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Mint isn't in the state of mind to question himself forgetting to lock his own door. Either from leaving and coming back in a hurry, or sending out his own pokemon on an errand or two. It's a small worry that isn't strong enough to stay at the forefront of his thoughts. Not when Raphael carefully pulls him in. It calms him a little, his sobs quieter as he clung to him. [break][break]

Raphael's voice carries a low cadence that he can't help but follow, eyes closing to listen while he took shaky breathes. He doesn't scramble like he used to when his feet leave the ground, no longer nervous when its Raph lifting him. Instead, he hides his wet face in the side of Raphael's neck like he wanted and holds on by wrapping his arms over his shoulders. "Don't think I like...seraph." There's nothing angelic about it. How he came to have them, what they did. Painful, and possibly deadly. He's growing a stockpile of knives in his back. But maybe it was the best representation of his relationship with his patron. Power with a price. The weight of power. OR maybe this is just something they thought he needed to figure out. The Galarian Articuno had already plucked him a few times, just like Uva and Acerba. [break][break]

Even laid so low, he can't help the harsh thump in his chest when Raphael says he likes him. A blunt reminder of why he was probably here, and why he was so willing to put up with all Mint's shit. "I-" he struggles to speak as he's put on the couch, glancing at the little cat pokemon as if it could help him. Would it be too much if he said the same? Would it be leading him on? He'd always expressed himself better through actions- well more so hints. He should play dumb, keep quiet. [break][break]

But what is he supposed to do when he Raph gets on his level and stares at him with big worried eyes? No callous or scar could take away from the way he looked at Mint. It's a sincerity that surprised him every time. It excited him more than the almost confessions, or the adventures in alleyways. "Raphael, I-" he's so caught up in those eyes he doesn't' realize the question posed to him. The response dies in his throat. "I won't grow another head...I think." his smile is fake, lips curling as he looks down the man's chest instead of his eyes. [break][break]

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"Um.." He buries the thoughts, hugging himself instead. "Pain killers, and cold water. Melatonin and sleep." That's not what he'd wanted to say, but the moment is past and he's awkward.

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and a neon medusa's got your heart .

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"As-...As long as you don't try to fry 'em.." he tried to joke back, sniffling and letting out a small huff of a laugh as Raph kissed his head. He almost asks for a real one, but instead stays content with curling up on the couch with Esper. "I like that. With some corn on the cob?" he said, not trying to be picky or difficult. But also because any menu Raphael served him was delicious. Better than instant noodles or soup boxes he grew tired of. Raphael had spoiled him, and now he couldn't go back. [break][break]

Mint nodded before adding as he walked off, "Don't worry too much if you can't get anything...I have plenty of ice." Maybe Gelatto could try cooling it. But he's not sure if it'd be detrimental to the feathers or if it even mattered. He just hadn't wanted to catch hypothermia. [break][break]

As the taller man stepped away, Mint cast his attention back to the cat. "Hello.." he said, offering a little smile and his hand for the cat to sniff. "Hehe...you're eyes are huge. Like your Dad's." he teased, offering to give the cat a little scratch behind the ears if they'd let him. He dabs his eyes with the blanket, soothed by one bluntly honest man and his cute cat.
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it's a highway, highway to the dark [break]
and a neon medusa's got your heart .

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The second the kitten purrs, Mint is careful to continue with his affections. He's more than happy to help Esper down and running a hand down their back as they settle beside him. The occasionally 'Who's a pretty girl?' murmured as he scratched her carefully. "Tch, department clearance." Mint managed to say back as he gratefully took bowl to eat. [break][break]

He begins pecking at his food, having put off hunger and feeling it slowly kickstart at the smell of Raphael's cooking. "Yeah...? How much?" he asked, not wanting to put out Raphael too much. He turned to look over at the balcony as the large Fearow delivered her errand, eyes on the bag and tried to play it off. "I'm plenty stocked on advil-" but he trails off as Raphael begins to pull out the contents. [break][break]

"Hey- that's a lot-" his eyes widen a little. Not because he's worried about what he's dealing with- he's not. He recognizes some of the substances having been given them in Rocket medical. But it's more he knew some of this Raphael shouldn't have access to. It's controlled for a reason. Hospital grade medicine or something like that. They'd didn't talk about work, but even so, Mint can understand Raphael has just gone out on a limb for him. Which feels exciting and also bad- no, guilty. He could've gotten this if he'd just wandered into the med bay which he had avoided. He could've taken care of that himself. [break][break]

Raphael is worried, more than he lets on. As much as he would like to assure him he was mostly fine, Raphael wouldn't believe that. This was too big to pretend Mint was fine. Besides, he wanted the pain meds. He had just wanted to see if it was easy to mitigate on his own. "...the iv will make me pass out if you set it, so I'd rather do it at night." he scoops up a heavy dollop of mashed potatoes before adding, almost sheepishly. "I...I'll take the pills. I don't like to suffer." Mint offered a smile, clearly debating how much to divulge and trying to gage how upset it'd make Raph. "I am human, just...added growths and a lot of extra infinity energy in me." he picked at his food before adding, "I-...I just...I don't- didn't w-want to put this on you? Now that you've seen it...you won't walk away." In some ways they were both equally stubborn with each other. Mint just hide things far more often from Raphael.

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and a neon medusa's got your heart .

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"I have knives growin' out of my back, Raph...I wanna be sedated it." he said with rough laugh. He looks at the bag, a little ashamed. "You got it for me...so I'll use it." His eyes lower to Esper the Espurr and he drags his nails over her neck and spine, following the little purrs that rumbled out of her. A pale pink rises to his cheeks as he steals a glance from the couch at Raph. Yeah. Friends. He tugged the blanket tighter around his shoulders. [break][break]

"I-It's a little different-" he began to protest only to stop abruptly. He'd bee about to argue, rather weakly, a flu wasn't the same as trying to hide vestigial wings from a man. But honest as ever, Raphael bares himself to Mint and this time it's in a way he can't ignore. It confirms her should've been better at- at... [break][break]

He sets his food down on the coffee table. "Raph..?" He felt alarmed. He was about to protest but he can't...quite...remember the last time they'd spent time together. The past few months had been a blur, with Mint rushing to understand his powers better and what was happening to him. What he had agreed to. He'd neglected everyone, practically, in his desperate pursuit of control. It's not like Raphael was a Rocket. He didn't know Mint was plucking his own feather in the lab for coveted analysis. Pricking himself endlessly for blood samples to experiment on. Pushing his brain- his mind to the extreme of what it could do. [break][break]

Small and ugly as they may be, The wings around his head and his ankles moved inward as if trying to shield Mint from Raphael's eyes. Shit. Shit. He should've known better. Of course Raph had a limit. Everyone did. "Raphael I- I'm sorry...if...if I scared you..." He moves to his feet, the tiny wings fluttering desperately as if they ever been any help to him.

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it's a highway, highway to the dark [break]
and a neon medusa's got your heart .

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In a way, it's funny how they mirror each other sometimes. Perfectly aware of how the other might be feeling and dealing with the guilt that comes after. It's getting tense, and it's not the kind of tension Mint enjoyed. There's no good way out of this. Either Raphael was sick with worry because he'd ditched him for months or...Raphael was sick with worry because of his bird-like growth spurt. Again something in the back of his mind pushes for him to do it. To erase it all, try to implant some pretty memory instead that would hold him off for a few more months. [break][break]

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Mint cuts the distance, pressing against him. He would worry. This would only get worse. The more he showed himself and his powers as a Rocket, the more Raph would know. Raph's not the good two-shoes type. But he knew, for some, Rocket was a line you couldn't cross. He squeezes his hand back, leaning into warmth he didn't deserve. He wants to cry all over again. Mint tries not to crush the pills in his hand, and listened. He rested his cheek on his chest as he looked up at him try to explain how 'happy' he was with 'this'. [break][break]

But really, how much could he do when he was the one who wouldn't commit one way or the other? It's not fun nor casual when Raphael speaks the unspoken. It just makes him feel even shittier for being selfish, curling up against him as if a bit of skin to skin would make it all go away. Raphael touches on drying down feathers and Mint holds him a little more possessively, not keen on letting go yet. "Ok." He knows there's a case of water, lukewarm, hiding in his pantry. He can see it. Half focusing on Raph, half on the water summons back with awakened psychic energy. He lets go when the bottles unceremoniously drop next to them. [break][break]

Mint is still for a moment, before finally pulling away and dipping down to scoop the water up. He sets one on the table for Raph before opening his own and knocking back the pain killers. "I'm happy you're here, Raph." he confessed, allowing himself this much. "I'm...I'm glad you're not afraid of me." Arceus knew others were. Had been. Especially with how unhinged he'd acted during his trial, unable to see reality for what it was. "...are you sure this is ok...?" Mint doesn't specify what exactly he meant, leaving it nebulous as always and hoping for the best. He brushes his fingertips against Raph's hand again, quietly asking to be held again. That he wanted to, if Raph also did.

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He doesn't expect him to...to laugh of all things. His best parlor trick and he gets a little laugh? A cute little laugh that rumbles against his scalp and makes him a little embarrassed? A little happy but still embarrassed. Raphael is quick to tamper his raised hackles, speaking quickly as Mint's expression twisted and scrunched up upset before relaxing once more. Though, still frowning, and still flushing. As flush as a man going through tremendously weird growth spurt could be. [break][break]

Raphael talked and he felt like he wanted to curl up within himself and hide. Every other word praise ( sorta ) that makes him sweat. He doesn't hide it well, either. He never his his emotions well around Raphael. After a while, mainly moments like this, he couldn't Too off guard or tired or weak to hold a mask. [break][break]

He pulled Raph's hand close, clasping his other hand around it and holding it close to his chest as he stared up. Mint doesn't think he's that big of a mystery. He had a couple of secrets but...times like this he felt so small, so simple. Because, frankly, it's hard to feel like a big deal at all when his heart was racing 100 mph in his chest, and his face felt like he was getting a fever. Of course he liked praise. He was a public figure. That was his main reason why. He'd grown up under a lens, living comfortably as known person being perceived. That still lingered. [break][break]

But when it was Raphael, who was just too genuine to be a fan? He wanted to both drop dead, and kiss him. It's mortifying, he'd realized, but exhilarating all the same. With Raphael, there's no guess work to how he feels. It's the kind of pick me up he gravitates to ,even if he knew he shouldn't. But it felt good, and he'd been bleeding from his feathers for two days now. Mint would take any chance he got to forget that constant thrum of pain. [break][break]

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How many times was he going to hear this and ask? How long until the disbelief faded? [break][break]

"You think this is hot?" He asked, focusing on something that would unravel him. [break][break]

He was struggling to keep it together. Something like that would pull him apart fully. He might say something he didn't want to admit yet. So he focuses on what he can handle. He edits what he wants to say. [break][break]

"You've really got no filter, Raph. In a good way." Raphael is tall, but if Mint stands just so, he can reach what he wants. No levitation necessary. He reaches up with his other hand, fingers brushing up Raph's cheek bone. He rested his thumb at the corner of the man's mouth, letting instinct guide his actions now. He pops up on his tip toes, lips brushing Raphael's own as he kissed him. It's small, soft. He doesn't expect anything of him. Raphael had already done so much today. Dealt with so much. And while Mint couldn't- wouldn't disappear the horrors of the day, he could at least soothe the edges away. It's still him. He still liked him. He still trusted him, wanted him. [break][break]

Mint doesn't dare think about how much Raphael truly meant to him. But what he doesn't speak he almost tries to convey in silence. In small looks, and soft touches. In cut off words and changed subjects. The underlying possession in the way he clung further, held tighter in public. He can't say anything because that's too vulnerable, too final. But he can kiss Raph. He can kiss him as much as Raphael would let him. And Mint knew he'd always let him.

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and a neon medusa's got your heart .

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Scars and pockmarks litter Raphael's body. He's no stranger to blood and grime. So him comment about his own blood isn't as off putting as it could be. By now, Mint expected Raphael to be a little...unconventional. He'd expected the worst from him at times. To the point, he'd offended him more than once by expecting that and admitting to it later. And the shittiest part of it all was the indignation followed by the saddest looking, dark eyes he'd ever seen. It made him uncomfortable in ways he couldn't fix. [break][break]

But Raphael's lips pull to a smile when he laughs, and Mint can't help but smile too. It's infectious really. Even mutated, and bloody, and tired- even after months of barely any contact- Raphael could still picture him in that way. He still wanted him even gross. [break][break]

It makes him lower his guard just enough for Raphael to get another jab in. His honesty is worse than any barb thrown at him on the sub. So he's relieved when Raphael shuts up, and kisses him back. It doesn't take him long to push for more and Mint is more than happy to let him.[break][break]

Even when Raph pulls away he's still smiling, looking up coyly under his messy hair. "I plan to." he returned simply, once hand stubbornly holding onto his caretaker. "You're staying, then?" he asked, seemingly in better spirits than when Raphael had found him. Mint seemed to have full compartmentalized his worries from earlier into something to address at a later date. "I think the medicine's kicking in, Nurse." He added, an obvious white lie. But Mint looked eager to follow Raph around, weak ankles or not. He's a welcome interruption to growing pains, as Mint liked to call them. "Maybe in a few hours we can try that again."

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it's a highway, highway to the dark [break]
and a neon medusa's got your heart .