[b]Joel and Salamon[/b]

Joel stiffened slightly when Andrew first leaned against him, then even more so when the boy slid down into his lap. A blush formed on his face. For a long moment, he stared down at Andrew’s sleeping face. His feelings were swirling somewhere between confusion, embarrassment, and something else… Something softer he didn’t have the words for.

“…He’s really asleep?” Joel asked no one in particular, glancing at Salamon like she might confirm it.

Salamon nodded. “You didn’t push him away.”

Joel looked back down. “Yeah, well…” he muttered quietly. “It… didn’t seem right.”

He shifted just enough to sit cross-legged without waking Andrew, adjusting so the boy’s head had a better place to rest. His hand hovered awkwardly, then settled beside Andrew’s arm rather than on it.

“I’m not used to this,” he admitted to Salamon in a whisper. “People… trusting me like this.”

Then he fell quiet. After a few seconds, he added, “But… I don’t hate it.”

[@Letter Bee]