TAMED

The Call

Ares grumbled as the three of them came upon the apartment complex they'd been living at for a while now. He looked back at the festival which was tapering away the later it got. He stopped and took a moment to look around. The chilly breeze caressed his cheeks uncomfortaly as it blew about. Armani rested a hand on his shoulder as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the house key.

"Come on, let's get you inside." He instructed quietly as Vince continued on up the stairs, expecting them to follow. Now that they were almost home, he felt the night dragging on. It was a fun time, but he was ready to hit the sack.

Ares growled lowly, he didn't want to go inside. He wanted to continue the evening. Something about the events of the night made him...feel. He didn't know what the feeling was, but, he didn't want it to go away. Like a warm blanket had been draped over his icy cold heart. The togetherness, the laughter, the sweets, the music, the snow...even the sweaters...he didn't want it to end.

"Ares..." Levi urged gently but with just a hint of sternness. The boy stiffened, he loved the feelings he'd felt during the parade, and he just...he was afraid to lose it. He turned to look at Levi and gave him a bit of a concerned expression. Levi raised a brow in curiosity.

"What is it?" The man wondered as he contemplated connecting the leash to the boys collar, just so that he could more easily get him inside. "I see. You don't want to be done. Well, the good news is that it isn't quite Christmas yet. This celebration is just to bring in the season."He paused, putting on a friendly smile and ruffling the boys hair. "There will be many more nights like this one. You just have to be patient. For now, you need to get to bed, you're sick."

Ares brows furrowed together as he thought about his handlers words. Sick? He wasn't sick. He didn't get sick. So there's that.

"I'm not sick." He argued mildly, a rather childish pout finding it's way to his lips, yet a determined air remained.

Levi sighed. "Do we need the leash? I can use it if you want."

The suggestion irritated Ares. The Hound project had specifically trained them to ignore sickness or any kind of medical symptom, they needed to push through any hurdle they came across. It didn't matter if that meant a severed leg, or a simple cold. It didn't matter, and was to be ignored in order to finish the mission.

"I'm fine. I..." He paused, finding the words he so rarely used. "I wan't to...I want...more."

Though he understood the language perfectly, speaking it was another story. He had only just begun to come out of his shell and speak more, which was a great improvement, but sometimes it took him longer to collect the proper words he needed. Vince grew impatient and so shouted down the stairs.

"I'm cold! Let's go inside."He complained, a bit of a shiver in his tone. "What are you guys even doing?"

Ares shook the hand off his shoulder.

"Come on kid, no fits tonight, okay? Let's just go inside and get you settled down." Levi suggested as he pulled the leash from his pocket. Sometimes, despite generally using it as a consequence, it did help. Ares gave no fuss when the man clipped the tool to the loop on his collar and gently gave it a tug. The motion brought the Hound to a more calm state, and helped him to accept that they were going inside now.

....

Once inside, the family quickly shed their winter gear and hung it up to dry. Ares walked up to the living room window and peered out, gazing over the darkening city. People were heading in, it was just too cold and too late now.

"Ares, come on. Time fore bed." Levi said as he put on a pot of coffee for himself.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower, I'll be quick so that you can have him take one too. The hot moisture should help." Vince informed as he made his way into the bathroom. He had come to trust Levi, and so wasn't worried about him and Ares in the slightest. All he wanted was to get in the shower and then snuggle up with his pillow. It didn't help that he had a bit of a headache. One too many drinks and he just wanted to rest.