Louis was sitting back in his chair, legs tense, one hand up against his mouth, similar to the way Blue looked whenever he was anxious. The other arm was folded across his body--defensive, protective, though it wasn't fear he felt in Eivind's presence. Little Bird and Chrysanthemum hadn't been able to take their eyes off of Eivind once they had noticed him. They were too busy wondering what the story was behind this stranger, this<i>man</i>Blue had brought back with him after being gone for so long. Neither girl was angry at Blue for having disappeared; they both understood the tension that existed between the two Broussard males. They were just happy Blue was in one piece. Both of them would have understood if Blue really<i>had</i>run away. Papa didn't treat Blue how he treated them. He pushed all of his children to succeed as per his own definition, but where the girls were relatively spoiled and easily forgiven, Blue was often pushed to his limit. The day he had confessed the truth about his sexuality had been the first time Blue had verbally retaliated against his father, and it had resulted in him getting smacked for his harsh mouth.<br/><br/>When they looked at Eivind, they didn't see a potential predator like Louis did. They saw a good looking man with intense eyes and what must have been a deep affection for their older brother to have followed him home like this.<br/><br/>Katherine had swept through into the living room with a wooden serving tray in her hands. Glasses and a pitcher of iced tea, a plate of crackers, chopped fruit, and cheeses. She placed the tray down on the glass coffee table separating the males and immediately filled a napkin with little bites of food, handing it to Blue. "You're skinny, honey," Katherine commented bluntly. Typically Blue would have rejected the offering, but he took it now, nodding and thanking his mother for her consideration. She poured two glasses of tea, one for Blue and one for Eivind.<br/><br/>"You said you two were working on a project?" Katherine inquired, sitting down next to her girls on the large couch, her voice sweet and melodic. While in the kitchen she had tied back her long blonde hair, exposing the high cheekbones and delicate features her son had inherited.<br/><br/>Blue nodded, smiling softly. "Eivind and I met at the Moonstone Fair a few months ago," he said, weaving together the lie-and-truth patchwork they had concocted in the truck together. "He saw my work and offered me a job painting for him."<br/><br/>"Painting what, exactly?" Louis said, skeptical.<br/><br/>"A banister." One part lie, one part truth.<br/><br/>"A banister?" Little Bird interjected.<br/><br/>"Yeah, a banister. For a unique home art installation. Eivind had a... residential contracting job that required an artist. He did the building and woodworking, and I painted."<br/><br/>"That actually sounds really cool," Chrysanthemum said happily, leaning forward to place her chin in her hands, elbows propped up onto her knees. "Did it take you a long time?"<br/><br/>Blue paused for a moment, thinking to the work he had done in Eivind's house. He had worked on the banister for days practically nonstop, hardly sleeping and eating only when Eivind had prompted him. Had he been working at a more casual pace, the painting probably would have taken much longer. "A few weeks, I think. It was a spiral staircase so a lot more area to cover."<br/><br/>"Where did you stay this whole time you were 'working,' and why didn't you return when you were finished?" Louis asked, obviously displeased with Blue's story.<br/><br/>"I... I stayed with Eivind." Another truth.<br/><br/>Louis chuckled, though the sound was devoid of mirth and instead dripped with disbelief and mild contention. "Eivind, was it? Let me see if I'm understanding this correctly. You met a young boy, convinced him to come paint for you, kept him in your home for months and even after this job of yours was completed, didn't suggest maybe he come back to his family, who have been worrying themselves to death all this time?"<br/><br/>"Papa, I wanted to stay with Eivind," Blue began, but once again he was cut off.<br/><br/>"It's apparent you don't make the best decisions, Blue." His gaze snapped to Eivind's hand, still on top of his son's knee. "You're, what, late twenties? Early thirties? Old enough to know that Blue is very young, immature and impressionable, I assume? He's a child."<br/><br/>"I'm not a child," Blue began, clenching his fists against the cushions of the love seat.<br/><br/>"Well, you certainly act like one!" Louis snapped, his face contorting into a mask of intense frustration before settling once more into a stern, immovable marble slate.<br/><br/>"Louis..." Katherine whispered, leaning toward her husband. "I'm sure Stormy didn't mean--"<br/><br/>"It doesn't matter what he<i>meant </i>to do, Kate. It matters what he did, which apparently is run off with some<i>man</i>while leaving his family to suffer in his absence. Does that sound like a responsible thing an adult would do?"<br/><br/>Katherine didn't have a retort for her husband, and it seemed neither did Blue. The boy sunk deep into the cushions, wishing he could just melt into them, hide, do anything else at all. He worried this was what was going to happen. The women didn't seem to care about why he was gone, but his dad did, and every time Louis stared daggers into his son it killed Blue just a little bit more.