§ Pirate was exhausted from his shift. The night was already well under way by the time he could flop backwards onto his bed and kick off his shoes. Taking deep breaths to bring himself down from the rush of his job, he simply listened to the rain as it started to trickle against the window. He'd made it inside before the weather had started and he was glad for that.

§ Baby was currently sitting in Pirate's bed with the covers pulled up to his chin. It was chilly out and when he'd looked out the window to see the storm clouds coming, he decided that under a blanket in a safe spot was the best place to be. True, he expected to be kicked out when the older man arrived, but for now he was watching The Lion King, which he'd found in one of Pirate's desk drawers.

§ He'd nearly landed on the boy when he'd sunk into bed. "What are you doing here?" He said crossly when he realized what was going on. "And we can get you your own damn TV if you want one, you know." He clicked off the movie, just to be a little spiteful about his space being invaded.

§ "Waiting for you," Baby said meekly, not feeling very boisterous at all today. "You don't have to buy me anything, okay?" He added, just looking over at Pirate, frowning when he saw that his movie had been turned off. "It was just at the good part!" Okay, so maybe he had a little bit of spark left at the moment.

§ As if responding to Pirate's sour mood, the rain came down harder. Shutting his eyes and shaking his head, all Pi could do was keep the remote away from Kohl. "How are you feeling?" He finally asked, pushing their interaction back to the clinical caretaking relationship Pirate was trying so hard to maintain.

§ "Bored," Baby replied, reaching for the remote just as Pi swiped it out of reach again. "And hungry," he added, unable to control the shudder that ran through his body at the faint sound of thunder in the distance.

§ Keeping the remote at arms length, Pirate opened his eyes and turned his head to the side to look at Kohl. "You shouldn't let yourself get hungry. When I'm gone at work you really still need to eat. Hunger and wolves don't mix. It could turn a weakling like you into a rampaging crazy, you know."

§ "I don't like going down there by myself," Baby pouted, scooting closer to the annoyed Pirate. What with the impending storm, he preferred to stay put, nice and cozy in the other's bed. "The others scare me." He nuzzled at Pirate's nose to distract him just long enough to make a swipe for the remote.

§ He was not usually so easily distracted, but the level of dismay that ran through his body, causing it to tense was enough for Baby to overpower him and steal the remote back. "Scare you? How can they scare you? I'm the scariest one here." He pulled away from Kohl with frustration, but he moved with such imprudence that he scooted himself right off the bed and fell to the floor with an uncomfortable thud.

§ Baby burst out laughing at that and rolled over to the edge of the bed so that he could peer down at Pirate. "Oh my God," he giggled. "That was the funniest thing ever." He leaned down, ruffling his fingers through Pirate's hair. "And you are not the scariest one. You're not scary at all."

§ Pirate was so mad he could hardly talk and his lips pursed tightly into a grumpy line. He stayed down on the ground, stubbornly refusing to get back into bed at that moment. "There are lots of other funny things that were funnier than that." He protested after a few seconds.

§ "Like what?" Baby asked, still looking down at him. He wanted to know what sorts of things Pirate found to be funny. "It was the funniest thing I've seen all day at least," he amended.

§ Sitting up, Pirate curled his knees up and rested his arms on them. "All day? You've been hiding out in this room all day. You can't judge based on that." He tried to think of funny things. "Caddyshack is funnier than me falling on the floor."

§ "What's a Caddyshack?" Baby asked, sliding off the bed to sit on the rug beside Pirate. "Take me downstairs for some food then," he added, poking the other boy with a toe. "Or I'll have to nibble on you instead."

§ Pirate opened and then closed his mouth, feeling old. "Nevermind." Was all he could say to the first question. As soon as Kohl got down on the rug with him, Pirate was up on his feet. "You nibble on me and I'll build a damn door so I can lock you on your side of the room." They had a doorway, but no door between it, so really it was just one big room with a narrow opening separating them.

§ "NO!" Kohl said, hopping up to his feet. "Don't make me stay alone," he said nervously, glancing out the window as the rain fell even harder. "Let's go make a frozen pizza," he suggested.

§ The force surprised Pirate. "Are you afraid of storms?" He asked suddenly, the corner of his mouth starting to twitch upward into a smile. Folding his arms over his chest, he was beginning to look a little triumphant, liking that he may have found something that freaked Kohl out.

§ "NO," Kohl replied, shaking his head defiantly. "I'll just go make some fucking pizza myself. See if you get any." He stomped out of the room but once he was out of sight, he stood pressed up against the wall in the hallway, waiting for Pirate to come after him.

§ Predictably, Pirate rolled his eyes and followed Baby out. "I'll get some--" if I want some, was how that sentence was going to end, but he ran into Kohl halfway through. "You are afraid, aren't you. If you listen really hard, you can already hear the thunder. Humans couldn't hear it from this distance, but you can."

§ "No," Kohl said again as he started down the stairs. He didn't want to hear the thunder. Keeping one hand on the railing, he peeked back to make sure that Pirate was coming too. "I want to finish my movie after," he added petulantly, turning around to look up at Pirate when he reached the bottom. "Do we have any soda?"

§ "Soda is horrible for you." Spoken as he walked past him, not liking the sensation of following. He felt the tiredness in his bones, but didn't expect to get any sleep tonight if the kid was going to be kept up by the storm. The sound of thunder was getting closer. "You're going to have to get used to the idea that this is your home for awhile. What are you so anxious to get back to anyway?"

§ "Soda is good," Baby replied, poking Pirate in the side as he walked past. He hurried along after the older man to keep up. "Just Kelsy," said quietly, figuring that Pirate probably didn't hear his reply, or if he did, that he didn't care.

§ Pirate heard it and he cared quite a bit actually. "Kelsy, your friend. Well, it's too bad and all, but judging from the place Sigmund found you, that's pretty much all you've got to go back to, so maybe you should just give up the pipe dream and focus on your life here."

§ "No," Kohl said, shaking his head sadly. "I'm in love with Kelsy. I have to be with him. I will stay here until I get better and then I have to go back." There wasn't any changing his mind about it either. He walked past Pirate to the freezer and opened it, grabbing a pepperoni pizza.

§ "Of course you are." For some reason, Pi didn't believe him, chalking Kohl's feelings up to childish emotion. That sentiment was obvious in his voice and he stopped to lean forward against the center island of counter space. "You don't have to be with anyone, but you better make sure you've got control, or you're going to hurt him."

§ Baby didn't detect the fact that Pirate didn't believe him. Maybe he wasn't paying close enough attention. "I DO have to be with him," he countered, tearing open the box rather angrily at Pirate's next words. "I'm not going to hurt him. I wouldn't ever do that.

§ "Right, so you remember everything you did as a wolf then? In full control of that, are we? Hell, you're cured then, go home." Pirate jabbed a thumb toward the door. After a second, he got up to go get some orange juice from the fridge because he was aggitated and didn't want to sit still. "Does he love you back?"

§ Baby was about to open his mouth to snap at Pirate and probably call him some horrible name but the question caught him off guard. "What? He...I..." he trailed off, staring down at the frozen pizza in his hands. "He said he did." He knew if he explained the entire situation about Kelsy's pimp/boyfriend, Pirate probably wouldn't believe that Kelsy loved him.

§ "Well, that's nice for you." Spoken as if it wasn't that nice at all. A flash of lightening sparked behind the thin curtains in the kitchen, and Pirate abandoned the orange juice in favor of going to look out the window. The rain was coming down slanted, wind whipping through it as the tree tops bowed to its force.

§ Baby shreiked and hurried over to Pirate , pulling him away from the window. "Don't," he said, shaking his head a little. "Help me find a pan for the pizza," he added, still tugging at Pirate's arm.

§ Startled by the fervor, Pirate wrenched his arm back. "There's one in the drawer under the oven." But he didn't go back to the window now that Kohl had so clearly stated his opposition to it. "It's not going to hurt you, you know that—right?"

§ "What isn't?" Baby asked, confused. His mind was now on the subject of the pizza pan, which obviously wasn't going to hurt him. He looked kind of upset that Pirate brushed him off but he went to retrieve the pan anyway and then put the pizza in the oven before looking at the knobs and dials. He really knew nothing about preheating an oven.

§ "The lightening, the wind, the rain, whatever it is that freaks you out." He was hell bent on making Kohl admit it, though perhaps not directly. Seeing that the other needed some help, Pirate walked over and turned the oven on to a reasonable temperature.

§ "You don't know that," Kohl said, just looking at Pirate. He sighed a little and then walked over to the kitchen table to sit down and wait. He put his head down on his arms, hiding his face.

§ Pi shrugged. "Never killed anyone I know." And that fact alone was good enough for him to not be afraid that it would start doing so. After a second of thinking about it, he had to admit one thing. "Okay, so a tree fell on this guy. We had to go out to his house on a rescue. But that was the big ass tree, not the wind."

§ "Okay," Kohl said, just staying put. He had his reasons but not any he was going to divulge to Pirate at the moment. He visibly shook when the thunder clapped as he waited for his pizza and wished that Kelsy were there. He'd hold him at least and maybe kiss him some too. That would be nice.

§ When the boy actually started shaking, Pirate sighed and let his arm rest on the table, reaching to take Baby's hand. His fingertips were warm as they brushed up over the back of the other's hand and curled around to find his palm. It was a small gesture in the grand scheme of things, but a fairly big one for Pirate.

§ Baby kept his face buried in his arms but his long slender fingers wrapped tightly around Pirate's. He didn't care who it was at this point. It was at least someone who cared about him maybe a little.

§ "Maybe he can visit you here." Pirate offered. "But--you'd have to stay calm while he was here. Getting excited can bring on a shift." Deep down, he wanted to help the other get through this time in his life, and sometimes friends from the previous life were assets. Pi wasn't absolutely sure that someone Kohl supposedly loved would be good to bring around so early in the transition, but having him homesick so severely wasn't good either.

§ "Really?" Kohl perked up at that, lifting his head finally. His eyes were red but there were no tears on his cheeks, showing he'd been successful in holding them back. "You think so?" He pondered that for a moment, still holding Pirates hand. "Do you think he'd believe me about all this?"

§ "It'd be safer if you didn't tell him." Safer for whom, Pirate didn't say. He glanced down at the way their hands looked entwined together. "You could just say that you're staying here. I don't know." They could come up with a believable story, he was sure.

§ "What? Why?" Baby replied, following Pirate's line of vision to their hands. "Then he'll just think I left him! He'll think I went away without saying and he'll be sad." He didn't want Kelsy to be sad. He wondered if the other boy missed him as much as he did. Sitting quietly, he stared at their hands and tried to think. "Oh, I know. I could tell him you're my...no..." he paused. "I could tell him you're my friend and Sigmund is our pimp," he grinned, completely pleased with himself. Kelsy would believe that and he would understand why Baby hadn't been coming around then.

§ The hand holding was short lived once the word 'pimp' came out of Baby's mouth. "What?" His whole body retracted from the other as if repelled by some unseen force. "No, no, no." Pirate started to shake his head and for a moment it threatened never to stop because no amount of head-shaking could convey how wrong that whole story was. "One, it's pretty disturbing that this Kelsy kid would accept that. Two, if Sigmund is our pimp then that means I'm some sort of prostitute and that's not going to be a story you tell anyone."

§ "You're the one who said I had to lie," Baby pointed out, looking hurt that Pirate had pulled away. Instead he sat back in his chair, away from the other man and wrapped his arms around himself. He stared down at his lap, trying to think of what to do. Maybe it would be for the best if he didn't see Kelsy ever again. And maybe it would be for the best if he stopped bothering Pirate who clearly had a problem with what he was. Forcing himself up from the table even though he could hear the thunder in the distance, Baby headed out of the kitchen toward the stairs to go back to his room.

§ Just sitting there for a few minutes, Pirate expected the other to come scuttling back to him. When no such thing happened, he frowned and hefted himself up to go look for him. When he found him all the way back in his room, Pirate sighed and leaned himself against the door frame that separated their spaces. "Baby, I'm sorry this happened to you, all right? But you can't go telling humans about us." After a moment of consideration, he had to ask because it was driving him nuts. "Why wouldn't I have been your pimp? Why Sigmund?"

§ "Because alphas sound like the pimp," Baby shrugged from his spot on the bed. At least from what he'd learned from Pirate. Sigmund owned the house. Sigmund took care of everyone. And everyone who lived there seemed to have a job or something they did for Sigmund kind of. He was surprised that Pirate had followed after him and just kind of looked at him with a 'are you finished' look on his face.

§ Great, one more thing to add to the list of things he couldn't do because he wasn't alpha. "It's probably better if you get away from that kid anyway. You don't have to go back to the life now that you're one of us." And he wouldn't go back, if Pirate had any say in the matter--which he liked to think he did.

§ Baby glared at Pirate then, a scowl appearing on his face. "You don't know shit about Kelsy. He's not a prostitute, anyway." He just knew that Baby was one. Sure, Kelsy had tried his hand at it for about a week but that was when Jonathan had claimed him. Kelsy was more of a kept boy. "And I liked my life fine," he added in defiance, just to be contrary. He certainly didn't like the part where his trick turned out to be a werewolf and changed him into one too.

§ "Dogs like chocolate, but it rots their stomachs." He shut his mouth, falling into useless metaphors when he got upset. He didn't know what to say to the boy. Still, he was better able to deal with the petulant attitude than the needy one. Throwing up his hands, he shook his head. "I don't want to know shit about Kelsy and I don't want to know shit about your old life. You're not going back to it."

§ "Then get the fuck out if you don't want to know shit!" Kohl replied, getting out of the bed. He launched himself across the room at Pirate, putting both hands on his chest to shove him back into his own space. The only problem with that was the fact that Pirate was quite a bit bigger and taller than Kohl and didn't budge so easily. "I know you don't fucking like me, okay? You can stop pretending now. Just leave me alone!"

§ The shove was an all out challenge and Pirate wasn't going to let that go without putting it down. Clenching his jaw, he grabbed Kohl's hands, snapping his fingers around his wrists and walking him backwards so that they both stood firmly in Kohl's half of the room. Pirate's presence there was more than just standing though, he was claiming and his dark eyes bore down onto Baby. "Don't do that again unless you really mean it." His voice had dropped, quiet but forceful.

§ Baby had thought he meant it when he said it, but the way Pirate was looking at him and gripping his wrists so intently made him feel small and shamed, much like a little kid who got in trouble for throwing a tantrum. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle things on his own for quite some time as much as he didn't want to admit it. This pissed him off, the realization that he was stuck with Pirate whether he wanted him or not and and a little growl came out of his throat in response but he didn't move and dropped his gaze to the floor so that he didn't have to see Pirate staring down at him.

§ Satisfied with that little show of submission, Pirate let him go. Silence passed between them for a few seconds until he finally filled it up with an answer to what Baby had said prior. "I do like you. I don't pretend." Most everything about Pirate was genuine, stripped down to what he really thought about a person. "I like you enough not to want you to have sex for money, or food, or whatever you used to do it for. Or whatever you did, for that matter."

§ "I like having sex," Baby muttered, wrapping his arms back around himself so that his wrists were tucked away from Pirate's grabby hands. Most of the time he did, unless his clients were too rough or drunk or took advantage of him. The best sex he'd ever had was with Kelsy though because he'd actually taken the time to make sure that Kohl had come too. "It's the only thing I'm good at," he added quietly, getting fidgety as lightning flashed outside the window.

§ It made him a little ill that Kohl's statement about being good at it made him curious. "Then have sex for fun, not a job." Pirate didn't like how the boy was pulling away from him now when before he'd been so eager to cling to him. Confused, he went to sit on Baby's bed, resting his elbows on his knees. "And I'm sure you're good at lots of other things. Why does Kelsy like you? Not just for sex, I'm guessing."

§ "I don't know why," Baby admitted, going over to close the curtains over the window. "He just does. He takes care of me," he added, walking over to sit down by Pirate. "I think he really does like it that I let him fuck me though," he said. "Because his...Jonathan...only tops." He guessed that Jonathan wasn't his boyfriend since he was taking care of Kelsy in exchange for sex but he wasn't quite sure what to call him. "Kelsy bought me my coat..." he trailed off, tears welling up in his eyes as he realized for the first time that it was gone. It must have been ruined or stolen the night he was bitten.

§ At the name, Pirate wondered for a second. But there were lots of Jonathans in the world, so he passed it off. The closed curtains couldn't hide the flash of lightening that erupted behind them and Pirate stood up. "Come on. The storm isn't going to let up, so come sleep in my bed." He figured that inviting was better than having a scared creature crawl in with him halfway through.

§ "In your bed?" Baby repeated, thinking now that Pirate knew he was good at sex, that he wanted some from him. He figured it was only fair though, so he nodded. "Alright," he relented, getting up from the bed, too. He followed Pirate over to his side of the room and started to undo his pajama pants.

§ Pirate was busy adjusting the pillows and turning down the bed. He went to root around in his closet, tugging out a pair of sweats so that he could change from his work clothes. When he turned around and saw Baby working at his pants, nearly having them off, he let his eyes dart away. "You're not sleeping naked." He was going to put his foot down there.

§ "Uh...okay," Baby said, pulling them back up and tying them. Maybe Pirate was the type who liked to take them off himself...or maybe he was shy about sex and liked to keep as many clothes on as possible. Baby didn't know. He just shrugged and got into the bed to wait for Pirate.

§ Even though he'd been completely naked after the shift and hadn't batted an eye at it, he went into Kohl's room to change into his sweatpants because--well, he didn't know why, but Baby was making him feel weird. When he was finished, he crawled into bed and laid on his back. With a great exhale of breath, he started the slow process of relaxing himself into sleep.

§ "So," Kohl said, rolling onto his side to look at Pirate. He wasn't sure if the older man wanted him to take the lead or not, so he just waited for a moment. It was always awkward the first time with someone new since he didn't know what they wanted or liked. He scooted a little closer, nuzzling at Pirate's arm for encouragement.

§ Thinking that meant Kohl wanted to get closer, Pirate accepted it and lifted his arm to wrap it around the other. Over the time he'd spent with Kohl, he had to admit he was getting more and more used to the physicality of the relationship. It was possible he even liked touching him.

§ This made Baby smile and he slid an arm around Pirate's waist, scooting up to rest his head on the older man's chest. He figured that Pirate would do what he wanted or tell him what to do, so he just stayed put for the moment. He couldn't help but breathe in his scent deeply. Pirate smelled good and comforting.

§ Completely ignorant of Baby's line of thinking, Pirate didn't do anything but lie there feeling content. Sigmund had once told him that that was his problem--he didn't feel content often enough. So Pirate was intent on wallowing in it when he found it. "I do like you," he muttered again, reiterating that fact even though Baby hadn't made mention of it again.

§ "Yeah?" Baby smiled. "I like you too," he replied. He couldn't deny that he found Pirate attractive. The older man was handsome and well built and from all the time Baby had been spending with him, the younger man was kind of taken with him...when Pirate wasn't pissing him right off, that is. "What do you want to do?" He asked, letting his voice take on a more seductive tone as he looked up at Pirate.

§ For a second, Pirate was drawn in by the tone and he felt his heart give a warm, expectant thud in his chest. But the dawn of realization wasn't too far off and he glanced down at Kohl. "What do you mean?" The only thing on the agenda that he knew about was sleeping, or maybe listening to the storm outside for a little bit before drifting off.

§ "I don't know," Baby said, suddenly confused. "Nothing, I guess." Maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe Pirate did just want to sleep. He tucked his head back down against Pirate's chest and closed his eyes, his heart thudding against his ribcage as the thunder clapped directly over their house. At least he wasn't out in the storm and for that, he was very grateful.

§ The sudden spike of anxiety was quickly quelled by Baby's response, and Pirate was comfortable enough to smooth his hand down the other's back. He liked the contour of Kohl's body, his sensitive fingertips outlining what he could while still staying somewhat platonic.

§ Baby laid there for awhile, confused and still expecting something to happen eventually. When it didn't, between claps of thunder he managed to drift off to sleep in Pirate's arms.