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It was just a scratch, albeit a long thin one that had blood staining his collar. Jeremiah tilted his head a bit, since Algie was there and looking.

Then he was getting that look.

Then Jeremiah was silent.

It was a telling silence.

Jeremiah knew it was coming - even if it felt different than the weight that had settled over him whenever it had come up on him; this wasn't true danger, it was a smack he deserved - but he took it.

Just grunted because his head already hurt at this point.

"Anything I want, any time I want," he said after a moment, rubbing a hand across his face. "In exchange for not being friends with Sunny." The detective had a look on his face, one that flickered on the level of frustration and annoyance because ... "Business only. I can speak to her, I can safeguard her, I can understand her but I can't be friends with her."

He did not know why. Why was it important he could not be friends?

Why did it even matter?

His head hurt too much.

Again, the flicker of something and Algie's hand was there. The pain was nothing, really, in the long run of things. The feeling as if he knew something was coming was new, hand in hand with what had frozen him in place in other ashdown when he had dealt with ... Later. Think about it later.

Jeremiah did not respond at all, not about trusting Sunny. The fact of the matter that after everything that had happened in Heliodora's demesne, he did. Even with the threats of eating his heart.

"It," because he could not place it beyond the sense of his father, beyond feeling young and angry again, beyond the smell of wood and smoke and smoldering fliers, "didn't want me removed from the board, Algie. So early in the game."

Then, because he probably needed to say it or get flicked again. "I think with this, I'm done for a while with deals." ... as he probably made a deal with a thing that worked for whatever Sunny feared.

Jeremiah's face went a ruddy red, head tilting as Algie wanted him to. It was the muttering that did it, mostly because he knew better than this but ...

"I could have lived if he acted like a super villain, Alg," he spoke as his eyes slid shut, the warmth of the cloth felt good, "probably would have handled it much better as well." A breath. "It called me dear boy."

Which as much as Jeremiah did not like nicknames, calling him dear boy was likely to cause an immediate fight. It was the one term of affection, and that was used loosely, that his father ever referred to him with.

"Alg, really." Jeremiah stared at the man, watched as he moved away. "Firstly, it would be playing piano - as I cannot play a fiddle to save my life, let alone my soul." He took the rag and dabbed at his neck until it was obviously clean and then he was just holding it against the back of his neck until it was colder than it should have been.

He still did not understand that.

"... and kissing women has never really been my forte," a huff and he was pushing himself up to stand, going to put a hand on Algie's waist and spin him around, "because I spent all my time wanting to kiss you."

Which he did, before Algie could say anything to him, or possibly give him more s**t that he totally deserved.

"I'm never in your good graces," he huffed with a small chuckle, pressing for one more kiss because he could no, "but I'm always trying."

Jeremiah was still not pleased that he did not remember things but this ... This he could be happy with. His hand came up to cover Algie's, squeezing it lightly. "If it will help the chill I've got, I'll drink every drop." Honestly it was starting to get unsettling and the pain was not helping but it was not the pain of burn injuries, instead something that lit up his skin. "... as I'm sure there's a reason for that and I can't remember it."

He tilted his forehead against Algie's a moment, stole one more kiss, and then let him go so he could finish making tea.

Jeremiah took the information well.

Right up until the mentioning of Zac moving in with Nasir and Wil. His eye twitched almost immediately. His fingers curled around his tea cup and he let out a sigh. "I gathered he moved out but not ..."

Jesus.

"At least Nasir is involved, if it was just Azevedo ..." His eye twitched again before he noticed that Algie was smirking and definitely enjoying himself a little too much. "I'll get over it, I'm sure. I did once, I can do it again." Bite me, Alg. Jeremiah took a long drink of his tea, fingers pressed to his cup and trying to soak the warmth up.

His head hurt but it was starting to fade and become secondary to his back.