After a quaint breakfast, and the two washing and drying dishes together, Jaxon asked Ash if he wanted to take a walk around the woods. Ash readily agreed. Following Jaxon to his humble bedroom Ash sat gently on the bed noticing for the first time the beautiful handmade quilt that adorned its surface. It was a mosaic of reds and purples, pinks and turquoise. It reminded Ash of a sunrise over the mountains where the lights refract differently on every surface they touch. Smoothing his hand over the stitches, Ash could tell the quilt was well loved and had been repaired several times by the silkyness of some strands and coarseness of others. He wondered if Jaxon had been the one to repair the seams, and if so, who did he learn from? Sewing was such an intricate and delicate task, it was hard to imagine Jaxon’s large hands threading a needle and pulling it meticulously through the material ensuring all the stitches were the same length. “This man is full of surprises,” Ash silently thought to himself while a smile graced his lips. He couldn’t wait to learn more about him. 

While Ash was admiring the artwork beneath his fingertips, Jaxon had been digging through his closet and pulling out the smallest clothes he owned. He managed to find some jeans he accidentally shrunk in the dryer, but only had extra large shirts and sweaters. That would have to do. The thought of Ash in his sweater brought a small blush to Jaxon’s cheeks as he turned his head slightly to gaze at the young man currently on his bed. His loose hair was draped around his face and his eyes were staring lovingly at the worn out quilt adorning the bed. His fingers were long and graceful like those of a piano player, and he moved them gently across the surface of the quilt tracing the patterns and the stitches as though he was reading braille. A small smile graced his cheeks and Jaxon couldn’t help but wonder what the young man was thinking about as he sat there. His eyes trailed from the soft freckles to Ash’s gently sloping neck. “He’s gorgeous,” Jaxon thought. His attention shifted down from Ash’s face to the small collar bones sticking out of Jaxon’s sweater. His skin was deathly pale and he was so skinny it worried Jaxon. He would have to make sure the boy ate a lot in order to gain some weight if he chose to stay. 

Since Ash had been unconscious and Jaxon was worried about him thrashing around and opening his wounds he had spent the night sharing his queen bed. Jaxon was iffy about sharing his bed at first because he didn’t want Ash to be offended or think he was trying to take advantage of him. He barely slept the first night he brought Ash home and cleaned him up. He was incredibly worried about him and was terrified that if he fell asleep Ash would somehow wake up and “finish the job”. After Ash barely moved the first night, and having stayed up almost forty hours straight, Jaxon was exhausted and ended up falling asleep next to Ash the second night. He woke up sometime early that morning to a squirming feeling on his side. With his sleep-addled brain it took a minute for him to realize the unconscious young man had crossed the bed and was now curled into his side sleeping deeply. Jaxon stared at him wide eyed and afraid to move. He was supine and luckily his unconscious mind was conscious enough to keep his hands to himself. THe young man was so frail Jaxon was terrified of hurting him further by just touching him. He laid there for what felt like an hour listening to the soft breaths and purrs rumbling from the small body next to him. At some point he drifted off as well and awoke the next morning in the same position with the adorable young man’s face pressed against his shoulder and drooling slightly. “Adorable”, Jaxon chuckled to himself before maneuvering his way out from under the young man. The boy grunted discontentedly before settling into the space Jaxon left. Taking a deep breath of the pillow now wrapped in his frail arms, the boy sighed and quickly fell back asleep. Jaxon wasn’t sure, but he thought that his scent must somehow be confronting the boy although he’d never been told that before. They repeated the same routine the next night, except when Jaxon woke he had the small man cradled in his arms with his face pressed to Jaxon’s chest as he purred deeply. Jaxon was somewhat disappointed in himself because he felt like he was taking advantage of the unconscious man, but as the boy snuggled deeper into his arms Jaxon figured it was harmless and gently held the boy to his chest before drifting back to sleep. He was astutely aware of where he held the young man making sure not to grip his waist or bump his wrists. He only wanted to provide comfort to the sleeping boy who had been plagued by nightmares since he arrived. The only time he wasn’t thrashing in his sleep or crying was when he was snuggled into Jaxon’s side. The morning that Ash finally awoke the two had been snuggled together, and luckily Jaxon had gotten out of bed a few minutes earlier otherwise that would have been very difficult to explain. 

Thinking about all this, Jaxon’s face had turned a shade darker and he hadn’t realized he’d gone silent while looking at Ash. “Jaxon? Is everything okay?” A small voice asked, waking him up from his daydreaming. Jaxon quickly came back to the moment to see a pair of hazel eyes gazing at him in question. “Yes,” he answered softly before walking over with the jeans and another sweater for Ash to wear. “To stay warm,” he stated simply before handing the clothing over to Ash. Their fingers brushed softly as the clothes were exchanged and the sparks between them were practically visible. Jaxon saw the delicate blush that spread across Ash’s creeks and he was surprised with himself when he realized how much he liked that he made him blush. He smiled to himself softly as he left the clothes with Ash to get ready. Jaxon closed the door softly behind him with a click and Ash hurried to change into the jeans and put the second sweater on. This one was a deep burgundy with small embroidered leaves around the collar and sleeve cuffs. It still swallowed Ash’s small frame, but it gave him a sense of comfort like a safety blanket. Bringing it to his nose, Ash could smell the cinder ash scent that was distinctly Jaxon. If he wasn’t careful, Ash might get addicted to his scent. He could imagine the waspy vapors like tendrils of smoke surrounding his small frame, and swaddling him in a comfortable fog. Ash thought such an overwhelming scent would be suffocating, but it truly brought him a sense of peace and belonging that he didn’t realize he’d been desperately seeking. Stepping back into the main room, Ash saw his shoes near the door and went over to put them on. He never cared much for his appearance and prefered to blend into the background, rather than stand out. He usually wore black oversized jumpers and jeans and his trusty checkered vans, which were conveniently placed near the front door. Standing up, Ash turned around to find Jaxon had moved beside him and was giving him a gentle smile. He was still in the same clothes as before, but added a long sleeve shirt on top of his other for warmth. “Ready?” Jaxon asked sweetly, holding his hand out to Ash, who placed his hand in Jaxon’s outstretched one. They both squeezed gently before Jaxon grasped the handle and opened the door for the two of them.