"Kind of. I know this is the house," Zeke told him, but details were hazy. It just seemed vaguely familiar, while nothing was particularly distinct about it. Considering he was five last he'd seen it, he was surprised he'd known he'd once called it home. Now it didn't feel like home. River did though, and that was enough. He didn't intend on getting too comfortable. Once Cassandra was willing to let them take some solace alone, they stopped at the stairs, Ezekiel nervous and deliberating. River asked if he was scared.<br/><br/>"Yes," he admitted, brows knitting together. A lot had changed in a short amount of time. Change had never been a good thing for them, and this would prove to be the most drastic shift in their life since they had been taken to one another, as they were obviously meant to be. River helped to calm him down with soft touches and another kiss. He nodded. They would look out for one another as they always did. These were just new rules they were playing by, no longer following Father Lamont's.<br/><br/>"If we don't like the rules, we leave," Ezekiel decided, using River's strength in his moment of weakness. "By any means necessary." They went up the stairs, and Zeke was able to decipher which room was his old one because one was an office, and the other had personalized posters all over the door that obviously held the interest of someone else. The third door was opened to something clean and basic, not familiar to Zeke, but he was okay with that. He didn't need reminders of his old life. He was changed now, and he was no longer a child, as father Lamont had pointed out. River moved the dresser to block the entry point, so that they could properly be alone. It only eased Zeke a little bit, but River was the voice of reason, and he nodded his agreement. River had come close to him, and was working his hands over his clothing. Zeke shifted to give him access to whatever he wanted.<br/><br/>"I thought I might miss her. She seems like any other stranger to me. Is that wrong?" Ezekiel wondered, still unsure how he felt about the woman that was his mother, downstairs, fretting most likely. Ezekiel's hands did what was familiar to them and helped River with his own clothing, hardly any thought needed. River was the only joy he had, and in their life, the only pleasure they had came from one another. It wasn't even always an inherently sexual thing, sometimes just a need to be close. When anxieties were high, it was familiar, and they used it as a way to soothe.<br/><br/>Zeke pulled River over to the bed, licking his lips and looking a little guilty to be touching the perfectly made bedspread with the sort of thoughts going through his mind. It had been a while since they'd been completely alone together, no one around to discourage them. Not since being in Father Lamont's care, and Ezekiel missed River's body. He was starting to harden, even under the stress. At times, because of the way he and River took comfort with one another, his erections were not always opportune, and sometimes stress induced. When things were bad, he could think of nothing more than after, when River would run hands over him, press his body close and erase all the hurt. It got him through a lot, even if at time it fueled Father Lamont into a rage, chiding him for his masochistic ways, when really it wasn't that at all. There was no part of Ezekiel that enjoyed the punishments. It was somewhere between a sick joke his body liked to play on him, and his way of coping by taking his mind elsewhere.<br/><br/>"I want to," Ezekiel told him, climbing over River's larger body, grinding, showing his need. It might not be possible to do all they wanted, but they were never without inventive ways of touching one another in all the places they'd learned. Some things had hurt until they'd made it better, but they were always willing to suffer a little for the other. Just not if they had any other option.<br/><br/>"We could see if they have it in the kitchen." River would know what he was talking about, considering it was the only real thing they'd ever used. He stopped him before they could strip each other bare completely, realizing soon Randall would be home too. "Before more get here. I would distract her, or you can, and I can look." It was wrong to steal, but both boys had done it for one another. Neither would bat an eye to do it again, even if it was another mark against their soul. Ezekiel believed there was some balance to it, both of them distributing the sin for one another. Even Lamont, for all he claimed to be, was no saint himself. The boys saw that, no matter their older caretaker's denial.