<span style="font-family: 'Georgia'">Sunrise found Asa hunched over a desk, fingers stained with ink, and save for the songbirds singing their morning song, the soft scritch of pen on paper was the only sound inside the room. As much as Asa was always wary of the other male's presence, last night had been a reminder of why he'd put up with the man's company for nearly two decades before they'd gone their separate ways. For a short while he could forget all the current complications that weighed heavy on his shoulders. Niles had finally taken his leave in the dark hours of the morning, leaving behind his signature scent; an amalgamation of sea air and riding leathers. Barely perceptible to the human nose, Asa could almost feel it lingering in the living room where he'd entertained the male for the long night and it would be some time before his scent faded completely. <br/>
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Managing to get the chaotic swirl of thoughts from from the past few days out of his head and onto paper, he felt better for it. The thoughts documented and stored away, they would put behind him. Giving the ink a moment to completely dry, he stood, stretched, listening as the house started to wake. Any minute now he expected Carter to pop in to be sure Asa had in fact stayed. He was somewhat surprised that he hadn't seen or heard any sign of Carter the previous night. On more than one occasion he expected to hear the younger male sneaking around. But not a peep from him. Asa was curious how Nancy had manged it.<br/>
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But as early morning turned to midmorning and still no sign of Carter, Asa couldn't stop the niggle that poked at him. It wasn't like Carter to squander away the day, and today of all days. He never turned down a chance to spend time with Asa, and to think he had a whole day of him. Something was wrong.<br/>
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Deciding to check on him, Asa snatched up the most recent journal stopping in his room to put away first. The stack of books on his bedside table stopped him in his tracks and he frowned over at the leather bound books, alarm bells like a flurry of screaming crows in his head. He was quite certain they were supposed to be put away. Safely locked away, what with the sensitive subject matter they contained. With heavy reluctance, he picked up the note lying atop the pile, noticing Nancy's handwriting right away. A slight tremble started in his hands as his eyes skittered across the words. <br/>
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By the end of it he was seeing red. The paper gave a feeble crinkle as his balled it up and let it fall to the floor. He was aware that he needed to calm down. That he was prone to do something foolish in his current state. But in only added fuel to the flame. He had every right to be as angry as he was. Every fucking right. Of all the shit Carter had pulled. To think he would be so brazen as to go through Asa's things. The betrayal hurt, deeply. The pain only making his anger worse. Snatching up the journals he returned them to the closet, and as he glared at the now closed compartment, he had half a mind to burn them all. <br/>
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It took a solid five minutes of simply standing, hands fisted behind his back and eyes closed before he felt that he was calm enough to risk checking on Carter. And yet on reaching the male's room, he stood outside the door the anger spiking anew. A calming breath and knock to announce his entrance, he didn't wait for an answer as he pushed the door open.<br/>
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"Is this how you plan to spend your day?" Not crossing the threshold, he leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. Try as he might, there was no hiding the brittle glint in his gaze. </span>