Julien was well aware that he had a number of… issues.
Averting his gaze from the mirror, Julien got out of bed and entered his greenhouse.
Starting with something easy, he wasn't exactly built for all this running around. Maybe before, but not right now.
Donning a pair of gloves, he walked around the greenhouse.
At least, that's how he should've been.
While his memories of the past two years had been a bit blurry, he was still cognizant enough to realize his body had been deteriorating—should've been deteriorating.
Because before Andrew came…
Julien walked up to a plant bed that had just begun to sprout and crouched next to it. They were Chrysanthemums.
Before Andrew came, he wasn't eating. Not unless he shared a class with or crashed into Nevaeah on the way.
He hardly slept either, though he at least closed his eyes.
Not that I'm sleeping much now.
Tapping the leaves for a moment, he stood up and moved towards the shelves.
In fact, he couldn't do anything except pretend to be normal.
…
He tried to be normal again.
Picking up a pair of garden shears, he placed them at his waist and made his way up to the second floor of the greenhouse.
Ignoring his physical health, there was another issue that might get in the way here.
After a brief check of the plants on the second floor, Julien stepped out onto the roof, letting the chilly late night air touch his skin.
He wasn't stable.
Climbing up the ladder to the second floor of the roof from the greenhouse's sublevel, he made his way to the rooftop bar/restaurant that remained empty for most of the year and laid down in a hammock.
Actually, he didn't remember it being empty so often before he came back… he didn't remember a lot of things.
Sighing, he stared up at the wilting leaves surrounding this hammock's pillar supports.
He'd managed to get himself under control after the first and last time he blew up at Andrew by putting all of his… less savory feelings to the back burner—but that wasn't very sustainable.
Especially when the list of future stressors was only continuing to pile up.
…
He couldn't trust himself.
If this state of neutrality was ever interrupted… something bad was going to happen.
Though whether current circumstances were 'good' was up for debate.
Julien flipped over in the hammock, careful not to send himself rolling out of it as he stretched within. He touched the wilted vines with his fingertips.
If only Andrew were a plant.
Plants were simple.
If he were a plant he'd have never lashed out at him. He'd take care of him, protect him, admire him, rely on him. He'd build a sanctuary with just himself and his buds, where there was no need to think about anything complicated.
He shut his eyes and tried to imagine it, but the image fell flat, dipped in monochrome colors with splashes of red tinging its surface. He opened his eyes.
Gently trailing his hand along the blooming vines, he sighed.
The problem was that Andrew wasn't a plant. And if he kept having to cuddle up to him to ensure he didn't die, Julien was sure that one of these days… he was going to lose it.
He could manage if he was the initiator or focused on something else—but that obviously couldn't always be the case.
Remus is a problem too…
That guy had no sense of personal boundaries.
So his plan was this.
Getting out of the hammock, Julien descended the ladder and passed through his greenhouse. Removing his gloves but keeping the scissors, he left his room and headed to Andrew's. He didn't even have to knock before Andrew opened the door.
The man tilted his head as Julien brushed his hand over his shears for support and opened his mouth.
"Can I come in?"
Andrew glanced at his shears before stepping aside. Julien took a deep breath, his heart rate picking up from nervousness.
Before he could lose his nerve, he stepped inside. Just as Andrew was about to close the door behind them, Julien hurriedly blocked the door.
"Leave it open."
Just in case he needed to run away later.
Andrew stared at him for a moment, a silent question in his gaze before he let go of the door and stepped away.
After a long stretch of silence, Julien calmed his heart and moved further into the room.
"Do you have a first aid kit in here?"
Andrew's eyebrow twitched.
"Are you injured?"
"No."
Not yet.
Andrew eyed his scissors for a moment before heading into the connected bathroom and pulling out a first aid kit from behind the mirror. Then he went to another corner of the room and pulled out the army kit with the gun.
Opening both cases in front of him, he spoke sincerely.
"I still need to work."
He pointed between Julien's scissors and the gun.
"The gun will be faster. Aim for an achilles."
Just before the man could grab a bullet and load it into the gun himself, Julien hurried over and took the case from him with a scandalized expression. His sudden movement scared the puppy out of the room.
"What do you think I came in here to do to you!?"
The man had the audacity to tilt his head in confusion.
"Limit mobility."
He paused.
"Were you trying to kill me?"
"Neither!"
Julien covered his face before holding up his hand for Andrew to wait a moment. Taking the case away from this trigger happy half-wolf, Julien brought it upstairs and hid it in the greenhouse.
After returning, he saw Andrew waiting at the edge of the bed—still fiddling with the bullet that lost its place.
Julien couldn't help but question his standards.
"Why would you let me in if you thought I was trying to hurt you?"
Andrew opened his mouth to answer, but Julien quickly shut that office down.
"No, that was rhetorical."
If he listened to this man's logic he might drive himself crazy.
Sighing, Julien muttered a curse under his breath before realizing all the tension he felt was gone. His face twisted into a complicated expression.
I guess that makes this easier.
Walking up to the other man, he asked another question.
"Do you care about these sheets?"
"No."
Julien tugged on Andrew's shirt.
"Your clothes?"
Andrew furrowed his brow. After a few seconds of silent staring, he asked a question of his own.
"…Are you trying to sleep with me?"
Julien thought about it for all of two seconds before nodding.
"Yes."
Seeing Andrew avert his gaze with a troubled expression, Julien thought about the question for another two seconds…
And his face turned bright red.
"Not like that! Not like that!"
Andrew looked back at him.
Julien quickly clarified.
"I'm trying to sleep next to you."
He circled Andrew's bed and sat by the pillows.
"I can't offer you any phenos without being close to you, and I wanted to test something else as well."
He tapped the shears at his waist.
Andrew watched him for a moment, glanced at the first aid kit, then moved to sit by the pillows on the other side.
"Attempts to stab me in my sleep are not recommended."
He cut off the light, pulled the blanket up, and slid underneath it.
"You could get hurt."
Then he closed his eyes and…
Several minutes passed just like that.
Is he sleeping? Already?
Julien stared at his still face before leaning over to listen out for the other's breathing.
It seems rhythmic enough.
As he pulled back, he didn't notice the other's eyes following after him.
Taking a deep breath, Julien moved to grab the first aid kit from the edge of the bed and brought it over. He placed it on the bedside table.
Step one of the plan had succeeded. While he was a little nervous at the start, Andrew's innate irregularity was enough for his flight response to be turned off.
Now he just had to wait.
Sliding under the blanket, he shut his eyes and waited.
…
Andrew was watching him sleep.
…
After maybe an hour or so, Julien opened his eyes and checked the other's face.
It was time to put step two in motion.
Sitting up as quietly as he could so as not to disturb the sleeping wolf prematurely, he took the garden shears into his hand. Feeling their weight, he stared at the hardened blades.
His face turned chilly.
Glancing at his 'sleeping roommate' and seeing his eyes were still closed, Julien took the blade—
And slid it across his palm.
Andrew's nose twitched and he snapped his eyes open, throwing the blade to the other end of the room before grabbing Julien's wrist. He stared at the wound.
"What are you doing?"
Julien's face twitched, but he managed to maintain a calm expression.
"I'm testing something."
He had three reasons for doing this.
"Can you let go of me for a second? You already threw away my weapon."
Andrew visibly frowned. After glancing at the discarded garden tool and removing a pocket knife from the bedside table with his free hand, he slowly loosened his grip and sat back down.
He kept a close eye on him.
Rubbing his wrist, Julien moved over the other and smeared his bloody palm over Andrew's neck. Andrew's shoulder twitched.
"…What are you testing?"
"Whether my blood is good for you."
He wasn't sure if Andrew even noticed it, but the other man was always either staring at his neck, touching his neck, or when he was feral, aiming to bite at his neck.
Julien knew it was because that's where his own scent lay, but it wasn't just there. When he applied that pheno blocking perfume it was in five places:
Neck, armpits, genitals, feet. And the applicator, his hands.
Those also happen to be areas that either have decent blood flow or important vessels nearby.
If that was the case, then was the scent coming from his blood, hidden glands, or both? He obviously couldn't cut his neck, and the other places were questionable as well, so he ran this experiment with his palm.
"How do you feel?"
And the reason he placed his blood on Andrew's neck was similar.
Andrew stared up at him, his expression harder to read than usual. Then after a moment's hesitation, he placed his hand over Julien's and pressed the bloody palm into his skin.
"Comfortable."
Julien swallowed.
The second reason… was exposure therapy.
"Describe it to me."
Though he'd technically initiated it himself, they were still in a rather… awkward position. If he could just get used to the prickly feeling—
Andrew's eyes shifted in hue as he replied.
"…like getting lost in a forest late at night."
Using the hand he had covering Julien's own, he lifted Julien's hand to his cheek and rested his head there, his eyelids drooping heavily.
"…It's quiet."
Julien flinched as Andrew brought his hand over his mouth and licked at his palm, clearing the blood away and revealing its rough surface.
He felt a little warm.
Staring at his palm as the other 'groomed' him, conscious or not, Julien made note of what he saw.
It was the last thing he needed to check.
As the blood on his hand was thoroughly replaced by Andrew's saliva, the other completely closed his eyes and dozed off, entrusting his face to Julien's hand.
After staring at him for a while, Julien slowly climbed off of him while gently laying his head on the pillow. Sliding his hand out from underneath him, he grabbed a piece of gauze from the first aid kit and wiped away the other's saliva.
Staring at his hand with a blank expression, he grabbed a set of bandages and wrapped it around where his wound should've been.
…
Lying back down beside Andrew, he stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep.
—
Julien opened his eyes and unconsciously placed his hand over his sternum.
He felt uneasy, like he'd forgotten something important.
What time is it?
Groggily patting around for his phone, he shot up when he noticed it wasn't where he left it.
Taking in the vaguely familiar room, he relaxed.
Right… I slept in Andrew's room.
Burying his head in his knees, he took a moment to compose himself before glancing at the empty spot beside him.
He didn't freak out, Andrew didn't freak out, and he managed to learn a few things along the way. If doing that was all it took to pacify the man around a full moon—if it could pacify the man during a full moon—he felt like he could do it.
As for where the other man had gone off to, he was sure he'd find him before he had to leave anyway.
Lazily sliding out of bed, Julien practically crawled up the stairs before shutting the door to his room upon arrival.
…
He rushed out of the room in a mere 5 minutes.
Damnit!
Not only did he have an exam in 15 minutes, but there was another problem. 2 missed calls, 1 unread message.
[Roomie]
| I'm downstairs. Come n
Julien grabbed everything he needed—including the new watch—in record time before bolting out the door. Andrew sent that message at 4 A.M. It was nearly 1 and he still wasn't back yet!
I should've realized when I didn't smell any food!
Pleading for the elevator to go faster, he arrived at the lobby and looked around.
Nothing.
He rushed into the pre-lobby—
Tap tap
"Julien."
And he jumped out of his skin when a hand landed on his shoulder. Spinning around, he saw Andrew behind him, Cello in his hands.
Seeing nothing wrong with either Andrew or the pup, Julien knelt down.
So it was nothing. What's with the SOS message then!?
Sucking in air, Julien lifted his head and asked.
"What are you waiting out here for? Couldn't you go in?"
Andrew shook his head.
Julien frowned.
"Why? Did you lose your keycard?"
After a few seconds, Andrew nodded.
Now Julien was even more confused.
"How?"
Andrew of all people losing something? He'd believe it the day pigs fly. Andrew furrowed his brow as he replied.
"Pickpocket."
"…"
What?
"…You got robbed?"
He looked unsure of how to answer that. Julien prompted him again.
"Did they only take the card?"
"No."
He added.
"My wallet and bag."
Julien blinked. Looking him over again, he realized the bag of dog treats, baggies, and toys he usually brought on walks wasn't there.
Julien looked on in disbelief.
"…And you let them???"
He knew he shouldn't say that to a guy that just got robbed but… look at him.
"Can't you sniff them out? Or track them down another way?"
"…Yes. However…"
The man paused for a moment before holding out his hand.
"Lend me yours."
Julien unconsciously passed him his things before stopping just after handing them over.
I'm getting robbed too..?
But before he could ask for any of it back, Andrew was already on his way inside. He said one last thing before he passed through the lobby doors.
"Your exam is in 8 minutes."
Glancing at the time, Julien urgently left the building, sending a message to his bodyguard on the way.
[Jules]
| wait outside my classroom, Txh320B
—
Depositing the young beagle back in the apartment, Andrew filled her bowls with fresh meat and water before cleaning himself off.
He'd been outside for roughly 10 hours.
But he wasn't standing in the lobby the whole time. Shaking his hair dry then stopping when he recognized the action as resembling a dog, Andrew stopped next to Cello and crouched down.
"Perdón, Perrita."
Watching her as she ate, he reflected on himself. He hadn't meant to drag her along for so long but his stuff was taken almost as soon as he stepped out of the surrounding park. As for how it happened…
He handed it over when the other party asked politely.