Yet another thing where their paths diverged. Carter rarely lied to Asa. Whereas the vampire had been lying to Carter all his life. Regardless of whether or not it was for Carter's sake, he'd still lied. But it wasn't something he could change, or would apologize for.<br/><br/><b>"Good. You know me well enough. You're stuck with me" </b><br/><br/>"As are you." And Asa couldn't begin to imagine it any other way, "...I don't know what I would do if you left me." He quietly admitted, arms tightening briefly around the younger male. Only, he knew exactly what he would do and it was a road better left untraveled. But there was no point considering the infinite number of what ifs. Worrying over what the future held did neither of them a lick of good.<br/><br/>Carter's admission to being done snooping for a while drew a thoughtful hum from the vampire, "And should that put me at ease?" He still had half a mind to burn the ever growing volume of journals he had scattered around the house. Some of which even he had lost track of. The honest truth of it was that he<i>had</i>gotten sloppy over the years, had gotten careless. Hadn't fully considered that Carter would go searching and find something. He should've known better.<br/><br/>Asa rolled his eyes at Carter's mention of his studying, "Snooping in other's private journals does not count as sufficient studying." he pointed out, no real bite to his words, mismatched gaze soft and lacking any of the earlier anger as he looked upon the younger male, "But I will let it pass, just this once."<br/><br/>He noticed right away Carter's uncertainty with the idea of going out. Given how it'd ended the last time, Asa could understand why. But Carter had nothing to worry about as Asa had no intention of letting him out of his sight. "Do you really think I'd let you go alone after what happened?"<br/><br/>But Carter wasn't the only one with reservations. One would think given what happened only a few nights earlier, venturing into town would be the absolute last thing Asa would suggest. And yes, he wasn't overly fond of the idea, but it'd truly hit him that he couldn't realistically and in good conscience continue to keep Carter a prisoner--willing or not--forever confined to the walls of the estate. Carter's near death experience had opened his eyes to some much needed changes.<br/><br/>He reluctantly released his hold on Carter as the other slipped away from him. Now that he'd suggested it, he wanted to take it back. They didn't need to go out. They could just stay in. They could do whatever Carter wanted, so long as they didn't have to go into town. He wanted to keep Carter to himself, far away from the corrupting influence of the outside world. The fear and reluctance flashing briefly in his eyes as he watched Carter smooth down his clothes, even as the action drew a slight smile from him. "You're perfect." he murmured, wanting so badly to pull Carter back to him, to kiss the sweet smile from his lips.<br/><br/>Standing before he did something rash, he slipped his hand into Carter's, intertwining fingers as he lead them from the room. He was especially quiet as they stepped outside, the sky a blend of golden hues interwoven with violets and streaks of fire orange and red as the sun began its daily descent. Stopping on the gravel path that led down the long winding driveway, Asa finally spoke up,  releasing Carter's hand as he turned to face him, "We will go but only if you want. If you've changed your mind, you tell me now."