Waking up alone actually felt... well, lonely. Rolland had expected both brothers to be snuggled up against him, Bryce's back touching his, and Dart's arms around his waist, yet they were both gone. The slight sensation of pressure against his back and waist told me that they had at least left recently. That brought a small smile to his face as he pushed himself up and yawned.

"Mmm."

Dyce had his head on Rolland's bed, eyes going full-on puppy.

"Oh man, I'm sorry I forgot to take you out last night."

Glancing around the room, he sighed with relief when there was no indication he'd gone on the floor.

"You are the best dog ever. Let's go for a walk."

Dyce made a barking motion, and Rolland grinned as he hopped out of bed and quickly changed clothes, then put Dyce's leash on. Normally he took the service jacket off at night, but again, he had totally blanked when he had gotten home from the bowling alley with Dartanian and Bryce. He flushed at the memory of falling asleep, his neck was even tingling a little still.

Shaking his head, he slipped on his shoes and ran out the door. Dyce had gained a few pounds, and well, Rolland didn't mind the exercise, so they ran for a good mile before he had to drag Dyce back toward the dorms. A few people had checked out the dog's jacket, then Rolland, probably wondering what was wrong, but he was pretty good at ignoring that stuff now. In fact, he just smiled and waved as they jogged or walked by.

Once they were back in the building, Dyce regained a bit of composure, mostly because of the air-conditioning. Thankfully there was an elevator, because even with the temperature decrease, Rolland still didn't think Dyce would make it more than a step or two up the stairs. When they got back to his room, he was surprised, again, to see that the twins weren't there.

I guess I just got used to them again.

Well, since he had his day to himself until six, he decided to get everything unpacked and set up where it needed to be because living out of a suitcase just wasn't his style. Before he started taking things out, though, he ran to his suitcase and pulled out a roll of paper towels. They were mainly there in case Dyce had an accident, but he tore one off and wet it so he could wipe down any dust that had settled in the room after being vacated by the previous tenant. When that was done, he tossed the dirty paper towel on the floor and grinned when Dyce suddenly got a burst of energy and hopped up onto his stubby legs to retrieve it. Rolland knew eating it would be bad for him, which is why he was glad he never ate them. He just seriously loved to tear them up. And, since he didn't have a roommate yet, he didn't mind him making a small mess as he pawed at the paper, shredding it into smaller and smaller pieces. Yes, he should be using his mouth and such like a normal dog, but his dog was weird... and he wouldn't have him any other way.

By the time five rolled around, he'd fed Dyce a good helping of kibble, had just about everything out of his suitcase, and his room looked much more like a bedroom than before. He was actually kind of proud. Looking over at Dyce, he smirked at the huge pile of paper he'd managed to create with that one piece of paper towel.

"Looks like you've been busy just like your dad, huh?"

Dyce gave a barking gesture, and Rolland laughed as he took him outside real quick, then filled up his food bowl for dinner before heading out, calling over his shoulder as he shut the door, "Guard my room, boy. Don't let those evil brothers inside!"

With another chuckle, he locked the door and headed downstairs. He might have skipped once or twice before he slid into his car; his mood was just that good. He had job training tonight! Putting his car in reverse, he double checked that he had his white board and markers, and that he was wearing presentable clothing, then nodded and headed off to his first night of work.

When Rolland walked through the door with his board tucked under his left arm, he was surprised to see the place absolutely packed. The hostess from the night before noticed him right away and quickly hurried over and grabbed his arm. He was dragged through the back doors into the kitchen where he saw several chefs and line cooks running around like crazy.

She made a 'stop' motion with her hand, then rushed off behind another door, only to return a second later with his boss. The older man looked tired, just as he had before, but a smile quickly grew on his face as he made a 'give me' gesture toward his board. Rolland handed it over, along with a marker from his pocket. The markers had magnets on them, but in this type of situation, he felt he would have less of a chance of accidentally knocking them off and losing them on the floor if he kept them in his pocket. The older man scribbled as he walked around the big kitchen he'd just lead Rolland into, then stopped at a sink and showed him the board.

"Wash your hands, then come over to me."

Rolland nodded and got busy scrubbing his hands nearly to the bone. He didn't want to mess up, so he made sure he did it thoroughly before drying them and walking over to his boss again. He was just finishing scrawling another message across his board when Rolland stopped beside him, then held it up so he could read it.

"I need you to use the knife sitting here and cut up all of the mushrooms just like the one on the board."

He pointed to a mushroom slice sitting at the top left corner of the cutting board, and Rolland nodded before looking back at the white board.

"Then wash the knife and do the tomatoes just like this."

Rolland looked to the top right of the cutting board and noted the tomato slice. With a smile, his gaze returned to the man's eyes and he nodded happily. His boss returned the gesture and motioned for him to begin after handing his board back. He knew it was just cutting vegetables, but he was excited to be left alone on his first day to try things out on his own. Well, kind of not really alone with all the chefs running around, but still.

He grabbed the knife with an excited smile and got down to business. The mushrooms were pretty easy, and he got them done in about fifteen minutes, but when the tomatoes came around, he began having trouble. He had just washed his knife off and dried it, but the darn juice was making it hard to get an even slice. He was just getting frustrated when he felt a hand slide along his arm and grasp the knife. His gaze darted over his shoulder to see a guy around his age with red hair, smiling down at him. He must have known Rolland was deaf already because he didn't bother talking, and instead just reached around him with his left arm and grabbed the tomato, then began cutting it with his hand still on the knife, showing him the motions to do it. He had to admit it was a bit odd for a demonstration, but the tomato did cut a lot easier if he did it the way he was being shown.

Rolland thanked him once he released his hand and then got busy. The rest of the night was pretty straight forward. He constantly had things placed in front of him to cut, and, after being given an example slice, he did everything efficiently. By the end of the night, he was pretty tired, but when Mr. Maxwell came over and clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up, he grinned wide and nodded. Mr. Maxwell took his board and scribbled on it before handing it back and waving to him. Rolland flipped it around and read it as he headed to the sink to wash his hands.

"Great job tonight. Consider your shift Monday through Friday, same time you came in today. If you do well, I'll add on more time if you'd like."

Hugging his board, he set it aside and got his hands washed, then grabbed it and headed home. He expected the brothers to be waiting for him in his room, but again, they were gone.

"Odd."

Giving a shrug, Rolland walked over and plopped down on his bed before fishing out his phone from his pocket. He sent his mom a quick text, telling her that he got a job and then looked at another text he'd missed from an unfamiliar number.

Hey, Dart and I had to head home to help our parents move. We'll be back at the end of the week.

Ah, so that's why they aren't stalking me.

Rolland grinned at his own thought and typed in a reply, then hit send.

Okay, see you when you come back!

Just for kicks he attached a saved picture of Dyce flopped over on the floor, tongue sticking out as he slept. He was still snickering a little when the phone vibrated and he nearly dropped it from sheer surprise. The screen flashed on, and Rolland laughed out loud. There was an adorable picture of Bryce and Dart both making stupid faces at the camera and then a short message.

We are much sexier dogs!

A big smile stretched across his face as he kicked his feet and responded with another text and picture. This one was of Dyce dressed in a doggy tuxedo from Halloween, and sleeping, of course. Then he typed out a little caption beneath it.

I don't know, he's pretty darn hot in his tux.

The phone vibrated a minute later, and he quickly read the message and, oh my god! They sent him a picture of them in tuxes! It took him a minute to stop the drool he didn't realize was running down his chin in order to read the message sent along with it.

Drooling yet? I think we win.

Rolland shifted awkwardly on the bed and ended up flopping onto his back, pursing his lips as he held the phone above him. They kind of had him. They definitely won, but he wasn't going to give up that easily.

I don't know, you guys don't let me take you for walks or make your breakfast and dinner.

After he clicked the send button, he realized how bad that sounded. He had fed them last night. Just the memory coming back made his face turn bright red. His phone vibrated with an incoming message.

Take a picture of yourself right now, we want to see you.

His mouth dropped open. No way! He was probably as red as a tomato. His phone vibrated again.

Now, Rolland, counting to five. We want our pic.

The phone started vibrating every second, and he quickly scrambled with the buttons, hitting send right as they got to zero. Oh god, he just sent them a totally embarrassing photo of him lying in his bed, hair mussed on the blanket and face bright red! Why didn't I send a saved one? he thought frantically right before his phone vibrated after a long minute of nothing and he dreaded looking at the text. He expected just words, but the picture they sent had blood rushing straight between his legs.

They just sent me. They sent me a. A pic of their. Oh my god!

The phone beeped again, and Rolland hesitantly glanced over the message.

Have a good night, Rolland... we'll enjoy your picture before bed, so you enjoy ours ;)

Groaning loudly, he threw his phone somewhere on his bed, then jumped up and ran to the shower, slamming the door shut before jumping in, clothes and all, and turning it onto the coldest setting. Unfortunately, the frigid water just wasn't cutting it. Or cooling it, for that matter. His skin was still heating up steadily as the image of their... their...

Don't do it. Don't do it.

His hand disobeyed his thoughts and snaked its way into his wet pants, grabbing its target with eagerness. He dropped to his knees and let his forehead fall to the porcelain edge of the tub, but the chill of the cold surface did nothing, again. So, with a shaky sigh, he slowly began to let his hand move, eyes closing as pleasure began to take over his body. His breath came in short pants, and he gave a quiet groan.

This is so embarrassing. To actually do this because of that picture.

It was all over fast as he tensed and released a moment later. Rolland didn't really remember the last time he had done that, since he had so much stuff going on the past few weeks. Either way, his body was humming with pleasure long after he had finished.

"God. I'm such a pervert."

The rest of the week flew by, but each time he went to work, things got more and more awkward with that red-haired line cook. He helped him the first day but was now beginning to randomly bump into him or try to help more than he really needed. Rolland didn't think too much of it, especially since his mind was usually more focused on getting the job done well. However, on Tuesday, he felt a hand on his hip and flinched, turning around to see the guy standing there smiling. He had taken his whiteboard and was now showing Rolland what he had written on it.

"You're adorable."

U-Uh. What am I supposed to say to that?

"I, um... thanks?"

The guy chuckled and patted his head, then walked away after tapping Rolland's butt.

Wednesday wasn't much better. In fact, it was worse. He was getting really paranoid and often jumped when the line cook squeezed his shoulder or touched anywhere else, making Rolland add cuts to the ones he'd previously gotten on his hands from being randomly surprised previously. Thursday, the guy actually slid his hand down the side of Rolland's pants while he was washing his hands in the bathroom and made him yelp, but when he turned to ask him what he was doing, the guy just laughed, winked, and walked out.

Everything happening at work seemed to translate into the texts he sent to the brothers because, more than once, they had asked him what was wrong. He thought about telling them a few times, but Rolland knew that if he did, the guy would likely be killed, so he kept his worries to himself as best he could.

Friday night was a long shift, but Rolland somehow got away without much interaction with the guy, whose name he still didn't know. Mr. Maxwell tapped his shoulder around nine, and he jumped but turned to him with a smile when he realized it wasn't the line cook. Mr. Maxwell handed Rolland his board and clapped him on the shoulder, making him flinch. Thankfully he didn't notice and just walked away. Looking down at his board, Rolland smiled with relief as he read what his boss had written on it.

"You're good to go home, Rolland, great job tonight!"

Rolland looked at the top of the board after reading and grinned widely. His paycheck! Mr. Maxwell had explained that he would pay him for his first few nights that night, just in case things didn't work out, but the day before he'd said he'd be more than happy to keep Rolland and just gave him his check early because of his good work. Since the brothers were coming back that night, Rolland had planned to stop by the store and see if he could find something small as a 'welcome home' sort of thing, since they were friends, but as he stepped outside, his thoughts completely shattered. His left wrist was grabbed and he was dragged into the alley next to the restaurant, then slammed up against the brick wall.

"What are y—!"

The line cook who had been harassing him all week shoved his mouth down hard on Rolland's, knocking their teeth and making him groan from the pain.

"I knew you liked me, such a sexy sound."

The guy's knee pushed between his legs as Rolland struggled to get his mouth free to yell for help. Even when he released his hands, Rolland still couldn't manage to even push him a little! The man's free hand shoved his shirt up and traced every inch of his skin before it dipped into his pants.

"Mm!"

Rolland struggled when the man tried to grab him and somehow managed to knee him in the groin, which thankfully loosened his grip a tiny bit. Taking the opportunity, Rolland punched his cheek with his left hand and then head-butted his throat. He knew they weren't exactly normal targets in most situations, but it got the guy off of him and gave him that desperate chance he needed to get to his car. The line cook followed, but Rolland locked his doors and floored his car in reverse before the guy could catch him.

Rolland expected the guy to try to follow him, but he just stood in the middle of the parking lot, staring until he was out of sight. Rolland's heart was going a mile a minute the whole drive to the store. He was a frazzled mess, but he really didn't want to ruin his first chance to hang out with the brothers in a while so he needed to calm himself down, and he also wanted to get them something. Pulling into the parking lot, he sat there for a few minutes before feeling strong enough to go inside. He parked in one of the handicap spots right up front, which he knew was frowned-upon, but he was technically handicapped... and scared out of his mind.

Once inside the brightly lit store, he looked around but didn't really see a whole lot he liked. There were clothes and stationery things, but that wasn't really what he wanted. He decided to stroll around the place and just see if something caught his eye, but after nearly twenty minutes, he was just about to give up. That's when something shiny made him walk over to the jewelry department. Yeah, he knew boys and jewelry didn't mix, and Rolland couldn't agree more, but he just couldn't not buy it. Grabbing the item, he rushed to the counter and paid. It was really inexpensive, and obviously cheaply made, but he thought it would be perfect.

After grabbing his bag, he thanked the cashier and headed to his car for the last few minutes of his drive home. He was pushing what happened after work as far back as he could manage as he slammed his car door shut and bolted inside, then up to his room. When he opened the door, he saw Bryce relaxing on the spare bed and walked in with a smile.

"Hey!"

Bryce looked up at him and returned his smile with a grin of his own, right before Rolland nearly jumped out of his shoes when Dart wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. Rolland whirled around and came face to face with Dartanian as the vampire sniffed at his lips... then slowly lowered to his shirt. When his gaze finally rose to Rolland's, there was no disguising the anger there.

"Dart?"

Dartanian slowly lifted his hands and signed in deliberate movements.

"Why do you smell like someone else, everywhere?"

His upper lip was slowly beginning to pull back, revealing fangs Rolland knew all too well.

"D-Dart, I-I... he... Ah!" Dartanian shoved him, hard, making Rolland stumble back several feet before falling and smacking his head on the edge of his tiny nightstand.

"He let someone else touch him!"

Bryce stood from the bed and began walking toward him, but Rolland quickly got up and scrambled to the other side of the room by the closet, suddenly feeling cornered by two lions.

"D-Dart, I-I didn't... he..."

He wanted to get an explanation out, but Dartanian was already stomping out of the room with his brother right behind him.

"Wait!"

Doing what was likely the dumbest thing right then, Rolland ran after them and ended up grabbing Dart's wrist... right before Dartanian turned around and punched him. He knew Dart had held back when he took the hit, dropping to the floor in sheer surprise. The physical pain, while bad as it throbbed through his right cheek, was nothing compared to how badly that hurt his heart. When neither of them even tried to help him up, he crawled back into his room and nudged the door shut.

****

"I can't believe he fucking screwed someone while we were gone for just one week!"

Bryce was quiet as he watched his brother explode. Dartanian was pacing back and forth, growling and shouting every few seconds. He'd already called Rolland a whore ten times along with a few other expletives, however, Bryce just couldn't help but think there was something odd going on. He kept his mouth shut, though, not wanting to make his brother even worse.

It was around midnight when Dartanian finally calmed down enough to sit on his bed, and that's when they both looked toward Rolland's room.

"He's been crying for this long?" Dart asked quietly.

Bryce looked toward his brother, who was now growling at the floor, his body tense.

"Dart. I think there might be something else going on."

Dartanian had half the mind to shout he already fucking knew that, but instead, he took a deep, calming breath and stood up. Bryce followed him out of the room but made sure he walked in first when they entered Rolland's. The lights were already out, but that didn't hinder their eyesight at all... and what they saw had both brothers swallowing, hard. Rolland was huddled in the tiny corner between his bed and his nightstand, his head pressed down on his arms, which were crossed over his knees. But what made both Dart and Bryce give pause, were the three silver necklaces clamped in his right hand with a heart, split into three pieces so that when they were put together, it made a whole.

"Stay here," Bryce said as he took careful steps forward and his brother quietly shut the door. When he knelt in front of Rolland, Bryce noticed something else and quickly snatched it up in a blur, then tossed it back to his brother. Dart caught the bottle of pills, his face paling.

"He was going to..."

He shook it, just to be sure that it was still full, then put the bottle in his pants pocket.

Bryce wasn't really sure how to approach such an emotional situation so he very gently tapped Rolland's elbow. He yelped and shrunk against the wall, trying to pull his legs and arms as close to his body as he could.

"I-I'm sorry! P-Please don't touch me!"

That left Bryce in an awkward position. He could only communicate with Rolland by signing but decided that it was best to leave the lights off since he was so spooked. Actually, there was one other way of communicating, but it would be tricky with Rolland's sudden aversion to touch.

"Something had to have happened besides us being mad, he's really scared."

Bryce felt his brother get a little closer as he reached out and gently tapped Rolland's elbow again. The boy gasped and flinched, but he had nowhere left to back away. When he calmed down a little bit, Bryce slowly allowed his fingers to wrap around his arm, then waited again. It took several pauses and a few backtracks before he finally managed to gently tug a shaking Rolland into his lap. Immediately Bryce wrapped his arms snugly around him for comfort.

The necklace had dropped during one of Rolland's panic attacks, but as his brother began comforting the guy in his arms, Dart retrieved the three pieces of jewelry and clasped the right side of the heart piece around his neck, then put the left one on his brother. He waited several long minutes before Rolland finally seemed comfortable enough to try to give him the last piece. When his brother nodded, Dart knelt next to them and gently laced the necklace around Rolland's neck, then fastened it before letting the weight drop to his shoulders, which immediately alerted him of its presence... and Dartanian's.

Rolland's wide, watery eyes found Dartanian's, and Dart scooted back, knowing that he was definitely not the one who would be calming Rolland down after having punched him.

"God, I feel like an ass."

He noticed Bryce grin, but it disappeared in a second when his focus turned to Rolland in his arms. Rolland had sat back in his lap, and his hand was now gently wrapped around the middle piece necklace. He was still shaking a little but at least wasn't close to hyperventilating any longer.

"I..."

Bryce leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to Rolland's hair, silently urging him to continue.

"I-I... h-he... he t-touched me! All week!"

Both brothers suddenly had their arms wound tightly around him.

"Whoever the fuck did this, I'll kill them." Dartanian snarled.

"My thoughts exactly."