Damned was the thought of being shamed for his attention to detail. He was going to embrace it. That coming on too strong thing was definitely resurfacing as he found that further scans showed exhaustion levels that matched the dark rims under his eyes.
Connor held his tongue on that one. It would be hypocritical so scold someone for unhealthy sleep patterns when he himself hadn’t properly charged in almost a week, though he did wonder if Gavin avoided sleep for the same reason Connor did, or were nightmares in humans really something they usually outgrew?
But he did find himself making comments about Gavin’s choice of comfort in the form of smoking. Didn’t he know that caused cancer? Not to mention the way the smell clung to his clothes and hands.
But he’d already made plans to come on strong once more when they were alone, and he wasn’t going to let something like that deter him. The want to do so only grew when he noticed how fascinating it was that anytime Gavin let his hardened and cruel exterior slip for a second too long, Connor could glimpse something underneath. Of course, the exterior would then build back up seemingly twice as strong. That only meant it’d be more satisfying when he finally knocked it down again, and this time he was determined to study what was underneath long enough to burn it into his memory –just in case he never saw it again.
His private assessment he’d gotten from several previous scans, that Gavin had a cat, turned out to be true. Connor took off his jacket and was just letting his core temperature adjust to the heat of the apartment when he looked over to see a grey-striped head poke out from the hallway. He locked eyes with the animal for a long moment, but his want to pet it did not outweigh his want for something else.
Connor waited until Gavin sat down before finally managing the courage to straddle his lap. This had been so easy to preconstruct and tell himself he’d do it on the way here, but actually doing it required an extra jolt of bravery he was almost unsure that he even had until he did it.
From this close, Connor could the same smoke he’d chided Gavin about earlier, as well as see him so much closer. The darkness of his eyes and the stubble on his face were details Connor was already saving. He didn’t seem bothered at all, but Connor was much less opaque. Surely Gavin noticed the way a thin shade of blue was spreading across his face at the touch to his hip. He could also probably feel the beating of his thirium pump with how hard it was pounding within the plastic casing of his chest.
“Well, he won’t mind sharing for just a little while, right?” Connor gently placed his hands on either side of Gavin’s jaw, his thumbs tracing up over his skin and taking in the rough texture of his stubble. “I mean, I could move, but no other spot would be as good.”
