Cursing quietly, Clive frowned because the ‘not thinking about it’ didn’t work out too well and he still wanted to spend the night with Noe. Something he wouldn’t be capable of without some sort of release. Clive wasn’t too fond of masturbating, honestly – it was always so much more fun when someone else did it for you, but he couldn’t count on that for a while yet, even if tonight he’d managed to get Noe’s shirt off and probably would’ve gotten further if he’d managed to keep his wits about him.
Rinsing the last of the soap from his hair, Clive ducked under the warm water and fought to think of something else. The damn cat – he didn’t hate cats. Cats were nice enough, but Clive didn’t like the idea of being responsible for a little creature that wasn’t at all self-sufficient. Maybe he could con Chrissy into taking care of it for him instead.
Clive sighed, and snagged the bar of soap… before putting it back, in favor of Chrissy’s girly-scented body wash. Lavender, or something, and Clive grinned, soaping up a washcloth. Maybe Noe would notice and comment. He should get Noe some flowers, just to see what he did.
Rinsing off the suds quickly, Clive flicked off both the hot and cold water and wrung the water out of his hair. Flat and heavy with the water, it fell even further than it normally did when it was all curled up like usual. Snagging the nearby towel, Clive dried off swiftly and decided to get pajamas instead of walking around naked again. Noe wouldn’t appreciate it yet.
Sending the towel down the laundry chute, Clive sent his dirty laundry after it and left the bathroom, ignoring Eric as he meandered into his bedroom. He heard Eric’s exasperated sigh, and grinned, wondering what the chances of Noe breaking into his room were. Probably low – Noe had a sense of morals or something that kept him from doing that sort of thing. And his shyness.
It only took a moment to find the pajama pants he’d borrowed from Chrissy, tossed onto the floor near the dresser. Clive shimmied into them and headed back out, scrubbing wet hair out of his face. He hated wet hair.
Noe’s door was unlocked when he tried it, and Noe was sitting curled up under his blankets, a book open in his lap. Clive grinned, shutting the door behind him.
“Hello, Noe.” Clive chirped, and Noe flushed a little, adorably and Clive grinned, wandering across the soft carpet to the bed again. He liked Noe’s bed, so maybe they should stay here tonight. Unless Noe got all nervous again and refused to sleep with him on the grounds that it was different with them actually dating.
“Hello, Clive.” Noe replied cautiously, and Clive sat down heavily on the bed, leaning over to peer curiously at Noe’s book. It wasn’t in English though, and Clive blinked at it for a long moment before giving Noe a look. “What?” Noe asked uncomfortably and Clive grinned.
“You’re a brainiac.” Clive accused, and Noe flushed.
“It’s a good book.” Noe defended quietly, and Clive grinned, stealing a quick kiss.
“If you say so, sweetheart.” Clive patronized, earning a flush and Noe rolling his eyes a little.
“My name is Noe.” Noe corrected quietly, digging out a bookmark from where it was shoved further along in the book and marking his page.
“Don’t you want a sickeningly sweet pet name?” Clive asked, grinning cheerfully and Noe made a face.
“No. Please.” Noe requested, and Clive snickered, ruffling Noe’s hair playfully. Noe didn’t jerk away so they were making leaps and bounds of progress.
“Are you coming with us tomorrow?” Clive asked, changing the subject. “You can help me pick out a kitty.”
Noe nodded, looking faintly worried. “Chrissy says we can pick up anything we need for your studying too.”
“Right.” Clive muttered. He hadn’t thought about that, but of course Chrissy would need to know and Chrissy would probably tell Eric – and it wasn’t like he should’ve expected them to not know already or anything, but he liked the pretense of thinking that they didn’t know.
“Sorry.” Noe murmured, and Clive shrugged, tugging at his pajama pants.
“It’s okay. I mean, they would’ve figured it out eventually, right?” Clive offered. “Anyway, how do you want to do the sleeping tonight?”
“What do you mean?” Noe asked, curling his fingers around the edge of his book nervously. Clive reached out and uncurled them, because Noe had no reason to be nervous about this.
“Do you still want to sleep with me, knowing I have designs on your so-luscious body?” Clive grinned, watching with amusement as Noe’s cheeks flooded with color.
“You wouldn’t do anything?” Noe asked tentatively, and Clive shrugged.
“I might wake you up with kisses, but I don’t sleepwalk or anything, so I’m not going to molest you in your sleep. Though that would be a convenient excuse…” Clive trailed off, looking thoughtful. Noe smothered a smile because that would only encourage him.
“I wouldn’t wake me up with kisses.” Noe murmured, staring at the hand that Clive was holding. “I might – I’m not coherent that early and I might not realize that you’re… not – that you’re okay.”
“Would you wake me up with kisses?” Clive asked hopefully, and Noe couldn’t help but smile a little because Clive was hopeless.
“I guarantee nothing.” Noe murmured, and Clive snickered, bringing his hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles, earning a little bit of that pink color back to Noe’s cheeks.
“Here or my room?” Clive asked, because he was taking Noe’s questions as a yes.
“Chrissy and Eric would be more likely to knock here.” Noe murmured, shrugging a little. “Knock and not give up on knocking.”
“Good point. Here it is.” Clive grinned, glancing around the room. “I can hide under the bed or in the closet or something.”
Noe nodded quietly, looking thoughtful, and Clive wondered what he was thinking. Probably something along the lines of what a goof Clive was. It was the best approach though, to keep Noe comfortable and Clive liked being playful. He didn’t get to be playful often.
“So wanna ditch Chrissy again tomorrow?” Clive asked, and then lit up as something occurred to him. “And if you get all nervous I can comfort you.”
Noe flushed, carefully detangling his fingers. “That’s not funny.”
“What, you don’t think making out in a restroom somewhere would be comforting?” Clive asked, leering lecherously at Noe.
“I – no.” Noe shook his head, blinking at him a few times with wide eyes.
“I wouldn’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with, Noe.” Clive reminded cheerfully, reaching out and ruffling Noe’s hair again. Noe made a face and Clive’s hair ruffled on it’s own and really that wasn’t fair. Though it did give him ideas… “Ever think about using your telekinesis for sex?”
Noe just sort of stared blankly at him for a long moment before flushing, and Clive smirked. Noe shook his head wordlessly and pulled the blankets over his head. Clive laughed and did his best to not think about it – because Noe could do some really, really kinky things with telekinesis and now Clive was kind of jealous and kind of turned on (not that he was ever really turned off, except around Nelson).
“Noe.” Clive tugged on the blankets. “Noooe.”
“What?” Noe mumbled, peeking his head out a little, and Clive grinned cheerfully.
“Ever think about it?” Clive couldn’t keep his mouth shut, it seemed. “Come on, wouldn’t it be fun?”
“Clive.” Noe squinted at him for a moment and Clive let out a startled yelp as he was flipped around backwards and pinned to the bed. Blinking rapidly, he tried to move, only to find he couldn’t. “I don’t think about sex every two seconds.”
“Lies.” Clive accused, trying to crane his neck to see Noe. “Everyone thinks about sex all the time.”
Noe made a smothered little noise that could’ve been a laugh (but it could’ve been a sneeze, and the blankets pulled themselves out from underneath Clive, settling on top of him.
“Only you.” Noe refuted quietly, and shifted along the bed to lay down next to him. Clive grinned, immediately taking advantage of when Noe let him go to wrap Noe in his arms. Noe didn’t protest, settling down against his chest, his hair soft and smelling of the same shampoo that Clive’s probably did.
“We should get Chrissy some anti-frizz shampoo and conditioner.” Clive decided, and Noe laughed a little, amused.
“She uses some special kind now.” Noe offered, one of his arms hesitantly settling against Clive’s stomach.
“Well, it doesn’t work well.” Clive muttered, curling towards Noe a little. Noe shrugged, apparently not really interested. “Tell me a story.”
“What?” Noe asked, sitting up a little to look at him curiously. “What do you mean, tell you a story?”
“Tell me a story.” Clive repeated. “That’s what I mean by it.”
“What kind of story?” Noe asked, blinking a few times.
“A story, story.” Clive grinned. “You have a nice voice. I want to hear it. Tell me a story.”
“Like, a fairy tale?” Noe asked curious and his cheeks were flushing from the compliment.
“Sure.” Clive agreed, touching Noe’s cheek lightly.
“Okay.” Noe agreed uncertainly. “Um, any fairy tale in particular?”
“Nope.” Clive shrugged, tugging Noe back into place, resting against his chest. “From here.”
Noe settled quietly, and Clive gave him a minute, not wanting to push it.
“Um. Once upon a time…” Noe started, and Clive grinned, settling in to listen to Noe talk.
Clive groaned softly, tumbling out of bed and away from Noe quickly. Noe mumbled something in his sleep but Clive ignored it, bolting for the door. A moment of fumbling with the lock later and Clive was out into the hallway. Taking a deep breath, he shut the door as quietly as he could.
The bathroom, Clive decided, and ducked into the little room, ignoring the door opening behind him as he shut the door quickly and pressed the lock in. Sitting down on the edge of the tub, Clive shut his eyes and tried to rein it in. Taking a deep breath, Clive did his best to clamp down on the errant power that was doing its best to break free of the bit of grip he had on it.
At least he didn’t have to worry about Eric and Noe. The house was big enough that he wouldn’t attract outside attention, and Eric wouldn’t be affected. Noe – well, Noe probably would be affected but he wouldn’t act on it, likely. Though he probably wouldn’t be happy about being affected.
Clive hissed in annoyance, pushing his thoughts away. He could do this – he’d done it before. Digging his fingernails into his knees, Clive tried to focus on getting it under control. The power stopped flowing away so quickly, and Clive took a deep breath, blinking rapidly because that wasn’t how it usually worked – except the door was opened, and Chrissy was standing there so it was probably her since she could play with energy.
Chrissy slipped inside the bathroom further and shut the door behind her, and Clive completely ignored that Noe and Eric were hanging about out there, Noe looking anxious and Eric looking… something and Clive ignored it.
“Get out.” Clive snapped, but Chrissy ignored him, moving to stand in front of him.
“Can you fix it?” Chrissy asked, and Clive winced, looking away and shaking his head a little because when it got this bad there was nothing to do but let it go and hope it ran out of energy soon.
“Okay.” Chrissy knelt down, and Clive flinched as the energy impacted around his head. That wasn’t good – Chrissy needed to stop doing that before his head exploded.
“Ow, dammit!” Clive snapped, jerking back and nearly falling into the tub. Glaring darkly, Clive tried to move away, but Chrissy seemed to have caught the hint and let the power go again, confining it to everywhere in the bathroom but where she was.
“Better?” Chrissy asked, watching him without a trace of disdain in her voice. If she thought it was stupid of him to not be able to control it, she wasn’t showing it and Clive gave up. She might be able to help, and he wouldn’t feel indebted like he would with Nelson.
“A little.” Clive muttered, and Chrissy nodded thoughtfully.
“Does this happen often?” Chrissy asked conversationally, like he wasn’t leaking enough energy to attract a city block’s worth of paramours.
“Occasionally.” Clive shrugged, smoothing his fingers down the front of his pajama pants (and thank god he was wearing pajama pants because this would be so much worse if he was wandering around naked).
“And how do you normally get it back under control?” Chrissy asked, looking rather funny, Clive realized, with her hair lumped and tangled on one side and kind of puffed up on the other.
“It runs out, eventually.” Clive shrugged again, hoping he hadn’t drawn blood earlier. He wasn’t going to look now though, because that would make Chrissy look and he didn’t want her too worried.
“Hmm.” Chrissy nodded. “Alright, and how do you normally keep it contained?”
“I don’t know. I just do.” Clive snapped off, wondering how this was going to help.
“Clive.” Chrissy reprimanded. “How?”
“It just is.” Clive snapped, frustrated. Scowling, he crossed his arms over his bare chest and glared.
“Humor me, here.” Chrissy smiled easily, like this entire thing wasn’t a big deal. “What does it feel like, compared to now?”
Clive stared at her dumbfounded for a long moment. “Well right now it feels like nothing.”
“Okay. Does it feel like it’s sitting normal, or like your energy is rushing to get away?” Chrissy asked and she was sitting lower than Clive and he wondered if she’d done that on purpose.
“Rushing away.” Clive muttered, feeling slightly sick and wanting to be done with this already.
“And how does it feel to keep it back?” Chrissy asked, and Clive sighed.
“Like I put a big fucking concrete dam in front of it.” Clive tried, and it sounded right. The dam was either there or not.
“Dam, hmm.” Chrissy nodded. “Alright, well, that’s a problem but we can fix it. You don’t want a dam, okay? That’s probably why you can only go full-strength or not at all.”
“Right.” Clive muttered, only a little amused that they were having this talk in the bathroom.
“How do you put up the dam?” Chrissy asked, smiling again. “Don’t get exasperated with me yet, I swear I have a purpose here.”
“Whatever.” Clive shrugged indifferently. “It’s just… there or not.”
“Unconscious shielding?” Chrissy asked curiously. “You don’t know how to put it up on your own?”
“Not really.” Clive replied, looking away awkwardly. He hated talking about this, so much.
“So we need to start you doing conscious shielding.” Chrissy told him, and Clive’s butt was going numb from sitting on the edge of the cold tub. “I know Eric had you read the beginner’s book, right?”
“Yeah.” Clive affirmed, trying to remember if it had said anything about shielding. Maybe a little, but only in vague reference.
“Think of manipulation of energy. Your energy is loose now – can you do anything with it?” Chrissy asked, and Clive hesitated, focusing and out of spite shifted it so that it was focused on where Chrissy was. Chrissy only laughed. “Good. Now take that energy and make yourself a dam with it.”
“I thought dams were bad.” Clive retorted, wondering how the hell he was supposed to do that.
“Well…” Chrissy smiled slowly. “If you think you’re ready for something more complicated?”
“I don’t know how to make a dam.” Clive snapped. “If I don’t know, isn’t it better if I learn something that’s not bad?”
“Alright.” Chrissy agreed mildly, ignoring Clive’s venom. “You know those bottles spices come in? The ones with the adjustable tops that let out either a bit of salt through the little holes or a lot through the really big, crescent-shaped hole?”
“Yeah.” Clive replied suspiciously.
“Instead of a dam, make one of those.” Chrissy grinned, and Clive sighed loudly.
“How?” Clive ground out, glaring with all the anger he could muster.
“You just manipulate your energy into a thick layer around the rest of your energy. Concentrate on making sections of your energy exist in the same space as other sections of energy. This will make it thick. The thick layers will be able to hold back your energy.” Chrissy instructed, and Clive nodded slowly.
“Where do I put it?” Clive frowned. “Do I shield my entire body or something?”
“No, just your head works.” Chrissy answered. “Since you have a mind energy. Reel in what you can and then make the shield out of what you can’t get back in.”
Clive nodded, shutting his eyes and concentrating. It was harder than it seemed, especially when he remembered the salt-shaker thing but how did he manage that? Holes in the shield would leak energy, so he just made it solid, wincing a bit as he finished the last sections.
“Dammit.” Clive cursed under his breath, blinking rapidly. The light in the bathroom was too bright now, and Chrissy smiled sympathetically.
“We’ll teach you the holes later.” She decided, climbing to her feet and straightening out the oversized t-shirt she wore. “Those shields should hold you for a while, but check in the morning to see if they’ve thinned out anywhere.”
“Whatever.” Clive grumbled, staggering to his feet. Chrissy led the way to the door, and the hallway lights were dimmer at least. Rubbing at his forehead, he stared blankly at Noe and Eric – Noe sitting on the floor, his back against the wall and Eric leaning against the wall next to Noe.
“All better.” Chrissy announced, and Clive rolled his eyes, making a face when the motion hurt. Eric nodded, giving him a once-over before turning back to Chrissy.
“Tomorrow?” Eric asked, and Clive decided to ignore them, as Noe stood up slowly and crossed the hall.
“Are you okay?” Noe asked quietly.
“Yeah.” Clive shrugged, and Noe frowned at him disbelievingly, and shoved him back into the bathroom without touching him. The door shut behind them, and Clive blinked rapidly as the lock clicked on.
“You’re bleeding.” Noe murmured, moving around Clive to the medicine cabinet above the sink. Clive frowned a little before looking down – and sure enough the pajama pants were stained with little splotches of blood where his nails had tried to carve into his thighs.
“Oops.” Clive mumbled, tired and aching and wanting to crawl into bed, preferably with Noe but he’d take anything at this point. Maybe the tub.
“Can you roll your pajamas that high?” Noe asked, flushing as he turned back with cotton and peroxide.
“I will say no.” Clive tugged at the pant leg, unsurprised when it stuck and wincing as he pulled the cloth free.
“Um.” Noe’s flush darkened, and he gestured with the cotton balls. “Then, take them off?”
Clive snickered, cheered a little by Noe’s modesty and the fact that Noe had just told him to take his pants off. Too tired to do more than that, Clive shucked them easily and watched with a smirk as Noe flung them into the laundry chute with his mind.
“Careful, Noe, I might think you want me to stay naked.” Clive grinned, and Noe gestured towards the tub again.
“Go sit.” Noe muttered, and Clive complied, wincing at the feel of cold porcelain against his bare bottom. He’d had worse though, so he ignored it, amused as Noe knelt in front of him and started dabbing at the bloodied wounds in his thigh. Six cotton balls, eight band aids, and a good deal of swearing later, and Clive decided that this had been the most disappointing experience of having a cute boy kneeling in front of him that he’d ever had.
“Thanks.” Clive spoke up as Noe stuffed the things back into the cabinet. “Sorry, too.”
“Sorry?” Noe turned, carefully keeping his eyes up – which was ridiculous because he had every right to stare and he should take advantage of that.
“If – I didn’t do it on purpose but I mean, you probably felt it.” Clive stumbled out, and Noe stared at him blankly for a long moment.
“I didn’t.” Noe shrugged. “I mean, I did, but it didn’t – it didn’t affect me like it did before and I think Eric did something that keeps you from being able to use your power on me.”
“Oh.” Clive scowled, annoyed at Eric even if it was a good thing. “Well, I’m still sorry for waking you up?”
Noe smiled shyly, reaching out and taking his hand carefully. “It’s okay.”
“I’ll believe you.” Clive decided, squeezing Noe’s fingers carefully. “You’re going to have to lend me pajamas.”
“I can do that.” Noe accepted, leading him from the bathroom. Eric and Chrissy, surprisingly, were nowhere in sight, and Clive had expected them to be hanging around since it was kind of odd for Noe to go pushing people around and then locking himself in the bathroom with them. Still, he counted his blessings and let Noe drag him back into his room. The pajamas he gave Clive were ugly but they were soft and Clive didn’t protest, just pulled them on and climbed into bed with Noe.
Clive woke up stiff and sore. His shoulders ached, his thighs ached, and he missed the pleasant after-buzz feeling that normally came with such stiffness. Normally, but last night wasn’t normal, he remembered, and checked his salt-shaker shields that were actually nothing like a salt shaker.
Noe was even closer than he’d been yesterday morning, pressed as close as he could be under the warm blankets. His breath ghosted lightly against Clive’s collarbone, and really that was almost better than a pleasant after-buzz from a night of frantic sex.
Playing with his energy, he put up some more layers and decided to corner Chrissy on how come it wouldn’t stay – even now little bits of the energy was trailing away from the shields back into the churning energy that it was shielding.
Noe murmured sleepily against his chest, and Clive wondered what the chances of getting out of bed without him noticing would be. Probably slim to none, considering the way that Noe was plastered against him.
“Noe.” Clive whispered loudly, shaking Noe slightly. He wouldn’t bother normally but he really had to use the bathroom. “Let me out a minute.” Clive whispered, shifting away. Noe nodded, his head falling to the mattress where Clive had been laying, and he curled up a little more but didn’t move.
Clive smothered a snicker and slid out of bed, crossing the room quickly. Hopefully he wouldn’t run into Chrissy or Eric on the way there or back. He didn’t want to bother explaining anything and he definitely wanted to hang around in bed with a pliant, sleepy Noe some more.
The hallway was empty, thankfully, and Clive scurried down the hallway and into the bathroom quickly. Fighting a grin as he made a note to tease Noe about last night’s pantsless period, Clive did his business quickly and washed his hands before heading into the hallway.
The hallway wasn’t empty this time, and Clive stopped short, a scowl fixing into place automatically. Chrissy didn’t seem too surprised, and neither did Nelson.
“Good morning, Clive.” Chrissy greeted, and Clive hoped she didn’t bring up – or hadn’t brought up last night to Nelson.
“Whatever.” Clive glared, crossing his arms and wishing Noe didn’t insist that he wore pajama pants. It always made Nelson uncomfortable when he wandered around without clothes. “What do you want?”
“Just checking up on you, Clive.” Nelson sounded amused, and looked it too, with a small smirk turning his lips. He was immaculately dressed, as always, even if it was in ‘comfortable’ clothes of slacks and a neatly tucked in polo shirt.
“Of course.” Clive sneered, glaring a little a Chrissy, who raised an eyebrow at him.
“And how are you settling in, Clive?” Nelson asked, and Clive rolled his eyes. Playing concerned parent never looked truthful on Nelson.
“Go away.” Clive decided was the best answer, and Chrissy sighed, glancing up at Nelson (and she wasn’t short, so it was a testament to how tall Nelson was).
“We’re trying to maintain a comfortable environment, Mr. Markowitz.” Chrissy’s voice was smooth and even and completely unlike her, and Clive wondered, rather uncharitably whether she was trying to sell something.
“Clive, you shouldn’t be so denigrating of your caretakers.” Nelson smiled slowly, and Clive glared for a long moment before whirling on a bare heel and heading down the hallway. He’d go loiter downstairs or something while Nelson inspected his room, or whatever he was doing up here.
“If you’re going to continue upsetting him, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.” Chrissy told Nelson coldly, and Clive smirked, even if Chrissy acting like that would probably have him yanked from here even more quickly.
“He’s my nephew.” Nelson refuted without paying much attention to Chrissy, which was kind of stupid on his part because Chrissy was of the sneaky sort and she probably would stick Nelson with the bills for the shopping trips. Clive hesitated near Noe’s door but kept going – it wouldn’t do to draw Nelson’s attention to the other occupants in the house, and that was all Clive was going to think on the matter until Nelson was far, far away with his snooping.
Except that plan got shot all to hell as Noe’s bedroom door opened and Noe stepped out into the hall, looking sleepy and bewildered for a moment until he realized that there was a stranger in the hallway, and then he tensed, his eyes flaring wide for a brief second before returning to normal.
Clive hated the way Nelson’s eyes lit up, and then he really wanted to smack himself because there was no way in hell Nelson would send him here to get better. Not after Clive had consistently refuted all of Nelson’s attempts to get him to work for him. Nelson would sooner have him be known as the slutty black sheep of the family before offering him more than a place to sleep.
“Clive, introduce me to your friend.” Nelson ordered, and Chrissy’s mouth hardened around the edges. Clive sneered and flipped him off, turning and snagging Noe’s wrist. Noe gave him a startled look but followed him stumblingly as Clive dragged him into the stairwell and down the stairs.
“Clive?” Noe asked, nearly tumbling down the stairs as Clive took them as fast as he could. He wasn’t letting Nelson near Noe, and he didn’t care if the man pulled him from this school immediately.
“Sorry.” Clive apologized as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “That’s my uncle.”
“Okay.” Noe accepted, letting his hands fall to his sides as he followed Clive into the kitchen. He didn’t seem too put out about being dragged away. “Now what?”
“Stay away from him, okay?” Clive turned back to Noe, frowning because he didn’t know how to make this right. He should’ve known and not gotten Noe attached to him, because Nelson would figure that out quick and use it to make Noe an asset. And Noe was a strong telekinetic and Nelson would love to have that sort of power under his control. “And – I don’t think it’s a good idea if you hang around me anymore either –”
“Clive?” Noe asked uncertainly. “But –”
“Noe, I’m not here to train.” Clive shook his head, reaching up and yanking hard at his curls. This fucking sucked and he was going to fucking kill Nelson and ruin as many of his fucking business deals as he could. “I didn’t see it before. I should’ve. Nelson only put me here to get to you.”
“That –” Noe shook his head. “How would he know about me?”
“You’re a strong telekinetic. Nelson has connections. For all I know, he might know your uncle.” Clive waved it off. “It’s not important. What is important is that you need to not let him use me to get you to do anything.”
“Clive.” Noe shook his head, that horribly sad look coming back to his face. Clive sighed, and turned away before he could do something stupid like try to comfort Noe. Heading into the front hall, he fished out a jacket – probably Eric’s – and tugged it on before moving to pull on his shoes, neatly lined up by the front door.
“And where do you think you’re going?” Chrissy demanded, taking the stairs two at a time down (and that was a surefire way to trip and break your neck, but Clive honestly didn’t care at this point).
“Out.” Clive snapped, glaring past her up at Nelson, who was taking the stairs more sedately. Jerking on one boot, he didn’t bother to tie it before moving to get the other – only to have it twitch out of his hand and across the room.
“Noe.” Clive frowned exasperatedly at Noe. It was for the better that he left. Noe flushed but turned and threw his shoe into the kitchen.
“You’re not leaving.” Noe told him quietly, staring at his chest and not meeting his eyes. Chrissy looked amused, pausing at the bottom of the stairs, before turning to glare at Nelson.
“If you cannot control your power, sir, I’m going to have to insist that you leave.” Chrissy snapped out shortly, earning a rather startled look from Nelson. Clive smirked, deciding that Chrissy was the best adult he’d run into yet.
“Very well.” Nelson agreed sedately, and Chrissy gave him a dark look before turning back to Clive.
“Clive –” She started, but Nelson interrupted, pushing past her and Clive took a few steps back because there were few things he hated worse than being around Nelson.
“Clive, please behave –”
“I’m behaving.” Clive sneered, toeing off his shoe and wishing he was stupid enough to run off barefoot.
“You’re causing quite the scene, Clive.” Nelson chided, and Clive scowled.
“I don’t care.” Clive snapped out. “It’s your fault.”
“Clive.” Nelson sighed, exasperatedly. “I do wish you’d stop this childishness. Honestly, when have I ever done you wrong?”
“You do me wrong with every breath you take.” Clive replied swiftly, earning a brief roll of the eyes and Clive smirked, taking another step back as Nelson stepped forward.
“Must we do this every time we speak, Clive?” Nelson sighed, and he truly was a great actor. As though he wasn’t here just to get a crack at Noe.
“As long as you insist on talking to me, yeah.” Clive returned, hoping that Noe had retreated but knowing he wouldn’t have. “Go away. You’re not wanted here.”
“You seem to be doing no better here –”
“That’s a lie.” Chrissy cut in swiftly, pacing across the room to stand by Clive. “We’re making good progress already, on getting his powers under control.”
Nelson looked slightly taken aback by that, and Clive smirked. So maybe it was a little surprising that he got along with the caretakers here – but this place was a lot different than most of the other places Nelson had tried to ship him off to.
“Be that as it may, I think I need to tend to your other needs at the same time, Clive.” Nelson recovered quickly, his eyes only briefly flickering back to where Noe stood.
“What other needs?” Clive frowned, wondering what Nelson had up his sleeve this time.
“Your education.” Nelson pronounced, and Clive wondered how long it had taken him to think that one up. He probably had a new ‘school’ all set and ready to take Clive in, too. And then he’d use Noe’s attachment to somehow get Noe to do things for him, probably in exchange for seeing Clive.
“He’s getting that here.” Chrissy interjected smoothly and he almost wanted to kiss her except she was a girl, and there was Noe. “We’re setting up a course to get him on track for the GED, since it’s not really advisable to have him around so many impressionable young people.”
“Be that as it may –” Nelson started, and Clive scowled in frustration because Nelson wouldn’t give up that easily.
“Be that as it may,” Chrissy cut in. “Ultimately, Clive is eighteen and he can do as he wants.”
Clive smirked, crossing his arms over the front of the thick jacket he was wearing. Little wonder Nelson hadn’t scheduled any festivities this year – he’d forgotten.
“Which doesn’t matter, as I have custody secured until he turns twenty.” Nelson replied coldly, and Clive froze.
“You can’t do that.” Clive half-whispered, aghast. Two more years? He’d barely managed this long.
“I can once I proved to the court how unfit you are to be in charge of your own affairs.” Nelson replied with his own smirk and Clive glared darkly, swearing up and down to run away as soon as he got the opportunity. “Now, Clive, come along quietly. I’ll send someone back for your things.”
“No.” Noe interrupted, and Clive flinched because Noe should hang out in the background and be forgotten, not brought into attention to highlight how appealing he was. “Clive needs to stay here.”
“Oh?” Nelson looked amused now, and Clive jumped as Noe’s fingers brushed lightly along the back of his hand.
“He needs to be here.” Noe’s voice was barely audible, and Clive glanced at Chrissy, only to find her badly hiding a smile behind her hand. “He needs the training. It would only be detrimental for him to start somewhere else now.”
“I don’t believe this to be the case.” Nelson replied, bored even as his eyes studied Noe speculatively. Clive gritted his teeth and decided if Nelson tried anything that he was going to pound the man, no matter that he was taller and wider.
“And how much progress have you made training him?” Noe asked, and Clive choked on a laugh, surprised at Noe’s audacity. No one spoke to Nelson like that – and Nelson’s expression slipped from speculative to annoyed.
“I’m a busy man –”
“It’s been four days and he can shield properly.” Noe cut him off, and Clive grinned, wanting to hug Noe close and never let him go. “He’s agreed to start up his education again, too.”
Nelson stared a Noe for a long moment before shaking his head. “Which just proves that he can do it. Save your breath. Clive, we’re leaving now.”
“No.” Clive refused, and Nelson sighed, looking no little exasperated as he fished out his cell phone. Clive scowled because that meant that Nelson was calling in back up.
Noe’s hand slipped into his carefully, and Clive gave up his plan of protecting Noe, squeezing Noe’s hand reassuringly as Nelson simply pressed a button on the side of his phone, letting out a brief burst of static.
“I believe this has gone far enough, Mr. Markowitz.” Chrissy spoke up, but Nelson ignored her, stepping closer to Clive.
“You’re coming with me, Clive.” Nelson smiled coldly. “The law backs me up on this – I can place you anywhere I feel is appropriate.” Clive scowled, opening his mouth with a sharp retort on the tip of his tongue, but Nelson’s eyes had fallen to where his hand and Noe’s were clasped together. “Of course, your friend is welcome to come with you –”
“No.” Clive snapped, and Noe was practically radiating tension beside him, but Clive couldn’t soothe him now – he didn’t want to give Nelson anything more than he had to.
“Ah-ah, Clive, don’t choose for him.” Nelson scolded, his eyes on Noe as the front door opened and two thick men – bodyguards, because Nelson was that important – pushed in. Clive scowled, more than willing to fight them on this one. “So how about it? Come with us.”
“No.” Noe replied softly, glancing up at Clive and doing his best to crush Clive’s hand with his grip. “Get out.”
“You heard him.” Chrissy spoke up again, moving to put herself between them and Nelson. “You and your goons, leave, now.”
“Clive is coming with us, Ms. Clark.” Nelson told her, and Clive rolled his eyes. Sighing, he detangled his fingers from Noe’s, and pressed a quick kiss to Noe’s cheek.
“I guess I’ll see you.” Clive muttered, and Noe shook his head, snagging the front of Clive’s jacket and not letting go.
“No.” Noe refused, and Clive frowned, biting his lip because Noe deserved better than Nelson’s machinations. “You’re not leaving.”
“I have to.” Clive shrugged. He wasn’t going to have Chrissy and Noe get in the middle of this – he’d run away from Nelson again, and do his best to make his uncle’s life a living hell.
“No, you don’t.” Noe maintained. “They’re going. You’ll stay. You’re eighteen, and no matter what he’s done, you can sue for emancipation. Cite your school life – and the way you’ve been shuttled around.”
“They won’t leave.” Clive pointed out, and Noe blinked, glancing past him. Two surprised shouts came from behind him, and Clive twisted around to see the two bodyguards tumbled outside the doorway, and Nelson slowly, inexorably being pushed that way as well.
“That’s cheating and I love you for it.” Clive told Noe with a grin.
“I will call the police –” Nelson threatened, and then the door shut on him. Noe offered a smile back.
“I’ll call the lawyer.” Chrissy sighed, offering a smile as she made her way into the study. Clive shook his head, shrugging off the uncomfortable jacket. Noe took advantage and wrapped his arms around Clive’s stomach, hugging him close.
“Thanks.” Clive muttered, hugging Noe back. “Sorry –”
“It’s not your fault.” Noe hissed, staring at him with bright, blue-grey eyes.
“It is, a bit. I thought Nelson was just shipping me off again. I didn’t realize – anyone would want you.” Clive mumbled, drawing Noe closer. “Just – if he does get me back there, don’t – don’t do anything he wants you to. That would piss me off.”
“He won’t get you back.” Noe told him solemnly. “Chrissy’s got a good lawyer, and you can claim abuse so that you don’t have to go back.”
“Oh, hey.” Clive grinned. “You’re sneaky. Also, can I say how hot it was to see you go all super-power-like?”
“Clive.” Noe flushed, and Clive grinned, stealing a quick kiss.
“It was. Thank you for standing up to him.” Clive told him seriously, running his fingers though Noe’s hair lightly. “C’mon, let’s go upstairs and go back to bed.”
“I’m not tired.” Noe protested as Clive led him across the hallway towards the stairs.
“Who said anything about sleeping?” Clive smirked back at Noe, pleased with the bright color dusting across Noe’s cheeks. “I want to show my thankfulness properly.”
Noe was wondering when he’d start panicking, really. Maybe when he woke up all the way – he’d stumbled out of his room half asleep and then Clive had tried to leave, for good and probably forever and now they were back in Noe’s bed. Chrissy was probably going to kill him – she hated the lawyer something fierce, but that was only because he was constantly trying to get her on a date.
“You’re thinking too much.” Clive told him solemnly, skinny fingers sneaking along the curve of his back soothingly. Noe sighed quietly, and ducked his head a little more, nuzzling closer to Clive’s chest.
“Am not.” Noe refuted quietly, and Clive’s hand dipped a bit low. Noe tensed a little, but then Clive’s hand started moving back up and he relaxed.
“Liar.” Clive replied confidently. “What’re you worried about?”
“You.” Noe murmured, sitting up. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I don’t want me to leave either.” Clive shrugged, his hand falling from Noe’s back to land on his thigh.
“But what if you have to? Sometimes for custody hearings, they move you to a neutral home, until it’s been decided.” Noe stilled his hand before he could reach for Clive’s face.
“I’d come see you.” Clive grinned. “We could go on real dates and I could take you home and scandalize my foster family or whatever.”
“The movies weren’t a real date?” Noe wondered, and Clive laughed, sitting up quickly.
“They were, but normally people don’t date people they live in the same house with.” Clive leaned close and pressed a soft kiss to Noe’s lips, and Noe smiled shyly, wishing he had the courage to kiss Clive out of the blue like that.
“We’re not normal?” Noe offered, and Clive nodded, draping his arms heavily over Noe’s shoulders.
“I like us that way. Thank you for standing up for me.” Clive kissed him again, and Noe flushed, because he hadn’t meant to but he couldn’t let Clive just… go.
“I didn’t do much.” Noe murmured, and Clive sighed loudly.
“Noe, Noe, Noe, Noe. What am I going to do with you?” Clive asked playfully, and Noe marveled at his ability to stay upbeat.
“Kiss me?” Noe suggested, steadfastly ignoring the blush in his cheeks. Clive looked thoughtful, then nodded agreeably.
“Sounds like a plan.” Clive grinned. “Also, Noe? I will come visit you no matter where I get dragged off to, okay?”
“Okay.” Noe agreed solemnly, hesitantly touching Clive’s cheek. Clive twisted his head and licked Noe’s fingers, grinning playfully as he toppled Noe to the rucked up comforter. Noe made a face, but then Clive was kissing him, and Noe decided that was more important than his wet fingers (but he still wiped them dry on Clive’s shirt, just the same).
