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That wasn't the 'reason' that Slush had expected, and it stopped him from walking out right then, turning back towards Isto, he gave him an utterly confused look. Slush really didn't know what the ******** Isto was talking about.

"I have no clue what you're talking about Isto."

His tone was calmer as he was finding it harder and harder to stay angry at a sobbing Isto, a broken man that sat in front of him. Why the ******** was he feeling compassion for a man who just destroyed his happiness... a man who LIED to him. Slush was so utterly bombarded by mixed emotions that he was having a hard time keeping up with staying mad at Isto.

So many things flooded ((No pun intended)) Slush's mind as Isto told the story, he had been only an infant then but things were starting to make sense. Now Slush felt like he was the bad guy, but he WASN'T. ******** god this was getting harder and harder for him to be angry at Isto, even if he had hidden this from him too.

"I don't want you to die Isto...I still love you, and nothing's going to change that..."

Slush's tone was calmer but still pained as he spoke.

"But things can't return to what they were...too much has changed..."

He needed time to think, talk to his mum and maybe talk to Nathan since he was bi too. Sighing, he brought his hand up to his face and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips.

Slush's pain filled eyes met Isto's teary ones, absentmindedly he wiped Isto's tears from his cheeks, shaking his head when he dropped his hand back to his side. These were questions that he had to think about, ones that the answers didn't come so readily to the tip of his tongue.

"I need to think. It may take days or it may take weeks... hell it may take even longer..."

Trailing off, Slush returned his dulled, loveless and hurt eyes to Isto's own, too emotionally weak to really do much else.

"Leave Isto, when I'm ready... when I'm healed, then I'll contact you. If I ever heal..."

The last part was muttered sadly to himself as he realized just how broken he emotionally felt.

Slush couldn't meet his eyes when Isto spoke one last time to him, instead he stood motionless and waited till he heard the front door shut. It was then he fell to his knees and let loose all the anguish he had been keeping inside of him, his body wracked with sobs of pain as he hugged himself. He felt so empty, that he had cried enough, but the tears just kept on coming.

X had heard yelling, but decided it was best that the two of them worked things out, a sigh of relief coming to her when the arguing seemed to stop. She even waited for the sounds of make out sex to start, but instead, minutes later she saw Isto hurriedly exit the house, looking very distraught. And then she heard the unmistakeable sound of a person sobbing, of her son.

Quickly she called to Nathan to watch Zanna and tore off towards the sounds of the pain, and when she entered the 'sitting room' and saw her son doubled over in sobs, she quickly moved to him and brought him into a tight embrace.

Slush clung to his mother, he was glad she wasn't asking questions, he didn't want to explain everything to her right now, that would be too close to reliving it for him. Instead he just nuzzled and cried into her neck, his arms tightly wrapped around her as he tried to soak as much comfort out of them as possible.

"Shh... Deep breaths Slushmiester, I know it hurts... but you need to calm down."

X was just confused, angry that her son was this distraught and that Isto had probably caused it, but also curious as to why she hadn't heard Isto's motorcycle leave yet.

X finally managed to get Slush to calm down somewhat, convincing him to change into his adult stage so that she could carry him to his room. As an adult Slush's sobs had a pitiful squeak to them, which she tried to calm down with absentminded petting and snugs.

Once in his room, she set him carefully down in the bed and under the covers, which is when he changed back into his fifth stage pulling the now semi worn stuffed shark against him. Under any other circumstances X would've thought this was absolutely adorable, not the crying but the position, but her heart wrenched when she could almost feel the pain he was going through.

"You sleep, we'll talk about it in the morning, over some of the Pancake King's amazing pancakes. Mkay?"

Slush only nodded as his mother tucked him in, kissing his forehead softly and giving him a reassuring ruffle of his hair, but once she left the room, he continued to quietly sob, staying awake in an almost comatose state thinking and crying.

Making her way downstairs she absently looked out the window and noticed that Isto's bike was still there. What the ******** was going on?! She sighed and maneuvered to the front door, opening it and finding a crying Isto on her porch.

"You. In. It's cold and it's late... plus there's no way in hell I'm letting you ride back in your state, not after the lake."

Though she didn't know what had happened, and she was quite angry at Isto, she did love the kid like her own son, thus caring about him a great deal as well. Besides, a dead Isto wouldn't make the situation better.

X just rolled her eyes, grabbed the back of his shirt, and yanked his skinny a** into her house with relative ease, being a vampire had its benefits, one of those being strength. Kicking the door shut, she plopped the boy on the ground on his feet in front of her, glancing down at the ring on Isto's finger, causing X to inwardly scowl.

"Slush won't know you're here, you'll be in one of the back rooms, though I doubt it matters... it doesn't look like he'll be coming out of his room for a while."

She shot him a glare before her gaze softened considerably.

"Look, I'm pretty torn here... I don't know what the ******** happened except that you and Slush yelled at eachother, cried a whole shitload, and then I find you on my porch, crying... with an engagement ring around your finger. All I know is that my son and his boyfriend, who I love like my own son, are in massive amounts of pain right now... and I'm going to take care of you both till yall work this out..."

"Because it's cold."

She said simply, as she reached out quickly and grabbed his wrist, roughly yanking him to her and into a tight embrace. Maybe he wouldn't notice that she had read his mind, well she read one of the few clear thoughts he actually had.

"Wear it. He loves you and wanted you to have it... so wear it."

Though she was shorter than Isto, she spoke with intense strength in her voice, a comforting strength, but also a strength that should be respected. X decided that she would move once Isto finally broke the embrace, and then she'd take him to 'his' room.