Matteo

It's tough to be a god

There was something almost cathartic in the very act of removing those tainted blood stains from his sons skin. Matteo, in that moment, wholly dedicated to the task even as that heated water soaked through his clothing until it clung almost uncomfortably to his skin and his hair became equally sodden beneath that warm spray. How sorry a sight the pair of them might surely have made in that moment. Yet, for the opinions of others tonight the Frenchman found he cared strikingly little as his hand firmly, but gently, gripped at Aiden's wrist to hold the man's arm out and allow that sponge to begin wiping away that blood and grime until Aiden's own caramel-hued skin showed through once more. Each run of that sponge was methodical and meticulous. Matteo refusing to miss even a single place upon his sons torso or arms or hands or neck or back. As if he might somehow wash away every taint of....evil that vile woman had left. If only it was so simple as that. If only the world would allow it. If only love was enough to protect Aiden entirely. He should have done more. Tonight so surely as much his own fault as anyone else's. If only he had seen the truth of those visions in time...... The water that pooled in the base of that shower quickly began to change colour. That unappealing reddish brown hue prompting the faintest of frowns from the Frenchman. He had surely seen that very colour far, far to many times within his life and yet no matter how many times he did he so surely...felt something all the same. After how many battles with Alexander had that very colour run from his own skin in the river waters? To many, surely. The softest of sighs was gently exhaled from his lips. Matteo casting such thoughts aside for now as he continued to work the last of that blood from his sons hands and fingers. Aiden made no effort to protest and yet- how readily Matteo might have welcomed that very protest if only for that spark of life within the boy once more. Aiden no more than a mere shell in that moment.

It was only once that top half of the other man was thoroughly clean that Matteo so gently released his hold upon him, that sponge pressed into Aiden's hand now with that simple, clear instructions that he take care of what little remained on the lower half of his body. Whether or not Aiden would prove capable of following even those simple instructions so surely remained to be seen and yet, for tonight, the near ancient Fae saw little need to push. What little sanity so remained within the confines of Aiden's thoughts so hardly needed to be pressured in any sense. Not when it still struggled so desperately from that shock imposed upon it. Aiden, tonight, capable of strikingly little. Each wholly despondent look from his son was a veritable dagger to his own heart and yet the Frenchman so refused to allow but even a glimpse of that distress to show upn his own features. Not here. Not now. Aiden's renewed efforts with that sponge so at last prompted Matteo to step from within the depths of that shower. His own sodden form dripping readily onto the tiles. Ah, but surely he should have taken off his shoes! How readily they sloshed with near every step! Matteo reached for the nearest towel then. The Frenchman making every effort to dry himself as best as he was able before progressing into the depths of Aiden's room in pursuit of those pajamas. His efforts so at last turning up a pair of long cotton pants and clean, loose t-shirt. Those very articles of clothing had no sooner been laid out upon the bed then the sound of that water shutting off so prompted the Fae to return to the bathroom. Aiden so finally having managed to either wash himself.....or despondently stand long enough to see what little of that blood that remained wash clean of its own accord.

Matteo reached easily for a second towel then only to press it gently into his sons hands as Aiden stepped from the cubicle. The Were making at least some effort to dry himself as Matteo afforded him those further simple, clear instructions. Tobias, after all, had surely waited long enough. The lanky boy, he knew, near desperate to see his beloved companion. Matteo assured that very reunion was near critical for both men before he stole Aiden away and back to France to recover. Though how much of Aiden might remain to be recovered he so hardly knew. The Frenchman strode easily from that room then, his shoes content to continue to squelch with every sodden step. Matteo, for the briefest of moments pausing outside the bedroom. His exhausted figure lent heavily back agianst the wall beside the door. Those emotions seeming to all but sear through his figure all over again with a renewed potency even despite this own exhaustion. That anger at her, at the woman whom had so badly hurt that being he so desperately loved was near all consuming- and dangerously so. How many times had he picked Aiden up to piece him back together only to have him broken all over again? For how long did those stitches of love and care and compassion and hope ever truly hold? How many more times could Aiden break before he became irreparable? How desperately cruel the world was inclined to be. Those tears of frustration so threatened to prick at his own eyes. His efforts to blink them back near stinging. Later. There would be time for all such things later. Aiden so surely needing him still now. His own tired figure pressed away from the wall then. Matteo gathering himself within but a matter of moments as he stepped into the room that rested agianst Aiden's own- his gaze readily finding Tobias even within the gloom. The lanky deviant already up and waiting. The boy so seeming to possess a near sixth sense when it came to Aiden.

His very efforts to explain his plan to take Aiden on 'holiday' so hardly seemed to please the younger man. Tobias, for all his obscurity, so appeared to be a distinctly harsh judge of anything and everything that surrounded his beloved best friend. The younger man wholly reluctant to give Aiden up for any length of time. The very strength of that sentiment so prompting that faint simper to the Frenchman features. For all the disdain within the world, for all the hate and anger and grief- that the world had given Tobias to Aiden and vice versa seemed at least one kindness. For all the curious man's shortcomings his loyalty as a friend could hardly be questioned. Matteo inclined to consider, and not for the first time, that his son was truly fortunate to have such a friend as that. It was only once Charles The Dog had been collected that Tobias seemed satisfied to hurry to his Alpha's side. Matteo merely stepping aside to allow the deviant to pass before moving to follow behind him as they made their way back to Aiden's room. Any efforts he might have made to warn the younger man to be gentle were all but lost in the wake of his delight. Tobias proceeding to launch himself across the room and into his exhausted companion. The sight of Tobias, so at last, seeming to bring some glimmer of emotion to Aiden's features once more. Matteo daring to hope for even a moment that something of his son might yet still be salvaged.

Aiden's arms lifted to wrap around his companion as both men tumbled into those sheets. Tobias equally quick to return that hug with a fierce, genuine affection of his own as the Frenchman remained within the doorway. Matteo so hardly desiring to interrupt that reunion. Tobias seemed to cling near desperately to Aiden for those few moments, both men seeming to relish in that simple presence of one another before Tobias pulled gently backward with those garbled words upon his lips as he saw fit to blame Matteo for not allowing him into the depths of Syn to rescue Aiden as he had been determined to do. That soft, singular sniffle from Aiden seemed to prompt a near curious head tilt from the shaggy haired man and yet Tobias commented little upon it. Whether or not he truly understood the depths of those emotions Matteo hardly knew and yet, he suspected, Tobias understood far more then any so ever believed of him. Aiden's hand settled easily upon Tobias' neck then, that singular touch seeming to delight the boy before his own forehead bumped softly back agianst Aiden's in that shared, decidedly feline affection, so rare for either to display so openly. Aiden's softly murmured words prompted a momentary look of indecision to Tobias' own youthful features. The younger man seeming to debate that very promise for several moments before at last offering a reluctant nod of his head.

"I promise"

A promise made to Aiden, he suspected, was something the boy was inclined to keep even if it seemed to displease him to do so. Matteo's gaze shifted gently then to meet his sons own then as Aiden pulled gently back from Tobias once more. That softly uttered thank you coaxing that simper to his own lips. Matteo offering that gentle nod of his own head in simple recognition of those sincere words he knew his son truly meant. Later, perhaps, they would talk more of tonight. When that exhaustion did not weigh on them both so heavily.

"Tobias, Mon Amie, do you want to give Aidun your....er....gift before we leave?"

Tobias' gaze shifted readily from Matteo then and back to that beloved white dog within his hand that Aiden had given him so long ago. Its little pink bow drooping within its matted white fur from the hours upon hours of adoration it had received. That little dog was proudly held toward Aiden then, Tobias waiting only so long as it took his best friend to take that dog into his own hands before grinning. Those fractured words resounding within that quiet room once more.

"Charles is.....for Tetra to......borrow on.....holiday to.....protect you."

Tobias' head nodded readily then, the boy seemingly assured of the toys ability to watch over his companion within his own absence. His own figure shifting then to sit beside Aiden upon the bed as Matteo moved to wander towards them now. The Frenchman so having given Aiden little indication of his intentions so far. Indeed, he hardly intended to afford his son any true chance to argue about that 'holiday'. Not when it had become so readily clear that Aiden could not, for now, be trusted to care for himself.

"Thank you, Tobias. I will bring you to visit Aidun in a few does, if you like. Until then, I think it is so you need to look after the pack for him, can you do this?"

That firm, resolute nod from the younger man so prompted that simper to Matteo's lips but a final time. Tobias, surely, capable of watching over that pack for a time as Matteo's hand so abruptly reached out for Aiden's arm. His own affinity was summoned that final time. That teleportation ensnaring both Aiden and himself, along with that toy dog and blanket. The pair appearing but moments later within the warmth, quiet depths of Aiden's room within his own chateau. Little save for the sound of the fireplace and those crackling logs as they burned permeating the comforting dark of that space as Matteo so gently released Aiden's arm before gesturing toward that very bed. His own words wholly soft then.

"You can argue with me about bringing you home all you want, but I will not take you back to the Ark tonight and I do not think, Mon Fils, that you have the energy to argue very much so do not waste your efforts. Go to bed, Aidun. She cannot find you here and she cannot find your dreams either. This I know."

How desperately he so surely needed that uninterrupted, dreamless sleep. Matteo suspecting that Aiden did not, indeed, possess any of that strength needed to argue with him tonight nor teleport himself back to the Ark. None of those immediate futures so offered any indication of Risque's intent to target that pack and yet Matteo was content to keep an eye upon it all the same. Alexander, surely, could be rarely to defend that pack if need be at a moments notice and yet, for now, the world so surely had but a few days of peace to offer them all. Days Matteo was ill inclined to waste. His arm lifted easily then to wrap about the other man, Aiden drawn to him a final time if only to reassure himself of his sons current state of living. That gentle hug lasting for but a moment before Matteo stepped back from him once more only to gesture to that chair by the fireplace.

"I will be just here. I have some work to do and I do not think it would be so bad if I were to dry my clothing a little, no? Goodnight, Aidun."

There was so hardly any work to be done tonight and yet how readily Aiden might have disapproved his sitting within that room to merely watch over him. Matteo so offering that weakened excuse as he waited only so long as it took Aiden to collapse into that bed and bury himself beneath those blankets. The Frenchman moving to collapse into that armchair by that fire and near the foot of the bed. That fire glow near ethereal in the dark of the room. Its warmth entirely welcome agianst his own sooden clothing. Matteo readily working to remove his shoes before leaning back into the comfort of that chair. His gaze shifted several times from those flickering, dancing flames to glance back and toward that bed. Aiden's breathing so hardly taking long to find that easy rhythm of sleep. The boys exhaustion so surely hardly allowing for anything else. It would take....days...weeks even....for that recovery. If it came at all. Matteo, in that moment, so allowing his thoughts to stray to several places they surely should not as his gaze lingered upon those flames. The sound of Gregory at that bedroom door some time later a near welcomed distraction. His manservant quietly entering that room to offer him that cup of tea. The warlocks words barely above a whisper.

How is the young Master?
"He is alive, by some miracle."
It was that bad?
"Oui. This time, it was. I......came so close to losing him tonight, Gregory. So close. Do you wish to know the truth?"
If you should care to tell it to me, Sir.
"I have lived so long and seen so many die, but tonight, Aidun nearly died in my arms. I have not been so afraid as that since Isabella. I have not felt ...what I felt tonight since her and I think, Mon Amie, that if the truth is to be told, that fear of losing him was worse than even the night I lost her. I love my children more than I loved my own soulmate. I have not known fear like that in a long time."
There is no shame in that, Sir. I am a Father too. There is no love like that. It is greater than anything. It is everything.
"I might still have lost him. He is so ...so very broken and it kills me that I cannot take that pain away for him. There is nothing I would not do for him, or Dorian. I do not know if I can fix this."
I do not know either Sir, but if I may say so, I have only met the young Master Aiden a few times and he seems a decidedly stubborn being to me- and enough like yourself that I do not think he will give up so readily. Time heals so many things. Forgive me too Sir- but you look terrible and your shoes are leaving wet patches on the carpet
"Thank you, Gregory. Your words are charming as always, Mon Amie. It has been a very long night."
Shall I prepare your room for you?
"No, I'll stay here for a while longer, though I don't expect him to wake up until at least midday tomorrow."
Though it is of great inconvenience to me I can sit with him for a time if your Lordship requires sleep.
"It would almost appear that you care, Gregory."
Occasionally it slips through, Sir. I will come back in an hour
"Thank you."

Matteo reached easily to take that tea then, that heated liquid lifted to his lips a welcomed taste. The Frenchman unable to remember when he'd last paused in those past few tumultuous hours to eat or drink. A soft sigh left his lips, his gaze shifted from the fire to Aiden and back again. Matteo so finally ...content, on some level, to have his son safe at last.