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Late nights were nothing out of the ordinary for Harker. Nightmares and odd sleeping habits often meant that while the rest of the world slept, he was wide awake. Granted, he had things to occupy himself during those hours, and sure... He could always try to sleep, but often times it meant he was staring at either the wall or the ceiling. Tonight however, found him just wandering around the apartment above the bookshop. A bad storm had rolled in out of nowhere, which meant Tristan was forced to spend the night as neither Jean nor himself were willing to send him out in it.

The worst of the thunder had passed by a few hours ago, but thunder still rumbled overhead as he walked past the door to the spare room. Harker stopped to lean against the door frame. Though, as it had seemed, Tristan's nightly stays were starting to become a bit of a habit. A few of his things had already been scattered about the spare room he now occupied. The rustling of fabric, and a quiet mutter caught his attention. Harker frowned as he watched Tristan turn restlessly in his sleep. He was muttering and mumbling something but it was nothing he could make out. It didn't stop the sour feeling that formed in his stomach, and frowning, he stepped into the room.

"Tristan." Harker called softly, trying not to startle it too bad. Nothing. "Tristan..." He said again, with a little more force behind it. Climbing up on the bed, he tucked his legs underneath him and leaned against the head rest. The larger man then turned, rolling in his sleep towards Harker.

"...Aderyn..."

A sigh escaped him. Oh.. He thought. It was one of those kinds of nights. Tristan made a small noise and Harker reached forward, gently raking his fingers through the other's hair. "Shh Pet... It's alright. It's just a dream. It can't hurt you, you'll be okay.." Gently, he pulled Tristan's hair free from under his neck, scooting just a bit closer. "I... I'm here. Wake up for me Tristan..."

Harker couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped him at the confused noise Tristan made. Though the amusement died quickly thereafter at the question. "No... You didn't." He said softly. "I.. I've... I haven't slept yet." Harker flinched at the sound of his own voice. "I will soon." He promised, he hoped. "I've had a few of my own, lately..."

A feeble excuse.

He still racked his fingers through what he could of Tristan's hair. "...Do you wanna talk about it?" The young man asked, combing the sweat soaked bangs off Tristan's forehead. He knew the likely answer was no. It was something Tristan didn't like talking about, and Harker understood that. But sometimes, he felt like offering to listen... Just in case.

A sudden thud and whine made Harker jolt, nearly smacking his head into the headrest.

"Ooow...."

Blinking through the darkness, Harker could just make out Jean haphazardly leaning against the door.

"Jean?"

Another whine came back in reply.

Harker chuckled, once again scooching just much closer. "Hmm.. And where would I stay, Pet?" He pulled his hand from Tristan's hair, settling it on top of the other's arm. "You forget, you're at my house.." There was a small, soft smile on his face though it fell just as quickly as it came. "I miss her too." He gently ran his hand over Tristan's arm, a small comfort. "Best... Best not think of it like that. If you... If you let the negative things blind you, it's hard to climb out of places like that..." He fell quiet for a moment, mulling over his own demons, before he snapped to. "...She's not entirely gone. She's in your heart, in your memories... Just as she's in mine."

The chuckle and smile returned, though Harker hid it behind a hand. "He's fine, just discombobulated. He's slow to come to when he wakes up. Sounds like someone else I know." Harker then turned and grinned down at Tristan for a moment before sighing deeply and turning towards the door. "The bed, Doll. We're on the bed." The name slipped before he could catch it. "Ah... Sorry."

--

"You... never went to bed." Jean mumbled, blinking slowly. He tugged the blanket that hung off his shoulders all the more tighter. "Hard to sleep..." Jean muttered, staggering towards the bed. "Storm... Alone." His knee hit the end of the bed and Jean pitched forward, crumbling on the spot. "Ouch..." Jean grumbled. He blinked sluggishly at the blanket clad leg in front of him, before dropping his head on it and curling up on the spot with a muffled noise. He was quiet for a moment, before he spoke up again, his voice quiet as if he'd fallen asleep in the few short moments he'd been there. "...Are you okay..?"

--

Harker nudged Tristan's arm softly, jerking his head towards Jean. "He means well.. I promise.."

--

"I heard that..." Jean muttered, cracking an eye open.

"Your bed... which is technically Jean and I's.... That bed?" He was going to get shoved from the bed in a moment, if he wasn't careful. Harker chuckled softly, sliding his legs out from underneath him to side in a more cross legged position. "Mhm..." He said softly, once again combing his fingers through Tristan's hair, now that it was easier to do so. "And speaking of more herself... I, uh, told Mother you were back in town." Which seemed silly, considering Tristan had been around for months now, and he was just now telling her. "She wants to see you some time.. You too, Jean. She's quite upset with you. Says you haven't visited in a 'dog's age'."

--

Jean grunted. "You didn't answer the question." He grumbled, hauling himself up with a groan. The young man scrubbed at his face. With a sigh, he let his hands fall into his lap, glancing over at the pair before him. "Figure out how we're doing this because, I am not sleeping like this." Jean waved a hand, before pointing at Harker. "You're gonna end up with no feeling in your legs, and you-' Both his gaze, and accusing finger flew in Tristan's direction, "are going to end up with a mess of knots in your back for sleeping on him like that. Trust me, been there done that."

But with another sigh, he moved, coming to mirror Harker's position, sitting cross legged next to Tristan. "Now, I'll ask again. Are you okay??"

Harker laughed, a light and bubbly sound despite the darkerness around them. "Aw... Kitten, I'm sorry." He grinned at Tristan. "I couldn't help myself."

The grin slipped, forming a frown and his gaze dropped. "She knows..." He said, as if reading the others mind. "The papers... We've never known many Aderyn's... And eith a last name like yours.." It wasn't hard to figure out. "She mourns with you. Mother wishes she could have been there for you." They both do. "She is glad you're okay. I don't think she could have handled losing both of you... She loves you, you know. I..."

The rest of that thought goes unsaid.

With a sigh, Harker turned to sight more properly in between the two. "How do we wanna do thi-" His question turning into a shriek as Jean shoves him, rather unceremoniously onto his back. His face turning red enough to match the ends of his hair.

--

Jean grinned down at Harker. "You are in the middle." All drowsiness from his voice, suddenly gone. It only seemed to sdd to Harker's blush. "As much as I would love to be in the middle and shoved against that brick wall of a person-" Jean did not care what Tristan thought of that. He liked people, sue him. "You are the easiest to reach around. ******** bean pole..." an aggitated huff made him grin wider.

With a chuckle he leaned down and snatched Harker's mouth up in a kiss. The man under him snarls in protest but the heat quickly dies as Jean seems to steal the air from his lungs. Harker mutters a curse, whether damning his existence or just the moment he doesnt know or care. Jean chuckles again, nosing at the other's throat as he settles down on Harker's shoulder.

He smirks wildly Tristan. "Don't let him play either of you like that. He still loves you." Harker shoves at him violently, but fails to shake him. Jean tangles a hand with one of Harker's giving it an apologetic squeeze. An idea pops into his head suddenly and he sits up, leaning over Harker once more. "Hey." He said, trying to get the other man's attention as he was busying himself by looking at anything and everything but the other other occupants in the room. "Can I?"

"Can you what?"

Jean tilted his head, nodding at Tristan.

"Why are you asking me?" Harker shot back.

"He's your boyfriend." Jean replied flatly.

"He is his own person. I-I have no claim on him." Not anymore. Harker hated how the words caught in his throat.
"Ask him yourself."

Shrugging, Jean shifted, climbing over Harker and suddenly crowding Tristan's space. "....Can I?"

"Is he a d**k?" Harker growled. "Yes. Yes he is." He reached out to swat at Jean with a sigh. "You could have at least crawled to the other side of the bed to do that, you a**." He scowled, trying his best to shift under Jean without completely knocking him over. "But... yes. Jean can be... affectionate, with people outside whoever he happens to be dating at the time." The young man reached for one of the extra pillows and jammed it under his head. "And just to avoid the awkward question likely floating in your head... No. Jean and I are not dating." He said, trying to ignore both the flush that crawled across his face and the snarky comment from Jean about how they might as well should be. "He doesn't flirt with everyone he crosses paths with mind you, so you must of done something to peak his interests.."

Not that Harker could blame Jean.

"You... uh.. You can if you want to... Or uh... you don't have to? He'll understand. Might be sulky about it but he'll just end up clinging to me for the night and be over it by morning." He cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting in the bed, unsure what to do with himself. "...I uh..I'm.. okay with it. If you're worried about that."

--

Jean hovered over the pair like a cat just watching. When Tristan made a confused noise, Jean seemed to make one of his own, his attention moving solely to Tristan. "Say it then." He said with a little smirk. "Or would you rather I say please?"

Harker rolled his eyes, both at the question and Jean's pleading whine. Though it turned into a bit of a snicker as Jean promptly sat back, confused on what a 'lark' even was. "He's asking if you're playing him, Jean. Tristan doesn't want to play some game. Not that kind anyway." The young man glanced at Tristan with a sigh. "Unfortunately, while he does speak English, he only speaks American English...." Another sigh escaped him. "I tried teaching him and it was a disaster." Ugh... He didn't even want to think about it any further.

Harker froze at Tristan's, before curling up, hiding himself from the others. He felt a hand in his hair, and Jean was calling his name softly. "I'm okay..." He said quietly.

--

With a soft noise, Jean settled at Harker's side, combing his fingers through Harker's hair. He glanced at Tristan, though briefly. "...As I said before. Don't let him play you, Tristan. He still loves you. He just has...problems.. saying things sometimes."

Harker squeezed the hand in his, tanking their fingers and holding on to it like it was his only lifeline. He sniffled, moving to bury himself against Tristan instead of hiding in the pillow. The brunette nodded against the other. "Always.." He hiccupped. "Never stopped.. Missed you." Came garbled words, mixed with sobs and more hiccups.

--

Jean rubbed at Harker's back, letting him move when he wanted. "Hark use to tell me all these stories about you. The random a** things you guys had done, things you wanted to do. I can't tell you how many times I've heard about when you two were planning some winter holiday trip with your family and he missed it cause his dumbass came down with the worst case of the flu..." He sighed, shifting to move and curl up against Harker's back seeking out tangled fingers and just giving the hands a soft squeeze. "I wish you could have seen it... He would get so animated when he told the stories... Just, the way he would talk about you.." It was almost like Harker forgot the shitty situation he was living in during those times. "Did you know he talks in his sleep sometimes? I don't think I could ever forget your name, with how often he'd call for you." How often Harker would just cry for the other in his sleep. "After.. a few things, when we'd gotten our own place it was a bit better. But I would have to stay with him at night, otherwise he did nothing but toss and turn."

"I've known who you were for a while.. I knew who you were when you followed him in here. And I am so glad he had you..." He laughed, feeling sheepish. "Like Harker said... You had to have done something to get my attention.. I'm pretty sure I fell for you just listening to stories..."