[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Donnie, you're not a burden on me." Edge said, smiling as he crossed to sit beside the boy, pretty much letting him pillow his head on his lap if he wanted to. Stroking his hair. "And you hit the nail on the head. I had to learn some programming and routing for a friend when I was helping him set up a computer-system, and the stuff I learned seemed interesting." He shrugged. "I got another call from another friend about a week later to come help set up stuff for his business, and the rest is history."

Edge thought about that next question pretty carefully. It was how he would describe himself. Not how others would. Still stroking Donovan's hair, he rubbed his chin a bit with the other hand, looking up and thinking of the words.

"I'd say I'm impulsive." he said with a light laugh, ruffling Donnie's hair. "But you probably already gathered that. I'm driven, to a fault. I'm also an adventure-seeker. I hardly stay in one place, and I don't do one thing for very long. If anything, I'm a tad reckless. Even I'll admit that one. And perhaps a touch on the danger-seeking side, but..." he shrugged. "Other than that? I like my fun, I love music, heartbeats are an obsession, and I have this love-affair with food. And words."

He was still playing with Donnie's hair a bit. "I have all these systems, but I never play them. Mostly, I use the recording equipment in that basket..." he canted his head to the one by the TV with the stethoscope in it. "To record friends and - occasionally - family. Speaking of... Do you mind if I wire you up while we're waiting for the takeout and talking?"

[Kitsumi]

When Edge sat down, Donovan couldn't resist the invitation to rest his head on his partner's thigh. He smiled lazily and let his eyes half shut with contentment, not exhaustion, at the feeling of his hair being stroked. "It sounds like you do pretty well for yourself. And it's pretty great that you can get paid for doing something you enjoy. If I could get paid for playing video games or something, I'd consider it a wish come true." He chuckled. "But I doubt many people get that kind of opportunity."

Donovan laughed. Oh yeah, he had noticed that impulsiveness was a trait of Edge's. He didn't mind it, though. Actually, it was kind of exciting. And it wasn't like Donovan ever really sat down to think about his own choices either. "I want to get the chance to see all of that," he said in a small voice. "To see the different sides of you, I mean. Especially the adventurous side." His grin stretched from ear to ear. "I want to experience some adventures with you, if you'll let me. I've always been too shy, too afraid to really do anything. But I bet I could be brave...with you." He was falling so hard, so fast. He could only hope that Edge wouldn't find fault with him for that.

"Eh? You want to record...me?" He gave a lopsided grin. "Sure, I guess I don't mind." He sat up, gesturing towards the basket. "But, umm, I wouldn't know how to set any of it up." He was a bit distracted, at the moment. When Edge had mentioned his family, Donovan had suddenly started thinking about his own family. He hadn't seen them in so long... "Are you close to your family?" he asked suddenly.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Oh gods, my family... Hmmm..." Edge rose from the couch as he was thinking, and dragged the basket with the supplies over, finding the setup he was after with some digging. He pulled out a very cobbled-together looking thing that had five stethoscope-heads with tubing attached. There were wires out of the tubing, and each wire was plugged into a five-way jack, which connected, in turn, to a large box. Edge rummaged in the box for something else while he answered. "I guess I'm close to my brother? I never really got to know my second-dad, and my first one is sort of a roving spirit. He, like me, never really stays in one place for very long. I mean, he sends me stuff on my birthday and things." He shrugged. "Some of this stuff is from him. The rest of it I bought myself, or snagged from my brother."

He found what he was after, and dug an MP3-player out of the box, finding a cord for it, and plugging it into the large black box, before setting it on top. "Okay, so... These are mics." he said, pointing to the five cords. "They're up inside stethoscopes, held there with some tape and foam. The mics attach to this splitter." he patted the small box where the five cords merged. "Which then sends it to this recording box, which is my own creation. I can plug anything multimedia into it, and get the recording onto that, and it saves to my own personal cloud." He smirked, and motioned to Donnie.

"Take off the shirt, and I'll hook you up. Then you can put it back on. And... well, about my family? Eden's sort of a recluse. He used to be around a lot more often before the accident. Brilliant surgeon. Saved me once, and had a lot of people that were really grateful to him. Then, he got into an accident, and got.. well.. paralyzed." Kneeling beside Donnie, he started checking the cords to make sure none were frayed or bent, still talking while he was doing so. "It was temporary, and he eventually could use his upper body again, but... he's confined to a wheelchair now, because his legs just don't work. And he's gotten a bit bitter. Still consults and teaches for the medical school, but... Doesn't really come around much anymore, or really act like he used to. I guess accidents like that change people."

[Kitsumi]

The device that Edge pulled out of the basket intrigued Donovan. He stared at it, slightly intimidated by it's rather odd appearance but also suddenly excited to find out how it worked. If this was a passion of Edge's, he wanted to be a part of it. Even if it was something he had no idea about at that current time. He nodded as he heard a bit about the other man's family, and then pointed at the setup. "Did you rig this yourself? I didn't know that things like this existed." He wasn't sure if something like that was an item that you could just buy, or if it had to be custom made.

His eyes widened as the inner workings of the device were explained. "Whoa. I...don't think I understand half of that." He laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed. "But it sounds pretty cool. So...you're gonna record me? And then keep the recording and possibly listen to it anytime you feel like it?" Donovan didn't find the idea unpleasant. He just wasn't sure why anyone would want a recording of anything from him. Was he really so special? He didn't think so.

Donovan removed his shirt as Edge had requested. That was the part he didn't like - revealing his body. His ribs were probably easily seen beneath the thin layer of nearly non-existent fat, muscle and skin. "Eden? Is that your brother?" The boy frowned. Getting in an accident was traumatizing enough without adding permanent physical problems. "Damn. I can see how that would change someone. But I'm sorry if it's put a strain on your relationship with him. And - I hope this isn't offensive or anything - but I feel really bad for him. Losing the use of your legs..." he shuddered. "I don't know how I could live like that."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Edge smirked a bit, and patted the box. "Yeah. I made this myself. It's not something like you could buy or anything. It took me about two weeks of salary to get everything I needed, then I hollowed out an old computer-case and trimmed it down to make this box to house it all in. State-of-the-art sound pickup, noise-cancelling, echo-cancelling, and variable sensitivity." Proudly, he stroked the side of the box. "Everything in this little baby would make a technophile hot and wet. Possibly not in that order."

He started figuring out which stethoscope went to which mic-area, and lay them out how they fit, pushing Donnie to settle on his back so that he could start 'mapping' him out. Taking out a washable marker, he started feeling around his chest, and making marks with it. "Don't worry, this'll wash out with a shower." he explained. "And yeah. The box holds the recordings. The MP3-player is because I want to listen to them later, so it'll feed it into that, and save it to my personal cloud, so I can pull it up any time I like. There's also someone I know making a program that - eventually - will allow me to make a virtual you. And put your heart-rhythm inside of it. Not quite done with it, though. For now, I'll have to be satisfied with sound." He chuckled, and brought over the stethoscope-heads, pressing one each over the marks he made on Donovan's chest.

"Yeah... Eden's my brother. My twin, at that. Although... he dyes his hair, and I don't." He pressed on the heads a bit, and they 'stuck' to Donnie's chest without the need to adhere them. Even so, Edge started fitting two chest-belts over them to hold them in place, being very gentle. The belts were tight, but shouldn't have been all that uncomfortable. "It's not offensive. I feel bad for him too - but I just wish he'd come out of his shell a bit. He's a hard-ass when he wants to be, and has a temper, but.... I still love him, I still miss him, and I still want him around. You can put your shirt back on. Just don't get up off the couch. I have the corded version wired up to you because I want a baseline. Later, I'll replace them with the wireless version."

[Kitsumi]

It was obvious to see that the other took pride in his invention. Donovan didn't blame him, either. It was something he wished he could do - create things, modify them to fit his purposes. He doubted he would ever have that ability, though. He thought himself too useless to achieve anything. "Geez, I'm not even a - what did you call it? Technophile? Anyways, I may not be one of those but just listening to you talking about it like that nearly gets my heart pumping."

Surprisingly, his hunger had been momentarily forgotten. What Edge was doing now was interesting to him, enough so that he was focused completely on it. Donovan had to bite his lip to keep from giggling as he felt the marker move over his skin. There were times when he randomly felt more prone to ticklish sensations, and apparently this was one of those times. "A virtual me?" That was something that Donovan wasn't sure about. "What exactly does that mean?" His voice was suddenly wary. He had been so used to being abandoned that his paranoia spiked easily. Although he was probably completely misunderstanding Edge's words, he couldn't help but be worried. Would he be replaced by some virtual version of himself?

Donovan knew he was being unreasonable with his worries, so he tried to calm himself. Focusing on the conversation instead of his worries was difficult but not impossible. "What colors does he die his hair?" he asked. "I'm obviously partial to blue." As he spoke, his fingers moved up to touch the ombre locks. "Do you think...would you ever want me to meet any members of your family?" Things had moved quickly between the two, but Donovan wasn't sure just how serious about him Edge was. Serious enough to introduce him to the family? He hoped so. He glanced over at the shirt, but wasn't sure if he wanted to put it back on or not. It was technically Jared's, not his. "I think I'll leave that off, if you don't mind. I should probably return it to Jared when I get the chance." Oh, that was right. He had forgotten to grab anything of his own. And his phone was still off. His friend was going to be completely pissed.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Virtual you? Oh! The program. My friend's creating it to be a resource for doctors. A virtual patient-type-thing on the computer. It's really nifty program." He laughed quietly. "Of course..." He leaned forward to put his forehead against Donovan's. "I wouldn't give them your files without your permission. Ever. So if you're not cool with it, and he asks me for them, don't worry too much about it, and just tell me no, okay? I wouldn't dream of doing that to you without your permission... Although we he comes up with the program, and if you let me use your heart for it... I might give you and virtual ME, too. For your phone." He chuckled.

Edge thought for a moment. "Last month it was pink, so I think he might be back to blue. He switches between like... six or seven different colors. I think it's fun for him." he said. "And obviously you get to meet them. Although pinning down my dad may be a pain. Eden would probably love to meet you - granted, he's a bit grouchy at the very best of times, so I hope he doesn't say anything nasty to you." He reached out to stroke the side of Donovan's cheek, very lightly. "Ronin would like you - but pinning him down, like I said, is going to be a bit of a chore. Maybe you could help me look for him."

[Kitsumi]

Donovan sighed in relief as Edge explained things a bit more clearly. "Oh, I see. So it's not anything that you would use to...I dunno...replace me?" He knew how insecure and clingy he sounded. Shit, he was already messing things up. But he just had to make sure. He didn't want to have to worry that he was about to get thrown out on his ass at any moment. Still, he tried to give a small smile. "Well if it's something you want, I wouldn't mind you giving my files to him. I just...didn't realize what type of program you were talking about." A virtual Edge to carry around with him? That was actually a rather pleasant idea. He could see now why Edge would want something like that. "That might be nice..."

The boy nodded. He could certainly understand the constant changing of color. "I used to do the same thing, switch it up every now and then. But then right after a big breakup, I did this to my hair...and I really liked it. I've kept it like this ever since. Although it's a bitch to maintain the precise color." The excited look on his face was almost like that of a child in a candy store. "I'd love to help you look for Ronin. And if you're with me, I can handle anything that Eden might say." He covered Edge's hand on his cheek with his own hand, bringing the palm of Edge's hand to his lips to press a kiss there before letting go.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Edge blinked, and immediately went to put his arms gently around Donovan, holding him close and nuzzling at his hair a bit. "Replace you? Never." he murmured. "No... even though this has moved very, very fast - and I'm sorry about that, by the way - I think... I think I've been waiting for you for a very long time, Donnie. I'm not going to replace you or sleep around with others, or even..." he shook his head, then stroked his hair. "I wouldn't' do that to you. Won't do that to you... okay? You don't have to worry about that."

His thumb ran over Donnie's bottom lip, then he leaned forward to kiss him softly. "I only spoke about it, because I think it would be kind of neat to see and have a virtual you around... And you could have a virtual me. Especially useful if we ever have to be apart. Which... I will try my damnedest to make as infrequent as possible... okay? Here..." He switched up their positions, so that he could sit where Donovan had been, and pull the boy into his lap, threading his fingers through his hair softly.

"I could definitely help you dye your hair. I don't do it myself, but I'm pretty good at doing Eden's. And other people's." he said with a chuckle. "You've just got to promise that you'll try and hold still while I'm applying highlights. I hate it when I mess up, and it's not easy to fix."

He trailed his fingers along Donovan's collarbone, thinking about what he said. "I just hope Eden doesn't make you regret meeting him." he said quietly. "I wasn't kidding when I said he's changed. He used to be so much nicer... Anyway, though... How do you feel? Comfortable? The setup isn't too tight?"

[Kitsumi]

That was all the reassurance Donovan needed. He nuzzled his face into Edge's neck, sighing happily. "Okay, I'm sorry I get sort of paranoid." He spoke into Edge's neck, too comfortable there to move. "In the brief time that we've been together, I can see that you're not like the others I've known. It's just...I guess old habits die hard." His heart was beating rapidly now, realizing just how much Edge cared. "If I had known that someone like you would come along, I think it would have been a lot easier for me to get through all the bullshit I've dealt with. I guess none of it matters now, though."

He leaned back to look at Edge, but he didn't have the chance to get a good long look. The kiss wasn't long, but it was enough to make his eyes fall shut as his arms wrapped around Edge's neck. "When you explain it like that, it does sound like a good thing," Donovan admitted. "I don't want to sound clingy, but the thought of being away from you kinda sucks. A virtual you would help a bit, although I know it could never be as good as actually being with you."

Sitting on his partner's lap, Donovan wiggled until he found a comfortable position. He rested one hand on Edge's chest, right over the man's heart. Leaning forward, he let his forehead lean against Edge's. "I can hold still. Especially if you let me distract myself with some sort of handheld game or something. That's how I used to do it."

Before he had the chance to worry too much about what exactly Edge was worried about with Donovan meeting his brother, the subject changed. "It's not too tight," Donovan assured him. "I mean, I can definitely feel that it's there. But it doesn't hurt or anything."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

If Donnie was paying close attention, he'd be able to feel Edge's rapid pulse under the shirt he was wearing. For all that he was acting calm, cool, and collected, the older male was as nervous as Donovan was. He just seemed to be a little better at hiding it. Of course, the gentle touches over his chest were doing nothing for that speed. He reached up to put his hand over Donnie's, and leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

"Would you like to listen to it?" he asked, a soft smirk showing that he knew what Donnie was feeling. "Since the box is over here, you can grab a stethoscope from where you're sitting if you like. You can even put your hand up under my shirt."

He chuckled, and ran a finger down Donnie's neck. "I would do it myself, but I've got a lap, and arms, full of you - and I don't particularly feel like letting you go."

There were all sorts of stethoscopes in the basket, from fancy to plain, and pretty much every color imaginable, including sparkly silver, metallic gold, and some sort of faux-metal finish purple. Some of them even had woven 'covers' on them with some seriously intricate designs, and Edge's name crocheted right in.

"It's good that it doesn't hurt. You're supposed to be able to feel them there, but not like... biting into your skin or anything. I'm actually trying to work on a shirt that does pretty much the same thing as this set-up, but wirelessly. Obviously, it would have to be skin-tight, but I'm having trouble finding people to model for me." he ruffled Donovan's hair. "If you'd like to try, you can. I just have to wait until Eden brings the fabric back from the printer's, with the sensors in it."

[Kitsumi]

Beneath Donovan's hand, he could feel the precise moment that Edge's heart began beating more rapidly. He grinned, feeling a wave of pleasure as he realized that he was the cause of the increased pace. This wasn't something he had taken interest in before, but now he was realizing that he could really get into the whole heartbeat thing. Especially listening to Edge's heart beating like this, caused by Donovan's own touches.

"Yes!" The word burst from his lips excitedly, causing him to bite his lower lip and give a boyish half smile. "I mean, yeah. I'd really like that." He chuckled. "I prefer it this way - without you letting go of me."

He reached over to rummage through the box, coming up with a - not surprisingly - blue stethoscope. The metal end that he was preparing to press against Edge's chest felt uncomfortably cold against his skin, so Donovan breathed on it a couple of times to try to warm it up. "Ready?" he asked.

Lifting the bottom hem of Edge's shirt, Donovan slipped the end of the stethoscope between skin and fabric, settling it in the same spot his hand had been a minute or two before. It was harder to fit the earpieces into his ears with only hand, but he managed to do it with only a little bit of trouble. His eyes widened, a look of wonder on his face. "I definitely want a recording of this," he murmured.

After a few minutes of listening, Donovan finally pulled the stethoscope away from Edge's chest. He replaced the instrument in the box, removing the earpieces just in time to catch what Edge was saying. "I'd like to model it for you," he said, eager to be of assistance. "Just promise me that I won't get accidentally electrocuted or anything!" He giggled a bit, showing that he was only joking.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Edge laughed quietly, and ruffled his hair. "You didn't have to stop. And I wouldn't let you get electrocuted." He smoothed his hands down Donovan's arm, and back up his neck, playing with his hair a bit. "I think you'll like the fabric, though. I ordered this sort of starry material. Looks like galaxies, to me, and it's got a lot of co-"

The man was interrupted by a loud and insistent banging on the door. "EDGE! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED, AND COME TO THE DOOR BEFORE I DROP YOUR TAKEOUT DOWN THE LAUNDRY CHUTE, AND BURN YOUR STUPID CLOTH!"

Sighing, Edge kissed Donnie's forehead again, and stroked his hair. "That... would be Eden. Hang on a moment. Sounds like he's got our food, too."

He rose, and crossed to the door, barely having a chance to open it, before a man that looked a lot like Edge, only with bright-pink hair, wheeled into the room with three boxes on his lap, zooming his wheelchair up to the counter, and slamming two of the boxes down, throwing the other one on the couch... without looking at who was on the couch. He still didn't seem to see anyone on the couch, as he wheeled back toward the door, growling at Edge, and gesturing to him... and the other man standing outside the door.

"Why Eden, so nice to see you. And you brought a friend."

"Brought a friend my ass!" Eden said with a snarl. "Apparently this guy has been looking for his friend, whom he assumed dead in a ditch somewhere, because he saw him leaving with you! And I've been trying to fucking contact you for three godsdamned hours! What the hell were you doing to this kid?! And where is he?!"

Edge sighed, and motioned toward the couch. "You just threw my fabric at him."

[Kitsumi]

The sound of Edge's laughter was already starting to become like a drug to Donovan. The more he heard it, the more of it he wanted to hear. He was trying to think of something else he could say that might be humorous enough to get his partner laughing, but there was no opportunity. Before Edge had even finished describing the material for his project, there was an interruption.

Paired with the unexpected loud pounding at the door, the gruff voice was enough to startle Donovan. He gasped as his muscles tensed suddenly, and then fell off of Edge's lap. Luckily he fell to the side, so he landed on the soft cushions instead of having a short fall to the hard floor. Propping himself up with both elbows, Donovan glanced towards the door.

"Oh...well, I did say that I was interested in meeting your family, didn't I?" Not that he had expected it to happen so soon. Or for the family member to sound so angry. That wasn't even the worst of it though. Peeking over the couch, Donovan could see a familiar figure standing outside the door. "Oh, shit."

Before he could call out to Jared, a box was flung at him. It very nearly hit him in the face, too. Donovan made a sound that was half surprise and half fear, ducking so that the box instead hit his back and bounced harmlessly onto the floor near the couch. "Ouch..." he rubbed the sore spot, wincing as he stood up. He opened his mouth to introduce himself to Eden, but Jared interrupted him.

"What the hell are you doing here, you fucker?!" The blonde boy glared, arms crossed. "I was waiting for you for over an hour before finally leaving the damn club. What, you think it's fine to just leave all of your shit at my place and take off with some of my clothes?" Without waiting to be invited in, he shouldered his way past Edge to shove Donovan in the chest, hard enough to send the boy stumbling backwards a few steps. "I figured you would end up whoring it out with some guy who just met, but you could've at least had the decency to let me know about it."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

[For this post, it should be noted for any mods that are reading, this I had previous permission to do whatever I wanted to Jared. >>]

"... Excuse me, Eden." Edge said quietly, holding up a finger, before shutting the door, and walking in a deceptively quiet manner toward Jared.... Upon which point, he picked him up by the shirt collar, and slammed him against the wall to the side of the couch, holding him there, off the ground, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Just what. Are you doing. To my boyfriend. You son. Of. A. Whore."

At this last bit, he punctuated every word with a slight tightening of his grip on Jared's shirt, inching dangerously toward his throat. As he wasn't facing Donovan, the boy probably couldn't see it, but Edge's expression was deathly calm. His eyes were burning with an inner fire. This was a man who was not afraid to push his weight around, nor - by the looks of it - afraid to harm people. Considering how easily he just... 'plucked' Jared out from behind Donnie, this man actually had quite a bit of weight to throw around.

He drew very, very close. Close enough that Jared would be able to hear a growl starting in the back of his throat. Had he been in Lucain form, it was very likely his hackles would be all the way up, and his teeth bared. "Listen here, you little shit. I'm the one that took Donovan from that club. I'm the one who listened to him. I'm the one that gave him pleasure, when he seems to have the nasty assumption that it's selfish to enjoy himself. I'm the one that cares for him, and you beat him up the moment you see him?"

The voice Edge was using wasn't hysterical, nor particularly mean. It was almost conversational. Only Jared could see how dangerous that conversation was becoming.

"I know your type. You take kids off the streets. You befriend them. You bed them. You make promises you never intend to keep. You pull them into a life of whoring and for what? A little extra pocket-money. I could turn you in to the police. I could punch your lights out right here. I could run you out of town. But you know what? I have more moral fiber than that."

"Edge... I think hes'-"

"Shut up, Eden. Just for a second, please. I'm not done."

Eden held up his hands in surrender, and wheeled over to Donovan to pat his hand, and sort of half-tug, half-lead him back over to the couch. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"Now, I don't give a flying fuck what your name is, who your daddy is, or who you had to suck off to tail my brother all the way from the club, but you're going to do one thing, and you're going to do it now. Tell. Him. The truth. Tell Donnie the truth. Then get. The fuck. Out of my apartment. And if I ever see you again, I will punch your face in. Tell him the truth. All of it."