"Yes, we are," Theodore said. There was something about shared grief that served quite effectively to bind two people together, even if they had been close before. Though Theodore had been a loving and doting parent, it had always been Jamie's role to be more of the nurturer, the hands-on dad, the one with nighttime cuddles and kissing boo-boos better. Not that Theodore hadn't performed those functions, but it always made him feel a touch awkward. At first, as a parent, that made him feel a little guilty, but eventually he'd come to accept it as part of his nature, and Elaine had understood that was just how he was. When Jamie died, however, Theodore had taken on all of his roles in the family in addition to his own, and that meant hugs, when Elaine needed them, or didn't. Kisses on the forehead, and sitting by her bedside until she fell asleep. "I suppose the explanation is a pretty natural one, there, you're right. But she was always with us, when she wasn't in school. Field trips and the occasional holiday in the summers. And just in tow everywhere, before she started school. We couldn't bear the idea of leaving her alone with some sort of...caretaker. And we couldn't imagine one of us staying home to take care of her while the other was gone. So we did everything together."
Theodore really only had one, big secret. But all the little secrets sort of stemmed from that one, and he couldn't tell a piece of that without telling the whole. It would require a lot more trust in Hugh - though he was certainly presenting himself as trustworthy - to reveal any of those just yet. "A good something about me," he hummed, "which you don't already know. Ah." His face held an embarrassed grin. "So, one of the reasons I like the movie Cruel Intentions so much is because Sebastian has the same name as my first real crush. It's silly, I know, but he was a childhood friend and I was...ah, well, who I was then. Lonely and, like I said before, a little shit. But we were friends and I've always been loyal; I would've done anything for him. But then, Jamie, and Sebastian and I sort of drifted apart. I haven't really thought of him in years," he admitted. "I wonder how he's doing. I expect he's married, children and all that, good job and living in the lap of luxury. He was very much born with a silver spoon in his mouth." He held up a hand. "And before you ask, or suggest, no - it would be entirely too awkward to contact him now. I'm not certain he ever approved of, well, I don't know if it was my 'life choices,' or just Jamie."