He didn't let me sleep more than a couple of hours before he was waking me for dinner. It felt strange to eat pizza on expensive plates in his fancy dining room, but the conversation was light and easy and I let myself forget all of the bad things again... just for a little while.

Afterward, we moved to the living room to watch tv and I had to fight every urge to cuddle up against him. He was so close, just a foot away... it would have been so easy, but I didn't. I was saved from my misery when Scott went to grab my medicine and came back to find his spot firmly taken by Arty who had sprawled out along the length of the couch, head in my lap.

Scott just laughed and shook his head. "I see how it is."

"He loves me."

"I can see that." He chuckled as he handed me my medication and a cold bottle of water.

"Traitor," he aimed at the content pup lazing in my lap before getting comfortable in a huge recliner nearby.

I ingested my drug cocktail and settled back to watch whatever was playing on the tv, fingers buried in soft, warm fur.

Neither of us said a word for a long time, but it wasn't awkward, it was comforting. It's strange that I could have done the same exact thing without him being there, but it wouldn't have felt the same. Just his presence made everything different... and once I realized it, I disappeared into my thoughts to over think everything again.

He'd done so much for me, far more than any sane person would or should. He'd welcomed me into his life, his home, without question. Me... an admitted thief..

Why did he enjoy spending time with someone who had zero interesting stories to tell?

How many times could I drown under the same questions circling like a never ending carousel of doubt.

"Ready to go to bed, Arty?" The dog was smart, and he immediately hopped up to go sit at the entrance of the hallway to wait for me. "I swear he understands English."

"And some french."

"Way to be smarter than me." I pouted at Art who just calmly wagged his tail.

"Need help?" Scott asked when I began to struggle to my feet.

"I got it." I didn't, but be damned if I was going to make him get up just to help me get off of a couch. I could deal with the pain. We got there eventually, if just a little slower than usual.

"Night. If you need anything please let me know. And..." he chewed on his lip, obviously wanting to say something he wasn't sure I'd react happily to.

"And?"

"Please don't run away."

Damn. Those words and those puppy dog eyes nearly knocked me over with the weight of them. I wasn't sure I'd ever understand him and why he'd ever care so much about a man who didn't even remotely deserve it, but I was beginning to get used to his strange benevolence.

"I don't think I'm up for much running. Besides, I'm pretty sure your fancy security system would definitely let you know the moment I opened the door."

His face scrunched in a bit. "You're not a prisoner. The code is 76010 if you really want to disable it."

I literally face palmed. The idiot had no sense of self preservation. "Scott, you don't tell a thief your security codes!"

"You're not going to steal anything."

"You don't know that!"

"I do. I can tell. I trust you."

Fück.

Fück him and his blind trust.

"I won't leave. I promised I'd stay until my stitches were out and I will... unless you kick me out ...which could happen."

He laughed a little, expression softening as my words eased his worry. "Go to bed, Sullivan. Get some rest."

......

I tried to sleep.. I really did. It should have been easy. The sheets felt like heaven on my freshly showered skin, and the mattress cradled my sore body like a cloud. I was tired, but my mind refused to power down, so I just stared at the ceiling while listening to Arty's steady breathing and thinking of Scott.

That man was too perfect for accurate description, and yet so brilliantly flawed I could scarcely wrap my head around it. He acted with his heart, and I worried for him. People like that get taken advantage of far too easily and it was just a matter of time before he'd end up used and tossed aside. It was only a matter of time before someone doused that blinding light inside of him, and I didn't want it to be me.

I couldn't be the one to tear him apart.

It was just passing 1am when I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders, slid into the furry slippers by the bed and shuffled out of 'my' room. I intended to head towards his bedroom, but there was a light from the opposite end of the hallway so I headed back towards the living room. I found him laid out on the couch, glasses perched on his nose as he read a book by the light of the fire flickering in the hearth and the twinkling lights from the beautiful Christmas tree. I stood there staring, lost in the beautiful memory of my dreams from the night I'd first laid eyes on him. I quickly shook it off. It definitely wasn't the time to let my emotions get the best of me. I shifted my weight a little, trying to think of words to break the silence, but he noticed me before I could sort what I wanted to say.

"Hey, everything ok?" He sat up, the blanket he'd been curled under sliding into a pile at his waist.

"My name's not Sullivan." That wasn't what I had initially intended to say, but at least it was a start.

He didn't look overly surprised and just tilted his head a bit. I took a few steps closer, hugging my blanket cape tighter around me. He'd trusted me and I knew it was time I started trusting him.

"It's Mitch. My real name is Mitch Grassi."

"Mitch."

I nodded and waited for a reaction. I'd been so sure he would be angry, but he actually smiled. I should have realized nothing about this man made any sense.

"Couldn't sleep?"

I shook my head, still a bit raw from my confession, but mostly relieved. "Can we talk?"

He closed his book and set it on the end table and made room for me on the couch next to him. I abandoned my blanket to join him under his, cuddling as close as I dared. He didn't seem to know how to react to this and it took him awhile before he finally settled his arm on the couch behind me. It wasn't the easiest position on my injuries, but it was still warm and exactly where I wanted to be. I needed something to keep me grounded while I searched for the courage to offer pieces of myself that hadn't seen the light of day in a very long time.

"There isn't much to know about me. My parents were killed in a car accident when I was younger and none of my other family were able to take me in. Most of my fosters were awful, but the ones that weren't ... decided they didn't really want me after awhile so... Eventually the bad outweighed the good... by a lot. So I ran. That's how I ended up on the streets. It's not always bad. I've got myself a system. You see, I make deals with people, trade stolen stuff in exchange for food or a shower or a haircut, but I don't steal for fun. I know it's a shitty thing to do, but ... I won't steal from you. I swear I won't."

"I know."

"But you don't. You ... don't know me and you don't know what i'm capable of. You have no idea what I may have already done!!! I could say anything and then do the opposite. How can you know?"

His smile faded but his arm slid from the back of the couch cushion to rest gently on my shoulders. "Because I'm very familiar with people who want something from me. I deal with them all the time. It's just part of my life. I can recognize the difference between someone looking at me... and someone looking at what I can give them. I'm not naive, S- .. Mitch. I know how the world works. I know greed when I see it and you ... you're different. You're so different."

I shifted to angle more towards him, ignoring the aches and pains that protested the new position. "I don't know if I am or not."

"I knew it from the moment we met. When you have the kind of money and influence that I do, you learn to read people. You have to to protect yourself. I've seen plenty of villains... and you are not one of them."

It was the first time I'd really seen true loneliness behind his eyes. The man I'd so closely associated to sunshine and light had known his own darkness and still he let me in. I wanted to ask about that darkness, but I didn't want to be anymore intrusive than I already was.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your reading."

"Don't apologize. I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me the truth."

"I'm sorry I lied."

"Don't be. I know why you did."

I didn't know what to say and the silence stretched out between us. Minutes passed and I let my head fall to his shoulder. I expected him to move away, but he didn't. Eventually he went back to reading, and I watched the shadows on the wall created by the fire. I've never been very good with words, and it took some time before I could force them out. "I know you want to help me and.. I know you said you don't want me to think I have to pay you back, but... I feel like ... if I don't that-"

"No, you-"

"Wait. Just listen, ok? Please. I don't know if I can say it again." I barely paused to let him agree and then I barreled on. "I don't want to take advantage of you. I know you say I'm not, but it feels like I am. I know I should leave and let you get on with your life, but... I also know that if I left it would hurt you... and.. it would hurt me too. I'm trying to understand you and your heart and your kindness, but I'm not- I mean... " words began to fail me again and frustration built in my already too full chest. "I don't know if I know how to be a normal person anymore.. And you.. You don't make sense to me. I don't even make sense to me right now. I just... " I blinked away the tears I hadn't known were falling. "I guess I just ... want to say thank you. I know it's not enough but... I don't have anything else to give."

I wanted to look up at him, but I couldn't so I just looked at the blanket.

He paused before responding, probably making sure it was ok to speak. "You owe me nothing and you can't take advantage of someone who is more than willing to help. You're going to be ok. I promise."

I looked then, unable to stop myself. He was so close, beautiful and angled and ... perfect. I wanted to kiss him... the urge pressed in on me from all sides. I almost lost my grip on the fear holding me back... but then he smiled and whispered.. "Merry Christmas Eve, Mitch"

"Is Christmas Eve actually a holiday?" I laughed a little.

"It is in this house. You're going to love it."

That's what I was afraid of. "Merry Christmas Eve, Scott."

He smiled and rubbed at my arm as he went back to his book.