Open Your Heart

Chapter 21

Looking down at the warmth beside him, Henroin smiled. Char was cuddled up against him with his head resting on his chest. A quick examination of his lover showed a few obvious things, like how he'd cut his hair and was wearing contacts that hid his beautiful eyes from view. However, it also showed a few other things as well, like how the wound on his head was healing well, and the bruises had faded to a light, yellow-ish green that was barely noticeable on the deathstalker's sunny skin. Clearly, his lover had been trying to take care of himself while away, which eased some of Henroin's anxiety.

The car pulled to a stop and Char sat up to move. They'd stopped at his hotel to get his things and check him out, like he'd asked. Snapping, he motioned for Orco to follow the deathstalker, to make it easier and ensure his safety, which the birdeater immediately obeyed. "I'll be right back." Nodding, he watched as the two went inside the building. There was a moment of silence in the car that he felt would drown him if it lasted too long.

"So, are we gonna talk about what was going on back there?" Glancing at his son, Henroin wished he would have mentioned anything but that.

"What was going on?" Pentious looked between the two curiously and Arackniss gave the serpent a tight smile.

"My father apparently doesn't care about public etiquette anymore." Henroin rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh.

"Oh please. Down here, who gives a damn about public etiquette anyways?" Glaring at his son, he started to notice certain things about the spider he hadn't been paying attention to. Like how he could very clearly see the confusion and anger the man felt splashed across his face.

"Papa, you were practically fucking him in an alley! Maybe not public etiquette but at least some sanitation. And seriously? It takes you three seconds of talking before you're jumping into his pants?" Henroin scoffed.

"We were not talking for three seconds, I promise you. And I wasn't jumping into his pants we were just... making out." He waved a hand at his son, who laughed in his disbelief.

"Making out? Making out?" The spider turned to the snake and crossed both sets of arms. "Have you ever heard of someone simply "making out" while holding one party against a wall?" Pentious looked a bit shocked at the question, slightly shaking his head before looking sheepishly at Henroin. "See? He's been dead longer than any of us, and he's never heard of it. So, you weren't making out."

"Al, what I do with Char is none of your god damned business, alright?" Arackniss scoffed again.

"It is if you're doing it in a public space that I walk into." Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and told himself to relax.

"You wouldn't understand Al."

"Wouldn't understand what? The blatant disregard for social boundaries?" Dragging his hands over his face, Henroin sighed.

"You wouldn't understand the need. You have never felt this way." Looking back at his son, he saw him shaking his head, his mouth open to speak, but there were no words. Finally, Arackniss huffed.

"How would you know what I've felt?" Looking at his son in confusion, his eldest looked to the window of the vehicle. "You never cared to ask in life, or now, so how could you possibly know how I feel?" Something about the mumbled words had his stomach doing flips.

"You never even tried to tell me?" Arackniss shook his head and snorted.

"What makes you think I would? After everything with Tony-"

"I learned my lesson with that, Alessandro." Arackniss threw up his hands.

"Sure, now you did. But for the last, what? Eighty years? It's been nothing but a terror in this family." Looking to Pentious, Henroin sighed.