InsaneJournal

Ever since meeting with Qiang and learning more about what she had discovered about the recent attacks on their House Arden had been… well quiet, withdrawn, and preoccupied. It was less evident in the company of others but more so with his Children with whom he was much more honest. There was less need for pretense and subterfuge though he did know the difference between when he should treat them like a Sire would and how he would treat them as Arden or rather as Ngo Dai Chien would.

At this precise moment, he was more Sire than anything else, which involved keeping things close to his chest, being careful with the cards he shared, but most importantly not inciting panic when there was no need to.

He didn’t know if Jiang had noticed or if he had he hadn’t said anything.

It was late, very late, by the time Arden was dropped off at his home he shared with Jinhae. He felt every single one of his centuries as he unlocked the door and shirked off the coat he was wearing, thoughts weighing heavily on him, though as he glanced around and noted the many takeout boxes littering the apartment those thoughts gave way to concern. Arden was halfway to the bedroom when he caught sight of Jinhae on the couch, frown catching on his brow, feet soon carrying him to where the younger Strigele slept.

Arden may not have made much noise at all but Jinhae was as attuned to their bond as he was the pattern of the sun moving through the sky. As if feeling Arden’s eyes on him Jinhae stirred, a hand lifting to rub at his eyes as he blinked sleepily at the blurry figure of his sire.

“Arden!”

The exclamation was happy, Jinhae stumbling to his feet to throw himself at Arden once he’d become more awake and cognisant of who was in their home.

“You’re back!”

Arden caught the brunt of Jinhae’s slight weight easily and readily, arms firm and tight around the younger Strigele’s waist. Perhaps a touch tighter than his embrace would be normally, but he felt the change was valid all things considered.

“Not as soon as I would have liked, but yes, I am home.” “Home is what counts,” Jinhae mumbled, nosing under Arden’s jaw to press a soft kiss to where his pulse might have once beat. With Arden’s arms curled tightly around him, Jinhae pressed himself against his sire. “I missed you.”

Arden closed his eyes in response to the kiss against his neck, turning his head to press a kiss of his own against Jinhae’s temple. “And I missed you.” He lifted his hands to card his fingers through Jinhae’s hair, drawing back to cast his gaze over the other’s face.

“Why are you sleeping on the couch, Ài?”

Jinhae’s expression was open and completely sincere as he looked at Arden when he answered, “I didn’t want to miss you coming home. I didn’t want you to sneak into your own room and not see you until the next day.”

Arden found himself smiling in spite of the news shared by Qiang during his time in New York, grateful in many ways that he had chosen to take Jinhae and Jiang with him to Mercy Cove. It meant that the risk to them was lessened and hopefully completely removed. His other Children? Well, he’d reached out, and was waiting on a number to check in to set his mind fully at ease.

“Well, I’m home now, so let’s get to bed.”

Jinhae wiggled his eyebrows playfully and ducked back underneath Arden’s jaw. “You’ll be pleased to know last week was awful without you. Was everything okay in New York?” Ordinarily yes he would be pleased, but for a moment he was taken to the conversation he’d had with Jiang about Jinhae and how he was very dependent. Not necessarily a bad thing and it might nothave worried him if not for his time spent in New York.

He banished those concerns for the time being and instead contented himself with drawing Jinhae into a kiss. “Less talk,” he murmured against the younger’s lips. “Let me show you how much I missed you.”

Jinhae melted into Arden’s arms, some small part of him recognising that Arden had just avoided his question but it was drowned out by the part that had him whispering, “yes please” against his sire’s lips before stealing another kiss, cool fingertips moving to slide down Arden’s clothed chest.

Arden drew Jinhae’s lower lip between his teeth, nibbling gently before sealing the touch with a harder bite that was soon soothed with the curl of his tongue. There was a delicate balance between pleasure and pain, a fine line, a tightrope walk; one that Arden had mastered a very long time ago.

Ringed fingers and decorated hands slipped into Jinhae’s hair where his touch curled, possessive and wanting, lips slipping from Jinhae’s mouth to trail across his jaw until he nudged his way under the other’s chin. Every kiss felt pointed, delivered purposefully, wordlessly informing Jinhae how much he was cared for and his importance in Arden’s life.

“Bedroom,” he muttered, not a request, definitely an order.

Jinhae’s chest stuttered with the breath he took in reflexively, head tipped back and loose, oversized t-shirt already hanging off one shoulder.

“I just woke up, carry me?”

He leaned back and then glanced up at Arden with a split second of a pout that gave way to a mischievous grin as he jumped, quite literally, into Arden’s arms.

And once he had Arden carried Jinhae towards his bedroom effortlessly and like the dancer weighed nothing at all.