Ethan Anderson: The sound of a car can be heard pulling into the driveway, followed by the hard closing of a stubborn door and soft masculine laughter.

Ethan stands, blinking, in the sun for a long moment before hitching his backpack higher on his shoulder and heading around towards the paddox, whistling softly for the horses.

Ethan Anderson: ((gack. color))

Aerin Thomas: He's in the back yard, smoking a cigarette. The man didn't get much sleep last night...big surprise, right? But there's something else sort of wierd about him. He's half-dressed in the cold Upstate air, a pair of jeans on, but no shirt, and no shoes. The gun's in a holster on his belt...constant accessory. Hair is unbound, free.

Aerin Thomas: d10: Per+Alert: 5,6,8,5,8,2,

Aerin Thomas: He looks over his shoulder at the sound of the car's approach, hand swiftly pulling the Glock out. He moves around the side of the house, in a power crouch, gun pointing ahead. When he makes it around the house, he sees the car, and relaxes some. Ethan. He slips the gun away and starts to trail Ethan's steps in the grass toward the paddox.

Ethan Anderson: Ethan is focused on the horses and doesn't see Aerin. He drops the bag and hauls his compact frame up onto the rail, swinging a leg over and clenching the railings to stay balanced as he pulls sugar cubes from the breast pocket on his flannel. Laughing softly he begins to feed the horses the cubes one by one, seeming very happy that they missed him.

Aerin Thomas: He walks up, smiling a little bit, pausing about fifteen feet away, so he's far enough that the horses aren't bothered. "Ita's been doing a good job with them, but I bet they're glad to see you," he says softly.

Ethan Anderson: "Aerin!" He grins and pats Hidalgo's neck before swinging his leg back over the fence and dropping to the ground. "I'm sorry about last night. Guess I have a lot to learn about that, huh," he asks, moving towards the other, smiling, his eyes taking him almost hungrily.

Aerin Thomas: He smiles a little, shrugging lightly. Despite the sub-50 degree weather and the wet ground, he doesn't seem to be shivering at all. "It's all right. Like I said, I'm no expert myself. If you like, we can try again some time." His head tilts to the side, warm green eyes watching the other with a slight hint of...something. Etherealness? Intensity? It's hard to say, really. "How are you?"

Ethan Anderson: "Good. Missed you last night though," he says softly, tongue flicking over his lips at that look on Aerin's face. He shivers and its not all together unpleasant as he moves into the other and slips his arms around the man's waist, hugging him and pressing his lightly stubbled cheek against the Rose.

Aerin Thomas: Warmth radiates against Ethan's cheek from the Rose, as always...that comforting heat. Aerin slips his arms around Ethan's shoulders, hugging him close and leaning down to kiss the young man's forehead. "Yeah, I missed you, too. I would have stopped in, but I figured you were asleep by the time I got out of there, and I didn't want to wake you."

Ethan Anderson: "I wouldn't have minded," he says, lifting his face to stare into Aerin's eyes. "I like having my space but its a little lonely there without you." He shrugs, blushing.

Aerin Thomas: "I know." He smiles a little bit, watching Ethan. "Still, though. I get so little sleep...I tend not to take it for granted, in myself or in others." A shrug of bare shoulders, and he looks around. "Bliss is somewhere around here...one of these days, I've got to introduce you two." Apparently, today is not that day, as he makes no move to go looking for the Shadow Lord.

Ethan Anderson: "Mn hm. One day." He shrugs and rises up on his toes to press a quick, soft kiss to the other's chin. "You're hair's down," he murmurs musingly, the hands on Aerin's back, sliding up to grab fistfulls, tugging lightly.

Aerin Thomas: He grins at the tugging, leaning down with it. "Came down last night. Couldn't find my tie to put it back up."

Ethan Anderson: "Mnn..." He glances towards the house briefly and then up at Aerin, the blush growing stronger just before he releases the other's hair, slim hands sliding back down his bare skin to dip into the very top of his jeans. He coughs softly to clear his throat. "I like your hair down."

Aerin Thomas: "Yeah, that seems to be the trend." A little smirk lights his face, and he leans forward, his hand moving from Ethan's shoulder to the small of his back. "Looks best down, works best up." A light shrug. "Still not totally getting that, but I'm willing to go with it."

Ethan Anderson: He chuckles and moves his head back and forth lazily so that his thick braid rubs softly against Aerin's wrist. "I almost feel like I"m doing something sinful right now. Something utterly wrong standing like this with you in your backyard."

Aerin Thomas: "We're not doing anything inappropriate here." The man's stance is at ease, relaxed, though he still has that sort of strange look in his face still. "I don't see what's sinful or wrong about it."

Ethan Anderson: "What's sinful is, if I'm honest, what I want to do." He smiles slightly and wriggles his fingers down just a hint further into the back of Aerin's pants. "What's sinful is the look on your face as you stare at me...You look so...So intense. So alive but it almost feels like its all for me. Because of me and I'm not sure why. Wishful thinking maybe."

Aerin Thomas: "It's..." He pauses, mouth open, not sure what to say. He doesn't look as if he really understands it himself...brow furrowed slightly, eyes unsure. He sighs and slips his tongue into the gap on the right side, where his top canine should be. "I don't...it's strange. I don't get it, myself."

Ethan Anderson: "Did something happen after you brought me home? Did you go back," he asks, biting his bottom lip as he presses his body hard against the other's.

Aerin Thomas: "I did go back." He nods a little bit, his grip tightening around the kin. "Had a good conversation with Jez and Alexander, a friend of his. And Damien and...the other guy." He blinks, as he realizes he never even got Antonio's name. He shakes his head suddenly.

Ethan Anderson: "What," he asks, sliding his hands back up Aerin's back, nails scratching as he presses his face to the man's chest, niping lightly.

Aerin Thomas: "Nothing. Just...I'm not sure." He blinks once more. "The other one--the sub--just kind of...I don't know. Something about him...affected me," he says. "I'm not really understanding it right now, and that...wierds me out a little."

Ethan Anderson: "Is that what you want," he asks softly, nipping again, sliding his lips towards Aerin's nipple before sliding towards his knees, his expression an odd mixture of playful and desperate. Aerin was drifting and Ethan wasn't quite sure how to handle that.

Aerin Thomas: He looks down at Ethan, staring at him. "Ummm...I don't know. No...maybe? I'm not sure why it did that." He looks over his shoulder, at the barn for a moment. Brow furrowed.

Ethan Anderson: He stands and catches Aerin's hand with a sigh, tugging him towards the barn. "Did he remind you of someone? Micah maybe? I mean, there are no pictures of Micah around here but...He was gorgeous, that kid at the club. My mouth went dry when I saw him...Watched him dance. I thought I was going to explode."

Aerin Thomas: "No...a little." He nods slightly. He follows Micah along, bare feet leaving imprints in the wet grass. "Yeah, I guess he fairly well did. It was just..." He shakes his head, a glance again over his shoulder, now that they've changed course completely, looking in the direction of the new plaque in the backyard, where the dirt is still settling. "I don't know. It was...odd."

Aerin Thomas: ((Ethan. Dammit. That's gonna get me EVERY TIME. Damn mage duo.))

Ethan Anderson: He stops moving and frowns softly, sighing. "Were you in love with him," he asks. He knew Aerin had loved the young man and that he'd missed him...But this seems something more.

Aerin Thomas: "I don't...no." A slow shake of his head, eyes slowly shifting to regard Ethan, that same stronge look on his face. "I don't think so. I just...it's wierd to me."

Ethan Anderson: "What's weird to you? YOu're not making a whole lot of sense, hon," he says softly. He sits, wet grass or no and draws Aerin towards him. "You're intense and spacey all at the same time. Its like you're not quite with me here."

Aerin Thomas: "I don't know." It's said a just a hint more forcefully now...mean, though there is perhaps a bit of frustration there. Defensiveness, perhaps. "I just...I don't know, you know? I can't explain it."

Ethan Anderson: He gives Aerin a rather bland look. "Don't snap at me. I'm worried about you. I love you." He sighs. "I saw Adrian last night. Before the club. He offered me X."

Aerin Thomas: ((mean = NOT mean))

Ethan Anderson: ((Delete the "Dont snap at me" bit then))

Aerin Thomas: "I know you do, I--" Whoa. Hold the phones. His eyes snap to Ethan, narrowing slightly. "He did what?"

Ethan Anderson: "He didn't know I was clean and I didn't take it. But I might have if this woman hadn't shown up." He shrugs and sprawls back in the wet grass, staring at Aerin and likely getting muddy as heck. "I'm the one that turned him on to it in the first place."

Aerin Thomas: His jaw clenches, tension finding it's way into his frame. Anger rising in the lanky man's frame, tension rising like boiling liquid in a beaker. He shuts his eyes, taking a deep breath, forcing himself calm. "The fact of the matter is," he starts, voice tightly controlled. Another breath, and he opens his eyes, looking at Ethan. The strange look is gone from his eyes. "...you didn't. And whatever the reason, the fact that you didn't makes me very proud of you, Ethan."

Ethan Anderson: "The fact of the matter is I was sorely, sorely tempted. I'm lonely and angry and frustrated," he says softly, sighing. "The fact of the matter is, you're busy and I get that and you have a family and I get that...Adrian is my friend and I KNOW...I KNOW he's messed up. Sick. I get that too. But until he hurts me or I see him hurt someone I love he's still my friend. I don't trust him implicitly but I trust him not to do anything to permanently hurt me."

Aerin Thomas: He grits his teeth a little bit. "I think that trust is sorely misplaced, Ethan. The man is sick. You're right. And people know this...but no one actually understand it. I've been sick. I've been fucked in the head. And I know what you do when you're fucked in the head. I understand the thought patterns that can go through someone's head to look at a creature like nothing more then a highly abusable fucktoy. I've had them. Granted, I wasn't looking at a fucking six-month old and her pregnant mother at the time..." A sneer rises. "...but still, I know the feeling, and the thoughts, and the desires. That is why I understand. And I had these thoughts while I was deceiving my friends. ABOUT my friends."

Ethan Anderson: He sighs softly. "I think part of me thinks I can help him. You got help. He deserves the same chance. He sucks with people Aerin. He does. But you should see him at work. With the animals." He shrugs and rolls up to his knees, wet and muddy fingers crawling up Aerin's thighs. "Enough. I so don't wanna fight...I don't see you enough to ruin any time we have with fighting." He presses his cheek to Aerin's thigh, nuzzling back and forth slowly, stubble rasping against denim.

Aerin Thomas: "I had a Weaver bane infecting me. What's his fucking excuse?" He grumbles that out, and then sighs. No point...let it go. Deal with it your own way. He stares at Ethan as cheek meets thigh, blinking a moment, and then slowly reaches a hand down to pet the kin's hair. "I'm sorry."

Ethan Anderson: "Me too," he murmurs, tipping his head back and sliding his tongue over his lips.

Aerin Thomas: He looks Ethan in the eye for a long moment, then looks back to the barn for a second. His mouth opens to say something, and then he stops, looking away to the treeline, the drawn air for the words let uselessly out. His hand continues to stroke gently along Ethan's hair. "I love you."

Ethan Anderson: "I love you too," he murmurs with a sigh, resting his cheek against the other's thigh as he awkwardly hugs him.

Aerin Thomas: He leans over, trying to hug Ethan back. It certainly makes for an odd juxtaposition of bodies, the Garou's cold, thinly muscular arms wrapping around the kin as best he can.

Ethan Anderson: "I should see to the horses," he murmurs when the hug breaks. He pushes up to his feet. "And then I should probably go home. No need for Ita or Joe to be getting the wrong idea about what a little home wrecker I am."

Ethan Anderson: ((Bah! 'Don't need ITa and Joe thinking I'm a little home wrecker.'))

Aerin Thomas: He looks up at Ethan, staring at him silently. Intently. His mouth opens, and then shuts again. "You're not a homewrecker," he finally gets out, quiet.

Ethan Anderson: He strokes muddy fingers along Aerin's face. "Thank you. I think the fact that I want you to take me into the barn and fuck me till I pass out says something different."

Aerin Thomas: "Can't wreck a home..." He leans into those fingers, letting the fingers streak his face like war paint. He tilts his head, kissing Ethan's palm. "I'm sorry."

Ethan Anderson: "For what," he asks in a whisper, shivering at that kiss to his palm, his blue eyes going heavy lidded and shiny.

Aerin Thomas: "I don't know," he says, nuzzling the other's hand. "I feel like I've wronged you, and I don't know how. But I feel like it's my fault somehow, and I'm sorry I have."

Ethan Anderson: He blinks, sending tears rolling down his tan cheeks. "You saved me. You saved my life and maybe I'm messed up. Maybe I'm confusing gratitude and lust with being in love. Maybe its me that's messed up, Aerin. You're all I thought about when I was home. I think I drove Chris and Sissy nuts with it. Aerin this and Aerin that...I..." He shrugs and sighs, bending to kiss the top of Aerin's head.

Aerin Thomas: "It's not you." He says it quietly...fear there, maybe?...and shakes his head, eyes finding the ground. Then the barn. "I don't know what to do. I should have an answer for you, I...I should be able to help."

Ethan Anderson: "Why do you keep looking at the barn," he asks softly, lifting Aerin's face with his slim, strong hands. "And hon...We both made this bed...Both of us. I, for one, made it happily."

Aerin Thomas: He looks up to Ethan, smiling a little bit, and nods. "I know. So did I. I don't regret doing that."

Ethan Anderson: "Me either. Only thing I'll regret is if it stops. But even then I'll move on. I'm getting pretty good at that."

Aerin Thomas: "I don't want you to have to move on," he murmurs.

Ethan Anderson: "Why do I feel a but in there?" He kisses Aerin's forehead and then his lips just once.

Aerin Thomas: "No...no but." He returns the kiss. "I don't think so...no, no. No but."

Ethan Anderson: "So how do we deal with this? With us? There is an us. I'm pretty sure of that now...I'm just not sure what that means for you or me outside of 'us'."

Aerin Thomas: "I don't know how to deal with it, Ethan." He sighs. "I'm just...I'm tired. I don't know what it means at all. I hurt. I'm getting hurt a lot lately. But I stay up. I don't know whether I want to stop staying up or stop getting hurt."

Ethan Anderson: "Get some clothes," he says gently. "We'll go back to my place for the day. Just the two of us and we'll figure this out, Aerin...What it means for us. What it means for Ita and Joe...Well we can figure that out later."

Aerin Thomas: He nods a little and rises to his feet, looking at Ethan, head cock. He opens his mouth to say something again, then shuts it, turning to head toward the house and get dressed.

Aerin Thomas: ((head cockED. Eye kan tipe!))

Ethan Anderson: "You know, one of these days you really have to say whatever it is you're gonna say without sensoring yourself," he says gently before moving back to the paddock(now its spelled right) to give the horses a quick once over and update their shots.

Aerin Thomas: He comes out of the house about ten minutes later, in the new trench coat and a regular, white T-Shirt and the jeans. The Docs. He walks back to the side of the house, watching as Ethan cares for the horses, leaning against the side of the house and lighting a cigarette.

Ethan Anderson: He finishes up and gives everyone one last sugar cube before packing his little medical bag and making his way towards Aerin.

Aerin Thomas: A drag off the cigarette, exhaled into the chill air, and he nods to Ethan. He seems composed now, a little more at least. "Ready?"

Ethan Anderson: "Whenever you are," he says, nodding.

Aerin Thomas: He nods and moves to follow him along to the car.