“I think I need help with this” for Rafael pls??🥺👀
"So what do you think?" Rafael looks up at Jake from where he sits on the small little bench between rows of shoes, trying on a pair of basic black sneakers. The big man looks tired - but they all do, the three men who more or less seem to be always be in charge. Jake more than anyone else, though.
"Um. They're a little too small," Raf says carefully, shifting his foot, kind of moving it in a circle before he stands up. The shoe squeezes painfully tight along the sides and the end, so he sits back down again. "I think I need the next size up."
His master and mistress had shoes custom-made for his measurements, and he'd had no idea what size he was. He'd just kept wearing the shoes he ran away in. But Jake suggested these tennis shoes, which would help him fit in better.
"Okay. You want to practice asking for help in public, or should I do it?" Jake smiles at him. No judgement, voice low.
Rafael shifts, looking down at his hands on the bench, his black jeans and black shirt. Thinks about getting someone's attention in a store, and telling her what she's given him first isn't right, he wants - he deserves - the right thing.
His face heats at the idea and he clears his throat. "If-... if you would-"
"No problem. Just give me a second." Jake steps away, and Rafael overhears him, muffled from distance, saying I think I need help with this- to some customer service person, cheery and chipper.
Rafael takes the too-small shoe back off and sets it carefully in the box. Tissue paper rustles as he closes it back up and places it back on the shelf, half-hopping with one bare foot to do it.
"... oh, it's you," Someone says just off to his right, and he turns-
And he's eye-to-eye with one of the ones he used to go home with, when he was in the last safehouse. He's used to seeing the guy with short shorts and a tank top and a lazy, half-eager smile. But now he's in a polo shirt and long pants and shocked, and Rafael might not even recognize him except for his hair.
"Shit. We all thought you were refurbed," The guy says, voice low. He's always had Rafael call him Rei, but he has everyone call him something different. "Are you-... are you here with-"
"I'm in a n-new house," Rafael says, almost whispering. "I-I left-... I was kicked out of the other one. For..."
Rei smiles, wry and faded and sad. "For seeing us? You got caught?"
Rafael's throat tries to close and he slowly nods. He feels... naked, in a way he's never felt when he actually is naked. Rei and the others saw him in a way no one else did, weeping and begging for physical touch when he was denied it everywhere else and couldn't keep his head on straight.
"I'm sorry," Rei says, and looks to one side. Rafael watches his dark eyes flicker left and then back again, and Raf follows his gaze to see the perky young manager chatting with Jake, her head slightly to one side. She's flirting - Jake, Rafael thinks, hasn't noticed. Maybe won't notice.
Rafael can always tell when someone's flirting.
He's an expert on flirting.
"No, it's okay. It's... here is better. Where I am now, I mean. It's so much better. You remember, the one time when I told you about the guy in the museum who told me to call? I'm, I'm in his safehouse now. It's better. Are you-... are you not-"
Rei laughs, almost soundless. He shakes his head and moves forward, and Rafael takes in a soft breath. For a second, he hopes - ridiculous as it is - that he'll be kissed. No one really kisses him anymore. Not even Chris, who comes as close as anyone does, but holds back. And that's-... that's okay...
He... misses how it felt to be twisted up inside, though. When it was good, it felt like how he was always meant to feel. But when it wasn't...
It was worth running because of when it wasn't.
Still...
But there's no kiss. All Rei does is move past him, patting him on the arm. "I've got three jobs," He says, with a shrug. "This is one of 'em. I'm glad that you found somewhere good for you, though." He smiles, more sincerely this time. Presses his fingertips to his own lips, and then moves his hand to the side of Rafael's face. "Glad you don't need us anymore."
"You could go to a safehouse," Rafael says, in a rush. He grabs at Rei's hand, startling him. Kisses those fingertips himself. It's not right, it's not-... normal, but he can't stop himself. "You don't have to work so hard, you don't-"
"Not everyone's cut out for the safehouses," Rei says, kind but firm, and pulls his hand back away. "Trust me. You're better off here, but I wouldn't be."
"What?" Rei starts to walk away, and Rafael stares after him. "Why?"
Rei doesn't turn back.
"Because not everyone can be saved."
