"I'm safe, Wren. I can fight, remember?" he said softly, smiling a little as he hugged Wren.
"Now. It's almost Christmas, and you gave me my present," Aiden said, instantly lightening the mood because sad-Wren was just something he wasn't good at handling. He touched the younger boy's cheek with impossible tenderness, a never-lover and almost-brother all at once, and then got up off the bed, ruffling Wren's hair as he crossed the cell to his pack.