Del's entire body was humming with energy as he watched Mina tug on a pair of shorts one of the lion shifters had brought him before retreating back inside. He had no doubt that they were watching their interaction, but he didn't care. 

"Come back with me." He said as Mina straightened up and hid a yawn behind one hand. His eyes were fixed on Del's, narrowed with distrust. 

He couldn't blame him, but he hadn't sent Magnus, then come himself, to try and hurt him for once. 

"Why are you really here, Del? Haven't you tormented me enough?" Mina said as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

He was clearly trying to look upset, but he couldn't hide the lust in his eyes. The guy didn't want him to leave, but he also didn't want to want him, either. 

Shaking his head, Del dropped down into a white plastic lawn chair and crossed one of his legs over the other. "You're putting way too much thought into this. I'm just offering you a chance to get exactly what you, or at least what your kitten, wants. No strings and we both go our separate ways when we're done." He said.

He really wanted to just coax the guy's kitten self into his arms, but after spraying the thing down with cold water the other day, he wasn't too sure if it would really push so hard for him anymore. 

Mina licked his lips and stifled another yawn before taking a single step closer, putting him near Del's knees. The lust hadn't vanished from his eyes, but the hesitance that had always been there around him had grown. 

"I don't think that this will work." He finally said, making Del's heart actually stumble a little in his chest as he gripped the crappy plastic armrest of the chair he sat in to keep himself from getting up. 

 Waiting a few moments until he'd managed to cool himself down, Del forced a slight smile and replied. "What makes you think that? It's as simple as using each other for what we both want." 

The guy in front of him took a step back, then sat down on the concrete surrounding the pool. 

"My lion isn't as obsessed with you now since you sprayed him with cold water. I guess I should thank you for that, at least. I'm going to a bar later and hopefully I'll find myself someone who actually wants to get to know me for more than just sex." He said. 

Unable to control himself, Del bared his teeth on a growl before shaking his head abruptly and running a hand down his face. 

"No." He rasped out as he glared down at Mina.   

When he just got a sad smile from the man, he felt his anger deflate a little and he leaned back, his jaw clenching and unclenching. 

"So you're saying that you're just going to find some guy at a bar to screw your brains out until your satisfied every time your lion gets horny?" He asked, not caring if it sounded rude. 

Mina shrugged his shoulders and nodded, meeting Del's eyes without fear. 

"Yes. I have no reason to trust you with anything. You are a murderer and a terrible human being. Why would I want you anywhere near me, let alone want you to touch me that way?" He asked. 

Not being used to being told no, Del closed his eyes and pressed fingers to his forehead on a sigh. His left hand easily snapped the crappy plastic arm of the chair he was sitting in, a piece of it cutting his palm, though he didn't seem to care as he tossed it away. 

"What do you want me to say, Mina? I am a killer. I always have been. I grew up with nothing that I haven't had to take by force. Now I make millions from it, and I don't plan to change." He said, not wanting to lie when Mina already knew. 

When Mina didn't respond, Del opened his eyes to look at him, only for his lips to part slightly in surprise. His whole body itched to move forward and wrap his arms around Mina's crying form. To tell him that he would try to change. To lie. 

 "Why couldn't you be anyone else?" Mina finally said, making Del's already pained chest ache harder. 

He watched the boy stand up on shaky legs, his expression a mixture of anger and sadness. 

Standing, Del wiped his bleeding hand on his pants and took a step forward. "Sorry to disappoint, but if you don't like what you see, then how about you stop hunting me down, then? Everything I have now I got because I worked my ass off to get it. I got my hands dirty and did what I had to do in order to survive. To thrive." He growled as he moved closer, stabbing a finger at Mina's chest enough to make him take a step back. 

"What do you have, Mina? You shut out your parents considering the background check I did on you. You do your dammest to keep everyone away even though you are five cents away from being broke. If your uncles decided that they didn't want to deal with you, you'd be on the street right now!" He roared, realizing that he was going overboard seconds after he'd finished yelling. 

He stammered for a moment before managing to find words again. "Mina, I didn't..." 

"Yes you did." He hiccuped. 

Shit. God dammit. You idiot!

"I was planning to leave soon, anyways." Mina whispered as he walked over to the fence and easily scaled it, disappearing onto the other side before Del ran over. 

He was just about to hop it, too, when he felt someone grab his ankle as he went up, only to yank him back down hard. 

"Leave him alone." One of the lion shifters said as he took a step back, stopping beside his obvious brother. 

"You don't understand him and stepped way out of line saying those things. Mina has had his own struggles and is trying to better himself the way he knows how. He turned you down, so that's the end of it. Do not approach him again. If his shift finds you, call us and we will come get him immediately, day or night." 

The other lion beside him stepped forward after that. "Leave. We gave you your shot, and you blew it." 

For once, Del didn't feel like arguing or fighting back. He followed the lions through the house with his father on his heels. The second he was out the front door it slammed shut behind him. 

Dammit all.  

The situation earlier had a headache raging behind Jared's eyes as he leaned back in one of the recliners they had in the living room. He'd been against having Mina stay with them for more than a few days because, quite honestly, the house was full enough and he had parents who would have loved for him to come home. 

He could understand, however, why he had decided against going back. He'd explained it to them a bit ago, and it had hurt to listen. Mina had always felt conflicted about being around other people. He could handle it for short amounts of time, but then he just got so uncomfortable and had to leave. He often ran away as a child for hours randomly, and sometimes even days. 

The guy's cheetah half has been taking over his life long before it made itself known. It just wants to be a loner, yet Mina desperately wants someone around him and he was sure his lion half also pushed him to seek out people. 

Feeling a brush of thought against his own, Jared relaxed and closed his eyes right before he heard Knight walk in. He had the sound of the man's footsteps memorized, and soon his faint woodsy scent drifted to his nose as he slowly approached. 

His thoughts jumbled up a bit, likely second guessing himself. Jared fought to keep the edges of his lips from tipping up slightly. He wouldn't push into Knight's thoughts and give away that he was still awake. 

The guy had been a lot less pushy recently, allowing him to finally relax around him a little bit. Of course, he still locked his door at night if he was being annoying or handsy. 

After a few quiet moments Jared felt one of the blankets they left out for Mina to use when he slept on the sofa settle over him. He hadn't planned on actually taking a nap, but the next time he opened his eyes all of the lights except for a small lamp in the corner were out and it was pitch black outside. 

Wow, that was quite an impromptu nap. He did feel much better, though. 

Stretching his arms over his head, Jared yawned, then looked around. Everyone seemed to have gone to bed until his eyes landed on a mop of soft brown hair on the armrest of the sofa they had pushed up against the recliner. 

You punk. 

Jared reached over and gently ran his fingers through Knight's hair. He could sense that he was really asleep because his thoughts were very unfocused and blurry. 

Curious, Jared closed his eyes and nudged at Knight's mind. He had a feeling he'd know exactly what kind of dream the guy was probably having and just wanted to check, but when he finally began seeing brief images of what he was thinking about right then, Jared quickly backed out of his thoughts and jerked his eyes open. 

You can't be serious. 

Shaking his head slowly, he leaned back into the recliner and sighed, his eyes glancing sideways at Knight. What the hell was that, you idiot? 

He'd expected a literal porno, like those few times he'd risked looking into his thoughts while he was dreaming years ago... but what he saw was definitely not what he'd expected. 

"You really want something so simple?" He whispered as he reached over and brushed the back of his fingers against Knight's cheek. 

When the guy just sighed in his sleep and nuzzled against the armrest of the sofa, Jared rolled his eyes and stood up. He walked over to the one light that was still on and switched it off. 

As he waited for his eyes to finish adjusting to the darkness, Jared turned back to see Knight stretch a tiny bit, then snuggle into the sofa more. 

I guess Mina isn't coming home tonight.

Walking forward, he headed for the stairs, but paused near the recliner and glanced back down at Knight. He was so much easier to deal with when he was out cold. 

Jared's mind drifted to what he had seen in Knight's dream and he pursed his lips. He's been behaving... surely he won't overthink it. 

Yawning, Jared decided to just stop overthinking things and walked forward. He carefully climbed over Knight and dropped down into the space behind him on the sofa. Almost immediately he felt Knight snuggle back against him, making him still abruptly until he started hearing quiet snores from the guy. 

Geez. Chill out. He's asleep and he knows not to mess with me when he's awake. He told himself as he got himself as comfortable as he could. He began drifting in and out of sleep as time went out, eventually completely passing out an hour or so later.

At some point during the night his arms found their way around Knight's form, the action simply just so that he would be more comfortable in such close quarters on the suddenly too-small sofa.