Love Makes You Soft

"That's unfortunate." Sinclair frowned. He didn't know what he'd do when Sawyer moved out. "But I guess it's better than Jace having Piper over all the time in your guys's room, right? Piper can get a bit... obnoxious." He tried to find a word that wasn't rude but this was all he could come up with. Piper simply got on his nerves. So did Jace, really, but he wouldn't say that to Stein.

"You're sweet." Vince smirked. "But really, I'm just trying to keep as far away from them as possible." He shook his head. "I wouldn't mind some protection for the night though, if you want to spend the night at my place with me." He smirked slyly, speaking in a way that made it apparent he just wanted Sawyer to come home with him. Just minutes ago he'd been determined he wasn't looking for a relationship and yet here he was, flirting with this stranger who's name he didn't even know.

"Not really. I mean, yeah Piper is annoying but i'd prefer to have him and Jace rather than just not have Jace at all, do you know what Im saying?" Stein was smiling softly when he glanced up, happy to finally have someone filling in the silence. "So tell me more about you."

"Oh yeah?" Sawyer tried to keep the disgust from his voice but really? Vince was making this way too easy on him. At this rate he wouldnt have to work for anything. It seemed as though the man was willing to give it up and take him in without knowing so much as his name.
The young wolf had to bite his tongue to keep insults off the table.
"If thath the cathe, then i'd be happy to walk you home and, you know, protect you tonight." He waved one of the waiters down, asking for Vince's drinks to be put on his check instead. "Tho, before we go, can I know the name of my lovely arm candy?" Sawyer managed a sweet smile as he stood, offering his hand out to Vince.

"Yeah, I get that." Sinclair nodded before considering Stein's question. "Well what do you want to know? I mean... I'm not all that interesting to be honest." He gave the boy a shy smile.

"Vince." He smiled softly over the the man as he took his hand. "Vince Kennedy. And you are?" He questioned as he led Sawyer out of the bar and towards his own home.

"Well, tell me about what makes you happy and what makes you sad. That's a start. " Stein spoke with a smile, his hands steadily working.

"Vince," Sawyer repeated, a wide grin stretching across his face as the man confirmed his identity. "I like that." His smile favored Dallas, complete with the freckles dancing across his nose. "I'm Thawyer. Thawyer thinclair." The young wolf never missed a beat, offering his arm for Vince to take.

"That's a hard question but I like it." Sinclair smiled softly as he considered his answer to this. "What makes me happy is rain and camping and helping my mom work sometimes. I like staying up late at night by myself and climbing up onto the roof where it's quiet and there's no people to take away from the silence. Seeing Sawyer happy makes me happy and so does seeing mom and dad getting along. Going on family trips makes me happy but we haven't had one of those in a while without someone screaming. Uh, what makes me sad is my mom smoking and my dad and Sawyer drinking and the way people kind of look at me sometimes during pack gatherings like I shouldn't really be there. And talking to people like this actually makes me happy but no one ever really tries so thanks." He finished then, averting his gaze and simply continuing to work. "Your turn."

There was something familiar about Sawyer's smile and the freckles dancing on his face but Vince couldn't place it. It made butterflies rise in his stomach though and so he only grinned, hooking his arm through Sawyer's and leading them to his home. Luckily it wasn't long before they arrived and Vince let Sawyer inside.
"It's not much, I know. But it's all I've got." It was a tiny home, simple, with only a living room, one bedroom, a kitchen/dining room, and one bathroom. But it still felt huge when he had to spend the night alone in it.

Stein gave a thoughtful hum, still processing everything Sinclair had said. "Finishing one of my projects makes me really happy, and proud I guess.  Also I enjoy seeing Jace so confident and secure with Piper, even if Piper is a douche sometimes.  Your dad makes me happy, I like spending time with him and I like when my mom helps me with my automail. And I think you make me happy.  I've been pretty content having someone to talk to."  He took a moment to consider how to answer the other aspect of the question.  "Seeing Dallas drink also makes me sad.  I really do love him as a father and I know all the liquor he consumes can't be good for him, and I think it makes him feel bad, too.  I hate that.  Sawyer disliking me so much also makes me sad.  I had wanted to be close with you guys, and he has just never been willing to give me a chance.  Im sad whenever I go home to our room and remember Jace is sleeping with Piper now.  Silence makes me sad."  He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "And knowing that people look at you funny is bothering me now so I guess that makes me sad, too."

"Eh, I like it.  It'th homey."  Sawyer made himself comfortable in the mans bedroom, flopping down on his mattress and taking the moment to stretch out. "Pluth your bed ith fucking nice. I dig."  The dark skinned boy was thinking about his father, wondering if Dallas had ever lain in this exact same bed.  
Wondering if Dallas ever missed it.
The thoughts only made a hateful fire flare in his chest.
What if Dallas and Law fought so much because Dallas wasnt happy?
What if this was what he wanted?  A life with this pitiful human instead of the life he had with them.

"You don't have to be sad about that." Sinclair smiled softly, quite happy that Stein seemed to be enjoying his company. "I guess it's just because I'm weird. You know how the wolves are all about fighting and dominance and all of that 24/7. I'm just not like that. I wish I could have been human, although I'm still a weird human too." He smirked.

Vince smiled lightly at Sawyer before taking a seat on the bed beside him.
"Glad you like it." He allowed himself to lay down beside Sawyer but didn't dare to move any closer, simply glancing over at him occasionally.

"Not really. Im human and I don't care for violent confrontations. " Stein clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "And a lot of people dont like germs, then some of them just dont like being touched. It doesnt make them weird to me. I just try to respect it, you know?" He was trying his best to make Sinclair comfortable. "So, tell me about what you like to do."

"You know what elthe i'd like?" Sawyer flipped onto his side, one of his arms reaching around to pull Vince flush against his chest. "I'd like to get to know you better," A dark hand slipped under the mans shirt, fingertips ghosting over skin as the danced across Vince's abdomen. "If you know what I mean."

"You're going to think I'm the most person ever but I like research... I like working with numbers, I guess. Sometimes I just observe people at the pack meetings for the hell of it and gather data for later. It just kind of fascinates me, like math and science have always been what I wanted to do. I used to want to be a doctor like my mom, but then I realized that wouldn't really work for me, you know?" He smirked lightly. "Do you like to do anything other than your... experiments?" He questioned.

Vince was startled by how quickly this seemed to be moving but truly, he didn't mind. He was already putty in Sawyer's hands.
"I-I'd like that too." He nodded, tugging his lower lip in between his teeth as he let himself be pressed into Sawyer's chest, arms wrapping around the man's neck.

Stein gave a chortled laugh, his eyebrows raised as though he were stunned with the question.  Experiments.
It made him sound like some creep.
"Actually the reason I do those things is for my love of math and science.  I started out just crunching numbers and reading books about engineering, but before I knew it I was working at it myself.  I had originally started my projects because I felt really weak compared to the werewolves in the pack.  I wanted to be able to protect my mom and Jace if anything ever happened, so I thought it would be could to just design a few things. Before I knew it I was realizing that all my ideas could become reality, so I began working on my mechanical arm."  The boy lifted his automail hand, flexing his fingers as if illustrating his point. "Itsn't that cool? Kinda what dreams are made of if you ask me.  All of the math that went into this baby, you'd have to see it to believe it."  Stein wore an almost dreamy smile as he spoke of his passions, thrilled to finally be able to share it with someone. "And this, my arch reactor,"  The boy lifted his shirt, just enough so that Sinclair could get a better look at the ever glowing blue orb in his chest, where his heart would have been.  It was surrounded in a circular plate, similar to the one Sawyer had broken earlier.  The skin around it was pink with scar tissue, but somehow the soft blue light made up for that with its ethereal glow. "I designed this so that if my actual heart ever were to fail, this would back me up."

Sawyer didn't waste any time being he was eager to get this over with, but he still made sure to keep his facade up.  His hands were never rough, always soft and caressing when they touched.  And he was sure to keep his voice low and sweet as he whispered sweet nothings into the mans ear.  His body moved slowly, giving Vince time to trace the freckles dotting his chest before he took him. Sawyer almost even made it seem tender with the way he watched Vince, his eyes never leaving the boys face.  By the end of it he had to wonder what his father had gotten out of this.

"Could I... touch it?" Sinclair asked hesitantly, fingers reaching out slowly. But he wanted Stein's permission before he did it. He always asked permission before touching anyone. "It's really amazing." He breathed out. He had always been fascinated with Stein's arm but had never talked to the boy because of Sawyer.

Vince, unlike Sawyer, was practically glowing in the aftermath of their coupling. It had been one of the sweetest times he'd ever experienced and while it wasn't how he normally liked it, he couldn't deny it had been wonderful. It would crush him to know it was all fake. He still found himself panting softly as he reached over to grasp Sawyer's hand again.
"That was... nice." He smirked softly, lips finding their way to Sawyer's neck.

"Oh, yeah!" Stein's eyes were alight with pride, his arch reactor glowing slightly brighter. "You go right ahead! Normally people don't even take the time to ask before running up to me and touching. And then the real assholes think that its fake and feel the need to yank on it." The boy rolled his eyes at the thought. "So thats really cool that you asked. I should have asked you before trying to take your hand." Stein flushed again at the memory, his other arm moving to rub the back of his neck.

Sawyer had to resist the urge to snarl at the man, his skin crawling where Vince's lips had touched. Instead of shoving him away like he wanted to, Sawyer plastered a goofy smile to his face. "It thure wath thomething thpecial. You thure are thomething thpecial." At this rate, he was hoping that maybe Dallas would even be proud of him. It had to be nice seeing Vince suffer if what his mom had said was true. Werewolf's don't do well without their mates. They got sick, sometimes to the point of death.
Vince could have killed his father.
That alone makes him deserving of this punishment. But not only that, sometime's when his parents fought, the mans name came up, usually right before things got physical.
Maybe they would both be pleased to see him hurt, just like they had hurt.

Sinclair was hesitant, torn between wanting to touch the device and not wanting to make contact with the other boy. But eventually, his curiosity got the better of him and he let his fingers run gently over it.
"It's okay... most people don't ask. I just always make sure to since I know how it feels when you don't want to be touched." He shrugged lightly, still examining it up close. "This is really amazing." He shook his head incredulously. "So what was the difference between this one and the one Sawyer broke?" He questioned, now quite upset that Sawyer had broken it. He could have gotten to see something even more amazing...

Vince only smiled, incredibly pleased with how this night had turned out. He thought he might have finally gotten a decent guy in his bed. He nuzzled himself closer to Sawyer, curling into the man's chest and soon falling asleep like this with his face buried in the crook of the man's neck.

"The one Sawyer broke was an improved model of the reactor I'm wearing now." The boys shoulders slumped with disappointment as he remembered watching his device shatter. "This one I'm currently using has a Crack in the secondary valve. Because of that it's leaking chemicals and that needs to stop." His newest reactor had been designed in the hopes of avoiding such problems. " It's really okay though, we're fixing it." The last thing he wanted was to make Sinclair feel bad and risk the possibility of losing the boys smile.

Sawyer found his claws elongated, the irritation that flared in his stomach too much for him to control. Who did this pathetic prostitute think he was? Vince wasn't worthy of cuddling with him. The anger had him clenching his fists. If not he may wind up strangling the man then and there. Instead though, Sawyer went reaching for his phone, sending a text to Sinclair that promised he was alright, but wouldn't be home tonight.
If their parents asked, they hadn't spoken since the fight.

"Are they dangerous chemicals?" Sinclair frowned lightly as he examined the device closer. "Will they hurt you if they keep leaking?" He was concerned, honestly. He slid his phone from his pocket as he got the text from Sawyer, reading over it and sighing before quickly putting it back in his pocket. He wanted to respond, ask the boy where he was and if he was getting into trouble. He wanted to remind Sawyer that he would try to tell their parents they hadn't spoken since the fight but if they tried to make him promise he wasn't lying, he would have to tell the truth since he could never break promises. He wanted to text Sawyer about all of this, but he knew it was rude to text while you were talking to someone else and the last thing he wanted was Stein to think he was rude and stop talking to him.

"Oh its nothing really bad, I mean, at least it's fixable. " As much as he liked to ignore it, Stein knew he had taken a huge risk by inserting his arch reactor. If he had made any one mistake, it could have very well been fatal. He would have rather died trying though, Instead of spending his entire life wondering about what could have been. "I'm really proud that you touched it." Stein let out a breathy laugh. "Kinda makes me feel special. "

"Sinclair? The fuck are you doing that's more important than me. Text back."
Sawyer glared at his phone as he sent yet another message, eyebrows pinched together in confusion. Usually Sinclair was quick to text him back, especially when he was asking the boy to lie for him.

"I guess you are." Sinclair laughed softly, still eyeing the device. "It wasn't so bad, really." He nodded, smiling at the other boy as he heard his phone go off again. "Sorry, my brother keeps texting." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he read this new message. He wasn't sure how to respond, not wanting to tell Sawyer he was spending time with Stein. Sawyer would be hurt if he thought Sinclair was putting Stein over him. He didn't like to lie to Sawyer though.
"Sorry, I'm working on something in mom's room. Are you sure you're okay?" He was pleased with his response. It wasn't a lie, after all.

"Oh yeah?"  Stein wasn't quite sure why, but for some reason hearing Sinclair say that gave him a strange sort of hope.  Maybe they really could be good friends.  He really would like that.  Even since Dimitri skipped out on him and Jace left for Pipers, a loneliness had been eating at his insides.
"Well im really glad that it wasn't so bad."  Stein gave a soft laugh. "And don't worry about texting him around me, I really do understand the twin thing so I don't mind." Actually he wished Jace would contact him more, but usually the boy was consumed with his 'piper time.'
Sawyer bit back a growl, his teeth grinding together in irritation as he felt Vince snuggling into his chest.  And to make it worse?  Sinclair was being weird.  He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something wasn't right.  Usually his brother elaborated when he was working on something, so Sawyer could understand as well. Plus, they weren't just brothers. As far as He was concerned, Sinclair was his best friend.
"Im fine. Just pissed the fuck off. What are you working on? How are mom and dad?" He wanted to tell Sinclair what he was doing, who he was plotting against, but he knew better then to mention having sex with someone to his brother. It would only stress him out, to know the sort of germs they had probably transferred.

"Yeah, he gets irritable if I don't text him back. He knows I've got nothing better to do so if I don't answer him he'll just think I'm ignoring him." Sinclair smirked softly as he responded to his brother, sighing to himself as he realized he'd have to tell the boy the truth. "Stein actually asked me to help him fix his arch reactor and I had nothing better to do since you left. Mom and dad are fine I guess, I haven't heard any fighting. Will you be home in the morning?" Sinclair hated nights when Sawyer wasn't home. Secretly, he still liked to sleep in the same bed as his brother. It was the only way he could get a good night of sleep. He was a bit of an insomniac like his mother. He put his phone down once again once he finished, continuing to attach wires back together. "So how long do you think this will take?" He questioned Stein. "I hope Sawyer really didn't put you back too far..."

"It's not really bad. I already have all the parts, and I've already done it once so I know what I'm doing now. Plus now I have you to help me out. " Stein gave the boy a grateful smile. "It's really appreciate that, by the way." It had been a long time since he'd been so comfortable. Dimitri taught him that getting too comfortable lead to nothing but heartache.

Sawyer nearly dropped his phone on Vince's face in disbelief as he read and reread his brothers text. That had to be a mistake. Sinclair wouldn't do that to him.
Or so he wanted to believe. But in truth he knew that his brother never lied.
The feeling of betrayal that settled into him was enough to have his eyes glowing a bright gold. He was so rarely ever angry at Sinclair, didn't know how to handle it.
"Traitor."
It was the only thing he could think to say back.

"Oh it's not a big deal." Sinclair reassured. "It's pretty fun, actually. I like this sort of work but I'm not creative enough to come up with anything like this on my own." He smiled back at the other boy, feeling the way Stein's smile made butterflies rise in his stomach. He was extremely happy, even considering telling Sawyer maybe Stein wasn't so bad. But then he read the message.
"Don't be mad at me. I felt kind of bad because you broke it." He sighed softly at the message as he put his phone away. Well so much for telling his brother how Stein made him feel...

"Something wrong? " Stein could immediately see that something had changed when Sinclair read his newest text. "Sawyer ' s not being rude to you, is he?" The boy spoke as though the thought of Sawyer upsetting Sinclair made him tense.
Sawyer was sulking himself after learning of what his brother was doing. For a long time he left it alone, brooding and cursing softly every time Vince moved against him.
"I'm not mad. Do whatever you want." That's all he could think to send, nearly an hour after their last message.
"I don't give a damn." Sawyer muttered into the dark.
But he did, and even the shadows called him a liar.

"No he's..." Sinclair trailed off as he tried to think of how to put this gently. "He asked what I was doing and I told him I was with you and he... now he's pissed at me I think because he really doesn't like you." He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "And I wasn't going to tell him I was with you because I knew he'd do this but I can't lie to him and I feel like I should leave before he gets really mad at me but... I don't want to because I like talking to you." He sighed softly, waiting for Sawyer to reply to him.

"Well, I really like talking to you too. I'd hate it if you had to go..." Stein paused a moment, his nose crinkling slightly with anger at Sawyer. Why did he always have to ruin everything? "If you want to go though, I'll understand. I know how close you guys are and I'd hate to cause you any trouble. "

"No... I'm not going to go." Sinclair shook his head. "I really do like talking to you and Sawyer is going to be gone all night anyways." He smiled softly at the other boy. "And we've got to do some more work on this anyways." He grinned as he continued working with Stein on the arch reactor on the desk. They continued working and talking for nearly another hour until Sawyer responded and Sinclair read the message.
"He's really not all that bad." He responded to his brother. "And you left for the night and you know I don't like to be alone." He reminded, hoping Sawyer really wasn't too mad at him.