to feel all of the pain I made him feel and I..”   Thinking about it was horrific. It had been either close to, or the absolute worst pain Henry had ever felt.   “He made it feel like things were inside of me, knawing at all of my organs. And I felt like something was strangling me, and my head..it felt like it was going to explode.”   As Henry absently reached to touch his neck, Tel would be able to see that there were still marks there, like scratches from a cat rather than the man’s own nails. But that was the thing: They hadn’t fully healed yet.   “A-And then he…he ripped my heart out. Literally,” he said lowly. “I don’t know how long I was dead, but it felt like forever. Was probably a few hours. But the thing is…my body isn’t supposed to do that. It’s supposed to heal damn near instantly. But I..”   Henry peeked inside of his shirt, growing pale.   “There’s a scar there now... It’s nearly healed but it’s a scar. It was supposed to be gone hours ago.” He gave a strange shaky breath as he clutched his own shirt. “I laid there for hours on the floor of his room, waiting to heal so I could clean up the room before Snug could see any of it. I still… haven’t told him what happened. I don’t ever want to have to. But just the fact that Tavish’s magic did something to me…that’s not good. I already have enough problems and I can’t…I can’t handle any more..”   Tel: Tel listened with worry and terror in his eyes. As thought about how the selfish Mongoose he’d only heard about previously could do something so sadistic and terrible, his expression grew indignant. How could someone who professes to ‘love’ Henry do this kind of thing? How horrific and gore-y and utterly unforgivable. He rubbed Henry’s arm as he listened, trying to comfort him. He would find a way to pay this thing back, or at least protect Henry from him.   He’d certainly had enough of not knowing or doing nothing while his loved ones are tormented. He shook his head. "Henry… Oh, Henry…” He hugged him tightly. He couldn’t imagine going through a nightmare like that… “Please. Please, don’t go looking for him again. I can’t stand the thought.” He rubbed his back.   Henry: “I… have no choice,” he admitted, leaning into the other’s grasp. “I have a weird feeling that something was wrong with him. He’s never acted like that before. Ever. He’s been my best friend for so long now and I can’t just… give up on him.”   The cannibal sniffled lightly, once more rubbing at his eyes.   Tel: “But you can’t…” Tel said helplessly. “He hurt you so brutally… He would have murdered you, had it not been for your power. Henry… You have to stay away from this creature.”   Henry: “Tel…” He slid his hands against the other’s cheeks. “I need you to trust me…I need to at least try. Once. If he tries to hurt me a second time, I promise you I’ll never ever go looking for him again. But he was the gentlest, snuggliest, most fun dork you’ve ever met before all of this happened. I am absolutely 100% sure that something happened to him other than jealousy to make him this way.”   Tel: He looked away and heaved a big sigh. “I don’t want to let him hurt you again… I find that unacceptable… But… You think something’s happened to him that has made him violent? …Do you have to go alone?”   Henry: “Ah..” He hesitated, fighting the urge to chew on his bottom lip. “Well..not…necessarily alone..but..without you..yes…”   It wasn’t that he didn’t want Tel there.   "I know I can heal you if he tries anything, but I don’t want to risk that. If he can affect me healing myself, then…I can’t let you get hurt. Me getting together with you was part of the trigger for him becoming like this. I…just can’t.”   He reached to squeeze the other’s hands.   “Stay here, where you’re safe.”   Tel: Tel shook his head. “No, you stay where you’re safe. How can you tell me to sit on the side lines like a damsel, waiting for the return of a glorious hero gone to battle? Safe, but useless. Loved, but helpless. No. If you’re going, I will follow.” He put his hand on Henry’s cheek, partly to keep his gaze. “Darling, if he’s jealous and upset about us, I think he needs to see us. He needs to see that you’re serious. Are you serious?”   Henry: “T-Tel..”   So many thoughts rushed through the cannibals’ head, and he gave a sudden sigh.   “I have a lot to say right now. So just…hear me out before you speak again,” he started. “First off…waiting behind does not make you hopeless or helpless. If you want to follow me, then there’s nothing I can do to stop you. Not unless I physically tied you and left you, and I would never do that. But, me asking you to stay behind doesn’t make you useless, because I’m asking you to be my strength. You’re my support. My ray of sunshine to come home to. The one thing in my life that lets me know that in the end, everything is going to be alright. Without love and hope and strength, there really is nothing worth living for.”   But as he’d said, if Tel wanted to go, nothing was stopping the man.   “And as or being serious..of course I am. If I wasn’t, this never would have happened because I wouldn’t have cut off that option for him in the first place. I love you, Tel. I mean that. I want to make you happy. I’m going to be faithful. I may disappear for a couple of days at a time, but that’s usually only because I’ve gotten myself into some trouble..and I mean that in the best sense of the word. I’ll always try to give you some form of warning. Honestly, if my body had been working properly, I wouldn’t have even been missing this time around. I would have come straight here to you once he and I had finished talking. But I didn’t heal. We didn’t finish. Because I…”   He sighed, reaching to fuss with his bangs once more; an obvious nervous habit he had.   “For the most part, I let him hurt me. He’s not completely at fault. I could have at least tried to fight..but I didn’t. Because I felt guilty for hurting my best friend’s feelings, and because I was sure I would heal instantly. I wasn’t expecting him to hurt me that much, and I have a feeling he didn’t expect his powers to delay my own. But either way, the blame partially lays with me.”   He peeked inside of his shirt, his gaze saddening as he showed Tel the scar over his heart.   "But I won’t let him anymore. I think… I’ve paid my dues. If he tries again, I’ll  fight this time. Because I don’t want to go through that. Not a second time.”   Tel: With a serious look on his face, Tel brushed Henry’s bangs with his own hand. “I understand what you’re saying. I’m just so terribly tired of waiting behind. Everybody makes me wait behind.”   Even if Henry ‘let him’. Even if it wasn’t Tavish’s fault, it still happened, and it could happen again. And Henry wanted to face that chance alone.   He remembered his god daughter Alice, trapping him in a barrier while he watched her fight a monstrous invader. That was the first time he realized everyone saw him as helpless, even a six year old girl.   And Dev… He waited so long for him. While he knew Dev was off doing his horribly dangerous job, and later… Later when he went back to hell, he knew every day, there was pain and terror, while Tel himself sat and literally ate bon bons, alone, in his office chair.     And nearly every time his best friend Broadway got in trouble, he would wait until everything was alright again to contact him.   All of the battles were fought far away from the privileged Telepath. What a comfortable life. He was so tired of waiting. It wasn’t that it was never his fault. Maybe he let it happen. Maybe it was his place to be the one waiting.   “But what’s another night pretending I don’t know you could never come back?” He gently put his hand on the scar. “I’m sorry for troubling you, dear.” His voice was soft, and it cracked slightly. “I don’t want to make you feel worse…”   Henry: “Tel… You don’t make me feel worse,” he said softly, reaching to pull the other into a soft kiss.   “I just…want to make sure you’re safe. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you. And I promise you, I will come back. Because I will fight if he tries it again. And if I come back a little hurt, you have all rights to smack the crap out of me for asking you to stay here.”   He said that last part with a chuckle, hoping it would make the other at least smile.   "I love you, Tel. I mean that.”   Henry: “Henry…” He smiled a bit. “You’re positive I can’t come with you?” He pet his hair again gently.   “Like I said… I won’t stop you, but I’d really rather you didn’t..,” Henry admitted. “You’re an innocent in this. I don’t want you getting dragged into things you don’t need to be dragged into..”   Tel: “That’s the thing. I’m not. He became angry because of me, therefore, I am a part of this. Perhaps, if he could see me, he wouldn’t feel the same way."   Henry:  "No, darling. He became angry because of my actions. Not yours,” he said shaking his head. “He is convinced he’s been ‘replaced by another, purple, magical idiot.’ His words, not mine.”   Though it was ironic that Henry’s last, real romance had been with a Warden, AKA another purple-suited, magical idiot. Apparently he just had a thing for purple.   “Seeing you BEFORE I work things out with him would only make things worse, because in his mind, it would be confirming his suspicions. Apparently, he’s already seen you. How else would he know? I’ve never mentioned ‘purple’ to him. Only your name.”   Tel: Tel looked down, frowning. “I’m not a magical idiot. And I do have other outfits…” After a moment, he gave a sigh.   He continued slowly. “If you insist, fine. I’ll stay behind, not involved, for now. Though, I’ll be honest, I’m surely very angry and bitter at this friend of yours. And if he doesn’t shape up, I shall certainly have a need to give him a piece of my mind.”     Henry: “Magical, yes. Idiot, no,” he said, reaching to poke the other’s nose.   “I do insist, darling. Besides…I..honestly don’t think anything is going to happen this time around. He thought enough to cover me with a blanket before he left, and the room was completely locked so that Snug couldn’t get in and see me there. He was trying to hide it, and Tavish isn’t one to hide things he feels proud of. He felt guilty. And he ran.”   He leaned against Tel’s shoulder.   “I’m honestly..more worried about him than anything. I can understand what it’s like to have strange things in your body turn you into a monster..Remember when I told you about Broady’s scars? About how he let me drink so that I wouldn’t go on a rampage? I meant that literally..”   Henry sighed, reaching to give Tel a squeeze.   “I won’t go into the gross details, but the hunger was overwhelming. It hurt to the point that I was nearly blind to who or what I was eating. And if I still tried to ignore it, the stupid little beast I’d had in my belly back then just…did it all for me. If someone I’d loved had been near..I probably still would have hurt them. Not by choice. Not knowingly or willingly…but I know for a fact that I would have…”   And Henry was NOT happy about that fact.   Tel: Tel was leaning against his chest as he spoke about the parasite and Broadway. He felt awful for Henry, but something was nagging at him. He sat back. “About Tavish. You’re telling me… You’re telling me he left you for dead and threw a blanket over your mutilated body, once he supposedly had regained his wits?”   Henry:“Geeze, when you phrase it like that it sounds really heartless,” he said nervously. “Perhaps regaining his wits isn’t the right choice of words. Regained his sense of self is more like it. He didn’t have his wits back because he was probably scared out of his mind.”   Tel: “It is really heartless. There’s really no excuse.” He pulled Henry close. “At any rate… I’m here for you…” He said, nuzzling his face into his chest again. “No matter what happens.”   Henry:  “Thank you, darling,” he cooed, leaning in to kiss the other’s forehead. “I’ll come back from this alright. I promise. Everything is going to be alright.”   Tel: “Good… I don’t want to wait and wonder for long. I love you.” Tel looked up at him with a worried look on his face.   Henry: “And I love you,” the red-head purred, stroking the other man’s face. “Say~ Let’s go do something fun~ Something to take your mind off of all of this. You name it, we’ll do it.”   Tel: He hummed in thought. “Alright. How about we get in the hot tub?"   Henry: “Sounds good to me~ Shall I borrow your swim trunks again? Or shall I skinny dip?”   Now that he thought about it, Henry really needed to start keeping some of his clothes here with Tel.   Tel: Tel giggled. “I’m afraid my maids would freak out, dear! Let’s get you some swim trunks.” He jumped out of bed and opened up his drawer to look for a pair.   Henry: “Honey I’m pretty sure they already heard what I did to you the other night,” he teased, pinching Tel’s bum playfully. “But if you insist~”   Tel: Tel blushed and laughed. “No!” He said. “My room is on such a high floor, and they aren’t to come up. I’m not that loud…” He giggled.   Henry:  “Oh I don’t know~ You were pretty loud. Not that I’m complaining~,” he purred, leaning in to nibble at the other’s neck slightly. “We can test that tonight if you’d like~”   Tel: He blushed. “You’re so good at distracting me. We’ll see how the evening goes.” He answered with a laugh. Here, put these on.“ He handed him a pair of swim trunks.   Henry:  Henry chuckled, taking the trunks and stripping down right then and there to put them on. After all, the other had already seen him nude. There was nothing to be shy about.   “I don’t think I’ve been in your hot tub before~ It sounds lovely.”   Tel: “Well, there’s one in the limo, and one out by the pool. Would you like to take a drive or go outside?” He pulled off his clothing and looked in the dresser for which trunks to wear. “I have a hello kitty bikini.” He laughed   Henry: “Then you’d better wear that bikini,” he teased. “I can’t really wear them anymore. So you wear one for me~ And let’s take a drive. That sounds lovely.”   Tel: He grinned and slipped the Hello Kitty bikini out of the drawer. He pulled it sensually up his legs and gave Henry a playful smirk. “Alright.” He put a house coat and slippers on as well and texted his driver to pull around front.   Henry: Henry’s eyes followed that bikini, and a smirk slid across his own lips as he followed after the other; in nothing but the swim trunks his lover had allowed him to borrow.   “Mm, keep moving like that, and those swim trunks wont be staying on for very long~” He ‘threatened’.   Tel:  Tel pulled his house coat around him to cover up before opening the front door and gave Henry a grin over his shoulder. The limo was sitting at the end of the walk. Tel beckoned him with his finger and started off toward it.   Henry:  Henry wasn’t too far behind. He trotted along after the other, hopping into the limo the first chance he got.   “Now where is this wondrous hot tub you told me about?” He purred.   Tel: “Oh, right in the back, there.” Tel hit a switch and the back of the seat went backward into the floor. In the back of the limo was a bubbling hot tub. The windows were clearly tinted so that nobody could see from the outside. There was a pink hue to the inside of the limo that made the atmosphere seem even warmer and sort of erotic. He crawled over and sat on the edge, taking off his house coat and his slippers.   Henry:  Henry chuckled a he followed along after the other. He kicked off his shoes, and otherwise was already ready to climb into the water. Which he did with a happy shudder and a groan.   He grinned, reaching to run a wet hand up and down Tel’s thigh.   “I like it. We should spend more time in here,” he purred, giving the telepath’s knee a squeeze.   And oh how he was hoping Tel was reading his mind, because all of the things he wanted to do to the man were simply swirling inside of his head like the water inside of the tub.     Tel: The limo began to take a drive, and they could see the factory buildings going by outside. Tel climbed in next to him. He smiled because he was indeed reading Henry’s mind. He swished his hand around in the water a bit, innocently, as if he didn’t know. “Yes, we should do this more often. It’s very nice and relaxing.”

Henry: Tel didn’t know?   “Oh, darling..The reason I wound up with that nasty parasite in the first place was because I made a deal with it. By being it’s host..it gave me the ability to heal. Here..I can demonstrate..”   The cannibal slid his gloved hands against Tel’s cheeks, closing his eyes as he pressed their lips together. His tongue would gently force the other’s lips open as though Henry were ready to make out, but rather than doing so, his tongue merely held Tel’s own down against the bottom of his mouth.   A warmth would suddenly flow into the other’s body. Not like liquid. Not like air. Simply a feeling of warmth spreading through him and tingling against each and every nerve in Tel’s body until it would slowly die away, and Henry would pull his mouth away from the other’s own.   “Like that~” He purred. “I didn’t heal anything just now, but I added a year or two onto your life. When I eat someone, I’m actually eating their life force. Whatever they had left goes to me and adds onto my own life. That’s what I heal with. That’s what makes me heal.”   Tel: Tel, enamored and just a bit flustered, leaned against him and put his arms around him. He squeezed him tight for a moment. “Right… I nearly forgot about that. You did tell me. You’re damn wonderful.” He let him go and stepped back with a smile. “Let’s go. What kind of movie do you want to see?” He took his hand.   Henry:  He chuckled, running his fingers through the other’s long hair. “And you’re damn adorable.”   He lead the other off, out of the room.   “Whatever movie you’d like to see is fine with me, love~”   And with that, they moved on to have quite the lovely date together. A movie, Dinner (for Tel, anway), followed by much more dancing off into the night.   Henry loved every second he spent with Tel. When the other man was around, he felt like he was home. It didn’t matter where they were. It was lovely.   Tel: Tel, of course, felt terribly awkward eating in front of someone who could not. But, Henry made it easier by being perfect. He leaned on him in the movie, and during the dancing, and on the way back to Tel’s limo.   Henry: As they entered the limo, Henry basically pulled Tel into his lap. He squeezed the man tightly, kissing his forehead as he played with the other’s long raven hair.   Tel: Tel giggled in response and put his arms around Henry’s shoulders. “We should be wearing seat-belts.” He laughed. “But… I like this much better.

Henry: “Oh… Darling, it’s adorable,” he cooed, taking the bunny to look over it happily. Each little detail had been knitted with love, and he adored it. “Nearly as adorable as you~” Henry added, leaning in to smooch the other lovingly.   “Thank you.”   Tel: He smiled with a sigh. “I was afraid you would think it’s silly. I did work really hard on it.” He laughed and blushed a bit. “No, I guess it isn’t. Which means it’s a far cry from being as cute as you are.”   Henry:  Again he chuckled, taking Tel’s hand in his own.   “Come, dear. Let’s go to bed~ I feel the desire to have you laying in my arms.”   Tel: Tel giggled as he took Henry’s hand. “The desire? I feel the desire, as well. Let’s have a lovely dream.”   Henry: “Any dream with you in it is lovely~” He purred, nearly stripping down completely before he climbed into bed. Henry held his arms open, reaching to pull Tel in with him.   “Goodnight, my sweet~”   Tel: He draped himself over Henry. “Goodnight, my love.” He nuzzled into his chest and fell asleep in a few minutes. He’d had a long day of business and chocolate and excitement.

Henry: With a bright grin, the cannibal slipped his gloved hands over Tel’s eyes.   “Guess who~” He purred into the man’s ears.   Tel: “I know, I know!! It’s Henry~” He giggled and put his hands over Henry’s.   Henry:  He chuckled, pulling the other to turn around. “Come'ere, you~” He cooed, dipping Tel to kiss him. “Miss me~?”   Tel: “Mmm, of course! How are you feeling? Did you get what you needed?”   Henry: “Yes, much better,” he replied, smooching the other’s cheek. “Though a bit sore. I’ve healed for the most part, but one of today’s entrees was quite…energetic, I suppose you could say~”   Tel: “Aah… Where are you hurt? How could you heal if I’ve only not seen you since this morning?”   Henry: “It’s part of my power, dear. I heal damn near instantly. But my muscles just feel..tight. I can deal with it though,” he said, avoiding what happened in his explanation.   Tel: “If you’d accompany me to the bedroom, I’d give you a nice massage, for that. I just trimmed my nails up, so I should be good~”   Henry: “Oh~?” He rose a brow, but smirked and nodded. “That sounds lovely, my dear. Thank you~”   He offered his arm to the other.   Tel: He took the arm and led Henry to his bedroom. Once inside, he plopped into a seated position on the hello kitty bed and scooted back. “Come, come.”   Henry: He chuckled, nodding as he pulled away his upper clothing. His vest and shirt soon found their way onto the night table before he laid belly-down on the bed.   “Thank you, darling~”   Tel: “Right now, you feel all ‘eeeh’. But I’m going to make you feel all 'Ooooh’. How does that sound?” Tel wiggled his fingers a bit and crawled over him, setting his hands upon his shoulders. He began to massage them.   Henry: He chuckled once more, peeking up at the other. But he said nothing, simply closing his eyes as he allowed the other to work his magic. He shivered slightly, melting right into the sheets with a soft, pleasured groan.   Tel: Tel stopped for a moment to take off his coat. “Restrictive,” he explained before resuming, slipping slowly further down his back.   Henry: Henry gave a soft sigh before suddenly arching up.   “Right there,” he groaned. Tel had found his main problem spot, it seemed.   Tel: Tel’s face flushed a bit. A massage can be so strangely erotic. “Alright. Let’s get that knot out of there.”   Henry: Henry laid still for a moment before he once more arched up into Tel’s touch. “Harder~”   Tel was being so gentle. Too gentle.   Tel: Tel laughed. “Henry, that sounds so…” He trailed off and pressed harder.   Henry: So? So what? Henry was about to ask when Tel pushed on it just right. He didn’t mean to, but a moan slipped from the cannibal’s lips.   Tel: “Oooh, my. See, I made you go ‘Ooooh’. Isn’t that nice?” Tel kissed his shoulder.   Henry: “You tease~,” he growled, peeking at the other over his shoulder; a strangely predatory look in his eyes.   Tel: “I know, I’m such a little tease.” He chuckled. “What are you looking at, cutie?”   Henry: “Oh, just a delicious little snack,” he growled, reaching back to run his hand along Tel’s thigh.   Tel: “Naughty boy, you’ve already eaten.” He laughed.   Henry: “But I’m still hungry,” he purred, sitting up and playfully pinning the other down to the bed; belly-down as he had been.   “Besides, it’s my turn to make you feel ooh~”   Tel: "Is that so~? And how do you plan to do that?”   Henry:  Like before, he didn’t bother to answer with words. He pulled off his gloves, flexing his fingers before pushing them up into the back of Tel’s shirt to let the skin of his hands touch the other man’s back for the very first time. Henry’s lips met Tel’s neck, and he so very gently nibbled, making sure he didn’t break the skin even once.   Meanwhile his fingers wandered Tel’s back, searching for any weak spot to take advantage of. Needless to say, that meant his hands didn’t just stay on Tel’s back. They circled around, rubbing the man’s belly for only a moment before those slender fingers moved upward.   Tel: “Oooh…” Tel groaned a little. “Henry~ Getting handsy, aren’t we?” He leaned up for a kiss.   Henry: “Do you want me to stop?” He whispered, teasingly pulling his lips away from the other’s as his fingers found Tel’s nipples to tease.   Tel: “Mmm… Of course not. But you’re so far away.. I want a kiss.” Tel settled down and placed his head on a pillow. “Henry, that’s… exquisite."   Henry: “You’ll get your kiss soon~” He purred into Tel’s ear. The cannibal so easily pinched and teased the other man’s nipples, somehow slowly managing to pull off Tel’s shirt in the process. Once the fabric was tossed away, a single hand slid down Tel’s belly, palming his groin so very teasingly from outside of the telepath’s pants.   Tel: Henry was getting ‘handsier’! Tel squirmed a little, pulling the pillow a little closer. “Ooh… W-when did you get my shirt off, love..?” He asked. His voice was slightly breathy. It had been a long time since he’d fooled around like this.   Henry: The cannibal merely answered with a predatory growl, smirking as he worked the other’s pants open. It was simply like how Magicians did their tricks. They distracted you with one hand, while pulling off the trick with the other. Just as he was doing now. One hand dipped down into the telepath’s pants, past his panties to massage his hardening member, while the other oh so slowly worked said pants and panties down to Tel’s knees.   His lips kissed lower and lower and lower. His hand against Tel’s cock still worked as a distraction, slowly pumping and squeezing him as the Cannibal’s lips suddenly made contact with Tel’s entrance. The hand that was formerly working down the other’s pants was suddenly spreading the business-man’s ‘cheeks’, and Tel would feel something hot and wet swirling around his entrance. And as Tel would suddenly find out…Henry’s tongue was longer than it looked.   Tel: A squeak escaped Tel’s lips as Henry’s tongue invaded his sensitive entrance. He surely wasn’t expecting that. Why was he so unaware? He just hadn’t been reading the situation at all, going with the flow… His whole body had become hot, his face flushed red. “D- Dirty! Aah! H-henry–!” The ‘ee’ sound at the end of Henry was drawn out into a moan and Tel plopped his head helplessly on the pillow. He had been feeling self-conscious, but the feeling melted away in a moment.   The hand on his exposed cock, the long wet tongue massaging his insides, it was already driving him crazy and had only just begun. Henry was so strong, and in control…   Henry: Mm, yes, this was what he wanted. He wanted Tel squirming in his grasp. He wanted to know that his lover was feeling absolute pleasure and that he was the cause.   His hand would stroke the other faster, then slower, then faster again, then slower, pausing to give Tel a squeeze every once in a while. His tongue worked effortlessly, swirling around, rubbing here and there in a search for Tel’s inner sweet spot. All the while, he managed to move it in and out.   After all, where his mouth was didn’t bother him in the slightest. He’d eaten worse things, and he knew his lover was clean. Tel: Henry’s tongue was so… wonderful! He couldn’t remember if he’d ever felt something so perfect before. His fingers gripped and massaged the pillow.   “M-more.. Aah…” He moaned quietly, shyly. “G-god, Henry… There!” The last word was a squeak as Henry’s tongue massaged against his sweet spot.   Henry: Henry smirked, moving his tongue away as though he hadn’t heard Tel, only to suddenly flick it against that spot. His hand pumped Tel quicker, and his tongue would swirl around, every once in a while assaulting that pleasurable little spot to drive Tel mad with pleasure. The very tip of his tongue stroked up and down against it, circled it, then flicked against it roughly, but oh so pleasurably.   Tel: Tel squirmed and squealed, trying to press himself backward so that Henry’s tongue would hit that lovely spot again. “Henry!” He moaned. “It’s… G-gah… It’s… I’m going to c-c-…” It was all too much, after so long. Tel was very pent up, since he hadn’t had any time to himself in a while, either.   Henry:  Good~ He wanted Tel to cum. He wanted to give his sweet lover the best and most pleasurable night of his life. At least, so far~   There would be many more nights like this in their future. Henry’s tongue suddenly went at it, attacking that spot with such loving vigor as his hand squeezed Tel’s cock, pumping him quickly to try and help push him over the edge.   Tel: Tel moaned and squirmed, torn between bucking his hips forward into Henry’s hand or backward into Henry’s tongue, but it was Henry all around and it was positively lovely and overwhelming and perfect all at once. He bit the pillow, causing a big tear. But he knew Henry would want to hear him finish, so he lifted his head as his back arched and nearly screamed, his liquid spurting out into Henry’s hand and onto the bedspread.   Henry:  God, Tel was cute. Henry’s body trembled as he listened to the man reach his climax. His own body was absolutely burning with need. It had been quite some time since someone had filled him with such a flame.   Once Tel had finished, he pulled his mouth and hand away; reaching to gently roll his lover onto his back rather than his belly. And once more, Henry’s mouth found his way to Tel’s lower region; that same hot tongue running along the telepath’s cock to both continue pleasuring him and clean him up. After all, soon enough they’d be entering round 2.   “Where’s your lube, darling?” He purred against the sweet skin.   Tel: Still shivering with pleasure, and even anticipation, Tel pointed toward the little pink dresser next to the bed. “It’s… Haa… It’s in the second drawer.” He offered. “Nn… When do I get a kiss, darling..?"   Henry: “Soon~” He purred, reaching for the little pink dresser. He pulled out the lube, only to put some of it into one of Tel’s hands.   “Right now, I want you to touch yourself,” he growled, kissing Tel’s forehead. “And I will be right back~”   After all, though Henry himself didn’t mind it, he didn’t think Tel wanted their tongues to touch, or lips for that matter, after Henry had just been…yeah. He wanted to make sure that even if Tel wanted the kiss now, later he wouldn’t be grossed out by it.   Even if it was hard for him to hold himself back from pinning the other down, kissing him, and making sweet love to him on the spot.   “You make sure you’re ready, because as soon as I get back, you’ll be getting more than that kiss you want,” he cooed lovingly. After which he reluctantly pulled away, and headed right for the bathroom to brush his teeth.   Tel: Tel looked up at him, disappointed for a moment. What was he going to do in the bathroom? Was he so undesirable that the cannibal had to go make himself ready in the bathroom, first? Was he upset that he had an awful taste in his mouth? Would that turn him off?   Well. That would be his own fault, now wouldn’t it??   But, the worried little Telepath looked into his lover’s mind for the answer. Henry was only trying to be considerate by not suddenly going from his bottom to his mouth without first cleaning up.   Oh.   Tel smiled and gave him a finger wave. “You imagine what I might be doing out here, then.” He answered with a smirk. While Henry was away in the bathroom, Tel propped up the pillows and lay back, spreading his legs out. He rubbed his hands together to spread the lube around and pulled the bottle closer in case he needed more. He started to press his fingers inside. Of course, they slid in the already wet and ready little hole quite easily. He closed his eyes as he worked, stretching it with two fingers, then moving on to three.   His thoughts turned to Henry, and what nice things are probably under his pants. His other hand took hold of his cock, already half hard once again. Or perhaps it hadn’t gone down at all, yet?   Henry: Henry smirked in reply, sauntering off into the bathroom. After thoroughly brushing his teeth and even using mouthwash to make sure Tel would find his kisses pleasant, he was quick to discard his pants, and…well, he hadn’t been wearing any underwear, actually.   He peeked into the bedroom once more, smirking when he saw the other touching himself in such a way. Tel really was too damn cute. The cannibal snuck closer, crawling onto the bed to let both of their now nude bodies press together as he pulled Tel’s hands away from himself. He was here now, and would make sure his lover was very well taken care of. But first~   Henry’s lips found Tel’s own, and the telepath would get that kiss he so desired.   Tel: He’s back!! And… Naked~   Tel wrapped his arms around Henry’s back, savoring Henry’s lips. One arm slipped down mischievously so that he could reach down between them to feel him up.   His hand wrapped around Henry’s cock and he stroked it.   Henry: Henry purred all too happily against Tel’s lips. Though he gave a strange little noise of surprise when the other grasped his length; eyes growing wide.   “H-Hey now~ Someone’s a little excited~”   Not that he was complaining. In fact, his body was quite happy with the touches. His hips bucked into Tel’s hand all too easily.   Tel: Tel was very excited. He couldn’t decide which direction he wanted to go in.   All of them.   He lifted his hand away from Henry’s cock, but it felt like he was still rubbing him. A tame introduction to how far his powers can go for poor probably startled Henry. Both of his hands were then around Henry’s shoulders.   “Something wrong?” He cooed as he briefly pulled back from the kiss.     Henry: “I…” Wait…   Tel’s hands were on his shoulders. So then..what…was..   The red-headed man gave a surprisingly feminine squeak as he stumbled back from the other, looking down between his legs to try and see just what was touching him. But there was nothing there!   How…what…   Henry was so very confused right now, and in all honesty, he wasn’t sure he liked where this was going. He had no idea Tel’s powers could do such a thing, and because of that, it hadn’t even clicked in his mind that it was Tel doing it. Henry looked from side to side, actually appearing fearful as he tried to figure out what was going on; nearly falling backwards off of the bed.   Tel: Tel giggled. “Oh, oh, darling, it’s alright! It’s me. It’s me, I promise.” He felt terrible for scaring Henry, but at the same time, he was pleased as punch that he had managed to catch his confident cannibal off guard. He scooched over to him and pulled him closer. “I can make you feel… Whatever I can imagine.” He informed him.   Henry: “Wh…you..”   So it was just Tel?   Henry sighed, flopping on top of the other.   “Don’t scare me like that,” he whispered, running his fingertips up and down Tel’s thighs. “Usually feeling things I can’t see is a bad sign..”   Meaning his old parasite, of course.   “I’m used to two things. Traditional sex..” He suddenly smirked, grasping Tel’s hands to pin them above the man’s head. “And bondage~”   Tel: Tel grinned. “Bondage? You’re going to tie me up, hm?” He giggled. “That doesn’t bother me at all. Sorry I scared you~” He grinned. “There’s a lot more I can do, though."   Henry: “Mmm, as lovely as that sounds~,” he cooed, tying Tel’s hands together with a pillowcase. “~Save your interesting powers for next time. Right now, all I want to feel is you.”   His hips rolled against Tel’s own, the tip of his cock rubbing against the other’s entrance.   “Are you ready, my love~?” Tel: “Mm… I thought you’d be excited.” He set his teeth gently on top of his bottom lip. “Nn…"   Tel was nervous. It had been a very long time since he’d taken anything up there bigger than fingers.   "You’ll be gentle, of course, darling?” He asked in a shy voice.   Henry: “I am,” he whispered. “But…I don’t need it. I don’t need special powers feeling me up. I don’t need toys and things that vibrate and move. I don’t need any of that. All I need, is you.”   He smiled, running the backs of his fingers against Tel’s cheek.   “Of course I’ll be gentle. I would never dream of hurting you.”   And with that, he pressed his lips against Tel’s own. After all, that was the reason for hm having Tel put lubricant inside of himself. In fact, Tel touching him earlier helped as well. The telepath had still had lube on his fingers, and therefore, had prepared Henry without even being asked to.   Very gently, he began to push inside of the other; holding Tel’s sweet hips still.   Tel: Tel’s toes curled into the sheets. His voice escaped his lips as a high pitched moan, and he tensed a little.   “Henry… Ooh.."   The stretching, warm pain was enticing and lovely. Was it pain? It dulled as his body readjusted to such a feeling, and he relaxed.   Tel: Henry shivered, his own body tensing as he felt the other around him. Tel was so tight, so hot. Henry nearly couldn’t stand how good it felt. He panted softly, waiting a moment for the other to adjust before he slowly began to rock his hips. In and out he moved as his lips kissed up and down Tel’s neck.   “How does that feel, my love?” He growled in pleasure.   Tel: Tel pulled lightly against the pillowcase around his wrists. He didn’t actually want to get out of it, just test it a little. It somehow enhanced the entire experience simply to have something holding his hands.   “Ah… Oh, Henry… It feels so… full.. It’s lovely.” He glanced up to watch him. Henry was so beautiful and perfect. His eyes traced the muscles in his chest. “Y-you’re wonderful..” He added. “I want more.”   Henry:  Normally Henry would have made the other keep his hands bound. Normally he would have endlessly teased him until Tel couldn’t take it anymore and begged him to have his release. But right now, he simply couldn’t. Right now, all he needed was to see that look of satisfaction on Tel’s face, by any means necessary.   Henry reached up, yanking on the binds with such simplicity that it came right untied. After all, only he knew where he’d hidden the one piece that would untie it just like that. After which, he pushed himself harder, faster, plowing down into his gorgeous lover to please him and drive him absolutely mad with pleasure.   Henry’s own body was absolutely pulsating with such a feeling that he couldn’t describe. He’d never felt this good before.   The cannibal’s lips stayed right against Tel’s own to keep himself from biting the other and hurting him. Not that he minded in the slightest. Tel’s lips were sweeter than anything he had ever tasted, and the desire to stay planted firmly against them grew and grew, so much so that he was sure it would turn into an addiction. Just like the man himself.   Henry wanted nothing more in this moment than to help, or rather be the cause of, Tel’s release, and to release along with him.   Tel: As soon as Tel’s hands were free, he wrapped his arms around Henry’s back and began to rock into him in time with his rhythm. It was pure ecstasy. Having Henry in his arms felt perfect, and he couldn’t have been happier. His voice became higher as he closed in on release. “Henry! Henry!” He panted. “I… I’m close!"    Henry: Henry didn’t reply. In all honesty, he didn’t think he could speak at the moment. All that came out were lusty growls and soft noises of pleasure as he made sure to thrust right into Tel’s inner sweet spot. He reached between them, grasping Tel’s cock tightly to pump him in time with his thrusts; all in an attempt to push his sweet lover over the edge. He wanted Tel to cum so very badly.   Tel: He certainly did. With the addition of his lover grabbing his erection, and the continued perfect thrusts against his sensitive prostate, Tel’s release shot forth forcefully onto Henry’s chest between them. He screamed out and shuddered, his body tightening, contracting around Henry’s own cock inside him, and he gripped him tightly.   “Oh… Henry!” He called out. There was too much pleasure to think, or speak proper sentences. He wanted Henry to feel such heavenly relief. His orgasm still assaulting his body for these perfect moments, he rocked harder against him.   Henry:  It didn’t take long for Henry to reach his release as well. It was all too intense, and he had to completely release his hold on Tel so that he wouldn’t hurt him. The cannibal bit down into the pillow beside Tel’s head, ripping it just as his claw-like nails dug down into the sheets.   His body rocked a few more times before it halted; shaking heavily as his release flowed deep inside of his lover. A strange noise left his throat, though he nearly choked on the fluff from inside of the pillow.   Panting hard, he collapsed on top of Tel, nuzzling into him as he tried to gain all of his senses back.   Tel: Tel panted and held Henry close. “Henry… Haa… Are you okay? Did you… swallow part of the bed?”   Henry:  “No..,” he said quickly. Though he pouted in embarrassment, trying to hide his face away in Tel’s shoulder. “M-Maybe a little..”   Well that was a first.   Though judging by the fact that he wasn’t getting violently ill, he probably hadn’t actually swallowed it. Which was a major relief.   “Heh… sorry about your pillow,” he cooed, kissing Tel’s neck. “And your sheets. I owe you new ones.”   Tel: “Don’t worry about it, darling. It’s nothing a little cash can’t fix.” He chuckled and kissed his cheek. “That was wonderful, love… Simply perfect.”   Henry: “Yes, you were,” he teased lovingly. “What do you say we take a bath together, now? I want to stay against you, and soaking in hot water sounds lovely~”   Tel: “That sounds positively perfect~ I’m going to wash your hair!”   Henry: He chuckled, pulling the other up with him.   “That sounds lovely, darling~ Absolutely lovely~”

Henry: “Well hello there, darling~” Henry purred, sneaking up behind the other to wrap his arms around Tel’s waist. “Lovely Pj’s~ Am I too late to sneak into bed with you~?”   Tel: “Darling~ No, you’re just in time. I’m so tired. Long, long day of meetings. Wanna snuggle~?”   Henry: “I always want to snuggle with you,” he purred, smooching the other’s cheek. As always he pulled Tel up into his grasp to carry the man to the bed.   “I’ve missed you~”   Tel: “Hahaha~ I missed you too, love. We could spend some time together tomorrow. I’ll have a lot of time, tomorrow evening.”   Henry: “Of course, darling. I’ll be busy during the day. But at night, I’m all yours~” He whispered, lying down with the other man. He reached to turn off the light, snuggling down into Tel and giving him a squeeze.   “Good night, my sweet~”   Tel: “It’s a date.” Tel said with a smile. He nuzzled into Henry’s chest. “Goodnight. I love you~”   Henry:  He chuckled, kissing the other’s neck.   “I love you too,” he whispered, for the very first time.   Tel: Tel had a slight love-gasm and gave an excited squeak. He squeezed Henry before shifting a bit to make himself more comfortable, pulling the pillow down a little. “Sleep tight.” He said happily.   Henry: What a lovely dream that was, for sure. The dream was a date in itself. Fancy dinner, dancing, a lovely little boat ride. He was sure it was like a movie he’d seen somewhere, but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it. And then, it ended with a walk over a gorgeously lit bridge in the….snow? But it wasn’t cold. Yet it still gave them yet another excuse to snuggle close. And it also gave the cannibal the excuse to (gently) shove Tel against the nearest lightpole to smooch him silly.   Something he repeated when it was time to wake up.   “Get up, sleepy head,” he purred, peppering kisses all over Tel’s face as he playfully pinned the other down to the bed. Though his kisses soon found the other man’s lips. “I have to go soon…so wake up and kiss me before I go~”   Tel: Tel pretended not to wake up for a full minute. Then, with his eyes still closed, he wrapped his arms around Henry’s neck and smooched him.   “Mm… Good morning. Where are you running off to so early anyway? Too much snow. Or was that just the dream? Cold, at any rate… You’ve got to… stay in bed and cuddle.” He muttered with a sleepy smile.     Henry: Henry gave in for just a moment, squeezing Tel tightly as he kissed up and down the other man’s neck.   “I have to go and… eat, darling. I haven’t in two days…and I feel like my stomach is starting to digest itself.”   He stroked up and down the other’s back affectionately before his fingers found their way into Tel’s hair.   “I don’t want to go, but I have to. I’ll be back tonight, my sweet~ Remember, we’ve got a date planned~”   Tel: “Alright… I suppose I’ll let you go.” He said with a fake pout before his smile once again took its place on his face. “Be safe, darling.” He added, pushing a bit of Henry’s hair behind his ear.   Henry: "Well, I can't guarantee safe, but I'll always come back alive and well," he cooed, stealing one last kiss before he finally forced himself to pull away. "I'll be back tonight, darling."   Tel: “Hmmmm… Well, alright. But if you’re alive and well, then you’re safe. Right? I love you, dear. See you tonight.”

Henry: “I am going to keep you forever. You’ll be forced to snuggle with me and endure my kisses and I’ll never ever let you go,” he purred.   Tel:" Well, that sounds positively lovely. Let’s do that.” He giggled.

Henry: The cannibal was all too eager to see the other man again. He came quite a bit earlier than usual, but thought nothing of it. He tried not to sneak up on the other this time…however the temptation was far too great to resist. This early, he was able to catch Tel on his way into his office; hands behind his back at first as he trotted along silently just behind the other.   Just before they would step through the door, his arms suddenly snaked around the other man’s waist to hold him tightly from behind.   “Good morning, gorgeous~”   Tel: “Uwaah!” Tel called out. “O-oh! Henry, goodness, don’t scare me like that!” He sighed in relief. He felt he was normally difficult to scare, but he hadn’t sensed the other man at all. He gave a sigh of relief and leaned his head back on Henry’s shoulder.   “It’s nice to see you. Did you get things taken care of?”   Henry: “Yes,” he purred, smooching the others cheek. “Though i am worried about my sweet little Tavish…he got sick last night for some reason…”   Tel: Tel squirmed around to face him and ran his fingers through his hair. “How bad is it?"   Henry: “I don’t really know," He admitted, leaning into the others hand. "He won’t let me get him anything..”   Tel: “I hope I haven’t caused you too much trouble, dear. At any rate, I’ve got to go into my office at some point. I can’t just snuggle you in the hallway forever. Won’t you join me for some Cinnamon rolls?"   Henry: “I would love to… but I can’t eat, Darling.” he sighed softly, sort of waddling along with Tel in an attempt to keep snuggling as they moved. “I have a feeling that with Tavish sick, his magic might have worn off, which means my system has reverted back to normal. Anything but raw meat and water makes me sick..”   Tel: “Darn, I was hoping you could still eat. Well... I can have my chef Evalana bring up a steak, if you like.”   Henry: “That would be absolutely lovely,so long as you don’t mind me eating it rare. I’ll take it raw..maybe just a liiiiittle bit cooked to make it warm. That would be wonderful~”   “Of course! I’ll let her know over the intercom. Now, come on, let me go so we can go into my office.” He laughed.   Henry: “Never~” He purred, picking the other up to carry him into the office. “You’re too warm and snuggly to let go of~”   Tel: Tel laughed and held onto him. “Henry, I can’t do any paperwork like this.”   Henry: “You can if you sit in my lap,” he purred. Though he did set the other in his seat. “How much paperwork today?”   Tel: “As much as I can stand. Which is usually none.” He got up and motioned toward the seat. “Well, go ahead, I’ll sit in your lap.” He cooed.   Henry:  Henry rose a brow, but smirked and sat. He patted his lap, holding his arms open for the other.   Tel: Tel sat down in his lap and pulled out a pen, sliding his paperwork over. “Well, let’s get to it.”   Henry: Henry once more gave a chuckle. He smiled as his arms wrapped around Tels middle, and he nuzzled right into the others back. It wasnt long at all before he grew quite sleepy. After all, that was what snuggling in a comfortable place like this did to him. He sighed softly, trying to keep himself awake.   Tel: Tel smiled to himself, signing a piece of paper and putting it to the side. “You can nap if you like. I’m sorry I’m being boring, at the moment.” It had been a long time since he had a paperwork cuddle partner. He was quite content to just be close with Henry.   Henry: The man mumbled something sleepily, but didn’t protest. He nuzzled Tel once more before falling right to sleep. It was almost scary how easily his body simply shut off when he was allowed sleep.   Tel: Tel couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face. What a darling Henry is. He’d never been so comfortable in his office chair before.   Maybe, he’d actually get some work done, since he clearly wasn’t going anywhere until Henry woke up.   Henry: It Took about an hour or so for the man to awaken. After which he gave another soft mumble of something. Something Softer than before, and affectionate.   Tel: Tel giggled, putting the paperwork he was doing aside. “What did you say, dear?”   Henry: “Noooithing~” Henry teased, leaning up to smooch the others cheek. “Were you… dream sharing again?”   Tel: “Nope. I was just enjoying your company. Did you have a nice dream?”   Henry: “Oh?” He smirked, giving Tel a squeeze. “That’s interesting. It’s not often I dream about people. You were there.”   Tel: “Oh, so that’s why you thought I was dream sharing. What did I do in your dream?”   Henry: Henry however, stayed quiet at that. Instead, he began to gently bounce Tel in his lap.   “Let’s go somewhere!,” he said in excitement. “Let’s do something~”   Tel: Tel laughed and held onto the desk. “Fine, fine, where do you want to go?”   Henry: “Anywhere~” He cooed. “I don’t care. So long as I’m with you, and we’re out in the fresh air~”   Tel:“Hm. Well, how about a walk in the park, hm?"   Henry: “Sounds lovely, Tel-A-Bee~,” he cooed, gently moving to stand. Though he held onto Tel so that he wouldn’t throw the other off balance. “Lead the way~?”   Tel:“Alright, then.” Tel picked up his hat and plopped it on his head. “Off we go!” He pulled him by the hand toward the door.   Henry: He followed along, quite amused at the other’s enthusiasm. And to think, just a few days before Tel was demanding he leave his office. Now he was taking naps with him and going out on dates~   Was this considered a date?   Henry squeezed the other’s hand, pulling Tel back just enough to smooch his cheek.   It didn’t matter if it was or not. So long as they were spending time together, he was happy.   “We need to think of our next date,” he purred. “Dancing? Skating? Something fun~”   Tel: Tel’s face flushed red. “I guess this… is a date.” He smiled. “We went dancing. What about swimming? I have a heated pool, if it’s too cold out…”   Henry: “I’d love to… though I don’t have a swim suit~” Henry noted. “Don’t suppose you’d feel comfortable with me skinny-dipping, now would you~?”   Tel: He laughed. “Maybe not yet. You can borrow one of my trunks. We can find one to fit.”   Henry: “Works for me,” he said with a chuckle. “Shall we do that before we go for a walk in the park?”   A lovely swim and then a nice walk afterward.   “I hear you have a bunny farm in here. Might I see it later?”   Tel:“Of course. It’s more of a bunny orphanage. We adopt them out. Well, I guess we could go swimming now, then go to the park and then see the rabbits, perhaps!”   Henry: “Sounds perfect,” he said, stopping at the door. “Shall we go back upstairs then to get the swim trunks? Or do you keep them by the pool?”   Tel: Tel laughed. “Keep the swim trunks by the pool? No. I keep them in the drawer in my room. This way.” He led him in a different direction.   Henry: “I wasn’t sure,” Henry said with a shrug and a chuckle. “Sometimes people who are rich have whole separate wardrobes for different rooms and houses. You never know till you ask~ but you forget…”   He pulled Tel up into his arms.   “I already know the way to your room,” he purred as he pulled the other along toward said room. “Allow me to carry you~”   Tel: “You know, that might not be a bad idea to keep a swimming wardrobe out by the pool.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Oh, you want to carry me?” He laughed. “Very well.”   Henry:“When don’t I want to carry you?” He cooed as they entered the bedroom. He gently kicked the door shut before setting Tel down. “Where are the swimsuits, darling~?”   Tel:“Right there in the second drawer.” Tel smiled as he took off his gloves and coat, beginning to unbutton the dress shirt.   Henry: “Alright,” he said, pulling at his own clothes. The ribbon around his collar was the first to go. Then his vest, then his dress shirt came off completely. Though Henry was skinny, it was easy to see each and every muscle rippling on his body. Along with a rather nasty looking scar that went nearly straight across his belly. It was the only mark at all on his skin.   Tel: Tel watched him curiously as he undressed. “Pass me the hello kitty ones?” He asked, pulling his shirt off. He too had a scar. It was on his right shoulder and looked like precise teeth marks.   “What happened to your stomach, dear?”   Henry: “Hmm? Oh… ” Henry glanced down to the mark as he held out the swim trunks Tel had asked for.   “Not really sure. I’m assuming it’s from when I died as Helena and…” He made a motion as if something was bursting out of his stomach before he turned away to pull down his pants.   Tel: Tel grabbed the Hello Kitty trunks and turned away briefly to take off his pants, and embarrassing hello kitty panties, and slip the trunks on. “That’s terrifying, Henry.” He answered in a calm voice.   Henry: “You get used to it,” he said, pulling on purple pair he found. “It used to do all kinds of nasty things. Like when it decided it wanted to peek out. It would shove it’s head through my mouth and…” He paused to shiver. “To think, i would actually talk to people. What was the worst though was when I wouldn’t eat enough to satisfy it…”   He sighed, fussing with his bangs nervously.   Henry:“It would grow… and tear through my body so that it could move without my help… but I was still attached. It would go on a rampage and it… I…it would take me days to heal. It’d do that on purpose, just to make me suffer. That’s why I’m so used to physical pain. And that’s also why Broady would let me drink some of his blood. If I was too close to that breaking point... a little blood would tide me over until I could get some fresh meat.”   Tel: Tel pulled the ponytail out of his hair while Henry spoke. He put it up higher, centered on the back of his head and pinned it so it seemed to waterfall over the clip, high enough so that it wouldn’t touch his shoulders or get in the water while he was swimming. “Hm…"   "Come here.” He held his arm out.   Henry:  “I’m sorry…”   For a moment Henry was almost afraid the other would be mad at him for speaking too much. And then Tel held out his arm. The cannibal hesitated for a moment before he moved closer, leaning against the other man.   Tel:“It’s alright, dear…” The telepath ran his fingers through his hair. “You don’t need to worry about that thing anymore..”   Henry “In a way I don’t but…it’s part of me now… I’ve already had hormonal issues due to taking on its nature… what if… I…” And yet suddenly the red-head was rather distracted, by both Tel’s fingers in his hair, and the feeling of skin against skin.   He melted right against Tel, arms snaking their way around the man’s waist.   “You’re really warm~”   Tel: “No, you don’t have to worry about the parasite anymore. You’re in control, and it’ll be alright, from now on.” He hugged him close.   Henry: “Mhmm,” was Henry’s only reply. At the moment, he didn’t want to move. Well, other than a light swaying motion back and forth. Almost as if they were dancing again. It was actually a little habit he’d picked up from Broadway, back when they used to be around each other more.   He simply didn’t want to let Tel go now. Though his hands stayed exactly where he was. He wasn’t about to make any sexual advances on the other. He simply wanted to be close. For now, the pool was completely forgotten.   Tel: Tel’s face lit up with an adoring smile. “Darling.” He coaxed quietly. “Hey, Henry. Don’t you want to go swimming, dear?”   Henry:  Henry’s eyes went wide in wonder when he saw the pool. He didn’t know where to go first! Tel did say the pool was heated, right?   The man gave Tel’s hand a squeeze before he released him and went running, jumping from the diving board straight into the water.   Tel: Tel’s eyes were wide for a moment from surprise, but he smiled and ran after him. Henry always seemed to move too fast for him. Or, perhaps, being around him just slows things down. He didn’t know what to expect at all. Tel stepped into the pool from the stairs.   Henry: Indeed, Henry did move fast. It was simply the way he thought now a days. Do things you want to before the chance floats away.   He re-surfaced, giving a happy sigh as he pushed his wet hair out of his face. It almost looked sliced back, thanks to the water.He glanced to Tel, giving a half smirk as he swam closer, and closer; suddenly starting to hum out the jaws theme song.   Tel:“There’s a shark in my pool! Whatever will I do?” He continued to step gracefully into the pool until he was all the way in.   “Maybe I’ll punch it in the nose?” He giggled. “Or give it a kiss.”   Henry: “Mmmm, Kiss please~” He purred, batting his long eyelashes at the other.   Tel: Tel flopped on him and gave him a kiss. “The deep end it over there, if you actually want to swim, little fishy.” Tel gave a little giggle.   Henry: Henry purred into the kiss, returning it all too happily before he swam about. I’m not little fishy~ If anything, I’m a shark~“   He snapped his jaw playfully before diving down below the surface.   Ah, the only thing this water was missing was dirt and gators, and he almost felt like he’d be home, where he’d grown up. Then again, Henry had never been too proud of being a country bumpkin. But he did miss his scaly friends. Good thing he had Fido at home.   He could hold his breath for a surprisingly long amount of time before the cannibal needed to re-surface for air.   "Ah, this is lovely~”   Tel: Tel was nowhere to be seen!   Henry: “Hmm? Tel?” Henry looked around, swimming in circles to try and see where the other had gone.   Tel: Tel… Popped up behind him and grabbed onto him! “Henry~!”   Henry: Henry’s entire body stiffened, and he gave the tiniest shriek imaginable. He had to keep himself from turning just to keep himself from swiping at the other. After all, he didn’t want to hurt him. Even if Tel had scared him. Henry scared Tel all the time. It was only fair.   “Oh… you~” Henry turned in the other’s grasp, holding onto Tel tightly as he leaned in to blow a raspberry on the ravenette’s neck. Normally he would have tickled him, but without his gloves on, he didn’t trust his sharp nails.   Tel:“Uwaah!” Tel squiggled. “No~!” He laughed. “So you’re a Southern boy, hm?”   Henry:  Oh how red his cheeks went when Tel said that. Hell, Henry’s skin tone nearly matched his hair.   “O-Oh… shush, you. Get out of my head,” he teased, blowing yet another raspberry against the other’s skin.   Tel:“I very much like your head, dear. Very much so...” He flapped his hands at him. “N-no, no more raspberries! You’re as red as a raspberry, goodness.”   Henry: “Oh~ You do? And why is that?” He asked, stopping the raspberries for now. Though he kept his head hidden away in the crook of the other’s neck.   Tel: “Because your mind is a lovely place. Mostly.” He chuckled and ruffled his wet hair backward.   Henry: He laughed at that. “I advise you to stay out of the grungier areas. It’s not so pretty in there,” he said softly. But he leaned up to smooch Tel’s lips.   “Shall we go for that walk now, sweet-lips?”   Tel:“Hm. Very well, let’s go ahead and take that walk!”   Henry: He wiggled slightly.   “And then bunnies?”   The cannibal offered the other his arm, though they were still in the pool.   He hooked his arm through Henry’s and grinned. “And then, bunnies.” He agreed.   Henry:“Although… it is rather chilly out,” he said, escorting the other out of the pool. “Perhaps we should go put some…eh… actually clothing on before we go outside. I can’t actually get sick, but I’m not so sure about you.”   Tel:“We should surely dry off and get dressed.” Tel laughed and stepped up the stairs. “Well, I don’t get sick often, but I don’t want to test that.”   Henry: “Although, if you ever do get sick, it just gives me another excuse to fawn over you~” He teased, moving to hold the door open for the other. “After you, my sweet~”   Tel:“Aww,  you’re too sweet.” He walked through the door. “Such a gentleman!”   Henry: “Hey, I may be a flesh-crazed cannibal, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t raised properly when it comes to manners.”   He gave a small stretch before he stared to dry himself off, looking around for where he’d put his clothes.   Tel: “Well, I certainly noticed you had manners, you’re certainly classy.” He giggled and started trying to towel-dry his hair.                                                             Henry: “Yes well…for the most part,” he teased, reaching to pinch Tel’s bottom. Though that would be the only ‘below the belt’ touch for today. He moved to pull all of his clothes back on before he focused more on his hair as well.   “Do you have a brush, darlin’?”   Tel: “Eep!” Tel jumped, then laughed a bit. “Of course I have a brush.” He pulled out a brush from his drawer. “Here you are.” He then proceeded to find something casual to wear.   Henry: It took some time to get his hair to cooperate, thanks to the bounc curls that were coming out as his hair dried. But Henry managed. Once his hair was tamed, he finished with his clothes; tucking in his shirt, pulling on his vest and re-tying his ribbon around his collar.   “There. I’m ready whenever you are~”   Tel: Tel hadn’t bothered getting all dressed up in his suit. He found a casual pair of pants and a purple shirt to wear, and slipped on some tennis shoes. “All dressed! My, um, I guess I feel under dressed with you.. I mean, you hadn’t come over with anything else to wear, but… I could wear a suit! Let me just…”   Henry: Henry reached for the other, pulling Tel against him rather than letting the other get different clothes. “You are perfect just the way you are. Don’t you dare change just because of the clothes i have.” He grinned, smooching Tel’s cheek. “You look beautiful.”   Tel: Tel smiled, his face flushing red again. What a sweetheart. “Y-you really think that. I think you’re beautiful too…” He leaned up and kissed his cheek as well.   Henry: Henry smiled, catching Tels lips in a kiss. “lead the way to the park, darling?”   Tel: Tel took his hand with a grin and led him down the stairs and out the door. He had a limo take them out to town and drop them off in a gorgeous park.   “They keep all these truffulas growing in these parks, and sometimes you’ll see a bar ba loot bear. They’re not dangerous, of course.” Tel explained, motioning toward a tall tree with a fluffy, red tuft at the top.   Henry: “Oh, I know of barbaloots, my dear. I have had many an experience with them when I used to visit my friend, Snug. He lives out in the Truffula forest. However that doesn’t make these any less lovely~”   Tel:“Right. I know someone who lives in a truffula forest, too.” Tel laughed a bit. “Yes… Anyway, it’s a lovely evening…”   Henry: “Speaking of truffulas… next time you see Broady, ask him to make you a scone with truffula jam and clotted cream. It is superb~ Oh! With truffula tuft tea,” He purred. “But yes, it is a lovely evening.”   Tel: “Speaking of, Henry, dear… Why did you never tell Broadway what happened to you?”   Henry: “I figured it would be better left unsaid,” He admitted. “If he found out, he’d feel guilty, and he’d cry and... I  just don’t want to put him through that. I’m better left out of his happy little world.”   Tel: Tel bit his lip guiltily. “Don’t you ever think…  Perhaps he thinks of you and cries anyway? He must think you left him, like so many other people. He didn’t know you’re alright…”   Henry: “I don’t think so… at least...  I haven’t seen him cry over me. I’m not really worth his tears.” He gave a small shrug. “I feel like me being around would hurt him more than him thinking. I’ve left…”   Tel: “That’s never true. Why do you think so lowly of yourself? My dear, you know what it’s like for someone to leave you behind. It’s always worse…”   Henry:“Because… in the end everyone leaves me too. If I’m so great..how come no one sticks around?” he asked quietly. “If they all leave, that must mean there’s something wrong with me, and if there’s something wrong with me then that means I need to be careful who I affect.”   Tel:“Oh, Henry, there’s nothing wrong with you… And I’m positive Broadway would forgive you and you could be friends again. You need to talk to him."   Henry: “I…” He gave a small noise, honestly torn between going and not going to. He wanted to. He really did. But would Broadway really be so forgiving?   Tel: “Honestly, I’m positive he misses you.”   Henry: “But… how would i even go about explaining the change in gender?”   Tel:“W-well…” He looked away. “That’s the thing… I sort of… Got really excited about dating you and went to tell my best friend who it turns out did not know you existed so I sort of already explained it for you.” He spoke quickly as if that would exempt him from getting in trouble for this.   Henry: “Y-you…you told him I… You told him…that…” For a moment it looked much like Henrys brain just broke. Then it shut down. Then it restarted and he still had trouble comprehending. “You did WHAT?” he finally wheezed out, reaching to tug on his own hair. “Oh god, Tel, I…you…he…”   Tel:“I– I know! I know, I’m s-sorry. He understands, by the way, it’s alright, he wants to talk to you. He really missed you, Henry!” Tel put his hands up in an ‘I give up, I confess’ sort of way.   Henry: “I think I’m gonna pass out..” He said faintly, half falling to his knees in the pathway. It was funny how someone so strong who ate people for a living was so affected by hurting someone dear to his feelings. Henry Wheezed softly, trying.to gain back his breath. “Did he cry? Oh god, I KNOW, he cried. Imadehimcry..”   Tel:“D-darling…” Tel sat in front of him and took his shoulders. “I’m sorry, I… I can’t know everything. I’m not that powerful. I didn’t know you felt this strongly about it… Broadway will be fine. You’ll be fine. Everything will be fine. Ssh… Don’t cry…”   Henry:  “He’s like a sweet little baby burd and i feel like I just thrashed his nest apart and he needs to be taken care of and I… he..” If Tel was reading Henrys emotions now, he would see that Henry nor Helena had ever felt any romantic feelings towards Broady. It was a strange mix of dear friend, and parental love. Henry saw Broadway as small and fluffy, like a bunny. A bunny that deserved treats and happiness and love. He felt like he’d betrayed the boy, and felt more guilt than one could imagine. “oh ffffffuck I’m horrible..”   Tel: “Henry, please, now, listen. You care for him, so you’ll see that what he wants most is your friendship. You’re not horrible, you’re a victim of horrible circumstances. None of this is your fault.”   Henry: Henry listened, but stayed silent for a moment or two. He got himself breathing again before finally looking up at the other. “Are you… sure he isn’t mad at me..?”   Tel: “No, he isn’t. He understands. I made sure he understood.”   Henry: He whimpered, finally releasing his hold on his hair. It looked quite crazy now, thanks to him tugging on it, but it could be fixed with little work.   “I..suppose…at this point there would be no harm in talking to him. R-right?”   Tel:“Of course not. No harm at all. And, I’ll be there, if you want.”   Henry:  “You…really mean it?”   It was strange. Now Henry was questioning how he’d ever met Tel. How had he stumbled upon someone so… sweet and wonderful?   Tel: “Well, I’m your boyfriend now, and it’s my fault you have to talk to him in the first place, so, of course I’ll come!”   Tel: It had been so long since he’d been in a relationship with someone that was actually…supportive. Henry nearly didn’t know how to handle it. But he smiled, slowly standing once more. Before he quite suddenly pulled Tel into a kiss.   “…Thank you.”   Tel: Tel kissed him back, putting his arms around him tightly. “Mm… You’re really not mad at me for telling Broadway?”   Henry: “Frustrated for a moment, yes. Mad? No,” he said, keeping his arms just as tightly around the other. “It’s not like you meant any harm. You were excited…excited about me~ Which, though it surprises me a little..makes me..kinda happy.”   He couldn’t help but nudge his forehead against Tel’s own.   “And…I really have wanted to see him again. Face to face, I mean.”   Tel: “Aww.. . Henry…  Nobody has ever been excited about you? I find that intensely hard to believe. I want you to try a little exercise. Tomorrow morning, I want you to wake up, look in the mirror and say ‘I am fabulous.’. The next, try 'I have fabulous hair.’ then the next, perhaps 'I have a fabulous bottom.’. It’ll make you feel more confident."   Henry: Henry gave a small snort of laughter.   “Oh darling, I know I look good,” he said matter-of-factly. “That’s how I hunt. How else would I get people close enough for me to…well, I’ll not go into details. It’s… how I act. I figure there must be something wrong with my personality. Or maybe…I don’t know… something mental that I just don’t see…there has to be a reason people leave.”   Tel: Tel frowned. “Maybe.. Maybe, they’re just assholes, dear.”   Henry: “I–” He had a point. “I was really attracted to that many assholes?…Shame.” He said, his face falling flat.   Tel: “I suppose so.” Tel kissed him on the cheek. “It’s alright. I promise I’m not an asshole. To you.”   Henry: Henry gave a chuckle at that, smooching Tel’s nose.   “Good~ Now then…shall we go see those bunnies?”   Tel: “Yes! Let’s!” Tel tugged him. “Let’s get back to the factory.”   Henry: “So how many bunnies do you have there?” Henry asked in curiosity.   Tel: “Thirty two. And that number occasionally doubles.” He giggled and texted his limo driver, who pulled up from around the corner.   Henry: “Frisky little things,” he mused. Speaking of which…“Do you think..maybe, I could have one? To give to Broady, I mean?”   Tel: “Of course!! It’s a bunny orphanage, after all. I’m looking for homes for all of them, the precious babies.” The limo pulled up in front of them.   Henry: “Wonderful~” He cooed, opening the door for the other. “After you, Tel-a-Bee~”   Tel: “Thank you, dear! Just a reminder, I hate that nickname~” He said before stepping into the limo.   Henry: Henry gave a pout at that.   “But it’s so fitting~ It’s a play on the Pokemon name Celebi. The adorable little guardian of the forest~ You’re one of the few Once-lers out there that is actually doing something to conserve the forest rather than destroying it..which I find impressive, by the way~”   Tel: “Protector of the forest…? You know… I kind of like that! I suppose I do protect the trees around here. It’s my land, and no one can chop the trees without my say-so. And nobody has my say-so. Hm. I never thought of that, I thought you were calling me a teletubbie.”   Henry: “Eyuch..no. Even I think those things are disturbing. Pokemon on the other hand, I like.”   Tel: “I also like Pokemon. They’re cute and cuddly and aww.”   Henry:  “So do you still hate the nick name?” He purred.   Tel: “No, you can call me that, if you like.” He giggled and snuggled closer to him in the backseat of the limo. “By the way, do you have a favorite type of rabbit?"   Henry: “Not really,” he admitted. “To tell you the truth, i don’t know much about rabbit breeds at all… Educate me~?” Henry grinned as he wrapped his arm around the others waist.   Tel: “Alright! I’ll show you some different breeds when we get back.”   Henry: “Lovely~ How much longer till we get back?”   Tel: “We’ll be pulling up shortly, dear~ Hm… You’ve got a nickname for me, but I still have to think of one for you…”   Henry: “Oh~?” He rose a brow, reaching to pull the other closer as they rode along in the back of the limo.   “I haven’t been given many nicknames, but the ones I have been given I don’t know if I agree with~”   Tel: “Oh? Like what?” The limo stopped in front of the factory, but Tel didn’t move from Henry’s arms.   Henry: “Like… how Tavish calls me his Red-Headed Angel,” he mused. “I don’t see myself as Angel-like in any sense of the word.”   Tel: “I had an ex-boyfriend who had devil horns and a tail, but I was  able to think of him as angelic, anyway.” Tel giggled.   Henry: “Ah…”   Well, that was a bit awkward.   Henry sat for a moment before moving to open the door.   “Shall we then?”   Tel: “What’s the matter with that?” He laughed and followed him out of the limo. “I’ve got a bit of a bad boy fetish, I suppose.” He stood up out of the vehicle and kissed Henry’s cheek.   Henry: “Dear… how many people have you dated?” He asked curiously. “Because it… is actually quite a bit taboo to compare one boyfriend to another. You should never compare lovers. Especially not to their face...”   Tel: “One.” Tel frowned. “I wasn’t comparing you to him. I meant that I can still think of you as an angel, no matter what."   Henry: “It still...”   Henry stopped himself.   “Nevermind...”   The last time he’d talked about something someone did that bothered him he was accused of being overly sensitive and was treated as though he had no right to feel that way. He would much rather not go through that again.   “Where are the bunnies?”   Tel:“You know, he was a part of my life. I think we should learn to become comfortable talking about it. Why should it be taboo, if I’m not doting or obsessing? I wouldn’t mind hearing about your past loves.” Tel sighed. “They’re a part of why you’re you, Henry. The bunny orphanage is this way~" Henry: “You…”   Tel wanted to hear about them? That was a bit…different.   “They’re all strange stories…A Drunk, an Alien, a Warden, and an Ex Mafioso..None of them really have much of anything on common..”   Tel: “I want to hear everything about you. Aren’t you curious?"   Henry: “Well I…yes but..”   Oh goodness, where had his words gone?   “I suppose I’m used to people comparing me to the people they were with in the past, and then soon enough, they stop and think about how much they miss that person. Or they just leave me and go for someone else new entirely. That’s what the drunk did. That was before I even became a cannibal. Left me high and dry  to run off and marry some other girl. Even though he said he wanted to do the same with me. The alien seemed like he was only interested in me. He wanted to go slow. So I put so much time and effort into the relationship…and the instant the Warden asks him for sex, we suddenly enter into a three-way relationship that I was…quite forced into.   And then the Warden I did wind up becoming close….just for the Alien to disappear out of nowhere. Even though I was supposedly ‘marked for life’ inside..my body I suppose? I don’t know. The Warden talked about how much he cared, but how much he missed the Alien, and asked me to Marry him..and then disappeared.   And then there was the Ex Mafioso. That relationship moved rather fast but…I was lonely. He seemed interested. We got married, and then he left….and then he came back…and then he left again. I was left alone for so long…and then the whole, killing myself and coming back as a male thing happened. There was someone who wanted to be close to me…but I left before that could happen. Then the Ex Mafioso came back yet again, looked at me no different and said that he wanted to get married again…and then he disappeared….again..”   He sighed.   “In all honesty, the happy memories make them leaving feel even more bitter. I regret being with them. Any of them. I wasted so much time trying to cater to others…Others who in the long run..just didn’t care. Not enough to stick around. I’m…tired of waiting for people..”   Well, that hadn’t gone as he’d expected it to. In fact, he’d spilled some things he’d never admitted out loud to anyone before.   Tel: Tel nodded, listening to the story as they walked along the path to the rabbit orphanage. “Aah… That last one sounds like my last relationship. Most of it was spent alone, wondering when he’d come back.” He took Henry’s hand. “Where did the alien come from?”   Henry: “He never actually told me what planet he was from,” Henry said, trying to wrack his brain. Nope. Not there. “His father’s name was Ozal, but that’s all I know. They didn’t even have names, actually. Their friends gave them names. Zack and Bo. Zack was the one I was involved with. Bo was involved with another Once-ler.”   He paused once they entered the facility, looking over all of the cute little bunnies; meanwhile trying to find the perfect one for Broadway.“   Tel: "Dev was from Hell. I suppose that sounds odd. Well, I… I actually don’t know where he was from before that. It’s odd, when you think about it… We actually didn’t know as much about them as we thought we did.”   Henry: “Oh know…I know that I never knew much about them,” he said, giving Tel’s hand a squeeze before he released it. The red-head knelt down in front of a particular bunny, holding his hand out to it to see if it would come to him.   “But I wanted to learn. I wanted to be patient with them. All of them. I learned the most… about the Warden, actually. In fact…out of all of them, the relationship lasted longest with him and in my opinion… was most successful. But apparently, it still wasn’t enough. I did notice something funny though. Warden, Purple suit. My best friend, a purple mongoose.”   He motioned to Tel.   “Boyfriend, purple suit. Noticing a theme here?”   Tel: Tel giggled and knelt down next to him.   The rabbit sniffed Henry’s hand while another tried to climb Tel’s back.   “Oh! Haha, this one is a bit affectionate."   Henry: “Affectionate?” Henry asked, perking up. “Is it brown? I’m looking for a brown one… with perky ears. That’s affectionate.” Very specific.   Tel: “Well, let’s see.” Tel turned in circles trying to grab the rabbit off of his back. After a moment, it hopped off on its own and bounced on the carpet a bit.   Henry: Henry perked up completely, grinning from ear to ear as he held out his hands for the little one.   “Come here, baby~”   The brown bunny hopped over and sniffed his hand.   Tel: “I’ve got some carrots in the kitchenette.” Tel said, standing up and prancing into the next room.   Henry: Henry smiled to the little creature, reaching to rub the top of it’s hair. He was so very careful with the bunny. If it stayed and let him pet it, and even got snuggly, it’d be perfect. After all, Broadway needed something that would snuggle with him.   “Hm? Oh, carrots. Yes good~”   Tel: Tel returned with a bowl of cleaned and peeled carrots, as well as a rabbit on his head, a rabbit on his shoulder, a rabbit cradled in his other arm, and a rabbit clinging to his back. “Got the carrots!"   The little brown rabbit pushed its head into Henry’s hand.   Henry: Henry’s grin widened. “This one! Broady needs this one,” he cooed, very gently pulling the little rabbit into his arms to continue petting it.   “Are there any cages and bowls and bedding and things like that here that I can take to him, or should I go buy some from a pet store?”   Tel: “Of course~” Tel hurried off and got him a cage and some bedding and supplies to keep the rabbit while waiting to see Broadway. “Here we are.” He set the supplies down.   Henry: “Oh, he’s going to be so happy~ Maybe with this little…guy…? Girl? I don’t know how to tell them apart. But anyway! Maybe with this little one there he won’t cry.”   Tel: Tel put a hand on Henry’s shoulder. “I think he’ll just be happy to see you, dear…”   Henry: “I sure hope so,” he said sheepishly. “I’m actually… a little nervous.”   Tel: “Don’t be nervous, love! I’ll be right there, and this little rabbit, too. Broadway is a patient, intelligent sweetheart. No matter how long you’ve stayed away, he’ll be waiting with forgiveness in his heart.”   Henry: “Yeah… I just.., never want to take advantage of that..,” he admitted. “I know other people already have, and I don’t want to be one of them.”   Tel: “Why would you be taking advantage of his forgiveness? My dear, you’re making up worst case scenario excuses in your head. Broadway wants to be friends with you.”