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Vivian stayed quiet and still as Tristan spoke, trying to focus on the present moment. The man in front of him wasn't the boy who had hurt him so deeply so long ago, but he wasn't not that boy either, not entirely. It was so easy to forget it all in the comfort and ease of the life they had...

A small snort of laughter made its way out as Vivian felt his nerves continue to unknot, finally taking a sip of his tea. "I mean, I'm sure it would have an effect, maybe just not the one you're going for." He joked. It would be easy to relax into this line of questioning, so easy - to take...

Vivian sighed softly, taking a swig of tea to center himself for a moment. "I've just got more practice." He said gently, thinking for a moment of when his sisters had been this age - how similar and how different they had been to Mason. "But there's not... an easy answer or a magic button...

Vivian felt his nerves unwinding little by little as he watched Tristan so deflated, the tea's warmth spreading from his hands and settling him slightly. "I never said you should stop helping him." He said slowly. "I just wanted you to be aware of how he's feeling, so you can adjust."

Vivian nodded, scooting his piano seat back slightly to make way for Tristan to sit in the small corner seat he'd brought in for when Tristan or Mason wanted to listen to him play.

Vivian's fingers stuttered on the keys and finally fell still when Tristan acknowledged he was wrong. He sighed heavily and finally looked up at his partner, accepting the cup of tea. "Yes, you were." He said quietly, waiting for Tristan to go on.

Vivian was beyond glad that his studio was heavily magically soundproofed. At first he didn't do more than run his hands over the keys; a light sprinkling of random arpeggios dotted up and down the scales as he collected himself. It was after that that the anger struck, and he smashed his...

Vivian had thought for a long time that he was over this feeling. He had spent years on his own - had built his own life, his own career, and then had re-entered this relationship by his own choice. And he had done so because he was certain that the command and control Tristan had held over...

Vivian rubbed his temple, taking a slow breath. He had been much better at bottling things up when he was younger, albeit for the worse. Now, though... it was hard to keep his temper enough to keep the discussion productive. "I'm not accusing you of anything." He said, mindful to keep his...

Vivian tensed slightly when Tristan moved away from him, fighting back the urge to snap. So much for the hope that this might go easily. "If he thinks you only love him when he's studying, how can you tell when he's actually learning because he wants to." He pointed out. Vivian couldn't hold...

Vivian sighed softly and reached out, gently lacing his fingers with Tristan's. "On one level he does, but somewhere down there..." He shook his head slightly. "I'm worried. He seemed so sincere, I think he's internalised a lot of expectations at some point. I think he just... needs more...

Vivian sighed softly, watching the familiar defensive walls slam shut behind Tristan's eyes. It was another expression he knew well, one that would have had him giving up and walking away entirely when he was younger. But they had been through so much, changed so much, and he knew far better...

The sight of Tristan hunched over piles of homework flashed Vivian back to their school years for a brief, jarring moment. The memories of school he tended to dwell on were the painful ones; the ones where their relationship had been slowly crushing him day by day, or the ones where he finally...

Vivian couldn't bring himself to go downstairs just yet, allowing Mason's calm sleeping breaths to soothe him before doing anything. He gently tucked his stepson's hand in before he left the room, heading for where he had last seen Tristan in the dining room. "Tristan?"

Vivian felt a burst of ice through his veins when Mason spoke, the implications chilling. "Your dad will always love you." He said softly, taking Mason's hand and stroking the back softly. "You don't have to be anything special to make him happy, you just have to be you." As he spoke his...

The light in Mason's face was something so rare and precious it made Vivian's heart ache, the knowledge that he would never be this young and sweet again; that these days were finite, and one day Mason wouldn't need either of them for this. It was as though the boy had read his mind, and Vivian...

Mason's words halted Vivian in the middle of getting up, looking down at his stepson in surprise. "Really?" He asked with a proud smile. "That's very impressive, you must have practiced lots." His eyes flicked over Mason's face, wondering when he had grown up so much. "I bet you won't need...

The older Vivian got, the more time seemed to slide by almost without him noticing. Novelty became routine, big changes became small ones, became normal. He felt as though he had blinked as an aimless twenty year old musician and woken up a settled thirty year old man, with a home, a long term...

2062 Obsidian Daycare Centre Holiday Party With various attendees 2063 Vicarious With Mason Collins and Tristan Collins