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Poor guy, he was exhausted but too bothered to just collapse...and far too stubborn to do it either. But that was one of those things that Colin admired in his friend that Lorne apparently didn't see. You really don't give yourself enough credit...

The hot cocoa - with the tiny marshmallows like Björn preferred - was ready and cooling slightly by the time Lorne came out from the bathroom, still wiping at his mouth as though he couldn't quite get rid of a sensation or taste that bothered him. "Here you go." Colin offered him one of the mugs (both had #DCBC on the sides) and sipped at his own, slightly slanted green eyes watching his friend with a mixture of concern and curiousity.

"That bad, huh? So...wanna tell me why you had blood on your mouth?" He assumed - and rightly so - that Lorne had bitten someone from the Negaverse to get away from them...he just didn't know anything more than that.

Hey now, that wasn't entirely true! Lorne knew the guy's name and that he'd dated Colin...but more than that? No, he wouldn't really have known unless he went digging through Colin's instagram or Twitter accounts, which were both filled with photos and quotes related to Star Trek, dance, or Björn. Naturally there were other things on there, but those would be the bulk of the entries.

Lorne's pleased expression at the warm and delicious offering in a mug made a tightness in Colin's chest ease up and his smile go a bit brighter as he folded himself onto the couch next to Lorne, shoulders brushing the other man's lightly. Whatever pleasure the curly-haired danseur derived from the cocoa was mitigated by his friend's answer to his question, the way his tone went flat and almost hard.

Kissed him? Oh man, no wonder Lorne wanted mouthwash! I can't blame him, I'd want it too...jeeze, poor guy. "He kissed you? Ugh, I'm sorry Lorne, but good for you, fighting back. I bet that b*****d was really surprised."

His friend was clearly bothered by the whole thing...and even if he was trying to shrug it off as nothing, Colin knew his friend well enough to understand - at least in part - how distressing being kissed like that could be to him. And yes Colin had kissed him before, but that had been slightly different. Colin sipped his cocoa before setting the mug down on the coffee table so he could put an arm around Lorne's shoulders and rest the other on his arm.

"Being kissed forcibly sucks...it's like you can't get the feel and taste to go away." He'd been there, he knew - granted the guy hadn't been trying to drain him at the same time, but whatever. "Tomorrow tell me what he looked like, so I know who's a** to kick, okay? We don't have to talk about it right now unless you want to"

"Lorne, I will always come when you need me." His friend wasn't okay, he was upset and had every right to be. Colin squeezed Lorne's shoulders and reached for the cocoa, extracting the cup from the dark haired man's fingers to set it down too so he could take his hands and hold them tight. "It's not a bother, just so you know. You've never been a bother, Lorne."

"And...we can't ever know what's going to happen...that's part of what makes it so hard. As long as we try, that's all we can do." How to make him feel less terrible about things? That Lorne was mostly a pacifist wasn't something new to Colin...and while he'd done his best to help teach his friend how to fight (to defend himself)..it just didn't suit him.

"Not everyone is meant to be a fighter, my friend. Just ask Hvergelmir. It doesn't make you any less valuable, okay?"

Lorne's unease and distress were easily apparent in the tension of his muscles, the lines of his body, and the set of his jaw. Colin wasn't sure what he was doing wrong that his friend was so tensed, but understood that after so much, he was probably just really <********> and emotional.

With the outburst, Colin looked surprised but didn't pull away; for Lorne to be so vociferous there was a very big problem.

"Lorne..." The blond put his hands on his friend's shoulders to make him turn towards him, "You're Mont Blonc. You're someone we can count on and someone we love." His voice went soft but he kept his eyes on his friend's face, his eyes, "You give us strength, Lorne. I understand you don't feel like you do enough or that you're always turning to Nadia and I, but..."

"Truth is, we turn to you just as much. Just having you at my side makes it easier to face monsters, human or otherwise."

Lorne was so sad, so desperate looking, eyes squinched tight and voice close to breaking - it broke his heart. "You will have magic, just not yet. But even without it...you're so important. And what you give back to us can't be measured, okay? I mean it." Colin's hands moved to frame Lorne's face and leaned in to kiss both corners of his mouth gently.

"I know you can't see it right now, but you're not useless. You're not weak because you need us, either. I'd be dead if I didn't have you. Everyone needs someone else, it's our nature. I mean, I've almost died several times by not having back up...but I've got you, Nadia, Aleksy and Quenton to rely on. That doesn't make me weak or useless...if anything it makes me stronger. You too."

quote="frayedflower"]

Lorne had nothing to apologize for - the situation was stressful and he was tired and hurting - Colin understood and accepted the outburst for what it was. Honestly, he was more concerned with the way that his friend wouldn’t meet his eyes; it said so much about how Lorne saw himself, his ‘lack’ of worth - and that was heartbreaking. Something we’re going to work on, my friend. You need to see yourself the way we do..strong, capable. Reliable.

When the soft-eyed knight finally looked up, Colin felt a small thrill of victory - if nothing else, Lorne was absorbing what he was saying, allowing himself to be comforted. He’d take what he could get, at the moment; the danseur knew it would take more than one speech to get his wonderful friend to truly accept that what Colin was saying was true.

“Lorne, you don’t have anything to be sorry for. You’re feeling low, that’s okay. it happens. To everyone, even me.” Especially me. I don’t know what I did to make you guys think I’ve got my s**t together, but I don’t. I’m no where near as strong as you guys think i am…and I’m so afraid of what will happen when you discover it….but until then, lean on me. I’ve got you, Lorne. I can be strong for you.

Colin blinked a little bit at the question in the wide-open arms, in the way Lorne tucked his head and looked up through his lashes - shy and asking if he could have a hug when the blond’s hands were still holding his face. “Of course. Always.” Asking me for a hug, oh Lorne…you are the gentlest, sweetest guy…I can’t even—.

Permission requested, permission granted, the danseur slipped his hands from Lorne’s face to around his shoulders, pulling the dark-haired young man into a tight hug and pressing a kiss to his shoulder. “Someday, you’ll understand how much we need you.” But for the moment, Colin would try to impress these things upon him in the way he best knew how: physically. By tugging Lorne down onto the couch half on top of him for snuggles and pets, the blond’s head resting on one arm of the couch while his friend was nestled against him. “Gonna watch TV now and you’re gonna lay here and I’m going to love on you until you aren’t so sad looking.”

Lorne might have protested, but arguing with Colin when he’d set his mind to something was like trying to empty the ocean with a child’s pail: it didn’t work. If the danseur said that Lorne was going to be the recipient of comfort and petting until he stopped looking so sad, then Lorne was going to get just that - no ifs, ands, or buts.

And that was precisely what happened.